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Flicker pitch
- 2. WHAT WAS THE CATHARSIS? Ohwait, hang on, what is catharsis?
- 3. WHAT CAN YOU TELLUS ABOUT THE SCIENCE FICTION GENRE?
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- 9. Plot: WORKING TITLE:FLICKER A runner encounters a bare and unusual man on a Northern moor. Lights flickering in a young girl (Kat)’s room wakes her, her dysfunctional uncle treats her cruelly, forcing her to do the chores. She and a boy (Toby) are soon after, playing with their radio sets whilst walking their dog when they intercept the runner and then immediately the alien man. They run away, terrified. Kat drops her radio. Clothes disappear from washing lines across the town, and as Toby is settling down at home, his radio emits unusual, perplexing, and comical noises. Kat urges Toby to search for its other half. They find the man, who had been using the radio’s power to find them, and he is as nervous and scared as they are. He responds in fright to their movements - simultaneously car alarms sound and flashes of light occur. He can only speak to them through electricity. He shows them his world as they show him theirs. They interrogate him, test out his unique abilities and warm to him in montage. After fixing Kat’s radio, Kats uncle returns after searching for her for hours. He quickly makes assumptions about the old man and it results in him pushing the man down the stairs. He is presumed dead. The uncle makes an effort to console Kat, but she remains solemn for the many days that pass. As Kat gets into bed and closes her eyes for the final time on screen, they are opened one more time by a flicker of the light on her bedside table.
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- 11. KAT We have ourprotagonist: a young girl (around 11/12), intelligent, beyond her age. She’s ambitious to learn in school, though she is not socially strong.
- 12. ‘HIM’ He, our aliencharacter, is a sweet/highly intelligent personality who takes the form of an old man. He has supernatural abilities, and he shows the protagonist charms of the world around her that most fail to see. Despite his wisdom, he is clumsy, and so we can find comic relief in his character.
- 13. TOBY TOBY, our protagonist’s token, chubby nerdfriend is a conventional helper in this Sci- Fi short. He’s an insider, a bit useless, but he also provides comic relief as well occasional feats of bravery. The UNCLE A potential antagonist in this short. He is a distorted father figure. He is the antithesis of the paternal alien man. He’s a police officer whose aggression is far more prominent than his protection. He has no time for sweetness, and is quite bitter.
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- 15. HOW ARE WE GOINGTO DO IT?
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Editor's Notes
- #2 Watch this clip and have a think about what aspects of it are interesting, where the catharsis/pivotal moment lies.
- #3 Catharsis is an Aristotelian term. “Fear poisons life with anxiety” “Catharsis can flush the feeling from our minds; clears the air” “Catharsis is the sense of purgation or relief.” It can be put as the “aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh” moment. Watch either of these examples which show some of the biggest a-ha! moments out there. Considering that a catharsis can be as minute as possible, and many can occur in just one text, what moment in the Iron Giant clip was the catharsis? The realisation of his powers as an alien robot you say, superb! Well it’s important to notice that a catharsis is a device that truly makes a film. Why are we interested in catharis? Short films are short by definition and we feel that for it to be an enjoyable short, it needs some sort of key catharsis.
- #4 Another reason why we chose the Iron Giant clip was because it is an example of a Sci-Fi text. Why is it? The advanced alien robot character might be a hint. Science Fiction is defined as a genre having conventions of advancements in science or technology. Because of the broadness of this genre, having such a wide scope for writers and directors to play with, there are so many different uses of the term science fiction - and it’s easy to forget that. Most people, in thinking about ‘Science Fiction’ might sigh and think of tinny products like Doctor Who, Star Trek or Battlestar Galactica. On the other hand, people may leap straight to the bigger Sci-Fis; Star Wars, Blade Runner, or Alien. Many forget about controversial texts whioch are less-conventional, i.e. Inception, Frankenstein, The Handmaid’s Tale, Ex-Machina. These are texts which don’t fully adopt the many conventions of Sci-Fi, and only focus on one. The Iron Giant is again, an unusual Sci-Fi, as it’s only defined as being so because of its sole robot element. Why did we/James want to do a Sci-Fi short?
- #5 Sci-Fi is a genre that allows for so many ‘cool’ things to happen. It's a genre that is entirely speculative, most of the Sci-Fi's out there present issues which could happen/have already happened. The iconic ‘A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….’ tagline is a way for nerds to uphold the slightest possibility of some form of Star Wars situation happening at some point somewhere - it simply can’t be disproved. This way, Sci-Fi films can complete the utmost form of escapism - by creating situations so far from our own, that we may temporarily forget that our own issues exist in the 90 minutes whilst watching a film. For short film purposes, much of Sci-Fi is based around an idea that is simply developed over and over until you’re left with something so epic that the idea is lost under all the layers of Hollywood ganache. With a short, you can explore an idea, and only the idea. The actors won’t distract you from it’s meaning, and there isn’t enough time to ruin the idea, unless you’re a remarkably bad filmmaker.
- #6 Short films are used as devices to showcase a particular artist’s style. Our short film will need a particular style in order to follow conventions of the format. Looking at films like Under The Skin and Ex-Machina we can see a bleakness in the way that the stories are presented both visually and dramatically. This is in stark contrast to many of the over-sensationalised Sci-Fi blockbusters. Some directors and artists carry their styles across their films. Wes Anderson for example is famous for his almost-symmetry, his technicolour wash palette, and his slow, calculated humour. Michael Bay on the other hand is famous for his over-use of slow motion, shiny objects and explosions. Each of these will have picked up their styles from other directors, authors and artists alike. Now it’s our turn to do the same. What will influence our style?
- #7 Moonrise Kingdom provides our character material - the humour between them. Stranger Things gives genre and setting, the retro-futuristic 1980s charm. We’d love to explore an 80s style in our short film. E.T. gives the relationship between an alien and a child. Donnie Darko provides thought-provoking dialogue useful in shorts. Hunt For The Wilderpeople is genius for it’s use of comedy between the two lead characters, Taika Waititi knows best. Her has a palette which is a bleak entanglement of Blade Runner and Donnie Darko. True Detective provides both stunning and sinister visuals. The Iron Giant gives the perfect sweet narrative and relationship that we aim to create in our short.
- #9 Our idea goes like this: A young girl and her friend encounter an old alien man who appears to have no recollection of where he is. His only method of communication is through the use of electrical devices.
- #15 We decided that some of the themes that should come out of our short film will be: Loneliness, Friendship, Coming of Age, Innocence, Paternity
- #16 It’s an ambitious idea, but between the four of us, we’ve had a lot of practice. All we need to do is have careful time management, to be respectful of our actors and crew, and to think about the story the whole time. We are lucky in having access to a wide range of technologies, such as high-end Nikon DSLR cameras, lenses, and film-quality sound equipment. The fun side of the production can come in practical and visual effects, which will be used sparingly, but even so - practice with these will be fundamental.