For those who do not know, the parable is about the different types of people who receive the gospel represented by each type of soil. The gospel is represented by seeds. Each soil responds to the seeds in a different way. The soil by the way side outright rejects the gospel, and a bird takes the seed away. The bird is suppose to represent Satan. The rocky (shallow) soil accepts it with joy, but eventually gives up under dry conditions (symbolism for persecution and trials). The thorny soil does the same as the rocky soil, but ends up getting caught up with the riches of the world (the thorns) which choke the gospel seed. The last soil is good and accepts the seed without giving up. It eventually produces a bountiful crop.
I got the idea around 2013 when I thought of personifying the seed and having him learn how to grow based on examples he sees on the other soils. At that instant, I decided to make it a cartoon. Then I learned that all the soils were suppose to be personified in the story and that the seed represents the gospel. That's when I changed my mind to make it in stop motion since the earthy quality of the characters lends itself to this form of animation. While attending college and working on Mr. Weebee, the idea bounced around in my head and I thought of unique way to tell the story. I started by drawing out the different characters.
Soil by the Wayside Concept Drawings
Rocky Soil Concept Drawings
Thorny Soil Concept Drawings
Good Soil Concept Drawings
I will discuss each character in detail in future posts. I wrote the storyboard as I was developing the behavior of each individual soil. What's great is the fact that the story has four separated sections, so I can shoot most of this film in chronological order. I also followed one major rule, no narration or voice over of any kind. There may not even be sound effects, only music. Not only would this save me work, but I think it'll also be more poetic. Other videos on YouTube that tell the story typically have narration which reads directly from the bible. This is fine as an instructional tool, but in terms of artistry I don't find it really creative, especially since films are suppose to rely more on visuals. I'm not making a video that does the pastor's job. I'm making a film that looks at a story in a new way.
Just recently, I finished the animatic for the film. I'm going to send it to some friends for feedback. While this is happening, I'm going to start building characters and doing experimental animation. I really hope this project works out.
Thanks for reading and may God bless you!
