Animated narratives - Week 5

Theme: Structures of storytilling 

This week we looked at some structures for the story telling in linear and interactive forms. 

My work for this work examines ideas of stubborn struggle for life on the example of the escape of a berry from a jelly. I used my weekly premise exercise, which included three bullet points as a begging, middle and the end of the story. My premise was:

-A berry can’t move into jelly scared and blocked
-A berry started to fight, she started to lick the jelly, jelly got tickled
-Laughing jelly fall to the floor, a berry got free

I decided to show it like a hero's journey, a berry goes on an adventure, goes through crisis and comes home. 

• Mythic Circle and the Berry 

1. The ordinary world - A Berry is on the brunch on the bush 

2. The call to adventure - the Berry is picked by a human

3. Berry refuse to adventure, but nobody is asking berry’s opinion 

4. Threshold/ challenges and temptations: Berry is being put to the fridge, being washed 

5. Got into biggest challenge - Berry was put into jelly (revelation) Berry has being struggled for a long time, she tried to shake into jelly, to blow, to ask jelly about setting her free, but nothing worked.

6. Death or rebirth? An exhausted Berry didn’t give up. She decided to lick the jelly. Suddenly the jelly started to laugh (he got tickled). Berry realised that it might work and she continued licking jelly very energetically. The jelly bursted into laughter, started to shake very hard. Finally, the jelly fall to the table and tore itself apart. Berry set free!

7. Atonement - Berry is free! It feels so good! Nothing squeezes her from all sides, she breathes fresh air! 

8. The road back - The berry is trying to come back to the bush, but there is no bushes around the kitchen, she jumps to the window

9. Return - Berry founds a nice looking bush and connects herself to the brunch. Oh it feels amazing! Well done brave Berry. 

Of course I was thinking also about unfortunate ending too. After all process of overcoming the difficulties and escaping from the jelly, the berry lies on the table happy and free. A human comes up, irritated and with misunderstanding how this could happen, he takes a berry and put into the mouth.  Sharp teeth pierce the berry from all sides. Brave berry is dead. 

I want to introduce as a reference - British surreal comedy television series written and directed by Noel Fielding and Nigel Coan “Noel Fielding’s Laxury Comedy”. It is described on the Channel 4 website as ‘a psychedelic character based comedy show half filmed and half animated’. My story reminded me series of animation from this show with character Joey Ramone ( https://youtu.be/6-wkNhdnWv0 )In those episodes I find interesting mild-mannered narrator commenting passively on everything that happens and speaking for and with character. When I added “Well done brave Berry!” I had a flashback from this series.