Film Studies & Cinematography/Project 1
Film Studies & Cinematography
Cai Zihan / 0378043
Film Studies & Cinematography/Bachelor of Design in Creative Media / Taylor's University
INSTRUCTIONS
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LECTURES
Week 1
Activity 1
Watch Pixar SparkShorts “Purl”
1) Describe your EMOTIONAL journey when watching the short?
At first, I felt both relieved and heartbroken. Since Purl had just joined the company, she was trying very carefully to fit in with the others, going out of her way to change herself just to blend in—it was pretty heartbreaking to watch. Later, when she met someone like her and dared to be herself again, I felt warmed by it too. My emotions shifted from curiosity to empathy and then to a sense of healing—it really struck a chord.
2) How can you RELATE with your own personal experiences? Do you have similar experiences?
Since I’m an introvert, I sometimes find myself subconsciously trying to please others, and I’ll agree to things I’m not entirely comfortable with.
3) Is the story INTERESTING? (What make the story interesting)
It’s pretty funny—Purl’s fluffy appearance stands in stark contrast to the stuffy office environment, and she’s adorable when she mimics others. There’s no complicated plot, just a simple lesson hidden within.
4) Discuss the Character, Setting, Obstacles and Theme.
• Characters: Purl is innocent and adorable, while the office workers are rigid and cold—though they are eventually influenced by Purl and gradually learn to accept differences. There is also a little furball that plays a key role in helping Purl rediscover herself.
• Setting: A serious, rigid office environment that stands in stark contrast to Purl, highlighting her sense of not belonging.
• Challenges: Purl struggles to fit in, wrestles with whether to change herself, and faces rejection from those around her.
• Theme: You don’t have to go out of your way to please others; stay true to yourself and respect differences.
Activity 2
Everyone like story differently for some specific reasons. Which part in the story that give you the most relatability in term of:
1. Personal Experience
2. Emotional Connection
and explain why?
What resonates with me the most is the emotional connection.
Maybe it’s because I’m a cat and dog person, but this short film really moved me. At first, the cat was very afraid of the dog, but the dog was so kind and played with the cat very gently. I think this is sometimes like when we make new friends—we’re cautious at first, but then, thanks to a turning point, we start to open up.
Activity 3
Come up with 3-5 of your own “what if” ideas.
What if the wind could talk and tell stories about all the places it has traveled?
What if dreams were real places that we could visit every night with our friends?
What if humans could travel through time repeatedly, and which period would you most want to go back to?
Activity 4
Part A: Return to Pixar SparkShorts. Identify the worlds and characters in each. Write these down.
Who are the main characters?
The main characters are WALL-E, the trash-collecting robot; EVA, the exploration robot; and the human captain aboard the spaceship.
Is there a character you identify with most?
Yes. The character I relate to most is WALL-E. He lived alone on a desolate Earth for a long time, performing the same monotonous tasks day after day. Though lonely at heart, he remained gentle and pure, longing for warmth and companionship. I can really relate to that sense of perseverance in solitude and that yearning for something beautiful.
Where does the movie take place? Is it one world or multiple worlds?
The story takes place in two completely different worlds: one is a desolate, ruined Earth, and the other is a human spacecraft floating in the depths of space—two environments that stand in stark contrast to one another.
Part B: Try mixing a character and world from different shorts. Try this and see what happens.
WALL-E ， La Luna
What if WALL-E could travel through time repeatedly and accidentally went back to the period when the little boy and his grandpa were cleaning stars on the moon ?
WALL-E’s once lonely and monotonous life has been brightened by the warm companionship he found on the moon. Meanwhile, the unchanging routine of cleaning the moon has become more enjoyable thanks to WALL-E’s arrival. He will likely use his robotic arm to help the grandfather and grandson gather the scattered stars, and perhaps even hang his collection of little colored lights on the lunar spacecraft, adding a touch of warmth and liveliness to the quiet moon.
Activity 5
Project 1: Progression 1 (Story Ideas)
1. Choose any Pixar short for inspiration.
I chose the Pixar animated film 'WALL-E'as my source of inspiration
2. Analyse how this story become a great story from emotional connection and personal experiences.
INTERESTING, EMOTIONALLY CONNECTED, UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE
INTERESTING
The film’s premise is highly original: a desolate, ruined Earth in the future, where only a lone trash-collecting robot goes about his daily routine of cleaning up garbage. With minimal dialogue, the characters are brought to life through visuals, movement, and subtle details. WALL-E, with his endearingly clumsy yet gentle demeanor, is inherently entertaining. The lighthearted plot, combined with its unexpected twists, makes for a highly engaging watch.
EMOTIONALLY CONNECTED
The story is particularly touching. It’s easy to empathize with WALL-E’s long isolation, his longing for companionship, and his kind and innocent nature. Everyone has moments when they feel lonely and crave warmth and companionship; we can see our own emotions reflected in the character, creating a strong emotional connection.
UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE
It offers a unique perspective on Earth, the environment, and human life through the eyes of a robot. Rather than preaching directly, it reflects on issues such as environmental destruction, overreliance on technology, and the loss of our true sense of life in a quiet, gentle manner. Its themes are profound yet not heavy-handed, and its perspective is both novel and relevant to today’s world.
Week 2
Activity 1 - Understand character’s personality
Mom Bao: The story is primarily told from her perspective; she is the heart of the narrative and the driving force behind the plot.
Baby Bao: Symbolizes a child’s journey from dependence to independence and serves as the vehicle for the mother-son conflict.
Adult Son: He doesn’t appear much at first, but shows up at the end of the story to reconcile with his mother, bringing the narrative back to reality and providing a warm conclusion.
Dad Bao: Helps to mend the mother-son relationship.
Activity 2 - External and Internal Features
The protagonist is a middle-aged housewife. On the surface, she appears plain and ordinary, always dressed in loungewear and an apron, with a weary air about her, Yet deep down, she is deeply lonely and vulnerable. Due to her husband’s absence and her son’s emotional distance, she pours all her emotions into the imaginary character Baobao. She loves the child with tender and delicate affection, yet her fear of losing him makes her extremely controlling; she tries to keep him close through overprotection, only to finally learn to let go and reconcile in the end.
What she wanted most was for her child to stay by her side forever, to always depend on her, and to never feel lonely again.
She wants to be the only person her child can rely on—a mother her child will always need.
She needs to learn to accept her child’s independence and understand that love isn’t about possession, but about letting go and showing respect.
What he wants most is freedom—to make his own decisions, live his own life, and not be overly controlled by his mother.
He wants to be an independent adult with his own social life and personal space, no longer just an “appendage” to his mother.
He wants to be an independent adult with his own social life and personal space, no longer just an “appendage” to his mother.
What he wants most is a harmonious family, with his wife and son getting along well and no more arguments.
He wants to be a husband and father who gives his family peace of mind.
He needs to take a more active interest in his wife and son and get involved in family life, rather than acting like a “ghost.”
Activity 4: Obstacles
Ms. Bao
• External barriers: Her husband has been absent for years, leaving her without emotional support; as her son grew up, he became distant from her and no longer relied on her as he did when he was young, leaving her feeling lonely.
• Internal barriers: She suffers from a severe lack of self-confidence, fears losing her child, and cannot accept her child’s independence; she does not know how to express love appropriately, resorting only to control and possessiveness to keep her child close, and she also lacks the skills to communicate effectively with her child.
Son
• External barriers: His mother's overprotectiveness and controlling nature have left him with no personal space, preventing him from freely making friends, dating, or living his own life.
• Internal barriers: He fails to understand the loneliness and insecurity underlying his mother's control; he responds only with rebellion and withdrawal, and doesn't know how to initiate communication with her to bridge the gap between them.
Mr. Bao
• External obstacles: The conflict between his wife and son is growing increasingly intense, and he doesn’t know how to step in and mediate; he can only watch passively from the sidelines.
• Internal obstacles: He is quiet by nature and not good at expressing his emotions; he doesn’t know how to take the initiative to show his family he cares, which has led to him having a very low profile within the family.
Activity 5: Character Arc
1. The protagonist’s (Bao Ma) character arc • What did she want at the beginning? What she wanted most was for her child to stay by her side forever and remain dependent on her, as a way to fill the void of loneliness in her life. Through excessive protection and control, she “kept” Bao Bao close to her, afraid that he would leave.
• By the end, what does she realize she truly needs? She realizes that true love isn’t about possession and control, but about learning to let go and respecting her child’s independence. What she needs isn’t a “Baozi Baby” who will always obey her, but to rebuild an equal, mutually understanding parent-child relationship with her real-life son and accept the fact that he has grown up.
2. How did she change after overcoming these obstacles? She transformed from a possessive mother who expressed her love through control into a mother who learned to understand and let go. She no longer projected her own loneliness onto her child; instead, she learned to accept her son’s growth and was willing to initiate communication with him. The scene where mother and son make dumplings together shows that she has finally let go of her fixation and learned to interact with her child in a warm and loving way.
1. What was one important choice they had to make where the stakes were high?
When Baobao grew up and wanted to leave her to live with his girlfriend, she faced a critical choice: whether to let him go or use extreme measures to keep him by her side.
2. What were the stakes?
If she chose to let go, she would have to face the loneliness of her child’s departure and accept the reality that she was no longer “needed” by her child; if she chose to exert control, she would lose her child completely, destroy their parent-child relationship, and live forever in estrangement and regret.
3. Can you identify them as internal, external, or philosophical?
This is a decision that blends internal and philosophical dimensions:
◦ Internal: She must overcome her own fears, loneliness, and desire for control, and confront her inner anxiety.
◦ Philosophical: She must redefine her understanding of “love,” realizing that love is not about possession, but about respect and letting go.
Week 3
MPORTANT NOTES from today's slides. Noted by Mr. Kannan.
Story Structure:
- A story structure can change the rhythm and interest in listening to stories.
Story Spine
- find important moments (story beats)
Theme
- Moral of the story
- letting go of 'wants' to get the 'need'
ACT 1
- establishes the world and characters.
- 'Once upon a time' part of the story
- most of the time Act 1 ends with the inciting incident.
- may introduce the antagonist.
- make audience hook/invested into main character
ACT 2
- progressive complications/issues
- make things hard for the MC(main character) - for them to grow
- a series of obstacles for MC to solve.
- 'Everything goes wrong' part of story
- Act 2 is where the MC confronts, on what the MC is trying to avoid
ACT 3
- in danger of losing everything.
- can they accept their 'needs'
- sacrifices wants for needs
- fight for that 'important' thing according to the theme
- feel satisfying on many levels.
- to have a satisfying end, it has to be emotional.
- sometimes it comes with a surprise which makes it more satisfying
Week 4
CLASS EXERCISE
Script
INT. HOSPITAL WAITING ROOM – NIGHT
A dim waiting room. Rain taps against the window.
LEO sits alone, staring at his phone. He scrolls through unread messages from “Mom.”
A DOCTOR walks out quietly.
DOCTOR
She’s awake now. You can see her.
Leo hesitates.
Inside the room, his MOTHER lies weakly in bed, connected to machines.
She smiles softly when she sees him.
MOTHER
You finally came.
Leo avoids eye contact.
LEO
I was busy.
A long silence.
Mother slowly reaches into her pocket and pulls out a crumpled birthday card.
MOTHER
I kept this… from when you were ten.
Leo takes it. On the front: “Best Mom Ever.”
His eyes begin to water.
LEO
I should’ve called more.
The heart monitor beeps steadily.
MOTHER
You’re here now. That’s enough.
Leo grabs her hand tightly.
Suddenly, the monitor FLATLINES.
A long, piercing tone.
Leo freezes.
Tears fall as he whispers—
LEO
Please… one more chance.
FADE TO BLACK.
Week 5
This week’s class mainly focused on visual storytelling and how filmmakers use visual elements to express emotions and ideas without depending too much on dialogue.
The lecturer explained that audiences often understand the feeling of a scene through visuals first before paying attention to the words or story details. Because of this, elements like lighting, colors, framing, and camera composition are very important in film and animation.
One of the topics we learned was composition. Composition is about how objects, characters, and empty spaces are arranged inside the frame. Different types of composition can create different feelings for the audience. For example, balanced framing can make a scene feel calm and stable, while uneven framing can create tension or make the audience feel uncomfortable.
We also discussed how colors and lighting affect emotions. Warm colors usually create a stronger or more energetic feeling, while cooler colors can make scenes feel quiet, lonely, or emotional. The lecturer also explained how lighting can help guide the audience’s attention and build the atmosphere of a scene.
Another thing we learned was visual contrast. Strong contrast between bright and dark areas can make scenes feel more dramatic and can also help highlight important parts of the image. This technique is often used in emotional or psychological scenes.
The lecturer also introduced storyboards and concept art. Storyboards are simple sketches that help plan camera shots and scene order before production starts. Concept art is more detailed and is used to explore the visual style, mood, and environment of the project.
We also talked about movement and visual direction in scenes. Things like perspective lines, motion direction, and camera angles can guide the audience’s eyes and make scenes feel more dynamic.
Overall, this class helped me understand that visual storytelling is not just about making scenes look nice. Visual choices can also show emotions, mood, and the character’s mental state in a more natural and powerful way.
Project 1
Project 1: Progression 2 (Character Development)
1.Character Name: Lin Wan
2. Personality Traits
Key personality traits: Introverted and taciturn, sensitive and deeply insecure, stubbornly protective of everything her grandmother left behind, inherently gentle and kind, poor at expressing emotions but deeply grateful, and gradually becomes stronger and braver through hardship, learning how to face reality and protect both herself and her home.
Elevator test
In the old elevator of a worn-down apartment building in the old town, Lin Wan tightly held a photo frame wrapped in a light-colored cloth. Inside was the only photo her grandmother had left behind. The narrow elevator creaked upward slowly. Lin Wan stood silently in the corner, lowering her head and clutching the frame tightly against her chest. Suddenly, the elevator jolted violently. She lost her balance, and the photo frame nearly slipped from her hands. Panicked, she quickly caught it and held it close again, her fingers trembling from fear. Leaning weakly against the cold wall, she carefully checked the frame for damage before letting out a small breath of relief and whispering softly, “Thank goodness...”
3. Internal and external features
External features:
A thin and pale seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl with slightly hunched shoulders. Her shoulder-length black hair is casually tied into a messy low ponytail, with dry and uneven ends. She usually wears a faded light blue jacket and dark jeans, with a small patch hand-sewn onto the cuff by her grandmother. On her wrist is a polished wooden bead bracelet made by her grandmother herself. No matter where she goes, she always carries the old photo frame with her. She rarely makes eye contact with others, always walking with her head lowered, her eyes carrying the distant and guarded feeling of someone who has isolated herself for far too long.
Internal features:
Lin Wan lost her parents at a young age and was raised solely by her grandmother. Her grandmother was the only family she had and the center of her emotional world. After her grandmother passed away half a year ago, Lin Wan continued living alone in the old house in the old town. Years of loneliness made her quiet, withdrawn, and overly sensitive. She is afraid of forming connections with others because she cannot bear the pain of losing someone again. She treats her grandmother’s photo frame, wooden beads, and old furniture as emotional anchors, stubbornly believing that as long as these things remain, her grandmother has not truly disappeared. Deep down, she is gentle and kind, and even the smallest acts of kindness from others move her deeply, but she does not know how to express her feelings or accept help easily.
4. Internal & External Obstacles
External Obstacles:
The old town is undergoing redevelopment, and most residents have already signed relocation agreements and moved away. Community officials inform Lin Wan that because her grandmother never completed the property registration process and still owes years of maintenance and management fees, the house will be repossessed if the payments are not completed before the deadline. The old house is not only her only home, but also the place where her grandmother spent most of her life. Every piece of furniture inside carries memories of her. At the same time, Lin Wan has no stable income and survives only on the small amount of savings left behind by her grandmother and the money she earns from collecting recyclables. To save money, she often eats only one cheap meal a day, avoids turning on lights at night, and refuses to buy warm clothes even during winter. No matter how hard she tries to save money, the amount she owes still feels impossibly far away.
Internal Barriers:
Lin Wan has emotionally isolated herself for a long time and refuses to rely on others. She is terrified of trusting people because she fears losing them again, so she would rather endure everything alone than ask for help. In her mind, protecting the house means protecting her grandmother’s existence. She believes that once the house is gone, she will completely lose the last meaning left in her life. She traps herself inside memories of the past and does not know how to move forward or face the future.
5. Wants & Needs
Wants:
Lin Wan desperately wants to save the house and prevent everything her grandmother left behind from being taken away or destroyed. She hopes to earn enough money on her own to pay the overdue fees and continue living in the home filled with memories. She wants to protect her grandmother’s photo frame, wooden bead bracelet, old radio, and the small wooden chair by the window where her grandmother used to sit sewing clothes, because these objects are the last connection she has to her grandmother.
Needs:
What Lin Wan truly needs is to understand that protecting memories does not mean remaining trapped in the past. She needs to learn how to trust others, accept kindness, and realize that home is not only a place filled with memories, but also the courage to continue living. She must grow from someone who only fears loss into someone capable of carrying both grief and hope forward.
6. Character Growth and Transformation
After her grandmother’s death, Lin Wan almost completely cut herself off from the outside world. Every day, she repeated the same routine mechanically: cleaning the old house, wiping dust from her grandmother’s photograph, repairing loose window frames, and carefully preserving every object her grandmother had left behind. To her, as long as these things remained untouched, it felt as though her grandmother had not truly disappeared.
Everything changed when a redevelopment notice was posted outside her door.
For the first time, Lin Wan realized that the house itself could vanish.
Soon after, community officials informed her that because her grandmother had never fully completed the property registration process and still owed years of maintenance and management fees, the house would be repossessed if the overdue payments were not settled before the deadline.
The news terrified her.
The house was not simply a building — it was the last place in the world connected to her grandmother. Every piece of furniture, every creaking floorboard, every old object inside carried memories she could not bear to lose.
Determined to protect it, Lin Wan began saving money obsessively. She ate only the cheapest meals, often just bread or instant noodles once a day. During winter, she refused to turn on the heater or even use hot water. At night, she sat alone in darkness to save electricity. She even took apart her grandmother’s old clothes to sew patches onto her own worn jacket rather than buy anything new.
Every morning before dawn, while the old town streets were still empty and cold, Lin Wan dragged a small cart through alleys and recycling stations collecting cardboard, plastic bottles, and scrap paper to sell. Some mornings she had to compete with other collectors for recyclable waste. Once, while trying to protect a large stack of cardboard she had gathered, she was shoved hard to the ground by another collector. Yet instead of checking her injuries first, she immediately panicked and searched for the old photo frame she had been carrying against her chest, terrified that it might have cracked.
As the debt continued growing closer to the deadline, Lin Wan searched desperately for other ways to earn money.
She discovered boxes of fabric, wooden beads, and embroidery tools left behind by her grandmother. Slowly, she began turning the old materials into handmade coin purses, cloth bags, and wooden bead bracelets. She carried them to a secondhand street market and quietly set up a small stall in the corner.But Lin Wan struggled terribly with speaking to people.
Whenever customers asked for prices or tried to start conversations, she would lower her head, grip her sleeves tightly, and answer so softly that people could barely hear her. Some customers assumed she was mute. Others simply walked away after receiving no response. Many days, she sat silently at the market from morning until evening without selling anything.
As the final deadline approached, the pressure became unbearable.
One evening, community workers arrived and pasted a final repossession notice onto her front door. They warned her that if the payments and registration paperwork were not completed soon, the property would be sealed and reclaimed.
That same night, a violent rainstorm struck the old town.
Rainwater poured through cracks in the aging roof. Alone in the dark house, Lin Wan climbed a shaking ladder again and again, desperately placing buckets beneath the leaks while trying to protect her grandmother’s photograph from the rain. Water spread across the floorboards, old wallpaper peeled from the walls, and her grandmother’s old radio was ruined by the flooding.
Exhausted and overwhelmed, Lin Wan finally broke down.
Holding the damp photo frame tightly against herself, she cried for the first time since her grandmother’s death and whispered repeatedly:“Please… don't take this away too…”
After the storm passed, Lin Wan began cleaning the soaked cabinets and drawers. While searching through the damaged furniture for anything that could still be sold, she accidentally discovered a hidden envelope containing old documents left behind by her grandmother.
Inside were payment records, old property certificates, incomplete registration paperwork, and handwritten application drafts proving that the house had never been abandoned property. Tucked between the papers was also a small note written by her grandmother:“One day, this home will belong to Xiao Wan.”
For the first time, Lin Wan realized that her grandmother had also been fighting quietly to protect the house long before she passed away.Something inside her finally changed.
Instead of merely clinging to memories and enduring things passively, Lin Wan decided to actively fight for the home herself.
She gathered all the documents together and began visiting community offices, registration departments, and local admin istrative centers alone. Although she remained nervous and awkward around strangers, she slowly forced herself to speak more clearly, explain her situation, and ask questions when she did not understand procedures.
At the same time, she continued working desperately to earn enough money to cover the overdue fees.Gradually, she also began changing emotionally.At the market, she became more outgoing and was willing to talk to others; rather than waiting for people to approach her, she took the initiative to introduce her products to them.
On the final day before the repossession deadline, community officials arrived prepared to seal the property.Lin Wan ran toward the building carrying stacks of documents in her arms. In her panic, she tripped on the stairs and the papers scattered across the wet ground.
For a brief moment, she froze in fear.But this time, she did not retreat.Trembling, she gathered the documents back together, looked up for the first time instead of lowering her head, and said quietly but firmly:“Please wait…”“This is my grandmother’s home.”
After reviewing the completed paperwork and overdue payments, the officials finally removed the repossession notice from the door.
That evening, Lin Wan sat alone in the familiar living room while warm sunlight slowly spread across her grandmother’s photograph. Gently touching the wooden beads on her wrist, she allowed herself to breathe freely for what felt like the first time in months.
Most of the old town was eventually demolished and redeveloped.But Lin Wan remained.Several months later, she reopened the first floor of the old house as a tiny handmade craft and vintage goods shop. Wind chimes made from her grandmother’s old beads hung softly near the entrance, and repaired secondhand objects filled the shelves inside.
Unlike before, she no longer avoided looking at people.
Whenever someone stepped through the door, Lin Wan would quietly smile and softly say:“Welcome.”She had finally protected the house.And in doing so, she had also found the courage to continue living forward.
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