Day 57: “Short Film”
This short film idea has been sitting unfinished in my iPhone notes for almost a year now. Today I brought it back out and finished the first draft.
Context
Animated film. Silent film (no dialogue). Roughly 10-15 minutes long.
Prairie environment, late 1800s dress (think Tom Sawyer, rolled-up trousers, messy white shirts, and straw hats)
— Act 1 —
Black screen; sound of train horn fades in, getting louder, reaching climax
Flashes open to the first shot; train wheels leaving the station, picking up speed
Train passing by on a hill overlooking a small town, enter right, exit left
Shot one-point view, down a dirt street (bump), houses flanking street, hill in the background, train flashing past
Shot of train wheels
Shot of feet running (sound of panting and physical exertion) — running to catch the railroad train
Shot of extended arm. Two attempts at grabbing the rails, climbing up, sliding open the heavy train car door
Character falling into train car, relieved and exhausted, back against the wall of the train car
Character looks up, 7-8 people looking at him from across the car, some interrupted in the middle of a card game, some sitting on hay stacks, looking surprised and impressed
Character still panting, smiles tiredly, raises hand in greeting
Shot of another character (Support Character #1) jumping down from haystack, walking towards main character
Shot of Character on floor, hands extends from left of camera to help him up
Scene cut
*** interesting idea: as the Character spends more time on the train, the size of the inside car space shrinks with each changing scene
— Act 2 —
Context: some time has passed, all characters in single train car have become fast friends
Scene flip-thru of group activities:
- Playing cards by lamp light
- Sitting on hay stacks and drinking rum
- Napping on top of hay stacks
- Climbing up and relaxing on top of the train car, lying down and watching the stars
- Sitting with feet dangling out of door, watching and pointing to the sights
Overhead drone shot: train crosses a valley bridge, river beneath
Scene opens, night time, friends playing cards by lantern light. Character and Support Character #1 chatting with feet dangling outside door.
POV-shot from open door: bridge rails flashing past (sound), a mountain appears in the distance
Support Character #1 calls friends over to see it, amazed by it, but friends ultimately turn back into the car along with SC #1; Character left alone, back against the train, head turned to look out train door
Close up of main character’s face, eyes showing longing to be on the mountain, stays seated and watches the mountain as his friends play
Scene cut
— Act 3 —
Quick flip-thru of times of day
- Day: friends are napping or smoking, character is leaning against the wall, looking out the door towards the mountain
- Night: all of them singing and dancing, main character stumbles happily tipsy to the door, slightly sobers up once he sees the mountain; looks back to his friends playing, sadness reflected in face; sadness replaced by determination, looks back outside; close-up shot of his eyes reflecting the moonlight and mountain peak
Next morning, close shot of rucksack being packed; Character says good-bye to friends, not hugging but emotional
Shot of rucksack picked up from floor; Friends help widen the door; Character walks to the edge, turns around
Support Character #1 walks up to hug one last time, tears (sad, but happy), backs off, smiles sadly
Shot from outside, behind train: Character jumps out
or Shot from inside train, behind character: Character jumps out
Choppy shots: rolling through the dirt
Close-up shot of different friends’ faces: some wincing, some covering eyes, some chuckling
Empty shot showing train passing by on the left: Character stands up into frame, train passes by, Character waves goodbye, friends wave back, some friends have climbed on top of the train, running backwards to say last goodbye
Side shot of left side of train, Character hidden on the other side
Train passes, exits left, revealing Character, standing, looking at train
Quick close-up shot of Character’s top half, wind from train’s movement blows Character’s hair
Front shot of Character: looking at train, then turning right to face the mountain
Shot from behind Character: facing the mountain, Character bends down, slightly out of camera frame, frame doesn’t change, picks up rucksack, stands up, throws rucksack over shoulder, starts to walk
Zoomed out drone shot, behind Character: Character walking towards mountain
Credits roll, bottom to top
END
This first draft can definitely be improved to be more coherent and clear to the readers. The next step would be to sketch storyboards and character designs — definitely excited for that part of the process.
If I Seem To Wander 