After talking to Alan, it was suggested that I focus my animation around the "Stay Young at Heart" theme. So it would be like 5 characters, doing 5 daily things but one character's action opens the window to the next character's action. Example would be an old woman dancing in the rain and jumps on to a puddle of water. When the water splashes, it brings us to the next character singing in the shower and so on. However, I had an element that was lacking to tie everything together so I had a chat with Phil to get his perspective. In our conversation, he suggested that I looked into Jenny Joseph's Poem titled "Warning".
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.
You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
Or only bread and pickle for a week
And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And pay our rent and not swear in the street
And set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple
I think in this poem, I was able to find the element that was lacking in my initial idea and hence, I have decided to do an adaptation of this as it both visually descriptive and it still has the "Stay at Young Heart" vibe that I want in my animation.
Below are the parts I've extracted from the poem which I would like to adapt and create an animation on.
When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple
To make my character characterful, I will be looking into Margaret Rutherford, Betty White and the sitcom - The Golden Girls. In terms of the design aspect, I've looked into Belleville Rendezvous as I have envisioned my character to be a stylish old lady.
