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"Secret Agent" Inspiration?
Hey guys,
I'm about to enter an animation contest with the theme of 'secret agent' and am brainstorming ideas for a short story (~ 2 minutes). A 30 second film style trailer is the other half of the challenge, which will be cut from the full length piece. Other than the numerous James Bond films, do you guys know of any good short stories that might serve as a good starting point? Or perhaps an action writer or online bank of short action/mystery stories I should check out? Maybe something you've even written yourself? I'm just looking for inspiration beyond the typical 007 business. I'm really interested in exploring an era that might not be immediately associated with secret agents. Right now my main consideration is something along the lines of a spy in the medieval ages maybe infiltrating a castle. I know I haven't given much to go on, but what do you think? |
I'm having a bit of a mind-block retrieving the various espionage stories and mystery classics I have consumed, so I may or may not have further commentary to offer later on. But based upon your initial consideration of "spy's infiltration of a castle", and my own encounters with such, I recalled a game plot in which the similarity to that of your scenario "plays" out quite nicely as a basis (not for the spy itself, but it provides an impetus and spark to the protoganists' journey conquering the pervading evil sweeping their continent).
This is the story of the spy Leila andher efforts to gain intelligence and succeed within the realm of Fire Emblem. |
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You could do something with a man infiltrating the secret world of women, or vice versa.
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The Matt Helm series by Donald Hamilton. You can get them for about $2 each used on Amazon.
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we are at war with the martians, the secret agent has to get the martian attack plans.
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I like the idea of turning the concept on it's head. Know anything about how cuckoos are raised? Look it up and learn something. |
Wild Wild West (the series)
Get Smart (if you want to do satire and funny) Kind of spy like: The Saint (Simon Templar) either the tv series with Roger Moore, the movie with Val Kilmer or the books by Leslie Charteris. I prefer the books. John le Carré - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The link above doesn't work. Those are the big ones I'm familiar with. |
resource notes
Pascali's Island a movie Interesting perspective of a forgotten agent in a remote outpost before WWI. Vlad Dracul The storied life of Vlad the Impaler and Societi Ordo Draconis. While Vlad was known for impaling at least 100,000 Ottoman soldiers and 10's of thousands of others including many of his own people, less is written of his direction of the Society of the Dragon. In league with other kingdoms and principalities in the region, Vlad used spies to help him check and finally stop the Muslim advance into eastern Europe. While he is considered noble by modern Romanians, his personal motives and real grievances against the Ottoman Turks show he learned from his former captors. James Jesus Angleton William Donovan Enter the Past Tense, by Roland Haas The dismal account of life and double life for one former agent. Contemporary Insight into Cold War operators Short book Hasan bin Sabbah The man behind the “Old Man in the Mountain” Some say he was a tall tale. Some serious modern day students have another look. In similar fashion there was a great deal of espionage performed in ancient Japan and pre-China inter dynastic kingdoms. Really until the modern era most craft trained spies were of a paramilitary nature. Igor Orlov 1930's to 1960's Able to thwart US counter iintelligence for 2 decades in Washington pretending to become a normalized American. Deep background cover prepared for years before coming to America. The Roman Catholic Church 400 AD to present There was an almost continuous thread of espionage from the end of the Roman Empire in the Catholic Church hitting peaks during the Crusades (not just with the Templars who had their own thing going) and again during the Reformation. The Catholic Church doesn't see their activities as espionage but their activities have all the hallmarks of it. Some of the activities involved almost all aspects of checking on kings and courts under their control. A broad target was any anabaptist group that pressed open preaching native language scriptures and Gospel for the common man. The used more than the inquisition to suppress groups like this A high tempo of espionage/counter-espionage began with Henry VIII splitting with the Pope over his divorce. This was a primer for what became 400 years of British Intelligence. Out of the mix of this, between Britain and France spying on one another, evolved American Intelligence in its truly nascent state. The Byzantine Empire 4th Century to 15th Century During the latter period of the empire, a heavy reliance on espionage became standard. Whole networks were established to assist in retaking lands lost to the Muslims. Ian Fleming I believe some of the background Fleming had for JB was based on his travels and spying on the US for Britain during WWII in Washington DC. For online resources check the public pages at the CI Centre here in Northern Va. Most is geared towards current trends and operations in counterintelligence. In particular: cicentre.com/podcasts.html (Put the above in with appropriate header or put it in google for proper formatting and you're good to go. I guarantee this is a safe site. |
Hey guys, thanks a lot for your ideas and reference insight! I skimmed through it and have been crafting a rough script. Here's what I have come up with to this point, and would love any feedback you might have.
If you do read through it and have any modifications in mind that would make it more compelling, I'm all ears! Also keep in mind that this is being written for a 3D animation. Quote:
Did you understand that the woman at the end is the same woman who delivered the note in the bottle two years eariler? She will of course have a physical resemblance in the animation. Her dialogue is still pretty rough, I'm hoping to come up with something a bit stronger. Thanks guys! |
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Why is the spy stealing gold coins? Have him steal documents or the king's seal or something instead.
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