The first thing that has to happen is an idea.
Now as you know the trouble with ideas is they only come a bit at a time and
they spring from all kinds of places- a news item, inspiration from a
certain Doctor Who era or monster and even just out of the blue. Eventually
they form and get together into a basic storyline but that's not the end of
the story. For every storyline that becomes an AFT there are several that
are discarded.
Don't worry though. Here at the AFT we recycle everything and even if the
stories don't get made the best ideas from them will.
But even
then storylines can change and evolve. The fifth Doctor
adventure PLASTINATE started life as THE DESTRUCTOR PROGRAM a story for my
third self.
Cast your
memory chips back to this story: "The Changing of Bracchis"
The 5th Doctor meets Thadius Torchwood when we still thought he was a friend. This was the
latest in a long line of potential storylines that were ultimately disgarded.
It won out against
PLANET OF ICE- the fifth Doctor meets Torchwood whilst London is frozen over
by a rogue band of Ice Warriors intent on colonising the Earth.
It also
beat HOTEL OF DEATH- a story where the Doctor, Ace and Torchwood find a
renegade group of criminal Zygons hiding in a newly opened space hotel.
And it also beat
CONDUIT where
the seventh Doctor tries to the Sontarans and Rutans away from a space
tunnel but Ace and Torchwood may give the game away...
Once
you've worked out the basic events of the story it has to be worked into a
format that will fit the AFT.
This means
structuring it into episodes that have exciting cliffhangers just like the
TV series.
It's also important
to think up dialogue that suit the characters in order to recreate the era
the story is set it.
It's no good having
my first self talking about "reversing the polarities"!
Sometimes
an AFT script has to be edited down for reasons of space. The above scene
was cut out of the script for part three of LAND OF THE DINOSAURS.
Now it's time to pick who are going to be the
various characters. Fortunately we have a big collection to draw upon. A lot
of thought goes into finding the right figures for the part.
When Plastinate
first entered production in 2002 it had a few different
figures. These pictures show the comparisons.
Sometimes we make
custom figures for specific characters. Victoria
Waterfield was made specifically for her appearance in
PLANTS AND ANIMALS.
Jane
in the same story was a custom figure made from an aborted version of
Nyssa.
Sometimes it is necessary to modify figures using
'masks' such as the Bracchians or Brox and Beeble.
Before the story can be made we need our
settings. To begin with these were interesting backgrounds made from odds and
ends. Polystyrene packaging can be great for space aged walls.
These Dalek
ship walls are based on The Parting of the Ways.
Sometimes though
we need specific settings and so we use photographs as
backdrops or create specific walls using photoshop.
A story often requires other things to be made.
Torchwood's time travelling train was made using photoshop. As were the Toy
soldiers in THE CELESTIAL TOYSHOP.
The act of taking the photographs for the story
is treated just like a TV or film shoot. The script is broken down according
to setting then all the pictures for the story that are set in that place
are taken before moving onto another setting.
Our 'studio' is fairly basic and consists of a
digital camera and two desk lamps.
This is Commander Beecham's office from
PLASTINATE part one.
Once we
have all the images it's time to edit the story using Photoshop. This is
where we can add all the special effects as well.
These shots from
DARKNESS on the left show the difference between the original photograph
and how it looks once it's been treated in Photoshop.
Using Photoshop also allows us to alter the
facial expressions of the otherwise static figures and make it appear that
they are speaking.
The editing process is
also the place to make final amendments to script and even to entire
storylines!
The above scene is from the end of THE DALEK
INVASION OF TIME and is a crucial moment when the Doctor prevents the
assassination of Ian and Barbara. But this scene didn't appear in any
script. It was put together during the editing process when it seemed
that the story's ending was too rushed and left things unresolved.
And finally with all the editing done it's time
to post the story on the web so you can all read
it.
As part
of the posting process we also put together a mock book or DVD cover.
So now
you know how it's all done. It all takes a long time. From writing the
script to taking all the pictures a single story can be in production for a
year or more.
I hope you've found our little
tour informative. Don't forget if you have any questions just send them via
the time-space telegraph.
Well I think our job here is
done K-9. Time for us to leave.
