By Skye Putwain
Initial ideas
For this project, I was given three themes to base my project from, these included, memory, mental health and travel. To decide on which one I wanted to focus my project on. I created a pros and cons list of each theme and also questioned ideas that could stem from each one.
Memory
For the theme of memory, the first initial idea that came to mind was for me to create a documentary. I had never filmed a documentary and thought it would be a good way to challenge myself. However, the only issues with making this documentary would be getting connections and branching out to people. The main idea that I thought I could draw from the theme of memory is interviewing homeless people or those in homeless shelters and learning about their past. I believe that this would be a good way for me to show my audience that those who are homeless are people and I personally would love to connect with people who deserve a voice as they are repeatedly being excluded from society. To get in contact with some homeless people I would call some shelters in my local areas to see if anyone would be comfortable being interviewed. That way I know that I am not invading someone's space as they would have agreed to the interview.
If I were to create this documentary, it would be driven by my passion for breaking the stigma around homeless people and to stop the terms of 'them' which isolate and exclude people in that situation. I have previously watched many documentaries on homelessness and interviews with those on the streets as I am intrigued by people's life stories. A repeated theme that kept occurring when watching the interviews was people's previous trauma in their life. I found that majority of people who were on the streets suffered through abuse and led many to substance abuse. If I create my documentary, apart of the memory that I would like to focus upon is people's past and seeing how they got to where they are today. This would tell my audience that anyone can be homeless, as some can't afford bills, are made redundant etc. Although I do not know the stories I will receive, I am aware that those who are living on the streets are not put their by choice and I want to break the stigma that they are. Society assumes that those who are homeless are choosing that life, but those people are being given no voice on how we as a society can help. I feel if I make this documentary it will tell real life stories of people's struggles and reflect the memories that they have had both good and bad, while breaking the stigma that surrounds their living situation.
One of my inspirations for this idea came from a media creator called Mark Laita who has a Youtube channel called Softwhite Underbelly that looks into those who are homeless, addicts and gives a deeper glimpse into their daily struggle including their past memories. I found his videos inspiring as he connected with people who are homeless by asking questions about their current state and intertwining them with their past. Laita's videos capture the connection between people who are excluded from society and I was inspired to do the same.
The video below is an example of an interview Mark Laita that inspired me, this is because he interviewed a homeless woman called Lin. I chose this video as I found Lin's story interesting and heartbreaking.
To conclude, I have decided not to pursue this idea for my project due to the uncertainty and difficulties in finding contacts. At this moment in time, I am self-isolating due to a global virus. I cannot meet with strangers as I have to protect myself from contracting the virus, this is a large issue with creating this documentary as I would have liked to interview these people in person so that I can connect with them. For others safety as well, they would not be able to do an interview for my documentary because of this global outbreak. Once the virus has been dealt with, I would still like to do this ideas as an independent project because I am thoroughly interested in hearing people's diverse stories and would like to bring light to those who are outcasted by society.
Travel
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For the theme of travel, the first initial idea that came to mind was to create a short film about music. I wanted to explore travel within music as it brings people together globally. I thought I could have the short film be based upon a collection of artists I listen to and then for me to gather footage from people (online fans) and ask them about where they are from, how they came to know the artist, and to overall capture the diverse people it brings together and the different places they are from. If I create this short film, I was also intertwine historical footage and reflect back upon the progression of travel through music as it was originally played for people locally and show how it progressively grows into a global collection of fans. I would also give attention to social media and discuss the impact it has put upon fans and artists connection, as well as their way to know where events are and travel to them, if that be local or global.
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One of my inspiration for this idea came from an article I read about how music transports people and it's connection with travel. This transportation is from both nostalgic memories of locations people have visited and the new memories it forms within the moment from listening to a song or attending a concert. I have linked the article below and wanted to show how my idea for the travel theme was hugely inspired by others discussing their personal connections with music and how it allows them to be mentally nostalgic with their memories of travel.
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The main issue with creating this short film would be gathering enough footage from people online, as I would ideally like to have the duration of my film to be 10 minutes long and would like to include as much of people's stories of travelling to music events or finding it within music local areas. It is important for me to gather enough footage as it is a huge part of my research and I need to be able to reflect upon it. The only way I would gather people's stories is through social media, this would include issues with responses as I am unsure enough people would reply to my questions or would want to partake in my project.
To conclude, I have decided not to choose travel as my theme because I am not very confident with my ideas and would prefer my research be gathered from more varied scopes of media, not just social. I also believe that if I chose this theme it would limit my research on directing as I need to go through my reasoning for creating a short film (as I want to pursue a career as a director). Researching people's travel to music limits my exploration on film and I would like to delve deeper within filmmaking, for this project.
Mental Health
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For the theme of mental health I was very intrigued by the different types of illness. One in particular that I found I was very passionate about researching was the brain disease of addiction, it also known as substance use disorder. If I were to have addiction be my topic of mental health, I would create a short fictional film representing it, preferably through a protagonist perspective.
I have previously in my spare time researched addiction and have always found it a topic of interest. This I believe it because of the epidemic of addiction that is provident within today's society. I have personal experience with the subject as some loved ones of mine have suffered from addiction and felt it would be a good topic to discuss as I have some perspective experience in the subject matter. Not only is this a motivation of mine, but I also want to speak for those who are silence (addicts) as I feel there is a lack of representation in the matter and want the stigma/taboo perspective upon it to be diluted. The main issue with creating a film surrounding addiction, is making sure I do not misrepresent it and do not glamorise substance abuse. This is important to me as I would like the film that I create send an opposite effect and instead show the brutality of addiction.
The positive in making this film would be its accessibility in terms of production. I could shoot this film from my own home and work a narrative around the resources I own/have. This would challenge my creative spectrum but would teach me limitations which is very important because it will allow me to expand upon my creative ideas as I will need to work and plan the narrative using the space and objects that I have.
One of my inspirations for creating a short film about addiction is from my eternal interest and research into the topic. I have always found addiction to be very interesting due to its mass epidemic across the globe. I also feel it is misrepresented within the media. An example of a video that inspired me was a TED talk by Johann Hari. Hari described how the research into addiction has taught researchers more about how people become addicted to drugs and that there is a connection between your environment more so than a chemical hook. If I were to create a short film for my project, about addiction, I would research more into the social and personal effect it has upon addicts and look into the factual reasoning behind why people turn to self-medication.
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The video below is of Johann Hari's TED Talk where he discusses in detail his own research into addiction and the different types of evidence he found along the way.
To conclude, I have decided to choose mental health as my theme for my project. This is because it is the subject that I am most passionate about out of all three themes and I feel will allow me to expand upon my filmmaking skills because I can research directors, writers etc. as I will be creating a film about addiction. As I already have an interest in researching addiction and learning more about how I can bring light to the epidemic. I feel it is best for me to choose mental health for my theme because I have a motivation and passion the topic.
Project Pitch
Mood-board
The mood-board shown below dissects my pitch into the stages of what I want my project to represent and reflect upon, including the themes, inspiration, target audince and research I will complete. The mood-board helped me breakdown my pitch and helped me use it as a foundation for my initial ideas.
The video I have linked below is my pitch for my Final Major Project. I have discussed in detail my chosen theme, mental health of my project and how I will incorporate it into my short film. I have described my reasoning for having my final project as a short film, and even went through the target audience I aim for my film to be shown to. Devising this pitch has allowed me to breakdown my initial ideas and will act as a foundation for me to work off when I am researching and writing the narrative for my film.
Script
For my Final Major Project, I will be creating a short film about addiction and the social stigma that surrounds it. My short film will conclude with a non fictional narrative that follows the story of a protagonist struggling with addiction. I have decided to create a film because I aspire to become a director and producer in my future career as these are both creative roles within the media industry that will allow me to be collaboratively artistic and express originality through storytelling. An example of a director and screenwriter who inspires me is Noah Baumbach, his films allow for an audience to have a strong connection with his characters as he truly encapsulates them as people of society, giving no filters to raw emotions. I am inspired by the human connection and realism of society that Noah Baumbach portrays in his films and would like to reflect the same visual narrative by capturing vulnerability through the protagonist in my film. Using the writing skills I have developed from scriptwriting both in and out of this media course. I will be able to devise a script of my film and draft it in stages.
The research topic I have chosen is mental health, as I would like to delve deeper particularly into substance abuse within addiction. My reasoning for this is because I have a huge passion for raising awareness within mental health and feel that addiction is poorly mis represented within media, as many films within the industry have glamorised substance abuse, rather than reflecting the social issues surrounding it. For my research I will watch films, documentaries, read articles and novels that discuss the brutality of addiction. This research will be very important as I need to represent addiction realistically. To execute my film through this theme, I will need for my audience to find empathy and connection to the subject matter. In order to do this, I am going to devise a questionnaire aimed at young adults to gather their thoughts and opinions on the theme's representation within my film. This will allow me to know how I can improve the scope of my project.
To extend my research from my theme of mental health, I will also be researching film festivals, reading articles and watching interviews on film, particularly directing as it will not only help me when directing this project, but also give me an insight into pursuing it as a career. One film festival that I recently attended was the Water-sprite Film Festival in Cambridge, it was ideal for aspiring filmmakers like myself, as they had guest speakers discuss the different routes into the industry. However, as I have already attended this film festival I ideally want to attend more so that I can retain and build upon my knowledge of how to pursue a career in directing. I will also be watching films and attend screenings that have won awards within the local film festival so that I can learn from their success.
For my film, I will also be creating a poster. I want to utilise all the skills I have learned across my media course and reflect it into this project. I felt making a poster for my film will also allow me to expand upon my Photoshop skills as well as learn how to capture my film through still imagery and editing. I will create my poster once I have completed my film so that I can draw from the visual narrative and shots that I will have captured. The poster also allows for my not expanding upon my storytelling skills as I can reflect the narrative I have created for my film, into the poster, but it also allows for the audience to have a taste of the film and gives them a deeper scope into my creative process and project as a whole.
The success of my project will be based upon both the feedback I receive from my peers, teachers and the public. I will publish both my poster and film on Youtube and Instagram, the success of this will be measured upon the views I receive and comments. I have an Instagram editing account I use to upload video edits to already, this fortunately sets me up for a small audience to receive feedback from. However by also uploading my work onto Youtube it will be more accessible for the general public view due to its widely range content. The visuals for my film will be unique in terms of my style as I want to capture the narrative through both the exterior perception of the protagonist and also visually reveal the internal perception of the protagonist's mind, through the lens of addiction.
The restrictions and preventions for the production of my film are harshly based upon the equipment availability, location and copyright laws that I will come with the audio I choose for my film. I will have to use the equipment I personally own which is a camera and an iPhone due to the temporary banning of lending equipment out of college's property. I will also have to file copyright forms to prevent legal issues for my film. The location of my film will have to be shot in my house as there are restrictions with filming publicly due to global issues. When filming in my house I will need to be precautious of lighting as the weather may affect the visual lighting captured in my film.
The target audience of my film will be aimed at young adults, particularly anyone who is above the age of 18. This is because the audience will need to be mentally developed enough to have an understanding of the topics raised in the film and the contextual influence society has upon the topic of addiction, as the film is largely focused around the social issues surrounding it. I also felt this target audience would find a deeper connection to the narrative as they can relate to their own struggle or someone they know as addiction has no face and impacts millions globally.
To conclude, the research I will be conveying includes both my interests of the subject matter and theme of mental health, as well as my aspiration to become a film director. I will be testing and breaking down both the writing and directing techniques Noah Baumbach uses to form a foundation of emotional attachment between the audience and characters. I will also use my research of filmmaking from the film festivals to mirror their successful techniques too. I, overall, want my audience to be given a window view into addiction and spark a conversation between viewers so that the 'taboo' topic of addiction is eroded and the normality of mental health struggles becomes more open.