Balance: Script/Structure

What my Animation (Balance) is trying to achieve?

My animations main goal is to show how people’s perception of Asperger’s isn’t entirely correct and
that we’re still working out what it is. But for now, here is my interpretation of my brains biological
change. Plus, it’s a story of my journey so far.

This will be my first fully rendered and animated animation, so its key I get this story down straight
away or as fast as possible.

The animation is narrated by myself, as this is a personal story.

Act 1: Introduction
Goals for Act 1:

 To Introduce myself.
 To Introduce Asperger’s.
 To introduce that my life has been like a little island.

Act 2: Humour & Progression

Goals for Act 2:

 To really show off my skills in animation, and comedic timing.

 Show how I personally learnt to deal with my Asperger’s.
 To show my interpretation of the world around me.

Act 3: End
Goals for Act 3:

 To make a statement about Asperger’s and how it shouldn’t be classed as a disability.

 Show that I can put on a good visual spectacle.
 To give a message about the future.
Story Shell
1. An island is shown but not my own, as to represent what a normal life is.
2. My island is then introduced. (As time goes on, the water level drops.)
3. I’m introduced, and Asperger’s is explained.
4. I talk about my loneliness due to my Asperger’s.
5. My nan is introduced.
6. I obtain the unicycle, via a crate.
7. The unicycling starts slowly.
8. I get better at the unicycle. (I use my environment to unicycle on.)
9. I receive small glass bottles, which increase every passing day.
10. The water level gets so low, the floor can now be walked upon.
11. A storm starts in the distance, representing the future.
12. I explain about I don’t know what can happen for the future.
13. I cycle towards the storm.
14. Animation Credits.

Story Kernel
Act:1

The animation starts with a shot of the sky.

T- “If you had to picture your life as a little island, how would you picture it? A small pile of sand, a
sunbed, maybe even a palm tree or two?” Maybe you even have a few bits memorabilia with you, like
your skateboard! Which doesn’t work in sand, why on earth would you bring a skateboard to a beach,
it’s all just sand?”

As items are being described, they appear on screen, palm trees rise from the ground, beach chair
falls from the sky, as does the skateboard.

Camera shakes around as if to indicate the camera man is refocusing on the topic.

T- “Anyway!”

Camera Pans back towards the sky.

The camera slowly pans down to reveal a shot of my full island, the view is side on, so you can always
see at least 50% of the island.

T- “My island, is a little different from the rest. It isn’t bad by any means, but its different enough that
it gives itself a sense of identity.”
T- “My island is different, you see, for I have something called Asperger’s or ass burgers to all of you
who have an offensive sense of humour”.

The camera zooms in on the island, very small, which has only a small Juniper tree growing on it, a
large rock with a hole in it, and a port.

T- “Asperger’s syndrome, for those of you who don’t know, is when a part of the human brain is wired
differently, basically, I think and act differently to most people.”

I walk out from behind the rock (My digital representation of myself walks out.), towards the edge of
the beach, and sit down by the water’s edge. Camera loosely follows me.

T- “Now this may sound all fine and dandy, make me sound like I’d just be a little eccentric and
generally quite silly right?”

I wave to a boat that is far away, but isn’t within shot of the camera, but due to my reaction, the boat
is implied.

A far-off voice shouts some form of insult, before having a coconut thrown at my head.

T- “Wrong.”

Laughter plays off in the distance.

T- “See, the main thing with my Asperger’s is I have one very odd trait, I have difficulty with
socialising. Because I’m different, I find it difficult to make friends, struggle conversation, and as one
could probably expect, I was targeted for, you guessed it bullying”.

At the end of this paragraph, another coconut is thrown at my head, so instead of just throwing it
back at them, I punch the coconut into the ground, and beat up the coconut.

After I’m done having a ‘Moment’, A storm rumbles in the distance and colour fades from the
animation, and the camera snaps from being on this side on view, to a frontal view of myself, you can
see in the face all the emotion draining out of it.

T- “The super sucky thing is, I really wanted friends, I really wanted company, but because of who I
used to be, I was a very lonely person.”

T- “I’d even get excited about the thought of people coming to my island, but they’d usually leave in a
hurry or just never come, so I’d be left waiting.”

As this part of the animation plays, shots of me running around the island at different times of day
waving to boats plays, only for me to be disheartened. As these reflections play out, I get less and less
enthusiastic.

T- “Sometimes, even going months, without either speaking, or having people talk to me.”

As these reflections play out, I get less and less enthusiastic.

I sit there in solitude for a little bit.

Screen fades to black.

Act 2:

T- “Now I know this may seem a little off topic, but I’d like to talk a little bit about my Nan.”

There is then a thumping noise, like wood.

T- “I’ve always had a special relationship with my Nan, she’s like a second mum.”

There is then a thumping noise, like wood.

The screen the jumps to a close up of my face/eyes, and I quickly sit up.

T- “And I have no idea why.”

The camera then quickly snaps to another shot a shot of me a bit further away, but the crate is still
out of view. Then again, the camera snaps to a view of the box.

The camera then snaps again to where the crate has been moved into the shade onto my island.

T- “But one day, out of the blue.”

I open the crate and the unicycle is inside.

T- “She just got me a unicycle, a one wheeled bike, I’ll be honest, I don’t really know why she got the
unicycle, but she told me to learn to ride it.”

Camera once again, the camera snaps to be further away, like a side on view.

T- “So at first, I wasn’t really fussed about it, and ignored it.”

I throw the unicycle over my head behind me. It lands on top of the rock only to roll down the it. The
camera follows the unicycle when its thrown. It then flies back at me, pummelling me into the ground.

T- “But after a while.”

I stand up and look at the unicycle clearly annoyed.

T- “And some encouragement.”

Unicycle seat puts out my fire

T- “I gave it a go.” You can see curiosity in my face as I look at the unicycle.

T- “A bit like my Asperger’s, the unicycle is very hard to control, but like everything else, with time and
patience, I got better.”

Montage of me getting better on the unicycle.

T- “And better!”

T- “Over time, people found it easier to communicate with me.”

The shot changes to me waking up, only to find a glass bottle on the beach, with a note inside.

T- “Then I got a bit of attention”

I then look a bit further along the beach, only to see many more glass bottles

T- “Then a lot of attention.”

My facial expression is a big exhale, as if I’m getting ready to do something big.

I send bottles back out to sea, three shots happen in the same position, each shot fading shows the
pile of bottles getting smaller and smaller.

T- “And as time went on, I grew as a person more! I’d broadened my horizons.”

The film then shows a few fades, of the water level dropping, to reveal more of the island.

T- “I’d done something really interesting, new and unique, I’d learnt to control my shortcomings, and
I’ve also grown immensely as a person!”

The next shot fades to the islands big rocks entrance, but the setting is darker, there are a few lighting
bolts cracking off in the distance, and the waves have stopped.

Act 3

T- “However”

A rumbling sound can be heard in the distance.

T- “My little island is only a part of a much bigger world, and at some point, I need to join that world.”

The shot pans out farther and farther as it shows all of the water is now gone, and the smooth rocky,
sandy floor has been revealed. I run back towards the island.

T- “I was always told from a young age by most of my peers that because of my Asperger’s, I would
never be able to amount to anything.”

The shot then cuts to near the floor, where my foot and a single wheel hits the floor.

T-“If only they could see me now, how far I’ve come, and how far I might go.”

Camera then cuts to a shot of me from the front, you can see in my body language, I’m scared, but
also excited.

I then mount the unicycle, and ride towards the storm.

T- “It’s yet to happen, the future is uncertain, inevitable, and absolutely terrifying, but eventually, it
will happen.”

A bolt of lightning strikes the ground near me.

The camera the snaps to the front of me, as I look back at my island.

T- “I could always just go back to how I used to be and none of this would ever be an issue for me,
that would be easy.”

A wind blows behind me, the camera snaps to a view very close to me but from the ground.

T- “But this world, this challenge, It’s also incredibly exciting, so like my Asperger’s.”

Another lightning bolt hits the ground.

T- “And my unicycle, I need to find a balance within myself, and the world around me.”

Another larger Lightning Bolt hits the ground.

T-“And if I can do that, I’ll happily ride into this eye storm, the future.”

A massive lightning strike begins to form. The camera moves behind me from a distance to show the
scale of the storm.

T- “This balance, this story, is mine, and I can’t wait.”

The screen goes black.

T- “To see how it ends.”

[Credits]