Stories

Armature: It may not be obvious, but everybody has their own talents.

Beat Sheet

A rustic village lies in the clearing of a rainforest.

People of the village are working according the medallions they wear, signifying their particular skill (gardening, blacksmithing, sewing, etc.)

A small girl, our protagonist Sage, watches the people working with envy.

Sage touches the medallion-less necklace around her neck, slight look of disappointment on her face, quickly changes to a look of determination.

Children are working hard in their respective patches of field while an elder supervises.

A girl’s patch of field contains healthy crop of corn, while a boy has ripe tomatoes. Both get medallion of gardening from a master gardener elder.

The elder, upon seeing Sage and her obviously dead plants, doesn’t give her the medallion.

Children are now working in the blacksmith shop.

A boy creates mail armor, while a girl finishes a metal scythe. Both get medallion of blacksmithing from the master blacksmith.

Sage, still trying to finish her work, swings a hammer but loses her grip. The hammer flies and knocks the master out. The other kids laugh at her.

Children are now sitting in a circle in the sewing shop.

A girl shows her sewn beautiful dress, another girl creates a beautiful quilt. Both receive medallion of sewing.

Sage shows her work: a dress looking like a patchwork, not coordinated and arms of not equal length. No medallion for sage as girls laugh and she leaves rejected.

Its night as a figure emerges from a hut with a cloak and knapsack. She walks to the edge of the village and looks back toward the huts.

Its sage, she looks terribly sad and touches the spot where a medallion would go around her neck. She turns her back on the village and disappears into the jungle as lightning and thunderclap overhead.

Sage travels through jungle, desert, snow, and various environments.

Montage of events: Contending with a tiger chasing her, emerging from the jungle at night to find an aurora borealis lighting the night sky, A giant waterfall, A large city with a gigantic palace at its center, Talking with the king, kneeling before him, Peering through the jungle at a unicorn glowing in the night.

Sage emerges back from the jungle aged a few years, with a very tattered version of her cloak she left with and still no medallion around her neck.

Sage looks surprised; she arrived back in her village. She hesitates before deciding to go back to the village.

It’s night time as sage comes to the edge of the village, a fire burns at the center and people are coming and going not paying attention to her.

She looks at the people and their medallions, still the same as when she left. She touches the spot around her neck, looking rejected still.

She enters the village and approaches the camp fire. A young girl sits next to her.

The girl greets sage and they begin a conversation that leads to the telling of a story about Sage’s travels.

The girl watches intently as Sage becomes more and more animated in her stories. The fire seems to display scenes from her stories.

A few people seem interested and approach the fire without Sage’s knowing.

Sage continues her stories. She sneaks around the fire as if she were stalking something/someone a few more people are visible in the fire light, but outside the immediate ring of light there is only darkness.

Sage jumps and roars fiercely, causing the ring of people surrounding her to jump back.

Sage looks amazed as she sees many people around the fire. She continues seeing until she sees that the whole village is surrounding her and the campfire.

Sage is now smiling.

Afterwards a village elder comes up to Sage and places a medallion she has never seen before around her neck, that of the storyteller.

Go to previous version

Good Buddies (Group 2)

Armature: You get what you deserve.

Seven Steps

Once upon a time there was an air-freshener and a hula dancer among other figurines that were on the dashboard of a truck.

And every day the air-freshener would clean the truck and freshen the air, the hula dancer would mother the air-freshener.

Until one day the truck driver slaps down a bobble-head dog next to the hula dancer. The dog is messy, annoying, and a schmoozer.

And because of this the air-freshener’s life has been made difficult; he has to clean up after the dog and is flustered and left tired. He’s being neglected by the hula dancer too.

And because of this the air-freshener gets so frustrated he decides to get rid of bobble-head dog.

Until finally the bobble-head dog unsticks himself, the air-freshener notices and causes the truck driver to swerve his truck and the bobble-head dog gets thrown out the window.

And ever since that day the air-freshener gets his world back.

Beat Sheet

Perspective from air-freshener tree of truck driving along road.
Truck stops, driver leaves.
Air-freshener and hula dancer among other figurines on the dashboard of a truck.
Air-freshener lengthens string to get down to dashboard.
Air-freshener cleans truck by sweeping, breathing deeply to freshen air.
Hula dancer rewards air-freshener by giving kiss on forehead, patting branch.
Truck driver returns, figurines inanimate.
Truck pulls away.
Next scene. Truck driver leaves for awhile.
Air-freshener cleans truck by sweeping, breathing deeply to freshen air.
Hula dancer rewards air-freshener by giving kissing on forehead, patting branch.
Dusk. Truck driver returns, slaps down a bobble-head Chihuahua next to hula dancer.
Figures show surprise at new addition.
Truck driver falls asleep off side of road.
Bobble-head walks around dashboard, leaving paw prints.
Bobble-head knocks over cup of Startrucks coffee.
Air-freshener shows dissatisfaction, scolds bobble-head dog.
Bobble-head ignores air-freshener.
Bobble-head walks up to furry figure, takes and puts on his hat.
Bobble-head goes up to hula dancer, sniffs her butt, his eyes widen with attraction.
Hula blushes, plays with her hair, and giggles.
Furry figure holds sign indicating annoyance.
Nighttime. All figures except for air-freshener are asleep.
Air-freshener cleans up after messy day.
Air-freshener walks up to hula, who is resting her head and nudged up to bobble-head.
Air-freshener looks hesitantly at hula, turns around, and goes back to hanging from reviewer mirror.
New scene/day. Bobble-head is over by open passenger window, looks out window eagerly.
Bobble-head tries to unstick himself to hang head out window.
Truck driver gets out, slams door.
Air-freshener warns bobble-head of unsticking and being too close to window.
Bobble-head ignores air-freshener’s advice.
Bobble-head takes cigarette out of ashtray, takes a puff, throws cigarette on dashboard.
Air-freshener gives bobble-head a dirty look.
Bobble-head blows smoke at air-freshener, smirks at air-freshener.
Bobble-head looks at his reflection in window, fixes hair.
Bobble-head gives big cheesy smile to hula, kisses her hand.
Hula shies away, giggles.
Air-freshener’s eyes bug out, smolders.
Next day/scene. Truck driver is driving.
Bobble-head unsticks, starts to stick head out window.
Air-freshener begins to open mouth looking at bobble-head, but stops.
Air-freshener looks at truck driver, smiles.
Air-freshener blows out an extreme amount of fumes in direction of driver.
Truck driver sneezes uncontrollably, looses focus on driving.
Truck driver hits a pothole.
Bobble-head dog flips up, hangs onto window from the outside of truck.
Truck driver jerks wheel to the left.
Bobble-head looses grip of window.
Shot of reviewer mirror, bobble-head is flying away.
Shot from behind truck, with bobble-head hitting and flipping on road.
Bobble-head dog lands upright, at angle, facing truck, with head bobbing
Truck disappears in distance.
Fade out, fade into dashboard of truck.
Air-freshener cleans truck by sweeping, breathing deeply to freshen air.
Hula dancer rewards air-freshener by giving kissing on forehead, patting branch.
Air-freshener zips back into position.
Truck driver returns, drives off into the distance.

Go to previous version

Bruno and Skip (Group 3)
Armature: Share and you will have more fun.

Once upon a time there were two dogs who had become best friends at the dog park. One was a large mutt named Bruno, and the other was an energetic little terrier named Skip.

And every day their masters would take them to the dog park, and they would play together with their favorite toy, ignoring the rest of the dogs. However, Bruno liked to have more than his fair share of the toy, and every day he let Skip play with it less and less.

Until one day Bruno took the toy away and didn’t let Skip play with it at all.

And because of this, the next day when Bruno arrived at the park, Skip was playing with all of the other dogs.

And because of this, Bruno got lonely and regretted taking away the toy.

Until finally Bruno went over to Skip and the other dogs, and he shared the toy with all of them.

And ever since that day Skip and Bruno have been best friends, and they have fun playing and sharing their toy with each other and all the rest of the dogs at the dog park.

Beat Sheet

Show clips of each dog waking up in the morning. One clip, Bruno staring at a clock, with his big, black spiky collared leash in mouth and tail wagging, waiting for it to hit 3:00. The other clip, Skip with his small, purple cotton leash in mouth, doing the same thing.
When the clock hits three, both dogs start woofing (muffled through their leashes) and running about in circles.
Masters of each dog walk by (Skip’s is a short, muscular looking man with a beard and Butch’s is a tall, overweight man with no hair) take their leashes, and leave the room.
Two vehicles drive up to dog park and park.
Bruno and Skip (and their masters) get out of their respective vehicles (Skip’s car is small, but luxurious, while Bruno’s is a run-down pick-up truck).
Bruno and Skip immediately run up to each other, chase themselves in a circle (trying to sniff each other’s butts) and run off into the heart of the park.
Their master’s smile at the two dogs as they greet each other, like they do everyday.
Bruno and Skip trot up to a tree. Other dogs are playing in the background.
Bruno uses his mouth to lift up a big, loose root.
Skip grabs an old coke can filled with little pebbles from underneath root.
Bruno chases Skip for a few seconds, and then tackles him and takes they toy away, all the while play-growling.
Skip jumps on top of Bruno and rips it back out of his mouth.
Bruno takes the toy away form Skip a second time, and Skip starts chasing him around the park.
Bruno runs faster than Skip, but slows down occasionally so that Skip can catch up.
When Skip tries to tackle Bruno, Bruno rolls over, and runs away again.
Skip stops chasing, and Bruno comes back over and begins taunting him with the toy.
Skip starts chasing Bruno again.
There’s a whistle in the air, and the ears on both dogs perk up.
They run together over to the tree.
Bruno lifts the root again, and Skip hides the toy underneath.
The two dogs run to their vehicles and hop in.
Fade out. Fade in on vehicles arriving again at the park.
Dogs and master’s get out of their vehicles, greet each other again, and dogs run to the tree.
Bruno lifts the root and Skip takes the toy out. Other dogs are again playing in the background.
Almost immediately, Bruno takes the toy away from Skip.
Skip tries to take it back, but Bruno’s play-growling turns more serious and he runs off.
Skip tries to chase Bruno, but he can’t keep up.
Skip stops chasing, and frowns a little. He whines.
Bruno barks from across the park and drops the toy at his feet.
Skip runs up to Bruno, but just before he gets there, Bruno grabs the toy back up and runs off.
Bruno snickers at Skip from across the park.
Skip frowns and hangs his head.
Bruno taunts Skip with the toy, flipping it in the air.
Skip looks excited again and runs toward Bruno.
Bruno catches the toy and knocks Skip out of the way before running off.
Bruno lies down and starts licking the toy.
Skip stares at Bruno and the toy, hangs his head even lower, and frowns even more.
A whistle pierces the air, and Bruno takes the toy over to the tree by himself.
Bruno picks up the root and hides the toy underneath using his paw.
Skip sadly, slowly walks to the car.
Bruno runs to his truck.
The vehicles drive away.
Fade out.
Fade in on Bruno’s truck parking. Skip’s car is already there.
Bruno gets out of the car and runs to the tree.
Bruno gets the toy out by himself.
Then Bruno notices Skip playing with the other dogs.
Bruno squeaks the toy in his mouth, but the other dogs don’t pay attention.
Bruno runs in circles and throws the toy in the air, looking at the other dogs and trying to get their attention.
The other dogs continue to chase each other around by themselves.
Bruno woofs meekly, but the other dogs don’t pay attention.
Bruno hangs his head and drops the toy. He frowns.
Bruno jumps up again and grabs the toy and growls as he shakes it, but he stops after a few seconds.
Bruno drops the toy and frowns.
He walks in a couple of circles and looks at the other dogs having fun.
Bruno picks up the toy and slowly walks over to Skip and the other dogs.
With his head as low as he can hold it, Bruno drops the toy at Skip’s feet and whimpers apologetically.
Skip barks and picks up the toy.
Skip tosses it to another dog.
The other dog tosses it to another, etc.
They all toss it to one another and chase each other around, including Skip and Bruno, not favoring any dog.
A whistle is heard while Skip has the toy. Skip looks at Bruno, and they both run toward the tree, with the other dogs following.
Bruno lifts up the root and Skip places the toy. The other dogs are watching.
Bruno and Skip run to their respective vehicles.
Fade out. Fade in identical to opening scene, switch between watching both dogs waking up.
Again, dogs bark at three and masters take them to the park.
The vehicles arrive and the dogs get out.
Bruno and Skip chase/sniff each other hello and run to their tree.
All the other dogs in the park run up to Skip and Bruno at the tree.
Bruno lifts the root, Skip takes the toy.
All the dogs play together, smiling and happy.
Zoom out to the entire park with all the dogs having fun.
Fade out.

Go to previous version

The Old Man and The Kid (Group 4)
Armature: Healthy competition can add fun

Act I:

An elderly man is walking in a park alone. It’s a sunny day.
He walks past a grandmother and a granddaughter enjoying each other’s company and feeding the birds.
He notices an empty bench right next to them and walks to it and sits down.
The elderly man looks at the grandmother and her granddaughter again and sighs sadly.
Meanwhile, a pigeon shows up and hops up to the man looking at him curiously and waiting for some food.
The elderly man reaches for his coat pocket and brings out a granola bar to feed the pigeon with.
A few more birds join in on the feast.
The old man gets excited. He smiles joyfully and continues feeding the birds.
A young boy walk up to an empty bench beside the elderly man and sits down.
The young boy opens a bag of birdseeds.
The boy starts throwing the seeds on the ground. Some seeds fall near the old man and slowly all the birds move toward the young boy and the old man is left alone again. The old man sadly looks down at his granola bar and over to the boy’s bag of seed.
The old man gets up and slowly walks away, pausing for a moment to look back over his shoulder to the boy with all the birds, and continues on. Fade to black.

Act II:

The old man returns to the park and walks to his bench and sees the boy 20 feet away, surrounded by birds as he feeds them.
The old man shakes his head disappointedly and sits down. The old man watches the boy and the birds and suddenly gets an idea. (He has a smug smile and a twinkle in his eye.)
The old man starts throwing stale bread toward the birds so that it makes a trail that leads the birds to him. The birds leave the boy and go to the old man and his bread.
The little boy watches the birds leave. He pouts with frustration and leaves.
The old man sees the boy leave and chuckles. Fade into next scene.
The boy returns with a mischievous look and a big box.
The old man looks at the boy's expression and has a surprised look on his face.
The boy takes out a big chocolate cake and begins to toss pieces of it on the grass. The birds flock to him to see what it is. The old man is bird-less again.
The old man gets up with a determined look on his face and hurries off. Fade into next scene.
The old man returns to the park with a bag of "Uberseed 5000" and begins to throw the seed and the birds begin to surround him.
The boy notices the birds flock to the man and leaves. Fade into next scene.
The boy returns with a remote control car to scare the birds away from the old man by driving it into the crowd of birds.
The old man has a frustrated look on his face. He remains sitting and suddenly thinks of another idea. (Show him looking around with a confused look as if he's thinking then have a smile come over his face). He gets up and hurries away. Fade into next scene.
The old man returns with a leaf blower stocked with birdseed. He proceeds to spray the park with seed and winks at the boy as the birds come back to him.
The boy is now angry and storms off. Fade into next scene.
The boy returns with a big box filled with birdseed and a toy remote control car. The puts the car in the box of toy seed and turns it on with its remote. Now the cars wheels are moving so that all the seed is being spread on the grass.
The old man is strill spraying seeds and birds start flying about, not knowing which set of feed to eat.

Act III:

The competition causes so much noise that the birds are scared away. The elderly man and the young boy are left sitting on a (new) bench exhausted from the chase.
After a few seconds a small bird shows up and hops up to them looking for food on the ground.
The elderly man reaches for his pocket to see if he has anything to give to the bird.
He finds a granola bar in his coat pocket.
The old man looks at the kid who doesn’t have any food left.
He breaks the bar into half and gives one half to the kid.
The two of them start feeding the little bird together (fade out).

Go to previous version