Initial Planning

1) Form - I am planning on making a short film with a duration of 3 minutes aimed at all ages, preferably families. It has a simplistic, -easy to follow- plot, so young audiences will be able to understand it, and the colours and topics it's based around can also relate to an older audience. 

2) Animation type - It will be a 2D  hand-drawn cell animation, but there will also be shots which require less movement, which will be computer generated on Adobe After Effects. The reason for my choice is because I have experimented with  other animation types, and have found they were not for me. Rotoscoping was not the style I intended for, as I wanted to design and exaggerate my characters, and wanted the animation to look smooth. I didn't want to use Flash, as I preferred and am more familiar with the work space in After Effects for computer generated animation.

The reason I am doing hand drawn cell animation, is because it gives me more freedom with the movement of my animation, as not all shots can be done computer generated (proportions changing drasticly, and objects completely changing shape and form etc..) 

The reason I am also doing computer generated on After Effects, is because with the time I have to create my animation, I wont get it finished, so to save time, will do the more simplistic and shots with less movement on After Effects. 

- It shouldn't be too noticeable flicking between the two different animation styles,  as the background for the cell animation will remain the same (not changing each frame) so the shots have the smoothness a computer generated shot would have.

3) Selection of genre or style - The short film fits into the categories Drama, and Crime most, and has a few comedic elements, although not enough to be placed into that genre.

The Crime is due to the subtle use of drugs the character Ratty is on, the theft (Ratty steals the mysterious briefcase - arguably off Owen or the unknown owner), and the involvement of the police when they catch Ratty, and accuse him of stealing the money. 

It also involves a bit of Drama between the two characters Owen and Ratty. Although they do not speak, they don't get along, and fight over the briefcase, and Owen and Oscar aren't so sorry for Ratty when he gets captured. 

4) Narrative and Character Development

Plot Summary/Treatment

The short film is centred on a old homeless man, his dog and their neighbour. The film begins when the old man wakes up to find a mysterious brief case nearby. He checks it out of curiosity, and finds it is full with an extremely large amount of cash. Exited as the old man is, he goes round the corner (leaving the dog with the money) to check if anyone is looking for it. When he returns, he bumps into his neighbour, who is holding the briefcase. They both freeze, and then the neighbour makes a run for it, but the old man trips him up, and they begin fighting over the case. Eventually the neighbour gets away with the case, and the old man ends up shoved in a bin.

Later on, when the old man and the dog are looking for a busking spot, they see two police men and a police car. One of the police is holding the brief case, and the other is pushing the neighbour into the car. The old man and the dog look at each other, and take a smile of relief/smirk. They eventually find the perfect busking location in the busy town centre, and the old man starts to play his guitar, although they are receiving no luck with money. The dog then takes out a wad of money (which he had previously taken from the case) and places it into the old man’s busking tray. The old man smiles, and pats the dog on the head.

Character Development

The protagonist Owen, and his dog Oscar  are the only characters who develop throughout the narrative. Ratty, the selfish, rude and aggressive neighbour, stays exactly the same through out the film. Even when Ratty is being shoved into the police car, he shows no remorse or regret for the situation, drug use or crimes he has done. Bill and Clive also have no character development, as they are only show for a brief moment in a scene, and catching a criminal is just their daily job. 

Owen and Oscar, on the other had, do develop their characters. We see Owen begin as a hopeless man, with barely any expression on his face, but his eyes and longing glare show us he's disappointment with life. When Owen first sees the briefcase, no hope or excitement comes to him, just curiosity, as in all the years he has been homeless on the streets, the least thing he expects is to see a case full of thousands of pounds.

The first development in character we see, is in Owen when he opens up the case too find the money. He has hope for the first time in many years, and feels special and overjoyed. This hope gives him motivation to later, try and defend the case he has found, although, at the end of the fight with Ratty, the old man looses all hope again, and returns back to his original stage. 

When Owen passes Ratty being pushed into the car, his hope inst returned, but he feels lucky it wasn't him, and quite relieved Ratty has seen justice. This places him in a slightly better mood.

The film then ends with Ratty gaining some of that hope back, but not all of it. At the end when Oscar takes out a wad of money to give to him, he is happy to  receive this, (as it's better then nothing) and is more pleased with the loyalty and love received from his dog Owen, then his money. When Owen pats Oscar on the back, we see a hint of that hope returning.