ONIBOX: Maya S. Anderson

Ortus, SVA (thesis) 2004

Director: Chris Difiore Art Director, Story: Maya Anderson 3D Modeler: Hung-Kit Ma Music: Jan Morgenstern

Ortus is a short film representing the sunrise, and is a collaboration between three SVA students - Chris, Hung-kit, and myself, along with Jan Morgenstern for the music.

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1) Matte and Final Composite

Black: Text, Center "And there Dusk was, waiting to be bathed in Dawn"

Music, starts (starts very soft, just with wind chimessound effects)
Camera pans up slowly showing shimmering orange light on the sides, triangular pointing upwards if possible, slowly fading in onto the feet of the woman climbing stairs. The camera follows the feet (feet cannot be seen because of the long flowing black robe).

As she climbs have overhead layers of the whites of the wind chimes (blowing in the wind), slightly blurred and panning down faster than the girl. As the camera follows the woman climbing the stairs, the camera should move slightly faster and pan up to the head.

When the camera reaches her head, the woman should reach the top of the tower. A bright light suddenly fills the screen, and the camera moves back a little while structures slowly fill the space between the woman and the camera (for transition to 3d model),

then zoom out further to reveal the woman as a whole standing on the tower top looking over a large city with the sun rising over the horizon. The wind blows her robes behind her.

Hold shot as she stands and wind chimes ring around her.

Cut to a wind chime, a strong blast of wind and let the sound of that wind chime be strong. The chime is distinct. Cut to another wind chime. The wind chimes sound more different. Cut to another set of wind chimes. Even more different and more volume.

Cut to a side shot of the ledge with many wind chimes blowing, very loud and overpowering. The camera pans upwards (have more overhead layers of structures between woman and camera panning quickly) and reveals her figure slowly, and upon reaching the head you can see the glow of the woman's blue eyes.
Cut to the front of the face, to the upper left of her face. You can see some structures behind her as well as the floor (slight fish eye lens effect). The glow in her eye moves like a distortion, while all other lights are constant. Something like drums (or strong gongs) start to come in, and the wind blows extremely strong. Her robe feels as though it will come off, and then her hood blows off. At each pulse, camera moves closer to her left eye, and her pupils suddenly shrink as the light becomes intense. Cut to the back of her head and you see the bright sun before her. The light becomes intense, moving all the shadows violently backwards (move angle slightly also) as a large glowing object seems to be growing out of the sun (show w/ distortions in the sun and changes in shimmer). Cut the camera to the front of the woman looking at the sun. The sun should feel closer, with wind chimes on the sides of the screen. The sun should seriously distort, with large lashes of light (looking like sun flares) moving about around the sun.

Cut to the side of the woman, where you can see light beams shoot from past her from front to back. She slowly raises her arm towards the light. The light becomes more and more intense. Pan camera from her stomach area up to her shoulder, up her arm and to her hand. Cut to panoramic shot, with the many fiery light balls starting to move and form in front of her. The balls form a man reaching out his hand. Cut to a close up of her hand and his hand about to touch. When the man's hand touches her hand, he deteriorates and becomes a single flame circling around her arm. Cut to her back, as the flame engulfs her and she goes on fire. She slowly becomes ashes in front of the sun, blinding the viewer.
Follow the ashes as it flies upwards (rotate camera to face up and move upwards towards the sky. The ashes fly in a circular pattern up into a circular cloud pattern, with the moon in the center. The clouds move in and transition.

A shot of a darkened room with a large window facing the sun. Two mirrors in the shape of the window are on the walls, reflecting the image on the window in an angle (somewhat surreal). Ashes fly in from 360 degrees (the circle parallel to the floor) to form the woman, who has her back arched towards the window. The moon comes in from above to eclipse the sun as she slowly arches her back up to stand upright.

Her whole front is hidden in shadow, but her eyes glow in the same blue color.
Close up of her face, faint white light from below, with her glowing blue eyes distinct. Blink.

Cut to her view of the dark hall leading downwards. A small light travels from her all the way down the hall (reflection can be seen in mirrors) and illuminates a man on a throne in the end. Cut to a front close up of the man's upper body. The man is glowing an eerie white glow.
Small light particles flow around him. He extends his arm.

Cut to side of shot (as he is moving his arm upwards, movement ends in this shot)

The woman's arm comes into the shot reaching to it, but just before she touches it she flinches and takes her arm back.
Cut to her face, her lips quiver as she crouches before him,

Finish crouch from a back shot.The king lifts his staff high above him. He then lowers it, and taps the woman's head. Quick side view of the black starting to fall. Cut to side view as he taps, and see the blackness fall from her robe down and into the room.

Cut to top view, watch as the blackness spreads through the room as the camera moves upwards.

The woman starts to stand, looking around in awe as the blackness soaks the room. She then looks to where the king is and looks shocked. Cut to feet of the king as the black moves up over his whole body, and stop at the face as the black covers him. He frowns in the process. The woman reached forward but just as she is about to touch him. The king then slowly gets blown away as ashes, top first, into the air.

The woman looks at the staff glowing in front of her (floating). She reaches out for it and takes it, panning the camera slowly to where the throne is. Woman moves forward a little faster than camera. She then sits on the throne (front shot). Cut to her face, and the blue in her eyes melt away like tears, leaving a golden color.