Summary
Now that the winter weather’s finally kicked in, I’ve decided that my alien character’s going to be studying trees at wintertime, observing them as an intelligent species instead of humans. They’re doing their work at night, not knowing the humans are asleep in the darker hours and just assuming they’re not there anymore. I’m going to make the camera work look more candid than cinematic, simulating a creature with a filming device that’s spontaneously exploring their surroundings.
Here is a link to my storyboard.
Here’s a link to my test clips:
Situation: An alien has landed on planet Earth at night, in the middle of winter. They carry a camera, strangely similar to a human smartphone (it’s either an actual human phone they’re testing out, or it’s just a case of convergent evolution of technology), and film their surroundings for xeno-biological research. They film clips throughout the night, then compile them into a “narrated” video log. Since their species detects vibrations through touch and cannot hear or make noise, their language is written-only, so there will be captions but no verbal narration.
Desire: The alien wants to learn about intelligent life on the planet, but it seems like all the humans have disappeared. It must have been recently, since they’ve left some of their lights on.
Conflict: The alien needs to find another species to study, but there’s not much to see except trees. But maybe the trees are worth taking a look at – they are, after all, complex life forms. In addition, they catch sight of some trails of steam that pique their interest.
Change: The alien becomes genuinely invested in filming the trees, inferring through their behavior that they must be another form of intelligent life. They cite evidence such as the trees’ evident sense of generosity toward animals (providing homes and food for squirrels), traditions reserved for certain seasons (changing leaves and hibernation), and showing charity toward their own kindred (sharing nutrients with other trees). They also glean from the snow and the mysterious water-vapor ports on the ground (actually sewer grates, but they don’t know that) that life on Earth is reliant on water.
Result: They end up compiling a lot of information about Earth’s trees, and they’re excited to bring it back to their home planet. However, their research is not over; a colleague informs them by the end that the majority of humans are diurnal, not nocturnal like their own species. They’ll have to come back another time, in the morning.