Wind whistling
[Drone shot] We sweep across a wheat field where we see men working the field, dressed in early settler’s clothing and using old-world tools. As we continue to sweep across the field, the drone tilts up and we see that the farm field abruptly ends against a dark forest
Grass rustling
[Slider shot] We slide across the tips of the wheat crops in the field and land on a little girl (age 10-12) who’s sitting down in the field, braiding three pieces of wheat stem together and looking bored
Sounds of her braiding and humming to herself
Cut to different angle of little girl braiding, where we see that she’s on the edge of the field with the forest right in background
0:00 - 0:04
Opening “gong” and drone
As track’s opening “gong” hits, little girl snaps her head in the direction of the forest, as if the sound has just come from there, and stares with alarm and curiosity
0:04 - 0:11
Continued drone
Over the shoulder shot of little girl rising to her feet and looking into the dark forest, where we see a few tree stumps on the edge of the field, then only blackness beyond the first few trees of the forest
0:12 - 0:21
Tinkling percussions
Follow shot of the girl as she walks from the brightness of the field into the darkness of the forest
0:21 - 0:31
Tinkling percussions
Cut from her footsteps on to the wet soil to upward-looking shots of the trees surrounding her with each percussion’s rhythm
0:31 - 0:43
“May you die wide awake…with a look of great surprise”
Girl continues to walk through the forest, looking up around at trees, which are swaying against a dark gray sky
0:43 - 0:57
“May your eyes be taken just before you can sleep…”
[Dolly shot] Full frame side shot of her continuing to walk through the forest, looking around. [Animation] One of the aspen trees’ eyes unmistakably blinks as it passes by the frame. She stops walking…
0:57 - 1:01
“...stolen from you…”
[Animation] a tree root wraps around her foot to, she looks down and sees it slithering around her ankle
1:01 - 1:05
“...STOLEN FROM YOU…”
Girl is tripped down to the ground from the root and hits the ground as track explodes
1:05 - 1:10
Droning
Little girl looks around at trees with absolute fear in her face. Upward shot of trees again swaying in the wind against a dark gray sky
1:10 - 1:20
Tickling percussion
Girl gets up and brushes off her dress, which is muddied. She inspects a deep cut on her arm which is also covered in dirt and tries to wipe it off, smearing blood and dirt together
1:20 - 1:26
“May you die with your mouth still gaped…”
Girl determinedly sets off back towards the field and safety
1:26 - 1:32
“With the words stuck in your throat…”
Girl looks around, realizing she is lost, and finds herself surrounded in a ring of trees
1:32 - 1:38
“May your mouth…”
[Zoom out] Head-on pull shot of little girl as she stares directly ahead at camera, horrified, mouth agape
1:38 - 1:52
“... be taken just before you can speak…When you knew what you stole has been stolen from you!”
[Animation] POV shot, slow zoom towards tree trunk, where we see the Mother Tree’s facial features in the tree bark singing the lyrics in the most sinister, menacing fashion. Cut to tree roots slowly wrapping their way around her shoes then back to face.
1:52 - 1:53
Track explodes
[Animation] Mother Tree face makes a sudden violent movement right as track explodes…
1:53 - 1:55
“STOLEN FROM YOU!”
Girl is thrown down to the leafy earth
1:55 - 2:03
Echoing drone
[Drone shot] Medium frame fly-away shot of girl being entangled by tree roots as she struggles to get up. They envelope her and she is strapped to the forest floor.
2:03 - 2:09
Pulsing drone
Ground-level shot of girl struggling and crying as he tries to break free. Rack focus to tree face in the background smiling
2:09 - 2:16
“May the sound of our voices ring out…”
Mother Tree face is swaying its face in melodic ecstasy as it sings
2:16 - 2:23
“With a song of great delight…”
[Pan shot] [Animation] Pan across other trees in the ring and show their faces singing, their mouths O-ing in supportive chorus
2:23 - 2:32
“A cheer, loud and clear, the last thing in your ears…”
[Animation] Girl slowly sinks into the earth as the tree roots wrap around her torso, mouth, and neck
2:32 - 2:39
“As you hear what you stole has been stolen from you…”
[Animation] Upward POV shot of Mother Tree singing the song in a gentle, lullaby fashion down at the girl. Towards the end, shot fades to dark as the dirt envelopes girl’s eyes
2:39 - 2:48
“STOLEN FROM YOU!”
[Drone shot] Pull away shot of forest floor where girl was struggling now turned to dirt with leaves blowing over its surface
2:48 - 2:56
Clanging
[Pan shot] [Animation] Trees all smile and lift their eyebrows in ecstasy as they feed off the flesh of the little girl
2:56 - 3:00
Clanging
[Animation] Sapling springs up from the ground, timing its explosive unfurling with the clangs of the track
3:00 - 3:24
Warped clanging
[Animation] Tree grows, as we are seeing it through timelapse, but in real time. The trunk pushes upward, branches flair out, leaves sprout — all timed to the beat.
3:24 - 3:32
Instrumental scream
[Drone shot] Circle around this newly formed tree in a 270 degree swoop, showing it as just one of many trees in the forest
3:32 - 3:45
Tickling percussion
Men from the field with torches frantically search through the forest in the dead of night, calling out her name and swinging their torches around in hopes of seeing her
3:45 - 3:55
Tickling percussion
Girl’s father stops to catch his breath. He places his hand against a tree trunk. Slow zoom in on his hand as his shoulders heave up and down from breathing. We see the form of the girl’s face start to appear on the tree right next to where his hand is placed. She smiles — it’s unclear what this smile means.
3:55 - 3:56
Song ends
Snap to black