who likes stories?

Boy, I didn't realize how much this blog has been neglected. Class4 of AnimationMentor consumed more time than I expected. It was great because I learned a ton, especially about acting. Actually, I would like to pick up some books on acting. Does anyone have a recommendation? I was initially planning on buying Ed Hook's Acting for Animators and Desemond Morris' Manwatching.
The two character dialogue test still has one more shot to clean up. I took a break from it, but now I am refreshed and plan to wrap it up!! Will definitely post it up for feedback soon!

Class5 of AnimationMentor has already begun and it's a lot of fun. We are currently pitching story ideas. Please feel free to give me your opinions, I want them to be entertaining to as many people as possible. Only thing I want to mention beforehand is that I am trying to keep this story under a 60 seconds (ideally 30 seconds).


It Reeks
We open with the Empire State Building on a hot and restless summer day. Down below we see a line out the door. This is where we meet our good friends, Aye and Bee. They are excited and ready to see the cityscape from atop this historic building. Suddenly Bee smells what reminds him of rotten milk. Aye notices this and doesn't smell a thing. He motions at a filthy sewer drain as the cause. Bee reacts by pulling his shirt to his nose. Then, while in line for the elevator, Bee almost yacks again! 'What is this revolting smell?!,' Bee thinks. Aye is shocked by Bee's response and sniffs the person in front. Aye nods and motions to Bee that it must be the guy in front. And then, FINALLY, they get to the elevator. Bee walks in, slightly queezy but relieved that is just the two of them in the elevator. As the doors close, Aye passes gas again with a sigh of relief and satisfaction. Bee's face goes from gagging to sudden realization about the smell's source.
moral: Occam's razor. All things considered, the simplest answer is often the right one.


Caring
We open with an exhausted boy mowing the front lawn and keeping an eye on his dog. The dog is full of energy and eager to play with his boy. He feels ignored and wants to play. As the boy is mowing away, the dog uses his nose to nudge him. The boy wearily smiles and signals the dog to move out of the way. The dog jumps away and into a playful stance. Without so much as a glance, the boy gets back to mowing the lawn. It takes a moment for this to click in the dog's head. Once it does, he jumps in front of the lawn mower and wags his tail earnestly. This time the boy is a little irritated and yells at the dog. The dog scurries off.
As he is emptying the grass out of the lawn mower, he hears a car come to a screeching halt and someone screaming the background. He looks around for the dog and panics when he sees the dog gone! He becomes worried and runs to the house to get his phone. In route, he trips over his sleeping dog. He has a huge welt on his head as he looks back to see his dog. The dog looks up with tired eyes and licks his boy. The boy responds by giving a big hug.
moral: cherish your friends.

Trick or Treat
We open with a boy sleeping in bed. It is the morning after Halloween. Mom barges in and yells at them to come to breakfast. We hear a rustling above and *THUMP*, his younger brother rolls of his bed (bunk beds) and falls to the ground. A pile of wrappers fall on top of him. As the younger brother gets up, both of them see a gobstopper bouncing and rolling on the ground to a stop. The brothers' eyes connect and they have a stare down. They both make a dive for it. There is a small brawl as they tumble, and the older overpowers his younger brother. As The older brother gets up and pretends to swallow it, we see the younger start to sniffle. The older brother laughs and goes to breakfast.
Just as Bee is about to let out his tears, he feel's Aye's hand nooging his head. He sees Aye smiling and offering the gobstopper back.
moral: better to give than receive, but why not have fun too.

Yardwork
We open with a beautifully well kept yard. The camera centers on a well groomed bush in the shape of a perfect sphere.
From behind the bush, a neighbor's head pops over the fence, a look of aggression on his face. As quickly as we see him pop up, his head pops down.
On his side of the fence is an overgrown yard, and we see him hunched over and bush as a bee. He is working on his own... bush like thing.
His face is inches from his plant and snippets of green fly out in all directions as he trims away. A twig here, leaf there, no detail is permitted. He even manages to sand down a branch stump.
Finally satisfied, he stands back and wipes away his sweat. Nothing has felt so good as today's yar-
His eyes suddenly fixate on what he's created.
Instead of a beautiful sphere of leaves, before him stands before a drooping, indescribably green blob.
He becomes outraged. One more look over the fence and steam blows from his ears!
As we focus on his face, the tension builds in his face. A series of small explosions seem to set off in the back of his mind. Suddenly, an explosive jolt runs through his body and he chops his plant in half!
His breathing slows down. He looks back at his plant, sad to have been so brutal. To his surprise, the pineapple shaped plant now looks like an apple. Feeling encouraged he makes a few more snips and wala! The camera zooms out to see a perfect sphere bush the size of a golf ball.
moral: don't get too close to your work.

Grand Canyon
We open with a sign saying 'Grand Canyon 100 miles.' We cut to a family driving through the desert in the blistering afternoon heat. The father is driving, sweating and clearly tired. His wife is absorbed in the map, and is using an extra fan to keep her cool. The son is in the backseat having a blast playing paddle ball with dad (hitting dad in the head with the ball). We cut to the wheels coming to a stop. We see the footsteps of mother and son running down the hill as father slowly gets out of the car. Next we see the father carrying all the food and camping supplies down the hill. As he is walking, his foot lands in a pothole and he loses his balance! He regains his footing, but half the supplies have already tumbled down the hill. Grumpy and tired, he keeps moving without a second thought. He starts walking again and he trips on a tree root. This time he has no chance of catching himself. He lands face first, tumbling down the hill. We see him in back breaking positions, rolling amongst the food and camping gear. He hits is suddenly close lined by an oncoming branch. He lands on his back near his campsite. He see's his wife has already setup the campsite and is with they are rushing toward him. They arrive to him with a smile.
moral: attitude changes how you view the world.