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Project Research II

The last week has been spent on trying to further solidify my idea in my mind. I spoke with my sister about the rough outline of my idea and as we were talking about a post-apocalyptic environment she suggested that I root the environment in home. For example, when was the last time we saw a nuclear holocaust in Dundee? So I looked into Dundee landmarks and picked out a few I liked:



The Discovery Ship



The McManus Gallery



Law Hill



The New Waterfront

I think it would be particularly interesting to take one of these locations and create a run down, overgrown version where my character could be seen exploring. I also looked up different concept arts that have used the overgrown, post-apocalyptic setting before:

The Last of Us

Fallout 3

Fallout 4

Horizon: Zero Dawn

Metro 2033

As well as thinking about the environment for my short film, I decided to take a step back and return to the roots of the story. After today's class we discussed the use of mind maps in planning ideas or developing them so I created my own mind map for my "Wasteland" idea.



With this mind map in mind (pun unintended) I feel like I have more options for a story that may not be cliched, which was something I was worried about. As for the story itself I'm going to throw down a rough outline that I have but it's still likely to change.

The main character, 'Shadow', a young woman in her 20s, walks onto the scene. She's a scavenger/hunter alone in the city, searching for a way to survive. She surveys the scene and as an audience we can see that she is truly alone, the only human for miles. She removes her goggles, her expression stoic and reserved as she takes in her environment. As she stalks through the city she is confronted with a wolf (possibly chasing another animal). The wolf stops and the two have a stand off, Shadow with her gun raised, poised to kill the wolf. But she doesn't and the wolf shifts into the ground, as if by magic (Also see the "She-Wolf" music video) before reappearing behind Shadow. The wolf leads her through the city until he stops at a broken down house where inside lies another human. 

The main themes should focus on isolation and loneliness, but Shadow, as a character, has been alone for so long that she is very stoic and reserved, resigning herself to her situation.

In terms of Shadow's character, I need her to look like she has lived in this nuclear holocaust for years and has survived the hardships all alone. I've been gathering some images for her for a while and below are just a few.





I also want her to be able to defend herself and hunt. Originally I thought about giving her a compound bow but as I was worried about being cliched, a young woman with a bow seemed very cliche for this generation! As such I would like to give her a rifle, perhaps a sniper rifle. This also opens up the opportunity for different camera angles, i.e. through the rifle scope. 

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