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Advice from the Governor - Bringing Our Aliens to Life - "The Zenoids" Character Discussion
Agent Smith here. As the Governor of our Writing Planet posted in the Creatia bulletins:
"Put down your weapons and pick up your imaginations. Shooting aliens is easier than writing about them. You've got the look of the Zenoids on the Orion Starship page... now it's your task to bring them to life. My two mantras for the Zenoids (not that anyone asked) are: (1) It may be funny, it may be dramatic, but it is always science-fiction. (2) Maintain the internal logic." - Alan Dean Foster, Governor of Creatia
The Governor is certainly right - even with character bios and show info to start from, bringing an alien to life is a little harder than emptying dirty bio-filters over an electrically charged nutrient bath. As we all start working on Zenoids scripts, how is everyone seeing the characters? Discuss your development with your fellows here!
"Put down your weapons and pick up your imaginations. Shooting aliens is easier than writing about them. You've got the look of the Zenoids on the Orion Starship page... now it's your task to bring them to life. My two mantras for the Zenoids (not that anyone asked) are: (1) It may be funny, it may be dramatic, but it is always science-fiction. (2) Maintain the internal logic." - Alan Dean Foster, Governor of Creatia
The Governor is certainly right - even with character bios and show info to start from, bringing an alien to life is a little harder than emptying dirty bio-filters over an electrically charged nutrient bath. As we all start working on Zenoids scripts, how is everyone seeing the characters? Discuss your development with your fellows here!
Discussion started by AgentSmith , on 26 January 12:06 PM
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Dochwho1Muise, I second that suggestion, provided my earlier suggestion is not the one they go with.
Thursday, 30 June 2011 03:22
Just a thought....Skorp is the family protector. He is enigmatic, a member of a super-secret organization, the straight man but with a subtle and powerful sense of humor.
Thursday, 30 June 2011 02:31
@RMoore080 - Or she grows swirls, polka-dots, or somerather. Some detail involved, but not as complex as plaid. And brightly (neon?) colored something that is really difficult to try and conceal.
Or perhaps something more physiological like pronounced nostril swelling? Profusely sweaty ear...lobe...extremity-thingies. If we were to get a little racy - her bum inflates at oddly random times. Even funnier, when they inflate they inflate with naturally generated helium, so they have a tendency to float off if unchecked. Of course this leads to a great many fart jokes - but gas product placement would make huge bucks around this...
And to make it slightly funnier the end of the episode would have mom and daughter have heart-to-heart they have a bonding moment and as the two walk off, both Zira and Zara have immensely inflated behinds (or somesuch.)
Yeah, I just went a little crazy. Sorry. This is, of course, highly insensitive about women, and me being a guy, things could really go south.
Or perhaps something more physiological like pronounced nostril swelling? Profusely sweaty ear...lobe...extremity-thingies. If we were to get a little racy - her bum inflates at oddly random times. Even funnier, when they inflate they inflate with naturally generated helium, so they have a tendency to float off if unchecked. Of course this leads to a great many fart jokes - but gas product placement would make huge bucks around this...
And to make it slightly funnier the end of the episode would have mom and daughter have heart-to-heart they have a bonding moment and as the two walk off, both Zira and Zara have immensely inflated behinds (or somesuch.)
Yeah, I just went a little crazy. Sorry. This is, of course, highly insensitive about women, and me being a guy, things could really go south.
Tuesday, 15 February 2011 05:31
@Tig - hah - I like it. Maybe have her skin color turn plaid for short periods of time (sorry, no pun intended). Or, since the artists will probably complain about trying to animate plaid, we could make it purple or pink or red.
Tuesday, 15 February 2011 04:37
Just had a thought (oh god here he goes again!) I'n not sure if this is appropriate but Ziri is' sort of an almost teenager, yes? So many of the family-oriented shows dealt with the kids becoming teenagers (Peter Brady's voice change in the Brady Bunch for example) Wht if Ziri reached the non terrestrial equivalent of puberty. Of course, let's not go into the deatils of actual HUMAN biology, but make something up like pronounced hair growth in the pits. I mean really BAD huge tufts of fur in a few hours bad.
How would that affect little miss Ziri during a performance? WHat would she do to keep from becoming by a "heavy growth day?" Dang it's too bad these are just meant to be shorts and not episodic. So many ideas folks must have...Ah well.
Cheers.
How would that affect little miss Ziri during a performance? WHat would she do to keep from becoming by a "heavy growth day?" Dang it's too bad these are just meant to be shorts and not episodic. So many ideas folks must have...Ah well.
Cheers.
Monday, 14 February 2011 22:25
I like drawings. Yeah, I envisioned Ziri's hoop harp as this thing she could wear and play by banging it with her hips and elbows while she danced.
@tig - Skorp was most often the best thing about some of the specs. Writers do their best work when it resonates with them, so if they get to pick who someone is, then they can run with it where their brain wants to go. That often happens with spec scripts, in my experience - the side characters can often end up with the best jokes because the spec writer feels "freer" with them. Then again, there are some characters that just scream for great jokes (Bender on Futurama - I'd burn out trying to write that show...)
@tig - Skorp was most often the best thing about some of the specs. Writers do their best work when it resonates with them, so if they get to pick who someone is, then they can run with it where their brain wants to go. That often happens with spec scripts, in my experience - the side characters can often end up with the best jokes because the spec writer feels "freer" with them. Then again, there are some characters that just scream for great jokes (Bender on Futurama - I'd burn out trying to write that show...)
Monday, 14 February 2011 18:21
@ Agent Smith....well i would picture a "hoop-harp" as an instument that is worn. a smaller hoop around the character and another one a fott or two "out" with the strings or maybe eel like creatures as strings that make a weird sound...i can draw something up if you want ...
Sunday, 13 February 2011 19:39
@Sauria LaRue - I know. When I took the first look at Skorp I was figuring he was like the catch-all character for whatever skit people could use like the "Aww, now isn't that cute...BUT IT'S WRONG" guy from 2 Stupid Dogs. I figured that they way they left thic character so ambiguous he could be thrown into any number of situations as either the antagonist, the lackey, the "old college pal", the "whacky neighbor", and so on and so forth. It's going to be hard for the admins to decide just what scripts to use, but I am sure that is how folk went with Skorp and threw him into jut about every role that can be though of opposite the family.
Be interesting to see what everyone has dreamed up when the time comes...
Be interesting to see what everyone has dreamed up when the time comes...
Sunday, 13 February 2011 16:01
Hi, Magnus: We have invented some instruments (how would you visualize a "hoop-harp"?). We're always open to hearing. There is a ship in the concept art that's not up, but that should change soon....
Sunday, 13 February 2011 13:52
ok is it safe to assume the Zenoids need "everything" like instruments and transportation, a place to live??
Saturday, 12 February 2011 12:51