Monday, December 7, 2009

What is Halfland?

It's my wholly original folk tale in the traditional vein. It's a fantasy on the surface, but really more of a visual allegory or metaphor in the sense of ancient myths. It's filled with symbols from deep within my own subconscious. It's a grand experiment to see if these incredible, truly, incredible new creative computer tools can empower everyone with basic modern means to be their own movie studio. But most of all, it's the most insane fun I've ever had or could ever imagine having.

It's actually simple animation for Halfland, I hope. No dialog at all, not much narrative, mainly uninvolved physical movement made in short bursts and strung together as a film, as if beads. The magic of it is in its detailed sets, puppets, and costumes, the world created.

Story/movie/play, in brief: It's the audience/camera pov following a mermaid from our shores, undersea to Halfland (Where everything is more clearly half of something else.)

We pick up a view of the mermaid swimming in a freshwater stream (presumably coming in from a delta) to a half tree/half house where a goat woman comes down the hill with a rain barrel to collect her visiting mermaid friend.

They share tea and soup and watch various insect goings on until nightfall, then turn in for the night in the ember glow and last lantern light.

In the middle of the night, the crow woman barges in, wounded, bleeding, desperate. Rana packs up the mermaid in the water-filled barrel and tucks the crow woman onto a sled, and off they go to get her the help she needs in the desert.

[That describes the action taking place in about 6 micro-episodes of approximately 6 seconds each. And is the end of Act 2.]

[Act 3 takes place in the desert]

The troop travels to find the Serpent Sage, he knows what to do for the crow, plays an instrument that causes flowers to grow from his head. This causes flowers to grow from her head too.

[End of Act 3 as well as the first complete series.]

Subsequent series involve the moth man, the writing mouse, how answers are discovered on the leaves of the trees.

7 comments:

  1. I enjoy the journey and discovery unraveling with each creation you make. I am inspired by the time and committment to detail and bringing the slightest glimpse alive to visual awareness and bringing alive a story that entices the reader to deepen in thought of what is an illusion and what is real and is there something in between. Reading the blog and seeing the images allows my artist to delve deep into the art of creation through simple eyes gone majestically wild. I see a potential in everything now that I experience what you are making out of simple matters.

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  2. Wow, Sherie! What a beautiful comment you've made. Thank you so much for catching the intent here. How marvelous. Thank you!

    Are you "my" Sherie that is coming here to actually help?!!!! (Couldn't tell as the profile above wasn't public.)

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  3. Fabtasy is narrative, I think. It's impossible to have fastastical creatures who have a clear motivation not tell a story with their movements and interactions. What starts out as meaningless, eventually has more meaning than you wrote. These things evolve and happy accidents along the way forge major changes in your vision.

    I can not wait to see this film.

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  4. Wow, Don, that's a huge point you make. I'm excited you want to see this film.

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  5. So beautiful! I'm really enjoying Halfland.

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  6. This is absolutely brilliant! I've never heard of Halfland before but I just followed a link here from Spinning Straw into Gold and have already signed up to follow your progress. What you're doing is so cool - no wonder you're having so much fun. I love the sets I've seen so far and the lettuce coral puppet is superb. I came here to invite you to visit my own blog The Black Dionysia which is a story that combines elements of classic fairy tale and myth with elements from sci-fi and contemporary fiction to create a kind of collage of imaginative literature. Take a look if you're interested.
    Regards,
    Edward

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  7. Welcome Edward! You are most welcome here. I love what I've read of your background and life. A kindred spirit I think. Perhaps one of the goats you herded may have been Rana. Have you got my goat?!

    Please stay tuned for actual filmed scenes coming this year. I want to know how I'm doing.

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