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I'm stuck

People,
I have an idea for a movie that is doable. I mean, I have the resources to make it happen. Let me tell you a little about it.

8 inch tall Claymation-like models come to life in a house and carry on with a zany and fun adventure, all the while trying to not be discovered moving by the people who live there. Those people just think they are little models.

The adventure portion is coming along nicely but there is one question that I can not come up with a satisfactory answer to; what the hell are those little Claymation models doing there?

Maybe the man in the house has grand kids who brought them.
Maybe a kid in the house made them
maybe the man in the house was making Claymation movies to entertain his grandkids.
Maybe they came out of a Saturday morning tv series. They popped out of the screen!

All of these sound too contrived to me. I'm just not buying it. I like the idea that the models are clay and not ceramic or any other material. I want them to look similar in style to Mr. Bill and Slugo.

Any ideas?

disclaimer: No offer for payment or compensation of any kind is being expressed or implied in exchange for ideas.:)
 
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Pigmalion?
Did a lonely kid make them, but now he has grown up and forgot about his little friends?

no compensation is needed: I only added 2 cents ;)
 
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Maybe something similar to Pinocchio but the grandfather works with clay, his hobby is making pottery for friends in need; dinnerware for families in need, piggybanks filled with coins already for kids, but he is so busy helping others he doesn't realize that he has been neglecting his grandkids when they need him. So some of these figures that he has given away (like the pig, and a dancing plate) return to entertain the kids. Comedy ensues. The families wonder where the items are and call the police, the grandfather is accused of taking them back, but then the figures help get grandad out of jail by proving to the police that they have a life of their own (the policeman watching the cell falls out of his chair when he sees they are alive). It ends with the grandfather spending more time with the kids, letting them in on the process of this magical toy making and helping others.

:lol: talk about a brainstorm. enjoy.
 
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Genre..... yes..
I do understand why you ask, Filman, but I agree with WalterB. It is limiting, especially when trying to come up with ideas. Sure, I have an idea or a vision of what I want to do but that idea often shifts from it's original position by the time I'm done writing,,,,then it could shift even more if the movie gets made. I agree with Stephen King who often speaks of how he has no idea where the story will go. Where it will guide itself. He remarks that when he writes, he is but an observer watching and waiting to see how things turn out, just the same as the reader of the finished book. I'm not Stephen King but I can relate to that. I've had horror stories turn into dramas about human frailties. The story I'm writing now, the one with the claymation puppets, I envisioned it as a crazy, wacky thing that goes BOING! BOING! BOING! but already it is starting to settle into something with more meaning. A morality tale perhaps. I don't know yet.

I don't write for other people but I suppose if I did, I'd have to follow their genre requirements and keep it within accepted guidelines but since I'm writing for myself, I see no need.

Indietalk, I didn't know you were a fine artist :)
 
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You are so right, Walter. At this stage it can only limit a writer to
define the genre. Sure, when writing on assignment it's important
to know the genre so you make the right decisions, but when a
writer is developing an idea defining a genre is counter productive.

My first thought is go Rod Serling on the reason those little models
are there. Because that what I like. Even then it could lead to different
genres.

BTW: I love this idea. I did it with articulated 1960's era GI Joe figures
back in my super 8 days.
 
Genre..... yes..
I do understand why you ask, Filman, but I agree with WalterB. It is limiting, especially when trying to come up with ideas. Sure, I have an idea or a vision of what I want to do but that idea often shifts from it's original position by the time I'm done writing,,,,then it could shift even more if the movie gets made................

This: the fluid thinking. A story can stream towards a point of gravity you didn't think about.

I hope to shoot a short this year that starts as kind of funny drama, but shifts towards a mental abyss. Meandering through various genres. :P
 
Genres are simply labels for marketing, they help us find what we want to watch, but in the early writing stage, indeed, no need to conform to such restrictions.
 
Genres are simply labels for marketing, they help us find what we want to watch, but in the early writing stage, indeed, no need to conform to such restrictions.

So you can put the right label on it once it is finished :)

Unless you really want to explore a genre.
Seen Brimstone (by Martin Koolhoven)? Great, but brutal western and yet different. He said he was inspired by Spaghetti Westerns, but not in such a way that he wanted to copy it, but by searching for a new perspective rooted in Dutch Protestantism.
 
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How about having a person in the house find these clay figures in a box, somewhere. The box could be from the previous owner (now deceased) or it can be from a whacky uncle. His aunt lets him have it.
 
You could also have the kids mix something into the clay, like, the grandad visits a tarot card reader who predicts death and sells him a potion to extend life, the kids, out of curiosity, mix it in the clay when they build the figures and they come to life. Etc. Witchcraft, sorcery, Santaria, tarot, black magic, Chinese medicine, voodoo, etc.
 
They could be stowaways inside of a new piece of furniture

Or maybe they're poor and the grandad cant afford action figures but he is an artist and says he will make them for the kids instead.
 
Some interesting thoughts going on here.

I keep on seeing the clay figures being introduced with no fanfare. No "hey! look at them! They are moving!" .. Someone shuts off the light. Leaves the room, and they begin their secret lives. They have fun. They play. They get into mischief but as soon as someone comes, they compose themselves as simple non-moving clay models. On most days they return to their starting positions so the humans have no clue they have been all over the house all night long or while they were out shopping. Of course, every now and then they don't quite make it back and must "freeze" wherever they are, leaving the humans wondering who left the clay model there.

Their is one model who will become the antagonist. He wants something that the other models are denying him. At least that's how he sees it. Basic jealousy. I have some very funny and imaginative gags that will take place between the protagonists and the antagonist. ... the bad guy isn't going to be that bad. A lovable sort of bad guy who doesn't stray so far from the fold that he can't be welcomed back in the end.

I think everything is in place except for the 1st piece of the puzzle; why are they there? Yeah, maybe they were found in a box or were found in the yard.... I'll recognize the right reason when it comes.... This is great, talking about this with you guys!
 
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