I've begun creating the pixel sprites for the animation, and reading about <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-make-8-bit-music">chiptune (8-bit) music</a>. I'm not terribly musically inclined, so I'm not sure if I'm going to make music for the film or just use sound effects. Either way I would like to create some custom audio.
For the pixel art I'm focusing on getting the major character sprites and basic outlines for the backgrounds. I'm not sure at this point if any of the scenes are going to fully animate. Although I've created pixel art before, I don't have a lot of experience with pixel animations. Creating the actual animations could easily become very time consuming. For most of the scenes limited animation will be appropriate, however the fireplace scene and a few others would be more interesting with full animation. I have put together a preliminary animatic; currently it has no sound.
I've been debating how to deal with moving sprites around the scene. AfterEffects does sliding animation well, however the sprites move in smaller increments than the enlarged pixels. This results in an inconsistency in the pixel art style. This inconsistency doesn't necessarily bother me, however an appropriated balance will need to be struck between the limitations of traditional pixel art and the freedoms of modern high resolution imagery. Superbrothers Sword & Sworcery EP strikes a similar balance by combining pixel art with smooth gradients.
Concept:
Tale type 510a - Cinderella told through motion graphics.
Narrative Arc:
Although the details of the story of Cinderella vary, each version is recognizable as the same story. Below is a quote detailing the plot that Cinderella stories share, with some notes on places were variation exists:
"A young woman is mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters, forced to work as their servant, and usually called by a name associated with ashes or dirty labor. When the stepsisters and the stepmother are invited to a ball (or leave to attend church), they assign an impossible task to Cinderella to prevent her attendance. Usually animals complete the task for her while she receives beautiful clothes from a fairy godmother or other magical helper. She attends the ball (or church) incognito where the prince falls in love with her. She must leave early before her magical accoutrements disappear or her identity is discovered. The same occurs a second and third time with Cinderella losing a shoe as she runs away the third night. The prince acquires the shoe and declares he will wed the woman it fits. Everyone unsuccessfully tries the shoe, including the stepsisters who mangle their feet trying to make it fit, until Cinderella is finally discovered and compelled to try on the shoe. When it fits, she and the prince are married." - SurLaLune Fairy Tales: History of Cinderella
In a talk on the shape of stories, Kurt Vonnegut graphed out the basic Cinderella story, shown below:
The shape of the Cinderella Story - adapted from Kurt Vonnegut's "The Shape of Stories" talk.
The narrative arc I am proposing will stay fairly close to the German variation on Cinderella. The story will begin with introducing Cinderella's family situation, the middle will consist of her visit to the ball, and the story will climax with the search for the woman who fits the shoe.
Technique:
The animation will be created in a pixel style. Pixel style graphics are associated with the early days of computer and video games when the technology could only support extremely low resolution images. Although the technological limitation has been lifted, pixel styles persist in part due to the nostalgic appeal of pixelated images. Because contemporary pixel artists do not have the same technical limits as they did in the past, pixel art has changed, and can be combined with other styles as in Superbrothers' Sword and Sworcery EP.
Part of the appeal of fairy tales is also based in nostalgia. However, when a fairy tale is re-told it is inevitably changed to appeal to contemporary audiences. The story may be based in the past, but it is also of the present day. This dual existence is mirrored by the pixel technique which is based in the past, and important to present. Sketches/Images:
I've also been looking at Lotte Reiniger's Cinderella, although it is not particularly informing the style of the project I am proposing. Timetable:
Week 1:
Animatic
First draft of sound
Begin creating sprites
Week 2:
Create essential sprites and simplified backgrounds
Week 3:
2nd draft animatic using sprites and simplified backgrounds
Identify if any additional sprites or backgrounds are needed
Week 4:
Finalize sound
Created any additionally needed sprite animations
Week 5:
Complete final animation using final sprites/backgrounds
