Monday, August 9, 2010

Tridragonal Set ...Gone! - Welcome Otto!


It has been a while since I appeared to do anything, but I have had a period of change. A sabbatical of sorts. I have been separated from creative partners but walked in beautiful places and had many distractions removed. It has invigorated my creativity and ideas are starting to flow faster than I can do anything about them. (Time is always a problem.)

There once was a project called Rainbow Dragons that first appeared during a course on fantasy writing. It first took some form with the help of the Key Frame scheme and some talented animators in training. It took a slightly different with the help, enthusiasm, hard work and skill of Buddhi of Beyond Motion. But....

Right now it is reforming again.

I got some feedback from an important source, just a little with a hint of encouragement - but it was enough what with my little sabbatical and space from things too see the truth in it. And despite all the hard work in some aspects of the project (hard work is never a waste) Rainbow Dragons that was, which became Tridragonal Set Go! has been stripped back, simplified, given a dynamic boy lead and has been reborn as Otto + the Oobly Dooblies. And boy does it work.

I thought "what is at the heart of the project" - that only took a millisecond to answer - The Oobly Dooblies - fun, colourful, acrobatic number representations.

I thought "what is important about this project" - the integrated multi platform nature and the highlighting of maths in the everyday and in story.

I thought "what is the problem with this project" - too high concept, too hard to explain, some people get it and others just really don't, too much in it. But most importantly I realised I was asking preschoolers to swallow too much (make too many leaps of imagination and faith if you like.)

I suspect that underlying all this is some wisdom from the Little Airplane Academy Preschool Intensive that I attended back in February in a snowy New York.

Anyhow must get on, I have a couple of other preschool projects asking for work and a photobook idea....

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