In 2005, I was approached by a friend who asked if I would write some holiday scripts for a local stop - motion animation studio. The films would be children friendly videos that would be available on dvd, but they would first have a theatrical release in various theaters. The Christmas film would be released on IMAX format and be shown in IMAX theaters. The films would make the rounds on television and cable stations across the world. This opportunity was too exciting to pass up.
The stories would have the look and feel of the famous artist, James Christensen. The plan was to get 7 films completed, but the sad reality was that the productions ended after our second film. I believe it was due to the lack of funding and the constant search for investors and cash. The films that were slated were Christmas, Halloween, Easter, St. Patricks Day, Thanksgiving, Valentines Day, and New Years Day.
So I rolled up my sleeves and was anxious to get to work. The first film was a Christmas film based on the poem, "Twas The Night Before Christmas". My job was to tie in a storyline that supported the classic holiday poem. This was a bit of a challenge because I only had the front and the back end for the story development which equated to about 10 minutes. (total time 28 minutes)
So, I came up with a story where Katy and Makean get lost in a snowstorm, and are found by the kind Candleman. He takes them to his house and tells them a story. It wasnt as creepy as it sounds. The voice of the Candleman was provided by Ken Sansom who voiced Disney's Rabbit (From Pooh) for many years. His voice was so kind, gentle, and endearing. He really made the show special. Sadly enough, Ken passed away a month ago. (October 8, 2012) What a treasure he is to have in these films! What an amazing legacy he has left.
I came up with the title, "The Light Before Christmas" and tied in the story of Christ's birth. To be honest, I couldn't fathom telling a Christmas story without somehow referencing the Savior of the World. This didn't go so well in the initial pitch. They didn't like the name, and of course, nobody wanted a religious message. (This was Christmas wasn't it?)
I knew I could make it work...but more than that, I had to convince them that it would work through the storytelling. It was not an easy task to do that within the alotted time of 10 minutes.
(18 minutes of the poem, and 5 minutes on the front end, and 5 minutes on the back end.)
One day, as I was trying to figure things out, I came across an article that talked about how Jesus Christ is the "Giver of all good gifts". This was all I needed to hear. I jumped back into the script and tied the theme (Giver of all good gifts) with the poem and made it work. I guess the producers hired some outside professional writers to look over the script and give their feedback.
They liked it. It worked.
We moved into the production phase of, "The Light Before Christmas."
some more images...
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"Spooky Bats And Scaredy Cats"
The next film was about Halloween. The film was titled, "Spooky Bats and Scaredy Cats".
I wrote a couple of good scripts that I was really happy with, but due to budget limitations, we had to keep it very simple. We had to use and reuse old characters from the other films. (We used the same armatures, just dressed them differently.) We had to cut corners wherever possible. This made it challenging because you couldn't introduce new characters.
So, I got busy writing a 28 minute script. The first script had alot of bells and whistles. It had crowd scenes, monsters galore, and some very interesting characters. The scripts that followed were dummied down and simplified. We used the same main characters from, "The Light Before Christmas", and added Frankenstein, The Wolfman, Witch, and The Mummy. There might have been one or two more characters added. (Swamp creature)
The film was completed and every now and then I'll see it playing on tv around Halloween.
Here's a picture I drew on the cover of my master script that I had titled, "A Monster's Holiday". Sometimes I have to draw a visual image so that I can get into the groove of writing.
This is actually a very cool script that is much different than the final version.
Maybe one day, I'll use this for another project.....?
If I was to have one regret, it would be that I wished that I was involved on the storyboard process.
I spent an incredible amount of time developing the stories in my mind and in text. It is very challenging to solve all the problems within a story without visuals and timing.
To me, the script and storyboard process go hand in hand.
When I turned over the script for storyboards, the director basically said, "I'll take it from here." I felt like had I been involved in the storyboard process, (because I am such a visual artist) that I could have ironed out some flaws that ended up in the final film. I also felt that I could have strengthened the story even more.
But, overall, I am really happy with the results. You can find both films on Amazon, Ebay, and other outlets.
Ken Sansom as the Candleman.
to be continued...
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