Where The Heart Takes Flight

Where the Heart Takes Flight: Act III

Project Introduction

This project was developed to serve as the third and final act of a student short film titled Where the Heart Takes Flight. This short film is based on a short story by Jeanette Winterson, titled The World and Other Places, originally published in 1998.

Our adaptation follows a young boy who dreams of flight but is sullied by the financial standing of his family and the harsh reality that comes with age. Our protagonist breaks the cycle with the help of his uncle, earns his wings, and is set on the path to achieving his dream; all before being drafted as a fighter pilot into the looming war, which this project revolves around. Act 3 serves as the climax of our short film, placing the protagonist in the heart of war, subject to the iron vessel in which he is contained.

Click Here to view the original short story by Jeanette Winterson.

Click Here to view the script that was developed for Act 3.

Sister-Project Pages

Act 1: https://www.behance.net/gallery/184214655/Where-the-Heart-takes-Flight-%2528Film%2529

Act 2A: https://www.behance.net/gallery/184312563/Silent-Short-Film

Act 2B: https://www.behance.net/gallery/184255455/Where-The-Heart-Takes-Flight-Traced-In-Time

Act 3 Development

Act 3 was designed according to the psychological horror genre, placing both the protagonist and viewers in the seat of a fighter jet's cockpit from a first-person point
of view. Our models were created with blueprints, and animated in 3D space using Blender to push the envelope of our skills as second years in design. Our audio too was carefully selected and mixed in stereo to fully immerse viewers in our story.

Act 3 Beats and Storyboard

Click Here to view the full storyboard for Where the Heart Takes Flight.

Act 3 Assets

Disregarding the video clip at the end of the sequence and the hands of the protagonist, the entirety of Act 3 was modelled and animated in Blender. A fighter jet, a cockpit, paper planes, and emitters for gunfire, smoke, and propulsion were built from the ground up to truly make this project our own. A grassy plane and an airstrip were also developed to bring the take-off sequence to life, and a procedural sky to surround the majority of the act. The hands were developed using a combination of keyed-out footage and rotoscoping techniques, layered over the rendered animations.

Act 3 Audio

The soundtrack for Act 3 was developed in Adobe Audition, blending, layering, stacking, and panning stereo tracks to create an immersive environment that simulates the space depicted in the visuals. With a stereo speaker setup or a set of headphones, viewers may immerse themselves in the terror of being a fighter pilot.

For the pilot's interactions in the cockpit during the take-off sequence, foley was recorded, timed and layered into the soundtrack to further add to the immersion.

Click Here to listen to the original mixdown of the soundtrack.

Act 3 Viewing