Wherever You Go

Working Title for Thesis Film by Anna Dias

Approved for Submission by:________________________________________

2. Synopsis:
a. Windows of a bus pass endlessly, framing a single dying tree in a golden field.
The windows are a clock frame. The tree, clock hands. The clock is a maze. The
maze is an hourglass. The hourglass is a bottle that explodes in a cloud of smoke.
There is a sapling and a child, and a tree and a woman. The same girl runs
through a maze, making turns, decisions, running from a creature with shadowy
ever-reaching arms. One person is torn with agony over a choice and is pulled
apart, reaching in both directions. They unfuse, and tumble, and spin, and
remerge. Brains are melting and then people, their heads turn goopy. The wax
melts over hands, trying to hold themself together. The girl from before is falling.
She grasps hold of a tall ledge as bustling figures wander far below her through
rows of bookshelves, coming in and out of a little house to the left. She is dark yet
glowing, with sparkling freckles and wide eyes. She is on the floor of this
mindscape as the creatures speak to themselves, growing louder and louder until
her curiosity is overcome by the need to cover her ears and hide. A compilation of
real video, or some incorporation of them. Bouncy balls bouncing with unending
energy versus marbles clanging together in a dark space. There is a theme of past
self versus present and maybe versus a hopeful yet unknown future. The tree
comes back as a bookend, but instead of being contained in the windows of a
school bus, it takes up the whole frame. It is free and it is exploring.

3. Rationale:
a. Every film I’ve made, I have wanted it to be a part of me. I wanted something that
I can maybe find it in myself to work on the film and get it done. I’ve found
storytelling to be the hardest part of this major honestly. I’m mostly here to create
 characters and learn more about this crazy field that I’ve aimed to join, because
the creative industry is the only thing I can see myself doing as a job. So, I want
to put some me in every film we need to make. I can’t just do some frivolous
story with random characters and setting and a gag. I want to make people feel
something, and to feel like they’re not alone in their experiences. I want my film
to feel human and show humanity. I really want to do something for my senior
film that isn’t random, that isn’t impersonal or some silly story I threw together. I
want to make it me. I tried really hard to find something that works for me, and
for this feeling that I want to share. I think this more experimental approach will
be a good start if I can force myself to just dive in and figure out what works. It’s
about the fear of growing up, the fear of an uncertain future, the hardship of
decisions, and loss, and the fear of change. It’s about getting stuck in one’s own
head with panic attacks and anxiety, partially as response to these daunting,
overbearing experiences. It’s ultimately incredibly personal but in a way I hope
others can relate to and see themself in.

4. Treatment:
a. A bus window rushes past, and then another, and another as they keep moving by.
Through the blinking glass, a small, dry tree can be seen in a field of golden, tall
grass. The sun rises and sets rapidly, colors changing from bright oranges, to
yellows, to blues and purples. The tree becomes the hands of a clock as the
windows round. The clock hands stretch to become a maze. The maze becomes an
hourglass, with its lines as shifting sand. The hourglass becomes a bottle. The
sand turns to liquid and it bubbles and explodes, shattering the bottle into smoke.
b. The tree from before is a small sapling next to a young child. Old home videos are
incorporated, showing moments of this girl’s childhood. Bouncy balls idly bounce
in place at varying heights. There may be a cat that accompanies this girl, also
incorporating real video imagery of it. The two are clearly very close. Always
circling around each other, playing together, sitting next to each other on the steps
of the front door outside. There is a stuffed animal, a soft bear - the only
 consistent thing. The girl and the stuffed animal are attached to each other. She
forgets it far away once and cries. There is real imagery of this stuffed animal,
shown within it. The girl doesn’t let go of the stuffed animal for a long time
afterwards. She tucks it in at night with herself as if it was a child.
c. The girl is running down a hallway, rapidly nearing the end. She slams into the far
wall as she pushes off of it and continues on. Shadow arms reach and claw after
her, chasing behind with boundless energy. She falls through the floor and grasps
hold of a tall ledge in a dark, close up void. Bustling figures walk busily and
silently far below her through long rows of bookshelves to the right, passing by
each other as they wander in and out of a little house to the left. The girl is dark
yet glowing, with sparkling freckles and wide eyes. She appears on the floor of
this mindscape as the creatures speak to themselves, now heard upclose. Ideally,
these creatures are herself. All slightly differing versions of herself. Her
appearance lags behind her as she looks around, but is soon overwhelmed by the
voices getting louder and louder until her curiosity is overcome by the need to
cover her ears and hide. She is in bed, curled up, holding onto the stuffed bear
with the cat at her side.
d. The girl is older now, a young adult, and still holding onto the same bear, trying
desperately to fall asleep as she lay there, eyes clamped shut. The bear is old and
much less fluffy, raggedy even. Her mind is full of bouncing balls, flying against
walls, and it is all melting. She is melting. She tries to hold herself together, the
goo sliding through her fingers and down her arms. She looks from side to side, to
make a choice, and is pulled apart as she reaches in both directions, flying toward
two different possibilities.
e. Marbles clank together idly as the girl stares sheepishly into the distance. The
night sky is beautiful, and it has always been there for her. Stars had to die for life
to be here, and she is stardust as the universe speaks through her. The same dead
tree still stands, and it is as still and unbothered as ever, but it is unboxed. It
stares, now free of its bus window cage that had confined it before. It is
unwavering to the wind pushing the grass around it. It is endless and watchful,
and it is free.
5. Timeline
 6. Budget:

Item Cost

ToonBoom In kind

After Effects In kind

Pro Tools (If I do my own sound) In kind

Tablet In kind (also have my own)

Colorists (maybe?) $0 but probably a nice meal

Composer $30 if at all

Festival Entry Fees $30

7. Visuals:

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