BFA Project: Narrative

My most recent thoughts of the BFA project involve a more narrative based approach. I still want to use the Stream of Consciousness idea for one thread of the project. But my newest ideas incorporate other aspects.

Im still undecided on the multi-panel/frame approach, but I would like to carry on the concept of a central character experiencing different places/realms/worlds comprised of different materials and animation styles.

My current idea would have the central character, Raul, begin alone in his dwelling as thoughts run through his head. This is the stream of consciousness thread. Where the thoughts form a continuous run-on narrative, as Raul contemplates his place in the world, reality, insanity and other related rantings – the animation reflecting the same sort of looseness and continuity of the characters thoughts, and potentially utilizing letterform to also carry the narrative (See below “RUreal”).

The narrative will continue with Raul leaving his house and exploring different locations. Each new location he visits will be visually distinct. Ideas for possible environments in which the character will interact include: A hand drawn world, a world made of fabric, meat, vector, letterform, photo cut-outs, old school 8 bit graphics, garbage, etc…

In each of these locations, Raul meets or seeks out a merchant character, whom offers unique commodities/chochkas in exchange from something else (possible things from the Raul’s home land). This exchange and accumulation takes place across all the environments and Raul’s home gradually becomes cluttered with items from his travels.

At this point, there might be another Consciousness segment as the character reflects on his travels and his newly cluttered environment. He gets lost amidst his own clutter and…(rejects it, destroys it...?)

He returns to the places he had visited previously (but the landscapes have changed slightly, reflecting the impact he made on previous trips). He bypasses the merchants this time, seeking to assimilate culture as oppose to the material manifestations. He visits a pub and becomes entranced by some musicians playing on the stage. As the musicians hit and strum their instruments animated depictions of the sounds fill the room, and little materialized beads of sound bounce off the walls and onto the floor. Raul picks one of the beads up and puts it into is pack. He continues to the other previously explored environments and collects other abstractions of the cultures, including materializations of beliefs etc.

He places these objects into a jar placed on the counter of his dwelling, until the jar is full. He tends to the jar of music, ideas and beliefs as they interact, grow, transform and fuse. He cultivates a mini culture comprised of his favorite elements from those visited. This “culture” grows in size and beyond Raul’s control, necessitating larger jars, a fish tank etc…

The result is a shape-shifting blob like creature who peers out from the fish tank, beckoning Raul for release. As Raul sleeps, his mind goes down another rant, and the blob escapes his jar, entering and possessing Raul’s body…