Character Development - Mime

Here's a brief run-through of what my chosen Mime characters are to go through in each of the proposed scenes. Western v Superhero Western Character – Clumsy New guy in town enters a saloon and heads to the bar to order a drink. How does he enter through the swinging doors? Acting cool, he enters with an exaggerated cowboy strut, pushing both doors violently aside. As he steps over the threshold, he glances around from under his hat, chewing on a toothpick, only to have the swinging doors swing back and push him off balance, he tumbles forward, and saves himself by hanging onto the bar. How does he order a drink? Dusting himself down after his dramatic entrance, he plays it cool again, gesturing to the barman with a pointed finger, he tips his hat. He places his arm on the bar, palm open as he waits for his drink to slide into it. He misses. A smash can be heard, and after a second or two delay, he looks about confused, to the other end of the bar, as if the glass has just shot off the end. A pretty girl! But she's with another man... Does he notice her? He tries to order another drink, but is distracted by the woman’s entrance. He lifts off his hat, licks his palm and smooths down his hair. He then leans nonchalantly against the bar, attempting to look cool, only to slip off as his gaze follows her. Does he grab her attention? He hastily pulls himself up against the bar. As he puts his hat back on, he stops suddenly, she's looking right at him! He leans carefully against the bar, winks and gestures a hello with his hand at her. Her boyfriend has spotted you! Draw your pistol! What does he do? He spots the approaching man, with a start, he jumps back, and begins fumbling with his belt looking for his pistol. How does he draw his gun? He pulls the pistol sharply from its holster, and begins to spin it on his trigger finger, only to drop it. He fumbles to try and save it from falling, only to have it go off. He crouches and hides his face, as a bullet ricochets about the bar. He finally looks up, only to see quite a mess, and some angry patrons. He sidles to the left, and quickly runs off screen. Superhero Character – Theatrical The superhero enters How does he enter? He 'action rolls' onto the screen, and lands in a crouched pose, his face hidden behind his forearm, as if he were holding his cape. He scans the scene, with darting, shifty eyes, before settling slightly. A baby is in trouble! Where is the baby? The baby is falling from a bypass above our hero. Does our hero catch the baby? In one swift, over dramatic motion, the hero scoops up the baby just in the nick of time. He bundles the baby safely into his cape. Danger! Danger senses tingling! His head snaps up suddenly from looking at the baby in his arms, he darts on his toes a little as he scans from left to right, then he looks up, and strikes an over the top pose of realization. A Meteor! How does he react? Never one to play the coward, our hero braces himself, and looks directly at the meteor with a steely gaze. What about the baby?! Without taking his eyes of the approaching meteor, he gently sets the baby down, and slides it out of the way with his toe. Is he ready? The hero once again, braces himself for impact, gaze fixed on the meteor, arms raised in anticipation, he widens his stance slightly, to give himself more purchase on the ground. Hurray! He saved us from the meteor! Can his body handle it? As the meteor impacts with our hero, he immediately buckles under its weight. But he grits his teeth, breaths, and slowly begins to push up against it. What dies he do with the meteor? As he reaches his full height, still pushing against the meteor, he pauses, breaths, and suddenly, whoosh! He swings the meteor round, once, twice, three times, and sends it flying off screen. He did it! How does he react? He immediately crouches. Takes a few breaths, the hides behind his cape once more. He scans the area, and whoosh, he leaves in a dramatic flurry. More development is needed to find out who the characters really are, what makes them tick etc. But this is just something to go on to build two initial rough animatics on, so we can pick a final idea to run with.