Murder of Crows
On an aging farm in the middle of nowhere, two scarecrows traverse a complicated relationship over the course of a year. Lump is the stern veteran scarecrow, a ball of old straw that stays dutiful to the farm. Meanwhile, Maurice is made up of a crude smile on a jug, all wrapped in a colorful rain jacket that contains a heart too big for scaring. While all seems well on the land, things become difficult when too many crows come to visit the farm.
Murder of Crows was my Senior Film at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I learned so much over the year it took to create this film and thanks to the other hardworking members that made up my crew, it became a piece I am extremely proud of sharing.
Look for Murder of Crows at a film festival near you! More details coming soon.
Early Concepts
Like most stories, Murder of Crows emerged from a drawing. Two rugged looking scarecrows, each with their own oddities. At this point I had no idea what this story would be about, but I was instantly invested in figuring it out.
Finding the Story
The story of Murder of Crows is one that evolved over time. While there were always themes that were constant throughout this evolution, such as communication and responsibility, it wasn't quite clear where that would take both characters. Because of this uncertainty, the story went through many different iterations until eventually we hit one that was true to the themes being conveyed as well as the characters.
Murder of Crows - Story Version 01
While this story had a lot going for it, it was probably the most confused. Initially, I thought both characters would end up learning something from one another. Lump, the stern veteran scarecrow was harsh and to the point when it came to scaring. Maurice on the other hand preferred to listen to the crows. The main conflict came from that difference in preforming the job, as we would later find out that Maurice was asking crows to keep other scavengers off of the farm. However since the characters were pantomime, this wasn't very clear to convey. It also made the resolution feel too easy and untrue to the characters.
Murder of Crows - Story Version 02
In this version of the story, things don't end as easily. From the beginning, it's clear to see that Maurice and Lump are at odds with another. Lump tries numerous attempts to put a stop to Maurice's negligence, but to no avail. The crow problem escalates until eventually, a farmer has to put a stop to it. Only then does Maurice see the effects of his actions. Now alone without any friends, the farmer decides that Maurice just isn't getting the job done and decides to replace his crude smiling jug with a rusted and jagged can.
Murder of Crows - Story Version 03
At this point, the story was nearly there but the crew and I felt there was still emotional resolution missing. In order to solve this, we took another look at our main characters and what their relationship was to one another. Once doing so, we were interested in seeing it form over a long period of time. After discovering what this looked like, the conflict arose much more naturally and made the final resolution the film that much more impactful.
Character Development
Maurice and Lump's designs stayed fairly consistent from concept to the final version of the film. The most experimentation came from finding the right texture and style that blended well with the rest of the film.
World Building
As a guy who grew up in the rural parts of North Carolina, I couldn't think of a better place to pull inspiration from for a film about scarecrows. The farm the story takes place on was very much based on my grandfather's property.
Credits
While I put a lot of myself into creating this film, I in no way could have done it without my amazing crew. You can see their contributions here: https://official-murderofcrows.tumblr.com/