First Post: Getting To Know The Characters

Yay!! Finally the first post for the production blog for my senior film, Adventure in Ashleyland.

To start this off lets introduce the story and the characters.

Here is the treatment to give you a quick look at what the story is all about.

Adventure in Ashleyland

Story by Sara Smilnak

09/13/10

CONCEPT

This story explores the imagination of a little girl on her way to go skiing for the first time. When in the dreamland terms and phrases become literal like in Tex Avery‘s “Symphony in Slang.” The film is done in stop motion aiming for fluid animation drawing inspiration from Ray Harryhausen and “Coraline”.

THEME

A little girl’s imagination provides her with entertainment and a great learning experience to help her face real world problems.

CHARACTERS

Ashley- A 10-year-old girl who has an overactive imagination that can get her into trouble. She likes being outdoors but is afraid of heights. In the end she is able to come out of her shy and scared little shell and take risks and just have fun.

Aunt-A very supportive aunt who just like having a good time, and wants everyone else to have a good time also. She loves adventures but not the cold, and is always there to give special treats when Ashley are down.

Uncle-He loves adventures and wants every else to love adventure too even if they are not ready. Very supportive of his niece but sometimes pushes her to hard.

Dream World Creatures-These creatures come from the mind of a very bright little girl. Some of them are friendly and helpful, and some of them can be nasty and mean, and try to keep Ashley from her goal.

SYNOPSIS

Ashley is on her way to go skiing with her aunt and uncle for the first time. She has no idea what is in store for her, and can’t wait to get there. Unfortunately the car ride is too long, but Ashley finds that her mind is the perfect place to pass the time. She becomes lost in her little dream world and sets off on her own adventure trying to figure out the world of skiing. Ashley finds herself at the bottom of a bunny hill that is a real bunny. She is scared at first, but with the help of her aunt and uncle she makes it to the top by using the toe rope. Ashley is still scared to go down and does not know the first thing about skiing. She is forced to make a move and finds out that skiing is harder then she thought. The next step to conquer is the chair lift, but a friendly IT comes and helps them out. Ashley has not quite gotten over her fear of heights when she is presented with a new obstacle that she has to overcome. The obstacle is getting past the snow snakes without losing her stuff. Ashley is becoming more confident in herself and she is ready to try to get down the hill. On her way down she is tripped up by the snow snakes and loses her stuff. She gets back on her feet and is able the get back her stuff and defeat the snow snakes. She overcomes the obstacles and reaches her goal of making it down the mountain. Everyone is very excited and join her in her celebration. At this moment she finds herself back in reality and about to start a whole new adventure. What she thought was in store turns out to something completely different, but she is ready.