Welcome to the GoFundMe page for Marbles!
Marbles is my short animated film currently in the pre-production phase. We are looking to raise funds to continue pre-production through the end of 2025 and start production in 2026.
The team and I are very excited to share the progress we've made and hope you will consider supporting us!
SUPPORT LEVELS:
- $5,000 and up: Executive Producer credit plus Marbles thank you note and sticker from the team.
- $1,000 to $5,000: Producer credit plus Marbles thank you note and sticker from the team.
- $250 to $1,000: Special Thanks in credits plus Marbles thank you note and sticker from the team.
- $100 to $250: Marbles thank you note and sticker from the team.
- Up to $100: Marbles thank you note from the team.
- All levels would receive our eternal gratitude as well!
ABOUT THE FILM:
TITLE: Marbles
WEBSITE: Marbles Website
FORMAT: Short Animated Film (5-10 minutes) | Drama
LOGLINE: In a world where lives are measured by a jar of marbles and our days are literally numbered, a woman is preparing for her final days with her family.
WHY THIS STORY: The sudden passing of my mother is what inspired me to write Marbles. It takes place in a world where everyone knows when they will pass away, which is represented by how many marbles are left in their jars. In this world, people can plan for their death and spend time with their loved ones before they are gone; something I wish I could have done with my mom.
MARBLES WORLD: Marbles is set in a world where each individual is given a jar of marbles at birth. Each marble represents one day in a person’s life. At midnight each night, one marble in the jar will disintegrate into bright sparkly dust. This represents the passing of time and one day closer to death. Given the format length, there is no plan to explain how many marbles are determined at birth, but to leave this to the audience’s interpretation.
DIALOGUE/MUSIC: There is intentionally only two small lines of dialogue. The intent is for the animated visuals and musical score to move the story through its emotional arcs. The only line of dialogue will be my mother's actual words from one of our home videos.
ANIMATION STYLE: The idea is for the film to be primarily done using 2D animation, but to use 3D animation for the marbles and all sparkly dust effects.
CURRENT TEAM:
- Danielle Olson (Myself) - Writer, Director, Producer
- Laurel Shelley-Reuss - Character Designer
- Mabdelis Rosado - Prop/Background Designer
- Autumn Starks - Storyboard Artist
- En Tran - Storyboard Artist
FUTURE TEAM NEEDS:
- Multiple Animators
- Layout Artist
- Music Composer
CHARACTERS:
- Lisa - Mom/Main Character; We are using my mom's actual name.
- Chloe - Daughter/Main Character; We have her in three variations (Teenager, Toddler, Infant).
- Eric - Dad/Supporting Character.
PROPS:
- Each jar is based on when the individual was born and what jars looked like during that time.
- Lisa and Eric were born in the 1960s, so their jars are inspired by that time period.
- Chloe was born in 1989, so her jar was based on that time period.
TIME PERIOD:
- 1960s - I chose this time period because my mother was born in 1963.
- Late 1980s/1990s - Most of the film will take place during this time, which is when I was born and grew up.
- Backgrounds will incorporate these time periods.
COLOR SCRIPT:
- Below are mood boards/color scripting ideas of how we'd like the film to look.
