A collection of quick sketches I did for the film (with the exception of the horse). The bottom picture was mainly to get a better feel for the dogs anatomy, but a few sketches of the little girl crept in too. The top picture features a few sketches of the grave from different perspectives.
The graveyard that night was dark and cold. Snow fell down in heavy clumps, covering everything in a thick layer of white, and the wind flew violently through the trees, brushing small pockets of powdery snow from their perches. The graveyard was cold, dark, and uninviting on that cold winters night. Not even the local wildlife stirred, and the graveyard was silent. Under a spindly, dead tree lay a new addition to the graveyard. As white as the other markers, this grave was decorated with snow covered flowers and ornaments, small tokens left behind by grieving loved ones. There also sat a small girl, not even metres away from the grave. She huddled gloomily in the snow, bundled up in a thick winter coat and bright red scarf. She stared down at the grave sadly, making no indication of moving any time soon, toying with a small red flower picked from the numerous bouquets adorning the headstone.
The snow danced around her, and she glanced up, pulling her arms around her as she did so, accidentally letting go of the flower, which was quickly captured by the wind. Looking up in alarm, she spun around to chase it with her eyes, stopping suddenly, and looking up in undisguised awe. Upon the hill, with the flower resting at his feet, stood a dog. Tall and majestic and as white as the snow that surrounded it, the dog stared down at her in a commanding manner. The girl got up carefully, smiling at the dog, and shuffling nearer to the flower, keeping wary eyes on the large dog. The dog stood still, almost as if it was a statue, and the girl edged nearer. The little girl reached out to the dog hesitantly, soon smiling as she touched him lightly. Quite suddenly, the dog turned, staring at her expectantly, before indicating his back. The girl started at the dog in confusion, before the dog turned and nudged her towards its back impatiently. Stumbling forward, the girl returned to staring at the dog, turning to look down at the grave briefly, before scrambling onto the dogs back.
Once she was sat comfortably, the dog set off at a fast pace, the girl holding on tightly to keep herself from falling off. With a mighty leap the dog flew over a tall hedge separating the graveyard from the rest of the world, and the girl looked around in awe. The pair soon came to a river, and the dog paused, sniffing the ground. A sudden movement caused the girl to look around quickly, but after finding nothing, she turned to gaze at the river, bubbling violently in front of them. She watched the water swirl about warily, but she was given no time to protest before the dog was off, leaping over a group of stepping stones effortlessly as the girl clung to the dog in fear. They reached the other side in no time, and the dog moved confidently towards a dark forest, trees looming ahead intimidatingly. The little girl stared up at them, clutching the dogs neck tightly as she took note of the strangely shaped trees. The dog picked his way delicately through the forest path, thick with branches and dead leaves. There was no snow here, the trees ahead forming a thick barrier that the snow couldn't penetrate. As the girl glanced around, she caught small movements, black blurs that seemed to run with them for a while, and once again she began to get scared. A noise behind her made her look back, and on their tail ran more dogs, more menacing than her own, and snarling angrily. She watched in horror as they ran about them, looking ahead and seeing more dogs up ahead, waiting for them in a clearing. She looked around for an escape, and almost as if reading her mind, one dog came closer, snapping at her heals. Yanking sharply on her dogs neck, they came to a sudden stop, and the girl jumped off the dogs back, sinking to the ground and curling up defensively. The other dogs came in closer, growling angrily, and she stared at them in fear.
Her own dog suddenly flattened his own ears, moving in front of the girl protectively and staring down the other dogs. The other dogs soon slunk backwards, reluctant to provoke the bigger dog, and when the girl looked up, the clearing was empty, only leaving the little girl and her dog behind. The dog turned for her, and stared down at her, dropping his ears in confusion when she made no attempt to move from her spot. Creeping forward, the dog nosed at her gently, and the little girl caught him in a tight hug, clinging to his powerful neck tightly, as the dog wagged its tail and licked her comfortingly. When the pair finally parted, the dog trotted over to a strange tree. It was unlike the others, in that it was a pale colour, almost white. Sitting by it expectantly, the girl moved over to the tree, only to stare down at a small opening in the trunk that seemed to go on forever.
She stared down at the opening hesitantly, and then back at the dog, who nudged her encouragingly, before pushing past her and moving down the hole confidently, pausing for a moment to look back at her, wagging his tail happily before moving on. After a slight pause, the girl took a deep breath and started slowly down the passage, crawling delicately as it became darker and darker. However, despite how dark it became, the dog was always right in front of her, leading the way confidently. A strong wind suddenly blew in her face, and the girl watched as a bright white light displayed an end to the tunnel. With a grin on her face, she made her way to the exit, pulling herself up out of a tree hollow similar to the one she had just entered. However, the sight before her was nothing like the scene she had left behind.
In front of her was a field of flowers, bright and cheerful, blowing gently in the breeze. Standing up, she watched the sight in undisguised awe, and her dog came up from behind her, nudging her forward. At the silent signal, the girl smiled in delight, and began to run through the field, turning in circles before flopping down and playing with the flowers in contentment. The dog flopped down peacefully under the tree, watching after her silently as she played. Throwing a bunch of flowers into the air, the girl gave another smile as the petals flew about her.
Back in a dark snowy graveyard, the sun began to rise reluctantly, and a flower blew about wildly in the wind. It soon came to rest on a grave, fresh with flowers and trinkets and a single photo frame containing a picture of a single little girl.
The snow fell heavily onto the small graveyard, covering the grey stone markers with a thick layer of white snow. The wind howled ominously through the trees, blowing small pockets of powdery snow from the branches. The graveyard was cold, dark, and uninviting, on that cold winters night. Not even the local wildlife stirred, and the graveyard was silent. Under a spindly, dead tree lay a new addition to the graveyard. As white as the other markers, this grave was decorated with snow covered flowers and ornaments, small tokens left behind by grieving loved ones. There also sat a small girl, not even metres away from the grave. She huddled gloomily in the snow, bundled up in a thick winter coat and bright red scarf. She stared down at the grave sadly, making no indication of moving any time soon, toying with a small red flower picked from the numerous bouquets adorning the headstone.
The snow danced around her, and she glanced up, pulling her arms around her as she did so, accidentally letting go of the flower, which was quickly captured by the wind. Looking up in alarm, she spun around to chase it with her eyes, stopping suddenly, and looking up in undisguised awe. Upon the hill, with the flower resting at his feet, stood a dog. Tall and majestic and as white as the snow that surrounded it, the dog stared down at her, before leaning down to nose at the flower, sniffing at it curiously. The girl got up carefully, smiling at the dog, and shuffling nearer to the flower, keeping wary eyes on the large dog. The dog stood still, almost as if it was a statue, and the girl edged nearer. When the girl had almost reached the dog, it leapt up with an excited yip, causing the girl to jump in surprise and disturbing the flower, the wind picking it up again and sending it flying back down the hill. With a sigh that was half frustration, half amusement, the girl turned to the dog, jolting in surprise as she realised that it was no longer there. Looking down, she saw foot prints leading off to a small bush, and the girl followed them curiously. She wasn't tall enough to look over the hedge, but a small gap in the bottom of the hedge proved to be big enough to peer through. She soon spotted the dog who was now sniffing curiously at the edge of a bubbly river, and with a grin she pushed through the hedge, brushing twigs and leaves away as she reappeared the other end. By now the dog had crossed the stream, and watched her innocently as she came to the river and stared down in dismay. The closer she got, the more violent and scary the stream appeared. She dipped a finger in the stream hesitantly, immediately pulling out as she felt the force and ice cold touch of the river. She looked up at the dog and frowned. By now the dog had moved again, and it was watching her from the edge of a forest. It wagged its tail hopefully, and cocked its head, as if to ask whether or not the girl would follow. The girl took a deep breath, and cautiously moved a foot to rest on the first stepping stone to cross the river, a look of concentration clear on her face. When the stone did not move from underneath her, she took another careful step, planting her other foot on the next stone. Once again, the stone stood firm, and she smiled, her confidence renewed. From there, she crossed the stream quickly, becoming more confident with each step, and reaching the other side with a proud grin. She looked back for a brief moment, seeing the spindly church tower from over the hedge, before turning to find the dog.
Once again the dog was nowhere to be found, and she stared up at the forest, the trees towering high above her. The dog had gone that way, she was sure, and she warily entered the forest, very conscious of the tall dark trees and shadows that almost seemed to move. There was no snow here. It couldn't penetrate the thick barrier that the trees had formed, but it only made the forest darker and more intimidating. She soon came to a clearing and stopped, looking all around her for the dog, before jumping in fear at a sudden rustling sound. Out of one thick bunch of trees came a dog. It was bony and dark and growled at her menacingly, and the little girl backed away quickly, eyes wide with horror. It came closer, and was soon joined by two more dogs that cut off her escape. The little girl held her hands to her mouth, and shook her head in horror, backing away but never taking her eyes off the dogs, watching with a horrified stare. The little girl was soon backed into a tree, and sat down, curling up as if it would help to protect her. She shut her eyes tightly, covering her face with her arms.
A sudden sound caused her to look up in disbelief. Before her stood another dog, the one that she had been following, and the other dogs slunk away, returning to the shadows. The little girl wiped the tears from her eyes, and watched the dog as he came closer, reaching out a hand hesitantly to touch the dog, who pushed its nose to her hand before giving her a comforting lick. She smiled and hugged the dog tightly, the dog wagging its tail at the attention, before they both pulled away.
A young girl is found sitting despondently by a grave. It is snowing heavily and the graveyard is covered in a thick layer of snow. The little girl is sitting crossed-legged, holding a small flower in her hand. The grave itself is covered in flowers and presents, suggesting the the grave is new. She reaches over and balances the flower on top of a pile of snow. Smiling sadly, she reaches to brush the snow from a picture frame, beginning to push the flakes away before stopping suddenly and looking up. Up on a nearby hill stands a white dog watching her. The dog wags its tail, crouching down as if inviting the girl to come and play. The dog leaps around in a circle, and the girl smiles in amusement at the dog, before getting up and brushing off the snow. The dog has stopped and is watching her again. She begins to run up towards the waiting dog, before a sound stops them both, and they turn to the source of the noise. The girl squints to try and see, but she cannot see what it is, she turns back towards the dog, but notices that the dog has gone, and immediately runs to the top of the hill to see where he's gone. She sees the dog running to the edge of the graveyard and he leaps over a style. The girl watches the dog disappear sadly, before looking up as the dog sticks his head back over the style as if waiting for her to follow. With a happy smile, she races down the hill towards the style, clambering over it and looking for the dog again. By now the dog is swimming across a river, and the girl eagerly follows, slipping slightly and stopping when she comes to the river, afraid to cross. The dog watches her, as if encouraging her to cross, not understanding why she is reluctant to cross, but as she looks down towards the river she gets scared and steps back. The dog moves away and the girl realises he is leaving, and she reaches out to ask him to wait. It is then that she spots the stepping stones, and calls out to the dog again, who stops and watches as she runs over to the stepping stones. She crosses carefully and the dog leaps up happily before disappearing into a forest.
OR
The dog crosses at the stepping stones, but the girl still stops, seeing how fast the river is running and becoming scared. No matter how much the dog seems to encourage her, it seems too scary until the dog begins to leave, at which point she realises that she will loose the dog if she does not cross. She considers turning back, looking back towards the graveyard and then the dog. She makes the decision to follow the dog, and calls out for him to wait, before fearfully crossing the stepping stones. Once she reaches the other side, the dog leaps off again into the forest.
The girl reaches the forest and looks up fearfully. The forest looks intimidating and scary. She enters cautiously, looking all around her. She sees the dog up ahead in a clearing, and runs towards him in relief, but by the time she gets there the dog is gone, and she cannot tell which way the dog has gone. She looks around in fear, and everything looks terrifying to her. A rustling noise gets her attention and as she looks towards the source, a different, more menacing dog comes out from behind a bush. It is growling, and the girl turns to run in another direction. However, there is another dog when she turns, and there are more appearing out of the shrubbery. She backs up fearfully as the dogs close in on her, covering her eyes and crouching down to curl up. She suddenly looks up, and her dog is standing protectively in front of her, growling at the other dogs who back away quickly. The dog turns towards her, bumping her with his nose and giving her a reassuring lick. She reaches up to hug the dog, who turns slightly to nudge her onto his back. She clings to him tightly and the dog begins to run again, this time with the little girl on his back. The girl soon finds herself brave enough to sit up properly and look ahead. She looks ahead in surprise and a little fear. Up ahead the forest is ending, and there is a bright light. The dog clears the forest in one more big leap and the girl smiles in delight. The pair have appeared in a field of beautiful flowers, much like the flower that the girl was holding at the beginning. She jumps of the dogs back and runs to play with the flowers, turning in a circle happily while the dog watches on happily, resting underneath a tree. The flower field seems to stretch on forever, and petals dance through the air. The petals morph back into snow and we return to the graveyard, and the grave that the little girl had been sitting at. The camera focuses in on the picture that the girl had been wiping snow off. The image shows he little girl and the picture fades out.
Notes: Crossing the river is meant to be a symbol of passing into the realm of the dead. In some culture/ mythology dead people have to cross rivers to get to the land of the dead, e.g. the river styx.
The film is about being able to move on by looking at one of the hardest subjects to move on from; death. The film is about the little girls realisation that she is dead, and through that realisation being able to move on. At the river when she hesitates in crossing, she first begins to realise something, and had the choice to turn back or go on. When she turns back the graveyard is meant to look cold and uninviting to signify being unable to move on is the wrong way to go, and is not a pleasant experience. On the other hand, the dog represents moving on and the freedom that comes with moving on. He is there to guide her to the land of the dead and be her guardian as she does so. The fact that she cannot catch him signifies that she has not yet accepted her death, and the fact that she keeps loosing him also means that she is not ready to move on.
When she loses the dog for the last time, she fully begins to realise what is happening and the fear of what might happen makes her want to turn back and give up. The other dogs are trying to push her to move on, but in a more forceful way that is not working, causing her to realise that she really is dead. The moment that her guardian dog returns to rescue her, is the moment that she gains the strength to move on, no matter what the consequences might be. However, she still needs the help to move on, and by taking her onto his back, the dog signifies that.
At the end, the girl has moved on and realises that moving on wasn't so bad, and was in fact a good thing for her. Now that she has found new happiness, she has the strength to leave behind everything that was stopping her from moving on.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
Part of my last university project of the year was to produce a film proposal for my final film. I had to write a detailed synopsis of my film and produce concept art as a practice proposal. After my last post I did a lot of thinking about my story and how to develop it more. I had to consider what would be asked of me when I put together my film proposal. As follows is what I wrote for my film proposal:
For my final major film I plan to create a piece based on welsh mythology. I have always been fascinated with mythology of any type, and during the summer after my first year, I decided that I wanted to make a film based on welsh mythology.
After reading a book by Diana Wynne Jones, called 'Dogsbody,' I decided that I wanted my film to focus on the 'wild hunt' of welsh legends, a pack of dogs called the Cwn Annwn. These dogs of legend were white all over with red tipped ears, and they traditionally ferried souls to the otherworld. After deciding this, I wanted to explore something to do with death, and perhaps the way we deal with loosing our loved ones to something unknown.
From this vague idea, I began to work on a story of some kind, and eventually came up with a rough plot that I plan to work on and refine into my final film.
Synopsis:
A young girl is standing in a graveyard on a cold winters night. Her mother has passed away and she sits dejectedly by the grave. All of a sudden she hears a noise, and as she looks up a dog leaps over her and disappears into the ground by her mothers grave. As the animal rises, it appears with a small blue light, the theoretical 'soul' of the deceased mother. As the dog leaves with the soul, the girl realises what happens, and unable to let her mother go, follows the dog. As they run together they are joined by more dogs and more souls. They embark on a journey to the otherworld, the young girl coming across many bizarre things as she does so, but never loosing sight of the dog that holds her mothers soul.
Finally they reach the gates of the otherworld, where the souls are guided past the gate and onto a place that the girl can't see. As they near the gate, the girl slams into a barrier. She cannot go any further. Confused at the lack of its companion, the dog waits on the other side of the gate, and the girl falls into despair as she realises she can't pass the barrier to retrieve her mothers soul. The dog looks up and from behind the girl a figure appears. It is Gwynn ap Nudd, the lord of the otherworld. She pleads her case desperately, and the dog passes back through the gate as she does so. She makes a grab for the soul, but is not allowed to do so. Gwynn ap Nudd tried to explain that her mother cannot come back. That she belongs in another world and they cannot exist together. Finally the girl accepts her mothers death and allows the soul to pass to the otherworld.
As of yet, I am unsure of how the ending should go, but a rough idea is:
The scene fades to black and the girl opens her eyes on the side of a cliff. She is woken up by the mythical bard who resides in the valley. He gifts her with a flower and moves on. The girl is left to make her way down the cliff and back to her home.
- - -
Obviously the idea is very much a work in progress. But this is the general idea of the story. I want the girl to be able to accept her mothers death, and I don't want the ending to be entirely happy. The dead don't come back to life. Whatever people believe, the dead don't exist with the living, and I want this to be true in this story. The girl doesn't get her mother back, but she learns an important lesson. I don't want there to be dialogue in this film, just music, and possibly sound effects. I want to challenge myself and make the character animation a focus in this story.
After drawing the first concepts, I began to form an idea for my final film.
I have been thinking about having the young girl standing at the grave of a loved one. She is all alone, and she suddenly hears a strange sound. Out of the jumble of graves, a dog appears and leaps into the ground of the grave. When it comes back out, it is carrying a blue orb, and darts off with it. The girl realises that it is her loved one, and begins to chase the dog across the countryside. She is joined by more and more of the pack as she runs, until they reach the underworld and she discovers that she cannot go any farther.
So far, that's all I have for an idea. It needs a lot of work, but it's definitely a start! I need to put together an ending. I think the most difficult thing is creating an ending that is effective, especially in the short time that the film is allotted. However, I have a very clear image of the dog jumping into the grave, and the chase across the countryside.
Dogsbody is about the personification of the dog star Sirius, who is framed for a crime and sent to earth in exile for punishment. He is placed into the body of a newborn puppy, and almost drowned with his siblings by the owner, who was angry at the mother for breeding with an unknown dog. Sirius survives and is picked out of the river by a young girl, and the story goes on. It is later discovered that the unknown father of dog-Sirius was one of the cwn annwn, and Sirius chases after the pack after seeing them. At the end of the story, not only Sirius chases after the pack, but the young girl who saved him and her cousins. They manage to chase the pack to the end of their hunt, and their owner, the god of the underworld, grants them a single wish each for doing so.
Since then, the idea of chasing after the dogs in my film has been a major idea of mine. I need to do a lot more research into the legends of the cwn annwn first, and I can't make it similar to the book, because that would become plagiarism. But I know that I want to do my film about the cwn annwn, and include a big chase scene.
Now that I have the basics, I need to begin refining the idea into an actual story.
