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"Cat & Mouse"


brainmuffin

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I had this idea a few days ago, and I thought I would run it by you guys since your always looking for fun & interesting group projects.

 

It's one of the simplest classic cartoon conventions: Mouse wants cheese. Cat wants to eat mouse. Mouse has to sneak past Cat to get to cheese, devises increasingly clever/fiendish ways to do so.

 

There are plenty of classic cartoons based on this formula, even going beyond the "Cat & Mouse" genre. Like Road Runner vs Wile E. Coyote, Bugs vs Elmer Fudd(or Yosemite Sam, etc) Sylvester vs Tweety... ad infinitum.

 

What they all have in common, and what I think makes this an interesting group project, is that there are only two characters, and a very limited number of backgrounds (sets). For example, a cat and mouse cartoon needs only a living room set, a kitchen set, and maybe an interior of a mouse hole.

 

Now, it would be a little more challenging on the participants, in that each participant would be responsible for a sequence, rather than a single shot, it would be like 5-7 short shots strung together. Think about a typical Roadrunner cartoon:

 

1) Coyote gets package from acme.

2) Coyote assembles trap.

3) Coyote lays in wait for Roadrunner.

4) Roadrunner races buy, unharmed.

5) Trap backfires, causing grievous injury to Coyote.

 

And a typical Roadrunner cartoon is really nothing more than a string of variations on that sequence. The cartoon always ends by just irising to black as the coyote looks beleaguered following the latest mashing. If its two animals, there doesn't need to be any dialogue. And the setup for the whole cartoon can be done in one 2-3 shot sequence at the beginning.

 

If you guys are interested, I'd be glad to edit the thing together and do credits, and I wouldn't mind trying a sequence, too. As an added bonus, I have a library of classic cartoon sound effects.

 

Let me know what you think.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Hash Fellow

I think the drawback is that the minimum bar is a bit too high. There are about four or five around here who could pull off segments like you are describing but not 20 like we had on BUS STOP.

 

The advantage of the BUSSTOP and Pass The Ball premises was that a person could participate on a very small level and it would still fit in with everyone else's contribution. That helped lots of people get involved and minimizes the disappointment at not being able to finish something or not being able to participate at all..

 

It's hard to devise easy group project premises!

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Yes, I looked at it this morning and though it's a nifty idea and I didn't want to nix it outright, it seems a little complex for a community project.

 

EDIT: To clarify, I don't think the complexity is automatically a problem for less advanced folks. I would pass on it because I don't think I have the time for something this involved at this time. But *in theory* it sounds like fun!

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That's definitely understandable. I thought that having fully rigged characters already assembled for use might encourage participation though.

 

Also, something to think about: The sequences don't necessarily need to be complex.

 

To use Wile E. Coyote as an example again, there were plenty of elaborate devices that he built, rocket trains and the like, but plenty of them were as simple as a stick of dynamite in a pile of birdseed, or a pair of rocket-skates, or a comically oversized slingshot.

 

One of the main reasons I thought this might be a cool idea is that, yeah, it's a little more complicated than the previous group projects, but it's a stepping stone to learning to create a full short by oneself.

 

If anyone is interested, even if you're unsure of your ability to participate, let me know. I'll try my best to make sure that everyone who wants to participate can, regardless of skill level.

 

I'm even willing to model the characters, if someone will volunteer to rig them. (Mainly hands/face rigging. Not my favorite parts of the process...)

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At first blush I'd say this would be a neat collaborative project. But the "over the top", slap-stick, kind of character animation would take a lot of "skill", patience, and acting knowledge that could prevent many from succeeding in delivering. I know at this point, it'd push the limits of my skill set, and while I'd love to see folks make a go of it, I'd have to bow out.

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What you are describing sounds closer to a single work, which would require a production pipeline.

 

I think it would be nice to get people working together on shorts. It's been very exciting seeing e.g. mtpeak help Kat out on Just a Wooden Sword, and Robcat help Largento out on Wannabe Pirates, and Myron help out Spleen on videos. I'd love to see slightly larger groups put together shorts.

 

A lot of my friends used to play World of Warcraft. (They're getting better!) They used to go on "raids" together, and they needed a mix of talents to make up the party. A Tank that would lead the group through dealing with specific foes (mobs) and keep their attention away from the rest of the party; DPS (damage per second) - ranged and melee, that would cause damage to mobs to weaken and kill them; and healers, who would keep the Tank and the others alive. People would get good at one role, then try out another.

 

It would be neat if we could get regular productions going like that, where we have a set of roles (writer/director, modeller, rigger, animator, effects/lighting) and try to create a project together that would be of a scope that could be done in 1 or 2 months. The cost of failure is relatively small, the ease of fitting oneself in, whether beginner or more experienced, is better, and there would be potential for mentorship and learning.

 

The old Pixar addages:

 

Every projects starts out as a disaster, and is made good by iterating over it until it's good.

Fail early, fail often, but learn from your failures.

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I think mouseman is onto something, though I think "1 or 2 months" is optimistic. But doing a collaborative short would be a lot more palatable (and doable) for many folks.

 

We had started down this road with our "Virtual Studio". A short is in the process, more a demo reel for the studio, but that is what we are doing. Once i get this dot net project off my plate I plan on breathing life back into it.

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Fae, I see where you're coming from. I never really thought about this as a "serious" animation project, though. I see it more as an intermediate experience. A chance for people who haven't really focused on animation to do so, (since the characters are pre-built & rigged) as well as a chance for people to get a taste of directorial experience, planning out a shot sequence. Just something fun & a little challenging to do. The quality of the experience, in my mind, outweighs the quality of the finished product.

 

That being said, if people are interested in this project, but would prefer a more structured environment, I would be happy to draft a script and storyboards for this. I'll just need a week to review as many "Tom & Jerry" & "Roadrunner" cartoons as I can get my hands on. ;)

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