Friday, 10 January 2014


Introduction

This post is dedicated to further story ideas and development for my 4 minute film. These are likely to change however all changes I make will be shown in other blog posts!

General Story ideas

After coming up with the basics for my story, I thought it would be effective if I were to make the plot seem mysterious yet intervening. I am planning to make it unknown as to why the character is stressed, and mainly what it is he is going to get. So basically, the audience don't find out that the student is collecting results until he actually goes to go them. This keeps the audience engaged as well as being enigmatic as they want to find out what it is he is getting, and why he feels trapped. Nevertheless, there will be some subtle elements I will use to hint towards it, which I will be discussing about below.

Additionally, this idea of creating a hidden plot allows me to create an emphasis on the theme and mood of my story - freedom and entrapment. The story must show consistent elements of this opposition. For example, showing the character is 'trapped' however showing signs of freedom within shots before the story reaches its climax (the student reading his results and becoming 'free'). Therefore in general, these oppositions must be clearly shown, however the plot of the story must remain hidden to make the climax seem more effective.

Themes and 'entrapment'

One of the ideas I thought of for a theme would be the idea of 'entrapment'. I plan to make the audience and the story seem really tight and 'trapped' - this will help to show the realism of student's nerves as they wait for their results. As a director, I want to create an opposition between entrapment and freedom, which of course freedom wins at the end of the story once the student receives his results. This theme MUST be emphasised and reinforced frequently throughout the story.

Leading on, how can I show this sense of entrapment? Here I came up with a few ideas which can show this as a director:

     - Use of camera: It could be hand-held with some sharp movement. The camera could always show
       dynamic composition - making each shot seem unbalanced and 'awkward', like in the film 1974 
       which I spoke about in a previous post. It must make the audience feel that there is tension and
       stress within the story where the camera is used to intensify the shot, making the audience almost
       feel uncomfortable.

     - Mise-en-scene: The general mise-en-scene could show the character's room to be messy - this is  
       because the character is stressed and anxious, so the cleanliness of his room isn't an issue.
       Additionally, this and props could be used in a subtle manor to show conventions of school and  
       being a student, suggesting hints as to what my character is so 'trapped' about. For example, by
       showing school books on the floor, essays, pencil case, etc. Anything which links with school and    
       exams, but shown in a subtle manor so that the audience gain ideas and thoughts on what the story
       is about.

     - Character: The student himself can generally be portrayed to look concerned and anxious about
       something. As if there is something on the mind - this can be shown through Non Verbal
       Communication (i.e. facial expressions) which should work to make the audience learn that there is
       something worrying the character.

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