I just started planning a new acting shot and I'm finding myself in the situation of having to ask a lot of "why"s. So I naturally started thinking about this issue of "why" versus "what if". "What if" seems to be a method very commonly employed by people who want to develop a story. And I'm developing a little bit of a story here too, to put some logic and character in the situation I'm animating. But I find myself asking a lot of "why"s and sort of... less "what if"s, because I'm trying to understand what's going on, rather than invent... So... thought I... while a "what if" is creative and can generate diversity, it doesn't so much focus you on a path, while a "why" is a direct way of getting to understand a situation.
Something like this:
Subject: A dog is hungry.
Part 1 - What if. What if I get a human walking nearby, with a bag of groceries. Or maybe what if there's a restaurant that the dog is trying to get some food from. Or what if it's a pile of garbage instead? Whatever, etc.
Part 2 - Why (Once we establish the basics of the story, we have to start understanding it in detail - so let's presume we went the first version, there's a dude carrying groceries and the dog is in pursuit of stealing that bag). Why is the dog trying to get the bag - because he's hungry, now that was the most basic "why", but things just start here - is the dog afraid of the man? Why? Is the man walking home instead of driving? Why? Is the man afraid? Why? And by "why" I mean - build some background story to get realistic behavior from the character. Maybe the man isn't afraid because the dog is alone and not a whole pack, and dogs don't attack unless they're in a pack and unless they get all excited, etc. Why is the dog alone? Now that might sound stupid, but sometimes, trying to answer even apparently absurd questions might help. But you should try to answer truthfully. If you answer... "well, let's have this dog be alone because... because... well because he just got separated from his pack aaand... ammm...." - it can get really stupid. Dogs don't need much of a reason to be in a pack or alone, obviously. But if you answer more like "the dog is alone because he's looking for food, and that's what dogs do, they look for food on their own, not in a pack" (I don't know if that's true or not btw) and if it makes sense, it could be a reason that could contribute to the background story, or at least to my understanding of dogs and their habitat & behavior - in this case I'd need to do further research. Or the dog could be cartoony, in which case the answers would be quite different. Or another "why" - why am I writing this blog...? OK that doesn't apply to the dog story.
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About me
I'm a character animator, visual artist, game dev, and music composer. I like to doodle, write, experiment, and plan my next big thing. I love tech that inspires and enables art. I have a formal background in music composition. And I like to walk around the world and see things up close. Archives
February 2022
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