More Updates (I Swear There's Progress)

For the past few week or so I have been creating my storyboard, despite my lack of artistic talent. I really want to be sure to know exactly what shots to film before I got ready to film. I almost can't believe I almost started filming last week WITHOUT even thinking about story-boarding. I felt so pressured on time that I felt as if I needed to start filming even though I was 100% NOT ready.  Honestly, getting spring break as an extra week has saved me and this project to the fullest and I could not be more thankful.

Right now I've been gauging on where my fellow classmates are in their projects, just so I can tell if I'm falling behind or right up to speed. So far it seems like I'm on par with everyone else. Majority of everyone I've spoken with hasn't started filming and is at least planning to film sometime later this week. Which brings me to my filming schedule.

Diego is also filming another Media Studies project and he was doing that on Tuesday. I was hopeful that I could film today on Wednesday, but it's hard to work around on both Diego, mine, and my mom's schedule. As well as trying to coordinate with Diego's friend, Gianni, who I've assumed to be playing Chris. I'm really trying my best, but since neither Diego or I have a car so he can't drive over to my house and I can't go to pick him up. I can only do so when my mom is home, but she has been working later than usual this week.

Honestly, my last resort is Ubering Diego and Gianni to my house to film. I know I have to start filming this week. If I can't film until the weekend, I'll just start working on my website and postcard. (I started playing around with the website, but I haven't decided on what website maker I wanted to use.)

I swear, next update I'll have something substantial to blog about.

NOT Real Drugs! (and overall updates)

I should probably clarify this, but Nous isn't a real drug and I will not be using any hazardous materials to film. To create the look of real, futuristic drugs I will be using Listerine FreshBurts PocketPaks which are basically mints in tab form that dissolve on your tongue.

They're probably the most realistic Nous I'll get without creating my own technological-based drug. They're just small, thin tabs that are about a 2 in long and 1 in in width. They basically take up the entire base of the tongue, which I though to be too big. So I figured I would cut them in half, straight down the center, making them out to be 1 in long and .5 in in width.

1 tab, cut into 2

I tried cutting them into 4th,but to me they were too small and didn't feel like they would have such a crazy effect and could not hold such great technology. I mean, at that size they barely fit on my fingertip. I knew that during filming they would be hard to work with and they'd be falling and sliding everywhere. So I stuck with the medium size.


Also, I watched another short film on YouTube titled PERCEPTION which also deals with an experimental drug. However,  this drug solely focuses on memories and causes the user to relive memories while on the drug. The drug is given in a small bag with little stickers on it. To create the full aesthetic of a realistic drug I'll have the the tabs in small baggies as well.

I have family in town the entire weekend and we're having a large family reunion. So, I haven't been able to work on my project as much as I'd like to, but I've been trying my best. Besides the blog I've been working on my storyboard and gathering some material to be filming. I also filmed a little bit of filler stuff and started editing it, just to see how much time I would need to put into editing.

Setting

Within my film there are 3 major settings in which scenes take place.
The settings are as follows:

• a bathroom
• a male bedroom with seating area
• the Center - a public town area  (but in a more secluded space)

For the both the bathroom and the male bedroom I will be using my own house. For the bedroom I will be using my older brother's bedroom. His room, while messy, has the essence of a stereotyped boy. His room is filled with memorabilia, game consoles, boy's clothing, gender-masculine colors, and general "boy" stuff. With a few adjustments I have made my brother's room into Greyson's room.
 Such as the addition of seating, since the only seating available would be the bed on the couch which would allow 3 to 4 seats. However, since the seating is primarily on one side of the room and Chris is supposed to dominate the room I added one more seat in the back left corner between the television and the closet. This is where Chris will be sitting, right in front of the entrance to the room and will draw attention from the moment he enters the shot.

As for "The Center" I will be using one of my town's plaza's called the Town Center, which is both a town hangout, business area, and marketplace. On the second floor, where the majority of the businesses are, there is a seating area that overlooks the entire marketplace. This is where Greyson meets Chris, the friend who introduced him to Nous. This is where the dramatic part really hits. They would be sitting on the benches.

I haven't decided if it takes place during night or day, but I have been there during night and there are lights.

Constantly Changing (hey isn't that an oxymoron)

I just finished writing my script!!!! It's a little rough and is in now way professional, but I can read it and understand it. ( I linked a PDF file on Google Drive here if you'd like to take a peek)

Hey, like do you remember when I said to expect changes with my plot a few blog posts back? Glad I planned on that because boy oh boy did I change it up. One of biggest changes in my plot is that Greyson does not die. In the original plot I really, really wanted him to do to symbolize society and all that was wrong with it yada yada yada.

After talking to Mrs. Stoklosa I realized a lot of plot holes in my plot. One of major ones being the aspect of time and how to portray a lengthy period of time in just 5 minutes without a cheesy "let's learn how to use my powers" montage. This was one of the main thoughts in my mind when writing this final script. I kept asking myself "how do I do this?" I asked all my friends their opinions and my new-ish plot was born.

No worries, it's not changed that much. Greyson still ends up being pressured to take the drug which ultimately alters his mind to a supersonic processing speed and fills it with knowledge. Greyson however doesn't push his abilities or mind to the limit. The biggest change, besides the lack of his death, is the ending. Greyson, as the unreliable narrator, believes that this is all happening for the very first time. It is not.

Greyson has been taking nous for 7 months and is unable to remember the previous times since he still has a human brain. The enormity of the power given to him by nous is still too much for him to handle, yet he is addicted to it and continues to take it. His powers are illustrated as just another side effect from the drug and the deterioration of his mind is the drug wearing off. Thus, Greyson develops somewhat a "chain-smoker" addiction in which he's taking more nous just as the last is wearing off.

Greyson is kept in this cycle by his own will. However, it is explained to him every time and he understands what he's doing.

The social undertone is what drives him. To live in a society without strong emotions dulls a persons mortality. Experiencing these emotions and intelligence at full blast, creating a high, was the strongest drug. Being freed from social suppression was and is his greatest desire, along with everyone else's.

Hyper Mind???? What's that????

When explaining the plot I said that the drug would give Greyson would develop the powers of a Hyper Mind. So what is a Hyper Mind? What does it consist of? I'm so glad you asked these questions because boy oh boy am I ready to answer them.

Essentially the power of having a "Hyper Mind" is a plethora of mental powers combined.

Such powers include:

• Hyper-cognition: to perform complex mental operations beyond those of a human mind
• Enhanced Intelligence: intelligence above standard genius level
• Enhanced Memory: remember and recall experiences and events inhumanly well after minuscule degrees of experience
• Maximum Brain Capacity: fully access 100% of the brain's functional capacity

While some of these may overlap, they all truly consist from one larger mind. I have, however, added a few tweaks to how I want my character's power's to extend to. Along with a hyper mind, the drug will also allow his senses to be expanded and more powerful. 

What really changes the capacity of his powers is what gives him his powers. The way I've written it is that the reason the drug gives him powers is that he has an allergic reaction to a chemical in the drug. The drug (also to be named) was designed to hack into a brain implant that subdues all human emotions and thoughts to a rational, controllable level. The drug temporarily allows the user to feel at such an unprecedented amount. 

Combining an allergic reaction with the technological drug or "tech-drug" caused a malfunction and a permanent hack into the implant. This hack allows the protagonist to "hack" into the information of the implant, which is connected to the overall social system. However, this hack does not only allow the protagonist to absorb information and use it at a higher brain capacity, but allows him to hack into his senses. Thus, giving him heightened senses as well.  

A small example of the power is Sherlock Holmes from the BBC television series Sherlock. Sherlock possesses extreme processing speed and most importantly has something called a "mind palace." Within his "mind palace" Sherlock goes into his head and solves problems at an inhuman pace. This heightened mental process is what I'm trying to convey.

Another great example is from the 2011 film Limitless which surrounds the same concept of taking a drug to increase brain power. The same concept and film was later then branched off into a television show. Both have similarities, but it's the way they conceive his brain power is great. 

"Accelerated Probability." Superpower Wiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

"Enhanced Intelligence." SuperpowerWiki. N.p., n.d. Web.

"Enhanced Memory." Superpower Wiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

"Hyper Mind." Superpower Wiki. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

"Maximum Brain Capacity." SuperpowerWiki. N.p., n.d. Web.

Nous?

Nous or νόος is the ancient Greek word for "mind" or "intellect" and is typically used in a philosophical context. Nous is connected with the philosopher Aristotle. In the Aristotelian Scheme, nous meant the basic understanding or awareness that allowed humans to think or choose rationally. It was believed that nous could be achieved with cosmic nous, but through divine intervention.

Recently having studied the language of ancient Greek along with Greek studies, I wanted to have a title that had a deeper meaning. I also thought it would be interesting to have the drug named after an ancient word, to symbolize the circular path of time.Today nous is used causally in the UK to mean "good sense" or "common sense."

The two words nous and noose are homonyms. While nous is a mind enhancing drug, noose has the connotation of death or suicide as nooses are used to hang people. The similarity between the words is supposed to be apparent until it is shown that Nous is the true spelling of the drug.

The drug is based off of LSD or Lysergic Acid Diethylamide. Used in a tab form, just as such. Both drugs attack the nervous system and neurological processes. However nous is meant to hack into a brain implant within Greyson.

The implant is a society wide custom, as this takes place slightly in the future. The implant lessens the emotions of the host, dulling them down to a rational level as to control the population. Along with the obvious functions of tracking citizens and their health rates. The drug is further explained through the use of Greyson's "hyper mind" as in levels of chemicals and how the he achieved his enhancements. Once again, thechemical makeup is based of LSD's makeup. Greyson's hyper mind is also used to explain the setting and overall why he is dying.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Nous." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 16 June 2013. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.

"Nous." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 06 Mar. 2017. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.

"Dopamine Receptor." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Mar. 2017. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

"Lysergic Acid Diethylamide." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Mar. 2017. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

"Sulfonamide (medicine)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 06 Mar. 2017. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

A Star is Born!

Diego (left) with me 

Officially cast my friend Diego today as my lead male, Greyson.

Diego is a very versatile actor, with two of his passions being musical theater and art, mainly painting. Diego can either look very put together or very disheveled, both of which I need him to look. Diego is also a genuine person and I'm excited to be working with him.

His most recent role is Claude in the musical HAIR. Before that he was featured in my friend and classmate, Amy Gallagher's documentary about students and art. Before this he was also in all of the drama productions at school.

I really appreciate him dedicating his time into the project for me.

Diego wearing a shirt he painted himself

We haven't exactly worked out a perfect shooting schedule, but Diego has already informed me that he will be out of town from March 15th through the 19th for States. Which is convenient because the 15th is my mom's birthday. I also sit with Diego for lunch every other day, so I would be able to take advantage of this time if I truly needed it.

Script writing! Featuring only small amounts of writer's block!!

I'll admit it. I hate script writing, but that's mainly because I'm so bad at it. All that counts is that I'm trying, right?

It's been a pretty busy week, but while waiting for my mom to pick me up from the school I took advantage of the time I had. I used this time mainly for this project. Most of the time went to script writing and story boarding. So yeah, it was all basically a mess.

I've been using a free program called Celtx, which lets me brainstorm and write in the format I need for my film. Celtx not only lets me write my screenplay, but offers storyboard and shot list templates. I've used it numerous times in the past for multiple projects.

4 scripts scrapped! 4! AHH!!

Right now I feel like I've been constantly writing and then scrapping what I've written. It's such a vicious cycle, but I mean I completely understand why. At the moment, my film is visual driven and not plot driven for me. Through writing the script, I'm trying to make sense of the plot while incorporating my genre conventions without making it too cliche and cringe.

I'm really trying my best here. I promise. I think I'm finally getting it though.

Aesthetic

I'd like to further explain how I want my film to look because I have a pretty good idea on what I want, but I have yet to explain it. I know I want it to be a trippy experience, with many extreme close ups and odd angles to create an uncomfortable feeling throughout the film.

Within the cinematography I would like to have a lower saturation and a low-key blue/grey tint to the images, to evoke a colder and more dramatic feeling. Recently having watched the film Her, I fell in love with the cinematography and how they portrayed the futuristic world. The colors were simultaneous warm and cold and the color palette really helped evoke feeling throughout the film. 

Still from my film opening The Happier Times

The lighting would be similar to my previous AS level project, with a main natural light source that leaves the room with an ominous glow. From the films I've seen, this is the type of look I seem to appreciate the most. I enjoy working with natural light sources and not having too much sun. The dull lighting helps evoke the feelings I'm trying to achieve. 

Still from the short thriller film Echoes

Another inspiration within look (and editing) was my classmate Santiago Triana's film opening from the past year Further. Having worked with Santiago before and making my first major film in a film festival with him, we hold very similar creative attractions to how we like our films to look. His film also dwells within somewhat the same genre of science fiction and has a very trippy feel to it

One example of what I want to have my film look like to accomplish the trippy editing is to play around with chroma key, or green screen, and masking in editing. I've been playing around with my personal film editor, Filmora, and I've been venturing into what it can do. I really want to achieve an overall "drug trip" from the film. To do so I wanted to include scenes and shots where the protagonist is cloned in the shot, having multiple versions of himself in the shot. When I researched and watched short psychological thriller and science fiction films online, I stumbled across Echoes, a psychological thriller that is super trippy and deals with the two lives on different sides of a mirror. Seemingly easy to replicate, the effect of having a doubles on screen is something I really want to do.

Also using cinematic bars, which are the black bars placed over film to create a more professional and cinematic look to the film. By creating a smaller screen ratio, it makes the film overall look better in my own opinion, since a lot of the empty and unsused space is removed. This is a common convention throughout all of contemporary films. Another reason being my films theoretical film festival unveiling, films viewed in theaters typically have black cinema bars

Plot? (expect future changes)

Can I get a drum roll please?

After a lot of thought I think, emphasis on think, I've finally come up with my plot.

In rather basic summary, a boy is pressured into taking a new drug by his friends and experiences a reaction, as if he was allergic, and has near-death experience. When he is revived, the drug won't leave his system and he develops superhuman abilities, mainly enhanced senses and a hyper mind. (I'll do a more in depth post on the extent of his powers) He pushes his abilities to better himself, especially with his mind. Still having a human brain with superhuman abilities burns him out, eventually killing him.

How It Connects To My Genre:

• The superhuman abilities fit in with the sub-genres of science fiction films
• My imagined editing fits in with common conventions of a psychological thriller
• The unreliable narrator fits in with a common convention of a psychological thriller

The "Deeper" Meaning/Social Commentary

As mentioned in previous posts, the genre of soft science fiction typically involves some type of social commentary. My social commentary falls on that of society as a whole, namely the people of our society. How we let what others are doing determine what we're doing. Especially our societal needs to consume and be the best, which may ultimately be consequential or fatal. Society is represented through my main character, as he is pressured by others and dies from his want for power and consumption.

A Butt Load of Research Part 2

Moving onto the next genre

Conventions and Tropes of the Science-Fiction Genre:

Science Fiction films deal with speculative, fictional-science that is not widely accepted by the mainstream scientific community. Themes and plots typically revolve around futuristic settings and elements along with aliens and time travel. Science fiction films also tend to have social or political commentary and also my deal with philosophical issues such as the human condition.

Other major themes of science fiction films include:

• magic or the supernatural
• monsters - which then typically ventures into the horror genre
• disasters  and/or apocalyptic events
• the human mind/brain or identity
• robots

For the visual style of science fiction films, there are really two categories of images: alien and familiar. The alien images being those shots and angles that audiences are not accustomed to seeing and the familiar images being the images and shots expected to be used within film. The alien images may be repeated in order to normalize them within the film, then making the familiar images "alien." Another option being the juxtaposition of the two types of images.

Science fiction typically includes commentary on social issues into the plot, using either more an allegorical viewpoint or a futuristic setting to display what could happen. Most controversial issues are represented through two general story lines: Utopian or Dystopian. The more common being a Dystopian society, to show what is wrong with society in current time and what it could lead to.

Soft Science Fiction

I talked about this briefly in a previous post, but now I'd like to go further in depth.

Soft science fiction surrounds the social sciences such as psychology, anthropology, economics, politiacal science, or sociology. Films may focus more on the emotions of characters or on the overall setting and it's impact on the characters. Social science fiction falls under this sub-genre. Social science fiction focuses on society and themes of human nature.

Examples:
Host (2013)
Her Dir. Spike Jonze (2013)
I'm Here Dir.Spike Jonze (2010)

"Science Fiction." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 02 Mar. 2017. Web. 03 Mar. 2017.

"Science Fiction Film." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 03 Mar. 2017. Web. 03 Mar. 2017.

A Butt Load of Research Part 1

Since I know my short film is going to be a combination of genres (science fiction and a psychological thriller) I will be researching both genres separately along with finding information on the combined genre. Starting off with the psychological thriller genre.

Conventions and tropes of the Psychological Thriller Genre:

While the general genre of thriller films aim to give the audience thrills, a psychological thriller aims to do the same, but through the psyche of characters. Most psychological thrillers are told through a first-person POV, a back story, or a stream of consciousness. Psychological thrillers also don't typically have a distinguished "hero" of the film, often the main character is the "anti-hero" and their antagonist is themselves. Common plots of PT films have characters fighting their own mind and questioning reality.

Typical production conventions of PT films include

• quick cuts 
• angle/shot variety
• eerie and high tension music
• low lighting

Typical Plot Conventions:

• Unreliable Narrator - Helps to create a mystery to the plot, leaving out crucial information. Often times the narrator is unreliable is due to severe memory loss or amnesia and a mental illness. ex. The Girl on the Train (2016)  Rachel's inability to recall most of her memory due to her alcoholism
• Plot Twist - A surprising end in which audiences were not anticipating. ex. Memento (2000) the reveal when the two time narratives meet
• "MacGuffin" - A term coined by Alfred Hitchcock which has come to mean an object or device used to trigger, or move along the plot. May be used to increase suspense. ex. Doug in The Hangover (2009)

Film Examples

• Black Swan (2010)
• Gone Girl (2014)
• Inception (2010)
• Shutter Island (2010)

Works Cited

"Psychological Thriller." TV Tropes. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2017.

"Psychological Thriller." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15 Feb. 2017. Web. 02 Mar. 2017.

A Superhero Film?

My original idea was a superhero origin story, which sprouted from my recent obsession with the television series The Flash, a DC comic book superhero with the power of super speed. This was a long while ago, nearly at the beginning of the year when I thought up the plot, which mimicked the television series.
I badly wanted to have a female character, one who had been obsessed with comic book culture and was studying in a scientific field. Her metamorphosis would be very independent seeing as how she would have knowledge of both non-fictional and fictional reasoning to her new powers.

However...that plot fell through once I started researching it and creating it. My actress, or at least my speculated actress, would be too heavily involved in her own Media Studies project to help me out. My plot and characters required too much, both monetarily and within time. I didn't have the editing system or skills to create a super-powered individual.

So, to my dismay, I scrapped it.


Or did I?

Yeah, I did.

One of the main reasons I wanted to work with a superhero origin story was for the effects and editing. Maybe my original dream isn't dead.

What about a psychological thriller with science fiction elements? Maybe?

Well I recently watched iBoy which was on Netflix and the premise of the film is a boy obtains the power of hacking into technology with his mind after an accident. (Where have we heard that before?) I'm not trying to recreate that, but it did mesh the genres of a thriller and science fiction film well.

I haven't watched Doctor Strange yet, but I feel as if it has the same feel that I'm going for. I want the whole film to be kind of trippy looking, if that makes sense. I want to incorporate a lot of odd angles that makes the film look odd. I want to have uncomfortable close ups and uncomfortable audio.

Last night I watched Get Out directed by Jordan Peele (a great film btw) and it sort of had that in there too. There were a lot, and I mean a lot of extreme close ups of faces or dutch angles. This added to the creepiness and the horror aspect of it all. Should there be a horror aspect to it? Am I just trying to mesh all my favorite genre's together? Probably.

Tell me this isn't creepy?

I think this could be it though. A science fiction, psychological thriller? 

Stay tuned.

New Beginnings Part 2: What & Why

Hi! Welcome back!

Okay, now that greetings are in order, let's get into it. There is no time to lose.

I know for a fact, since I have been exploring film topics since the beginning of the year, that I want to do a science fiction short film. Which is like whoa since I've never attempted anything other than realistic fiction, or at least attempted seriously.

In the past year, since my previous project, my viewing habits and tastes have changed. I've always had this fondness of Dystopian and Utopian societies as well as post-apocalyptic plots. Films such as Children of Men (2006), Equilibrium (2002), The Purge (2013) and television shows such as Black Mirror (2012 - present), Doctor Who (2005 to present), The 100 ( to present) have stirred up an interest in science fiction. Most of these fall within the sub-genre of soft science fiction, which as opposed to hard science fiction, focuses on psychology, economics, political science, sociology and anthropology. This is the sub-genre I was aiming to create within.

Another, more specific sub-genre is that of social science fiction, which focuses on the themes of society and human nature. This sub-genre typically deals with the social commentary and allegories. One of the reasons I was drawn to the genre is because of the *current political climate.* Novels such as Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and both George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm stem from this sub-genre, along with other Dystopian, Utopian, and post-apocalyptic stories.

As for my own plot, I'm still tossing around ideas. I was sure of my idea at least 5 times until I thought it over more and scrapped the entire thing. Only a few things have stayed the same throughout my trials.

• a single protagonist - young adult male
• a STRONG devotion to straying from cliches while maintaining the conventions of the genre
• a suburban and developed setting 
• current or slightly advanced time period
• subtle, yet scathing, social commentary

However, I must keep brainstorming and researching the genre. I will keep you posted. :)