TRUTHERISM 101 - Pre-Production - Conceptual Outline
For the /s/Trutherism101 project.
First posted: 2019-06-14 | Last update: 2019-07-15
T101 - Content Overview Summary
Without repeating the entire vague Trutherism 101: Content Overview, I'm just going to start with these bits:
Trutherism 101 an anti-authoritarian, anti-corruption, agitprop, philosophy-comedy, animated-short series project that will be transparently published on this sub where it will be refined, developed, and evolve with public feedback.
A younger cybergoth woman and an older sage-guru-sensei man hang out in a perpetual golden hour on top of the Grizzly Deer Life Peak to discuss trutherism exposing the Machiavellian abuses of authority, the corruption of power, the monopolies on violence, on currencies, and on ideas by deception, manipulation, exploitation, and extermination in the powerful elite rigged matrix of systems forming a full spectrum dominance and enslavement of Earth via intentional misinformation entrainment, social engineering and manufactured consent. But with humour. Allegedly.
Trutherism 101 aims to hit the most critical issues, spun with humour, comically critical of all views including my own, though without delving into woo. The meme-like series of animated-shorts will be developed here on SaidIt. Most of these shorts will fit on the framework of a larger ambitious [narrative outline](▶▶▶▶▶_LINK Coming Soon HERE!!!_◀◀◀◀◀) - the basis for a Trutherism docu-mockumentary feature film.
T101 - My Proposal Seeks Your Feedback
Please freely join in on this dedicated /s/GlossedOver open discussion, and specifically about this Conceptual Outline give feedback with comments and reviews here.
It's been over 14 months since I made any significant effort on the InfoGalactic page. (Only recommended for those who are very curious about the long outdated earlier versions of these incomplete concepts forming and a litte more history about the origins of this project: https://InfoGalactic.com/info/Trutherism_101. Eventually I'll update the parallel project development for those who prefer that illustrated format, as I do. I apologize in advance, for this outline and that old outline and my tedious writing. I haven't even looked at that old page yet to try to copypasta any good parts into this one.) I'd stalled after getting wrapped up in custom copyright sidebars. I have so much more now fully formed and/or further developed in mind - so I just started this version on SaidIt from scratch. I also have an excess of of notes, many sketches, started a painting, and an abundance of reference content - not to mention I haven't yet posted my outline on InfoGalactic. I'll try not to get too bogged down unnecessarily in details and hope you'll let me know what needs more or less - or weigh in on anything.
I'll skip over further history and details of how I developed and arrived at this project concept included in [Glossed And Profound: Origin Story, A Brief History On How These Projects Came To Be] (▶▶▶▶▶_LINK Coming Soon HERE!!!_◀◀◀◀◀) .
T101 - General Creative Goals
T101 - Simplicity
The concept, setting, format, and characters should be as simple as possible, with enough style to keep it interesting. Despite countless explorations into variations and elaborate sets it's all come down back to this fundamental idea, sometime bringing a practical or flourishing remnant, sometimes not.
Why simplicity?
- To keep focus on the characters' discussions.
- Efficiency and speed in a limited animation applied with style. We have a lot of content to cover and we can't be bogged down in chasing after photorealism in the uncanny valley.
- Sometimes less is more.
- To exude (the illusion of) wisdom and Zen.
T101 - Fundamental Rules
Sure rules are made to be broken, but these rules are for good reason, so let's get this out of the way.
1) No swearing, no rudeness, no crassness, no name calling, no sexuality, and no un-PC triggering.
This show is not aimed at children, but we don't need to alienate them either. But this is not just a family friendly show. This is a show to challenge all conventions in the status quo. By keeping it 100% polite they will have to ban us for our ideas and nothing else, and their censorship motivations will be laid more bare than ever.
2) Avoid naming people, even evil doers, especially if they're still alive.
To avoid the cult of personality, on this Trutherism 101 show, we must try to never make jokes about politicians, celebrities, truthers, or YouTubers to not get pulled into timesucking drama and distraction from real ideas and real issues. Further it's impossible to know how much anyone is an ignorant brainwashed sheeple, limited hangout, or evil agent of the corporatocracy.
Exceptions to these rules must be extra earned on several levels to illustrate some serious points. These exceptions might be published last to delay wraths incurred by speaking truths on power.
T101 - Just Two Characters
The characters, an older man and a younger woman will have deep conversations, with humour. I sought contrast and diversity for interest, not for any SJW nonsense. I'm an older dude. As an illustrator and character designer I like younger women. (The designs and series will show that it's not sexual.) The younger female have as many answers as the "wise old man", to be fair and to subvert expectations and stereotypes.
I'd narrowed it down to this decision well before The Last Jedi and I'd debated changing it but when this project is produced The Last Jedi will long be history. I can't care about other similar examples (unless they steal and warrant legal action).
T101 - Other Characters?
I'd also considered having completely different characters substitute for the two main characters, to subvert expectations and stereotypes, as well as diversify. But it'd be a lot of extra work. Perhaps later on. This could illustrate the spreading of "the word", so to speak.
I think the series could be like the existential play Waiting For Godot, but with more purpose, more humour, and not waiting for someone who never shows up. Additional characters take a lot of work for little payoff. They could be familiar pet critters, visiting friends, or passing strangers. I'm not against adding one or few other supplimentary characters, for very good reasons, if necessary.
Other famous buddy teams and philosophizers include Calvin and Hobbes, Red Letter Media, Ren and Stimpy, Beavis and Butt-Head, Bill & Ted, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, etc. Tsai Chih Chung presents comical philosophy of Laozi, Liezi, and Zhuangzi made accessible and popular through plain language and cartoon graphics.
Duplicating the characters is easy. For a Kraft Dinner commercial we had one character, duplicated many times. Each version displayed custom features. Different coloured shirts, pants, skin, hair, as well as accessories like pigtails, ponytails, hoodie, long sleeves, glasses, and alt-shoes. Finally, scaling some bigger and smaller made them all seem unique - but they were all the same. (I animated one picking his nose, blurred out centered in the handle of the mug.)
As an example, early on, I'd thought of a flock of Sisyphus boulder pushers with a joke about rush hour. But that was with a different mountain idea. Further there's not enough payoff for one non-topical joke, but if there was a running gag or ways to make it relatable or applicable to topics.
As another example, there's no end to the number of ways the corporatocracy or technocracy could be represented. For example, hovering surveillance drones, abusive police drones, pushy corporate advertising drones, etc etc etc - like annoying birds begging for food or attention, or pesky mosquitoes or rats.
T101 - Character Species?
Nothing prevents these characters from being less-humanoid. I find some elfin, fairy/faerie/fae, cats, and foxes face features pretty. I find actresses with certain feline features very attractive. My character designs thus far have some of these features.
I don't have a good reason, but I considered giving the older man rams horns on the side of his head, much like this Monty Python character, this ancient bust of Zeus, or this neat sculpture.
It seems timeless, epic, and legendary, yet I don't necessarily want to promote too much fantasy having discussions about very real authority, power, deception, manipulation, exploitation, and extermination. Further, I don't want to promote deviancy, whether it's esoteric Satanist/Luciferian woo, or the furry fandom without know more about it, or even being remotely confused for endorsing bestiality. The content will be mature, but there will be no sex, violence, or swearing. I refuse to provide the powers that be trivial grounds or excuses to censor this show. We must force their abuses of censorship to be as excessively blatant and obvious as possible.
I've also considered designing the characters to be partially or entirely mechanical, perhaps from the future. I love well designed tech, but like good design, including in robots, cyborgs, or bionic augmented characters, it's always far better with functional and pragmatic purposes. Adding layers of meaning adds layers of legitimacy.
One more additional note, it might be nice for one or both characters begin as a biomech to evolve into something more human (and zen). Of particular interest is the intentionally poorly designed NPC aka Non-Player Character meme that implies people/sheeple are a horde of brainwashed conformist Borg-like electro-zombie droids.
I'd even considered giving them unique non-human pastel skin-tones, but now a lot of superheroes seem to have bright green, blue, and purple skin, so I don't know. I've even considered having their skin tone shift over an entire episode, say starting with light purple, going light blue, and by the end light green. But there needs to be a good reason for this distraction.
Making unique characters doesn't require mechanically augmented, genetically altered, or non-human species. I like many of the attire, fashions, costumes, and styles of Burning Man pARTicipants, so I intend to have her in cybergoth attire to some degree. He'll be in a sage-mage-druid, hippie-rave-wizard outfit of my own design, perhaps like my 2004 sketch for a Burning Man outfit. If possible I'd like to have their attire progress over time so that they might either swap styles or evolve to different styles all together.
Other weird ideas, if there's a reason, meaning, or purpose, of course...
I like the idea of hybrids. Nor for weird occult reasons. Just because they're fun. There's a long List of hybrid creatures in folklore, including creatures like the Anzû, Buraq, Centaur, Cherub, Chimera, Enlil, Griffin, Harpy, Kamadhenu, Lamassu, Manticore, Mermaid, Minotaur, Pegasus, Sharabha, Sphinx, Thunderbird, and Yali. While it would be a lot of extra work, it would be fun to have each episode pull back to reveal their heads or bodies on different these creatures. This running gag could have people guessing as well as illustrating that not everything is as it first appears. Other variations on this concept could include pulling off a mask or transforming into something else, organic or mechanical. Maybe they turn around and have another face on the back of their head, or in their belly. Maybe the camera pulls back to find that below the waist they are just finger puppets on a hand. It could get weird - if there's a reason.
T101 - Why Weird Characters?
As much as I like being weird, without a good compelling reason to make the character designs overly distracting, I won't just add it.
Fortunately I have one good reason to put in the extra effort to design them as bionic-creatures from space - to "fictionalize" them. Then perhaps they might be able to freely talk about something like "the Zooman foibles of planet Mirth", in a past regretful tense, as cautionary parables, rather than overtly discussing "the folly of historic and modern day humans on planet Earth."
I'd love to hear about other compelling reasons to get weird, or conversely, why the message should not be distracted from. Please share.
T101 - Titles & Names
T101 - Extended Titles
Potential versions of longer title(s):
Trutherism 101: Introductory Conspiracies For Dummies
and / or / a.k.a.
Trutherism 101: Well-Justified Distrust Of 'Authority' In All Things
Alternative title suggestions are welcome and I intend to do a survey, maybe a contest - after much more of it is presented for a fuller idea of what it is we're titling.
T101 - Character Names
Some have said Trutherism 101 is not a good title for the show without offering alternative improvements. I'm not opposed to changing the title, but it must be something better. Trutherism 101 characters are secondary to the message shared. The famous Calvin And Hobbes comic strip focused on the titular characters. I really don't see me doing the same but maybe. I have several potential names for these two characters, all with their own set of pros and cons.
My favourite so far is Pintle and Gudgeon. The pin in pintle is male and the gudgeon is the female - parts of a hinge. You may argue what the most important part of a boat is. The hull, the rudder, or, I make the case that the pintle and gudgeon together cooperate to keep the rudder attached to the boat and steerable. Without them we're rudderless and lost at sea. A metaphor for this show with direction and purpose.
Alternative name suggestions are welcome and I intend to do a survey, maybe a contest - after much more of it is presented for a fuller idea of what it is we're naming.
These are my potential name contenders (alphabetically):
- Acolytes & Stooges [As heard on Tragedy and Hope's Tragedy and Hope 101 interview with author Joe Plummer, 2016-02-28]
- (Don) "Jever" Trevor Wonder & (Dawn) "Chew" Sue Wonder [A pun on "don't you ever wonder?" Maybe they're related - daugher or granddaughter?]
- Duck & Cover
- Heathe & Sheela [He & She + the & la (feminine French for "the"), inversed the He and the She.]
- Hic Et Ubique (Latin = Here And Everywhere) [Conceived 2018-11-22, from watching The Corbett Report's The WWI Conspiracy - Part Two - The American Front, 2018-11-19]
- Hic Pintle & Ubique Gudgeon
- Pintle & Gudgeon [Conceived 2018-11-13, works on 7 levels - as names, sexes, cooperating, hinges, flexibility, critically important, and as steering]
- Roninbeau & Vertiassy [I wish I'd made a note of how I came up with this. Was it from somewhere or my original? Rōnin + good in French? Veritas+sy misspelled?]
- Sir Hick & Miss UrbAnne
- Wick & Fuse
- Mr. Eaze (Mr. Reece, Mr. Reiss) & Miss Dairy (Miss Teary, Miss Tayrie, Miss Stairy) [variations on Mystery, Mysteries, Mysterious]
T101 - Setting
I was avoiding the wise old man by a cave on a mountainside for quite some time before I ultimately embraced the stereotype intending to make it my own with much room to still be original.
I'd considered having a crude mountainside cave, larger on the inside like the Tardis, with extremely ornate neo-classical architecture in contrast to the rough exterior. The architecture would include a variety of proscenium arches in different styles from different eras, and like a movie theatre the viewing areas would display video clips to support their discussion. But I came up with another much simpler solution concept, if it's even necessary. (Hats and/or headgear with big brims that can turn on video screens - like reading their minds. Only when necessary.) I might avoid the clips all together. Simpler is better.
I used to feel I needed citation and video clips to support my content. Then I realized that, really, I hope my content will be cited by others and expanded upon and I need not be so dependent on proving myself, though that's still good to do. I still want supporting citations and reference in Truther Top 20s, but ultimately I want to make the good clips.
Rather than a mountain with a cave I settled on a hill top. The two characters sit up there and discuss things. The hilltop is half covered in grass contrasted with half bare stone. From a very specific angle it looks like a grizzly bear embracing an antlered deer buck. The buck's antlers are the only trees. On this "Deer Grizzly Life Peak" with a (gnarly fresh peach) tree of life, there will be other optical illusions from specific angles intended for various narrative purposes.
Where did the "Deer Grizzly Life Peak" name come from? Thoughts about the generic tree of life. A free speech typo for fresh peaches. And like Bittersweet Seeds, "_Life is not good. Life is not a bitch. Life is bittersweet." So too, life is grizzly and life is dear, and IMHO, we're at the peak of existence before the elite's corporatocracy wages a final purge upon humanity to cut most of us down like culling animals and making way for the technocracy's singularity.
What's lower down from the hill peak? We may never know. Maybe it's just an island peaking our of a sea of clouds. Maybe it's a floating mountain defying physics, logic, and reason (for a narrative purpose). I honestly have no plans in mind nor some great reveal in store - but I'm not opposed to figuring something out eventually.
T101 - Golden Hour
It's always golden hour with vibrant contrasts, a deep blue sky, and warm billowing clouds like Maxfield Parrish or N.C. Wyeth paintings. There may or may not be a sun, or at least none in a shot - so it may seem close to sunset/sunrise but we'll never know. You never know if the sun is rising or setting - like a glass half full or half empty. Lastly, using selective wide shots, beyond the hilltop and sky there will never be anything else seen, such as more hills, mountains, bodies of water, cities, or town, or even a horizon. This may seem strange but properly framed people won't even notice for a while if ever, though I expect eventually after several episodes some may wonder if there's anything beyond. This may make for an interesting meta conversation episode on how there's always so much more that we don't know and can't even imagine - and so much more "they" don't want us to know.
T101 - Atmosphere
I'm considering applying some rendering and post effects, depending if the design aesthetics warrant or not. For example, a shallow depth of field can be well used (or abused) for a bokeh stylization effect. Atmosphere may also be cultivated with fog, mist, floating dust motes, pollen, fluffy seeds, etc.
T101 - Graphic Design
In contrast, extreme graphic design my be better suited, inspired by agitprop stencils or other illustrative treatments to complement the animation, limited or not.
T101 - Props
I'm not against having props, like food or drink, or books to quote from, but they must serve a purpose. In addition to the hill, grass, rocks, and tree, I've even considered having a waist-high stone wall. The wall could illustrate a divide, and part of it could be broken down in disrepair. Part could be like stairs, another part could be like a table, eat on, look at a map, or to play chess on. All of this is interesting but I like the all-natural hilltop. Perhaps the wall can be lower down the hill with the hilltop in the background. Perhaps several chapters could have an extended set in this manner.
All of these setting ideas must be utilized or discarded to serve and follow the lead of the written content and its themes.
T101 - Bonus Concept - Episodic Themes
Episodic themes may be implemented in addition to all the primary elements covered above in this Conceptual Outline. So far it seems there are a few critical requirements necessary to warrant application of episodic themes.
- An episodic theme must be relevant to the episode's goals which will follow the [Overarching Content Structure] (▶▶▶▶▶_LINK Coming Soon HERE!!!_◀◀◀◀◀), aka Chapters And Sub-Chapters. This means no random themes just for fun. It must be on topic.
- It must remain in this established limited world. No new locations, characters, etc.
- There must be a balance of themed episodes. Not too many to lose effect and make it cheap, yet not too few to make it seem like a random mistake.
For example, assuming there were appropriate tie-ins to the topic at hand, the two characters above might mock a scene from Star Trek, Star Wars, Lord Of The Rings, Game Of Thrones, or parody other well-known pop culture.
We may use authentic sound effects or audio soundbites - or - just do bad impressions with mouth-made sound effects. It's advisable to pick one or the other and stick to it for consistency.
T101 - Opening And Closing Credits
T101 - Opening Credits
I have an animation project in progress that could serve as the opening credits of the first series, maybe even more, depending. It started as an opening for the Zoon Politikon YouTube channel but stalled out. I revived it for a bit and intend to eventually finish it. It will also serve as a promotional advertisement for SaidIt.net. After it's been long established (ie. 5 years) as the SaidIt.net commercial and opening for Zoon and T101, I intend to open-source the animation without our banding over it.
That animation might stick. Or maybe we can come up with something else more fitting. Maybe it's extreme 2D graphic design, a montage of clips, all new animation, a new scenario, a new style, a psychedelic journey through conspiracies, a map of the Overarching Content Structure Review (aka Chapters And Sub-Chapters), the opening for the mockumentary feature (perhaps in stages of completion or complexity), who knows...
T101 - Episode Body
This is the main content. I don't have much to say about this.
I have a bookend idea that could be implemented. Every show could start and/or exit from the same camera angle(s). This might foster a sense of familiarity, though there may be exceptional reasons to break the pattern. The opening credits might be made into part of the show opening. Or not. The closing credits might depend on it. Or not.
T101 - Closing Credits
I have several ideas about this. I want to cram a lot of custom information into the closing of every episode.
T101 - Closing Production Team Credits
Naturally everyone who contributes needs to be recognized, from concepts and writing, the voice and sound talent, all animation production, and management support.
T101 - Closing Donation Gratitude
Support deserves recognition and perhaps this might entice further generous contributions.
T101 - Closing Salutations
As free advertising, these are shout outs to recognize other great truth seekers worth checking out. One per episode, maybe a few, but not many. This is to help cross promote great content. These can be nominated and determined democratically in the Glossed Over discussions on SaidIt. Ideally they'd be topically relevant to the episode.
T101 - Closing Recommendations
As free advertising, these are shout outs to recognize specific media - books, documentaries, movies, music, TV, etc. One per episode, each, max. These can be nominated and determined democratically in the Glossed Over discussions on SaidIt. Ideally they'd be topically relevant to the episode.
T101 - Closing Supporting Content
These would be references, links, citations, etc to support the episodes content.
T101 - Closing Advertisements
Paid advertising for aligning, ethical, and quality products or services we support. Maybe this could work. Maybe not. These can be nominated and determined democratically in the Glossed Over discussions on SaidIt. Ideally they'd be topically relevant to the episode.
Of note, every closing with express gratitude to InfoGalactic.com and SaidIt.net and any other platforms or resources that help make this happen, including open source software. How and where this happens remains to be seen (ie. in Production Team Credits or Advertisements or...?).
T101 - Closing Get Involved
Encouragement for folks to participate and join the development and discussions on SaidIt, including the many aspects of production and management and outreach.
T101 - Feedback!
The /s/Trutherism101 subsaidit and its posts are locked, for publishing only, and they'll be updated over time.
Please freely join in on this dedicated /s/GlossedOver open discussion, and specifically about this T101 Conceptual Outline give feedback with comments and reviews here.
I welcome all constructive criticism. This first pass will have issues with it. Some I may already know about with ready solutions, some need working out, some I know still need resolving but don't yet know how, and I'm guessing there are some issues I haven't even considered. Thanks in advance, and I apologize in advance if I don't get a response to you sooner than later.
▶ Glossed And Profound & Glossed Over & Truther Top 20s = FLOSS content ◀
▶ Bittersweet Seeds & Trutherism 101 © Jason Carswell of Glossed And Profound ◀
▶ Once established with sufficient momentum, sustainability, and security, these projects will be open-sourced. Upon the untimely demise of Jason Carswell all become F/LOSS.
▶ /s/GlossedOver + Content Overview + wiki, participation discussion over all 5 projects
▶ /s/GlossedAndProfound + Content Overview + wiki, management
▶ /s/BittersweetSeeds + Content Overview + wiki, in development
▶ /s/Trutherism101 + Content Overview + wiki + InfoGalactic T101, in development
▶ /s/TrutherTop20s + wiki + InfoGalactic TT20, ongoing
▶ donate options + merchandise store = coming eventually
▶ GlossedAndProfound.com, BittersweetSeeds.com, and Trutherism101.com were registered on 2019-05-01 for future use. Long in conception, finally here on SaidIt, the official origin place, started on May Day, 2019. May 1 is a metonym for International Workers Day, a day of celebration of the working class. Behind it lies a complex largely forgotten history dating back over one-and-a-half centuries. Look into it.
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