Fractal Clip Map · Odyssey Works

Bambi and the Forest

For Mike S · demo build Clips 8 (branch at 2 · meta bookends) Script Jess Cameras Phone tripod + Meta Ray-Bans POV Date 2026-04-14

Clip Breakdown

Footage + phone UI overlays + audio (1:1 with Jess's script). The viewer is me — they tap through the notifications.
Clip Title What I Shoot UI / Overlay Script / Audio Cameras Viewer
Clip 0 Pretext Two shots, one clip.

0A · Wide. I walk into frame down a park path, already looking at my phone. Ambient: park sounds, kids in the background, a bit of distant music.

0B · POV. Same path, first-person. Walking for a beat. I look down at my phone — the notification drops in over this shot.
Demo opens · full-screen video
Begin
Begin button → full-page video starts. Sound of the park fades in.
Begin
Over POV walk
Nature Experience · Notification
You are in a forest. Would you like to experience a new chapter in the Bambi story?
Accept Ignore

[Ambient only — park sounds, kids in background, faint distant music. No score, no narration.]

— the meta layer · no story audio yet

Tripod · wide (0A)Ray-Bans POV (0B)
Tap Accept
Clip 1 The Fire POV walking, then stopping as the fire aftermath soundscape kicks in. Slow down, look. The world dims around me. Hold on stillness as the Forest voice drops in, then the choice UI appears.
Over POV · end of clip
Interaction 1 · Choice
Do you stay with Bambi in the forest, or follow the others?
Stay with Bambi Follow the others

[Soundscape begins — soft wind, distant birds, faint crackle fading into memory]

Thumper (gentle, but insistent): "C'mon, Bambi… we gotta go now. We've stayed a long time… but the forest… it's not comin' back."

Feline (soft, tender, steady): "Bambi… the little ones need food. There isn't enough here anymore. We have to find somewhere new."

Owl (slow, knowing): "Mm… the forest sleeps, young prince. And sometimes… when it sleeps… we must wander on. But mind you—nothing is ever truly lost. It only… changes."

Forest (whispered): And so… they went.

Interaction 1 Do you stay with Bambi in the forest or follow the others?
Tripod · wideRay-Bans POV
Clip 2A Stay Looking around, then committing. Walking deeper into the wooded area, slow and deliberate. Camera steadies as I commit to the path.
Triggered by "Stay with Bambi"
Full-screen video, no overlay. The world opens up and the Forest voice takes over. Notification UI stays hidden until Clip 3.

Forest (continuing): Thumper…Feline…One by one, they followed the path away. And at last, so did Bambi. Or so they thought.

[Footsteps returning softly over time — spaced out, cyclical]

But he came back. Again…and again. At first, he did not come far. He would stand very still right at my edge. Looking. Listening. Not quite understanding.

Tripod · wideRay-Bans POV
Choice: stay with Bambi
Clip 2B Go Turning away from the trees, pausing, turning back. The script brings them back regardless. Dialogue plays over the turn-away; Forest narration begins on the turn-back, converging with 2A.
Triggered by "Follow the others"
Exit or Turn Around
You may exit the living layer and move on with your life — or turn around to learn the ways of the Forest.
Exit Turn around
On "Turn around," overlay fades and the clip converges with 2A's Forest voice.

Thumper: "D'ya think he'll come with us Feline? He looks awful sad still."

Feline: "Give him some time. He's lost a lot, that Bambi. And Owl will stay close, keeping an eye on him."

[Soundscape changes with the sounds of the forest fading away even more]

Viewer prompt You may choose to exit the living layer at this point and move on with your life, but if you would like to learn the ways of the Forest and find out what Bambi got up to after everyone left, you could always turn around.

Forest (continuing): Thumper…Feline…One by one, they followed the path away. And at last, so did Bambi. Or so they thought.

[Footsteps returning softly — converges with 2A]

Tripod · wideRay-Bans POV
Choice: follow the others
Clip 3 The Grounding Shoes off → bare feet on soil → scanning the ground → finding a blade of grass or new growth → slow tilt from ground to horizon. Held frame or slow fade — long pause so the viewer can act.
Over POV · prompt card
Interaction 2 · Ground
Stop. Look around and listen. Take off your shoes. Feel the soil beneath your feet.
Continue
Later · green prompt
Look closely
Do you see any green around you now? How long do you think it has been there?
Continue
Interaction 2 Stop. Look around and listen. You see these trees, this grass, these flowers. Everyday. They surround you, a perpetual background. But you don't truly understand its ways. When did we forget that we are nature too? Take off your shoes, feel the soil beneath your feet.

His eyes would wander across my blackened limbs, my quiet ground. And though he did not speak it, I felt his question.

What happened…? Are you gone?

I did not answer. I was resting. I too need rest. It's no easy job to being home to every living being. Everywhere. All at once.

Then one day—

[A subtle shift in sound — a drop of water, a faint new tone]

—just as he turned to go…He saw it. A tiny thing. So small it might have been missed. A blade of green.

Viewer prompt Do you see any green around you now? Look closely…How long do you think it has been there? Can you imagine what the very first blade in this patch of Earth looked like?

[Return to forest voice]

He stepped nearer. Very gently. And in that moment something in him grew quiet. Life was still here. No. Life had never left.

After that day, Bambi returned with a renewed spirit. The confusion was still there. And so was the grief. But now…he also had hope. And faith.

He wandered farther into me. Slowly. Growing bolder and braver each day. And he began to notice… Where his hooves pressed…the ground softened. And then the rain would gather and little pools would form. And days later, what was once ashen, would start to glisten with green.

Ray-Bans POV
Take off shoes
Clip 4 The Tree Approaching a textured tree → hand reaching out, fingers on bark → bark detail → looking up the trunk into branches. Held frame for viewer photo.
Over POV · prompt card
Interaction 3 · Tree
Find the nearest tree. Run your fingers over its surface. What is it telling you?
Capture Continue
Interaction 3 Find the nearest tree and run your fingers over its rough and scaly surface. Make a connection with the tree. What is it telling you? Take a picture of this tree that captures its essence.

Bambi began to understand. That like Thumper and Feline and all of his friends, that I too was alive. That I am not a stagnant background or even playground. That I live, I breathe. And then when I'm hurt, everyone around me is harmed. That no matter what it looks like on the surface, I am the one who stays.

Ray-Bans POV
Photograph tree
Clip 5 The Return Wide: the landscape I've walked through, now behind. Settling into a spot, hands at rest. Soundscape fills back in — insects, birds, distant laughter.
After Thumper's aphorism
Closing · Aphorism
Thumper loves his aphorisms. Do you have one to share with his little bunnies?
Type your aphorism…
Submit to the gallery

[Soundscape begins to fill slowly — insects, distant birds returning]

And so as time passed, the grasses returned. Then flowers, delicate…bright…awakening from seeds that had slept long before he was born. Waiting for light. And as I returned, so did they.

A rustle. A flutter. A careful step.

[Sound of distant laughter — young animals, subtle]

And Bambi stood among it. No longer searching for what was…But a part of what was becoming. Not the one who saved the forest. But the one who stayed long enough to get to know it.

[Final sound: Thumper in the distance, older now, speaking to a young one]

Thumper (soft chuckle): "If you can't say somethin' nice… don't say nothin' at all… heh… and… I guess… if somethin' looks all gone…maybe it ain't."

Closing prompt Thumper loves his aphorisms — do you have one you can give him that he can share with his own little bunnies? (collected and shared in an in-community forum / living gallery)
Tripod · wideRay-Bans POV
Submit aphorism
Clip 6 Posttext Wide meta shot. I'm standing in the space, phone lowered, no longer staring at the screen — looking all around me. The fractal has landed. Bookend to Clip 0: started looking at the phone, ended looking at the world. Hold long.
Overlay dissolves
All UI fades away. For the last time, the screen is just the world. Video lets the wide hold, then cuts to black.

— post-story · ambient park returns · the meta layer after the script ends

Tripod · wide

Flow

Pretext → fire → branch → converge → held pauses
00 Pretext · on the phone
01 The Fire
Choice Point
02A Stay
02B Go
Converge
03 The Grounding
Pause · viewer acts
04 The Tree
Pause · viewer acts
05 The Return
Input · gallery submission
06 Posttext · looking around

Shooting Notes

Two-camera rig · tripod + Ray-Bans, shot simultaneously
LightGolden hour sells regeneration. Evening is ideal.
Branch economyShoot 2A and 2B at the same location, just different directions.
Clip 0 + 1 on tripodThese are the only clips where I'm on camera. Prop the phone on something stable, walk in, pick it up for Clip 0.
Dual captureEvery take records twice: phone tripod (wide) + Ray-Bans (POV). Mike chooses in edit.
Hold endings3–4 seconds longer than feels natural. Mike needs room for interaction pauses.
Inside is lookingClips are mostly me looking around in a space while imaginary audio plays. Let the eye do the work.
B-rollCharred/regenerating ground, water, wind in grass, insects. Mike layers under transitions.

For Mike S · Build Scope

Scope-minimized. No content — just structure.

What the app has to do:

  1. Play video clips in order. All audio (narration, dialogue, soundscape) is baked into each clip file. The app never controls voiceover or audio mixing.
  2. Show a UI overlay at 3 moments (notification + 2 choices) and wait for a tap.
  3. Show 2 "Continue" prompts mid-flow (grounding, tree) — simple tap-to-advance cards.
  4. Collect one text input at the end (the aphorism) and submit to a gallery.
Seven video files + a handful of overlay cards + one text field. That's the whole build.

Flow

Rectangles = video clips · Hexagons = UI overlays · Stadiums = start/end
flowchart TD
    Start(["Begin"]) --> C0["Clip 0 — Pretext"]
    C0 --> Notif{{"Notification: Accept or Ignore"}}
    Notif -->|Ignore| ExitEarly(["Exit"])
    Notif -->|Accept| C1["Clip 1 — Fire"]

    C1 --> Choice1{{"Interaction 1: Stay or Go"}}
    Choice1 -->|Stay| C2A["Clip 2A — Stay"]
    Choice1 -->|Go| C2B["Clip 2B — Go"]

    C2B --> Choice2{{"Exit or Turn around"}}
    Choice2 -->|Exit| ExitMid(["Exit"])
    Choice2 -->|Turn around| C2A

    C2A --> C3["Clip 3 — Grounding"]
    C3 --> Cont1{{"Continue"}}
    Cont1 --> C4["Clip 4 — Tree"]
    C4 --> Cont2{{"Continue"}}
    Cont2 --> C5["Clip 5 — Return"]
    C5 --> Input[/"Aphorism text input"/]
    Input --> C6["Clip 6 — Posttext"]
    C6 --> EndNode(["Fin"])

    classDef clip fill:#111114,stroke:#f97316,stroke-width:1.5px,color:#fafafa;
    classDef ui fill:#0c0c0f,stroke:#38bdf8,stroke-width:1.5px,color:#fafafa;
    classDef terminal fill:#0c0c0f,stroke:#52525b,color:#a1a1aa;
    class C0,C1,C2A,C2B,C3,C4,C5,C6 clip;
    class Notif,Choice1,Choice2,Cont1,Cont2,Input ui;
    class Start,EndNode,ExitEarly,ExitMid terminal;
      

Asset List

7 video files, audio baked in
IDFilePlays after
C0clip-0-pretextBegin
C1clip-1-fireNotification → Accept
C2Aclip-2a-stayChoice 1 → Stay or Choice 2 → Turn around
C2Bclip-2b-goChoice 1 → Go
C3clip-3-groundingC2A ends
C4clip-4-treeContinue 1
C5clip-5-returnContinue 2
C6clip-6-posttextAphorism submit

UI Elements

6 overlay states · 1 text input
TriggerElementButtons / Input
During C0 (POV)Notification cardAccept · Ignore
End of C1Choice cardStay with Bambi · Follow the others
During C2BChoice cardExit · Turn around
During C3 (×2)Prompt cardContinue
During C4Prompt cardCapture · Continue
End of C5Aphorism inputtext field + Submit to the gallery