Field Report
One ordinary day in a family's house — as seen through the tactical HUD of the cat who's convinced he's in charge of all of it.
The Missions
Seven operations. One day. Escalating chaos and absolute conviction — until the HUD runs out of categories.
Boot Sequence
Black screen. Green terminal text. The harness powers up. Maple opens one eye on the living room couch. Stretches. Deploys.
The Kitchen — Supply Chain
Rob making breakfast. Maple on the counter — scanning pancakes, approving coffee, verifying Max's backpack. Rob tries to move him. Maple does not move. Rob works around him. Dignity intact.
The Pigeon — Hostile Contact
A pigeon lands on the backyard fence. Full tactical overlay — distance markers, wind speed, intercept vectors. Maple crouches. The pigeon leaves on its own. Victory claimed. Paw lick. Never in doubt.
The Mailman — Daily Threat
Window surveillance. Absolute focus. The mailman puts letters in the box and leaves. Maple watches until the truck disappears. One eye stays open. It always does.
The Red Dot — Space Program
Max has a laser pointer. Maple has a space program. Full-speed pursuit. Hardwood slide. The dot goes up the wall. Jump. Miss. Max laughs. The dot vanishes. The wall does not explain itself.
The Vacuum — DEFCON 1
Claire turns on the vacuum. HUD goes red — the only time in the short. Retreat to high ground. The vacuum stops. Maple descends. Walks past it with exaggerated casualness. Nothing happened.
Showing Up
Max comes home quiet. Goes to his room. Just sits. The HUD cycles through categories — [SAD?] [BROKEN?] [UNKNOWN] — and comes up empty. Maple walks in. Sits next to Max. Close. The tactical overlay dims. One readout remains. Max's hand finds him. A crumpled family drawing — cat included, crooked badge on his chest. Mission complete.
The Stinger
Night. The house is dark. Two gold eyes at the top of the stairs. The harness blinks green.
[NIGHT SHIFT: COMMENCING] [PERIMETER: UNPATROLLED]
Full hallway sprint. All four paws off the ground. CRASH. Beat. [INCIDENT: CLASSIFIED]. Black.
Why This Works
A proof of concept that proves the tone, the world, and the emotional core — in six minutes.
Standalone
No knowledge of the feature required. A cat runs ops in a house. Anyone gets it.
Festival-Ready
At ~6 minutes, it fits the standard animated short category. Clean emotional arc. One character. One day.
Clippable
Each mission is a self-contained 45–60 second segment. Any of them can be released independently as social content.
Feature Bridge
Establishes the animation style, the HUD mechanic, the family, and Maple's personality — without spoiling a single plot point.
The full script is written.
Maple: Field Report is a standalone animated short — festival-ready, Kickstarter-ready, and the first thing audiences will see from this world.