Tuesday, 18 February 2014

Synopsis and Style

Dishonourably discharged soldier Shawn returns home after fighting in Iraq, he's fragile from the toil of war and the post traumatic stress is a constant battle. He resides in his empty family home in a rural location far from society, Jim a family friend and only neighbour keeps in touch to aid his rehabilitation, but its a struggle. Shawn finally gets in contact with his sister and its clear that their relationship is decayed, Shawn and sister Ellie's father has always been distant from the family, a broken home, the consequence of a shoddy childhood. After his visit to her house, he's grief stricken after seeing his mothers condition and quickly learns his sister Ellie is at the hands of a pusher and owes him money, Shawn takes it upon him self to meet the pusher and resolve this financial predicament.


I would like this piece to illustrate the bitterness of human relationships and how they from time to time break down, yet we long to make amends often with great struggle. I would like a strong focus on displaying Shawn's emotion and how through minimal dialogue and body language that can be communicated. I would like to utilise long takes when capturing the characters without cutting to sustain a more profound relationship so that the audience can value that character in real space and time. The narrative will flow in a linear fashion however I would like to use a dream sequence to open the film establishing Shawn's mental conflict, in this we will see Shawn run down an open road in the Peak district dressed in his military uniform as he paces toward the camera through the mist surrounded by the endless fields, as we witness this, a poem will be read out by an older man displaying his emotional battle and his actual solitude pacing down the open road alone:




"He's alone, its an open road ahead,
the rain, its already soaked him to his skin,
his heart is racing, he begins to run,
he knows not what follows him but keeps on running,
he doesn't know where only that he'll get there soon,
behind his eyes he's fighting,
he clutches his rifle, the steal is bitter cold to the touch,
his view is short as the fog is thick,
a gentle breeze across the land,
the path lined with emerald grass and endless fields,
the black road beneath his feet leads him far from home,
in the clearing they await,
He has returned."



In the early scenes I would like to capture the vast rural landscape where Shawn resides at his rustic family home, the open fields and low lying mist in the early hours. The greens and browns of the rolling hills, a black road and Jim's tattered Land Rover. This will be directly contrasted by the deep reds and polished aesthetic of the pushers expensive restaurant in the heart of the city. The visuals will accommodate a vivid colour palate with punchy uses of red and gold, the grade throughout will be high contrast. A minimalist soundtrack will compliment the simple photography, building tension witnessing the tainted nature of the pushers callous trade. The drama between the family will be raw to achieve an emotional response from the viewer clearly depicting Shawn's selflessness when aiding his sisters difficult position. The opening will set the tone for this beautiful but agonising short, poetic and sometimes melancholy, an intimate portrait of a damaged man facing tragedy.



UPDATE

I adjusted the poem further to read better accommodating different lines that related more to the character in my film, these additional lines also introduce the idea that he has returned recently and is in fact away from the toils of war


The hills cascade beneath red sky,
He now stands on familiar soil distant from foreign,
Truant, a figure, a free man,
He begins a lonely march,
He remembers their faces lying still,
Clutching his bitter cold rifle,
Rain has soaked him to the skin,
A sodden jacket upon his back,
Pacing heavy heart and burdened,
A crumpled picture of those he loves,
The wailing has fleeted,
But still he fights behind glazed eyes,
Longing for halcyon,
A veneer of fog and gentle breeze across the land,
A path lined with emerald grass and endless fields,
The black road beneath his feet once led him far from home,
In the clearing they await his return



I don't feel that the poem is a necessary element in the film opening sequence, the scene will still work without the poem voiced over, I will trial and error this VO in the edit to see whether or not it will work. Please refer to my sound post where I talk about how I'd like the sound designer Steve to fashion the tone and pitch of the voice.

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