Cucalorus Response

For Cucalorus I attended the animation block on November 15th. In short, all the animations were awesome! There was a healthy variety of different types of animations that included 2D, 3D, Rotoscoping, and Stop Motion. My favorite of the bunch was the 3D animation Where Do Cars Come From. The animation is a parody of the question “how are babies made?” with the influence coming from the birth of Sea turtles. The director comically describes the process through the use of baby cars and their journey to make it to the road. The film itself is a combination of live action and 3D animation that blends together seamlessly. I really liked how the director took something ordinary and turned it into a short comedic film.

The other animations were just as good, and compared to last years animation block I felt that there was an overall stronger showing this year. The only issue I had during the event was that one of the animations was messed up. We saw the first 2 minutes, or so, of the animation, but right as it was reaching the climax the film cut off and the next film started. I was a little bummed about it because that film was the strongest animation, in terms of skill/difficulty, compared with the others. On top of that it had a great story. :(

Overall, I had a really good time. It was great hearing from some of the animators about their experience making the films. I’m excited for next years animation block, and the potential for my animation to show at Cucalorus.

Link to video: http://vimeo.com/101553605

Postcard/Business Card Budget

Film Festival Schedule/Budget

A screenshot of my Schedule/Budget

Film Festivals to Submit to

Cucalorus (Free)

Cucalorus is an obvious choice since the festival is right here in wilmington. The festival is free for residents of New Hanover County, and plus I want to make sure I support the local film community. The festival would also provide me an opportunity to network my animation/skills locally.

Atlanta Film Festival (Regional)

This would probably be a bit of a longshot, but I figure it’s worth a go. The Atlanta Film Festival is an Academy Award qualifying festival and in the off chance that my animation connects with people on a deep metaphorical level... then who’s to say I can’t win one :). In all seriousness, the festival accepts a wide range of animation, Atlanta is not too far away to drive to, and the earlybird entrance fee is cheap.

D.C. Independent film festival

Located in Washington D.C., the festival is not too far away to attend, and looks to accept a wide range of animated shorts that don’t seem too far off from my film. The festival is also a fairly large and would (hopefully) allow me to network my animation other than in North Carolina.

New York Short Fest

Specifically geared towards short films, New York Shorts Fest would hopefully provide an easier festival to get into since I would only be competing with other short films. Plus, the festival is in New York City!

Northwest Animation Festival

This festival is just for animation and as a result they show a huge array of animations. In looking at some of their previous submissions I think my animation stands a good chance to fit at least a few of their specifications. The festival is also free to submit for the earlier bird deadline, which is extremely appealing to a broke college student like myself.

15 Minutes of Fame

15 Minutes of Fame is a smaller festival compared to some of the others I have listed. However, it is located in Orlando, Florida which makes it feasible to attend. Also, the deadlines to submit are far enough away that I would still have time to change my animation If I needed. I think this festival is a more attainable goal compared to some of the others.

FirstGlance Film Fest Los Angeles

FirstGlance appears to be an excellent place for filmmakers to gain exposure for their films, and it’s located in Los Angeles, which would provide a number of opportunities for me to make connections. Looking at previous animation submissions and based on the popularity of the event I think it would be difficult, but not impossible to get in.

Portal Potty Script

Portal Potty

Written By: Dylan Ebbs

FADE IN:

INT. APARTMENT BEDROOM - MORNING

An alarm clock RINGS, vibrating the whole nightstand it's sitting on. RUSSELL (40) wakes up and turns the alarm off.

INT. APARTMENT KITCHEN - MORNING

Russell sits at the kitchen table with his cereal bowl in front of him. He stares blankly at the newspaper resting on the table. 

INT. APARTMENT BATHROOM - MORNING

Russell stands at the sink as he brushes his teeth. He stares blankly into the mirror. The bathroom features a large mirror, a shower, and a toilet. There are no decorations.

INT. APARTMENT CLOSET - MORNING

Russell contemplates what clothes he is going to wear for work that day. The closet consists of clothes ranging in color from white to black (boring colors). Russell decides to wear black pants, a white button down, and a black tie.

INT. CAR - MORNING

Russell drives to work. The car is old and ordinary with no eye-grabbing features. 

INT. OFFICE BUILDING CUBICLE - DAY

Russell sits in his cubicle, pretends to work, and longingly gazes at the collage he made of his top 8 travel destination in history pinned up on his cubicle wall. The poster features Ancient Rome, an island paradise, the Eiffel tower, etc.

INT. OFFICE BUILDING CUBICLE - DAY

CLOSE UP: ANALOGUE CLOCK

Time-lapse of passing time in order to reinforce the theme of boring. 

INT. CAR - DAY

Russell drives back to his apartment from work, drained from the boring work day. 

INT. APARTMENT BATHROOM - DAY

Russell uses the toilet. 

INT. APARTMENT KITCHEN - NIGHT

Russell slowly eats his dinner. He has cooked a hamburger for himself. Russell's face lacks any sign of happiness. 

INT. APARTMENT CLOSET - NIGHT

Russell slips out of his work clothes, throwing them on the ground of the closet.

INT. APARTMENT BEDROOM - NIGHT

Russell sets his alarm, turns off his night light, and goes to sleep.

MONTAGE: RUSSELL REPEATS HIS DAILY ROUTINE

A) INT. APARTMENT BEDROOM - MORNING - Russell wakes up

B) INT. APARTMENT KITCHEN - MORNING - eats his cereal

C) INT. APARTMENT BATHROOM - MORNING - Brushes teeth

D) INT. APARTMENT CLOSET - MORNING - Gets dressed

E) INT. CAR - MORNING - Drives to work

F) INT. OFFICE CUBICLE - DAY - Pretends to work

G) INT. CAR - DAY - Goes home from work

END OF MONTAGE

INT. APARTMENT BATHROOM - DAY

Russell, almost lifeless after the day at work, uses the toilet. In the process of flushing the toilet Russell begins to feel a whirling sensation as if he is being flushed down the toilet. Russell is being teleported. Confused, Russell, mid-teleportation, begins to hear the sounds of crashing waves. The familiar sound slightly calms him. The whirling sensation abruptly stops. Russell, in wonderment about what has just happened, flings the bathroom door open hoping to find his apartment. Instead of his apartment the door opens to an island paradise. Russell cautiously steps through the door.

EXT. ISLAND PARADISE (BAHAMAS) - DAY

An unpopulated beach with crystal clear water. The reflection of the sun shimmers on the water. Palm trees line the beach for miles. Russell looks back at the door he just stepped through and sees that his whole bathroom has teleported with him: walls, roof, and all. Russell takes a second and ponders what his apartment looks like without an entire bathroom. Turning away from his teleporting bathroom, Russell focuses his attention on the beach. Russell cautiously explores the beach, never more than a few feet away from the bathroom door. He realizes that he has seen this place before. Russell abruptly steps back through the bathroom door still confused at what his toilet has done.

INT. APARTMENT BATHROOM - DAY

Russell still unsure about what has happened decides to try and recreate what occurred only minutes ago in the hopes that he will get back to his apartment. He sits down on the toilet, gets up, and flushes. The whirling sensation starts again. Russell, still unsure about the whirling sensation, grabs hold of the sink counter top. The whirling stops. Hopeful, Russell again opens the door, but instead of his apartment the door reveals Paris. Russell steps through the door.

EXT. PARIS - EIFFEL TOWER - DAY

The structure towers over him. The area around it is unpopulated. Russell, amazed at where the toilet has taken him, gazes at the magnificent structure. After looking at the structure, dumbfounded about what is happening to him, Russell steps back through the bathroom door.

INT. APARTMENT BATHROOM - DAY

Russell, still trying to get back to his apartment, flushes the toilet again. The whirling begins. Russell again latches onto the sink counter top. 

MONTAGE: RUSSELL KEEPS FLUSHING THE TOILET. HE IS BEING TAKEN TO DIFFERENT PLACES OTHER THAN HIS APARTMENT.

A) EXT. CHINA - THE GREAT WALL - DAY

B) EXT. ROME, ITALY - THE COLOSSEUM - DAY

C) EXT. ATHENS, GREECE - THE PARTHENON - DAY

D) EXT. EGYPT - THE PYRAMIDS - DAY

END OF MONTAGE

INT. APARTMENT BATHROOM - DAY

Russell, having now flushed the toilet a number of times, realizes that he has seen all the places the toilet has taken him before. Pondering this thought with great confusion, Russell decides to see if he will recognize the next place the toilet takes him. He flushes the toilet again. The whirling starts and stops. Russell opens the door. The door reveals Stonehenge. He steps through the door.

EXT. ENGLAND - STONEHENGE - DAY

The area is unpopulated and ominous. Surrounded by the large rocks, Russell looks around pondering. He abruptly realizes that the toilet is teleporting him to places according to the collage of pictures on his cubicle wall at work: Top 8 travel destinations in history. Considering this theory, Russell connects the dots in his head. A distressed look comes over Russell. His eyebrows raise, eyes widen, and his jaw drops. Russell figures out that he has been visiting all the places in chronological order. The last place of the top 8 that he hasn't traveled to is the Jurassic period. His eyes get even bigger, and his jaw drops even further, fearing the possibility of encountering a dinosaur with one more flush of the toilet. Russell quickly jumps back through the bathroom door. 

INT. APARTMENT BATHROOM - DAY

Russell franticly runs around the bathroom trying to see if there is a reverse button anywhere in the bathroom. Russell checks the bathroom mirror and the sink. Lastly he checks the toilet. Russell lifts up the toilet seat and sticks his head in, but finds nothing. Next he lifts up the lid on the back of the toilet and peers in, but still finds nothing. 

Finally he flips the lid from the back of the toilet over. Underneath the lid there are two large buttons that say forward and backward. Russell smashes the forward button in. The button briefly lights up and then a little shock of electricity appears. The circuits fry. The light in the button disappears. A large frown grows on Russell's face, and his eyes begin to droop. With little hope that the direction in which the toilet is taking him has changed, Russell musters up some courage and flushes the toilet hoping that there is a slight chance that the direction has switched. The whirling begins and stops. Russell cautiously inches towards the door. He cracks the door ever so slightly and sees a thick forest empty of dinosaurs. The benevolent forest entices Russell to step through the door. Russell steps through the door.

EXT. JURASSIC PERIOD - DAY

The trees are enormous and plentiful. The forest is eerily quiet. Russell looks around happily since he doesn't have to worry about getting eaten anymore. Russell does a 180 degree turn to head back towards the bathroom. Upon turning around Russell sees a menacing T-Rex standing behind the bathroom. 

FADE TO BLACK.

Story Outline and 3 Act Structure

Portal Potty

Outline: Russell, an average blue collar worker, leads a boring life. He goes to work, sits in his cubicle, pretends to work, and longingly gazes at the collage he made of his top 8 travel destination in history pinned up on his cubicle wall. Russell repeats this process every working day. One of these boring days Russells normal routine is broken.

Russell has returned home from another boring day at work. He throws his shoes off, and walks to his bathroom in order to wash off all the boring from the day. Russells bathroom routine is always the same after he gets home from work: he uses the toilet, washes his hands, brushes his teeth, and finally takes a shower. Russell, on the first stage of the bathroom routine, is using the toilet. Russell finishes and flushes the toilet, except today when he flushes the toilet Russell is abruptly whirled away as if he is being teleported somewhere. Russell, in the midst of teleportation begins to hear the sounds of crashing waves. The familiar yet confusing sound eases Russells nerves as the whirling sensation stops. Russell, still on the toilet in the bathroom, quickly gets up and opens the door back to his apartment except instead of his apartment the door opens to an island paradise. Russell, in awe at where his toilet has taken him, steps through the door. Looking around and exploring, never more than a few feet away from the bathroom door, Russell realizes that he has seen this place before. Looking back at the bathroom Russell sees that his entire bathroom is detached from his apartment and has teleported with him.  Russell steps back into the bathroom, still in wonderment about the deja vu he is experiencing, sits back down on the toilet and flushes it again hoping to recreate what just happened in order to get back to his apartment. Russell is again whirled away except this time the toilet has taken him to a different setting, other than his apartment. Russell again recognizes the place the toilet has taken him and quickly realizes that the deja vu he is experiencing is due to the fact that each different setting behind the door correlates to the collage of pictures on his cubicle wall. What Russell doesn’t know is that the toilet is taking him back in time. Russell continuously flushing the toilet in order to try and get back to his apartment is only taking him further away.

Act 1: The audience is introduced to Russell and his boring life. We discover Russells longing for a change of scenery through the collage he made of his top 8 travel destination in history pinned up on his cubicle wall (Ancient Rome, island paradise, Eiffel tower, etc.).

Turning point: Russell returns home, uses the bathroom, but after flushing the toilet the toilet teleports him to a random place.

Act 2: Russell, amazed and scared at where the toilet has taken him keeps flushing the toilet to try and get back to his apartment. After the toilet has taken him to several different places, Russell realizes that the toilet is teleporting him to places according to the collage of pictures on his cubicle wall at work.

Turning point: Russell realizes that each time he is teleported to a new place he is actually going back in time.

Act 3: Remembering that the last place on his top 8 travel destinations in history is the Jurassic Period, Russell drastically tries to figure out a way to reverse the direction of travel from past to future. Russell finds the controls for the time traveling toilet, and upon pressing the button to change directions the button breaks. Unsure whether the direction change was successful Russell flushes the toilet again.

End: The button press did not register and Russell is teleported to the Jurassic Period, however, he doesn’t see any dinosaurs so Russell steps out of the bathroom door. Upon stepping outside he sees T-Rex standing behind him. The, hungry T-Rex eats Russell. Fades to black.

495 Animation Treatment/Character Bio

Character Bio

Russell: A man in his 40’s with no defining attributes. He is a boring person who lives a boring life. Russell lives in an apartment, is single, makes ends meet, and has never been out of the country. Trapped in a continuous circle of boring, Russell longs to travel to exotic destinations to add some excitement to his life/start a new one.  

Treatment

Russell, an average blue-collar worker in his 40’s, leads a boring life. He goes to work, sits in his cubicle, pretends to work, stares at the random stuff in his cubicle, goes home, and repeats the process. Russell does this every Monday through Friday. Over the course of many pointless working days, Russell has gathered a number of toys for his desk and created a collage of pictures on his cubicle wall. The toys include a stuffed lion, T-Rex, miniature Roman Colosseum, etc. The collage of pictures is made up of historical landmarks and exotic travel locations. Russell longs for a change of scenery and as such he needs money so he keeps going to his boring job.

On one of these boring days Russell goes through his typical routine, however, when Russell gets home he finds that in his bathroom a random door has appeared. The door is shrouded in heavenly light. Russell, confused by the sudden appearance of the door in his bathroom, rubs his eyes to make sure he is not seeing things. He isn’t. Questioning the random door, Russell doesn’t know how something like this could happen, and he can’t remember the door ever being there before. Curious about the door, Russell eventually decides to open it. Cautiously Russell turns the knob, slowly inching the door open for fear of what is behind it. As the door continues to open Russell begins to hear the sounds of crashing waves. The familiar yet confusing sound eases Russell’s nerves as he finishes opening the door. Behind the door is an island paradise. Russell, in awe at what the door has opened to, steps through the door. Looking around and exploring, never more than a few feet away from the door, Russell realizes that he has seen this place before. Still in wonderment about the deja vu he is experiencing, Russell abruptly steps back through the door into his bathroom fearful that this magical door could disappear. Back in his bathroom Russell decides to open the door again. This time the door reveals a different setting. Quickly Russell realizes that the deja vu he is experiencing is due to the fact that each different setting behind the door correlates to the collage of pictures on his cubicle wall. Never having been happier in his life about finally getting to see the places from the collage on his cubicle wall, Russell keeps opening the door. What Russell doesn’t realize is that the toys on his desk are also part of the equation and at any point Russell could open the door to a lion or a T-Rex.

My goal for the animation is to make it entertaining and comical. In order to animate this story I plan on creating a mundane look for both Russell’s apartment and his cubicle in order to amplify the feeling of boredom in the beginning of the story. In contrast I want the settings that the mysterious door reveals to be colorful, inviting, and anything but boring. I plan on using mostly After Effects and Flash to animate the story.