Building the Pitch... From Chaos to "Catch of the Day"

Finding My Story

After initially exploring different concepts, I settled on "Catch of the Day": a fisherman hauls in his net to find everything but fish, including a possibly live sea mine. With only his deckhand, Davey, for help and Harbour Master Gerald complicating matters, a simple problem escalates into a comical series of errors.

Defining the Tone

Articulating the tone was harder than expected. I drew inspiration from three sources: Hot Fuzz for its deadpan humour and absurd situations treated seriously, The Boxtrolls for its tactile, weathered stop-motion aesthetics, and Wallace & Gromit for its physical comedy and eccentric characters.

The result? Dry British wit meets slapstick silliness in a handcrafted dockside world.

Building the Characters

Three distinct personalities create the comedic friction:

• Reg Pollock - weathered fisherman, one bad season from losing everything

• Davey Tremain - quietly competent deckhand nobody listens to

• Gerald Pilchard - officious Harbour Master who makes everything worse

Classic comedy structure: panicked everyman, ignored voice of reason, bureaucratic fool.

AI created images for refrence use only.

The Visual World

I wanted everything tactile and lived-in, splintered wood, rusted metal, frayed fabric. Every surface bears marks of salt air and time. The handmade quality would make this world both whimsical and grounded.

The Punchline

After all the panic, Davey flips a switch. "Training dummy." Perfectly British, all that fear over nothing, with the least-respected person being the only competent one.

The Reality Check

Like Aardman's directors pitching with passion over polish, I learned a good pitch needs clarity and enthusiasm. Can I pull off three detailed puppets, a weathered dock, and all those props? That's the challenge ahead and I may change the pitch to 2 characters due to time constraints.

Refrences

Shutterstock (2017) Old pier made of knotty wooden planks at harbour in the morning sunshine. Kirkland, Washington, USA.. Available at: https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/old-pier-made-knotty-wooden-planks-734595400 (Accessed: November 2025).

Marshall, G. (2017) Old wooden wharf, Hicks Bay, Ohiwa, near Opotiki, Bay Of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand [photograph]. Available at: https://www.alamy.com/old-wooden-wharf-hicks-bay-ohiwa-near-opotiki-bay-of-plenty-north-image156659783.html (Accessed: 5 November 2025)

Different day different camera (2019) Bodega Bay California [photograph]. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/128105430@N05/49082368518/ (November 2025).

dy_ellie (no date) Lobster Landing [photograph]. Instagram. Available at: https://archive.theshopkeepers.com/favorite-lobster-shacks/ (Accessed: 5 November 2025)

IMDb (2007) Hot Fuzz film still [photograph]. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425112/mediaviewer/rm2797811200/ (Accessed: November 2025).

IMDb (2008) Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death film still [photograph]. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1118511/mediaviewer/rm4157411072/ (Accessed: November 2025).

IMDb (2014) The Boxtrolls film still [photograph]. Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0787474/mediaviewer/rm239517696/ (Accessed: November 2025).