Making a companion - Reference

Our story for the short film is still in development, but a concept we are playing with is that of the protagonist creating a companion for itself. This concept reminded me of this animation: 'The Maker'.

  

This short film has no dialogue but clearly illustrates what happens, the main character expressing a determination and form of affection for it's creation. This dialogue-light form of expression is something we are wanting to play with, therefore the actions of our character should be quite purposeful. The lighting and palette of this piece gives a slightly gritty, antiquated look to it as well as a dark tone (due to the large use of shadow). This is the style of palette that could possibly fit with our story, as it is possibly set in a scrap yard. The warm gold/brown colours could add some warmth however we would have to be careful not to drift too far into the 'steampunk' aesthetic.

This short, and the concept of a mechanical/modelled companion also reminds me of Edward Scissorhands. This could possibly serve as reference to the main character in movement and look. Edward is quite human looking, his signature scissor-hands being the main thing that separates him from us. The simplicity of having different hands is effective, and when considering our characters design it should be ensured that there is a simple, obviousness to it, rather than being too complex and detailed. The below video (despite it's lack of quality) illustrates the idea of building something with a heart, for love etc. which is, ultimately, the intention that drives our character to build their companion.

Since we're looking into the creation of something living it would be silly not to quickly reference Frankenstein. The motivations behind this creation are different however, and appear more gothic in concept. The creation becomes a 'monster' rather than a companion. Each one of these videos has a form of 'montage' that illustrates the creation of the monster, which is something to be considered when creating the storyboard and elements of the companion.

Aesthetically I'm leaning more towards that of 'The Maker', there is a craft like element in it's design that seems fitting to our story at the moment. As the character, at this stage, is a 'robot' like being, it's companion could also be mechanical, or made out of 'junk'. (As initially conceptualised in the previous blog post.)  If this is the case, then the surroundings should compliment the character and it's creation. If it is made from junk, the junk should be seen in the initial design of the scene etc. There should be a level of detail that follows through the scene. The below making of video illustrates the importance of the overall design and the detail in the set and props, this is something that will be considered once the story is finalised. I am aware of the differences between animation and film and how the level of detail achieved in 'The Maker' may be harder to achieve in our film due to time/budget constraints.