Brainstorming For Team A's (stichcastles) Team

T

Tiki

Member
Hey guys, sorry to be so late to the party.

So let's see, the general consensus is that we want to design a Lion King related weenie for Africa. Geographically, that makes sense, but I think you guys are forgetting the storytelling at play in the Africa section. The whole Harambee/poachers thing that pretty much runs through the whole land. Not to mention there's other Lion King related things in Camp Minnie Mickey and Conservation Station anyways, AND TLK is a pretty over-exposed movie in general. It's like the Dark Side of the Moon of Disney Animation, sure, it's a masterpiece, but once you hear so much about it, you just start to get annoyed by it. My idea would be to have something that illurstrates "man" working its way into Harambee, setting the stage for the story to come. What about a billboard or something? Something man-made and intrusive. Obviously it should still be pleasing ascetically, but it should also clearly state the main struggle going on in that land.
 
M

MathewGW

Member
I'm pritty much with Tiki here, we should be staying away from Lion King, and pritty much all pre-existing Disney movies/franchises. Let's tell the story of Africa, it's history, its culture, it's wildlife.

I think some kind of idol would be nice, mabie theaming the pathway leading up to it in more tribal theming, keeping close to the Kenyan/East African vibe going on, but creating a more simple feel, drawing people away from the main streach, helping to control and thin the crowd flow around that central strech
 
T

Tiki

Member
I think some research is needed here. What part of Africa is Harambee trying to replicate? Once we find that out, we can dig into the culture and see if we can find anything interesting. The problem with using idols or anything is that a weenie typically has to be large, and the idea of seeing a large idol drawing you to Africa to me seems almost as ridiculous as seeing Pride Rock (no offense to anyone on board the Lion King idea, this IS a team effort) I still think a billboard is a good idea. It can illustrate all the strange and exotic things you are about to see on your visit to Harambee, but at the same time it still plays into the whole "man vs. nature" theme of the land. How bout have the billboard itself be as ascetically pleasing as possible, but the area around the billboard obviously destroyed to make way for western civilization's arrival into the village. I really don't want to seem like I'm entirely jacking this project though. As I said, this is a TEAM effort. I just think something like this is exactly the kind of tone and imagery that is appropriate for DAK.
 
M

MathewGW

Member
I'm fairly sure it's suposed to be Kenya. I do think the billboard idea is good, don't get me wrong, its a top drawer idea, but I'm not so sure what's ridculous about a large Idol? we're not talking 20 foot tall here, were talking large, mabie 10/12 foot tall, perhaps a little oversized, but sometimes a little exaggeration isn't a bad thing if it helps to sell an idea.

I'd quite like to see a little more of a tribal feel, as it does seem to be a little more of a township, but that's just me.

We need to decide on an idea really by this time tomorrow so we can get it polished and fixed up.

So far as I can see we have 4 ideas:

Treehouse
Lion King
Tribal Idol
Billboard

From my perspective, its down to the last two, a treehouse is far too cliched and doesn't fit the theaming at all, neither does anything from the Lion King (or Jungle Book).
 
Tazer19

Tazer19

Active Member
If it's not Kenya, exactly, it's definitely that part of the continent. Swahilli is spoken in Harambe, which is only spoken in Kenya and a few surrounding countries.

I agree with Tiki in that the idol would have to be quite large to work as a weenie. I like the billboard a lot and think that we can get some good detail in the area directly at its base. The billboard will draw people in to the area to see the story that is being told, both by our weenie and the entire village.
 
M

MathewGW

Member
i must admit, that I'm coming around to the idea of the Billboard, it would be a nice idea to have a fairly colourful, simple "Welcome to Harambe" sign, with the "devestation" around the base, perhaps, junk, scrap metal, rusted barrels?
 
T

Tiki

Member
Exactly. What appeals to me about the billboard idea is that you can see it walking into the land, get a good idea of the majesty that the land has to offer, but then, as you get closer to the base of the billboard, you begin to see the "destruction" in play. It sets the stage for both sides of the coin when it comes to the land's storyline.

Again, the problem I see in the idol is that idols, in general, are usually considered small. The only tribal thing I could see working in regards to being sizable enough to be used as a weenie is a Totem Poll, and that's not only not original, but also completely inaccurate from a geographical perspective.
 
MaterA113

MaterA113

New Member
im trying not to post/interfere with yalls brainstorming (NVM EDITED it.. look below)

EDIT: •The village of Harambe is based on the ancient Kenyan island town of Lamu. According to Disney "legend", this town was once a hub for gold and ivory trade, and is now a tourist village. I agineers worked hard to tell the story of this small village that has grown and changed over the years. In fact, Disney brought over 13 Zulu craftsman from Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, to create the thatched roofs throughout Africa including the Harambe Village Marketplace. They also looked to capture the flavor of this coastal town by creating narrow, winding streets, importing native artifacts, and even creating cracks in the sidewalks create a town that looks weathered by time.

As it doesnt SAY specificically that its kenya, it is based on a kenyan town, BUT Harambe is themed to be a Dutch colony settled in the 1960s

Just trying to getr everyone on the same page :)
 
C

circusole'

New Member
I'm agreeing with the billboard concept. Maybe we could make the billboard look "as natural as possible," like they made an effort to be less intrusive, but have the area around the billboard look like a construction area. That way it shows that even when we put in an effort to be less damaging, human interference destroys nature. Although that may be to subtle.
 
stitchcastle

stitchcastle

Well-Known Member
I personally prefer the idol idea better, a bilboard would be easily confused with the "Africa" sign.

An idol is simple enough to just put right on there which we can spruce up to add layers of story to it.

or what about having the idol in the middle of a fountain? The fountain being a symbol of the dutch colonial rule over the place. Little clues like bullet holes and scratches could be all over the idol telling its rich history with poaching and progress. The fountain could also be a clue that there's an abundant supply of water in the area which is why there are a lot of animals to be seen around as it is very near a generous watering hole. There could be three plaques on the fountain that illuminate the history of Harambe, with its colonization, history of violence and enlightened science.
 
M

MathewGW

Member
despite the idol being my idea, I'm kinda being swayed towards this billboard idea, the story and reasoning behind it are top class, they really to tie in nicely to the man vs nature theme that Africa has.

If we have an artist here can we get a quick sketch of a billboard, i would volenteer (and if no-one else does i may have to) but i reallyt cant draw to save my life
 
stitchcastle

stitchcastle

Well-Known Member
i'll be honest, I'm not really digging the whole billboard idea. If only because it's just gonna be another sign in a sea of signs that is a disney theme park. But if that's what you guys want to do, I'm all for it.
 
C

circusole'

New Member
I'm not entirely sure what our idea is anymore, but before I logged on and saw all of this, I was thinking about what could be on the sign so that people actually go up to it instead of just glancing at it as they walk by. I thought that there could be a map (of the park, of this area in the park, of the actual African town, of Africa itself, doesn't really matter at this point), hand-drawn, featured on the board. The rest of the board would then be a message board, holding messages from "citizens" of the town, and from characters about character meet and greets. (ex: Hey pals, it's Mickey! I'm gonna be _____ at ____. Hope to see ya there!)

Agan, I thought of this before I saw the potential project change.
 
Tazer19

Tazer19

Active Member
My main concern with the Idol is that unless it's massive I don't think it works as a weenie.

Since we're beginning to run out of time we should probably make a decision ASAP.

Tonight's going to be my biggest chunk of free time between now and the due date, so if there's anything in particular I can be working on let me know. My drawing skills aren't great, but I can do my best if needed, no matter which way we go with it.
 

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