Idea 1 -
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Idea 2 -
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Idea 3 -
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Idea 1 - Pro's and Con'sPRO'S -
- The message of change can and will be able to interpret in multiple ways. - On account of it being an anthology with different characters and stories, it can be compartmentalised and tackled as four separate, shorter projects that slot into one larger film. - Each story will give me a chance to mix up styles, tone, theme and dialogue, speaking to a larger range of my filmmaking capabilities. CONS - - At least four actors are needed and each one shows up at the end of one's story as the film progresses, which may complicate scheduling - All the scenery is very suburban which I'm worried may hinder the visual diversity of the mise en scene of the stories being told. - The mix of genre's and directing styles I want to emulate require a substantial amount of research, but necessary and plausible at that. |
Idea 2 - Pro's and Con'sPRO'S -
- No dialogue which allows me to focus on the imagery and symbolism behind the cinematography. - The inclusion of change is undeniable and quite unique when paired with the story. - Has a real chance to horrify audiences with some disturbing imagery and interesting sound design. CON'S - - Heavily reliant on prosthetics and miniatures. While these are both elements of filmmaking I've wanted to play with for a long time, and elements of filmmaking undertaken by people I have contacts for, this almost seems like too big a leap for someone whose inexperienced in this area. - While mostly exterior daytime shoots, the location of wide stretching plains would be hard to come by. - I want to make a layered, complex film and the premise of this story doesn't really allow me to do that. |
Idea 3 - Pro's and Con'sPRO'S -
- Focuses on philosophical conflict between two, closely connected people drifting apart, which makes it very personal. - Will showcase the style of filmmaking a have now through an exuberant, western lens, allowing me to play around with the camera in a highly stylised way. - Will have some really effective and compelling dialogue that not only speaks to the character's ideals, but the western genre itself. CON'S - Very unique location that would be hard to find and impossible to water down for the sake of budget and simplicity. While it could work without the small mining camp scenery, it would service the story better if it was a prominent part of the film. - The message of change is perhaps too far in the backdrop of the story. Someone would really have to dig to find that meaning. - Would probably entail the need for some extras that I simply don't have the contacts, or the wardrobe available for. |
Likelihood = Very High |
Likelihood = Mid-low |
Likelihood = Very Low |
STORY 1 - The Dinner |
STORY 2 - The Uber |
We open on the object, sat neatly upon a dining room, a news broadcast on the radio deafening the room. A plate is placed on the table-top in front of it, another on the opposite side of the table. The Mercenary walks past and turns off the radio before pulling his chair out and sitting down. He acknowledges the blood he has smothered on his fists, but shrugs it off. He strangely talks to the object as if he were making conversation with a real person. He tells the object to eat before his cousins arrive, proceeding to argue with it. The Mercenary looks fed up, as he hears the sound of someone breaking down his door, he walks out onto the landing and threatens the man who's just broken into his home. We hear a gunshot and see a muzzle flash through the door, before a Gangster wonders into the room, puts his gun away, straightens his fedora and picks up the object before leaving again.
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The Gangster exits The Mercenary's home and calls an Uber and begins to stroll away. We meet him again at an undisclosed location where he gets into the car, sits in the back seat and tells The Driver to take him across town. The Driver ignores him and instead, tries to make smalltalk about the object, its purpose and value, gradually becoming more intrusive and creepy. The Gangster pokes back at him, simply warning him not to mess him around, and The Driver reciprocates these threats. As the tension peaks, The Driver exits, drags the gangster out of the car and brawls with him, the object stumbles out onto the ground. The next morning, it is still there, lying on the pavement. A young woman approaches and looks at it oddly, like she's thinking, but with a strange, sensual undertone.
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STORY 3 - The Photoshoot |
STORY 4 - The Execution |
We cut to her taking photos of the object with her inside her own home. She then sits it on her desk and forgets about it for weeks as we jump cut to each day that passes by as she looks more tired and deteriorated each day. She's lying down at one point, when she feels harsh stabbing pain in her chest. She stands up and remains still, hoping it'll pass. As the pain gets harsher and harsher, she looks over to the object, like she's made a connection between the two, before she drops to the floor and goes into shock. A number of days later, a Preacher comes sniffing around to find the young woman dead on her living room floor. He inspects her body and the room to look for the cause of death and sets his eyes on the object. He gazes at it.
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The Preacher stands in on an open pasture in the middle of nowhere, with only a tree in sight. object is sat on the roots as The Preacher begins to speak to it as if he was spearheading an execution. He has a large monologue in which he madly chastises and outlines his old-fashioned beliefs in a very rambunctious, crazy manner before he pulls out a pistol on the object and prepares to fire. Before he can, he is interrupted by The Mercenary from the first story, who has managed to track it down. He wastes no time and shoots The Preacher, snatching the object from the tree and wondering across the grass.
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The Ring -
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"Rosebud" -
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The Briefcase -
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The Falcon Statuette -
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The Ark of the Covenant -
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The single largest contributing factor to my project. My film deals in duality in much the same way as Blue Velvet, has Lynchian character archetypes and maintains a consistent, David Lynch synonymous tone, glorified by similar production design, use of colour to convey meaning and Bobby Vinton's classic song "Blue Velvet", used as an allegory for the bear's appearance.
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My film will be lit and colour graded very similarly to Drive, cashing greens and oranges to evoke atmosphere and to establish colour as an important part of the film's subtext. Ryan Gosling's character also bites down on a toothpick to express emotion in a handful of scenes, and I will be taking this and applying the same principle to the character of The Mercenary.
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The sensational score by Neil Young is an enormous inspiration to my film's soundtrack. It will use electric guitars, repeated motifs and bombastic notes to convey a more contemporary western feel. I am also taking a handful of shot compositions from William and Thelm's scene in the bedroom and using them in the first scene to wordlessly convey feeling and atmosphere, continuing to the bear as an inanimate object.
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I will be taking cues from the structure, how it breaks into an anthology and applying it to my project. I will be blocking and framing the opening Dinner scene in my film the same way Wes frames the dinner scene in the third story. Using the 4:3 aspect ratio the same way its used in The French Dispatch - to centre characters and objects, presenting them as the metaphorical centre of the story, especially the bear, having it's presence crowd the screen.
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Taking inspiration from how Tarantino writes his scenes, using subtext, pulpy dialogue and crude, unabashed attitudes. I will also be replicating the multiple shots of the opened Briefcase shining on the characters' faces with the bear and The Mercenary in the final scene.
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Compiling outfits worn by Jack Nicholson's character into one costume, worn by The Gangster, with a fedora and a pinstriped suit. At one point, Jack Nicholson wears, both sunglasses and a massive bandage across his nose, which I will use as wardrobe for The Mercenary, using costume to lend some context as to both himself and the bear's previous altercation/s.
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