TITLE: Marbles
WRITTEN BY: Danielle Olson
FORMAT: Short Animated Film (5-10 minutes) | Drama
SYNOPSIS: In a world where lives are measured by a jar of marbles and our days are literally numbered, Lisa is coming to terms with and preparing for her final days with her family. As she reminisces the time she’s had with her family, her daughter has yet to realize her mom will be gone soon until it’s almost too late.
WHY THIS STORY: The sudden passing of my mother is what inspired me to write Marbles. It takes place in a world where everyone knows when they will pass away which is represented by how many marbles are left in their jars. In this world, people can plan for their death and spend time with their loved ones before they are gone; something I wish I could have done with my mom.
MARBLES WORLD: Marbles is set in a world where each individual is given a jar of marbles at birth. Each marble represents one day in a person’s life. At midnight each night, one marble in the jar will disintegrate into bright sparkly dust. This represents the passing of time and one day closer to death. Given the format length, there is no plan to explain how many marbles are determined at birth, but to leave this to the audience’s interpretation.
DIALOGUE/MUSIC: There is one line of dialogue. The intent is for the animated visuals and musical score to move the story through its emotional arcs. The only line of dialogue will be my mother’s actual words/voice from one of our home videos.
ANIMATION STYLE: The idea is for the film to be primarily done using 2D animation, but to potentially use 3D animation for the marbles and all sparkly dust effects.
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