Minor Project: Character Research and Story Change

Initially the plot of my animation would be that a disaster had happened on board the ship leaving it severely damaged. However after some discussion I have changed the story slightly where instead of the a ship being affected by a disaster, it will now reveal how the occupant of the ship has slowly turned insane through isolation. This would mean including elements such as mad writing scribbled on the walls, various objects and contraptions built by the passenger to keep themselves occupied and instead of the end showing part of the ship destroyed, it would now show just an open door into space where the person on board as simply walked out into space due to their insanity. 

To get my project going I first need to determine a story and personality for the character on board the ship. Although this character is never seen or heard, there needs to be some sort of back story to this person in order for the message being played on the tape player to have enough substance to last the animation and give it realness. Therefore I have been researching into various famous explorers to base by "invisible" character off. Explorers often have very eccentric personalities and can often be considered insane due to the lengths they go to to discover the world they live in. This will then be a great fit for my character and story. I have selected four famous explorers to research into who are as follows:

Jacques Cousteau

Cousteau was French explorer and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in the water. It is often said that we know more about space than we do about the deepest oceans, therefore I think Cousteau would be good to use due to his fearless determination to explore the unknown.  He also had a very strange little submarine that I think adds to a quirky personality.

Reinhold Messner

Messner is an Italian mountaineer and explorer most well known for making the first ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen. This, to me, seems like an insane thing to do. If you have the option of having extra oxygen to decrease your chances of dying then you would most most likely take it. However explorers such as Messner seem to have the determination of pushing themselves as far as they can go for the sake of "adventure". Oh, and he also thought he saw a Yeti and spent years trying to find one in the Himalayas...

Matthew Henson

Henson was an explorer of the Arctic. Over many expeditions, Henson spent nearly 23 years exploring and researching the Arctic. This shows the dedication and lengths some explorers will go to further their passion of exploring the world they live in. 

Lawrence Oates

Oates was and Antarctic explorer who died during the Terra Nova Expedition. He was afflicted with gangrene and frostbite and eventually walked out of his tent during a blizzard to his death. He is well known for his final words before his death which were, "I am just going outside and may be some time." He chose death when he realised that the fate of his fellow companions was being compromised by his ill health and would rather die than let the whole expedition be a useless exercise.