Idea

 Insanity.

The concept is simple. A woman losing her mind.

I’ve always been fascinated with the subject of insanity when it comes to Art. It can be expressed in so many different and peculiar ways which can not only be scary and exciting but intriguing. For a short experimental film idea I would focus on this subject. About a woman who lets go, opens her mind but can’t control it. It would start with the woman looking into the camera. The location will be an large open spaced room and she is surrounded in black so the audiences only focuses on her. The colouring will be bland, pale and dull. Her face begins to twitch and she becomes frustrated as she tries to control it. An audio track of muffled sounds will begin to play quietly. Suddenly her face would begin to morph with an outburst of sound. She shakes her head and she’s back to her normal self. She begins to hear nosies around her and her mind plays tricks on her. As the film progresses she would start to fall apart, and it would turn into a manic fast pace fest of craziness.

I have heard that people who suffer from severe mental disorders often have what are called ‘Episodes‘. Where at one point everything is fine and they can think straight and then all of a sudden everything changes and they go mad. The word ‘Episode’ would be considered for the title of this film but it doesn’t sound right at the moment. A little bit cheesy, a little bit wrong. 

Another thing that I would do is to not use any dialogue and would let the vision and sound do all the talking. I’d like to include mirrors and reflections to enhance the trapped aspect of it. 

Locations:
Staffordshire University Film Studio.

Forest/Park at night (Hanley Park being close and convenient)
Spode Factory.
I like the idea of using green screen too.

Each location would represents the woman’s mental disorder. The disheveled Spode Site in Stoke that is falling apart. Being lost in the forest/woods at night and not knowing where to go as everywhere looks dangerous and unnerving. The Media Centre Studio would represent the mind of the woman. It begins empty and then manifests into these different situations. 

Each Location would have a demon, representing the evil mental disorder and its presence in the film will give off the feeling of being chased and manipulated. They are in control of the woman, trapping her and stopping her from breaking free. 

I love it in films where you don’t actually see the monster/demon but are aware that they are there. The less you see of them the more you are interested. This aspect of it heightens the anxiety of the viewer. This can leave the audience to imagine the scariest monster in their own head making it personal to them. 

One of my influences of this is from the independent film ‘The Blair Witch Project’ where a group of students are trapped in a forest and are being haunted by an evil presence known as the ‘Blair Witch’. What makes the film so successful I feel is that not only do you not see the witch but also how it’s filmed by the actors giving it more intense real feel to it. 

Although not from a film, a similar aspect is from the video game ‘Slender’ where you have to escape the woods at night before you are caught by SlenderMan. It’s terrifying because you know he’s there but you don’t want to find him although it happens every time. This is in first person resembling ‘Blair Witch’ so it feels more like a personal experience. Although filming in first person is not the style I plan to use for my film (although POV shots are planned already), it's the aspect of being chased/hunted that I want to include.

(Slender)

(Scariest. Thing. Ever)

The presence of the demon being is a big aspect in my film. The demon representing the illness. 

For the sound in this film I want to use only ambient sounds, like in the forest at night the noises would be from the insects and foot steps from around the character. I think I'm struggling to bring my point across with this bit but I want to do something similar to this bit in Carrie with the sound (0.10 - 1.04) It works so well and is incredibly eerie. 

I’d like to film this with a certain technique that may be a bit difficult and would require a couple of test shoots. The ‘Long Take’ technique. 

A long take or oner is an uninterrupted shot in a film which lasts much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general, usually lasting several minutes. 

The film La Casa Muda (The Silent House) was shot to look like it was in real time in one continuous 88 minute take but it was filmed using a handheld high-definition digital single-lens reflex camera (the Canon EOS 5D Mark II) over a period of just four days. (This would add a big challenge when it comes to edit). Again, like Blair Witch and Slender, the actor in La Casa Muda is being haunted by an evil presence. 

Another example of the ‘Long Take’ technique is of the very disturbing 9 minute rape scene from the film ‘Irreversible’ The scene is shot all in one take and when you see it, it feels like it’s never going to end (which is quite clever as this is what it probably feels like to an actual rape victim). The cinematography in this scene is very effective and the use of the 'long take' is powerful and very disturbing as it makes you want to look away and makes you feel very uneasy. 

I find this idea exciting but like any film, it will have a number of challenges. My greatest fear is that it would come across as too ‘student-like’ and cheesy. To avoid this I need to focus a lot on lighting, camera composition and on having a great actress. The genre would be more of a psychological thriller rather than a horror.