First Film Scenerio !

In my FILM DESIGN: Meaning Formation Through Film Practices  course we were asked to make a short film and develop itaccording to the things we have learned in our lectures. Actually this course was really influential and I get a chance to use my architectural knowledge too. We were choosing our logline ourselves so we chosed ”We shape our buildings thereafter they shape us.” which is a quetotation from Winston Churchill’s speechs. Designing it’s written scenerio and the visuals were really exciting.

We were a group of 6 and worked together the whole term.

TRANSMISSION

Logline: We shape our buildings thereafter they shape us.

Duration: 4 min

Genre: Documentary

Settings: A shopping mall, a hospital, an open plan office, streets, a dorm room.

Why are we shooting this short film? (Documentary)

   Our main aim of creating this project was to create awareness on certain situations that people go through every day of their daily lives and do not even recognize them. The phrase looks like it is more emphasized on the structural part even though the underlying meaning contains how the environmental factors affect our phycology and behaviors. Sometimes a building, a closed environment can make someone uncomfortable and give a stressful vibe whereas space can also make someone safe and sound. The buildings are designed with this intention on the mind at the first place, for example, an open plan office is designed so that people can check on each other or a shopping mall is designed for encouraging people on buying more stuff. People do not realize that the space that they are in is already controlling their behaviors for better or worse.

SYNOPSIS

      We’re watching a man’s daily life. The plot begins at the hospital and ends at the university. Each scene is located in different places and structures. There is a transition to another scene with each door opened. The man surrenders to different feelings in every structure that the man is in. You will see this in every scene but ultimately the perception in your mind may change completely at the end.

TREATMENT

Scene 1:

The scene starts with a doctor entering the hospital. There is a large crowd in from of him. Space is giving claustrophobic vibes. The man starts walking towards the hallway. While the man continuous on walking, the nurse stops the man and guides him to the emergency room. As soon as the man steps to the emergency room, he starts to feel disgusted and annoyed because of the overwhelming hospital smell. When the man looks at his right, there are some patients’ relatives that are crying.

When he looks at his left, he sees that there are some workers that are carrying a patient on the stretcher that is not in good condition. He paces down the hallway while walking by all the obnoxiously crying children. The twitching florescent dim lights that are lighting the white corridor are making him feel a bit empty. He wants to get away from this environment as soon as possible so that he throws himself into the elevator that is located at the end of the hallway.

Scene 2:

The man stands in an elevator while we see his back and the elevator door in front of him. The sunlight reflects while passing by each floor. He is going up. After a while, the door opens with a dink sound. The door opens to the food court of a shopping center. The whole floor is overflown by people that are making too much noise, the differentiation between different sounds is not recognizable anymore. The man is uncomfortable, his intention was to eat but he gets frustrated by the line on each food stands and there are nowhere to sit. He starts to walk angrily and exits the food court part of the mall. He wanders around the wall and at last looks at his watch to check on the time. The time flew by which made him realize that he needs to leave. He moves towards the exit door and proceeds to take the stairs in order to leave the mall.

Scene 3:

The scene begins at the end of the staircase. The man goes through a door which opens to an open plan office. The office is crowded but a disturbing silence prevails. The man sits down at one of the desks which there are probably hundreds of and starts to work. After a while, he starts to feel the staring between his co-workers getting too overwhelming that he needs time off. The constant pressure that people around him puts on makes him feel trapped like he can’t breathe. He loosens up his tie a little bit to make himself more comfortable. He wouldn’t have to go through all this stress if only he had his own room. He gets up, he wants to escape but he knows that he is not allowed to. He moves towards the bathroom and turns the door handle in order to get in.

Scene 4:

The scene starts with focusing on a door handle turning. The door opens to a small and narrow dorm room. He looks back to show that he was previously in the bathroom which was also too small even for one person. He proceeds to get into the room where everything looks out of place. The furniture does not fit in the room and takes too much place which in return leaves too little for the circulation. He is having difficulty moving. He picks up the pile of unwashed clothing from the chair in order to sit and basically throws them on the floor which is the only empty space at the moment. He starts to study but the environment makes it impossible to concentrate. There is a window but the room is still very dark. The room has a sweltering air. The noise passes into the room from the walls of the room. After a while, the man suffers and ceases to study. He feels like he has to go away from the place as soon as possible, he feels like he is suffocating. He sighs and gets up only to step on the clothes he just threw on the floor a while ago. He starts to feel more annoyed while he opens the door to go out of the dorm.

Scene 5:

This time we can see what its behind the door. All the first four scenes that are ended with a door, find themselves at the outside. The doors open one by one. The day had been ended since there is no sunlight anymore. There is a feeling of relief that comes by exiting those places. All the stress and the pressure that they have felt before has gone.

SCENE 6:

The scene starts with a dark screen. There are a lot of noises which indicates that the setting is crowded. This time the character is in the middle of a busy street at night time. He stands still while the people around him push him in order to pass by. The camera makes shooting from the angle up. The panics and starts to feel uncomfortable with his surroundings. He starts walking towards a place that he knows will him feel safe even though it is a part of this busy street. He gets in the building and the noises which felt like followed him all the way to the building stop. The silence and the peaceful environment makes him feel like he belonged there and he is no longer afraid. A structure does not always expose to negative effects, sometimes it can be a way of salvation. A building can sometimes build you with nice sensations.

About a short film

As you can see mentioned link, there is a short film directed, written and edited by Peter Lewis. At the Film design: Meaning Formation Through Film Practices course that I take as an free elective we were expected to write an essay about the short film ”The Camera” according to the things we have learned.

The short film that we have watched is a realist film. We can sense it easily because of the director’s decisions that can be seen through the whole. There is no particularly arranged set design rather they just filmed in a seaside area, where an old house is located near. He used natural light as an effective source and no special effects were used. Rather than that, he played with camera angles, focuses and perspectives. On the other hand, the sound at the background is a simply playing piano. The girl that we see is pure and didn’t seem like a professional actor. If I was Peter Lewis and tried to write the project of this film idea, my logline would be; Capturing the moment to eternize is a modern way of grave. My synopsis is that I will make people think about the action of capturing the moment. By this I will achieve the approach of being a mortal human isn’t just about living. The people we know, and our memories make it special so this will affect everyone’s heart who watch this film.  My treatman would be; In order to achieve a more powerful effect by shoving a camera’s simple function, I will make the capturing action more magical. People will show up even if they don’t exist. In addition to this, I will use a seaside area and an abandoned house to give the loneliness feeling. The natural light and sun coming inside the house will give a heavenly effect for the ones who are in our memories, not in our world. The film will start slowly by giving the effect of background better. Then we will try to figure out what is going on with the girl. Her facial expressions and body language is so natural that we will feel like we are actually living it too. People who are appearing and disappearing will give a meaning to us too, because we all have some relatives who have died or about to. Or the film may just make us remember that to live the moment and capture it, but also know that it will have an end.  If I were a jury, I would choose the director to have an award. Because he is the one in charge of creating the whole composition and structure of the film. However, especially in a short film like this they have a lot to do because there is very limited time and limited budget. The arrangement of scenes and even the actor’s physical appearance and clothes give meaning to every second. He chooses to have a piano playing at the background rather tan using normal conversations. He showed us the effect of setting and the actions intensity by making us constantly curious. We can’t disregard the script writer and scenario of the film. But this time it was the producers success of making a subject come alive and felt by everyone who watches it is the real success.