OSAPAP 003 - Project Concepts And Limitations For The Open Source Anti Propaganda Animation Project (2017-06-06)

Welcome to this project's 3rd post wherein I'll outline my treatment concept!

• In OSAPAP 001 - A New Open Source Anti Propaganda Animation Project, I introduced this project, laid out broad motivations and goals like a manifesto, and teased a bit about myself.
  

• In OSAPAP 002 - Over 20 Diverse Politically Profound Amazing Animations, I presented a animation festival of sorts featuring my favourite politically themed inspirations.

Here in 003 I'll lay out some of the challenges and limitations that must be embraced and will shape the scope and style of this project. I will continue to update this post with improvements all week until Steemit locks it. Your ideas are very welcomed.

Limitations

The first obvious limitation of this project is the obvious fact that I'm starting out all by myself rather than in a studio system with numerous specialist cogs in a great production machine. I must and will be the Jack-of-all-trades at every step.

The second fundamental limitation applies to almost every trade, great or small. Everyone wants 100% great quality, fast, and cheap. You can have up to 66%. For example, if you want it fast, the quality and savings suffer. I prefer quality over quantity. This main priority will be self evident if I'm successful.

So what does this mean? I intend to make a limited number of quality short minisodes worth remembering, not an endless stream of forgettable blabber. Short and sweet - each minisode between a 15 second commercial and a 4 minute music video.

Yet... I do have grander ambitions. If all goes well according to plan, most of the minisodes will in some manner fit into a grander narrative and potentially may be edited together into something of a feature length mockumentary. For this mockumentary to successfully work and contain little self-contained miscellaneous edutainment skits a framework of cinematic devices, segue transitions, and a cohesive narrative of sorts will need to be established. Fortunately it's not a top priority so we can discuss it later, however keep it in mind. One fun concept I can't wait to share is the potential for featured guest contributions - but I'm getting a head of myself.

I am just one person, not a small studio or industrial animation house, so I'm going to have to model all the sets, props and characters, rig them, texture, animate, light, render, and composite them into a final video that I then have to publish, promote, etc. etc. etc. Each of those jobs has specialist sub-categories and all are a full time jobs in any studio. That's why Pixar and everyone takes a few years to make every movie.

Everything must be designed with limitations, style, and growth in mind at all times. For quality over quantity so I'll try to keep my animations under a minute, and the dialogue has to be super-duper tight, trim and to the point, as must the imagery, animation, etc. This will help define the limited "style", whatever that ends up being. Every animation has some. Good animation embraces their limitations.

In addition to the limitations and framework, I will "build up" the experience across episodes. The first episode will feature one character monologue and maybe one background/setting. In fact, I might just feature only the head. The next episode might have the head and shoulders. (This may be embraced with jokes or a story to explain it.) The next minisode might add another character, then a new costume, then a new set/location/background, and so on. Ideally each episode will add a little more to the over-all arc. (If necessary they may be revisited and re-worked for the mockumentary feature.) Maybe there will be nothing new for several episodes while I build something new and complex, like a whole new character or something with a completely different rig. Similar looking or similarly rigged characters can be copied and reworked saving some effort (squash or stretch a character with a new wig, change clothing colours, and/or add a moustache/nose/glasses), but all-new characters require all-new everything. There shouldn't be any use-one-time characters, props, or sets. Anyway, enough of the technical stuff...

Conceptual Framework

Character development or evolution may potentially occur across episodes rather than in a single episode. Most will stick to type. Character development and drama are not a priority at all. The main priority is edutainment - informative, thought provoking, and funny - at all costs. Everything else must be trimmed away. I'd rather leave 'em wantin' more than gettin' bored. These will be short anti-establishment satirical rants, challenges to conventional wisdom and the status quo, alternative perspectives and Truther-isms.

I will not be afraid to throw up statistics, but will not fall into a fact-war trap. Everyone may try to civilly "illuminate" me in order to better the script that will be openly developed, but ultimately every episode will unapologetically expose the myths and hypocracies of western culture because an unexamined life will catch up to us when we're distracted by football and talent shows. Ignorance is bliss but no excuse.

That said, aside from the occasional intentional provocations and challenges I intend to respect everyone in or out of my audience, "awakened" or "un-woke" alike. We were all ignorant at some point and in countless different ways we still are - all of us.

I will not be afraid to soundbyte, sample, remix, mashup, use, abuse and otherwise exploit any and every piece of corporate media that inspires me to to do so. I want to chew up their propaganda and chuck it back. They may have forced this "culture" upon us, but now it's ours and mine like this planet. For whatever reasons, for better or worse, I will always try to include credits immediately, not at the end. This "presentation" of other people's work for illustration, parody, satire, commentary, collage, or whatever will likely be a significant ingredient in these shows.

While I'm not against doing political satire on occasion, I'd rather attack the systems of belief that support the politics and establishment systems. The puppets and puppet masters are easy to mock. I want to make people question their own beliefs that have steered us unchecked toward oblivion.

My ideal target audience would be of college age. Old people are stuck in their ways. The youth is the future. Kids always punch up. 8 year olds watch shows for 13 year olds but not the other way around, so too, kids of any age can watch shows for grown ups but grown ups rarely watch kids shows. (Breakfast cereal is another matter.) Pixar is an exception on many levels - but I'm not Pixar. And my content will be philosophically more challenging, fundamentally more advanced, and hopefully edgier in style and taste.

I have no desire for swearing or gore for the sake of it. If it's relevantly connected to a valid point or a political statement then it's appropriate. Some folks don't like it and I won't alienate anyone for nothing. While I'd love to shove peoples faces into real imagery of the horrific bloody massacre messes unleashed on foreign civilian populations by our war-hawk politicians and their profitable military industrial complex, I will also refrain to avoid losing any audience members. I may not show murder and maiming but I'll discuss it endlessly.

Ideally every minisode will have specific ideas to be challenged, illustrated, and conveyed. Ideally every minisode will be anti-establishment, anti-propaganda, humorous, educational, beautiful, inspirational, and/or all of the above. Ideally most minisodes will ultimately merge into a final pseudo-docu-rant-ary / mockumentary. So, unless better ideas convince me otherwise, finally, this is the basic project's lose concept.

Forthcoming Posts

(Feel free to pre-comment ideas and suggestions.)

• Episode Map (first draft) with mockumentary cross-minisode framework outline, flow, and specific fundamental ideas to challenge
• How limitations practically affect style and format - as well as favourite styles
• Characters, goals, and purposes - as well as favourite influences and references
• Presentation formats, cinematic devices, and various creative treatments
• New sketches, character designs, and motifs - specifically for this show
• A call for comedic writers (historians, revisionists, Truthers, capitalists, libertarians, communists, socialists, Marxists, anarchists, atheists, and activists)
• Technology resources, preferences, and recommendations
  (I still seek an image hosting site with copyleft)
• Hero Worship
  • Who I currently follow, who I used to follow, and why
    • Corbett Report, TruthStream Media, Jimmy Dore, Lionel, NewsBud, Sane Progressive, ...
  • Inspirational comedians & other media
    • George Carlin, Bill Hicks, Stewart Lee, Doug Stanhope, David Cross, Bill Burr, Charlie Brooker, Derren Brown, Joe Rogan, Dan Carlin, Fight Club, Burning Man, Bassnectar, Wax Tailor, Emergency Broadcast Network, Max Headroom, Subgenius, ...
• Animation Inspiration #2 (Non-Political) Style & Genre Favourites With Analysis
• Initial script drafts
• Storyboards
  Possible posts:
• Show naming contest
• Episode naming contest(s)

Lastly

I have intentionally used episode and minisode interchangeably and randomly. My episodes must be short.

I have included all my own original images (credited graph excepted) to give you an idea of my talent and flexibility. These sketches and designs do not reflect my 3D animation mad skills. You can see some examples in the last post and those will link to my old YouTube channel that I abandoned 10 years ago or so.

Project development is a long, slow process. Animation is an even longer, slower process but I've got decades of experience and I'm in it for the long haul. Animation production is a perpetual work in progress until the final animation is published.

As I'm hammering out this treatment stuff - clarifying my goals, intentions, limitations, I am gradually cementing my ideas of what is and is not possible. Soon I'll actually start pre-production sketches, storyboards, visualizing, etc... Eventually I'll actually start modelling and animating and rendering... Then finally I'll have the first minisode. I'll be blogging all the way hoping for collaborations and support however big or small. Here's to the future...

I hope you'll continue to follow my project, vote as you see fit, but most importantly give constructive criticism and feedback.

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