Creative Portfolio

PART 1: FOREST

 

[We open on aerial shots of a serene, woodland forest near a quiet suburb. Patterns of chirps punctuate the ambience of flowing creeks and rustling leaves. Peaceful music plays in the background. In one specific tree, a group of creatures can be seen moving around in a nest: Songbirds.]

 

Narrator (V.O.): In the nest, young birds have it easy: free food delivered straight to their open mouths, fueling their growth. But, to avoid losing their entire brood, songbird parents try to hustle their adolescents along, eventually forcing them from the nest if need be. Songbirds have evolved an innate instinct to help them decide when it's time for their young to leave home, balancing the chicks' individual needs with the family's safety. This often takes the form of a compromise between parent and chick, but sometimes, the parent is forced to take action.

 

[The adult songbird bends down and nudges the chick off of the edge of the nest with its beak, sending it tumbling off the branch towards the ground below.]

 

Narrator (V.O.): The chick isn’t always ready for this sudden change, but for the good of the brood, it is forced to adapt to its new life outside the nest.

 

[The chick falls out of the tree and out of frame, and the parent goes back to feeding its younger chicks. Fade to black.]

 

 

PART 2: BEDROOM

 

[Open on a teenager sitting alone on the floor of a near-empty bedroom, sorting through piles of miscellaneous objects. Intercut shots of blank walls, cardboard boxes, and piles of unwanted objects to be thrown away. As he sorts through a box of forgotten toys, the teenager picks up a random arts and crafts project that he made in Kindergarten. It’s a little balloon animal made of paper mache, decorated with uneven clumps of glitter. Close up of the toy, its glitter shimmering under the ceiling lights.]

 

Narrator (V.O.): Similar parent-child behavior can be observed across many other species. The social patterns of humans are harder to predict, but they have their motivations just as any other animal does. When it comes to families, ensuring a brighter future for offspring is often the reason behind drastic migratory behavior. 

 

[The teenager lets out a sigh, and lays back onto the bare wooden floorboards, clutching the little toy in his hand. Wide shot of the teenager lying on the floor, showing the bare room around him, stripped of all its personality.]

 

Narrator (V.O.): Not that the offspring themselves have much of a say in the matter.

 

[There is almost a complete silence, except for the faint buzzing of the lights and the occasional chirp from a bird outside the window.]

 

Narrator (V.O.): “The promise of a better life”. As if this life was somehow not good enough.

​

 

PART 3: KITCHEN

 

[On the other side of the house, a figure bustles around in the kitchen. She pours water into a kettle before leaving it on the stove. Camera moves slowly toward the kettle.]

 

Narrator (V.O.): In order for any substance to undergo a physical transformation, energy must be transferred from or to the surroundings. Heat capacity is defined as the amount of heat energy that an object requires in order for its temperature to change by one degree celsius. For example, H2O has a heat capacity of 4.18 joules, meaning that 4.18 joules of heat energy is required to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree celsius. This knowledge is essential in calculating the amount of energy required for some of our most simple daily routines.

 

[The kettle begins whistling as the water inside reaches its boiling point. Wisps of steam flow out from its spout and up towards the ceiling, signaling the water’s change from liquid to gas.]

 

Narrator (V.O.): However, some substances have higher heat capacities than others. Helium gas, the gas used to fill up balloons, for example, has a heat capacity of 5.19 joules, resulting in a higher resistance to temperature change when compared with water.

 

[The figure’s arm comes into frame, lifting the kettle off of the stove. Fade to black. Gradually, sounds of a bustling crowd and P.A. announcements come into focus.]

​

 

PART 4: AIRPORT

 

[Open on a busy airport terminal. Camera is at an angle of a bird's-eye view, panning across a herd of people moving as one, almost like water flowing down a river.]

 

Narrator (V.O.): Airports are some of the most densely populated areas in human habitats, and are often the starting point of their longest migrations. This is where they say goodbye to their old lives and start new chapters of their journey, and where the young leave their parents to spread their wings for the first time.

 

[Camera moves down towards the crowd, focusing in on the teenager and his family making their way through the terminal.]

 

Narrator (V.O.): This young human, however, isn’t thinking about that. His head is likely filled with confusion and despair from having to leave the habitat that he grew up in. 

 

[The teenager lags behind at the back of the group, head pointed down at the linoleum floor. Camera moves back out to show the full crowd again, then tilts up towards the high ceiling. Colorful balloons dot the bleach-white architecture of the roof, still stuck there from the many times children accidentally let go of them while hustling through the terminal. Some of them look like they may have been there for years, gradually deflating but refusing to pop. Even higher up, planes begin their ascent to the baby-blue canopy above, gliding effortlessly through the wind.]

 

 

PART 5: SAVANNA

 

[Cut to the arid grasslands of the Serengeti. Wide, sweeping shots of a herd of wildebeest, thousands strong, making their way across the landscape.]

 

Narrator (V.O.): Every year, millions of animals take part in the largest herd movement on the planet,  journeying as one in a clockwise direction through the terrain of Southeast Africa.

 

[Close ups of the wildebeest. They are packed close together, huffing and bumping into one another as they move along. Particles of golden dust hang in the air like glitter, scattering the blazing sunlight into lens flares that dance across the frame. Other animals join them in their journey: gazelles gallop along the perimeter of the herd, and birds survey the land from above.]

 

Narrator (V.O.): It is unclear how the wildebeest know where or when to migrate, but it is generally believed that their journey is dictated by weather patterns. They travel northwards to follow the movement of rain clouds, seemingly knowing that rain will create greener pastures for the herd to feed on. Even in the deserts of Africa, water drives the behavior of everything in the animal kingdom.

 

[Among the sea of gray fur and stomping hooves, young wildebeest can be seen following their parents. They move slowly but steadily, avoiding getting in the way of the bigger members of the herd.]

 

Narrator (V.O.): The migration is especially daunting for young wildebeest, some of which are barely 6 months old when they are forced to join the long trek across the savanna. They are more prone to exhaustion and hunger, but the herd is willing to move on without them if need be.

 

[One particular young wildebeest looks too tired to carry on, and it only manages a few more steps before its knees buckle from underneath it. The unforgiving heat beats down on its skin, and the other animals seem unfazed as they continue forward. That is, until an older wildebeest makes its way towards the child, and bends down to nudge it with their nose. After some encouragement, the young animal gets back on its feet and rejoins the herd. Camera begins moving back out, showing the masses of wildebeest as they continue their annual crusade, following the path of rain across the Serengeti.]

 

Narrator (V.O.): This is a time of much hardship for these animals, especially for the young who haven’t experienced anything similar in their short lives. However, they have no choice but to persevere, and have faith that this inevitable cycle of change will result in a better life for not only themselves, but for the herd as a whole.

​

 

PART 6: CITY

 

[Cut to overhead shots of cars speeding up and down a busy highway. There is an abrupt shift in sound, from the stomps and snorts of Wildebeest to car horns and the chaotic commotion of a metropolitan city. Concrete basks in the midafternoon sun, sprawling trees and vines decorate the urban landscape, and modern architecture stretches up toward the sky in triumph.]

 

Narrator (V.O.): After an arduous journey, the herd finally makes it to their destination. This new land promises a wealth of opportunity, where these animals hope to thrive and make a new life of their own.

 

[Inside the car, the teenager stares out of the window solemnly at his new home. His hands fiddle with the little figurine that he hasn’t let go of since he left the house. One of his parents looks back and offers him a bottle of water, but he ignores them, eyes locked on the passing scenery outside.] 

 

Narrator (V.O.): Although the teenager has physically arrived at the next stage of his life, his mind is a different story.

 

[The car stops at a red light, creating a brief lapse of calm. On the trunk of a car in the next lane over, a sparrow lands, taking advantage of the pause in traffic to find a resting place. It’s not too dissimilar to the songbirds from the teenager’s hometown, save for a few subtle yet unmistakable differences. A brown streak instead of a yellow one, a blunt beak instead of a pointed one. The teenager and sparrow stare at each other, the camera switching between the two pairs of eyes, and they only break eye contact when the car starts moving again. The bird takes flight, flaunting its freedom as it races toward the branches above, while the teenager stays stuck in his little metal box.]

 

 

PART 7: FOREST AGAIN

 

[Cut to the young songbird landing on the dead leaves of the forest floor. The camera moves in slowly on the bird, which lays still for a few moments before struggling up onto its feet. Its beady eyes glance around at its new surroundings, and the forest ambience trickles to a near-silence, the chirps of its fellow songbirds barely audible from so far down.]

 

Narrator (V.O.): There comes a time in every young animal’s life when they must make a choice. Stay stagnant, in a place of familiarity and comfort… 

 

[The songbird looks forward, and begins moving its feet forward in a haphazard sequence of steps.]

 

Narrator (V.O.): … or venture into the unknown; into the next chapter.

 

[Camera tracks the bird as it starts to gain some speed, it opens up its wings, which start fluttering with a glimmer of hope. It runs across the forest floor, faster than it has even moved before, and its wings stretch out to their full length as they flap against the air underneath them with a ferocious determination. Close up on the bird’s feet scurrying across the soil. Just for a brief moment, they leave the ground.]

 

​

PART 8: ARRIVAL

 

[Match cut to the teenager’s foot making contact with the sidewalk as he gets off of a school bus. He shoulders his backpack, and looks around at the swarm of students in front of the high school building.]

 

Narrator (V.O.): Change is universal. There is not one thing that has the ability to stand completely still, from the smallest atom to the largest galaxy. 

 

[The teenager glances down at the balloon animal figurine, before putting it in his pocket. As the camera follows him pushing past groups of students, shots of the young wildebeest making its way through the grazing herd are intercut. The other wildebeest stomp their hooves and shake their matted fur, while the students make conversation with one another about their summer holidays. The atmosphere is electric, buzzing with the start of a new school year.]

 

Narrator (V.O.): Eventually, the walls of denial and stubbornness will break down, and the young human will realize that maybe, he can belong in more than one place. Maybe, he can accept the new doors that have been opened for him rather than shutting his own.

 

[The young wildebeest meanders around another pair of horns, his feet feeling that familiar fatigue. Just as he is about to collapse again, he sees before him a patch of luscious green grass, grown to its full length from the rainfall.]

 

Narrator (V.O.): The cycle of life is defined by a constant state of movement, a state that we have no choice but to embrace. Our stories must continue, and the only way we can move is forward, to pastures anew.

 

[Having made it through the brunt of the crowd, the teenager makes his first step onto the staircase leading up to the building, sweat gathering on his skin. Cut to the songbird finally taking flight, soaring weightlessly through the air and up toward the canopy with reckless abandon. Orchestral music swells as the bird continues to rise. Simultaneously, the young wildebeest gallops through the herd toward the open patch of grass, toward a new phase of his life. The teenager reaches the top of the staircase, and as he gazes around at his new surroundings, the beads of sweat begin to leave his skin. The change is subtle, but he can’t help but notice as the water transforms into something new; something different. Steam.]