grey 
  • proposal
Luke 10:29-37 NIV  
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."  
Grey is an interpretation of the story of the "Good Samaritan" from the New Testament in the Bible.  Actually, it's essence, associates itself with the story.  There are more issues of racism, segregation, and general compassion for others that I would like to tackle. 

 I would like to create a fully computer animated short film that tackles the above issues. 
 
 

STORY: 
 
 On a dark and stormy night as rain threatens from overhead we find an oddly shaped individual lying, close to death, in a small, dark alley.  The figure moves only so slightly.  It is weak and barely conscious.  Its eyes slowly open and flicker.  The figure moves moreso, appearing to have regained a little of its strength, rather, enough to make an attempt at rising.  After numerous attempts and failures, each one ever closer, the figure pulls itself up onto it's "feet".  It makes its way toward the lighted street area, all-the-while using random objects in the alleyway for support.  Some give way, causing the figure to fall and stumble. 

Flashback:  The figure steps out of a transporter and looks around a bit.  It turns, then moves in a particular direction into, what appears to be a densely populated area.  As the character moves about the streets, it remains unaware of the bystanders that stare and even glare as it goes by.  Crowds open up and part to allow the figure to move on by.   

A "car" races toward the camera from off in the distance (only headlights can be seen). The figure stumbles from out of the alley.  The "car"  screeches and turns in time to avoid hitting the figure.   The windshield lowers revealing an aristocratic type of individual.  The figure looks up and then raises its arm.  The "aristocrat" assuming that the figure is looking for spare change, looks back inside the vehicle (laughter can be heard), briefly, then tosses out some change before closing the window.  The vehicle speeds off and the figure is left alone.  It lowers its arm and shakes its head.  With a sigh it begins to move again. 

The figure stares at a sign denoting exclusion.  He peers inside and sees a group of "rounders" looking back out.  They have menacing looks of "Don't even think about coming in here".  The figure drops his head and walks away. 

The figure staggers up the steps of what appears to be a religious place of worship.  The figure bangs on the doors, then collapses to the ground.  After a long while the door opens.  A "rounder" peers out from inside, looks around then looks down and becomes startled.  The figure looks up and as before raises its arm toward the "rounder".  The rounder shakes its head.  It is obviously annoyed.  It angrily points to a sighn then quickly pulls itself into the structure and slams the door.  The sign that it points to denotes the hours of operation. 

The figure is thrown against a wall.  Three other figures with odd shaped masks, surround the figure.  The three figures begin to beat the character repeatedly. 

A small group of "rounders" walk through the night.  From a distance they see the figure collapsed on the steps.  One of the group points the group toward a different direction, wanting to go elsewhere and not get involved, away from the collapsed figure.  While one of the "rounders" starts walking off,  the second hesitates looks as the third, unsure of what to do, it walks off as well.  The third figure looks at the victim lying hapless on the steps and questions whether it should help.  It looks at the other two departing and begins to follow.  As it does, it looks back one last time.  As this happens, the figure opens it's eyes and makes eye contact with the last member of the group.   Seeing the group leave, the figure drops its head and closes its eyes. 

The figure reawakens to see the group that walked away hover over it, with concerned expressions on their faces.  An ambulance enters the scene. 

The face on the collapsed figure is one of happiness and content.  The camera pulls back and the viewer sees that the figure is all alone in the original alleyway.  Fade to black. 
 
 

PRODUCTION: 
The models, animation, textures, lighting, and editing of Grey will be produced at theElectronic Visualization Laboratory, at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  Grey will encompass a time frame of roughly 5-10 minutes in duration. 
 
Sound engineered/composed by Sean O'Loughlin 

Learn Alias|Wavefront Modeling and Animation Software: 

  • Maya  -  modeler and animation package
  • Studiopaint  -  3d paint package
  • Composer  -  Video Editing tool.
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    SHOW: 
    To be held at the Behavioral Sciences Building in room 250, on the night of April 30th, and the afternoon of May 1st.  The show will be held in conjunction with Thomas Frisch's MFA show.  A reception will be held during the April 30th showing.  Food and drink will be served and music provided. 
     
    The show will mark a "retrospective" of work produced during the Graduate School years.  As Grey will be the featured presentation, other works of the past will also be on display- namely two short claymation pieces: "A Long Night" and "Stripped".