Initial Idea

The initial idea of our five minute short film was to in the setting of a physiatrist meeting have the main character (male) tell the physiatrist and the audience of his decline into insanity from the development of a tumour- a tumour which acesses the mathematical side of the brain and therefore in short boosts makes the person have mathematical insights. This would be presented through a series of flash backs which served the purpose of getting to know the character and therefore becoming emotionally involved. This character speaks of how he was then commited to an asylum because of his mental state. It becomes apparent that the phycaratrist is trying to unlock a memory of some sort that the man is trying to supress through his expectant dialouge. A flash back then brings the audience into the asylum cell where we see the character is on the floor with obvious equation scrapings on the cell walls. As the camera slowly closes in on the man it becomes apparent that he is dead, and perhaps commited suiside. We plan to have some sort of camera match between this moment and the man in the phcartrist meeting to emphasise his realisation that he is really dead. This will hopefully leave open many questions such as 'is the phcastrist actually God in human form making him realise his past before he can move onto the afterlife?' or 'Is the entire meeting a figment of his imagination?'. We also intend to use a soft lighting effect throughout in this meeting to imply subtly that something is wrong, and the audience should feel uneasy about the entire situation.


Tone of short film


The tone which we wish to convey in this short film has three different stages. In the opening of the film we intend to show the main characters manic state through having POV shots (as seen in picture on the right)-this will be a fast edit to show his unnatural levels of unconcentration. As the phyciatrists voice will be more of a background noise that he isn't particually paying attention to, other random objects that make small noises in the room will be his focus. For example the sound of a clock ticking may be his main focus of sound and sight for a moment, and that may suddenly change to the phcaratrists pen. This is all to create a very panicked tone which will immediatley put the audience out of their comfort zone.

The tone will switch to one of a more relaxed and anticipatinal atmosphere as the flash backs of the characters decline begin (the second stage of tone so to speak). This is so the audience can focus and get a coinnection with this character. They have seen him in is manic state, now they need to see how it happened...this may develop a sense of emphathy towrads him-especially when he is committed to a mental asylum.

The tone then shifts again once it becomes known to the audience and the character that his is actually dead. It will be a tone of confusion and sorrow as the other two stages have built up to this moment of doom for the character. The fact that there is no happy ending, or resolution for this character brings with it the upsetting thought that when he and the audience thought he was seeking advice from the phyciratrist, when actually it was just to reveal the horror of his death.