Didn't get good feedback from storyboard class today. Been receiving awesome help from the teacher and my mentor, but for some reason, people don't care about my film. They'd rather hear about fantastical places, with no character arch. I didn't sign myself up for motion graphics, so why is everything heading that direction, and I'm getting yelled at for character change and development...when I am including all of that?
It's been a rough 2 months. Here is the break-down using the Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies: The Screenwriter's Guide to Every Story Ever Told method:
Opening Image: Snowflakes, falling, and twilight transitions to morning with autumn leaves and a light sky.
Theme Stated: Visuals of the snowflakes and the forest allude to season change, possible warm to cold, and an uneasiness.
Set-up: ACT I Introduction of the two human characters entering the dry forest. Father is overprotective, but lets his daughter come along with him to hunt.
Debate: He tells her not to touch anything, even when they are harmless: She breaks a branch from a tree trying to pick berries, but it scares a deer in the trees. It runs away, and the father pulls her away, towards flowers. He walks on, over the patches of grass, squishing them. Scurrying occurs, and the daughter tries to see what it is, but the father picks her up and puts her behind him pointing a finger at her place. Bunnies emerge. She feels burdened from being unable to explore.
Break Into Two: ACT II Angry, the daughter runs and follows the bunnies, away from her father, but trips and loses them. She looks around and realizes she lost her way.
B Story: She tries to look for her father, and it starts to snow. We intercut to her father trying to look for her [with a dead goose? This shows he went after the hunt without realizing she was gone...] The snow becomes a blizzard storm, and she can't see.
Midpoint: The daughter falls, exhausted and cold. A pack of wolves watches this, and howl, surrounding her.
Bad Guys Close In: The wolves are about to attack her to eat. One of them lunges at her, but is interrupted by an alpha lone wolf who tackles it and her body rolls down the slope. The alpha tears that wolf's hide; another wolf bites his back, but he bites that wolf's throat; the alpha claws the face of another, and kicks another. The fifth wolf helps his companions, and the run off limping.
All is Lost: We see the alpha growl for the final time, and run down towards the girl. He's about the strike, but we see her hand come up and land on his paw. He stumbles backwards, startled and shakes his head, in surprise.
Dark Night of the Soul: We see the alpha take the girl onto his back and walk away with her.
Break Into Three: ACT III We see he brings her back to his warm den. She awakens, and is scared to death.
Fun and Games: The wolf spots mice and tries to kill them. The girl hears the noise and goes sees what's going on. She hears the mice squeak and bones breaking through the growling. He presents her the dead mouse. She gasps and runs behind a rock. He stares, but tries to bring it to her again. There is a peek-a-boo back-and-forth thing that happens, and she learns that he isn't trying to attack her. She pulls out the berries in her pocket from earlier in the day, and offers it to the wolf. He sniffs it, but sneezes away, disgusted. She chuckles, and eat it. He sees it out of the corner of his eye, and she offers one to him again. He eats it, and gives a sour face. She laughs. He lays next to her and eats the dead mouse and she pets him and sleeps curled into him.
Finale: The next morning, she exits the den and the snow has made a beautiful, soft blanket. She runs around and falls into the snow and makes an angel. The wolf comes out, stretching and yawning, and follows her shortly. She throws a snowball at him and he chases her.
Bad Guys Close In 2/ Climax: We see the father a bit far away, calling for his daughter. He hears rustling and laughing, and runs toward the sound. We see him cautiously get behind a log, and prepare to look through his gun. He sees thru the viewfinder that the alpha wolf is on his daughter, and they roll over. He puts his gun down to see for himself, lowering the gun. She is running with the wolf chasing with his mouth open [tongue hanging out], and then hugs him, standing. She strokes the snow off of his ears.
Final Stage: We see the father shaking his head in disbelief, and then raise his gun again. A shot is fired, and we hear something fall onto the snow as we see the trees and sky. The girl's hand drops, then she drops to her knees. We cut to pulling out from her leaning over the wolf, fallen. She is shocked, and her tears mix in with the blood.
