Idea #2

Concept
This story is one of Aesop's fables called "The Bear and the Bees." The concept is about exercising humility when faced with opposition, instead of over reacting and bringing even more trouble.

The story action
In an artistic effort to keep things simple I've decided to portray the environment & characters as origami figures. So all the elements in each scene look like folded paper, with the possible exception of the sky.

The first shot reveals a paper bird resting on a branch of a paper tree. The camera pans down to reveal a hollow fallen tree trunk in a small clearing bordered by woods. Several bees can be seen flying in and out of the hollow log. Eventually, a curious bear approaches the log and notices the bees. Interested in their honey, he decides to investigate closer. As he roots and sniffs around the log, one of the bees returning to the log spots the bear and immediately stings him before flying into the log.

The bear becomes frustrated and angry and roars loudly as he flies into a rampage - clawing and smashing the log in an attempt to crush the bee hive. The bees suddenly swarm the bear and chase him away as he runs toward a small river stream, narrowly escaping by diving into the water.

This story communicates the concept effectively because it shows how the bear's actions brought even more trouble on itself by over reacting. However, as with most fables, the concept, or in this case, the moral, is often left unsaid to allow individuals the opportunity to interpret the meaning for themselves.

The mood
The mood of the story is mostly whimsical due to the visual style of the piece. I intend to animate the bear's actions in a campy manner that is aimed at adding a bit of comic relief to his rampage.

Idea #1

Concept
This story is about social interactions between motorists on the road, stereotypes associated with a driver's vehicle of choice, and oneupmanship.

The story action
The story begins with our focus on your average 30-something family man as he pulls up to a red light at an intersection. This view might be from within the family sedan, as if the viewer is riding in the passenger seat, listening to his Barry Manilow CD.

While he waits for the light to change, a second car screeches to a halt abruptly in the next lane to the left. This driver is the typical college aged athletic type driving a loud hot-rod with the windows rolled down and rock music blaring. He starts revving his engine and making his car lunge forward a little, vying for the attention of our 30-something fellow to his right. As the docile driver looks over at the hot-rod, getting louder and louder, he notices a police car pulls up to the light just on the other side of the hot-rod.

A sly grin stretches across the face of our docile driver and he starts revving the tiny engine of his family sedan, playing along with the college kid in a ploy to get him caught by the cop. The policeman, meanwhile is digging into a box of donuts and accidentally knocks the box off his console, spilling donuts onto the floor. As he clamors to reach the spilled donuts, the light turns green, the hot-rod speeds off down the road, and our 30-something is still sitting at the light looking at the cop in disbelief as he gestures towards the hot-rod racing away.

The commotion of the speedster catches the attention of the officer who lifts his head, cheeks full of donuts, and looks around unaware of what just happened. He notices the man in his car pointing down the road at the speedster, but instead follows his pointing finger to the driver's expired inspection sticker on the windshield. Cut to black, with one last sound of the officer asking for license & registration.

This story communicates the concept effectively because it depicts a familiar social interaction between motorists in traffic without the use of dialog. Plus, each character is pegged with a few stereotypes by the car they drive, music they listen to, manner of dress, and actions.

The mood
The mood of the story starts out calm, but escalates into an exciting (hopefully) climax that results in unresolved tension.