The Idea
As mentioned in my last post, I've chosen to revisit my Storytelling project from Year One, named Frankenstylist. The original project was fairly well received, with several viewers, including myself, expressing an interest in seeing this become a fully developed animated short. As a result of this feedback, I intend to expand upon past ideas and pre-production elements, with the outcome being a fully realised animated short. Below are the original project screenplay, Making Of document, animatic and pre-vis from the original project, to give you an idea of what I will be working from.
The Plan
I plan to expand upon the various existing pre-production elements, improving upon the script, adjusting the cinematography and visual storytelling found in the storyboards and generating a revised series of pre-production materials, suitable to be taken into a successful production phase.
As well as the above elements, I am also going to revise the design of the main character, Frankie, as well as the environments, drawing from specific influences (which shall be discussed later on in this post).
The final outcome of all this will be a 2-4 minute animated short, similar in essence to the original project, but refreshed and new in its own right.
Potential Influences
Setting and Period
In my last post, I assembled a generalised list of the particular genres of horror cinema associated with specific time periods. After further research and discussions with Phil, I've decided to set the animation in Britain, around the late 1960s, early 1970s. I've not yet decided on a specific locale from which to draw influence and emulate, although Phil has suggested setting it in an industrious town, where the machismo personalities of the locals contrasts with the flamboyant hobbies of the main character.
Stylistic
Being that the animation will be taking part throughout the 1970s, I've been looking into aspects of popular culture were either produced in that decade or emulate the themes of the decade. Strong areas of influence at this stage include:
The League of Gentlemen
A dark comedy written and starring Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton about a fictional English town inhabited by a number of unusual locals, including stationary obsessed Job Centre Restart Officer, a butcher specialising in the underground sale of special stuff and the owners of the Local Shop (for local people).
Scarfolk Council
A blog documenting the history of the fictional town of Scarfolk, a town perpetually stuck in the 1970s. It features hundreds of artefacts of the obscure happenings in the town, including the hit book Pagan Paediatrics and Postnatal Possession and the town-wide baby ban from the Scarfolk Council Department of Baby Prevention.
Suspiria
In terms of parodying horror, I'm heading towards somewhat of an amalgamation between rural horror for the build up through the first act, then sensory exploitative horror of Suspiria throughout the second, both staple horror themes in the 1970s. Both styles are very appealing, as they're not often pastiched, although the vivid Argento style may look somewhat misplaced next to the bright colours of act three. The muted colour palette of the rural horror may be better suited because of this.
Glam Rock
For the third act, being that it is of the era, Phil suggested revealing the child to be a fan of Glam Rock and David Bowie, with his various animal clients sporting the mullets and back-combed hairstyles of the time. Originally, the hairstyles were very 1950s/60s inspired, although the style would be somewhat irrelevant if the animation is set ten years later. The Glam Rock is a fitting alternative from which a similar level of humour could be achieved.
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