Spyder: Series Outline and History of the "Spyder Service"

SERIES OUTLINE:

“Spyder” is a 2D animated series focusing on the adventures of Spyder, an undercover agent working for the Spyder Service – a top secret organisation aiming to keep a positive friendship between humans and spiders. This isn’t always easy in a world where humans see spiders as an enemy – but it’s actually the Spyder Service that has to save humans from much greater villains such as wasps, ants, mosquitoes, fleas, flies, centipedes and more! Spyder is never alone on his missions with the ever faithful Miss Black Widow and gadget spider Dr Naria by his side. There’s also Colonel Long Legs and rival agent Aaron Eae, who are always out to knock Spyder off his spot as the Service’s best agent, but Spyder always comes out on top! Packed with comedy, drama, action and fun, Spyder is a fun series for everyone to enjoy!

ABOUT THE SPYDER SERVICE

The Spyder Service was first established in 2012, making it as old as its founder, Chief Phil Cidae. However, the organisation has been around for much longer in “spider years” according to the inhabitants of the insect world. The goal and mission statement of the Spyder Service states the following:

“We aim to protect and serve the human race, the dominant animal currently topping the food-chain.”

The Spyder Service is aware that the relationship between humans and spiders is very weak, mostly since most humans cannot stand spiders. The spiders working for the service are determined to establish a more positive relationship with humans. The Spyder Service currently operates all around the UK with branches in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Cardiff. The main branch is in London and is located in Westminster tube station. The spiders use their own miniature tunnels running parallel to all London Underground lines to move quickly around the capital. Chief Phil Cidae is the owner, founder and CEO of the Spyder Service. His first employee was Dr Terry Naria who is eccentric but a genius at science. The two of them are old friends and together, they managed to put together the budget and all the facilities needed for the Spyder Project to fully take off.

Cidae was inspired to start up the Spyder Service after witnessing large numbers of humans wanting to kill spiders. Another spider living in London, Phoneutria, tried to bite humans with his venom, killing them. Cidae bravely fought Phoneutria to stop him, feeling that humans are unaware of the good qualities of spiders. Cidae sees potential for a more positive friendship between humans and spiders – possibly insects overall. After Cidae outruns Phoneutria, Phoneutria very strangely disappears.

Chief Cidae next hired Colonel Long Legs to become the colonel for the London branch of the Service. However, Cidae often has moments where he regrets this decision, since he feels Long Legs is incapable of the job. Long Legs is incredibly vain and determined to keep authority over his agents. He expresses great admiration for Cidae, although Cidae secretly wishes for an excuse to have Long Legs fired.

The other colonels at the other Spyder Service branches all have comical, stereotypical accents reflecting the appropriate regions.

Aaron Eae was the first agent to be hired by the London branch and the Spyder Service overall. He was chosen personally by Colonel Long Legs and Aaron Eae often plays “teacher’s pet” to Long Legs in return. Eae feels that, as the first agent hired by the service and the agent with the most impressive record, he should be the number one agent. He will do anything to knock Spyder off the top spot. However, he is not violent enough to kill anyone in the process, like most of the Spyder Service’s villains.

Many more agents were hired in the human year 2013, including Miss Black Widow, who initially was hired as a secretary. She became enthusiastic about the work of the service’s agents, so she decided to retrain and become an agent herself in 2014. Miss Black Widow is tough when out on missions, but also has a heart of gold. Whenever there are any fights between other characters – including Long Legs, Aaron Eae or Spyder – or if Dr Naria is stuck with a problem, Miss Black Widow is often the one who has a solution or brings the peace.

Our eponymous hero, Spyder, joins the Spyder Service in the same year, 2014. Spyder does have a real name but chooses to just call himself ‘Spyder’, given how catchy it sounds. Spyder is new to the service – he is a very egotistical, playful and gullible character; the Inspector Clouseau or Mr Bean of the spider world. Long Legs and Aaron Eae constantly see him as an interference, despite Spyder’s attempts to be friendly to them. Miss Black Widow is Spyder’s closest ally and wants to help him where she can. The two become great friends but are not linked romantically – Miss Black Widow is, in actual fact, a widow. Dr Naria also takes a liking to Spyder and helps him with all the gadgets he might require for his missions. Chief Cidae does not witness any of the service’s missions for himself – he only gets back the reports to read – so he is under the impression Spyder is a perfect agent. Cidae is always polite and friendly towards Spyder whenever he visits the London offices, but not so much with Colonel Long Legs!

Gopher Golf: Script breakdown

Here is the script breakdown for my film "Gopher Golf". Note that since this was completed, I have made the decision to remove all dialogue from the film, allowing the characters' performances to tell the story more fluently.

Gopher Golf: Character Design and Inspiration

There are only three characters in my film "Gopher Golf". Again, this is to keep everything simple within my film, which only has a short duration at three minutes.

The main character and the anti-hero of my film is the Golfer. He is a vain, conceited character who has plenty of professional experience in golf and loves to win. At his home, we see he has won multiple trophies from previous golf tournaments, but he still wants more. The story of the film concentrates on the Golfer's motivations and obsessions, from his dreams being built up to his ultimate comeuppance.

For the main character's design, I gave him typical clothing to make it obvious the character is a golfer. I researched images of what golfers typically wear - including tank tops, caps and shorts. The Golfer wears all of these, although I may decide to replace the shorts with trousers to make the puppet's construction easier. One of the above drawings also shows the Golfer with shades, showing off his attitude and boastful personality.

The second character in the film is the Gopher. He appears once briefly in the film's first half, foreshadowing his main appearance later on in the film's second half. Earlier versions of the film did include the Gopher in a more prominent role, however, I was very much against this as I wanted his appearance to be a surprise. The story is about the Golfer, his obsession with fame and his comeuppance in the end, using the Gopher as a device. I feel the Gopher's appearance in the second half makes the film more memorable on its own, due to the element of surprise - I did not want audiences working out with ease how the film would end, since this takes away the film's entertainment value. However, I have still left visual clues in the first half, which will become more noticeable the more a viewer watches the film. This way, the Gopher's appearance is still a surprise to first-time viewers but isn't completely random.

The Gopher himself is a hand-controlled puppet, similar to those used in The Sooty Show and The Basil Brush Show. The puppet was bought from a seller in New York - I was aware I would be limited for time to create the film's other puppets, so I decided to prioritise the puppets which I would actually need to make myself, which is essentially the Golfer and a few smaller props, such as the golf balls.

The third and final character is the Other Golfer, who only appears in the background during one shot. He is another competitor who takes his "perfect shot" before the main Golfer, although he loses. He is essentially a swapped palette of our Golfer, since his purpose in the film is to make the Golfer even more conceited and excited about fame and fortune. In the final film, he will only appear as a shadow in the background, using the same puppet as the main Golfer.

Gopher Golf: Backgrounds and Layouts

I plan for my film "Gopher Golf" to only use three locations - the film is meant to be three minutes in duration, so I aim to keep every element of my film simple, given that the film will not be long enough to include any details which are too complex and affect the storyline.

The three locations are:

• Golfer's house - interior
• Golfer's house - exterior
• Professional golf course/field - exterior

The interior of the Golfer's house only appears on screen for an approximate duration of twenty seconds, even though it will likely be the most complex set to build. This will be the only set where every prop will be sculpted from scratch. For these, I plan to use a combination of silicone, plasticine and pre-built props. These will depend on which materials match the scale of the Golfer puppet, which, at the time of writing, is yet to be built.

The exterior of the Golfer's house and the exterior of the golf course will likely be easier to build. I will be shooting these scenes simultaneously, so I will be able to build one of these sets to film on, then build another using the same basic materials. I have a roll of fake grass which I will be using for both sets. I will also be sculpting props such as a tree, fence and pond which another prop (the golf ball) will interact with. Any other props (which the main character does not interact with) will be hand-drawn/hand-painted onto different backgrounds.

Below are some real-life photos of how I would imagine the golf course to look:

The Golfer and Gopher puppets will be different scales, although neither of these two characters will be required to appear in the same shots together. Therefore, I will be using two different scales for the golf course exterior set - one for the Golfer and one for the Gopher. The same roll of grass and range of backgrounds will be used, creating the illusion that the scene is filmed on one set of one scale.

The Gopher is a hand-operated puppet (e.g. Sooty, Basil Brush) who will be appearing out of a golf hole - so, for this particular scene, I will cut out of a piece of the fake grass to act as the golf hole. A jack will be used to push the Gopher out of the golf hole, as tested and demonstrated in the pictures below:

Spyder: Script Sample

The following is an example (two pages) from a script for the Spyder TV series. The example is taken from the episode 'Sabotage', which features a classic example of Spyder driving Colonel Long Legs mad.



"Sabotage" - Episode Synopsis:
Spyder is due to receive a promotion (and a big shiny medal) from Chief Cidae and Colonel Long Legs will do anything to stop it happening. Long Legs sabotages the interview and causes difficulty with Spyder’s current case. He is determined to prove Aaron Eae is a much worthier agent for the promotion, but Long Legs inadvertently helps Spyder solve his case and Spyder receives his promotion – the Service’s top UK agent.
--

INT. SPYDER HEADQUARTERS

Colonel Long Legs is sitting behind his 'desk', with Spyder and Aaron Eae facing him. Chief Cidae appears unexpectedly.

CHIEF CIDAE

Good morning, Colonel.

COLONEL LONG LEGS

(gasps)

Chief Cidae, Sir!

Colonel Long Legs and Aaron Eae both turn to face the Chief, saluting him. Spyder also turns and salutes him with the wrong hand. He quickly changes sides.

CHIEF CIDAE

I've seen some outstanding work coming from this base lately, and I'm here today to give you the good news. One of your agents has been chosen for the 'Agent of the Year' award at this year's ceremony.

COLONEL LONG LEGS

(chuckles)

Well, I have to say I'm hardly surprised, Sir! Our records do show we've had the highest success rate out of all the Spyder Service's offices. I mean, this is a tremendous honour of course-

CHIEF CIDAE
Yes, whatever. Thank you, Long Legs. May I have a word with your very finest agent?

COLONEL LONG LEGS
Oh, err, yes Sir! Absolutely! Go on, Aaron! Show 'em what you're made of!

SPYDER
Silk?

COLONEL LONG LEGS
Shut up, 008!

CHIEF CIDAE
Long Legs! I would appreciate it if you didn't talk to the Spyder Service's very best agent like that!

COLONEL LONG LEGS
Oh, yes, of course. Sorry, Sir... wait, what!!??

AARON EAE
What!!??

SPYDER
Yeah, don't talk to Aaron like that, you Meany!

CHIEF CIDAE
Agent 008 is the agent I wish to give the 'Agent of the Year' award to. I trust none of us have any objections?

COLONEL LONG LEGS
(through teeth)
None whatsoever, Sir...

CHIEF CIDAE
Excellent! Well, that's that, then! Spyder, congratulations! You are a credit to the service!

SPYDER
Oh, well, thank you very much, Sir!

COLONEL LONG LEGS
Don't talk to him without permission!

CHIEF CIDAE
Silence, Long Legs!! I do believe you're forgetting your place!

COLONEL LONG LEGS
Well, I am the Colonel.

CHIEF CIDAE
Silence!! (clears throat) Anyway, well done, 008. I shall expect to see you all at this Friday's ceremony! Good day!

Chief Cidae leaves, leaving Spyder awestruck and Colonel Long Legs and Aaron Eae in absolute shock.

SPYDER
I'm... getting... an award!? Yippee!! I'm getting an award, I'm getting an award, I'm getting an award!!

AARON EAE
But... I've had a higher success rate than that loser! How could he possibly have been chosen for the award!? I put all my time and effort into doing some good for this organisation-!

COLONEL LONG LEGS

Calm down! The ceremony's on Friday! That's enough time to make Chief Cidae change his mind! Come on, Aaron, my lad! I have a plan!

----

Spyder: Episode Ideas

01: First Day:
Spyder's first ever mission. Colonel Long Legs welcomes Spyder into the service on his first day, although he is not 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. Colonel Long Legs gets angry when Spyder lets the villains escape on his first mission. Rival agent Aaron Eae laughs and boasts that he wasn’t as clumsy as Spyder and that he’ll never be the agent he is, to which the Colonel agrees. However, Spyder later spots the same villains again plotting their second robbery and manages to defeat them all by himself. Chief Cidae is very impressed and Dr Naria and Miss Black Widow are delighted for their new friend. Aaron Eae gets stressed out and Colonel Long Legs darkly comments he’ll “have to keep an eye on this new agent”…

02: The Missing Agents:

HQ notices many of its agents are disappearing, so Colonel Long Legs sends Spyder out on a mission to find out what’s going on. Spyder interrogates Buzz Fuzz and Senor Culicido, who both confirm they have not trapped all the spiders. Later, Spyder finally discovers Queen Ant has trapped them all, determined to make them follow law and order in the way her colony does. Spyder has to help free the agents and return them home before the Queen brainwashes them into thinking her ways.

03: Inside Job:
Aaron Eae teams up with Buzz Fuzz in order to get him to kick Spyder off the Spyder Service - making Aaron Eae the new top agent, but Buzz Fuzz has his own ideas for taking over the Spyder Service. Buzz Fuzz is able to capture Spyder, the top agent, and trap him inside Big Ben, planning for the noise of the bell to be powerful enough to kill Spyder! The Service becomes incredibly concerned when Spyder is reported missing. They search all over London, only to find out Spyder was inside Big Ben (opposite the service's Westminster HQ) the whole time! Aaron Eae is forced to own up to his mistake and save Spyder.

04: An Inspector Falls:

Chief Cidae is about to carry out an inspection of all of the Spyder Service’s main offices. Colonel Long Legs is determined to make sure the London HQ is up to standard, but Spyder keeps getting in the way. In the end, after Spyder defeats a villain who is attacking the base, Chief Cidae decides to keep the London base open.

05: Spyder’s Apprentice:

Colonel Long Legs wants Aaron Eae to show a new recruit around the base, but Spyder nominates himself instead, offering the new recruit “on-the-job training” – meaning taking him out on a mission. Colonel Long Legs panics the new agent is not ready, but the new agent might just prove his worth!

06: Sabotage:
Spyder is due to receive a promotion (and a big shiny medal) from Chief Cidae and Colonel Long Legs will do anything to stop it happening. Long Legs sabotages the interview and causes difficulty with Spyder’s current case. He is determined to prove Aaron Eae is a much worthier agent for the promotion, but Long Legs inadvertently helps Spyder solve his case and Spyder receives his promotion – the Service’s top UK agent.

07: Spyder’s Holiday:

Colonel Long Legs has the ultimate plan to get rid of Spyder once and for all: he encourages Spyder to take an extended holiday in Bournemouth, then erase his files and fire him since he has been away for too long. However, Spyder’s extreme boredom leads him to go exploring and he discovers a hideaway for some of the Spyder Service’s top enemies. Here is where Spyder uncovers their own plan to take over the Service, so Spyder returns, able to warn the Service of the attack and thus save the day again!

08: Gone for Gold:

The Spyder Service is about to throw a surprise party to thank Dr Naria for 50 years of service, but Colonel Long Legs speculates Spyder will try to ruin the surprise. Spyder misinterprets Miss Black Widow’s claim it will be a “golden celebration”, and sneaks into Buckingham Palace determined to steal some gold as a present for Dr Naria. Some of the villains are also at the Palace, hoping to take down the Royals who they believe are “the leaders of the human race”. The Queen Ant is leading the revolution, angry that the humans should have their own Queen. However, with Spyder’s help, the villains later realise the Prime Minister would be a better target instead.

09: The Colonel’s Retirement:

Chief Cidae is unimpressed with the Colonel’s inability to handle the London offices, so he decides the Colonel ought to retire. Spyder wants to help and he saves the Colonel from losing his job – but the Colonel is still ungrateful!

10: Break a Leg:

The Colonel is outraged that Spyder wants to abandon his base so he can take Miss Black Widow out for her birthday. They are about to see a West End show with Dr Naria and Chief Cidae, leaving only the Colonel and Aaron Eae back at the base! In their absence, the base is attacked and the Colonel and Aaron Eae have to fight off all the villains. Later they realise they were dreaming when Spyder returns and tells them the villains were at the show as well.

11: New Management:

In the series finale, there is concern when Chief Cidae goes missing and a giant spider named Phoneutria arrives. Phoneutria claims he is the new CEO of the Spyder Service and Cidae chose to retire. Colonel Long Legs is impressed with Phoneutria’s record working for the Service’s other UK branches, so he happily welcomes him to London. Spyder, however, remains suspicious since Cidae recently told him he had no plans to retire at all. Phoneutria imposes some strange new changes in his new position as CEO, such as fewer work hours for all employees and suggesting spiders should only go out on missions if there’s a real emergency. In the meantime, Phoneutria has secretly gathered all of the villains including the Wasp Patrol, Queen Ant, Senor Culicido and others with a plan to invade the Houses of Parliament and take down the human race. Later, Phoneutria reveals his evil plan and traps all spiders. Spyder discovers Phoneutria has locked up Chief Cidae, Dr Naria and Miss Black Widow – the ones who suspected Phoneutria from the beginning – inside a cardboard box. Spyder sets them free and the four allies must work together to stop the invasion.

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.

--