Thursday 2 October 2014

[Narrative] 08: New Ideas - The Chef who Seared his Beard

Cartoon chef [source]
After a discussion with our tutor Alan, I have been informed that it is still a bit too complex for a 1 minute animation. I will use this and my previous animation as jumping off points for more economic, less complex ideas which also encompass "The kitchen" and "Every cloud has a silver lining." Below is the original idea...


The story begins in a restaurant kitchen in which the lead chef, a lonely, rather plump man with a long scraggly beard --of whom is some years past middle age-- is left to work alone, due to short staff. The hustle and bustle of this popular restaurant can be heard from beyond the kitchen doors.


Sweating as he does so, he attempts to juggle the incessant orders of food from the customers. He is surrounded by the various sounds of the kitchen, including violent bubbling as pots heat on the gas stoves, and the scream of a steaming kettle. Distracted, he bends down to open the stove, on top of which gas burners heat a foaming saucepan, brimming with food. 


Without his knowledge, his long beard has become entangled in the stove's burners, at least not until he gets the whiff of his own burning hair. He has at this point removed a tray of cooked fish from within the stove. Feeling the heat of the fast approaching fire upon his face, he reflexively throws the tray up into the air and rushes over to the sink; dunking his face beneath the water like a child frantically bobbing for apples. At this point the chef has lost all his facial hair.

Hearing the racket his manager enters the kitchen from the restaurant's main interior, seeing the mess they become lost for words and grow furious with the chef, pulling him out of the kitchen, in front of all the diners. 


As he exits the kitchen, the diners go silent, with the only sounds made being the synced dropping of steel cutlery onto china plates. Just before the manager can scald the chef, you hear feminine wolf whistles echo throughout the restaurant, aimed at the chef himself; whistles which originate not only from women but also from some of the men.

The chef's "new look" has taken many of the diners fancy. With a sudden burst of confidence, the chef faces the diners and unconsciously smooths back his hair and does a hesitant wave.


The animation can either end at this point, or fade into a photograph showing the now beardless, older chef standing outside own restaurant with a younger woman kissing him on the cheek. Another option for this end photo would be a picture of the older chef, wearing a suit standing outside a church holding hands with his elegant younger wife - suggesting they have just been married.


NOTE: The restaurant diners do not have to be 3D modeled, they can be entirely 2D. They don't even have to be seen, and can simply be suggested by a well crafted soundscape as well as a tactical use of camera angles. 


The final photograph would not require any 3D and can be created entirely within Photoshop, saving any need of modelling, texturing etc. for this shot. 


No characters necessarily have to talk during the animation, with the closest thing to it being the whoops and wolf whistles of the excited customers, as well as the shocked shout of the chef. Emotion can be shown by facial expressions and sounds such as grunts, groans and gasps.

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