Thesis Ideation pt.2

Some notes on film-making:

• texture: what can it bring to the scene? Chaos v. harmony - rough v. smooth

• cuts:

-> Match movement/follow movement

-> Match content/match shape/composition

-> Match sound

• purpose for long shots: why have them, what will it mean or suggest?

• Why should there be little movement or vice versa? What will it infer?

• Follow the character with the camera; what will the effect be? Intimacy, intrigue, or suspicion?

Linear and Non-linear Story Thumbnails

Logline:

Outside is cold, but inside isn't any warmer.

Study on Genre

It's been a little hard to identify the genre for my thesis, but I'm thinking it's gonna end up being some kind of "light" noir, if you will. I find it has a lot in common with what I'm going for. Noirs typically have/evoke:

• sense of melancholy

• loneliness

• mystery

• disillusionment

• alienation

• ambiguity

• guilt

• cynicism

All of these descriptions fit for the most part, but I'm starting to dislike the heavier tones, which contrasts with typical noir films, which is why I'm calling it "light." I think my film could also be classified as psychological, since it explores the deeper parts of human thought.

• emphasis on mentality

• rather would show than tell

• stream of consciousness

• interior monologues

• symbolism

I made a wall of words to help with this and my logline.

Afterwards I narrowed down the words that I felt fit the most

I also thought about some cinematic references that could relate to what I'm working on:

• ending of Bade Runner (a favorite of mine if you know me) for the emotion and imagery

• The Red Turtle - has this sense of loneliness in the beginning which matches my idea. Has some really compelling scene layout despite there being only a few shapes/objects. Sense of scale is also impressive and good for reference.

• Rabbit's Blood - a favorite short of mine that I subconsciously reference all the time. The mystery and slight incongruity are interesting. The difference between movement and stillness is also intriguing. For the most part everything stays still, and when something does move, it moves alone and violently.

• Negative Space - another short film. The color palette is about the same as what I want, just darker. The scene changes are always linked with an image or object from the previous, and hard cuts are few. Movements are small but meaningful. The VO is written and paced well. I honestly love everything about this short, especially the ending when the VO says a witty last line.

• Airplane pt.2 - seems like a silly reference but I love the editing. Motion and gesture travel from one scene to the next, quite suddenly most times which creates a sense of energy with little effort. Music helps too.

• No Country for Old Men - solely for the sound design, which lacks any kind of ambient noise. I love how emotions and tension can still be built without using music - just imagery and virtual silence.

Here are some more concrete character sketches

And the poem I'm working on that will be the eventual VO. I still have to tweak it, since the tone is way heavier than what I want now.

It’s always winter inside my mind

Cold and empty, like a void of some kind

A ceiling of clouds the sun hides behind

Grey and damp and leaking with lies.

I’m consumed by vices; jealousy, greed

Judge of corruption, breeder of weeds

Addicted to what isn’t, to the life I’ll never lead

Feeding off the loss of what will or won’t ever be.

My soul is weak; the fissure in this house grows

The windows are broken, the walls molded stone

I weep as a specter - eyes sunken, skin taut

Fated to grieve for the life I have wrought.

I took a lot inspiration from T.S. Elliot and Edgar Allen Poe.