Animation Breakdown/Rough Storyline

A Rainy Day

An Animated Visual Journey

Jamie Nathaniel Price – University of Portsmouth

Major Project/Final Animation

Opening Shot:

Fade in from black background to opening shot of rain falling/rolling down a window, include condensation patches etc. view from window reveals a thunderous sky. Very dismal, no life, boring, all of the feelings a child would have on a rainy day.

Shot hold for 3-5 seconds to establish environment.

Sound: Gentle rain tapping on the window.

Title Sequence:

Title reading: Rainy Days appears on the screen using a fade in, this should last from 3-4 seconds to allow viewers to have time to read the text.

Scene 1:

Camera pans down slightly to reveal main set, an underpass bridge with a river running underneath can be seen. Kids can be seen finishing off a chalk drawing on the outside wall, just as the rain gets heavier and faster the kids hide under the bridge for shelter.

As they hide under the bridge a loud clap of lightning can be heard and the camera slowly zooms into the house/window where the film starts. A small child peers out of the window and sees the artwork slowly washing/melting off of the wall.

Scene 2:

As the colours keep on washing off they spread on the ground and leave a trail of colour until they meet the rivers edge where they swirl and mix around to create a river of colour.

As the colours spread another rumble of thunder can be heard and a lightning bolt follows and hits the surface of the water, turning the colours into a neon form. As the electricity fades the child in the window walks down toward the edge of the water to see what has happened, as he peers into the water a huge colourful whale jumps out of the water and splashes the colour onto the riverbanks. As splash rises the small child falls backward in shock and his mother calls from the doorway.

Scene 3:

As each splash/puddle of colour settles more children start to come out of their houses to see what is going on, as groups of children walk towards the river bank and various puddles, the puddles start to pulsate and abruptly come to life and turn into various creatures and plants creating a new environment full of colour. At this point in time the rain has slowly subsided and the lightning and thunder has stopped, the sky is still cloudy and dismal, but it is at this point the colours are at their most vibrant.

As the children become more inclined to be friends with the mystical creatures which they are now touching and communicating with establishing a bond similar to a human to their pet, a close up of one of the creatures and the child from the window comes into view. The close up shows the friendship between the animal and the child and as this connection is established the clouds begin to part and rays of sunlight begin to cover the area where the children are.

Scene 4/Final Scene:

   

As the sunlight increases the animals look to the sky and begin evaporating into clouds of chalk, as they start to slowly deteriorate they look their new friends/children in the eye and slowly blow away into the air. The children look upset, showing that rainy days can be fun. The camera follows the smoke clouds into the opening in the clouds as they become fainter.

End credits 6-8 sec

END FILM