Possible Story Line

Now that I have a pretty good handle on the content that I want to include and the learning objectives that I intend the video to cover, I'm starting to think about the style in which I want to present the information.

At first, I was going to present the information as a "nature show" with voice overs explaining what is currently being viewed in a step by step fashion. Logical, but boring. I have been thinking about what would make kids want to stay and watch the video if they had the choice not to. I decided that I needed to grab the audience with a story that would entertain, while the content also happened to inform.

I am working on a treatment that places my plant indentification content in the context of mystery. "Herb Grazer" is a Plant Detective who is solving a mystery/crime with several suspects: "Dr. Dicot" (evil scientist), "Monty Monocot" (eccentric collector), "Count Coniferous" (Cold Corporate CEO motivated by profit), and "Leif Carrot" (former teen heart throb now on hard times). Several clues are found at the scene. Herb logically examines each clue and systematically classifies it by its characteristics. The newly classified evidence is compared to the known habits of the suspects which incriminates some and eliminates others. In the end, Herb is able to solve the mystery.

For now... that is my direction. I intend to decide for sure by the end of the week and hopefully have my draft treatment posted here by early next week.