Welcome to 10 to 16 April 2016. This is going to be a long’un!

It’s been a slow week. I sent the animatic around to a few people and heard what they had to say.

First, it appears that I’ve definitely made something funny. Which is nice.

A common note was this: how did Pointy know that Gronky was digging him up a hat? To me, the author, it was obvious – Pointy had just asked him for a hat, at some point. The trouble is I hadn’t actually shown it or referred back to it. It’s not difficult to infer, and not everyone noted this, but some people prefer things to be more explicit. Personally I love it when movies aren’t a willing slave to their own exposition and leave the audience a few clues to infer what’s going on – Mad Max: Fury Road is a fantastic example of that.

I spent the week coming up with something more like a prologue to explain what Pointy’s even doing out in the desert. I knew Pointy was out there looking for some peace and quiet. I also know Pointy is constantly whinging. So, off I went. I broke my “no screenplay” rule a little bit.

In the first draft, Pointy recaps the morning’s events while Gronky’s digging away for Pointy’s hat. This is literally it:

POINTY: “Look, I don’t wanna presume anything, but I just wanna make sure of something. So I come out here looking for some peace and quiet for my nerves. And bugger me the sun’s absolutely brutal out here. So along you come to rescue me and I ask you "Can you lend us a hat, mate?” – remember that? And you said “yeah” and you start digging up the desert, and like an idiot I thought you were looking for a hat. Except you’ve been digging holes for three hours and you’ve found nothing but dirt and holes and more bloody dirt! I wouldn’t mention it except I just wanted to make sure you’re lookin’ for a hat and you haven’t forgotten about the hat I asked you for.“

GRONKY: [stops digging] "The wuh?”

POINTY: “The hat.”

GRONKY: “Ohh! Hat!”

POINTY: (beat) “You boofhead! You forgot!”

GRONKY:

[shyly] “Yeah..”

POINTY:

“Uggh!”

Then I decided.. well.. if Gronky’s going to have forgotten he’s digging for a hat, why not have him dig up something that isn’t a hat at all? Also making the exchange a bit shorter and tighter would be good. I thought this might be more interesting to look at while panning across a landscape full of the holes that Gronky’s already dug.

POINTY: “Mate, I’m not accusing you of anything here but do you even remember why you’re digging holes?”

GRONKY: [still digging] “Hmm.. nope.”

POINTY:

“OK. I came out here before dawn for some much-needed peace and solitude only to discover I’ve got acute stress-induced photosensitivity. Soon as the sun’s up, I pass out. Luckily, along you come. I asked if you can find me something. You said sure, no worries! So off we go digging for treasure.. one hole, two holes, fifty holes.. but none of this stuff is what I asked you for.”

GRONKY:

“Here!”

POINTY:

“This is a novelty plastic kangaroo. I asked you for a hat.”

GRONKY puts kangaroo on POINTY’s head.

GRONKY: “There!”

POINTY:

“Just because you can put it on my head doesn’t make it a bloody hat!”

GRONKY: “(beat) Oh.”

POINTY:

“A normal hat, that’s all I’m after!”

GRONKY:

“Hmm.. come on.”

GRONKY leads them away to another place.

POINTY:

“Uggh.”

Thinking about Pointy’s character, Pointy would probably be far more patronising. I settled on Pointy playing a guessing game with Gronky which is a thinly disguised litany of complaints. That in turn guided the thumbnails I drew:

POINTY: [restraining his anger but impatient] “Mate, do you remember what I asked you to dig up for me?”

GRONKY stops digging.

GRONKY: “Hmmm.. no!”

GRONKY continues digging.

POINTY: “Alright. I’ll give you some clues. It keeps the sun out of my eyes so I don’t keep passing out. It’s nice and lightweight so I can take it with me to find some peace and quiet without you!”

GRONKY: “Here!”

GRONKY holds up a novelty plastic kangaroo.

POINTY stands up, unimpressed.

POINTY: [pointing to head] “And it goes on my head!”

GRONKY tenderly places the kangaroo on Pointy’s head.

POINTY angrily gestures, knocking the roo back to GRONKY’s arms.

POINTY: [furious] “A hat, you boofhead! I asked you for a hat!”

GRONKY looks blankly and throws the kangaroo high into the air with no apparent effort. POINTY watches it in stunned disbelief.

GRONKY bends over to recommence digging. His shadow shortens, leaving POINTY’s head in the sun.

Mid-sentence, POINTY’s dialogue slurs and slows and he passes out.

So that’s about where it’s settled. Nice storyboards will come soon and the pitch-o-matic will get redone shortly thereafter. Hopefully this weekend.

Thanks for reading. Bye now!