Project: Parasol

Project: Parasol

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

I always liked the design of the umbrella, shielding people from the elements. How, there's all sorts of shapes and sizes with different designs printed on them. The Penguin character from the Batman series had an arsenal of them for an imaginitive array of functions; from a machine gun to a personal helicopter. Available on the market today are umbrellas with hidden daggers and swords in the handle for protection. The idea I have is for a show or movie that revolves around a prototype umbrella, but it's unlike anything seen before.

Think about how a magician can seemingly pull many, sometimes large, objects from places that don't seem to have the capacity to hold such items. Now imagine that he used an open umbrella as the place from which he pulled these objects. Furthermore, imagine having the ability to store objects inside the umbrella, close it, and walk away as if everything was normal. This is the main idea of the story; an umbrella being used as a suitcase.

I haven't completely figured out how the umbrella was created or found, and by whom. I'm playing with the idea of a brilliologist who discovers an umbrella that was made by a "successful" alchemist (haven't decided which one yet) in an antique shop. The brilliologist wants to open the umbrella before buyingit but the owner of the antique shop wont let him due to superstition; saying it will bring bad luck (foreshadowing). He doesn't open the umbrella until he gets home. The brilliologist realizes the unique power of this umbrella and begins to abuseits unique ability.

Now, I am thinking the plot from here includes a person escaping from the umbrella and then stealing it. The person keeps just out of reach of the brilliologist in a sort of chase, while along the way clues are left to determine the person's identity and where the person might be going with the umbrella. Perhaps the alchemist's assistant who made a mistake in the past and abused the umbrella's abilities like the brilliologist (Fantasia plot). The assistant must return the umbrella to the alchemist (Lake (los) Arapa), even in this strange new world (time is not present in the umbrella). He'll return to where the alchemist was but find he is no longer there. The brilliologist and alchemist's assistant fight in the end, the brilliologist wins of course being the protagonist and traps the assistant back in the umbrella. He'll get over his love for this particular umbrella and destroy it.

I believe within the show, the umbrella will be black on the outside and pitch white on the inside maybe with some effects inside (production will be green for chroma keying). I'll need other umbrellas with holes in them to have the people takes things out of them and put things in. I haven't decided on what things should be important to be taken to be kept inside of the umbrella yet. During the abuse parts, it'll be other people's valuables taken but during sections where it might assist in the chase or fight, I'm not sure how to make use yet. More details to come.