The Weeding 囍宴

To look for the topic we’re both interested in, we shared our own experiences as well as the movies and music we’ve seen.

Theme: Ways of Interaction / Ways of Expressing Love

An action that cannot be fully understood, but is done with good intentions.

Emotion

Calm, reconciliation, understanding, mutual tolerance (respecting others’ goodwill).

Discussion Case Records

Movie & Song

【SONG】 Leah Dou竇靖童 – “Fireworks煙花”

As relationships change when growing up, the closest relationships are not always the only ones.(Celebrity, dialogue, reconciliation with the world, mutual growth)

---

【MOVIE】 Finding Nemo

Father and child growing together. (Overprotective father)

【MOVIE】
The Bold, the Corrupt,
and the Beautiful血觀音

Exploitation, family dynamics, disagreement (using, demanding), but still love her. The love comes from wanting to escape, yet even in death, tears are shed.

【MOVIE】
Mask Girl 마스크걸

Different ways of loving, but learning reconciliation when growing up.

Personal Experience

Caregiver Personality

The grandmother who only eats vegetables.

The Smoking Grandfather

Reconciling with the fact that family members have a smoking addiction.

The Father Who Stays for the Kids Despite Domestic Violence

A father who stays, despite his violent tendencies, because of his children.

Bitter Melon Soup

A representation of family struggles and relationships.

Death as a form of reconciliation

【SONG】 July 4th

A mother’s mental illness harms her children, yet the song contains affectionate nicknames, showing love despite the pain.

【MOVIE】 A Sun 陽光普照

The comparison between two sons: one commits suicide, the other becomes an accomplice in a murder for his father.

After further brainstorming and discussion, we each went back and wrote down our ideas for the topic.
I used my recent personal experiences as inspiration to imagine the VR project we might create, as well as the VR features we could use to enhance the narrative impact.

Theme
Selective sharing of good news while hiding the bad — “white lies” told out of kindness

Event
I haven’t told my family about my recent hospitalization. (Reference: Beef)

Emotion
A sense of compromise—maintaining surface-level peace. There’s a subtle distance within the family, an unstable balance everyone avoids breaking.

Content

Out of love for our families, we avoid worrying our children or parents, so we learn to evade problems or compromise. No one is willing to be fully honest about the real situation. We love each other in the way we think is best, even if it creates emotional distance.

Example 1

Using VR’s ability to control sensory input to create a sense of dissonance.
For instance, what happens visually becomes increasingly bizarre or absurd, yet the audio or other sensory cues present a calm, peaceful atmosphere, or even suggest that everything is improving. This contrast reflects the feeling of “thinking you understand, but actually not,” mirroring how family members often misread or oversimplify each other’s situations.

Example 2

We could also use VR’s immersive yet fundamentally virtual nature.
When the audience begins to believe what they see is real, we intentionally break that illusion. Referencing The Line, where early interactions are possible, but when the protagonist is in danger, the audience suddenly cannot interact. They instinctively want to help but are unable to, and this inability forces the realization that everything is virtual.

This mechanic can be used to express the emotional distance within families—people who should be close but, in reality, remain separated by invisible barriers.

We compiled everyone’s ideas and decided to focus on the mother–daughter relationship and a wedding as the main themes of the project.

Through the story, we want to talk about three types of family relationships.

1. Growing up & Letting go
2. The tension between love and independence
3. How families express care

Our story revolves around a wedding, and we believe that when a mother says, “Please take good care of my daughter,” the meaning and associations can shift depending on who she is saying it to.
We want to use this idea as a thread that ties the entire narrative together.

Core Concept

A symbolic narrative centered around a dog toy given by a mother to her daughter during childhood. Though everyone knows it’s not a real dog, the entire family treats it as if it were. The dog embodies love, protection, and serves as a symbol of the emotional bond between mother and daughter, a relationship defined by dependence and care, and the eventual journey toward independence.

(we are still discussing dog should be real pet, toy, or mascot costume)

Key Event

This moment, delivered seriously to the plush dog, sets the tone for a surreal and emotional story.

We want the audience to experience the same period of events by taking on three different roles, and ultimately piece them together into one complete story. However, we’ve encountered difficulties because the content has become too large and challenging to design.

Gameplay Structure

The story unfolds through role-switching mechanics, where the player explores different perspectives. By interacting with others and gathering fragments of memory and emotion, the player uncovers the strange truth behind the dog’s central role in the wedding.

Player Role Progression

1. Little Girl / Waitstaff (Observers)
2. Mother (Participant)
3. Bride (Participant)

Recurring Scenes

(the scenes which will repeat when audiences play different roles.)

We are still discussing which one is better.

1. Mother holding the dog, telling the daughter:“You must take good care of it (the dog).”
2. During a grand wedding ceremony, after giving her blessing. The mother hands the bride’s hand not to the groom, but to the Shiba Inu dog. The camera then reveals: the groom, bride, and the dog standing together.

Narrative Layers

She mostly speaks to the dog, but her words are clearly meant for her daughter.

Through this, the mother is really saying: “Take care of yourself,” knowing that her daughter will soon face the world independently.

This is a transition of care: the mother, once the protector, now entrusts that role to the symbolic dog (i.e., to the bride herself).

Present Conflict:
The mother micromanages the wedding, constantly reminding the bride of what to do next, even replacing the role of the wedding host.

Past Conflict:
The family (e.g., grandparents) didn’t allow pets in the house.
Despite this, after the daughter received the dog, the whole family eventually treated it with love—just like a real pet.

In the end, the bride realizes: she is the dog herself.

Supplementary Detail

When playing as the little girl, players can experience early mother-daughter dynamics through lessons, conflicts, and nurturing moments—mirroring the evolving relationship shown in the wedding timeline.

Reference Work

【Game】 Underground Blossom 地鐵繁花

We referenced the female character from the game, using the repetitive technique of repeating the same line to hint at and emphasize the significance of the storyline. This not only creates a sense of suspense but also aims to leave a stronger impression on the audience.

【Short Comedy】 父親的葬禮

This is a comedy, and we really enjoy the absurd storyline, which describes how many of the father’s strange friends show up at his funeral, leading the son to realize that he never truly understood his father. We’d like to have some absurd events happen at our wedding as well.

We completed the script writing in class. Even though it’s a different story, it was my first time writing a script.
I felt really good about how we tried to define the characters’ personalities and used time, setting, and their appearance and behavior to highlight who they are.

Actors: School bag, Ray, Squirrel

Actor Ray’s detail: 13 years old boy, and an introverted child who tends to overthink

1/ On the Way Home to Living Room

POV: Invited witness (school bag with cartoon eyes)

Time: After school, 17:13
Setting: A gray, overcast day. A small road outside a detached house; a neighbor nearby is loosening the soil.

To reach a consensus during our discussions, we found reference images that helped make Ray’s home more concrete in our planning.

Ray is walking home from school, with the school bag carried on his back. He walks with his head slightly lowered and shoulders slouched, (the camera angle catches his backpack tilting slightly upward).
(Viewer’s perspective: facing forward but moving backward.)

Ray reaches the entrance, closes the door, and walks around the house.
The house is dark and empty. (A sense of loneliness.)

Ray and tosses the bag (the player) onto the sofa. We see Ray, a slightly hunched boy, wearily taking off his coat.
The camera slowly pushes toward Ray, shifting to his point of view.

BLACK FADE IN AND OUT

2/ Ray’s Room

POV: Ray

Ray opens the door

A fluffy belly blocking the doorway, only catching glimpses of the room’s corners through the narrow gap.

The camera follows Ray as he slowly tilts his head upward — There stands a huge, bedraggled squirrel, head lowered, squeezed into the room.

Squirrel

“…hello?”

After our tutorial with the teacher, we revisited our concept and discussed the story ideas again. We streamlined the narrative to focus on the core theme we wanted to explore—“the mother–daughter relationship”—and removed unnecessary characters and plot elements.

TITLE: 囍宴 THE WEDDING

POV: The Dog

Story Summary

I am a dog.
The two women I love most — the bride, and my “owner,” the bride’s mother — are waging a long and exhausting “war” over something called a “wedding.”

Act One: The Preparation — “It’s For Your Own Good”

The war began the very first day of wedding planning.

A fast-paced and high-energy beat, with recurring imagery hinting at an ongoing, relentless conflict.

At this moment, everything suddenly calms down, like the final stage of an argument where the two people fall into a silent cold war. In the eerie stillness, the scene fades out, transitioning to the next chapter.

Act Two: The Wedding Day

As the bride greets guests, she meets a little girl — her young cousin — who runs around mischievously.
The bride greets her, but the shy girl runs off to play with me.
Her mother shouts after her, “Can you behave today? Stop running around!”
The little girl replies, “Got it!” but doesn’t turn back, hugging me as she runs off.

(This sequence shows the layout of the wedding venue.)

The little girl runs around with me and accidentally finds a black wedding dress hidden in the bride’s dressing room.

“I think the bride is so beautiful!”
“It’s my cousin’s wedding today. She looks like a real princess; she’s wearing such a beautiful dress. I wish I could wear a dress like that too.”

When the ceremony begins, the girl sneaks back to see the bride.
Her mother doesn’t scold her this time — she just wipes the sweat from her forehead.

“I don’t need anyone to take care of me. I’m already nine — I’m a grown-up!”
“Guess what I found?”
The girl wipes off her own sweat, proud and defiant.

We use the interaction between the little girl and her mother to present another form of mother-daughter relationship, while also subtly hinting at the bond between the bride and her own mother. This reflects memories from the bride’s childhood that are not explicitly mentioned in the story.

At the Toast Session:
The bride’s mother says to the groom,

“I’ve raised my daughter with such care; please take good care of her from now on.”

A drunken relative from the bride’s side slaps the groom’s shoulder, laughing loudly:

“If the bride doesn’t listen to you, you’d better teach her a lesson!”

We used the drunken relative instead of having the mother say this line because we wanted to preserve the mother’s original respect for her daughter, while also introducing conflict.

The mother tries to smooth things over politely, but the bride suddenly puts down her glass — the sharp clink silences the room.

She glances at her stunned parents, lifts her skirt, and walks out of the banquet hall.

In the awkward silence that follows, the little girl blurts out:

“Yeah! We can take care of ourselves! We don’t have to listen to anyone!”

Laughter fills the background, but the words hang in the air.

We also have the little girl express the bride’s feelings, presenting it in a humorous, non-awkward way. By using this shift in perspective, we enhance the audience’s impression of the line and its associations.

Act Three: Reconciliation

The mother hears what the little girl said — and watches how she and her own mother interact:
There’s discipline, but also warmth. They share what they love, talk freely.
For the first time, the mother understands a different way of being together.

Amid the heavy silence, she stands frozen, face pale.
I run up and nudge her hand with my nose, whining softly.
She seems to wake up, murmuring:

“We… we should go check on her.”
“But I don’t even know what to say…”

I run to the bride’s dressing room and find the wedding dress the bride originally wanted.
I bark to get the mother’s attention.
She notices, picks up the dress, and heads to her daughter.

We wanted to add an interactive element here, so that the audience feels like they’re helping the bride and her mother, actively participating in their story and repairing their relationship.

From afar, I watch — I can’t hear what they’re saying, but I see the bride in front of the mirror, silently crying.
The mother approaches — no lecturing this time — and hands her the dress.

The bride looks up at her, then hugs her tightly.

Act Four: Return to the Wedding

When the bride and her mother return to the hall,
the bride is wearing the wedding dress she truly loves.

The guests fall silent for a heartbeat — then erupt into applause, louder and more heartfelt than before.

Epilogue: Farewell, and a New Beginning

The wedding ends not in perfection, but in something more real — relaxed and joyful.

As the guests leave one by one,
the bride hugs her mother — and me — tightly.

“I’m going now.”

She gets into the car and drives off with the groom.

The mother holds me in her arms, standing still for a long time.
I whimper softly.

She pats my head and says, “Come on. Let’s go home.”

We took the teacher’s suggestion here, where after the bride leaves, the bride’s mother and the puppy remain. But we added the line “Come on. Let’s go home.” to make the farewell feel less like a simple parting, and more like two people heading in different directions, each moving forward on their own path.

Although this is not a formal script format, completing this draft has helped us gain a clearer understanding of what our story should be like.

We completed the framing for Scene 1 and Scene 2. The first scene takes place in a clothing store, while in the second scene, we tried using a montage technique to depict ongoing and repeated conflicts.

Perspective & Character Color Guide

Dog (POV, Pug, Pale gray-yellow paws with dark, velvety pads, is able to move / paw / pick with mouth)

We’ve roughly outlined the possible interactive functions and effects that users can have in the storyline.

The Bride’s Mother

The Bride

(The Little Girl)

(The Mother of Little Girl)

We’re unsure whether we should add these characters here, as their screen time in the story won’t be much. We’re concerned that adding too many characters might make the script look too complicated.

FADE FROM BLACK WITH SHAPE OF DOG’S EYES

1/. INT. Bridal shop – DAY

You are a dog. Who raised by two women you love most — the Bride, and the Bride’s Mother.

This section is meant to provide the story background, so that those reading the script can quickly understand our story. However, it will not be included in the VR presentation.

The Bride steps out of the fitting room, having just changed into her wedding dress. She twirls once in front of you.

THE BRIDE

(excited, to dog)

What do you think? Isn’t this black wedding dress beautiful? This is the one I really want. Now we just wait for Mom to come.

The Bride crouches down to play with you, picking up a leftover flower stem from the bouquet-making table and tossing it for you to fetch.

The Bride throws it onto the floor — you need to pick it up gently in its mouth and bring it back.

This part is like an interactive tutorial, preparing the user for the upcoming storyline experience. Rather than using text or icon-based prompts, we want the tutorial to be integrated into the narrative, making it feel natural and seamless. So, when the user isn’t sure what to do, the bride will continuously guide them with verbal cues, such as “Quick, pick that up for me.”

The Bride tosses it into a narrow gap — you first use your paw to pull it out, then pick it up with your mouth and trots back.

The Bride pets your head.

BRIDE

(excited, to dog)

Good boy. Such a good dog.

The Bride keeps playing with you, then softly says:

BRIDE

(worried, to dog)

How can I make Mom agree to this dress? I know she won’t like it… but I still want to try.

SOUND of DOOR OPENING

In addition to the voice cues, the bride will also turn her head towards the door, guiding the audience’s gaze to the entrance where the mother appears.

The Bride’s Mother enters the room. She is placing her bag down, still half talking as she looks around.

THE BRIDE’S MOTHER

How’s it going? All good? Found something you like?

THE BRIDE

I did… What do you think of this one?

(you are siting a little behind the bride, looking curiously at the mother.)

The Bride spins around to show the dress. Her Mother’s smile fades — her tone sharp, disapproving.

THE BRIDE’S MOTHER

(unhappy, strong)

You call that a wedding dress? Who even makes something like this nowadays?

The Bride’s Mother grabs the Bride’s arm, pulling her around, and a little closer, eyes scanning up and down with a frown.

The edge of the dress brushes against you; you startled and steps back.

BRIDE

I searched for so long to find this one. It’s really special — I love it! You know, the design style is—

THE BRIDE’S MOTHER

(cutting the Bride off, angry)

If you dress like that, what will people think?

BRIDE

I’m not getting married for other people to see.

THE BRIDE’S MOTHER

If not for others to see, then why get married at all?

We based this dialogue on a line from Ang Lee’s film The Wedding Banquet, attempting to portray the conflict between self-identity and traditional culture, while connecting it to the different perspectives held by the mother and daughter due to the generational gap

We want to switch the shots, but we haven’t come up with many ideas for transitions specific to VR media yet, so we’ve mostly used cuts as placeholders. We hope to have more time later to revisit and work on this part.

CUT

The Bride stands in her white wedding dress, looking a little dejected.

2/. INT. VOID – MONTAGE

The Bride’s Mother walks toward you and picks you up.

We want to guide the audience’s movement, so we designed the scene where the mother picks up the dog, making the camera movement feel more natural and purposeful.

The Bride appears, dressed in a white wedding gown.

The Bride’s Mother nods in satisfaction.

THE BRIDE’S MOTHER

Now this — this looks like a real bride.

BEGIN MONTAGE

The Bride’s Mother turns and walks to the right. As she moves, different scene elements draw near and fade behind her one by one. Her clothes change as she walks. Spotlights flicker on and off, illuminating each moment before fading to darkness again.

In the montage section, we really weren’t sure how to express it because the images we envisioned were abstract and didn’t follow the narrative logic. We didn’t know how to describe it with words, so we could only write down the general events we wanted to convey.

SCENE 1 — THE DISHES
Symbolic dishes appear on the original one — pork knuckle, Eight-Treasure Duck. And the number of dishes changing from odd to even.

SCENE 2 — THE INVITATION
What was once a digital invitation transforms into a bright red, physical wedding card.

SCENE 3 — THE OFFICIANT
The pastor disappears, replaced by a lively wedding host.

SCENE 4 — THE MUSIC
The soundtrack shifts from English pop songs to traditional Chinese music.

BACKGOUND MUSIC CHANGE

TITLE PAGE IN:

囍宴THE WEDDING

The fade-in here not only marks the end of the montage and gives the audience a moment to breathe, but also connects to the next scene, the wedding venue.

My team of four and I went to the 2025 Aesthetica Short Film Festival in York. Besides watching the films and attending the talks, it was also our first time visiting a place outside of London. We got to see different landscapes and experience a new vibe.

In the various speach, I heard a lot about the career ecosystem related to new media and future planning. There were also fresh insights into VR and new media, along with practical VFX techniques, workflow, and details.

And I also watched the work Nana Lou (the Official Short Film Competition at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival), and I really appreciated the way it handled memories. When we were discussing The Wedding, we tried to avoid using clichés when depicting memories, but in Nana Lou, the way memories were triggered through interactions with different objects felt very effective and impactful.

Perspective & Character Color Guide

多多 TOTO (POV, Pug, Pale gray-yellow paws with dark, velvety pads, is able to move / paw / pick with mouth)

晓霞 Xia（The Bride’s Mother）

怡萱/萱萱 Xuan Xuan  (The Bride)

子涵/涵涵 Han Han (The Little Girl)

The Mother of Little Girl

The Photographer

The Host

We’ve finished the script, so now we’re clearer on which characters we need. We’ve given most of the actors names, which not only strengthens their identities but also makes them easier to recognize.

FADE FROM BLACK WITH SHAPE OF DOG’S EYES

1/. INT. Bridal shop – DAY

You are a dog, raised by the two women you love most — the Bride, and the Bride’s Mother. You look around; it seems to be the fitting area of a bridal shop. You hear a woman’s voice.

THE BRIDE

Toto, come here! Come to me.

That’s your owner, Xuan Xuan, the bride who is about to get married. You follow her a few steps to the door of a fitting room. Seeing you come over, she fondly pats your head.

In this interactive tutorial, we not only use verbal guidance, but also have the bride perform certain actions visually, adding more cues to help guide the user.

THE BRIDE

Good dog, good dog. Come on, give me your paw.

You see the Bride holding a black wedding dress in her arms. She frees one hand and gestures for you to shake. You can lift your paw to shake with her. You see the Bride smiling happily.

THE BRIDE

I think this is the one! Be a good pup and wait for me here, okay?

The Bride goes into the fitting room. You wait for her at the door. You look around and see the layout of the fitting area: besides a few fitting rooms, there is also a display pedestal and a large mirror.

The Bride steps out of the fitting room, having just changed into her wedding dress. She twirls once in front of you.

THE BRIDE

(excited, to dog)

What do you think? Isn’t this black wedding dress beautiful? This is the one I really want. Now we just wait for Mom to come.

As the Bride talks, she steps onto the display pedestal and looks at herself in the big mirror of the fitting area, lifting her black skirt and excitedly checking herself from different angles, nodding in satisfaction. Then the Bride crouches down to play with you, picking up a leftover flower stem from the bouquet-making table and tossing it for you to fetch.

The Bride throws it onto the floor — you need to pick it up gently in its mouth and bring it back.

The Bride tosses it into a narrow gap — you first use your paw to pull it out, then pick it up with your mouth and trots back.

The Bride pets your head.

BRIDE

(excited, to dog)

Good boy. Such a good dog.

The Bride keeps playing with you, then softly says:

BRIDE

(worried, to dog)

How can I make Mom agree to this dress? I know she won’t like it… but I still want to try.

SOUND of DOOR OPENING

The Bride’s Mother enters the room. She is placing her bag down, still half talking as she looks around.

THE BRIDE’S MOTHER

How’s it going? All good? Found something you like?

THE BRIDE

I did… What do you think of this one?

(you are siting a little behind the bride, looking curiously at the mother.)

The Bride spins around to show the dress. Her Mother’s smile fades — her tone sharp, disapproving.

THE BRIDE’S MOTHER

(unhappy, strong)

You call that a wedding dress? Who even makes something like this nowadays?

The Bride’s Mother grabs the Bride’s arm, pulling her around, and a little closer, eyes scanning up and down with a frown.

The edge of the dress brushes against you; you startled and steps back.

BRIDE

I searched for so long to find this one. It’s really special — I love it! You know, the design style is—

THE BRIDE’S MOTHER

(cutting the Bride off, angry)

If you dress like that, what will people think?

BRIDE

I’m not getting married for other people to see.

THE BRIDE’S MOTHER

If not for others to see, then why get married at all?

CUT

The Bride, now changed into a white wedding dress, walks out of the fitting room, looking a little dejected.

2/. INT. VOID – MONTAGE

The Bride’s Mother walks toward you and picks you up.

The Bride, dressed in a white wedding gown, steps onto the display pedestal, facing her mother instead of the mirror.The Bride’s Mother nods in satisfaction.

THE BRIDE’S MOTHER

Now this — this looks like a real bride.

BEGIN MONTAGE

From your POV in the Bride’s Mother’s arms, the Bride’s Mother turns and walks to the right. As she moves, different scene elements draw near and fade behind her one by one. Her clothes change as she walks. Spotlights flicker on and off, illuminating each moment before fading to darkness again.

SCENE 1 — THE DISHES
The Bride stands beside a dining table, showing the banquet dishes she has chosen. From your POV in the Bride’s Mother’s arms, you see the Bride’s Mother raise her hand and point. Symbolic dishes appear on the original set — pork knuckle, Eight-Treasure Duck — and the total number of dishes changes from odd to even.

SCENE 2 — THE INVITATION
The Bride holds up her phone, showing off a creative digital wedding invitation. Again, you see the Bride’s Mother raise her hand and point; the phone in the Bride’s hand transforms into a bright red, physical wedding card.

SCENE 3 — THE OFFICIANT
The Bride introduces the pastor she has invited. Once more, you see the Bride’s Mother raise her hand and point. The pastor disappears, replaced by a lively wedding host full of flowery, formal phrases.

SCENE 4 — THE MUSIC
The Bride is previewing her favorite songs. Yet again, you see the Bride’s Mother raise her hand and point. The soundtrack shifts from English pop songs to traditional Chinese wedding music.

We added more details to the montage content, making it more specific and concrete.

BACKGOUND MUSIC CHANGE

TITLE PAGE IN:

囍宴THE WEDDING

The transition here is specially designed to mimic a photography effect, so we’ve added sounds and flash effects. This makes the fade-in and fade-out feel more natural and also helps maintain the continuity of the story.

FADE FROM BLACK WITH THE FLASH OF A CAMERA

3/. INT. WEDDING VENUE – DAY

The photographer gets ready to take the photo.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Cheers! Smile! Smile bigger!

The bride’s mother stands behind the photographer, smiling with satisfaction.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Good, good, good, great. The bride looks beautiful and happy!

The photographer checks the photo and gives an “OK” hand gesture.

The Bride immediately lets out a sigh of relief. You see that the bride is wearing the wedding dress her mother chose for her. The Bride looks deflated, rubbing her waist.

After the photo is taken, the Groom puts you down. you see the Groom and Bride standing at the entrance.

At this moment, Han Han and her mother arrive.

THE BRIDE MOTHER

(To the Bride)

What are you doing? Your aunt is here.

You see the bride and groom quickly rush over to greet them.

The bride hurriedly greets her aunt, and the aunt and the bride exchange pleasantries.

THE BRIDE

Aunt! You’ve arrived!

THE MOTHER OF HAN HAN

Congratulations, congratulations for you!

The Bride sees Han Han.

THE BRIDE

(To Han Han, Gently rubbed Han Han’s face)

Han Han~~

Han Han froze for a moment, then quickly hid behind her mother, gripping her mother’s arm, and peeked at the Bride.

THE MOTHER OF HAN HAN

(To Han Han)

Why are you so shy? Don’t you recognize Sister Xuan Xuan anymore?

THE MOTHER OF HAN HAN

(To Han Han)

Thank you for coming today, I’m so appreciative. Please go ahead in.

Han Han’s mom pulled her towards the check-in desk. While Han Han’s mom was talking to the staff there, Han Han suddenly turned around, spotted you, and immediately broke free from her mom’s hand, running toward you.

THE MOTHER OF HAN HAN

What are you doing? I told you don’t run around today!

HAN HAN

I know!

4/. INT. WEDDING HALL – DAY

Han Han hugs you and runs off. She dashes around, carrying you into the grand wedding hall. Everything is red and festive. Suddenly Han Han notices a balloon in front of the main stage. Excited, she carries you over, sets you down, and picks up the balloon to toss it for you to play with. You bat it back to her with your mouth; Han Han hits it back up into the air, and you chase it again.

We want the audience to use their mouths to pass the ball to Han Han, rather than using their paws. If they use their paws, the balloon will pop. Only when they use their mouths can they successfully pass the ball. We’ve designed this as a hidden detail, but feel it would be too lengthy if written out in the script.

While you’re playing, the balloon drifts toward the door of the lounge. The door is half open. Through the crack, Han Han spots a room filled with many balloons. Delighted, she calls you to go into the lounge with her.

We’ve designed the door to be slightly ajar, allowing the audience to catch glimpses of what’s behind it. This creates a sense of suspense and sparks the audience’s curiosity, making Han Han’s action of opening the door feel more natural and justified.

Door-opening animation, then a quick cut-to-black transition

5/. INT. BRIDE’S LOUNGE – DAY

Han Han walks around the lounge with the balloon in her hands, as if she has discovered a secret place. She looks around at the ornate dressing table, all the makeup, jewelry, and accessories laid out, and a large clothes rack holding several different bridal outfits. At the very back, there is also a black wedding dress — you spot the black wedding dress that the Bride loved.

At this moment, the Bride’s Mother pushes the door open and comes in, saying:

THE BRIDE MOTHER

Han Han, how did you end up in here? Your mom is looking for you everywhere.

The Bride’s Mother reaches out to pull Han Han back. As Han Han shifts to one side, the Bride’s Mother catches sight of the black wedding dress. You see her get angry; she quickly hides the black dress in a corner of the room, then tells you to stay in the lounge and takes Han Han back to the hall.

CUT TO BLACK

After a moment, you can faintly hear traditional Chinese wedding music coming from outside. A lively emcee begins the announcements; the wedding seems to be going smoothly, with occasional cheers and applause.

CUT TO BLACK

After some time, the door opens,

The Host

…To all our dear friends and family here today, may everything go your way! Eat up, drink up, and have a wonderful time!

We’ve designed this part as an auditory narrative, locking the audience in the room to focus their attention on sound, allowing them to experience a different kind of sensory immersion.

As the host finishes the ceremony with these closing words, the exhausted Bride walks into the lounge. The moment she sees us, she smiles and pats our head:

THE BRIDE

Good dog, good dog.

The Bride strokes your head, then walks straight over to the clothes rack. She quickly notices that the black wedding dress is missing. She slides the hangers back and forth, searching but not finding it, then looks all around the room and still doesn’t see it. Just as she’s about to search somewhere else, her mother comes in.

THE BRIDE Mother

What are you looking for? Don’t bother. I’ve already thrown it away. I really don’t understand — what were you planning to keep it for?

The Bride freezes for a moment when she hears this, then stares at her mother, eyes turning red with tears.

THE BRIDE

You already threw it away and you’re still asking me why? Have you ever actually listened to what I wanted?

THE BRIDE Mother

How could you wear that shabby dress in front of everyone? Have you thought about what people would say when they see you in it?

THE BRIDE

This is my wedding. I just wanted to wear my favorite dress and take one picture. Why do I have to care who’s looking at me? I’ve done everything your way; there isn’t a single part of this that’s what I wanted. All I wanted was to change into it afterwards and take a photo, and you didn’t even ask me — you just threw it out. What do you want me to say now?

We’ve arranged a lot of dialogue here, aiming to present the conflict between the mother and daughter in the most intense way possible. This will increase the dramatic tension and make the atmosphere feel more intense and suspenseful for the audience.

The Bride storms out, slamming the door behind her. Now it’s just you and the Bride’s Mother in the lounge. The Bride’s Mother stands frozen in place, silent. You need to think of a way to help the two of them.

Suddenly you think of an idea. You go to the corner where Mom hid the dress, pick up the black wedding dress in your mouth, and carry it to her feet. She stares at the black dress, stunned.

THE BRIDE Mother

I really didn’t think about how she felt. Let’s go find her together.

The Bride’s Mother leads you out of the lounge and looks around from the doorway, but doesn’t see the Bride anywhere. Where would she go? Then you hear faint sobbing coming from the darkness behind the bright stage. You quickly run over to guide Mom there, and sure enough, the Bride is there.

The Bride Mother hands the black wedding dress to the Bride.

THE BRIDE Mother

I’m sorry, sweetheart. I… I never really thought about how you felt. I kept worrying about all those outside opinions and what people would say. You actually look beautiful in this. I’ve been trying to control everything, thinking I was helping you make it the best, but I forgot that was only what I thought was best. My daughter, you’ve grown up. This is your wedding — it should belong to you.

Although this part is meant to depict the reconciliation between mother and daughter, we’ve currently only described it through dialogue. In the future, we’d like to convey this through more metaphorical scenes or actions, making the story feel more natural.

The Bride takes the dress and hugs her mother.

THE BRIDE

Thank you, Mom.

CUT TO BLACK

The Bride stands in the middle of the crowd wearing the black wedding dress. Mom is holding you on the Bride’s right side.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Everyone, say cheese!

You see the flash of the photographer’s camera once again. You turn back to look at the Bride — she is smiling radiantly, holding her mother tightly in her arms.

The End

After our discussion, we changed the original farewell ending to a reunion ending, so the story can conclude on a happy note. We decided to end with a family photo, symbolizing the closure and reconciliation.

Perspective & Character Color Guide

________________________________________

多多 TOTO (POV, Pug, Pale gray-yellow paws with dark, velvety pads, is able to move / paw / pick with mouth)

晓霞 Xia（The Bride’s Mother）

怡萱/萱萱 Xuan Xuan  (The Bride)

子涵/涵涵 Han Han (The Little Girl)

We’ve reduced the number of characters, focusing on the story of just three characters, making their identities more vivid and specific. Most of the story revolves around Xia and Xuan Xuan, with Han Han serving as a guide, directing the audience to interact with and engage with the work.

FADE FROM BLACK WITH SHAPE OF DOG’S EYES

1/. INT. Bridal shop – DAY

We’ve shortened the story to keep the plot from becoming too complicated. As a result, the bride’s mother now takes over the role of guiding the audience through the interactive tutorial instead of the bride.

You are a dog, raised by the two women you love most — the Bride, and the Bride’s Mother. You look around and see the layout of the fitting area: besides a few fitting rooms, there is also a display pedestal and a large mirror. It seems to be the fitting area of a bridal shop. You hear a woman’s voice.

THE BRIDE’S MOTHER

Toto, come here! Come to me.

You move forward, walking from the fitting room to the sofa. Seeing you come over, the bride’s mother fondly pats your head.

THE BRIDE’S MOTHER

Good dog, good dog. Come on, give me your paw.

Then the Bride’s mother crouches down to play with you, picking up a leftover flower stem from the bouquet-making table and tossing it for you to fetch.

The Bride’s mother throws it onto the floor — you need to pick it up gently in its mouth and bring it back.

The Bride’s mother tosses it into a narrow gap — you first use your paw to pull it out, then pick it up with your mouth and trots back.

The Bride’s mother pets your head.

THE BRIDE’S MOTHER

Good boy. Such a good dog.

We’ve kept the sound of the door opening as a guide, but this time, it’s the fitting room door that creaks. We also make sure the audience’s gaze is directed toward the bride, who has changed into her wedding dress.

SOUND of the CURTAIN OPENING

At this moment, the Bride steps out of the fitting room, having just changed into her wedding dress. She twirls once in front of you.

THE BRIDE

What do you think? Isn’t this black wedding dress beautiful? This is the one I really want.

As the Bride talks, she steps onto the display pedestal and looks at herself in the big mirror of the fitting area, lifting her black skirt and excitedly checking herself from different angles, nodding in satisfaction.

THE BRIDE’S MOTHER

You call that a wedding dress? Who even makes something like this nowadays?

The Bride’s Mother grabs the Bride’s arm, pulling her around, and a little closer, eyes scanning up and down with a frown.

The edge of the dress brushes against you; you startled and steps back.

BRIDE

I searched for so long to find this one. It’s really special — I love it! You know, the design style is—

THE BRIDE’S MOTHER

If you dress like that, what will people think?

BRIDE

I’m not getting married for other people to see.

THE BRIDE’S MOTHER

If not for others to see, then why get married at all?

CUT

The Bride, now changed into a white wedding dress, walks out of the fitting room, looking a little dejected.

2/. INT. VOID – MONTAGE

The Bride’s Mother walks toward you and picks you up.

The Bride, dressed in a white wedding gown, steps onto the display pedestal, facing her mother instead of the mirror.The Bride’s Mother nods in satisfaction.

THE BRIDE’S MOTHER

Now this — this looks like a real bride.

BEGIN 360° VOID  MONTAGE

We are no longer in the dressing room. Everything falls away into a single void: just darkness and a soft-lit circular platform.

From your in the Bride’s Mother’s arms, you stay in the center of this void. All around you. New moments appear as the Bride’s Mother’s turns.

As the Bride’s Mother slowly rotates, a spotlight snaps on over one tableau at a time, bringing it into view. When she turns past it, the light fades, and that tableau sinks back into darkness.

To one side, a dining table materializes in the void, fully set with banquet dishes. The spotlight flares on.

The Bride stands beside this dining table, proudly showing the dishes she has chosen. From you in the Bride’s Mother’s arms, you see the Bride’s Mother raise her hand and point. At her gesture, symbolic dishes appear on the same floating table — pork knuckle, Eight-Treasure Duck — and the total number of dishes shifts from odd to even.

The spotlight fades. Darkness. As the Bride’s Mother turns a little further, another tableau fades up: the Bride holding up her phone in the void, showing off a creative digital wedding invitation. Again, the Bride’s Mother raises her hand and points. The glowing phone in the Bride’s hand transforms into a bright red, physical wedding card.

The spotlight fades. Darkness. The Mother keeps turning. A new lit island appears: the Bride stands beside a pastor, introducing him. Once more, you see the Bride’s Mother point. The pastor blinks out of existence, replaced in the same spot by a lively wedding host, overflowing with flowery, formal phrases.

The spotlight fades. Darkness. Another tableau lights up: speakers and a faint suggestion of a dance floor, hanging in the dark. The Bride is previewing her favorite songs. Yet again, you see the Bride’s Mother point. The soundtrack shifts around you from English pop to traditional Chinese wedding music, rippling through the void.

BACKGOUND MUSIC CHANGE & END 360° VOID MONTAGE

TITLE PAGE IN:

囍宴THE WEDDING

FADE FROM BLACK WITH THE FLASH OF A CAMERA

3/. INT. WEDDING VENUE – DAY

The photographer gets ready to take the photo.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Cheers! Smile! Smile bigger!

The bride’s mother stands behind the photographer, smiling with satisfaction.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Good, good, good, great. The bride looks beautiful and happy!

The photographer checks the photo and gives an “OK” hand gesture.

The Bride immediately lets out a sigh of relief. You see that the bride is wearing the wedding dress her mother chose for her. The Bride looks deflated, rubbing her waist.

After the photo is taken, the Groom puts you down. you see the Groom and Bride standing at the entrance.

At this moment, Han Han and her mother arrive.

THE BRIDE MOTHER

What are you doing? Your aunt is here.

You see the bride and groom quickly rush over to greet them.

The bride hurriedly greets her aunt, and the aunt and the bride exchange pleasantries. The Bride looks at the daughter whom her aunt brought, Han Han.

THE BRIDE

Han Han! You’ve arrived!

Han Han froze for a moment, then quickly hide behind her mother, gripping her mother’s arm, and peeked at the Bride.

THE BRIDE’S MOTHER

(To Han Han)

Why are you so shy? Don’t you recognize Sister Xuan Xuan anymore?

We’ve removed the emotion from the dialogue but kept the ‘To Han Han’ part, as we believe this makes the entire script clearer.

Han Han suddenly turned around, spotted you, and immediately broke free from her mom’s hand, running toward you.

Han Han runs over happily and lifts you into the air, spinning you around. You feel as if you’re flying.

As you spin, the reception hall disappears and the wedding hall appears

4/. INT. WEDDING HALL – DAY

Han Han sets you back down on the ground.

In the wedding hall, everything is red and festive. You are surrounded by balloons. Excited, she picks up the balloon to toss it for you to play with. You bat it back to her with your mouth, tossing the balloon back and forth. While you’re playing, Han Han throws the balloon into the lounge.

The door is half open. Through the crack, you spots a room filled with many balloons. Delighted, You push the door open and get into the lounge.

Door-opening animation, then a quick cut-to-black transition

5/. INT. BRIDE’S LOUNGE – DAY

Han Han follow you, and walks around the lounge. You looks around at the ornate dressing table, all the makeup, jewelry, and accessories laid out, and a large clothes rack holding several different bridal outfits. At the very back, there is also a black wedding dress — you spot the black wedding dress that the Bride loved.

At this moment, the Bride’s Mother pushes the door open and comes in, saying:

THE BRIDE’s MOTHER

Han Han, how did you end up in here? Your mom is looking for you everywhere.

The Bride’s Mother reaches out to pull Han Han back. As Han Han shifts to one side, the Bride’s Mother catches sight of the black wedding dress. You see her get angry; she quickly hides the black dress in a corner of the room, then tells you to stay in the lounge and takes Han Han back to the hall.

CUT TO BLACK

After a moment, you can faintly hear traditional Chinese wedding music coming from outside. A lively emcee begins the announcements; the wedding seems to be going smoothly, with occasional cheers and applause.

CUT TO BLACK

After some time, the door opens.

The Host

…To all our dear friends and family here today, may everything go your way! Eat up, drink up, and have a wonderful time!

As the host finishes the ceremony with these closing words, the exhausted Bride walks into the lounge. The moment she sees us, she smiles and pats our head:

THE BRIDE

Good dog, good dog.

The Bride strokes your head, then walks straight over to the clothes rack. She quickly notices that the black wedding dress is missing. She slides the hangers back and forth, searching but not finding it, then looks all around the room and still doesn’t see it. Just as she’s about to search somewhere else, her mother comes in, followed by Han Han.

THE BRIDE Mother

What are you looking for? Don’t bother. I’ve already thrown it away. I really don’t understand — what were you planning to keep it for?

The Bride freezes for a moment when she hears this, then stares at her mother, eyes turning red with tears.

THE BRIDE

You already threw it away and you’re still asking me why? Have you ever actually listened to what I wanted?

THE BRIDE’S Mother

How could you wear that shabby dress in front of everyone? Have you thought about what people would say when they see you in it?

THE BRIDE

This is my wedding. I just wanted to wear my favorite dress and take one picture. Why do I have to care who’s looking at me? I’ve done everything your way; there isn’t a single part of this that’s what I wanted. All I wanted was to change into it afterwards and take a photo, and you didn’t even ask me — you just threw it out. What do you want me to say now?

The Bride storms out, slamming the door behind her. The Bride’s Mother stands frozen in place, silent. You need to think of a way to help the two of them.

Han Han whispers softly beside you.

HAN HAN

Why can’t I wear the wedding dress?
Isn’t a black wedding dress very beautiful?

This part is designed as a bridge for interaction to prevent the audience from getting stuck. If the audience has already taken action earlier, the following prompt scene will not occur.

(If you don’t take action)
Han Han tries to search the room for the black wedding dress, repeatedly saying

HAN HAN

Where did Auntie hide the wedding dress just now? Where is that black wedding dress?

You can still see the place where the mother just hid the wedding dress (hint).

You go to the corner where the Bride’s Mother hide the dress, pick up the black wedding dress in your mouth, and carry it to her feet. She stares at the black dress, stunned.

THE BRIDE’S Mother

I really didn’t think about how she felt. Let’s go find her together.

The Bride’s Mother leads you out of the lounge and looks around from the doorway, but doesn’t see the Bride anywhere. Where would she go? Then you hear faint sobbing coming from the darkness behind the bright stage. You quickly run over to guide Mom there, and sure enough, the Bride is there.

The Bride Mother hands the black wedding dress to the Bride.

THE BRIDE’S MOTHER

I’m sorry, sweetheart. I… I never really thought about how you felt. I kept worrying about all those outside opinions and what people would say. You actually look beautiful in this. I’ve been trying to control everything, thinking I was helping you make it the best, but I forgot that was only what I thought was best. My daughter, you’ve grown up. This is your wedding — it should belong to you.

The Bride takes the dress and hugs her mother.

THE BRIDE

Thank you, Mom.

CUT TO BLACK

The Bride stands in the middle of the crowd wearing the black wedding dress. Mom is holding you on the Bride’s right side.

THE PHOTOGRAPHER

Everyone, say cheese!

You see the flash of the photographer’s camera once again. You turn back to look at the Bride — she is smiling radiantly, holding her mother tightly in her arms.

The End

We have completed the first version of Scene 1’s spatial planning in XRspace, designed the movement flow, and finalized most of the character and object styles.

Important objects include the dressing room, display stand, and mirror.

The sofa area where the bride and mother have their conversation.

The white wedding dress on the side.

We made slight revisions to the script based on the teacher’s feedback, and have completed the event list based on the current script.

Scene2/ The montage shot is done in a way where the mannequin chases the bride. After the bride excitedly introduces the image of the wedding she envisioned, the mannequin steps forward and erases parts of the image, replacing them with a more traditional style (one that the bride’s mother prefers).

about the dishes

about wedding card

about host and music

We want to show the ongoing conflict between mother and daughter, highlighting how their differing expectations for the life.

From Scene 2 to Scene 3, we designed a new transition to connect the two scenes, bridging the surreal montage space with the real wedding venue.

The scene begins with the bride wearing a black wedding dress in the montage. As her mother says, “Don’t you like it?”, the bride freezes in place and forces a fake smile. With the flash of the photographer’s camera, there’s a brief white screen, and when the image clears, the first thing we see is the bride in the same position, with the same fake smile, but now wearing a white wedding dress. It then becomes clear that this is a wedding photo of her and the groom. Soon after, the photographer and the bride’s mother appear, providing context to the audience about the current event and location. Finally, the audience realizes that the scene they’re watching is of the bride being held in the groom’s arms for the photo.

The bride shows signs of discomfort, revealing that the white wedding dress doesn’t suit her.