[Research] Pilot episodes - Part 1 (to complete)

In today's session, I presented the new idea for my animation. This included a new team of characters and a different approach to the same "electronic ghost hunting" idea I had with the previous version. While presenting my idea, we began to discuss character roles and applying them to my team. The role of protagonist was intended to be Viare, the older sister character, but after some discussion, it was brought up that Vee, the younger sister may be a better idea, as she's more relatable for the theoretical target audience.

This however, caused a problem with my idea. Vee was intended to be an "extra" character for the one episode (if this animation was to be thought of as a series) so I came up with the idea of making this episode have a pilot structure. This is beneficial not just for the character, but the story. A problem I've been facing with the scripting side is that there's a lot of concepts to introduce to the viewer before they can understand the situation of the video. If I use Vee, a newcomer to the city as the protagonist, I can introduce story elements by using her as a sort of "window to the world" for the audience, and make them share her experiences.

Before writing, I'm currently studying pilot episodes for shows to pick up tips and conventions for introducing the concept of the world.  Cartoons I'm taking inspiration from on TV all have animated introduction sequences that can be used to ease newcomers into the show by introducing the bare essentials of the universe. The first show I'll be looking at is Dexter's Laboratory, a show I watched on Cartoon Network a lot when I was younger, the show had an interesting idea, strong characters and a strong art style.
As with most cartoons, the show opens straight with the introduction animation, although a lot of cartoons can also have a small opening shot or joke prior.

The opening is very straight forward and easy to digest. It introduces us to the two main characters, Dexter, the protagonist, and his sister Dee Dee, the antagonist, who is actually introduced first. This introduction sequence is music only, so the story is told through character action, music and mise-en-scene.