I've been getting a fair amount of comments about how incredible the Gnomes would be as a CG Animation, like some of the products Disney and a few other larger companies are producing. I tend to agree, but this is not an arena that I have enough expertise in to believe that I could implement a quality product in CG. I've been studying some of the work, particularly "Tangled" and "Frozen" and it is quite impressive, but I have to be honest and say I wonder about the number of people in the credits. It seems like too many cooks in the kitchen, although the meal was excellent, albeit, formulaic.
I was also recently reading a blog about hand drawn animation. The writer seemed to imply that it was a dying art form. Well, I'm afraid I have no other choice but to use hand drawn animation. So that is what I intend to pursue, but I am thinking of it as part of the developmental process for packaging, rather than a finished product.
I certainly do think that The Gnomes would be an excellent CG project, if it was to be done right. As I think about the story line and the embellishments which I have written into it, it is ripe for the picking in that regard.
Well, in order for me to have moved the story forward in terms of a stage production, I needed to skip over certain details, which are generally required in film. But interestingly enough, as I am finishing up the third volume of the Storybook, I realize that I have been filling many of those details in the Storybook. I've been consciously thinking of it primarily from a literary/illustrative point of view, for the sake of a book, but as it turns out, that point of view is essentially a storyboard for the film. So I guess that, in part because I have been a (sometimes) filmmaker for so many years, I think in cinematic terms.
As I continue to define the illustrations which are still required, I've been looking more deeply at the circumstances which have been set up in the overall story. In a number of scenes, there are instances where there is definitive drama occurring in the forefront, which is supported by implied activities or characters around that drama. I'm thinking that - taking that backdrop drama and putting it into a cinematic environment will be a lot easier than I originally thought and that - that will really give the overall picture substance.
For the stage, there are a number of elements within the scenes that inherently are dramatic, but which need to be "selectively" skipped over due to time and space constraints. Those elements can only be referred to in such a way as to advance the overall story, as it fits into the theatrical boundaries of a stage show, but they are still there none-the-less. I have made certain that those elements were not overlooked.
An interesting comment was that the Gnomes is better because it doesn't depend on magic to bring the story to a resolution. It's true that some stories are so disjointed that the only way to solve certain circumstances is to use some sort of magical power as the answer to the question. I have consciously worked to avoid that as a solution in the Gnomes and fortunately, I think that works on our behalf.
It has become apparent to me that the cinematic sense is inherent in the story, because I was aware of that as I was writing. But it is true that the cinema was only able to come forward periodically; because first the stage show, then the literary presentation and finally the cinematic aspect have been the order of priority. Interestingly enough, the structure is more refined in regard to cinema than I thought, particularly after studying these other films.
So that being said, I am even more enthused about opening a dialogue that will lead to active production of a CG product. I do think that this would be the right direction to go in and I do think that such a product could support the theatrical presentation, although it is still a question as to which format should go first. Of course, because of the magnitude of this project and the amount of work over 25 years that has gone into it, that dialogue will need to take place with a well established and substantial organization, something I am not sure how to bring about. So in the meanwhile, I will continue along my path doing what I can.
Unfortunately, the talents and resources to do a CG Animation are beyond me right now, so it seems the inevitable that the first outlet, I will be able to approach, will likely be the book products along with some basic animations using the illustrations.
AG
