help sheets (c)

How to outline a short story.

• protagonist name and description - as it is not vital that she has a name I'm calling her the sleepless woman at the moment, she has pale skin, dark almost black hair, and dark eyes. Her complexion should look slightly worn down, for example bags under her eyes.
• What she wants to achieve - she finally wants to be able to have a good night sleep so she can function.
• what happens at the climax - I think I'm gonna use the Mr sleep scene as the climax as it will be the only time she talks throughout the film, this will also focus on trying to figure out what she's thinking and who/what she is actually talking about. Here she will hopefully lead the audience astray in who she is missing. This will also focus on the dynamic between the two characters.
• What happens at the end - i think that the ending will conclude on maybe a close up of her bedroom door, the lighting is warm and yellow/orange representing sun-light. This will be a new day and will show that she has finally been to sleep.
• where is it - I want to set this either only in one house or if i can only in her bedroom, that way there will be a feeling of being trapped and the setting will focus on aspects of sleeping.
• When - it will be modern day but the style will be that of a detective film noir, this will also only be done at night, once again to emphasise sleep. I think Mr Sleep will be bought in in the Mr sleep scene but The sleepless woman will always be there.
• Why - I want my scenes to not have a linear narrative or more accurately a narrative order as i want to simulate the state of being sleep-deprived when you can not fully understand what is happening and days seem to pass by while you're still like a zombie and can't function. I want the protagonist to act in a romantic way to sleep to not only catch the audience off guard but to also show her desperation in trying to get to sleep,  by acting almost like he is a physical person and she is seducing him i can really exaggerate her need for sleep and the impact its having on her. For example as if she's missing a lover and wants them back. This, i think, will really drive home the feeling of insomnia.

film selection notes for coursework. (C)

High maintenance - 9 mins

• Opposite ends of table - visible distance 
• exaggerated sounds chewing and drinking, exaggerates silence and feeling of emptiness.
• Constant reference to technology; computer analysis, robots.
• loneliness and not satisfied; people are easy to replace, same problems no matter the person.
• she's a robot too; loss of connection, no love just loneliness.

Ways I will use this:

• Themes of loneliness and loss of connection 
•  

Swimmer - 18 mins

• black and white  
• constant increase in beating of drums.
• stone, paper, scissors
• several long takes of plants in water
• almost church-esque music in background 
• water looks like a black abyss 
• speech sounds like its on a radio
• from a different time - child in goggles similar to 1940?
• radio transmission fades away as swimmer is shown 
• slow mo of swimmer 
• child dressed as animals - hunting? - where the wild things are
• film noir - lighting - chiaroscuro 
• fairground - marks on back and face - blood? - alarms (police)
• swimming is reversed - running away from police
• longshot- swimming farther into sea - no civilisation - in middle of sea - goes under
• credit scene is mirrored 

Ways I will use this:

• use of long takes - mimic melancholy and tiredness 
• narration and voice-over - mimic the film noir style and detective style 
• use of chiaroscuro 
• 
  

Meshes of the Afternoon - 14 mins

• female director
• mirror face - male gaze - man is mirror - she only sees what he sees in her (her looks)
• constant repetition of bonjos, setting and movement (chasing herself)
• Key in mouth - escape inner turmoil - lock away whats going on inside 
• black clothing, key turns into knife - funeral and only escape is kill what she's thinking??
• takes key but it goes back to the table - can't escape 
• Murdered with mirror - he's killing her, male gaze is killing her 
• the location is the mind 

Ways I will use this:

• lack of linear narrative
• psychological ideology 

Stutterer - 12 mins  .

• narration - phone call, inside head.
• close up of mouth - main focus on movements and words.
• sign language - emphasises desperation in not wanting to talk
• repetition of words in mind
• Jeremy Kyle - about communication with "his son", use of background diegetic sound.
• lots of shots where he stares into the camera 
• rubs throat - as if to prepare to talk
• Layering sentences - shows state of mind
• Typography - life revolves around words and communication 
• all forms of communication : typography, tv, facebook, books, sign language
• jumpcuts and fade to black - mimics stuttering.

Ways I will use this: 

• use of background objects to tell a story - focus on one thing instead of the linear storyline.

La Jetée

• montage of images - told like a storybook.
• photos are memories - circular plot
• one moving scene - woman blinks, question if its real, not all photos show memories.
• Voice-over with subtitles (both diegetic and non-diegetic at times)

Ways I will use this:

•  Questioning the plot (is he real?)
• Non-linear plot.

Fallen Angel

• sudden changes to black and white
• Neon lights are layered - image doubled and smudged 
• everything takes place at night
• repetition of scenes

Ways I will use this:

• Repetition and continuation of scenes, kitchen, mr sleep.
• link to text on screen 
• layering/smudging of calendar

Tropes of Film Noir and detective style

• minor things reveal major plot
• femme fatale 
• smoke / smoking
• cynical attitudes & sexual motivations 
• moody atmosphere
• chiaroscuro 
• voice-overs & monologue 
• themes of existentialism 
• themes of alienation 
• dark and claustrophobic 

Screenplay basic ideas and scenes (C)

introduction;

• lying on a pink silk bedsheet, only see her lips - close up.

Kitchen;

• in the kitchen - she drinks coffee and watches him from the other side (female gaze), there is a visible distance between the two, in the background there are several coffee cups and a calendar with several red crosses and a moon to symbolise lack of sleep.
• chiaroscuro focusing on eyes and the mind.
• sleepless nights, cold blue lighting on her, camera gets closer and closer, extreme close up, suffocating, jerks head to the right, romantic pink lighting on the mannequin.
• include items that have to do with sleep. (dream catchers??)
• romantic pink lighting, shadows on the wall, narration recalls a night with Mr Sleep, almost like she's longing for a lover.
• long shots that seem to drag - almost dreamlike or like you're half awake. ( dragging the shutter)
• combination of sudden movements? - restlessness.
• ideally want mix of passive and active spectatorship

Mr Sleep scene:

• narration throughout the whole scene about meeting someone, let her smoke and drink and then took her home and put her to bed.
• walks onto scene with a drink and a cigarette and stand opposite the mannequin, she is wearing a long black dress and the mannequin wears a black coat.
• as the narration goes on she gets closer to the mannequin - keeps long angle shot and pink lighting, filmed from the side so their shadows are larger and displayed on the wall behind them.
• switch to a close up of her own arm through the jacket caressing her.
• back to long angle shot, reaches the mannequin and throws her arms around the "neck"
• switch to an extreme close up of her mouth smiling against the mannequins face. 
• low Jazz is playing throughout the scene, like detective style.
• switch to a close up of her sleeping on a silk sheet
• an extreme close up of the camera panning down the side of her face 
• back to the scene where she is being caressed by her hand. 
• the narrative ends.

technical: 

• pink lighting - wrap a pink piece of plastic round or place in front of a light to get this effect, it should look dreamy and romanticised.
• blue lighting - achieve this through the same method using plastic, this should have the opposite effect and make it colder and hopefully create an effect of loneliness and solitude.
• the entire set will remain in one house, or perhaps remain in the bedroom so that it emphasises that's woman life revolves around sleep, the fact that the blanket will be pink will also exaggerate that romanticism of sleep.
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