BROKEN HEARTS BATTLE CLUB
Proposal by Sara Ellis
For consideration to be added to Prop 70 SharkDAO: Nouns CC0 Story Foundations & Development
THE ENGAGEMENT
I propose, at the discretion of the DAO (both Shark and Nouns), to be considered to create a CC0 Pitch book and Stoybible for Prop 70. Nouns DAO Deliverables and and compensation would be commensurate with those outlined in Prop 70.
AT A GLANCE
A short form (2 - 4 minute) animated web series that follows the new recruits of a Martial Arts Dojo meets Matchmaking Service, owned by Captain Ribert (Ri-’Bear), a hopelessly romantic frog that earnestly believes in two things: fighting evil, and fostering romance.
Each episode would be made up of 3 parts:
- A crowdsourced voicemail from a BHBC hopeful, describing what they are looking for in a relationship, what their perfect date would look like, etc. (These would be curated from a toll free # listed/linked to every episode.)
- Glimpses into the training, missions, and romantic interludes that go on in the BHBC
- Commentary and dating advice from Captain Ribert.
A QUICK LOOK
Episodes and Storylines
Episodes would feature the various activities of the BHBC including:
- team building exercises
- martials arts and vigilante training exercises
- dating skills exercises
- speed dates
- crime fighting
- trying to infiltrate LaMouche’s HQ
- Ribert’s personal musings and lamentations on love
- Ribert’s quest to get LaMouche to notice him
Viewer Engagement via Voicemails
Broken Hearts Battle Club will provide a toll free phone number for viewers to call in and leave voicemails outlining their own romantic hopes and fears. One of these voicemails will be featured in each episode, creating a springboard for various episode gags and commentary by Captain Ribert. This kind of engagement will not only create ongoing content for the series, but will also foster engagement, connection, and promotional outreach with the audience.
Cast of Characters
The Nouns provide the perfect generative cast of rotating characters as we meet new recruits, their love interests, and essentially harmless villains, but there will also be some consistent main and supporting characters.
Main Characters
Captain Ribert (frog head) Robert Ribert ( prefers the French pronunciation, Ro-’bear Ri-’bear) owner and captain of the Broken Hearts Battle Club. He believes extreme circumstances lead to extreme romance, and delights in the nuances and minutiae of new love. He wants to fight crime and vanquish evil, but even more than that he just wants to find his soul mate.
LaMouche (lips head) the crime boss responsible for manufacturing most of the petty crime and evildoings in Nountown. She is also Captain Ribert’s secret crush.
Visual Style
Broken Hearts Battle Club would utilize a collage style of animation reminiscent of The Amazing World of Gumball with frequent homages to shoujo manga and anime. Cute, sparkly, dramatic, with a dose of DIY.
About Sara
Sara Ellis is a writer and story consultant who has developed a variety of narrative projects across multiple mediums and platforms. She has consulted for writer and director Andrew Thomas Huang, story supervisor and director Valerie LaPointe, and has developed a number of pitches and IPs with Sam Ellis, including their work in the Adventure Time comics. She was an assistant editor for the sf/f fiction magazine Intergalactic Medicine Show for over a decade, and has a new story forthcoming in an issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.