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!