3. research

My project: Its intent and why I am making it.
My product is a fiction drama film with psychological themes and an overall subtle social commentary. The film is
based around the concept that humans need interaction with someone or something to stay sane, whether that is
other humans and animals or social media interactions. While only just over 50% of the world has access to the
internet, the majority of this populous has (or has interacted with) some form of social media. Whether that is the
more mainstream Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc. Or more specific platforms such as Reddit and 4chan.
The plot of my short film is very heavily based around the idea and (certainly subjective) truth that the connection
between human beings has gently started to dwindle and divorce as the marriage between individuals and their
cellphones and social media platforms has grown stronger and stronger. Caring more about what is on the little
black square in their hand, than the person who is stood in front of them.

The idea is to create a despicable character who only seems to care about himself and doesn’t pay attention to
what's happening around him, only focusing on the affair he has with his phone. His lack of interest for the
people around him makes the audience abject and loath him. The idea of this character being a real person
leaves a sour taste in our mouth.
Through unfortunate circumstances has is placed into isolation our view of him changes. As he cycles through
different emotional states (anger, sorrow, regret, emptiness etc.) and his sanity starts to deteriorate. We start to
feel empathy towards him as he hurts his own body to keep himself sane, we start to see the humanity within
him and now we no longer find him to be despicable, but we find him to be a victim.
We want him to get out of this box, back into the real world with other humans and social interactions.

The 2013 drama/crime film 3096 Tage (or 3096 Days) is a film based on the true story of a kidnapping that took place
in1998.
The reason I chose this film as a product is because it covers one theme extremely well. A theme that I will deal with
on a smaller scale within my product too. That theme is being locked up in a room for a long period of time. In
this film the character is held captive for eight whole years. Both in my film and in this film the only issue with this
is that the protagonist is locked in a room that has no way of showing the passing of time through a clock, or the
change in technology etc. So the way that director Sherry Hormann achieved this is through physical
transformation of the character. Throughout first act the audience keeps getting told that Natasha (the girl held
captive) is too fat and eats too many cookies. Subconsciously building the idea that Natasha is a young fat girl.
However throughout the course of her captivity she is fed less, she looses weight to the point where she looks
anorexic, her hair grows long even though her captor shaves it clean off every few months and she grows up
physically.
Just before captivity After sometime in captivity After a few years Near the End
Drastic Change in weight

Another thing that I really appreciated about this film is the use of the actual set itself. When the character first gets
into the room it is completely baron. There is nothing but her. However slowly throughout the film the protagonist
ask for things from her captor and he gives her things like chairs, a stove, a table etc. Filling up the room and
looking her up/confining her space with each item that is added to the room. This adds to the need for her to get,
she herself has grown, she has changed, her room living space is slowly pushing in around her. Like the garbage
compactor in star wars, the audience and the characters both want to get out as fast as possible because they
know that every second longer they stay in this environment things will only get worse. In this film it is the exact
same, just much slower. I think this film has some really nice ideas about how to show the passage of time in a
place where the concept of time seems to lack to exist. These subtleties that they have to progress the change
in the character are subtleties I will implement within my own film, though I won’t be able to change my
characters physically as much as was done within this film I do wish to change them through their hair and facial
hair appearance in terms of facial expressions and so forth.
Drastic Change in claustrophobia

EXISTING
PRODUCT 2:
BLACK MIRROR

Black Mirror is notorious for pushing at the edges of societies ideas and pressing on future concerns between
the relationship of humans and animatronics. A very popular theme within the shows is some form of implant,
brain implant or brain stimulant. In fact 8 of the 19 total episodes are about these 3 themes.
(The entire history of you, White Christmas, Nosedive, Playtest, Arkangel, Crocodile, Metal Head, Black
Museum.)
However not one episode is the same, write Charlie Brooker, does a very simple but great thing. He takes an
idea, for example in the case of Arkangel. What would happen if a mother was too obsessed with keeping her
daughter safe. And then he can use the brain implant to write a story around this. And it works perfectly every
time. Whether it is a brain implant to keep an eye on your child (use your child's eyes) or to record everything
you see all day everyday. They are just the stepping stone to explore a larger topic. In ‘Arkangel’ The story is
not about the fact that a mother gave her child a brain implant to keep an eye on her, but about a parent who is
so obsessed with keeping her child safe that she ends up hurting it by being overprotective. In the case of ‘The
Entire history of You’ it is about society need to record everything, but just making the reality of that larger than
life and ensuring that everything you ever do is recorded leading to issues of trust, removing the human nature
from the equation, and making it a sterile world where everyone can know everything at any given moment.
I think the reason this TV shows is so popular (especially with younger audience <24 (see ref.7)) is because
some of the themes discussed in the shows are already very real or very close to being real. Nosedive, is
practically already reality. Its just not quite as extreme in real life. But there are certainly people in this world
who pick their friends based on their social media representation, the amount of Facebook friends and/or
followers they have on various social media websites.

All these people have an implant or
have an unnatural change in their
brain/body such as extracted
consciousness, testing extreme VR
or receiving other peoples feelings.

Therefore I don’t find it surprising to know that each episode has a budget of about $2.5 million. The
show produces each episode as though it’s a film with the writer Charlie Brooker stating in a Good
Morning Britain interview “Each one (episode) is an individual little movie if I can pretentiously
describe them that way.”
Breaking away from the idea that a TV series has to be coherently themed. While black mirror has an
overall theme, each episode is 100% different and nothing relates to anything else (except for black
museum) This will link in with the next product (The Grand Budapest hotel) Both of these products
have something very unique in that they completely brake away from mainstream conventions and do
their own thing. Because it works. They have taken the approach that they believed will work and
therefore the products work so much better as they are made by the creators using the conventions
they felt are appropriate and ditching conventions that they disliked. Rather than just following the
rules for the sake of following the rules.
This gives/gave me a fresh perspective on film making. It reminded me that when you make a film
you need to constantly ask yourself. Why? Why am I using a long shot here, what do I want the
audience to get from this. Why am I using this type of music, why am I using this type of movement.
Am I doing it because it actually adds something to the story and the character, giving the audience
more knowledge and insight. Or am I doing it because it has been done before and been shown to
work.

EXISTING
PRODUCT
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
3

https://vimeo.com/89302848
The Grand Budapest hotel is more comparable to a perfect
doll house than a film. Wes Anderson style, with his bright
saturated colours and perfectly framed shots is perhaps one
of my favourite styles in cinema full stop. Films like the grand
Budapest hotel are like an ongoing sketch with a high
production value. Wes Anderson uses film techniques of
comedy that remind the audience of classic buster Keaton
style comedy. With the 1.37:1 (4:3) aspect ratio used for the
‘story segment’ in which the majority of the film takes place.
The reason I say the film reminds us of these old fashioned
(buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin style) films is because the
characters more often than not move on a plain/axis rather
than in 3 dimensional space. Moving either from frame left to
right (or vice versa) or Away from the camera/towards the
camera in a straight line. They very rarely move diagonally.
Wes Anderson goes by this so much so, that within this film
he will pan the camera to ensure the characters are walking in
straight line and ensure that while the camera is panning the
audience cannot see the characters, cutting the scenes
without a physical cut.

Starting
shot.
Reframing in
preparation
for them to
leave the
scene.
Reframed
shot.
Characters
can now
enter the
‘new shot’
and walk
along a
straight line.
This ensured that the characters are not moving through the scene as it pans, but rather staying in line with
visual story telling and only moving through a frame that has already been locked in place.
1. 2.
3. 4.

This type of shot,
where the camera is
completely locked in
place and the
characters enter the
screen from either
the back of the frame
or the left and right
was extremely
popular within the old
black and white
comedy films.

Another interesting thing worth mentioning is that for each time period
within the film the director uses a different aspect ratio. For the Narrator
reading out the story we have a relatively traditional web 1.85:1 or 16:9
aspect ratio. For the Past of the Narrators experience we have a wider
more cinematic aspect ratio of 2.40:1 or 21:9. And finally for the story
itself we have a very old fashioned 1.37:1 or 4:3 aspect ratio. Nicely
dividing the 3 elements into separate piles and allowing each ‘era’ to
have its own visual style.
I really like and appreciate the stylistic choices made in this film in terms
of cinematography and mise en scene. I said before that his world is
more comparable to a perfect doll house than a film, but there is no
reason that this should be a bad thing. Wes Anderson has created and
crafted this (and all of his other films) into what his world entails.
Ensuring every detail is perfectly symmetrical if it needs to be and
making the audience see things for themselves. He isn’t afraid to use
bright and dull colours to show the difference between people. He
paints and puts together his world like a child a doll house. And it works.
Tremendously.
It makes his films stick out from the rest and when someone says
what's Wes Andersons style you can point them to any frame within his
work and be sure that his style and perspective is captured within it.

Looking at this film and Black mirror made me realise how
important it is to capture my film in the way I have intended, I
want to make sure that my own style is captured. It also has
made me realise that it is very important that you try things out if
you think it will make your product better. Rather than as I said
before, doing it just because other successful directors have
done it and not thinking about why you’re doing it and what effect
it has on the product.

Similarities and themes of
facial Expressions
I want to research facial expressions and body posture to learn more about how I can block my
actor(s) so that they can create meaning through their face and posture. I want to be able to
confidently direct where they look, what their facial expression is and know the effect it will have
on the audience. So it is important that I understand some of these basic elements in order to
confidently direct the emotion of the characters and evoke the meaning that I wish to represent.

Some Science on Isolation.
There have been several studies and experiments on boredom and isolation. Two of the most notable ones
which caught my being, firstly, the 8 month experiment conducted by NASA in preparation for missions to mars
and 48 hours in isolation. For my own work the 48hours in total isolation experiment was the most interesting as
the conditions were more similar to the conditions in which my character would be. During the 48 hours, the
subjects were placed in rooms that were completely dark with no reference to time or environment. The subjects
were truly left in a position where the only thing they had to keep themselves entertained for 48 hours, was their
mind. This resulted in almost all of the subjects hallucinating and imagining things. In the program one of the
scientist states that when there is no information to be processed your mind will create information to process.
Which is what causes hallucinations of all kinds. A very interesting example was from the experience of Brian
Keenan, who spent four and a half years as a hostage. During this time a spent several months in isolation and
within the ‘Total Isolation’ program he speaks about how his mind not only create visual hallucinations, but also
auditory hallucinations. He stated that he started hearing all kinds of instruments and at first, it was pleasant and
he very much liked it, but when it wouldn’t go away, it got louder and louder until it was unbearable.
I plan to include elements such as this within my own film, as it will really help to make the audience empathize
with the character. Allowing him to become a victim and therefore changing him from the anti hero to a character
we root for.
See Reference. 3
For the experiment.

What is its Audience?
The audience for this project is relatively broad. Since the project is about boredom and
its effects vs constantly being plugged into to external stimuli, this product can really be
viewed by anyone but I think it will speak more to younger audiences between 15-45.
Since this demographic is more engaged in things such as social media and smart
devices (Smart phones, Tablets and computers).
Furthermore I think the content of the video will speak more to younger audiences (15-
25) as it will make them see a part of themselves.
They will understand to constant need to check social media and feel like they constantly
need to be up to date to see what's happening in the world as well as what their peers
are up to.
It generates a fear of missing out, causing people to want to be involved with everything
all the time.

Audience Research
■ Primary Research Survey
■ I made this survey to get an idea of what proportion of people use social media,
how much they use it and how often they turn to it. This would work to help me
build an idea of how I could alter my product for it to resonate more with
audiences.

The first 2 questions were very simple demographic
questions to establish an audience of the survey
and gender/age divide. This will help me throughout
the survey to determine why answers might be
heavily one sided (e.g. only men taking a survey
about makeup and therefore (generally) having little
knowledge)
We can see that gender is relatively balanced
And the age range being heavily dominated by
<18-24 year olds. This means if there is a trend
of similar answers it could be due to the similar
age range. This will be useful information as it
will give me an idea of the social media usage
of a very specific age range.
It will also allow me to realise whether or not
my concept holds up in the real world. Since
<18-24 year olds are generally the heaviest
social media users.

Observation:
This shows that the entirety of the participants have a smartphone or access to social media.
What this says about my audience:
This means that the entirety of the audience has experience with social media and therefore there should no (or at
least very little) anomalous results.
How does this affect my product:
It means I will be able to get a better insight into the themes with which my film deals from the ideal audience.
Therefore giving me to opportunity to create a more appropriate and accurate film

Observation:
60% of the audience checked their social
media 10+ times and 40% checked it 5+
times per day.
It shows me that the people who
conducted are more on the heavy side of
social media usage. This will give me
results of the more extreme side of social
media users. People who tend to want to
be plugged in and connected at all times
and as much as possible.
It once again means that my product will
be able to have more of a setting in reality
as it means that the results of this product
will be from an audience that spends a lot
of time with the thing that they are being
asked about.

Observation:
While 60% of people said they checked social
media 10+ times per day, only 40% of people
say that the spend several hours (3+) per day
on social media.
This shows that while some people may check
their social media a lot, they may only check it
for a few minutes or even seconds. To see
what is happening around them and in the
world. While other users check it a little less,
but for longer periods of time.
It’ll give me an even split of users who use
social media heavily for longer periods of time,
and social media user that use it heavily but
for a little shorter. Giving me more dynamic
information allowing me to get an even better
insight into whether or not my product has an
audience that will agree with the film.

Observation:
The vast majority of the audience says the
find themselves bored often, this is because
the general public and this demographic has
access to virtually all the information in the
world. Therefore any moment where they
are not connected or plugged into the
information around them, is far more dull
and, well: Boring.
It simply shows that this is true for the
majority of my audience and that they
quickly find themselves bored when they
lack stimulation.
It does not dramatically effect my product.
However it does show me that this idea is
true and that the idea of lacking stimulation
causing extreme boredom which is a big
theme within my film is true.

Observation:
The majority of participants sate that they use
social media as the escape route to being bored.
While only 30% stated that they do things non
media related such as exercise, studying/work or
talking with friends.
This allows me to see that for a majority of people
this is where their high social media usage comes
from. Whenever they are bored they turn to social
media and use it to pass the time, whether that be
5 minutes 30 minutes or an hour.
It shows me that my protagonist is not something
that I just invented out of thin air. He, like many
other people, uses social media to escape
boredom. Which causes him to feed an ever-
growing dopamine addiction and ultimately
disconnecting him from reality.

Observation:
While more people stated that social media had impacted their life negatively, I was surprised by how many people said their lives had
been impacted positively by it. With a 60% to 40% split (60% stating the impact was negative.)
This shows me that the a small majority of the audience has a love hate relationship with social media, or, are simply addicted. Even
though they have been negatively impacted by social media, they still turn back to it using it multiple times per day. They are either
addicted and can’t stop using it. Or they generally have a bad relationship with social media but are stuck on it because of their peers.
It shows me that my product will speak to a majority of the audience and allow me to play on the fact that social media has a negative
impact on peoples lives. However since 40% did state they had a positive experience, I will need to ensure that I show a little of both sides
so that it correctly reflects my audience without being to ‘preachy’.

Observation:
It was a 50%/50% split between using social media less
and using it just the right amount but shockingly (not
necessarily surprisingly) 0% stated that they would like to
use social media more.
This shows me that my audience is aware of their potential
addiction and or reliance on social media. Wanting to use
it less or using it just enough. They are also intelligent
enough that they can realise that using social media can
potentially damage their mental health and that it is an
addiction that can be harmful in the long term.
This confirms to me that in my product the notion of not
using social media is something that seems to be desired
but most people (including myself) can’t stop using it
because they don’t have the will power. Making the idea of
‘forced’ rehabilitation for my film an almost weird romantic
idea.

This last question was asked because my character is quite despicable at the start of my
film. Not paying attention to anyone but his phone, I wanted to see if this experience was
common or if it doesn’t happen a lot. So that I would know if it was an dramatic over
exaggeration in my film.
Surprisingly everyone stated that they had experienced someone who was to absorbed in
their phone to care about the people around them. This helped me to develop my character
a little, and make him more grounded in reality, since I had the evidence that it was a real
phenomenon, and not something that just I had experienced.

My Audience
The results have a lot of facts that were predictable but also a few that surprised me. For
example it was going to be predictable that the it would be a fairly even split of Male and
Female as well as that almost everyone would have access to social media or a smartphone,
however these question were still important in the survey as ‘control’ questions so that
anomalous results could be identified and justified.
The survey results show just how much society and people between <18-24 years of age
depend on social media stating that 50% of them turn to social media when they are bored and
70% stating they check their social media 10+ times per day and 40% spending over 3 hours
per day with 30% spending 2-3 hours per day on social media. This shows just how much
young people are plugged into social media and how much of their time they spend looking
through a warped lens of reality. This is good information as it will allow me to make my product
relate to the audience more and more. Since my product strongly discusses/is about, the
inherent disconnection that social media is designed to cause. Knowing and understanding
how big of a role social media plays within the lives of the average consumer.

Furthermore, the results of this survey show me how much of a negative impact it has on
these people. While the split was 50/50 of people stating they wished they spent less time
and people stating they thought they spent just the right amount of time using social
media. This shows that as a rule of thumb using social media less seems to be more
desirable than using it more.
While researching some of the science behind isolation I came across a series of very
interesting experiments called the ‘Rat Park’. Some of these experiments tied directly into
my product and social media itself. In this experiment they placed a rat into an isolated
cage and give the rat the option of substance enhanced water (meaning water with drugs
such as cocaine in it) or food. And the rats would always choose the substance enhanced
water over whatever the other option was to the point where the rats would die, either
through starvation or through a drug overdose. But how does this relate to social media?
Well from what we can see above whenever anyone is bored they more often than not
turn to social media to ease their boredom. And boredom is often due to a lack of
stimulation or in other words, isolation. Now while social media is perhaps not a hard drug
such as cocaine or heroin. It still can badly damage a person mentally. Causing
depression, anxiety and other severe mental illnesses.
This goes hand in hand with the Rat Park study. Showing that when a subject is bored or
isolated. They will go to the point of risking their own health to be stimulated in anyway
possible.
Ref. 4-5
http://www.stuartmcmillen.com/comic/rat-park/#page-28

“What if the difference between not being addicted and being addicted, was the difference
of seeing the world as your park and seeing the world as your cage.”
A quote by Professor Bruce Alexander one of the professors who worked on the Rat Park
experiment.
I really liked this quote as it made a lot of sense to me and was extremely applicable to my
film as well as again, the audience. The idea that addiction isn’t a result of the substance
itself, but rather the context in which it is applied. The rats in the cage only got so addicted
to the water that had been modified because it was their only solace to stimulation, where
as a group of rats that was left separately in the ‘Rat Park’ an 8sqm box that had bark and
toys as well as multiple rats to entertain one another were not very interested in the drug
solution at all, as they had access to other rats, and an open space to play in. Much like
this, people in the real world who have access to such a ‘park’ a place with lots of friends,
access to food and other necessities often spend less time on social media or using other
‘addictive’ drugs. in an attempt to escape the world in which they are living. Compared to
people whose lives aren’t a park, but rather a place in which they struggle, the world has
captured them and everyday is a struggle to get to the next point.
Ref. 4-5

Now the audience for a very popular TV show Black Mirror which has an extremely young
audience, coincidently the audience is the demographic of the most popular social media
platforms. Audiences aged between 13-24. With 67% of the audiences of Black Mirror
being under 24 years of age showing no particular preference towards gender. This shows
that younger audiences regardless of gender are interested in themes about social
politics, social media madness and overall technological human interaction, where as
older audiences who may not necessarily understand social media as well, or spend as
much time with it prefer other shows that deal with different subjects. Furthermore Black
Mirror often discusses potential ‘worst case scenario’ futures of our planet, of certain
technologies going too far or becoming sentient and turning against the people who
created the technology in the first place.
Ref. 6

Ref. 7
Young Demographics
Lower income

Ref. 7
Interestingly more people
earning over $75K per year
Use Twitter.
Young Demographics

See Ref. 9
These statistics again re-affirm how addicted young people are, with fact like ‘active Snapchat users open the app 25+ times
per day’.
It shows me why my film is relevant and why the topic of addiction and the so called FOMO (fear of missing out) is so
important, as these younger teens (<24) are spending lots and lots of their time and brainpower, chasing after and searching
for a better life in a cyber space that is designed to make them fail and designed to make them feel worse about their own
lives.
Now why do I say it is addictive, or by design it is going to make people feel worse about their life?
While this is not directly the fault of the social media websites themselves. It is more to do with human nature. Lets run a little
example.
If you have a great day, you get a a new well paying job, maybe you go on a date with gorgeous guy/gal and you have
delicious food and overall a great time/day. You are far more likely to post this on social media as you had a good time and
you want other people to know that you had a good day.
Now if flip this and say you had a terrible day you lost your job, your girlfriend or boyfriend broke up with you, you’re low on
money. But overall you had a pretty bad day. You probably won’t put that on your social media platform.
So, when you then go onto your social media, you will (generally (especially with sites such as Instagram) ) see a plethora of
people having a good time, smiling faces, beautiful people, delicious food. All these people having a great time. And then you
are there. Maybe having an average to good day, but its nothing in comparison to the people you can see in the palm of your
hand drinking on the beach with all their friends.
This is (the oversimplified reason) why social media creates such high levels of anxiety and depression.
Because even though you’re having a good day, there will be people who are having a much better day. Not a lot of people
post an average day or maybe what they are struggling with. Causing this almost toxically positive environment, which has no
space for regular people or god forbid negative experiences.

What Production Techniques Will I need to Learn?
The first and most obvious aspect of my film is location and set. I will be building a set for the white chamber/room in
which the protagonist undergoes his ‘re-programming’.
I especially need to learn how to master audio. Since as a group we are planning on having our work screened at a
cinema/public hall. On a large screen with professional speakers. This means every little detail, every little crackle,
every frame that is not perfectly focused. Everything will show up and be far more noticeable. So I need to learn to
watch out for the smallest mistakes during the editing process. Using good quality headphones and a good quality,
high resolution and colour corrected monitor.
How to correctly record Foley sounds, layer audio in form of wild lines, Foley, SFX, music and dialogue.
Very fortunately I spent lots of time on my FMP last year working on sound design so I already have one foot through
the door. I just need to refine my skills and learn more about the effects of different sounds as well as auditory tools
that I can use.
I also need to learn more professional ways of framing my characters. Though I know some cinematic techniques I feel
that I have never really properly applied them within my films. Usually using fairly basic ‘low-tier’ methods such as
central framing and rule of thirds. I want to use a little more creative liberty, using more interesting compositions and
styles.

I also definitely need to learn to not over edit the video in all areas. For example in
my FMP last year I far over edited some of the dialogue between the protagonist
and his friend. This made his voice sound like he was ill and quite hollow.
Something that during the process of editing completely passed by me. (MUST
REVIEW FOOTAGE)
Another key thing is set dressing and character dressing. I want to really utilize
colour within my scenes more. On previous projects I had not really considered
colour as much as it deserves and I think that all of my projects could have
improved if I had paid more attention to set dressing and colour. I want colour to be
an active component in my story. Since the character goes into a world of pure
white, I want the world to be even more colourful than reality when he comes out
into the real world again.
I also need to learn some lighting techniques, I want my character to be lit
extremely evenly but I also want to play with shadows to accentuate certain
aspects of his face and make him look skinnier or fatter depending on where we
are in the story. I want to use the lighting to create drama in his face and his
surroundings.

Beauty Lighting: No clear light sources, no shadows on the face keeping the skin tones very
soft and allowing the models to look their best.
(often there will be a shadow under the chin, this makes the neck look more slender.)
This type of lighting could be used towards the start of the film when the character is still relatively
“fresh” and he has not yet been subjected to any pain or suffering. Suggesting innocence and
being untainted by his situation.

Side lighting: Ages character extenuates
shadow under eyes makes person look tired or
old.
This lighting technique will be
useful later in the film when the
character has aged and looks and
feels more tired as well as older. It
will show a level maturity and
trouble that the character has
developed. He has small demons
within him that keep him up.

Overhead and back lighting: Overhead lighting has been made famous by the god father films.
Overhead and back lighting casts lots of shadow onto the characters face. This makes them look
mysterious and somewhat ominous. It can also suggest confusion and un-clarity/conflict within the
character.
This will be best used at the very end of the film. To showcase how much he has been changed and
that he has been broken as a person. He is not the same as before. His character has demons that
are visible to everyone which he tries to mask, but cannot.

What is its Market place?
It seems that my product primarily fits into the scene of online video consumption (places like Vimeo
or YouTube) and film festivals rather than a cinema. Since it is a short film that doesn’t really have
much potential to be franchised. Therefore, it belongs more on the indie scene of the spectrum.
Meaning again, mostly film festivals.
Netflix recently has been picking up a lot of films and giving out funding films, which don’t necessarily
guarantee a commercial/box office success. (A very refreshing sight as it means we are starting to
see more new concepts and films, and the superhero genre is slowly getting kicked out.) Lots of films
that we see in the cinema today need to be franchisability. While of course there are many films that
stand alone without a franchise, cinemas are more likely to take a film back if it is part of a franchise
as it will guarantee a degree of financial success. This makes a lot of sense, and you can’t fault the
cinemas for playing it safe. However, it also means that the cinema scene has become a lot staler
with franchises continuing far longer than they need to. Causing films to go from something that was
originally entertaining and had some value, to something that is simply a money machine. (cough
cough most of the marvel movies.)

While my film is not as complex, good or by any means on the same level as the work of Charlie
Kaufman. It does share one similarity. It is (in my case) relatively ‘edgy’ (and in his case very ‘edgy’) by
which I mean it is not the commercial Hollywood style, act 1 2 3 story that has a set of rules that one
must follow, ideally a rom-com or superhero film and the odd action franchise every now and then to
spice things up.
His films are extremely challenging to watch and get your head around. They are films that will be more
appreciated by creative minds and other filmmakers rather than people going to the cinema for an
evening of entertainment.
Similarly Black Mirror, again challenges a lot of things, especially politically. Something that lots of
production don’t want to touch or mess with. Therefore making it hard to market on the mainstream
market. Leaving only a few sources. Luckily Netflix has a very positive attitude to promising films and
ideas. Producing a staggering 126 original series and films in 2016. With a total of over 700 original TV
shows and Movies.
Overall I would say if I had the budget and production time to produce a longer product of higher quality.
My product would be most suited for Netflix as a feature film. I feel there is enough material in the
concept to build a strong character and subsequent conflicts over the course of an hour to and hour 30
minutes for a stronger story.
However since I do have financial and production time limitations, I think my best bet is to get my work
submitted to as many film festivals as I can and publish it on as many online platforms as possible to get
feedback and criticisms from as many professional and non-professional filmmakers as possible.
See Ref. 12

What have these
finding taught me?
(Research summary)

Synthesis of Ideas
While Synthesis applies in all walks of life and especially modern day cinema (look no further than the money
machine knows as ‘The Avengers’) I have not truly understood or appreciated how important it is to the
development of a story and a film.
Before I started the research for my film my project was a half baked idea. After I had completed my research I
was absolutely blown away by just how much my product had evolved. I feel lots of my research came about
from writing my script. Whenever I got stuck during writing, I would research aspects of the project that I felt
could help me progress the story. Which would in turn inspire another idea, which would connect some dots and
bring out a new concept. The clearest example of this was when I was trying to figure out how to make my
concept less 2 dimensional.
In the original proposal of my project my character was very simply stuck in the room and he got addicted to
hurting himself through the boredom of isolation. So, I decided to re-search addiction and isolation. This brought
me to the rat park experiment, which brought me to social media and the ball kept rolling. This was in my opinion
the prime example of synthesis. That little bit of research escalated to the point where it linked almost all of my
research. It linked up addiction, isolation, social media, social expectations etc.
So, I found that its not a matter of doing re-search that you think will link your work together, but rather to just
conduct re-search that is appropriate and if you do enough of it, it will link everything together.

Researching the engagement of social media within my target demographic was really core to the research
as it opened up a lot of doors conceptually and in terms of the story and narrative itself. It gave me a good
insight into the topic that my film discusses as well as allowing me to branch that research of into different
directions such as mental health.
It is hard to state how much the research has expanded and developed my product. The biggest advantage
is that I have spent a lot of time with the subject, meaning I now know what my film is about. I have facts and
real world examples as well as contextual inspirations from other directors and writers. Constantly going
back trying to see ’Am I making this too complex’ having all the information and resources from my research
just gives me ammunition, ammunition that I may not need to use but in case I need it, it is there and ready
to be used.
I also found it interesting looking at lighting and approaching lighting with an idea of what I want it to mean
emotionally rather than what look cool. Since the start of this project I have found that perhaps I have
matured a little in terms of filmmaking from previous projects. I have been a lot more interested in story and
motivations behind camera movements editing lighting etc. Whereas before I generally only cared for the
equipment and quality of the video. However, now that I have some technical skills, I can focus more on the
story and theory behind the films, which is very exciting and I have learned a lot.
I think I have a very good base layer of research and information for the film. However over the course of the
project, I know I will return to this PowerPoint, adding to it and editing it as I find new pieces of information
that are relevant and add to the project.

All that this research has done is it has really sparked more enthusiasm for the project within me. It almost
allowed me to look at the idea again with a fresh set of eyes. The research has guided me to a place where
I am a lot more aware of what my project means at what it is meant to evoke within the viewer. This means
that I can now be a lot more aware and cautious about all aspects of production to ensure they reflect what
my idea is. Whether that be the acting, the lighting, camera movements, sound design etc. I now have a
clearer vision of what it is that I want to make and create within my project.

1. Jameson Irish Whiskey. (2015). Adrien Brody in "Boredom" | Jameson First Shot 2015. Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_a97AmkfM8. Last accessed 28/01/2019. (Short Film)
2. Sherry Hormann. (2013). 3096 Tage. Available: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1667355/. Last accessed
04/02/2019. (Film)
3. BBC. (2008). Total Isolation. Available:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/broadband/tx/isolation/. Last accessed 05/02/2019.
4. Dr. Berney. (2018). Addiction as a Response to Isolation. Available:
http://thementalbreakdown.com/tag/substance-abuse/. Last accessed 07/02/2019.
5. http://www.stuartmcmillen.com/comic/rat-park/#page-28
6. anon. (2018). The Black Mirror Audience: Young and Sad. Available: https://www.crimsonhexagon.com/the-
crimson-post/the-black-mirror-audience-young-and-sad-2018-01-04/. Last accessed 07/02/2019.
7. anon. (2018). The 2018 Social Audience Guide. Available: https://www.spredfast.com/social-media-
tips/social-media-demographics-current. Last accessed 07/02/2019.
8. anon. (.). List of Black Mirror Episodes. Available:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Black_Mirror_episodes. Last accessed 08/02/2019.
9. Robert L. Leahy Ph.D.. (2008). How Big a Problem Is Anxiety?. Available:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/anxiety-files/200804/how-big-problem-is-anxiety. Last accessed
14/02/2019.
10. Scott Stossel (2014). My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind. London:
Random House. 7-42.
Bibliography
(References)

11.lay Skipper. (2018). How (And Why) to Build Some Boredom Back Into Your Life. Available:
https://www.gq.com/story/how-and-why-you-should-be-bored. Last accessed 19/02/2019.
12.odd Spangler. (2018). Netflix Eyeing Total of About 700 Original Series in 2018. Available:
https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/netflix-700-original-series-2018-1202711940/. Last
accessed 19/02/2019.
13.David Brown and Nick Triggle. (2018). Mental health: 10 charts on the scale of the
problem. Available: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41125009. Last accessed 19/02/2019.
14.Aj Detisch. (2018). Film Lighting Techniques: How to Make Your Film Look More
Cinematic. Available: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/film-lighting-techniques/. Last accessed
19/02/2019.

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