[update: If you like this idea, a Collaboration has been started here - http://www.hitrecord.org/records/984087]

When I heard I Am 1954's "Outlaw" (914595) I got a storyline in my head for an animation or short film for it. I have a lot of ideas for this that I want to put into a storyboard when I find some time, but I wanted to get the over-all idea(s) out here to see what y'all think?

The over-all concept: The main character is working a dead-end job and the storyline jumps back and forth from his mundane business man existence in his real-life to his "Outlaw" fantasies within his head, and as the story progresses the lines between them begin to blur.

Visual Style Ideas:

• The Real-world takes place in a cookie-cutter of a white and clean office building - think florescent lighting, cubicles, neck ties and briefcases. All visuals in the real world are very dull colored and boring at first, but as the story progresses the main character will start seeing more color from his fantasies crossing over.

• The "Outlaw" fantasies start off more classic Western - think sepia tones, earthy browns, dirty and grungy dust-bowl feel. As the story progresses the fantasies become more vibrant with a wider spectrum of color - think "Day of the Dead" stylization.

Some rough shot Ideas:

• The animation opens with a bird's eye view of bumper-to-bumper traffic leading into a big-city. The shots take us closer until we are introduced to a frazzled looking over-weight business man in his small car, both of which are stuck in this traffic. He fumbles with the car radio and finally settles on a channel he likes, the "Outlaw" music begins here, and when we hear the lyrics, "I live my life on the road..." we see the business man start to stare-off/day-dream when he is stopped at an intersection.

• Lyrics "An outlawed man with no home." The scene morphs from him in his car to him as a macho looking cowboy confidently riding on the back of a strong horse down a dirt road going through a cowboy-western desert. His cowboy version lifts a bottle of whisky to his lips.

• As the lyrics say "Blood and whiskey all over my clothes," the hero spills the whisky which triggers the morph back to reality as he frantically tries to wipe off the hot coffee that he just spilled all over himself from his travel mug, startled by honking cars around him.

• Other cars around him continue to honk for his car to move and a traffic cop begins to blow his whistle at him and waving him onward through the intersection. LYRICS: "Runnin' from the law but the laws gettin' close."

• During the first "Hell, I better run" chorus, we see our hero parking, running/rushing into his office building, late for work and frantic.

• He gets to his cubicle (amongst rows and rows of other grey walled cubicles) and plops down into his desk chair and turns on his computer. He has a Cowboy Western image/poster as his computer's desktop image that greets him, and he smiles. When the lyrics say, "I've seen men like me settle down..." I envision the businessman looking over his shoulder at another co-worker watching them re-arranging their family photos on their desk. "...They love their women and their town."

• The man gets up from his desk holding an empty coffee mug, implying he is going to go get coffee, and as he steps out into the hall the scene transitions to him as a cowboy stepping out into a stand-off, we hear the lyrics "But I love the feeling of layin' low," as he dodges some flying bullets and rolls to the ground. Dust fills the scene.

• As the dust settles we are back in reality where we hear the lyrics, "Just livin' wild as a wanted man," when his boss hands him a stack of papers to work on that he can barely balance.

• During the "Hell, I better run" chorus, the man carries his massive paper pile and comes close to toppling over several times. He takes them into a huge towering and dark filing room. He starts to file the papers at "A". The towering filing cabinets transition to the buildings of a Western town. One of the buildings has a large BANK sign, and his cowboy-self draws out his guns and kicks open the bank doors.

• Cut to our business man kicking closed a filing cabinet drawer with a slam and his boss standing right there begins to yell at him, as we hear the lyrics "I hear the Sheriff yellin' loud." The businessman walks off screen with his head hanging.

• The businessman walks down the hall looking down at his red cowboy boots (now these are in the real world, he wears cowboy boots to work.) A smile spreads across his face as he lifts his head up and the office environment starts to become a little more colorful,  we hear the lyrics "Listen boy, you better come out."

• As we hear the lyrics, "Gun in hand, shoot to kill," as the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out a marker as he approaches his boss's office. He frantically scribbles something backwards on the the boss's office window. We see the boss look up, he watches in shock, and his jaw drops. Flips to his P.O.V. for a moment so we can read what was written more clearly -  Adios, partner!

• "Bust out the back as i head for the hill." Our business man begins to run down the hall of cubicles, sending office supplies and papers flying everywhere. Co-workers start to prairie dog (pop up to see what the commotion is) and some papers eventually fill the screen for transition.

• During the last "Hell, I better run" chorus we see a few business men and women looking out an office window watching our cowboy riding off into the sunset...

What do y'all think?