Building Character and Location - Ideas for the Animated Short - page 105

For example, in Gopher Broke , we begin the story on a dirt road in the middle of
a wheat fi eld. The fi rst thing we see is a sign that points in the direction of the Farmer's
Market posted in the rocky dirt on the side of the road. The next thing we see are
dandelions. Then we see dandelions in the background disappearing into the earth
until the Gopher runs into the sign and gets a better idea as a pickup truck loaded
with crates and tomatoes (identical to the ones on the sign) drives by. We learn from
this introduction that we are in the country. There is a critter who ordinarily eats dan-
delions but now has an opportunity for something better. The make and model of the
truck tell us the time period. Because the story involves several iterations of vegetable
displacement from various trucks that drive by, we need to consider the other props
we need for the story: trucks—making them the same but different colors will help with
feasibility; types of vegetables; types of crates.
Important props, like the sign and the dandelions, need to be prominent. The sign
is of particular signifi cance because it is the prop that ultimately causes the demise of
the gopher. The gopher, in frustration, throws the sign on the road where it is hit by
a truck that careens out of control, catapulting a cow from the back of the truck, which
lands on the gopher. The lesson here is that a prop is also never a just a prop. It must
be used to convey information or drive the story forward. Be careful not to overpopulate
your sets with props. Use only what you need to tell the story. Make sure the props
don't steal the scene from the character.
Gopher Broke Prop Concept Art by Chuck Wojtkiewicz, Blur Studios