Spyder: The Enivronment

Here are some artworks as part of my research into what the environment and the world of Spyder should look like. The series is now likely to be set in a part of Westminster tube station in London, although Aldwych station was also considered. The spiders can be seen in the real life environments which will be the inspiration for the setting in the series.

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Spyder: Research in London

The setting for my current TV series project, Spyder, is central London so I recently did some research in the capital to find an exact location where the series could be set. I initially chose London because it has many icons that are considered indigenous to England, the United Kingdom, their cultures and the English/British public. On thinking of England and the UK, many people think of Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the Thames, Tower Bridge, the London Eye and so on - all in central London.

I chose to look at two London Underground stations in central London as a setting for the Spyder Service Headquarters, since the tube is used by millions of people every day but also has many places where the general public don't go.

These photos show the exterior of Aldwych Station, known as Stand Station when first opened. It was served by the Piccadilly line but was closed in 1994. An abandoned tube station seemed a perfect location for the setting of the series. Part of the station is still used as offices, but the most part of the station very rarely sees any activity at all, besides tours for rail enthusiasts.

Building still in use as offices - note the open windows, lights on and modern seating.

The other tube station I looked at was the interior of Westminster station - the station closest to iconic London landmarks including Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and a busy section of the River Thames.

 
 

The station is one of the Underground's busiest and one of the oldest and newest stations on the network - the Circle and District line platforms opened in 1868; the Jubilee line platforms in 1999. Such a huge station means loads of passages, corridors, levels, rooms, platforms and cupboards - a place used by millions of people daily, but also there are places humans don't go. Such a location in central London is the setting I have had in mind for the Spyder series.

 

             

Driver's eye view - Bank station, Docklands Light Railway

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DD3000: Character Concepts for the "Spyder" TV Series

For my series idea for my DD3000 project, I have chosen the "Spyder" TV series pitch. The series revolves around an organisation dedicated to establishing a more positive relationship between spiders and humans. The series is an animated comedy aimed for a CBBC audience and would most likely be animated in 2D animation (Flash). I have recently been spending time developing the initial ideas for the series - the outline for the series and the characters who inhabit Spyder's world. The series is set in modern, present day London - the spiders of the Spyder Service live in the attic of a fine restaurant near Covent Garden tube station.

Spyder Service:

*Spyder, Agent 008: a bumbling, Clouseau-type character who, despite his faults, still tries his hardest to get the job done and always does. His antics and naïve nature constantly annoy the Head of the Spyder Service’s London office. However, due to Spyder’s perfect case record and his ability to stop every crime, the Board of Directors think he is a brilliant agent and they will never get rid of him. Spyder is very full of himself and this often gets in the way when he’s out on missions; he nicknames himself “Agent 008” as he is “one better than the big time”. Spyder is often over-ambitious and has big dreams of being the top agent in the history of the Spyder Service

*Colonel Long Legs is the head of the London branch of the Spyder Service. The Board of Directors see him as not being very good at his job, but keep him on anyway since no one else is available for the job. Colonel Long Legs is much like Chief Inspector Dreyfus in personality; he constantly gets annoyed with Spyder’s clumsy antics and often ends up as the one who suffers from Spyder’s constant mistakes, even though Spyder has great respect for the Colonel.

*Aaron Eae, Agent 001, rival agent: Spyder seeks to form a friendship with the other top agent working in the London branch, but Aaron Eae is not satisfied with Spyder’s perfect record and wants to be the top agent working for the Service. He often cheats his way into solving every crime and mystery. Aaron Eae is obsessed with fame and fortune and will do anything to win and anything be the best. He is the favourite agent of Colonel Long Legs who supports him all the way, and Aaron Eae works hard to impress the Colonel. The Board of Directors always keep Spyder on the force, despite Aaron and the Colonel’s desperate attempts to get rid of him. Aaron Eae is a pun on the word ‘Araneae’, the order spiders belong to.

*Miss Black Widow: Spyder’s only true friend in the London branch of the Spyder Service who can see past all his faults. Miss Black Widow is indeed a widow and fully understands the costs of the on-going war between spiders and other insects. Miss Black Widow is a believer in girl-power when working for the Spyder Service. She often tries to give Spyder valuable advice for his missions, but Spyder doesn’t always take her advice. Miss Black Widow still mourns the loss of her husband and does not consider Spyder a romantic interest. She is also aware that Colonel Long Legs and Aaron Eae want Spyder off the force and she helps Spyder with solving every crime and mystery, even though Spyder often takes the credit. Miss Black Widow is partly based on characters such as Miss Moneypenny (James Bond) and Penny (Inspector Gadget).

*Chief Phil Cidae (a pun on pholcidae, an order of spiders more commonly known as daddy long legs) is the head of the National Spyder Service. He does not get to see what Spyder is like on his missions; he only reads reports about his agents and the success or failures of their missions, so Chief Cidae is under the impression that Spyder is the service’s greatest agent. Colonel Long Legs is both jealous and in awe of Cidae’s great success and tries to suck up to him all the time, which Cidae often ignores. Cidae is a no-nonsense character who is very strict and dedicated to his job. He is especially strict towards the Colonel and Aaron Eae, but he shows he has a caring side as well towards characters who he feels are worth his time, such as Spyder, Miss Black Widow and Dr Naria.

*Dr Terry Naria (a pun on tegenaria domestica, the Latin name for the domestic house spider) is the spider in charge of all the gadgets and weaponry used by the Spyder Service. Dr Naria’s gadgets fascinate Spyder and Naria often has to remind him never to touch anything. Naria is very eccentric and enthusiastic when it comes to showing off his ideas, although he also showcases some sarcastic humour much like Q from the James Bond films. Dr Naria isn't really a doctor and has no qualifications; he won his job through knowing Chief Cidae from early years and both characters have been with the Spyder Service from day one and are highly experienced.

Allies:

*The Bee Team are a family of bees living in a hive in Hyde Park. They enjoy producing honey that they can live on and that the humans can also enjoy, so the Spyder Service is happy to be affiliated with the Bee Team. However, the bees are very easily intimidated and, as a result, often bullied by the Wasp Patrol every time they leave the hive, so it’s the Spyder Service that has to help them out of trouble due to their mutual respect for humans.

 

Villains:

*The wasps hate humans with a passion since humans do not wish to be friends with wasps – the difference with wasps and spiders in this world is that spiders wish to change the humans’ minds, whereas the wasps believe they are better. Any time wasps get angry they take their troubles out on swarms of bees.

*The Wasp Patrol are a gang of wasps who enjoy causing misery to humans. The wasps especially love causing misery to the Bee Team, who they see as “spineless and easily dominated”. Wasps see humans as a threat to the environment and have learned of all the precautions humans have taken against wasps – swatters, spray and so on. As far as the Wasps are concerned, all humans are bullies and responsible for the war between humans and bugs, even though the humans are completely unaware there is such a war. The wasps love bullying humans by stinging them and laughing at the sight of a giant human laughing at a tiny little sting.

-Buzz Fuzz is the confident, cocky leader of the Wasp Patrol. He loves teasing humans most of all and will do anything to get what he wants. He often insults any members of the Wasp Patrol who do not obey him.

-Fig, Gall and Cuckoo are the other wasps in the Wasp Patrol. Fig is often Buzz Fuzz’s right hand wasp and a “teacher’s pet”, determined to get Buzz Fuzz’s attention. Gall and Cuckoo pretend to be brave and are always sure they’re right, but in reality they’re cowards and often take on tasks too big for them. 

*The Queen Ant and her army. The Queen is obsessed with law and order and doing everything “the prim and proper way”; her subjects move around in perfect synchronisation.

*Queen Ant is the leader of the Colony of Ants living near Buckingham Palace. She is completely obsessed with law and order. If any of her three million sons and daughters step out of line, break any rules or do anything incorrectly, the punishment and words spoken can be very harsh. Queen Ant also wants to take control over all other insects living in central London so that she can have everything her way. She can be very posh and speaks with a refined English accent, but at other times she can be just like a spoilt child. When she learns the humans have their own Queen, she decides she should take over the human race too, making her one of the Spyder Service’s most wanted.

*Senor Culicido is a mosquito who speaks with a thick, stereotypical Spanish accent. His name actually translates from Spanish as ‘Mr Mosquito’. Culicido is the leader of a gang of mosquitoes, who are considered some of the most dangerous insects to humans in the world, according to the Spyder Service. Culicido feasts on human blood and carries many diseases which are deadly to humans, making him a very real threat. Culicido has no real opinion on humans themselves – he just enjoys drinking their blood and can’t help himself, so if anything he sees humans as food and the Spyder Service as a threat trying to stop him from getting his food.

*Phoneutria is a Brazilian wandering spider who has come to the UK on a ship from South America. He is the most dangerous villain the Spyder Service has ever had to deal with, since he is a spider containing venom which can kill humans – thus ruining the relationship humans have with spiders. In addition, Phoneutria is the most evil villain the Service has ever dealt with. He will do anything to poison humans and rid the world of them, even if it means killing fellow spiders or any other insects in the way. Back in Brazil he had a traumatic experience trying to fit in with humans who didn’t want his friendship because of his deadly venom, forcing Phoneutria to seek revenge on all humans, good or bad.

 

*Others:

Locusts

Fleas

Mosquitoes

Flies

Hornets

Kissing bugs

Poisonous frogs

Brazilian wandering spiders

Centipedes

Locations:

*The Spyder Service London Offices: Located in the attic of a fancy restaurant in central London, near Covent Garden tube station. The offices have been made out of a series of everyday human objects, such as pencils, sewing spools etc. So far these offices remain undetected. The

*The spiders working for the Spyder Service are able to reach all parts of London through transport tubes that run directly opposite various London Underground lines.

*Other offices are located in other major UK cities: Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff, Liverpool, Bristol, Edinburgh and others. All the heads of these offices speak with exaggerated regional accents.

The World:

Spyder is a secret agent working for a large, nationwide organisation known as the Spyder Service. The aim of the organisation: to establish a more positive relationship between humans and spiders, since all humans look down on spiders as creepy, disgusting creatures. The spiders working for the service battle threatening villains who try to ruin the possibilities of a friendship between spiders and humans – including bees, wasps, ants, locusts, fleas, mosquitoes, flies, hornets and kissing bugs. The main agent working for the Service is the eponymous hero Spyder – a bumbling, fun-loving character who is clumsy but very dedicated to his work as a spy. He is very full of himself and calls himself “Agent 008”.

Possible story ideas:
*Spyder is due to receive a promotion from Chief Cidae and Colonel Long Legs will do anything to stop it happening.
*New story ideas from each of the villains trying to take over the world.
*Spyder's first ever mission - no one is quite sure what to expect of this new agent; only Dr Naria and Miss Black Widow try to welcome him into the Spyder Service and help him on his first mission.
*Aaron Eae teams up with one of the villains in order to get him to kick Spyder off the Spyder Service - making Aaron Eae the new top agent, but the villain has his own ideas for taking over the Spyder Service.

Gopher Golf: Second draft of script

Below is the second draft of the script for "Gopher Golf". This version cuts down the amount of dialogue from the Commentator.

INT. HALLWAY - DAY

A newspaper falls through the letterbox on a front door. A man walks over and picks it up. This man is the GOLFER, a tall man wearing a green golf shirt, hat, shoes and shorts. The man sees a large headline on the newspaper and gasps - it reads "$10,000,000 prize offered at Golfing Championship". The Golfer clearly becomes excited and nods decisively.

EXT. GARDEN - DAY

The Golfer carefully places the golf ball on a tee in his back garden. The garden is very large with flat, green, freshly-cut grass, a pond and a single tree at the end and fencing all around the garden obscuring the view outside. At the end of his garden, the Golfer has very badly dug a hole for the golf ball to land into which is clearly too large.

The Golfer swings carefully then hits the golf ball. The ball misses the hole and lands near the tree.

The Golfer GROANS LOUDLY.

We cut to the Golfer trying again. This time he hits the golf ball into the pond.

The Golfer then hits the ball again. It's clear in his aim that he is frustrated and not putting much effort into it. The ball lands in the tree. The Golfer gives a fed-up look and SIGHS LOUDLY.

Next the Golfer hits the ball over the fence and we hear the ball hitting an old lady, who falls over with her bags of groceries.

The golfer growls angrily. The Golfer then calms down and looks at the golf hole again. He sighs then proceeds to try one more time. This time he aims much more carefully with greater precision. He hits the ball and it finally goes into the golf hole. The Golfer cheers and shouts excitedly, then looks at his newspaper again feeling much happier.

EXT. PLAYING FIELD - DAY

The big day has arrived. Another GOLFER has just taken a shot but the ball lands too far from the hole. The other golfer cries loudly in anger and hurries off. Our Golfer simply laughs as he starts taking his place in preparation for his perfect shot. A large crowd is seen behind him sitting in stadium seating.

The whole time the Commentator is heard talking, the Golfer is looking very nervous as he prepares his perfect shot. He keeps moving hesitantly as if he is unsure at what moment to hit the ball.

COMMENTATOR (V.O.)

(quietly)

And now, we have our final competitor for the day. This guy seems to have come out of nowhere but his performance so far has been pretty impressive. Now he just needs to complete this to have taken the contest and won 10 million dollars.

The Golfer finally hits the ball. There is complete silence.

The ball hits the ground after a prolonged silence. It moves its way around the golf hole. Everyone is watching. Finally the golf ball lands in the hole. The crowd cheers and the Golfer cheers loudest of all.

Suddenly, the sounds of cheering start to fade. Also Sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss plays.

The Golfer looks in disbelief as the golf ball emerges out of the golf hole again, moving very, very slowly. The Golfer gasps in horror as he sees the golf ball is riding on a GOPHER.

The Gopher brings the ball back up to the surface again in a shot referencing the opening of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The Golfer slams his golf club to the ground in a similar way to how the apes in 2001: A Space Odyssey slam bones to the ground. He is clearly angry and frustrated. It is very clear now that the Golfer has lost the tournament.

The Gopher throws the golf ball off his head, which hits and smashes the camera.

Gopher Golf: First draft of script

Below is the first draft of the script for "Gopher Golf". This version includes more dialogue from the Commentator.

INT. HALLWAY - DAY

A newspaper falls through the letterbox on a front door. A man walks over and picks it up. This man is the GOLFER, a tall man wearing a green golf shirt, hat, shoes and shorts. The man sees a large headline on the newspaper and gasps - it reads "$10,000,000 prize offered at Golfing Championship". The Golfer clearly becomes excited and nods decisively.

EXT. GARDEN - DAY

The Golfer carefully places the golf ball on a tee in his back garden. The garden is very large with flat, green, freshly-cut grass, a pond and a single tree at the end and fencing all around the garden obscuring the view outside. At the end of his garden, the Golfer has very badly dug a hole for the golf ball to land into which is clearly too large.

In the background, the Golfer is playing an old cassette of a golf match on an old cassette player to set the mood.

The Golfer swings carefully then hits the golf ball. The ball misses the hole and lands near the tree.

COMMENTATOR (V.O.)

(faintly, on cassette player)

Ooh that was unlucky! That was unlucky!

The Golfer GROANS LOUDLY.

We cut to the Golfer trying again. This time he hits the golf ball into the pond.

COMMENTATOR (V.O.)

(faintly, on cassette player)

No, he'll have to do a lot better than that!

The Golfer then hits the ball again. It's clear in his aim that he is frustrated and not putting much effort into it. The ball lands in the tree. The Golfer gives a fed-up look as an audience is faintly heard clapping over the cassette player. The Golfer SIGHS LOUDLY.

Next the Golfer hits the ball over the fence and we hear the ball hitting an old lady, who falls over with her bags of groceries. On the cassette player a large audience is heard groaning.

COMMENTATOR (V.O.)

(faintly, on cassette player)

Whoa, that looked painful! I would NOT like to be her right now!

The golfer growls angrily and kicks the cassette player over in frustration. The Golfer then calms down and looks at the golf hole again. He sighs then proceeds to try one more time. This time he aims much more carefully with greater precision. He hits the ball and it finally goes into the golf hole. The Golfer cheers and shouts excitedly, then looks at his newspaper again feeling much happier.

EXT. PLAYING FIELD - DAY

The big day has arrived. Another GOLFER has just taken a shot but the ball lands too far from the hole. The other golfer cries loudly in anger and hurries off. Our Golfer simply laughs as he starts taking his place in preparation for his perfect shot. A large crowd is seen behind him sitting in stadium seating.

The whole time the Commentator is heard talking, the Golfer is looking very nervous as he prepares his perfect shot. He keeps moving hesitantly as if he is unsure at what moment to hit the ball.

COMMENTATOR (V.O.)

(quietly)

And now, we have our final competitor for the day. This guy seems to have come out of nowhere but his performance so far has been pretty impressive. Now he just needs to complete this to have taken the contest and won 10 million dollars.

The Golfer finally hits the ball. There is complete silence.

The ball hits the ground after a prolonged silence. It moves its way around the golf hole. Everyone is watching. Finally the golf ball lands in the hole. The crowd cheers and the Golfer cheers loudest of all.

Suddenly, the sounds of cheering start to fade. Also Sprach Zarathustra by Richard Strauss plays.

The Golfer looks in disbelief as the golf ball emerges out of the golf hole again, moving very, very slowly. The Golfer gasps in horror as he sees the golf ball is riding on a GOPHER.

The Gopher brings the ball back up to the surface again in a shot referencing the opening of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The Golfer slams his golf club to the ground in a similar way to how the apes in 2001: A Space Odyssey slam bones to the ground. He is clearly angry and frustrated. It is very clear now that the Golfer has lost the tournament.

The Gopher throws the golf ball off his head, which hits and smashes the camera.

Gopher Golf: Script and Story Development

The idea I chose to go with for my AX3001 film project is "Gopher Golf" (still currently a working title).

Gopher Golf

This film tells the story of a golfer living somewhere in America. He reads a newspaper advertisement for a large golf tournament which involves a huge cash prize. All sorts of mishaps get in the way of the golfer's training as he becomes more and more obsessed with fame and fortune. Finally, on the day of the big tournament, he thinks he has scored the perfect try and boasts about his win, until a gopher emerges from the ground revealing the golfer has failed.

I spent some time since my last post developing the story and the character of the Golfer. The film is a comedy and the motivation for the Golfer is his obsession with fame and fortune. I decided the initial synopsis (as can be seen above) had a strong enough beginning and ending, but needed more material in the middle. I decided this would be a great opportunity to set up the Golfer's greedy personality, which is key to making the conclusion of the film more effective and much funnier.

I did some research into what makes pitfalls and comeuppances in comedy really work, most notably the classic Tom & Jerry and Looney Tunes cartoons. I also considered classic slapstick comedians including Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.

I largely used the Tom & Jerry short "Tee for Two" (1945) as a source of inspiration for the style of comedy used in my own film.

This style of humour works well with the storyline I have chosen, since I have known from the very beginning there will be no dialogue from the main character himself (the Golfer). It also differs to the style of comedy used in the film "Caddyshack" (1980), another source of inspiration for the film. Tom & Jerry focuses more on the slapstick humour the characters are famous for, which is much more ideal for a short film. The main characters themselves never spoke unless required for comedic purposes - only supporting characters such as Spike and Mammy Two Shoes ever spoke regularly. The first draft of my script currently includes the Commentator of the game as a speaking character - he is never seen on screen, but his presence is still necessary to add realism to the game of golf, as well as essentially acting as a narrator.

The Commentator has some dialogue in the final competition which is necessary for moving the story along as a 'narrator'. This is an idea I am very confident will be carried through to the final draft of the screenplay. I also considered including dialogue from the same Commentator in the first half of the film - in this case, adding to the comedy and frustrating the main character with his comments. I have now completed two drafts of the script - one with and one without this idea being included.

The Golfer will only communicate in body language or noises such as grunts, laughter, crying, cheers and other exclamations which are international and require no translation. This was partly inspired by the way characters in films by Aardman Animations communicate with each other - most notably Gromit (Wallace & Gromit), Morph & Chas, and the Farmer and other human characters in Shaun the Sheep.

The film will also feature no music and mostly rely on sound effects - I have recently watched the Ryder Cup for research into the film's subject matter and found the quiet sounds of the game are very atmospheric. I have decided to reflect this in the film to add a sense of realism - this also adds tension in the final scene and balances out the slapstick comedy. The only exception with the music is one piece that will be included in the end for comedic effect - 'Also Sprach Zarathustra' (German for 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra'), most famously heard in the Stanley Kubrick film '2001: A Space Odyssey' (1969). A royalty free version of this music is legally available through composer Kevin MacLeod.

To make the comeuppance of the main character funnier (the gopher returning the golf ball), I used the research above to set up who the main character is. The main character - the Golfer - is conceited and obsessed with fame and fortune to the point where he'll do anything to win. I had the idea to set this up with a montage where he is training for the final championship and all sorts of slapstick-type situations get in his way, from the ball landing in someone else's garden to the ball landing in a pond.

Before the Golfer takes his own perfect shot at the final championship, another golfer fails miserably at his perfect shot and our Golfer bursts out laughing. This is included to show how our Golfer thinks he is clearly the best and he'll do anything to win the competition. The Golfer is also seen frequently staring at his newspaper with the headline about the competition, showing the audience how obsessed he is with the game.

Very few characters will be (needed to be) included in the final film, as the main emphasis is on the Golfer and his comeuppance when the Gopher appears. An audience will be seen in stadium seating behind the Golfer at the final competition, although this can be easily drawn or added in as part of the background. The other Golfer who is seen taking a shot before our Golfer is the only other character seen on screen. The script does not require both golfers to be seen together, so I am currently considering using the same armature/rig for both but with different heads and clothes. The Gopher will be a hand puppet (similar to how Sooty and Sweep are operated) and also does not need to appear in the same shots as the Golfer - a larger scale set will be created for the Gopher's scenes. The golf ball used on the Gopher's set will be a real golf ball - on the Golfer's set a miniature version will be created.

I have currently written out two drafts of the script which will be enough to create storyboards and an animatic from. The animatic will be especially useful for testing out the timings of the story, which still has to fit in a time of three minutes.

One second a week #1

I will also be using this blog to upload my one second a week projects. This first one depicts a walk cycle in stop-motion with a (very restricted!) puppet.