Pre-Production: Idea 2 - One Week Later
Pitch
"Recently widowed wife struggles with grief after husband is killed during their honeymoon, however even after death she continues to see him as she refuses to come to terms with his demise"
Inspiration
This idea had been developed during the later stages of summer. A relatively new idea in comparison to the other ideas, however a strong one which can achieve the brief set for the 3rd year major project.
Toying with the idea of a psychological drama, Harry and I knew we wanted to create something of this genre. The thing for us to do was to find a good story that was not too complex to create but allowed us to be creative to play with, to make a visual experience along with an engaging story.
This idea can achieve both of those things and fit within the brief as a standalone 20 minute film. The story of 'One Week Later' (working title) centers around grief, in particularly an unhealthy was one woman deals with grief following the traumatic loss of her recently married husband during their honeymoon.
I found this idea interesting as their are so many different possibilities for the story to develop. Psychological dramas allows the Writer/Director/DOP to think outside the box, allowing for experimental ways of filming and telling the story.
I was inspired by a number of different sources when developing this idea, which can be see below. By which the common theme is death and the ways it is portrayed within different mediums. Also toying with life after death through the form of ghosts and spirits, which opens up the genre of physiological drama combined with grief to a number of new opportunities through writing and filming.
Just Jack - "The Day I Died"
Just Jack's "The Day I Died" song and music video follows the story of a man (James Nesbitt) who lives out the final day of his life before being fatally injured when hit by a car. The song is a monologue that his final day was the best day of his life, describing how everything was going his way.
Research into this mainly consists of how the music video is constructed and how the narrative of the song works so well in conjunction with the visual narrative. I'll be looking into how it effectively creates a realistic story-line with a narrative that makes the audience feel for the character and his family. I'll be looking into how his death is creatively shot as something he was destined for in the day with an emphasis on fate.
https://vimeo.com/31965093
Sixth Sense
This famous twist film will be one of the films i research into for effective narrative. Looking into this film and the way its constructed so that the big twist is a complete shock to the audience and how it is able achieve that.
Twists are important as they provide 'moments' something that i am very much looking to achieve within this film. In order to do this however i must research into how the best twist films ever made have done it and why they worked. I'll be looking into this, Usual Suspects and more.
Psycho
Within the Hitchcock classic, I'll be researching the way the narrative structure of the twist and the character of Norman Bates, looking into depth with his complicated and conflicted character. By doing this I will help me get valuable insight into how to write a certain type of disturbed character.
By looking at Norman Bates and his perception of his mother throughout the story if could provide interesting developments into my own character and her psychological troubles with grief. Not only will it provide interesting character development or potential plot development but it will also allow me to look into successful examples that have been created and allow me to draw inspiration from not only Psycho but other sources to ensure characters, the script and and filming is thought about in the most detail possible to create the best film possible.
Sin City 2
When looking into Sin City I was inspired by a certain scene in which Bruce Willis' character looks over Jessica Alba's character as she starts to loose control over of herself as she looks to seek revenge on the Mayor of Sin City.
In particular i was inspired by this scene due to the guardian like role Bruce Willis' character takes even after passing as he is clearly still in her imagination but not really there. Giving an insight to her mindset this is something i am looking to explore within our film. The way this is done through character positioning and dialogue works, and is something as a theme, i will be looking to create a similar style as the husband is present in the imagination of my main character.
When researching Sin City 2 i'll be mainly looking at this scene and examples from other films that perform this well to accurately shoot the style for myself and see if it could be used within our on film.
Development
Character Bio - (Working Name - Wife)
Research
Death and Grief
In order to correctly write this story I need to make sure I know what I'm writing about. While grief is something unfortunately everyone has to go through eventually its important for me to research this thoroughly, in order to correctly represent those emotions when writing and getting into the mind of the characters.
By researching I will be looking at the healthy and unhealthy ways different people cope with death and grief. This means looking at different religions to see interpretations of life after death, looking into how different people deal with the emotions around it. Also while researching this looking into psychology, through research of how the mind works when dealing with such deeply emotional times.
Mental Health
Research into mental health will look at our main character. Research focusing particularly on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) along side grief. By doing this we can have a better idea of the character's mindset when dealing with such a traumatic time and what could be the extent of her trauma.
By researching this we are able to delve deep into the characters mind and better understand the way in which PTSD, grief and memory loss affects people mentally. In turn we can write the character correctly knowing through science, psychology and case studies just what could be happening within her mind at such a traumatic time. This research helps us develop the film further and further by giving us context and understanding of our own character.
Psychological Drama
Primarily genre research, I plan to look deep into what makes a gripping psychological drama. Through film, television and other mediums I'll be looking into common themes and finding what in particularly makes a great psychological drama. Looking at films such as Taxi Driver, American Psycho, Gone Girl and more, to get the best insight to make sure my film fits within the genre and can work.
Points for Consideration
"Recently widowed wife struggles with grief after husband is killed during their honeymoon, however even after death she continues to see him as she refuses to come to terms with his demise"
Inspiration
This idea had been developed during the later stages of summer. A relatively new idea in comparison to the other ideas, however a strong one which can achieve the brief set for the 3rd year major project.
Toying with the idea of a psychological drama, Harry and I knew we wanted to create something of this genre. The thing for us to do was to find a good story that was not too complex to create but allowed us to be creative to play with, to make a visual experience along with an engaging story.
This idea can achieve both of those things and fit within the brief as a standalone 20 minute film. The story of 'One Week Later' (working title) centers around grief, in particularly an unhealthy was one woman deals with grief following the traumatic loss of her recently married husband during their honeymoon.
I found this idea interesting as their are so many different possibilities for the story to develop. Psychological dramas allows the Writer/Director/DOP to think outside the box, allowing for experimental ways of filming and telling the story.
I was inspired by a number of different sources when developing this idea, which can be see below. By which the common theme is death and the ways it is portrayed within different mediums. Also toying with life after death through the form of ghosts and spirits, which opens up the genre of physiological drama combined with grief to a number of new opportunities through writing and filming.
Just Jack - "The Day I Died"
Just Jack's "The Day I Died" song and music video follows the story of a man (James Nesbitt) who lives out the final day of his life before being fatally injured when hit by a car. The song is a monologue that his final day was the best day of his life, describing how everything was going his way.
Research into this mainly consists of how the music video is constructed and how the narrative of the song works so well in conjunction with the visual narrative. I'll be looking into how it effectively creates a realistic story-line with a narrative that makes the audience feel for the character and his family. I'll be looking into how his death is creatively shot as something he was destined for in the day with an emphasis on fate.
https://vimeo.com/31965093
Sixth Sense
This famous twist film will be one of the films i research into for effective narrative. Looking into this film and the way its constructed so that the big twist is a complete shock to the audience and how it is able achieve that.
Twists are important as they provide 'moments' something that i am very much looking to achieve within this film. In order to do this however i must research into how the best twist films ever made have done it and why they worked. I'll be looking into this, Usual Suspects and more.
Psycho
Within the Hitchcock classic, I'll be researching the way the narrative structure of the twist and the character of Norman Bates, looking into depth with his complicated and conflicted character. By doing this I will help me get valuable insight into how to write a certain type of disturbed character.
By looking at Norman Bates and his perception of his mother throughout the story if could provide interesting developments into my own character and her psychological troubles with grief. Not only will it provide interesting character development or potential plot development but it will also allow me to look into successful examples that have been created and allow me to draw inspiration from not only Psycho but other sources to ensure characters, the script and and filming is thought about in the most detail possible to create the best film possible.
Sin City 2
When looking into Sin City I was inspired by a certain scene in which Bruce Willis' character looks over Jessica Alba's character as she starts to loose control over of herself as she looks to seek revenge on the Mayor of Sin City.
In particular i was inspired by this scene due to the guardian like role Bruce Willis' character takes even after passing as he is clearly still in her imagination but not really there. Giving an insight to her mindset this is something i am looking to explore within our film. The way this is done through character positioning and dialogue works, and is something as a theme, i will be looking to create a similar style as the husband is present in the imagination of my main character.
When researching Sin City 2 i'll be mainly looking at this scene and examples from other films that perform this well to accurately shoot the style for myself and see if it could be used within our on film.
Development
Character Bio - (Working Name - Wife)
- 24 year old recently married confident woman.
- Parent's are not together as they split up when she was very young. Fought with mother as a child as times were tough following parents split, however as she grew up she began to change then began to idolize her mother. Too young to know her father and he had no interest in seeing his daughter, and she had no interest in meeting him.
- Due to lack of a father figure, she pictures what her 'perfect' father would have been like and the father she wish she had. Which then she turns to look for as a partner, she looks for a partner that would be the father figure to her future children she wished she had for herself, and also has a picture in her head of who exactly that will be.
- She in a strong and confident young woman, from her childhood experience she refuses to put herself in a position that her mother was in with a deadbeat father raising a child on her own. Her standards are therefore high and unless she is not totally smitten and confident that her partner is right then she would be with them. Due to this she has built a wall to protect herself from being hurt and can seem hostile.
- She finds her current husband (Working Name) who she meets at university who fits all the descriptions of what she could imagine and after 4 years in a relationship they tie the knot, as she is confident that he is everything she could ever want in a guy and he loves her equally.
- After the incident the shock and extreme grief she goes through causes her to mind to blank out what happened to protect her mental state and through her imagination see's him all the time, however he is dead and eventually reveals that to her to protect her which is when she breaks down and cannot mentally deal with the trauma of her accidentally killing him.
- She is reduced to a shell of her former self, the confident and beautiful woman is now broken down and empty. Her mental state deteriorates as we finish the film seeing her with a pack of pills staring at herself as her husbands stand behind her, leaving the audience wondering whether she died or chose to live.
Research
Death and Grief
In order to correctly write this story I need to make sure I know what I'm writing about. While grief is something unfortunately everyone has to go through eventually its important for me to research this thoroughly, in order to correctly represent those emotions when writing and getting into the mind of the characters.
By researching I will be looking at the healthy and unhealthy ways different people cope with death and grief. This means looking at different religions to see interpretations of life after death, looking into how different people deal with the emotions around it. Also while researching this looking into psychology, through research of how the mind works when dealing with such deeply emotional times.
Mental Health
Research into mental health will look at our main character. Research focusing particularly on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) along side grief. By doing this we can have a better idea of the character's mindset when dealing with such a traumatic time and what could be the extent of her trauma.
By researching this we are able to delve deep into the characters mind and better understand the way in which PTSD, grief and memory loss affects people mentally. In turn we can write the character correctly knowing through science, psychology and case studies just what could be happening within her mind at such a traumatic time. This research helps us develop the film further and further by giving us context and understanding of our own character.
Psychological Drama
Primarily genre research, I plan to look deep into what makes a gripping psychological drama. Through film, television and other mediums I'll be looking into common themes and finding what in particularly makes a great psychological drama. Looking at films such as Taxi Driver, American Psycho, Gone Girl and more, to get the best insight to make sure my film fits within the genre and can work.
Points for Consideration
- Character Names
- Further Research
- Title
- Cause of Husband's Death
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