1. alright, so the poems listed below will be read over some beats. either a casio keyboard, or my friend siphine's beats. www.myspace.com/beatboxbush I'm not sure about the order of the poems yet, or about how many i will use, but all of that sound will happen in final cut.
And why not the sludge of decimals the metal of colors the color’s comes slick blue stripes by something-new-ish again and again over under on the chromatic and the monotony
Me.
You.
In the accordion keys on the
Acrobats on the
Tight.
Wire.
Of war on the pretty faces of the dead
A sense of order
And chaos
Of broken organs
And dismembered guitars
On a beach of beached values
Like whales their ideas of “normal”
Broken by fishers of men soul hunting
For any gratification under the salt of the world
With their prostitutes, and their Jesus
building an army
Making peace with violence and loving sex like a war
#2
She’s tall and skinny and takes her coffee the color of a once crisp business card that’s been left in the dirt after a meeting gone sour.
He likes to call himself “mobile” and “open” even though he’s never left home, just took over the business cleaning up after his father who died with Jack in one hand and a knife in the other. He just took one sideways look at his dad, called the funeral home, and caught up on the cleaning appointments for that day.
But he’s nice. And she’s clean. And they met just like they do in the movies. But their sex is never bloodless and it just isn’t lit with that same tungsten light. 8 years experience cleaning other people’s homes. These people live on wheels as to avoid too much commitment. She thinks about this sometimes, like she thinks about the photographs under her bed, rotting away with their pages of glossed memories. And she decides she’s not really cut out for the stationary life in all its shades of beige.
But everything we see about her life is nice, and mostly clean. It’s an exhausted metaphor, vacuumed, waxed, etc. everything they told her she needed and all that she didn’t want. It’s a pity people don’t act live only in our imaginations.
He never called it a problem, maybe a compulsion at best. She was his therapy. He was her secret cause. It was nice, their house on Jonathan street. No wheels, and always clean. But their relationship was never bloodless, though they had found just the right way to light it. It looked so bright from the outside window, and sometimes she would stay underwater in the bathtub maybe a second too long watching the bubbles blur to the surface and repeating in her silent misdirected way, I’m happy, I’m happy, I’m so happy it hurts, I’m so happy I could die right here. And one day she did.
And on that same day, the owner of the business card that she compared her coffee to once quit cleaning and just stood outside and counted all the mobile homes on the freeway, and prayed to god or whoever that he wouldn’t die alone.
#3
by the red door with a Spanish man with a
ponytail, when another Spanish man with
out a ponytail with a hat and
he walks past alone and muttering to
himself and us in a language I don’t
understand. So I smile and play the
ignorant American. He and I sit
alone by the red door that only
opens from the inside when the man with
the hat without the ponytail comes back down
muttering and motioning to his noise and
“intoxionada?” I smile laugh
he smiles at my stupid smile pulls
a little red guitar out of his pocket
it says MEMPHIS in bold white writing and he
says something else then goes out the red
door that only opens from the inside.
2. storyboards at the top...
3. answer these questions:
a. What are each character's life goals/objectives
there aren’t really established characters. But I would say the overall motive here is to explore the connotations with the color red.
b. What are each major character’s obstacles to reaching their objectives?
These things that keep popping in front of and on them, these predetermined roles.
c. What are the actions the characters will use to overcome their obstacles and reach their objectives?
They will dance dance dance
d. What are the ways and means the characters will use?
Dancing writing reading, mostly dancing
e. What adjustments do the characters make when their actions and means don’t succeed?
From subtle awkward to more courageous awkward
f. What realistic doings are the actors engaged in?
they are trying on new selves. I think we do that everyday.
4. Breakdown the Script to determine the following:
a. The number and types of actors required
4 actors-awkward dancers
b. How many scenes each actor will be in and the total length of their performances.
Total length of each actors performance will be about 30 seconds. Total length of the entire performance-mayyybe 4 minutes
c. The requirements, number, and types of locations.
One location, a lighting studio. I need a white background that I can paint red.
d. The number and types of stunts and special effects.
nope
e. What special costumes and makeup will be required?
Glitter, cellophane, maybe tinfoil. Lots of red costumes. Anything that is red, and can be worn in some way.
f. What props are required?
See item e.
5. location scout-either the lighting studio at school, it has a power box, two outlets, and a few lights, or the kitchen i've used for my past 2 films with a white sheet for a background.
6. see map at top
7. either this friday and saturday night.
Definitely, I think you've got something good with the overt use of red. I like the idea of playing up on color in outrageous and toxic amounts. I definitely wouldn't mind seeing people slathered in red paint. Another thing that's great about this piece is the poetry. I find it very compelling that you want to have red themed poems to enhance the theme of red even more. The props themselves also are wonderful. I like the silliness that contrasts the grotesqueness of the imagery.
ReplyDeleteAs I have said the most difficult part is going to be these trick shots and the more I think about it I wonder if it's even necessary to your exploration on red. My other concern is that your poems may be too long. Try editing out what is unnecessary and not as compelling. And finally, I wonder about your background. Red background is fine, but one paper will make it very plain. If that is the goal, then okay, but I worry that it will be too matte a texture. You mentioned cellophane and I wonder (because you're using glitter anyway) if you use the cellophane it may give you a more shiny, interesting background.
I'm not really sure how long you had planned this to be, but I don't think you should read all three poems. I do really like the idea of you incorporating your poetry into your film though. I like the found poem one in the sense that it refers to "him and her" which could interestingly relate to the dancing people. Yet for the poem itself in relation to the film you're trying to create, I think only using the first one with parts from the second one would be best.
ReplyDeleteI am also very confused how the instant appearing of objects will be captured. I would assume the only way would be to pause the actual character, pause the film, take off the thing for them, press play, and then pray that they continue their same path of motion.
I am also wondering about the beginning scenes. Will the characters already be dancing or will we get to see them standing awkwardly first?
Again, this seems like it would really lend itself to your sense of lighting and color that comes out so strongly in your films. You might consider not making it exactly the "Pleasantville Style" and tweak the colors in a slightly different way. You could do this before shooting by carefully controlling all the colors and lighting in the set, or you could do something like the you've referenced in the white stripes video, where everything but the red has a desaturated cool tone rather than flat gray.
ReplyDeleteI have some questions about your sound that you may or may not have figured out yet:
Who is reading the poems? Are they on screen? Are they dancing with the others? Is is a voice that's source is never seen?
How does your sound relate to the poems? Is the pacing of the poems independent of the background music or do the poems follow the rhythm of the songs?
How is the dancing/choreography related to the poems & music? Maybe they are all independent, or maybe they are following the same pace/beat/story.
Here is one more thing to consider: Are you (or someone else) shown in the film painting the background? A time-lapse scene like this is something to think about. It may add to your film or it may not.
It seems very music video inspired and I think you can definitely make it work well.
My biggest worry for your film lies in its timing. Do you plan to use each of these poems? Your film could run way longer than it needs to if you do. As much as I like the incorporation of poems in your movie, i feel that it could be just as strong if only one of the poems are read, or if multiple shorter poems were written.
ReplyDeleteThe use of red and white in your movie is great, but I still wonder about how much of a shadow you want your characters to have against the background. Too hard of a shadow could distract your viewers from focusing on the dancing characters, and push them out of their backgrounds, even when covered in red. I believe by emphasizing your character's silhouettes via lighting you could strengthen the visual impact of your movie as a whole.
I really like your decision to use quirky dances. How quirky will they become and how much space within the frame does one person's dance take up? Do you plan to transition between dances, film them all at once, or some combination of both?
hahaha, we did touch upon alot of this in class, but i (like you did) will highlight the points i feel are the most important to me as the potential viewer.
ReplyDeletealot of akward juxtapositions; by that i mean...
-feet and glitter
-sweat
-strange and ridiculous clothing
-blood-red paint
-stubbly lipstick mouths (emphasis on teeth, and lips)
-and an ever-increasing amount of red, building up throughout the course of the film
that is all.
I think the poems will work a lot better with the rhythm of the piece, but you could have someone reading the prose piece at a lower volume for the duration of the film. It might even be interesting to have all of them going at the same time, mixing certain parts of each higher or lower, chopping them up, rearranging and repeating elements. I think you probably got the visual aspect down, but sound is something you still have some room to play with.
ReplyDelete