Experimental Film Pre Production Pack--- Experimental Media

Experimental Media

Optimism 

Title: Candlelight

Duration: 2-5 minutes

Synopsis 

An experimental film based on the idea of expressionism tells a story of a person who walks through a street in the gloomy weather believing that people are talking about him, but that might just be his thought. What you see is not always the reality. 

Story

A story about a person our main character walking on the street while his surrounding is blurred out slightly. The atmosphere is dark but not entirely as the main character slowly walks across the street and when he looks around he sees blurred-out figures but hears people mumbling something that he believes that they were talking about him while the background sound symbolizes fear or pessimism. 

 

Then our main character will continue walking until he thinks someone is following him he starts running and finds himself at a dead end of a building, he looks ahead and there is a door waiting to be opened. The door is unlocked so he proceeds to open it only to see a candle flame, he enters the building holds the candle and blows it out. Then he looks behind him and bright light falls on his face and he starts walking towards it. This gives him a realization that not everything should be considered his fault and then the screen turns dark and a message shows. “Not everything is your fault, be optimistic for a new beginning” 

Film Treatment 

For the research of the theme and idea generation, I watched two German Films based on the concept of expressionism. These films were Hinterland and Deadly Maria. The film idea that I have come up with for the assignment is different but I was inspired by the ways a few of the shots were done in the films I watched and i will try my best to implement those techniques in my assignment.

 

Although the theme of the assignment is Optimism, I have decided to first show the negativity behind it. The idea behind my film is that there is always a chance you are not at fault so you should not be considering yourself the target. My film will be based on the concept of expressionism and I will show the symbolism through visuals and sound design. 

 

I have taken some inspiration for expressionism from the films I have seen. I will be the director and will have 1 actor and will manage everything. The idea behind the whole concept is based on my experience with being optimistic and not worrying about others' perspectives of myself. 

 

The visuals I want to show in the film are 

Film Structure 

The film will begin with an establishing shot of the main character's stepping into the frame and standing on a street from a distance. Then I’ll show him looking around to figure out where he is, there will be a shot of the blurred-out landscape and as the main character walks around the street which will be shown through a medium-long shot a blurred-out shot will show people talking. 

 

A close-up shot of his side profile will symbolize that he is listening to them thinking they are talking about him. He will then walk ahead before hearing footsteps and looking behind him to see a blurred figure walking and he will feel as if he is being followed. This will be shown through the medium shot. He starts running away from the figure. 

 

The shot of him arriving at a building will be shown through a long shot and the back of his head will be shown as he faces the door. He will then hold the doorknob with his right hand which will be shown through close-up. 

 

The shot of the candle in the darkness will be shown through a high-angle shot. Our main character will then blow out the candle which will be shown through the close-up shot. Then the light will be shown falling on him as he looks towards the direction of the light is coming from and smiles. The film will end with a voice-over and a quote.

 Mood Board

Story Board