Experimental Film Development 2
Once I had my basic ideas, I needed to develop them. I wrote out a basic overview of the narrative and also wrote down my inspirations for different segments of the idea.
The idea originally came from the idea of Plato's cave which I first found out a year or so ago through a School of Life youtube video. I was discussing with my roommate about finding ideas from other materials and concepts and used this theory as an example with a room or box and then thought "wait, thats actually a pretty good idea"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWlUKJIMge4
I decided to use a strong structure for the film, as when the structure began to come out I recalled when i studied All My Sons at A-Level and also 2001 a Space Odyssey and how a structure can be used to create meaning, so i decided to develop this more and make each section more defined.
As I was thinking of Space Odyssey and its use of space/beginning of earth imagery, it then led me to be reminded of the film 'Tree of Life' which also uses iconography of the big bang to show life.
I wanted to use growing and transformative imagery and I thought of how the Tree of Life perfectly captures a freeing and 'pure' tone throughout, which i really liked. As well as this, it used montages to show this.
During this time, I watched a film called 'Mommy' (2014) and the use of aspect ratio in the dream sequence got me thinking about the use of aspect ratio and i never thought of it changing throughout before. The ratio change starts at around 1:00
Usually, aspect ratio is used to link to time due to the advancement of cinema throughout time, however in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Xavier Dolan (the director/writer) said
The use of a small and enclosed aspect ratio can connote the secrecy and confinement, whereas an full screen can connote freedom. By having the aspect ratio change, i feel it would make the audience aware of this as it's usually something you wouldn't think twice about.
Another one of my inspirations was a film called 'Suspiria' (1977). I wasn't heavily influenced by it, however i think it caused me to think more about colour and sound. Sound especially as I really liked it's use of lack of sound in some places to contrast with the heavy use of sound that it also used.
The film 'Walkabout' and 'La Jetee' also are inspirations with the use of images/freezeframes, and Walkabout's use of anchored imagery.
after a tutorial with Anne, she suggested that the ending could be a cliche route, which i also agreed with as I never really felt it was 100% right, so i had a brainstorm:
ideas for other than a flower:
room w a view book
another/the same box?
photo of a painting? - birth of venus (what lucy has in room w a view)
small jewellery box - open then end
key? - maybe suggesting key to 'underworld' - red key?
look at nothing?
new beginning: phoenix-feather?ashes?
leave it open? don't show what theyre looking at?
mirror?
flower could also represent persephone being abducted into the underworld. sound of ground opening up when the screen goes black?
I wanted to think of something that linked and worked with the idea of this base world/nature and in the end, I decided upon an ending.
The idea originally came from the idea of Plato's cave which I first found out a year or so ago through a School of Life youtube video. I was discussing with my roommate about finding ideas from other materials and concepts and used this theory as an example with a room or box and then thought "wait, thats actually a pretty good idea"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWlUKJIMge4
I decided to use a strong structure for the film, as when the structure began to come out I recalled when i studied All My Sons at A-Level and also 2001 a Space Odyssey and how a structure can be used to create meaning, so i decided to develop this more and make each section more defined.
As I was thinking of Space Odyssey and its use of space/beginning of earth imagery, it then led me to be reminded of the film 'Tree of Life' which also uses iconography of the big bang to show life.
I wanted to use growing and transformative imagery and I thought of how the Tree of Life perfectly captures a freeing and 'pure' tone throughout, which i really liked. As well as this, it used montages to show this.
During this time, I watched a film called 'Mommy' (2014) and the use of aspect ratio in the dream sequence got me thinking about the use of aspect ratio and i never thought of it changing throughout before. The ratio change starts at around 1:00
Usually, aspect ratio is used to link to time due to the advancement of cinema throughout time, however in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Xavier Dolan (the director/writer) said
"I know a lot of people are saying, 'Oh, 1:1, how pretentious,'' admits Dolan. "But for me, it seems a more humble and private format, a little more fitting to these lives we're diving into."I found it interesting how aspect ratio could be used to convey emotion through the contrast of privacy vs exposure. For example, the use of the expanding aspect ratio in this scene shows how the mother is seeing outside the box, at something unrealistic she conjured in her head to fill the empty gap of the future.
The use of a small and enclosed aspect ratio can connote the secrecy and confinement, whereas an full screen can connote freedom. By having the aspect ratio change, i feel it would make the audience aware of this as it's usually something you wouldn't think twice about.
Another one of my inspirations was a film called 'Suspiria' (1977). I wasn't heavily influenced by it, however i think it caused me to think more about colour and sound. Sound especially as I really liked it's use of lack of sound in some places to contrast with the heavy use of sound that it also used.
The film 'Walkabout' and 'La Jetee' also are inspirations with the use of images/freezeframes, and Walkabout's use of anchored imagery.
I split each part of the film onto separate pages to sort out the arrangement as a lot of it is B-roll, so it would be difficult to write out a script. By doing this, it helped me be able to visualise the whole timeline.
I then split all the shot ideas from the segments into filming locations so I would know what I needed to film and where.
after a tutorial with Anne, she suggested that the ending could be a cliche route, which i also agreed with as I never really felt it was 100% right, so i had a brainstorm:
ideas for other than a flower:
room w a view book
another/the same box?
photo of a painting? - birth of venus (what lucy has in room w a view)
small jewellery box - open then end
key? - maybe suggesting key to 'underworld' - red key?
look at nothing?
new beginning: phoenix-feather?ashes?
leave it open? don't show what theyre looking at?
mirror?
flower could also represent persephone being abducted into the underworld. sound of ground opening up when the screen goes black?
I wanted to think of something that linked and worked with the idea of this base world/nature and in the end, I decided upon an ending.
Filming went well and i'm hoping it all works out while editing
Comments
Post a Comment