Pre-Production
Log Line
Amorous old Nigel endeavors to win the affections of local spinster Mabel. Will romance prevail or will Nigel prove once and for all that there's no fool like an old fool?
Design Manifesto
Not Now Nigel is a whimsical character based stop motion animation, taking a tongue in cheek approach to the futility of unrequited love.
Set in 1950's post war Bristol, taking inspiration from Last of the Summer Wine and the various silent movies of Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd.
Dialogue is kept to a minimum, with characters communicating through a series of unintelligible noises, body language and facial expressions.
Set in 1950's post war Bristol, taking inspiration from Last of the Summer Wine and the various silent movies of Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd.
Dialogue is kept to a minimum, with characters communicating through a series of unintelligible noises, body language and facial expressions.
From Frank's initial idea we began working with his two characters Claude and Maude. Their characters have drawn inspiration from the onscreen antics of Nora Batty and Compo, two characters from the sitcom Last of the Summer Wine. Claude is constantly trying to win the affections of Maude, but she isn't having any of it.
So our beginning step in pre-production was to alter Frank's initial story so that it fitted the 90 second brief and also became more padded out.
Below is Frank's original animatic:
So our beginning step in pre-production was to alter Frank's initial story so that it fitted the 90 second brief and also became more padded out.
Below is Frank's original animatic:
The step after re-addressing our story was to then change the title. We decided that Claude and Maude just didn't fit, so Frank came up with a few different possibilities:
Chasing Mabel
Claude and Audrey
Hopeful Harry
Lovesick Larry
Terry Try-Hard
But our final decision was with Not Now Nigel!
So now it was time to create the world of Nigel and Mabel, click here to learn more about them.
Chasing Mabel
Claude and Audrey
Hopeful Harry
Lovesick Larry
Terry Try-Hard
But our final decision was with Not Now Nigel!
So now it was time to create the world of Nigel and Mabel, click here to learn more about them.