July 11:  Documentation Day 1

I was hoping to start this journal three days ago on Punchline Day, but Rhyming Day is just as good!  So here we go!  I apologize in advance for the volume of exclamation points and smilies used... I'm addicted.  <-- see?  !:)!

Ok, back to business.  Here are some fun facts cleverly disguised as bullet points:

• Name of Project:  The Canopy Post
• Type of Project:  episodic online web puppet show
• Cast of Characters:  Macie & Meg (sisters), their dog Cinnamon, and the (as-of-yet) unnamed Babysitter, and a whole messload of extras in theory, but I have to create these main characters first!  Yeek!  See my profile for a little more detail on Macie and Meg.
  

So my first focus (besides designing the three main characters and the dog) is to design the set.  I figured that will be "chapter one" of this post.  In my head, the set is.. well, set in one of the girls' bedrooms... probably Macie, the oldest.  I'll need to design/construct a scaled down bed (a canopy bed, if you hadn't already guessed), a dressing table, and maybe a nightstand with a lamp.  Oh, and there needs to be a visible door.  Since Macie's the "girlier" of the two, the set will be dressed with the appropriate feminine touches... (ooo, it would be nice to have a window in the shot too, especially if it could be workable... need to write that on paper!)  The foreseeable problems I can think of are:  workspace, cost, time and temperature.

Workspace: I'm in the process of looking for a home, and one of the priorities is an extra bedroom or a garage/workshop that will be dedicated to puppetbuilding and video production
Cost: Supplies to build the set, especially lumber, will be the biggest expense.  I have access to a wide assortment of tools, and I have a friend with a video camera.
Time: Still gotta work to bring home the bacon... time will be a tough one.  But when you want something bad enough, you make time for it!
Temperature:  It's HOT outside.  My apartment gives me no adequate place to build or to ventilate any toxic fumes, so I have to build at the theatre's shop, which is basically a giant warehouse with no AC.  And there are BUGS.  MOSQUITOS.  That's a recipe that NO one should dare cook up:  HOT + MUGGY + BUGS = CRANKYPANTS   

I am working on drawing up the set plans this weekend.  Once I have a nice pretty version, I'll post what I've got so far.  I hope you all will feel free to give me critiques and advice as I go.  I'm very excited to get this project going!!!

Thanks for reading!  Until next time...   

That's what I call order. 

Thanks for sharing!

I agree with Miguel that is very well presented........................ Looking forward to seeing some pictures.

Billy D.

Having your journal publicly displayed like this is a very good motivator. You are now answerable to all of us! I find I procrastinate less if I know (or think I know) someone out there is watching me and waiting for the next step. Good job!

Of all the plot lines out there, how did you settle on this one? Is there a reason behind the girl's room for a setting? Is there meaning behind the canopy? What themes are you going to be looking at in the shows? I ask because you must have something in mind already to put so much work into the set (and a journal!).

It is true: When you want something bad enough, you do make time for it!

J

Thanks, Billy and miguel!  I promise to add plenty of pictures as I go. 

Canuck, what you said about procrastinating is EXACTLY why I am documenting this project in this way.  Not to mention being accountable for the promises I make... this motivates me to deliver on them in a timely manner!  And the gentle nudges when I get lazy are always great!  :D

As far as the plot line, it's been something I've been chewing on for a long time.  Your hair might turn a different color if you knew how many variations this idea has morphed through!  Originally, it was going to be more of a fantasy type story (with elves, goblins, fairies and such), but I knew I wanted to integrate modern technology into it, especially computers and the internet.  So the brainstorming continued.  I wanted my main female character to be doing a video blog or diary of sorts, so it made sense to make the main setting be her room. (Plus it's an easier setting to begin with!)  The setting for the girl's room is kind of in the same vein as the Muppet Show being set in a theatre.  It's kind of the glue or the backdrop that holds the rest of the sets and storylines together.  I'm not sure that made sense, but hopefully once I explain more of my ideas in the coming days, it'll be clearer. 

The meaning behind the canopy came from another forum that I used to frequent.  This was a Lord of the Rings type fantasy forum for a game that was at that point unreleased.  Sadly, the game and the forums have since closed shop, but my character's name was Nut Meg.  She was a pixie who lived in a section of the forest called The Canopy.  For a time, I ran a website called The Canopy Post that was "an online newsletter devoted to the pixie lifestyle".  It was essentially a fan website devoted to the game, but with a distinctly pixie-focused slant.  A lot of tongue in cheek jokes, scads of puns, and just plain silly humor.  Good times! 

Long story short (too late!), I've kept the "Nut Meg" persona, and once I started getting into puppet making, I knew she would be my signature character... my Kermit, so to speak.  It's been just recently that Nut Meg lost her wings and has crossed back to a human form. 

For themes, there will still be remnants of fantasy sprinkled throughout.  I have the first full-fledged episode written, and I have the main arc of "season one" planned but not down on paper.  I don't want to give too much away just yet, but I'll say that in my head, it is reminiscent of the old Muppet Show episodes.  I am a HUGE fan of Jim Henson!

On a side note, I looked at a few houses today, and some of them had excellent craft room potential! 

More later... 

July 18: Documentation Day 2

As promised, I finished my set sketch for Macie's bedroom.  Keep in mind that the set will be squishier and not so wide as the picture, but I was having trouble placing my furniture in just the right spots!   



Next installment: Sketch designs of my two main characters!  Stay tuned!!!

Wow great details and love to see all the processing you are doing as you go along.....love to see the pictures as well.

Daryl H