Stories

You are going to create clay characters that will interact with MakerBotted props to make a short (under 3 minute) claymation movie.

Break into teams and brainstorm a story. If you are completely stumped you can use the story generator below to help or inspire you.

Once you have established the story, create a storyboard. Then you can either design your own or find props to print from Thingiverse. You and your team will also create clay figures.

Character and narrative arc

A basic story has five essential ingredients:

1. The protagonist
   
   

   The Protagonist

   The protagonist is the character whose desire's power the story. To turn a character into the protagonist, you have to throw something at him/her that pulls him/her off-balance and makes him/her want to put his/her life back in order. The protagonist is defined by three traits
   

   1. Empathy—good or bad, the audience has to sympathize with this character or put another way the audience must identify with the character's point of view.
      
      
   2. Motivation—the character must feel the need to act
      
      
   3. Ability—While the character does not have to be successful pursuing his/her goals, he/she must have the ability to solve the conflict you threw at him/her.
      
      

   
   

   
   
2. The spark
   
   

   The Spark

   This is the critical ingredient. This is what transforms a character into a protagonist. It is the unexpected event that directly affects the protagonist, creating an imbalance that propels the character to resolve that imbalance.
   
   The spark must be something non-routine in the context of the character's life.
   
   

   
   
3. The escalation
   
   

   The Escalation

   Escalation is the series of unexpected events after the initial spark which makes the protagonist's attempts to correct the imbalance more prolonged, suspenseful and interesting.
   
   

   
   
4. The climax
   
   

   The Climax

   Generally , stories involve at least 3 repetitions of attempting to solve the problem and furthering the escalation. The climax is the final iteration of the protagonist's attempts to resolve the imbalance, in which it is definitively resolved or not resolved.
   
   

   
   
5. The denouement
   
   

   The Denouement

   This part is where you tie up any loose ends and does not relate directly to solving the protagonist's problem.
   
   

   
   

1. Click here for your character traits:  
   
   

   ---

2. Create a character based on the three given traits.
   Answer the following questions for your character:
   
   
   1. Name:

      ---

   2. Age:

      ---

   3. Place of birth:
      

      ---

   4. Species if non-human:
      

      ---

   5. Place of formative years:
      

      ---

   6. Character flaw:
      

      ---

   7. Annoying/eccentric habit:
      

      ---

   8. Strength:
      

      ---

   9. Weakness:
      

      ---

   10. Tastes (music,literature,poetry):
       

       ---

   11. Gender:
       

       ---

   12. Hobby:
       

       ---

   13. Occupation:
       

       ---

   14. Enemy:
       

       ---

   15. Pet:
       

       ---

   16. What would your character say if suspected someone had lied to him/her:
       
       
       other:
       

       ---

   17. What makes your character laugh?
       
       
       other:
       

       ---

   18. Whom does your character respect the most?
       
       
       other:
       

       ---

   19. What sort of movies does your character watch?
       

       ---

   20. How does your character prefer to spend New Year's Eve?
       
       
       other:
       

       ---

   21. When taking a long road trip, your character prefers to be:
       
       
       other:
       

       ---

   22. What is the last piece of clothing your character bought for himself/herself?
       
       
       other:
       

       ---

   23. What trivial fault is your character most ashamed of?
       
       
       other:
       

       ---

   24. Service to others
       Tell about a time your character helped someone. Imagine someone in your class lost all their belongings in a fire. What would your character do to help your classmate and their family?
       
       
       

       ---

   25. Respect
       Tell about a time someone showed your character respect. How did it make your character feel? Imagine someone in your class not treating others the way they want to be treated. What would your character do?
       

       ---

   26. Citizenship
       Tell about a time your character was a good citizen. What did your character do? Imagine a politician asked your character how the city or town could be made a better place to live. How would your character respond.
       

       ---

   27. Kindness
       Tell about a time someone was kind to your character.
       
   28. In sum:
       Write one or two sentences that sum up your character. Include a sketchy physical description, mention qualities that work for and against him/her, and mention his/her main motivations.
       

   ---

3. Create a second character:
   
   

   ---

4. Create a character based on the three given traits. Answer the following questions for your character:
   
   
   1. Name:

      ---

   2. Age:

      ---

   3. Place of birth:
      

      ---

   4. Species if non-human:
      

      ---

   5. Place of formative years:
      

      ---

   6. Character flaw:
      

      ---

   7. Annoying/eccentric habit:
      

      ---

   8. Strength:
      

      ---

   9. Weakness:
      

      ---

   10. Tastes (music,literature,poetry):
       

       ---

   11. Gender:
       

       ---

   12. Hobby:
       

       ---

   13. Occupation:
       

       ---

   14. Enemy:
       

       ---

   15. Pet:
       

       ---

   16. What would your character say if suspected someone had lied to him/her:
       
       
       Other:
       

       ---

   17. What makes your character laugh?
       
       
       other:
       

       ---

   18. Whom does your character respect the most?
       
       
       other:
       

       ---

   19. What sort of movies does your character watch?
       

       ---

   20. How does your character prefer to spend New Year's Eve?
       
       
       other:
       

       ---

   21. When taking a long road trip, your character prefers to be:
       
       
       other:
       

       ---

   22. What is the last piece of clothing your character bought for himself/herself?
       
       
       other:
       

       ---

   23. What trivial fault is your character most ashamed of?
       
       
       other:
       

       ---

   24. Service to others
       Tell about a time your character helped someone. Imagine someone in your class lost all their belongings in a fire. What would your character do to help your classmate and their family?
       
       
       

       ---

   25. Respect
       Tell about a time someone showed your character respect. How did it make your character feel? Imagine someone in your class not treating others the way they want to be treated. What would your character do?
       

       ---

   26. In sum:
       Write one or two sentences that sum up your second character. Include a sketchy physical description, mention qualities that work for and against him/her, and mention his/her main motivations.
       

   ---

5. Here is the spark for your narrative arc:
   
   
   

   ---

6. Using your two characters and the spark, brainstorm a way that your two characters will be brought together in a story.
   
   Come up with at least 3 obstacles of increasing difficulty that the protagonist must overcome to restore the balance (obstacle, attempt, unexpected result that leads to next obstacle).