Premise - Expanded Idea

An Interview with a Viking – Premise Pitch

An Interview With a Viking – the working title for my premise project idea centres around the Viking Henrik Fireblood. A savage, ruthless, warrior and polite conversationalist (most of the time anyway) who details his daily life in the Scandinavia lands from the home countries to colonies spanning from Iceland to Greenland. He explains the diet one usually consumes in his culture from splendid meats, sweet berries, appetizing vegetables, fish and milk products. Much of the interview takes place on a grassy landscape reminiscent of the fields of Scandinavia. While the interview goes on the foreground some funny background events occur unbeknownst to Henrik.

He is asked by the interviewer (whose face we do not see and whose speech and questions are represented solely by animated text) about the lifestyle of his people. In particular their reasons for raiding and pillaging the coastal settlements and Holy Buildings of the British Isles and Europe. When asked about how far his people have raided, he answers with as far as the Volga River in the peculiar lands of ‘Kiev’, Vinland (North America), and the Byzantine Empire and the exhausting heat of the place also explaining that Vikings are quite avid explorers and relates to famous figures such Erik the Red and Leif Erikson. He gives his opinion on them as well as the other lands he has been to such as calling the French over-indulgent with cheese, the denizens of the Byzantine Empire too obsessed over their hippie god ‘Jeezus’ and goes on a rant arguing that Odin is the one true lord of Earth and how they fight in his name when raiding and pillaging.

Henrik is asked more questions about his people’s culture namely runestones and their importance. He ends up going on a tangent about his favourite weapon, Bloody Britta a battle axe etched with runes and Henrik claims it to be blessed by Odin himself. Throughout the interview we cut to examples of what Henrik is talking about.

At the end he leaves the interview in a hurry when he hears of a raid in Normandy taking place.

Influences

This idea is largely inspired by the animations created by Aardman animations such as Wallace and Gromit and Creature Comforts. The latter in particular as I want to mimic the interview style albeit with more of a more hasty and chaotic style, the animation being more character focused showing the range of emotions and body movement Henrik is capable of. The book and tv series Horrible Histories was also a major influence as I wanted to add the chaotic and more risqué nature of it to the setting as well as the style of humour. I also wish to draw from the art style of both sources; the rough, exaggerated appearance of the characters would fit the personality of the Vikings in my setting.

Character influence map

Environment influence map

Character concept art