1. Film Statement
My film, working title, Come Out and Play Shadow, is a narrative about a guy who gets stranded in a desolate rural area and his encounters with the odd strangers he meets on his journey to find help. His journey ends ends with a strange twist involving the paranormal. This film will probally run around 8 minutes and will be intended for a general audience.
2. Overview
In my film, I am playing with the concept of the inner "shadow" a concept developed by Swiss psychiatrist, Dr. Carl G. Jung. The "shadow" is the dark rejected aspects of our character, in other words the "beast within." The "shadow" lies in EVERYONE, repressed deep in the unconscious, some just acknowledge their's more. If one does not ever let their "shadow" come out, it will surface on its own. I think that it will be interesting to play with this idea in my film becuase it is a good way to show the ruthlessness of the human race, and a good reason to make characters do unexpected things.
I think my film should be made becuase it will be interesting to see the character's moving through the desolate landscape and the random irrational actions that take place. All the character's "shadows" will surface unexpectedly at sometime in the film, and their transformations will be shown through their abrubt and violent actions. I plan on making the story as unpredictable as I possibly can and creating a contrast in as many aspects as I can think of.
3. Approach, Form and Style
I will use the character's attitutudes and actions to show if thier "shadow" coming out or if they are hiding it. At the beginning, when the girl driving kicks the guy out she has a smile on her face when she tells him "Get the fuck out." This shows that her "shadow" is coming out but she does not know it. She makes him get out for an unknown reason, and leaves him stranded out in the middle of nowhere, therefore creating a conflict for the guy. He is forced to walk, not knowing which way to go. He shows no emotion when forced to get out of the car and while walking aimlessly. As he is walks looking for help, he encounters a strange guy standing in a field staring into the distance. The stranded guy calls to the guy in the field, hoping he can help him, but he gets no answer and no acknowledgement. Suddenly, the guy in the field turns around and stares at the stranded guy, still not speaking. They stare at one another for a while and the stranded guy walks off. The guy in the field follows behind the stranded guy.
After walking for quite some time, they encounter a girl alone in the distance spinning circles in the middle of the road. The guy from the field hides in the bushes when he sees her. This shows that he never lets his "shadow" come out, therefore he is weak and easily manipulated, which makes him afraid of the srange girl. The stranded guy walks toward the girl and when he gets near she stops spinning and jumps toward him. She grabs up some rocks and throws them at him and then runs off into the distance. This was her "shadow" at work. The stranded guy continues on still followed by the guy from the field and eventually encounter the girl again, but this time she is beating a random object with a stick. Both guys take the same action as when they previously met with her. This time when the stranded guy walks up to her she stops beating the object and stares him. She then smiles and introduces herself and tells him she can help him. This represents her "shadow" going into hiding.
The next scene they are all in the woods and the stranded guy sits at a table eating a bowl of soup while the guy from the field and the girl calmly stare at him. Suddenly the girl's "shadow" surfaces again, the girl jumps up and punches the stranded guy in the nose. The stranded guy sits back up to the table as if nothing happened and continues eating his soup, which he is bleeding in. This shows that he also is not in touch with his "shadow." As if instantly the "shadow" went away in the girl, she walks over and hugs the stranded guy. The guy from the field jumps up and tries to kill the girl but she disappears. The stranded guy then grabs the guy from the field by his throat and strangles him to death. His "shadow" has finally come out, somehow influenced by the girl. He sits back down and calmly finishes his bloody soup and continues on his journey.
As he walks he sees the girl walk past him several times but now she is a ghost. He continues on and comes to an isolated house, which he enters like he owns. Inside he finds the girl that kicked him out of the car in the begining and she is tied up. He runs over to her and acts as if he is happy to see her and concerned about her. He then grabs her by the head and begins to beat it against the wall. As he brutally kills the driver girl, the ghost of the spinning girl watches with a smile. After the murder he gets on his knees as if to propose to the ghost girl and suddenly kills himself so he can be with her. The next scene is him as a ghost wandering through the desolate area yelling for the ghost girl. The final scene is the spinning ghost girl and the driver girl as a ghost holding hands and dancing.
4. Audience, Distrubuting and Marketing
This film is intended for a general audience who likes suspenseful, narratives. I think anyone who watches this will be disturbed, if only slightly. I want any viwer who sees this to think about the cruelness of humanity. This film could get to my audience by the internet, by me handing out DVD's or at a gallery or auditorium.
6 comments:
One thing that might be important for the viewer would be the sense of birth. Since much of this leans towards lost and identity, death and misfortune, a simple cue that birth is evident will push contrast perhaps, maybe or not.If thats important or not you'll have to decide.
This is a lot more linear than the ideas from yesterday and well thought out. It's also easy to follow. I think the suspense that you're trying to get will come out naturally when recorded. Guy alone in the middle of nowhere, and sporadic behavior from himself and others will cause some shock. I know this is intended for the general audiences, but would it be appropriate for those of a young age?
This is going to be a very complicated and involved shoot, but if you can pull it off, it could very potentially be interesting. One thing I'll mention, just to say something, is to consider what could be done by editing this story out-of-sequence. If you break up the linear narrative an shift the action forward and backward along the timeline, could even more interesting revelations be made to the audience?
The ideas and approach here are definite, and may very well benefit from something radical going on within the film, whether its the out of sequence storyline or the advent of a birth, something should be introduced here that turns the filmmaking "on it's head"
I think this video sounds more along the lines of absurd. I think the stranded guy turning out to be crazier that the crazy people is a nice twist. I'm not sure about the two ghost girls dancing at the end though. That part sounds a little cheesy.
It does seem to be a complicated shoot. No problem to pull off though. I am wondering about the sound effects and how they will influence the film.
I had a girlfriend once and as we got in a fight driving down the road I took her to Mississippi told her to get the fuck out in a KMART parking lot. I drove back to Memphis and never saw her again.
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