Willow By Justine Wahlin

Willow - Animated short story / film clip 

For the song titled "Willow" also written and recorded by Justine Wahlin

"In a serene village by a meandering river, young Willow shares a profound bond with the willow trees, hearing melodies whispered in the wind and wood. When her father, a lumberjack and luthier, recognizes her love for music, he surprises her with a handcrafted cello. Unaware of Willow's connection to the two willow trees, he unknowingly fells one to create the instrument, devastating her. However, as Willow plays the cello, it emanates a golden light, prompting the remaining willow tree to bloom and scatter seeds that bring forth new growth. From the fallen tree's stump, a resilient willow regenerates. As Willow cherishes her enchanted cello, she and her father embark on a journey, where he, now imbued with newfound reverence, continues his trade with a touch that brings life instead of destruction. Together, they embrace the harmony of music and nature, celebrating the magic born when the human spirit intertwines with the enchantment of the natural world."

Shot List

1. Close up of Two willow trees showing their interconnectedness through the roots winding into the riverbank.

2. Closer shot of the roots pulsating like a heart below the bank

3. Wider shot of the willows against the field – building the context and location

4. Wide angle showing the river and trees against the rising sun

5. Close up of willow in her bed as the sun passes over her face, She opens her eyes waked and Yawns

6. Close up of Willow’s feet she emerges from bed and her bare feet hit the carpet

7. Close up of her feet walking across the carpet that fades to green grass

8. Wide shot as we see her walking through the forest, movement created by the trees moving in the foreground and the background.

9. Willow swaying gently in the embrace of the willow trees, with the wind rustling their leaves.

10. Close-up of Willow's face as she listens intently, hearing the melodies hidden within the sounds of nature.

11. Willow finding a sturdy stick and examining it with curiosity.

12. Close up from behind, willow picks up the stick and examines it. Her eyes suggest she has an idea.

13. Willow with her feet in the river beside the willows playing the stick like a cello, music rises and the wind blows.

14. Wide shot brings her home, the forest behind and the two willows into the shot together for the first time – Include some cut shots to bring parts of the scene into close ups.

15. Willow's father, a rugged lumberjack, observing her from a distance with a smile.

16. Willow's father watching her with growing interest, realising her passion for music.

17. Rear shot of father looking at Willow by the river, she turns to look at him

18. Close up of feet running across the grass as she runs over to her father

19. Close up of father daughter establish relationship, he pats her on the head, and she wraps her arms around his legs, still holding the stick

20. Father reaches down to take the stick.

21. Close up of father’s face as he has the idea to make a real cello and smiles

22. Willow's father raising his axe, preparing to fell one of the willow trees.

23. Father chops tree from both sides

24. Close up as tree falls

25. Willow, sensing something wrong runs across the grass

26. Willow gasping in horror cries at the sight of the fallen tree.

27. Sawmill scene – we see the willow tree log being milled through the saw with the father watching on.

28. Wide shot of Willow's house the sun goes down the lights come on.

29. Close up shot we see willow in her room and the father downstairs working on something.

30. Close up of silhouette – father working on something through the lit window.

31. Luthier workshop scene – various action and close ups as the father lovingly crafts the cello.

32. Close up of willow in her bed as the sun passes over her face, she opens her eyes wakes and Yawns.

33. Close up of feet across the carpet

34. Willow emerges at the kitchen were a beautifully crafted cello is left on the table.

35. Close-up of Willow examining its intricate details with awe, she plucks a strong and she discovers it’s sound.

36. Willow close up looks outside the window to the fallen willow’s stump by the river

37. Close up of feet running across the grass.

38. Willow perched on the tree stump begins to play.

39. Soft golden light enveloping the cello as Willow begins to play a heartfelt melody.

40. The remaining willow tree near the river beginning to bloom, petals unfurling with vibrant colours.

41. Seeds floating gracefully from the blooming tree, drifting in the air and landing in the stream.

42. Seeds falling onto the ground, germinating and sprouting into new saplings.

43. Time-lapse shot of the stump left by the fallen willow, showing fresh green shoots emerging and growing rapidly.

44. Camera pans up the tree as the stump ages and thickens

45. The new willow tree standing tall, a testament to nature's resilience.

46. Willow close up looks outside the window again but this time to two trees one glowing with a golden light.

47. Willow playing the cello in her room, the glowing cello resonating with the enchanting music.

48. Willow and her father walking through the forest together, surrounded by trees and a sense of harmony between humanity and nature.

Character Development 

Willow and her father are  basically puppets made from a series of drawings. Most of their movements are made by masking sections of the arms and legs in AfterAffects using parenting, position/rotation and the puppet tool.

Eye movements are created through interchangeable drawings. 

A few scenes were hand drawn such has the bedroom waking scene, the close up off the feet walking and then also in idvidual drawings of the father's hands while he made the cello.

Scenes and Back Drops 

Were built from Drawings and layered with animated textures. mostly wood grain, sand, moss and grass. Animated textures were made with 3-5 frames of photgraphed texture that were then looped at about 3 frames per image and then over layed on various assets.

I also layered over the river with a video of moving water.

The willow trees were built from very detailed drawings and the branches built and layered from 4 main drawings. They were animated with the puppet tool, rotate and position. In hind sight I put a lot more work into this than I needed to and as I was just learning the puppet key framing it looks a bit jerky. Orginally I was going to put eyes on the tree but decided against it.

Luthier Workshop Scene

The below After Effects screen shots give a good idea of the work flow that I followed for most of the scenes. In most cases I pre-animated the character's heads and then imported them in as transparencies to save some layers. There is a lot of masking and tranforming with key frames. I also used the puppet tool to add movement to hair and create the effect of wind.

Willow was my first animation using a combination of hand drawn stop animation and post production in AfterEffects. I mainly used the Puppet, and 2D transform tools.

I worked on this project alone and it took me a year. I basically learned each step I needed along the way. I have made many mistakes in this. One being that the character of willow changed slightly along the way as my drawing improved and I figured out shortcuts. 

All in all though I was happy with the way it looked and don't mind the handmade look it has.Obviously lots of learnings for the next one!