1DIP Oulin

I built the wishing device!

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Footage shot. In the editing phase now.

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Completed and unfinished sections of the film:

√ 1. Beginning: a chat on the hill about what we would do on the last day of the world (1’08 min)

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2. A video explaining “What happens to Earth after an asteroid impact.”

Video is turned off suddenly.

I break down.

• Option 1: the record of my real breakdown triggered by a documentary about the pandemic
• Option 2: the faked ones I shot

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√ 3. Introduce my idea of making a wish to the asteroid. (2’31 min)

I become excited and explain the idea of wishing to an asteroid.
I talk about how and when to wish,
and introduce the idea of making a wearable device.

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√ 4. Test the prototype and tie knots. (1’30 min)

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5. Montage of buildings and tyings with news reports. Time flies. (My next priority for cutting.)

1) building

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2) tying knots

• more technical vibe? more scenes of the orbits of the asteroid/more analyses??
• code testing with the real device
• beads glowing in dark

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√ 6. Ending part (4’19 min)

• Strong wind and heavy snow
• A relatively bright sky

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• a long monologue to the camera. Some last words.
• go up the hill
• when the sound rises, make the wish
  

Electric part works, but worse light condition and no wind.

I prefer the one with wind. (Option: post produce the LED effects in AE)

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Extra: Also took photos (excluded from the film)

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Already 9’30 min. Aim to edit the whole film down to 15min.

• Did scientific research (especially device-wise) and redefined what factors the device is using and how
  • Sources of real-time asteroid data: connect via Wi-Fi and use data from public platforms (e.g.NASA).

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• The design of the device should be settled. No big change from now because of limited time.

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• Talked with Matthias, have started to work on the final device.
  • use plastic sheets and foils instead of real aluminium ( to save materials). Use bookbinding screws for the joints.
  • bought materials successfully, the first outcome is done.

Process recorded:

Should it be included in the film?? (not using real metal but plastic + foil? Though aluminium foil does have meanings)

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3D printing knots is possible, but I haven’t tried yet. (but materials are ready!)

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A new knot style I’ve tried:

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City Killer Watch – Asteroid Impact Countdown & News

Little points I’d like/might to add to the plot somewhere somehow.

• What makes everything happen? What could have been avoided was not avoided for absurd reasons：
  • A random thought:
    “Defence plan has failed. Two nations’ rockets collided before reaching the target—everyone wanted to be the world-saver. We are out of time!” （hostility?)
  • The real reason for the delay in epidemic prevention: “In such a flourishing atmosphere, we shouldn’t bring up things that are out of place.”
• I doubt myself a lot!! Just like the protagonist. Though she decides to do things, it won’t go smoothly and solve everything EVER AFTER.
  • “I don’t want you to die… I’d rather die myself than see you die…” It is real.
  • “Why are people acting so normally?! As if nothing horrible is happening??” or “I can only bear seeing news for 10min per day. Though that can destroy my day easily, I still want to see if I can help someone.”
  • The 2012 Mayan prophecy of the world’s end had everyone deeply concerned, hoping to survive alongside their loved ones.
    Learning in 2025 that an asteroid was heading our way: Is this some kind of blessing? Speed up!

I have been connected to an Austrian director (Sebastian Brauneis), and I will talk with him next week.

(Sputniko! will still be great to talk with! but what should I ask…)

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Things to be done before Christmas break:

• Finish the device.
• Finalise the script and more detailed storyboard.

On December 22, 2032, an asteroid will strike the Earth.
Knowing that nothing can be saved, I spend my final months building a device —
a strange, beautiful thing,
that will help me make a perfect wish upon the very force that will end it all,
and create one last moment of light in my brief life.

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• “Sky”(with everything in it) also means “God”.
  → Asteroid is an embodiment of the god, the bad fate given by the god.
  Making wishes towards sky/asteroid is a grand event that needs to be treated carefully.
  → Talking to the bad fate. I take you seriously, I won’t let you destroy my spirit. I will gain motivation and strength from you to live my life.
• What the protagonist is trying to do:
  to give a meaning to the rest time of her life, to motivate herself to live (motto in lockdown: Keep living. Live them all out.), and to create a self-made highlight at the end before her death.
  
  The wishing device is her approach to achieve it.

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Function of the Wishing Device

• Storywise, an epitome of the protagonist’s efforts and her resilience
• Sense the presence and state of the asteroid and herself in the universe (time, direction (asteroid can’t be seen), brightness)
• Achieve alignments of “the right timing, the right place, and the right person (天时地利人和)”
• Be connected/united with the sky (“天人合一”, harmony between human and sky)
• In the film, accompanied with sound, guide the audience through that uninterrupted, pure spiritual experience

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Tryout of the ending: the time to make wishes to the asteroid/the fate given by the god

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refer

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post production

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• Vast sky, big tree, how insignificant humans are before nature and fate
• Tiny wishes and efforts matter. Personally they are significant

Option: make the protagonist bigger?

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close-up demo

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• love the long take for the ending, creating a complete auditory and emotional experience
• the hill background is good!
• simpler scene (long shot with silhouette) preferred, tiny person under nature

Then

• probably make person slightly bigger
• shoot before complete darkness?
• make the device an obtrusive contour, visible in dark (luminous 3D material, or LED lights)

No close-ups of the device at the end, so need to explain its function beforehand.

Through film:
→ use three short scenes of me adjusting the device to show how it works —
one shot for time (a clock/time screen), one for direction (a visual compass), and one for the asteroid’s state (3D simulation).
Each produces a different sound.

Set design: calendar, pin board full of sketch and research?

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Device appearance

how about some amazing filaments:

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Moodboard

space fantasy, bizarre light
strange and beautiful (but how??)

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Keep the orbits/the brim

…how should the hearing part look like??

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1. Transparent hemispherical headphone

electronics can be put in the transparent hemispheres

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2. Semi-enclosed hearing device

• shiny aluminum is great, but I need lights
• glowing “hat” is very appealing!

Another great refer (structure wise):

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Question:

What to show in midterms?