The Piano (Aiden Gibbons - 2007)

The Piano is another animation. This short depicts perfectly the mood we're going for in our piece. In particular, we like the strong use of music within the piece; not just as a non-diagetic sound but a love the couple shared throughout their lives; much like the marbles in our piece.

When the ghost of the elderly woman kisses the elderly man at 0:43, I like the simplicity of the way the story is told. Their shared love is playing the piano. It would be nice to have a similar shot, however, without the ghost of the elderly woman (or man) at the side of them. For example, in a similar shot composition could be the elderly man playing with the marbles and there is a distinct lack of a presence on the right hand side of the screen. It could be interesting to play with the symbolism of such shots in our short drama to portray the lack of a loved one - the emptiness.

In terms of the narrative arc in this short animation, as their life together begins to unfold around the piano as he plays it, it becomes evident that he is showing/telling his grandson of the story of their lives together before he was born. In a sense, our piece will also show the lives our elderly grandparents had together through the journey of them finding the marbles once they are "lost".

Through that journey the granddaughter truly realises the love they had for each other and what the effect can be once that loved one has gone. An understanding and realisation comes between them right at the end as they hold hands; a relationship has been restored and the gap between the older and younger generation has been bridged.