Feasibility tests

I do not have anywhere near the amount of feasibility tests that I wanted at this point, but the ear infection really set me back a few weeks, and I need to catch up! I have done some pretty good tests though to see what my film might look like!

The walk cycle: The walk is only key framed, so it is a little jumpy, but I am pretty happy with it. I tried 4 different styles with it,and am not sure that the textured one is the right direction for the look of the film. With the normal lines because it just looks pixelly with the textured lines.

The snow test: This one didn't go very well! I wanted to see if I could do snow in after effects, and the lighter snow isn't too bad, but the heavier snow looks awful. I also couldn't get it to move in the direction that I wanted. I think that I either need to play around in after effects more, or animated some snowflakes by hand!

The orb test: The animation here was really basic, but I wanted to see how the orb might look. I think that the lineless style was the popular choice here! The texture made it a little too light, but that might change with a darker background! I like the glow, but I think that it needs a little work!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_aAOrepjwc

Background Concepts

Some background concepts taken from the animatic. I also did a colour test to see how it might work out!

Animatic: First draft

Here is the first draft of the animatic for my final film.

There are timing issues I need to look at more closely, and I can;t help but think that the film goes too quickly and something is missing. It was also pointed out to me that some bits were a little confusing, and I completely agree! Some parts can be cleared up with proper shading and sound, but the part with the characters in the sky was a little confusing, and brought up the question, 'why'?

Why indeed. I think that I could easily take it out. It certainly doesn't add to the film, but it also has a big chunk, and it would leave me short a lot of time. I think there is only so much I can do with them running endlessly too. I need to sit down and think on this,I think!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFZTb5bchv8

Character Bios

For my presentation, I need to have in depth character bios! So I decided to get them down now I have finished the storyboard.

The girl:

The little girl may seem like any other little girl, decked out in a puffy winters coat, a scarf too big for her and thick snow boots and a snug hat, but appearances can be deceiving. This girl is the god of the underworld, and owns the dogs that ferry the souls. She enjoys hunting with them sometimes, and while they seem so much faster than her, she manages to keep up for hours with no effort. She commands the dogs easily, and they follow her every command. It's pretty lonely in the underworld, so you could say that the dogs are her only friends. Others may respect her, but you don't tend to invite gods of death to house parties.

The dog:

The dog is the leader of the cwn annwn, and he fought viciously to get the title. He has been with the little girl since they were both young, walking loyally by her side without considering anything else. He is playful, and enjoys it most when his master joins him on the hunt. It is his mission to pick difficult routes and try and beat her back to the underworld. Sometimes he does, other times she is easily ahead of him. He has known the little girl for so long that he easily anticipates what she wants from him. His favourite pastime is trying to sneak up on her.

Final Storyboard

Here is the final storyboard I am presenting to the class on Monday. I am pretty happy with it!!

Storyboard thumbnails

Here are the completed thumbnails for the storyboard. Now I can carry on with finalizing the storyboard. I realised when I was playing these through, that the dog coming out of the grave wasn't working very well, and a discussion with another student helped me find a better way of doing it, with the dog pulling himself out of the grave rather than jumping out.

Thumbnails forthumbnails

These are the very quick thumbnails I did to plan out how my storyboard would look. They are tiny, and are really thumbnails for thumbnails more than anything else.

3rd Story draft: The treatment

I had to write up one more story draft for my film to alter some things with decisions I had made. This is the last write up before the storyboard! I am also planning to use this version for my production bible.

It is night and the graveyard is dark. The snow is falling heavily and the branch of a tree shakes under the weight of the snow before falling to the ground with a 'clump'. One grave has fresh flowers in front of it, already dusted with snow. Footsteps are heard in the distance, and a girl walks towards the grave, stopping in front of it and staring for a while, before leaning down to brush the snow off so she can read the inscription.

She stares down at the grave sadly, before a noise and a movement from behind her catch her attention. She twists round quickly but there is nothing there. The snow begins to die down, and she looks unsettled, before something catches her attention. Up on the wall, above the grave, stands a large white dog,balanced carefully. It tenses and leaps down to the ground, but it doesn't stop at the ground, and instead passes through it, emerging seconds later with a blue orb. It then darts away.

The girl stares after the dog in surprise. But the expression soon turns to one of determination,and with a clenched fist, the girl turns and runs after the dog. She runs out the churchyard gates, and follows the dog down the road. They come to a style, and the dog bounds over gracefully, the girl struggling clumsily behind. Then they are running across the hills and valleys, and she begins to see more and more dogs appear, until she is running with an entire pack of them.

In the sky behind her, the stars form the figure of a woman riding a horse, before disappearing, and then a dark shadow of a man hammering away crosses the sky. An owl made of stars flies towards her, suddenly becoming real and flying straight past her.

A hunter waits at the entrance to the forest as the dog runs past. He watches, and then the girl follows. As she passes him,he tips his hat politely.

The stars in the sky twinkle brightly, but they suddenly begin to fade out until there is only darkness. The sound of footsteps running can be heard, and they slow to a walk before stopping. A light appears from nowhere, and the girl has stopped, looking up. In front of her are gates, and a pack of waiting dogs and orbs. The dog she was chasing comes up to her now,and places the orb into her outstretched hand. She smiles and pats him happily, before taking a key out from her scarf and walking forward. She reached the gates and inserts the key in the lock,turning it.

The gates click open, and she releases the orb into the gate. The other orbs float after it as she watches. The pack of dogs watch behind her, standing to attention as she turns around. She lifts an arm and the dogs dart away,leaving only one behind. It walks towards her, and she smiles at him. Together they turn and walk off into the distance. Above them the starts twinkle merrily.

Return to Uni

I have finally been able to come back to uni! Unfortunately, it means that I have loads of work to do in the coming days, for the deadline, and the ear infection isn't completely gone. I am ready to jump into things though, so hopefully everything will turn out OK!

2nd Story draft

I still haven’t been able to due much due to the ear infection, but it is getting better, and I have managed to put out a new draft for the story, including the new idea that I have!

The graveyard at night was a dark, lonely place. Snow fell down in white sheets, muffling any other sounds that arose from the site. The wind tore through the headstones, wailing ominously as it passed and from a lone tree, clumps of snow fell in clumps as the weight became too much for the branch to bear. Amongst the cracked, weathered gravestones, stood a newer grave. The stone gleamed softly in the moonlight, and the freshly carved words were clear to see, 'a wife and a mother, she will be dearly missed. R.I.P.'

A small figure stood next to the grave, gazing down on it with sorrow etched upon her face. It was a young girl, bundled up in thick winter clothes. She touched the grave lightly, brushing away some of the snow, before catching an odd sound and twisting around suddenly.

When she saw nothing, she scanned the area quickly, trying to find the source of the noise. It was then that the dog burst out from the shrubbery, leaping over a bush and running towards the grave. With a mighty leap, the dog disappeared into the ground next to the grave, and emerged a few seconds later, holding a strange blue orb in its mouth. It turned to study the girl briefly, and the girl stared back, moth wide open in surprise. A silent challenge seemed to pass between them, and the dog took off, flying away over the snow and leaving glittery shavings of ice and snow behind it. Shaking herself out of her stupor, the girl shook her head and blinked, before taking off after the dog, a determined expression on her features.

They ran from the graveyard, over a deserted, slushy road and off into a field where cows were huddled miserably together. Soon they left the field behind and they were running, flying over snowy hills underneath a clear starry sky.

The farther they got, the more strange the surroundings appeared. Shapes appeared and moved in the sky, a horse galloping, a woman running, people laughing and making merry. As she ran she saw it all, but she couldn't stop and stare. She would loose the dog. One strong looking hunter tipped his hat to the girl as she darted past. Soon more dogs joined her, and she gazed around at the in surprise. They also carried orbs with them, and she had to focus hard to make sure her dog didn't get mixed up with another. The world around her was becoming brighter and more cheerful than the dreary graveyard she had left behind, and the girl began to enjoy herself immensely.

A wave of darkness crashed over her suddenly, and the little girl stopped, stunned, looking around her to get her bearings. She stumbled on in the darkness, and suddenly gates appeared out of nowhere. They were tall, towering over her in an intimidating manner, with great bowls of fire on either side of the great marble pillars. They were the gates of the underworld, and beyond the gate was darkness. The dogs had all disappeared, but a faint glow alerted her to one who had returned. Passing back through the gate, the dog handed the girl the blue orb, and sat on its haunches, watching expectantly. She girl smiled, and fussed the dog, before reaching into her coat to pull out a key.

Walking forward to the gate, she slid the key into the lock and it turned easily. She let go of the soul and together with the dog, watched it float away into the darkness. Patting the dog, she pushed the gates shut, locking them before walking away. She pat her side gently, and the dog immediately followed the unspoken command, trotting up to her to walk sedately by her side. They walked out of sight, until only their shadows could be seen. And it was then that the girls shadow shifted into that of a taller, sharper looking person.

The end.

Ear Infection

On Tuesday I came down with an ear infection and it ended up with a hospital trip. Unfortunately, this is setting me back on my work a lot. I have been in too much pain to concentrate on anything, and am now back at home with very few supplies because I was in a hurry to leave at the time. I am going to try and write up another story draft at least, but I am really worried that this is going to put me behind.

Slight idea change

I have also changed my idea slightly. This is because in all my concepts, I realised that the dog and the girl seemed really friendly with each other, so I got into thinking that they were. And then I thought, 'what if the girl was the god of the underworld in a different form?' And I realised that I really liked the idea, and it gave it a nice twist at the end.

Background Concepts

Concept art

More concept art

Concept art

Since I did the sketches, I have been slowly turning them into finished concept pieces. I found a texture that I really like, and that I think would look really nice as part of my film, so I have been using it in most of my concept art! You can really see a difference between the ones I used the texture with, and the ones I didn't!

Concept sketches

Here are some concept sketches I have done for the girl and dog

First story draft

Here is the first draft of my film story. It isn't perfect, but I think it's a start!

It was deathly cold and the snow came down in large clumps, silencing the entire world. But that didn't stop her from remaining in her place, long after everyone else had left. She stared down at the simple marker through solemn eyes, reading the passage over and over until she had it memorised. 'Here lies …. A wife and a mother. She will be missed. RIP.' There weren't any tears left to cry, only emptiness that reflected the silent world around her.

It was then that she heard a rustle, and with quick startled eyes turned to the source. There was nothing there,but it didn't stop her from glancing all around her, puffs of white breath dancing across the air as she exhaled. A movement to her right sent her spinning around again, and nervously she backed away from the grave, deciding that perhaps it was time to head home. It was then that she saw the dog. It was white with red tipped ears and it almost seemed to glow faintly. She could only stare in awe as the massive dog bounded gracefully towards her, and took a giant leap before disappearing into the ground of the freshly dug grave. She didn't have to wait long before the red tipped ears appeared, and with them the rest of the dog, accompanied by a strange glowing orb. Without even glancing at her, the dog raced away, sending powdered snow flying into the air behind it. She watched in an undisguised awe, before sense returned to her, and she began to realise exactly what had happened. The dog had leapt into her beloved mothers grave, and had taken something with it. Whatever it was, it had belonged to her mother, and she was determined to get it back.

All at once, she was running, stumbling in the snow in an effort to catch up to the ethereal dog. Calling for the animal to stop did no good, it simply ignored her, and so she chased. Soon she was joined by more dogs, leaping out from behind trees and racing over the valleys. As one passed her, she noticed more orbs travelling with the dogs, and wondered if they had been stolen also. It wasn't long before the landscape began to change, from the snowy hills and valleys to something bizarre, dark at first, and then bright and lively. Strange, inhuman figures past her as she ran, ignoring her as much as the dogs were and going about their business, whatever it might be. Beautiful maidens danced and laughed, and muscled men shot arrows and swung swords and it was almost too much to take in without forgetting about the dogs she was chasing. She began to realise that she was actually enjoying herself. She was not as breathless as she would have expected, keeping the same pace with a stubborn gait, but this new world was bright and joyful, and even something as simple as chasing a pack of dogs provided a lot more excitement than anything at home had to offer, especially now. Soon they left the colourful figures behind, and it became darker and more solemn. The girl didn't notice, too wrapped up in her own joy to care about anything else but running.

And then she hit something hard with a force she did not expect. It sent her flying to the ground and she looked up surprised. In front of her was a blue glow, much like the orb taken from her mothers grave. Except this one was a wall, a great unmoving wall, and while she could see the other side clearly, she could not pass, no matter how much she pushed and shoved at the wall. The last dog disappeared into the distance of the darker world, and with a small sob, the girl called out for them to stop, but they didn't hear, and they didn't obey. Sitting down with a dejected slump, the girl looked around for anything that might seem familiar, but there was nothing and she knew she was lost. With a great sob she began to cry, letting out all the emotions that she had denied herself even at the funeral. It was the sound of a panting dog that caused her to look up from her misery, and she turned to see a dog and a figure walking steadily towards her. There was no orb, but she had no doubt that this was the dog that had taken her mothers orb.

The figure turned out to be a man. He was scary, but he looked noble, and rich, and unused to being disobeyed. Staring down at her with grave eyes, he asked her what she was doing chasing his dogs and sitting at his gates, and she replied that she was chasing the orb that the dog had stolen from her mothers grave. It was then that he smiled sadly and patted her head gently. It was the dogs job, he explained, to take the orb. That it needed to be done so that her mother could rest in piece. She looked at him in confusion, but the man would not explain further than that, only offering that one day, she would be able to understand fully. She nodded reluctantly, and patted the dog slowly. It was then that the man asked her if she was ready to return home. She stared up at him, and asked if he knew the way. He did, he replied, and placed a large hand on her head. There was suddenly snow whipping up all around her, and she closed her eyes against the storm. When she opened them again, everything was calm and she was back in the grave yard, a small distance from her mothers grave. There was someone else at the grave now, sitting in the same dejected pose that she had only recently taken herself, and she could see it was her father. Breaking into a run, she called him, and barrelled into his side. Because she wasn't the only one hurting from his mothers death. I'm still here for you, she promised him, and he smiled, holding her in a firm hug. It was still snowing heavily as they left the graveyard. Still bitterly cold and gloomy. But it didn't matter any more, because they were going home.

- - -

I don't think that the story is anywhere near perfect! In fact, I am extremely reluctant to have the bit with the god of the underworld, but it is there because I need something to fill that space. I think that the ending is nice though, and rounds it off in a nice way.

Target audience?

I was asked at the presentation today who my target audience were for the film. In all honesty,it is not something I have been considering. I am making this film for me,and no one else, if I am honest with myself. However, I think that the film would probably be better suited towards children, but something that adults would be able to enjoy too!

Group meeting

Today we had another group meeting to discuss our films. I showed my character designs to the group, and told them about the changes to my idea. I think things were pretty well received, and I need to focus on refining my idea, and finding a suitable ending. However, I was told that I should simplify my character designs for the girl, because they would be a pain to animate, despite it being very nice, it was a style more suited to illustration than animation.

I am not sure what to think about this. I shall probably simplify the idea a little bit, but I want to keep the base design, and I want the film to look pretty illustration like. One of the things I want to do next is write my film idea up like a story, and perhaps illustrate it!

Concepts and dog designs

Revised Character designs

I have been starting to design how I want the little girl to look in my final film, and I have done a quick turnaround of how I want her too look!

Film Inspiration: The little match girl

This short film is a Disney short, and is beautiful, not only in the way that it is animated, but the way that it is presented. It also has a really nice, sombre atmosphere that I want in my own film!

Film Inspiration: Secret of Kells

The secret of Kells is another fine example of European animation! I looked at this film for its own ties to Celtic mythology,and also because of it's beautiful style, especially the stylized backgrounds!

Film Inspiration: The Snowman

The atmosphere in this film is what I love about this film. It's a type of mood that I would love to recreate in my own film. It also has a very beautiful, illustration like style, and I really like the colouring effects!

Film Inspiration: Nocturna

I have been wanting to post inspirations for the film for a while now. These films are both inspiration in storyline, and in animation, and I am using them partly as research too!

The first is Nocturna. I have known about this film for a very long time, but only recently was I able to get a copy of it. It is a story about a little boy who is afraid of the dark, and discovers that the stars have gone missing, so he must goon a quest to get them back. It is beautifully animated, and has been very inspiring for me!

The Mabinogion

I finally brought the Mabinogion, and I have been reading through it and making notes of characters that might possibly show up as the girl is running. The idea that I had was the girl running, and the figures appearing in the sky behind her, which has the potential to look really pretty if done right! But first I needed to decide what figures would show up, so I skimmed the Mabinogion quickly for some characters that stood out.

The first was Rhiannon. She appears throughout the four branches of the Mabinogion, and first appears riding a horse that cannot be caught.

Blodeuwedd is another character I am looking at. She is a woman made from flowers, who was turned into an owl because she betrayed her husband.

I think that these are probably the only characters that I will take from the book itself. I might also include a generic hunter type person, and a blacksmith, because smelting iron was considered to be something great/ magical people did back in pre-Christian Wales.

First Presentation to the Class

Today we presented our films to the class. We didn't manage to get through everyone, but luckily I managed to show mine to the class. Once again, I got some valuable feedback, and it has caused me to change my idea a little bit!! I mentioned that I had originally had the girl standing at a gravestone before she met the dog, and Leonie said that she liked that bit a lot better, because it made the chase a lot more personal to the girl. She also told me to read the Mabinogion, which has been on my to do list for a while. She said that chasing the cwn annwn was meant to be something enjoyable, not something to fear,which was the direction I was heading in. Leonie also told me that she thought I was spelling things out too much for the audience, and I could definitely cut a lot of things out, such as the mother and daughter arguing. It would also help in shortening the film, which it possibly needs. So at the end of the presentation, I knew that my idea was probably something more suited for a feature film, and not a 3 minute film.

So my idea changed slightly. I decided that I would keep it in the present time, but the girl would be standing at the grave of a loved one. This would make the chase a lot more believable. I do not think that she would go to such lengths for something that she had just met, so something/ someone that once meant a lot to her, would be so much more understandable to the audience. My next plan is to buy the Mabinogion, and find out what information it has on the cwn annwn.

Current Story Synopsis

This is a current write up of my film idea, in preparation for the first class presentation on Monday.

A young girl journeys into a mythological world in an attempt to rescue her friend who has been taken by the cwn annwn.

A young girl argues badly with her mother and returns to her room in tears. She is greeted by a strange blue orb that plays with her and cheers her up. However, they are interrupted by a large white dog who jumps into her room and snatches up the orb before taking off. The young girl chases after the dog, determined to catch him and get back her friend. As she runs, she gradually leaves the modern world behind for a world still dominated by mythological beliefs, each turn brining something more strange and mysterious. Finally they reach the gates of the underworld, where the dog passes through with the soul, but the little girl discovers she cannot pass through. It is here that the soul returns to a human form, that of a young boy, and waves goodbye to her. It is now that the little girl realises what she has been chasing after, and though it upsets her to do so, returns the wave goodbye, and suddenly finds herself back home in her room. Debating whether or not it was all a dream, the girl hears a knock on her door, and her little sister comes in. The young girl proceeds to tell her little sister of her adventure and the story ends.

I am going to see what the class think of my idea when I present this Monday!

Back to University: First Group meeting

Last week we arrived back at university, and a few days ago we went to our first lecture. We have been sorted into groups based on a questionnaire that we had to fill in, and I have been placed in Caroline’s group. When we gathered, we were given a task to draw an image that would help us explain our film., Unfortunately, I have misplaced my sketchbook, so I cannot find the image I drew, but I managed to explain my idea, and I got some feedback for it! I was told that my idea has lots of potential, but I need to do a lot to refine it.

I then had a discussion with a friend about the ending. I am still very confused over what I could do for the ending, and she suggested that perhaps the little girl needed something that she could return to, maybe a younger sibling that could help replace the loss of the orb. I am going to work with this idea to see if it has any potential!

What is the Purpose?

I need to think about the purpose of my film. I know that this is something I will probably be asked, and I need to be able to tell people more than, 'I want to make a pretty film.'

After much deliberation, I think that I want to make a film that displays the difference between the present day and the past in which the mythology was a major part of peoples lives. I want to try and show how much this mythology used to effect people, but in today’s world, barely anyone knows about it.

My Revised Idea

After giving my film a lot of thought, I think I have decided on my film story.

The film starts with a scene of a house. It is snowing outside, and in the window you can see the silhouettes of a woman and child arguing. The child walks out of view and we cut to her stomping into her bedroom and slamming the door. She is upset and begins to cry. It is then that a blue orb comes through the open window and she begins to play with it. Shortly after, a dog jumps into the room, and snatches the orb from her. She watches from her window as the dog runs away, and immediately sets out to follow them. She chases them over hills and valleys, slowly entering a world that is not her own, a mythological world. Eventually they come to a pair of gates, and the dog passes through easily, but the girl cannot go through, no matter how hard she tries.

This is all I have so far! I haven't been able to decide on an ending yet, but I’m working on it!

The Game

One of the things I did while I was working at summer camp, was read a book called, 'The Game' to the kids I looked after, to get them to sleep. The book was written by Diana Wynne Jones, one of the main inspirations for my idea. This book proved to be no different, and gave me lots of new ideas. In my film I have the idea of her following the dog, and slowly entering the mythological world. In the book, the protagonists play a game in which they enter a place called the mythosphere, a place where fairytale and mythological characters are alive and act out their stories in continuous loops. The protagonists can interfere with the stories slightly, but the outcome eventually turns out the same way as the story is meant to. I think that I would like something like this for my own mythological world.

Ideas from America

While I was in America, I did a lot of thinking about how my story could play out. After working with children for so long, I had more of an idea of how they could react, and had an image in my mind of a little girl at her house, instead of outside in the cold. The orb would come to her there and play with her for a while before the dog arrived and took it away.

After my job at summer camp was over, I stayed with my cousin for a week in New York, and while explaining my idea to her, she gave me a lot of useful input. She thought it would be a good idea to have the story in the present time, and perhaps have the girl travelling back through time as she ran. At the time, I was still unsure of the direction my film was taking, but my cousins advice really helped and I decided that I wanted to set my film in the present time, as opposed to the time period where this mythology was still believed as religion. Bringing the film into the present time changes the film completely. If I kept the film in the original time line, the girl would know what the dogs were, and may be more cautious about following the dog. On the other hand, if the girl was in present day time, there isn't as much of a chance for her to know what the dogs are, and the mythology behind them, especially because welsh mythology isn't as well known as some others. This means that there won't be as much hesitation to follow the dog. She doesn't know what they stand for.

Return From America

I returned from america a few weeks ago,and unfortunately I wasn't able to get as much done as I had wanted to, due to a lack of time. In addition to this, the work that I did complete- a few nice concept pieces, is missing. The sketchbook I took to america didn't come back with me, and no one I could contact had seen it. I do have quite a few reference videos of kids though, so it wasn't a complete loss. I have also revised my idea, which I shall talk about in the next post.

Leaving

In a few days I am leaving to work on an american summer camp. Its going to make working on my film very difficult. However, I plan to give my film a lot of consideration over this time, and to try and come up with an effective ending. I will also use this opportunity to get references from children around the age of my character, and to get an idea of how they tend to act etc.

New Idea

I have recently been playing with the idea of changing the storyline for my film a little bit. I was thinking about having the girl out in the snow, perhaps collecting firewood for her family. She would then come across a blue orb and play with it for a while. This would allow her to forge a deeper connection with the orb. In my old idea, it may not have been clear that she was chasing the dog to get her loved ones soul back. This is really the only thing that would change. The chase would stay the same, and everything up until the undecided ending.

Difficulties

I think that my film planning so far is going pretty well. I need to do as much as I can now, because I am going away for the summer and I won't have much of a chance to do work. However, my main problem is that I cannot think of a good ending for my film. I think that the ending will make or break the film, so it's important to have something affective to end on. However, at this time I cannot think of anything that would work well enough.

More Pictures Of Cadair Idris

A few more images of Cadair Idris. The mountain itself looks like something out of a fairy tale, and I think it's a really good location for inspiration!

Pictures Of Cadair Idris

Unfortunately, at this time, visiting the mountain is going to be difficult, due to long lasting summer plans, but I have collected various images of the mountain to look at.

Decisions Based On My Research

After researching the cwn annwn, I made a few decisions about the nature of my film. I found out that one of the prime times for the dogs to hunt was during the winter, and I think that a wintery setting would really help to reflect the mood of my film. This is because snowy scenes have the potential to be depressing and sombre, but also magical. So I now know that I want to set my film in the winter, probably around christmas time, as it is a date that features throughout all the different beliefs.

I also discovered that the main hunting grounds for the dogs was the mountain of Cadair Idris, and this might be a good place to look into for the setting of my film. At the very least it will give me a place to look at for background inspirations.

The Cwn Annwn

The Cwn Annwn are a major part of my film, and so I need to do a lot of research into them to ensure I get everything right! Here is the research I have found:

The cwn annwn were the spectral hounds of Annwn. Annwn was the name of the underworld of welsh mythology. They were a branch of the wild hunt, which was presided over by Gwynn ap Nudd. Christians dubbed the creatures the 'hounds of hell', and theorised they were owned by satan, with the otherworld being hell. However, in welsh mythology, the otherworld was a paradise, not a hell or the home of dead souls.

The dogs were also associated with migrating geese, because their honking in the night sounds like barking dogs.

The cwn annwn are believed to hunt only on specific nights. More specifically, the eves of St. John, St.Martin, Saint Michael the archangel, All saints, Christmas, New Year, Sain Agnes, Saint David and Good Friday. Others believe that they hunt throughout Autumn and Winter,and others believe that they only hunt from christmas to twelfth night. I believe that it is far more likely that they ran through autumn and winter, however, because the other two beliefs feature christian holidays prominently, not all of which previously had a pagan holiday there. This suggests that these beliefs were introduced after pre-Christian Wales.

The hounds are sometimes accompanied by a fearsome hag called Mallt-y-Nos, Matilda of the night.

The hunting grounds for the dogs are said to be the mountain of Cadair Idris, where it is believed that the howling of the dogs foretold death to those who heard them. According to the folklore, their growling is loudest when they are at a distance. These dogs cannot be seen by ordinary humans, even though earthly dogs howl with fright upon seeing them.

Another source mentioned that the dogs ride through the skies in autumn, winter and early spring, which might be something to keep in consideration.

Pre-Christian Wales

Because the Mabinogion is based on pre-Christian Wales, I felt that it was important to research this time period and the beliefs. This is because my film is going to be set in this time period, so knowing as much as I can about it will be extremely useful.

Some of the earliest evidence of a pre-Christian religion in Wales are the stone circles. The most well known one is the Stone henge in England, but another can be found in Pembrokeshire, Wales, as well as many other Welsh locations. It was believed that these sites were used for religious rituals, but there is no evidence of this remaining.

The making of metal was believed to be an act of magic, and the early welsh people smelted various kinds of metals such as gold and copper for offerings to their gods. The religious leaders of the time were known as druids, and they existed even beyond the Roman invasion of Britain. The Celtic religion was tolerated under Roman rule for the most part, even if the rule of the druids was over. However, the worship of celtic gods was tolerated because it proved to be no threat to the roman rule. However, the religion did not survive after roman rule.

Various characters from the mabinogion are prominent in welsh beliefs and mythology, though there are some things that tend to be different. In the mabinogion, the cwn annwn belonged to Arawn, who resided over Annwn. However, in the actual mythology, they are associated with Gwynn Ap Nudd, the king of the fair folk.

One of the main things to note, however, is that the stories of the mabinogion were written long after Wales was dominated by the christian religion. The gods of pre-Christian Wales were changed to heroes and kings to satisfy any religions conflicts.

Possible deities of the time include:

Arawn, the king of the otherworld realm of Annwn. It is debated on whether or not he or Gwynn ap Nudd ruled over the otherworld, but Arawn appears prominently in the first branch of the mabinogion.

Afallach: The father of Modron, he was associated with the Island of Avalon.

Blodeuwedd: A woman made of flowers to be the wife of Lleu Llaw Gyffes, in the fourth branch of the mabinogion. She betrays him and is turned into an owl.

Ceridwen: An enchantress, and the mother of Morfran and Creirwy. She possessed the cauldron of poetic inspiration, and she once swallowed her servant who is reborn through her as the poet Taliesin.

Cyhyraeth: A ghostly spirit that has a disembodied moaning voice that sounds before a persons death.

Gwenn Teir Bronn: A Breton holy woman who supposedly lived in the 6^th century.

Gwyn ap Nudd: The king of the Tylwyth Teg, or the fair folk. Described as a great warrior with a blackened face. He is associated with the wild hunt.

Llefelys: The king of France in mythology. His brother Ludd is the king of Britain.

Ludd Llaw Eraint: Known as Ludd of the silver hand, he is a legendary hero, and the father of Gwynn ap Nudd. In some tales he is known as the king of Britain, while his brother rules France.

Mabon ap Modron: The son of Modron. Both he and his mother were likely deities, descending from a divine mother-son pair.

Modron: May have been the origin of Morgan Le Fay. She is the mother of Mabon,who was stolen from her when he was three days old and rescued by King Arthur. She is a fertility and harvest deity, and she appears as a washerwoman.

Rhiannon: Rhiannon was a queen who appears in the Mabinogion. She is often compared to the horse goddess, Epona.

The Mabinogion

The Mabinogion is a collection of eleven welsh stories based on pre-Christian Celtic beliefs. The tales can be found in two separate manuscripts, and have been translated into English. The tales aren't all from the same time period, but the belief is that the first tales were written around 1060 at the earliest. However, the tales themselves were meant to be communicated orally, and could have been around for much longer than this. It is speculated that they could have been the origin of the Arthurian tales, as King Arthur and his court appear at least once in the tales. Whether they are or not, however, does not change the fact that they are a very important piece of early welsh history and story tale culture.

The reason I am looking at the Mabinogion, is because the cwn annwn appear in the book several times, and reading it might be able to give me some insight on the beliefs of that time, and inspiration for my film.

Film Proposal Concept Art

For the final film proposal I also had to hand in more concept art to give everyone an idea an idea of how my film would work. A lot of the work I sent in came from the initial concepts I put up previously, but I also created some new concept pieces, mainly digital pieces.