The Postgrad Diploma students are supposed to be working on two projects thus far. A self-reflexive (reflective?) documentary which involves all four filmmakers sitting before the camera talking about themselves. And also the toilet paper epic I mentioned few days ago.
The documentary is a bitch, because we can't really find a good topic that can make things interesting to watch. Will people want to see us wanking about our filmmaking dreams? I can imagine people groaning when they hear another person claiming filmmaking as a 'childhood dream', or a 'part of life', which is bred from 'an unparalleled passion for films', and that regardless of it being a difficult business and industry, we will 'trudge on to realize our dreams'. Such maudlin crap makes me want to puke. I mean, let's face it, 90% of the aspiring filmmakers have the same reasons why they want to be filmmakers, instead of sympathizing with them, or connecting, I will most definitely feel annoyed with such a documentary (I watched something like this today by former Murdoch film students, and even though they went on to win awards left and right, I didn't like the documentary). So no, I don't want to torture my audiences with something like that either.
Or maybe I'm just a self-centered, egoistic, narcissistic scumbag who doesn't like to hear about another person who is too similar to himself.
But then, Pam, who reads this site, managed to come up with a wondrous topic that had me celebrating in joy. We speak about our fear, and who knows? It's something that can be developed. I can voice out my embarrassing fear for dogs. And then participate in a crazy stunt where I try to pet a dog. It's like Fear Factor. Hmm. I shall ponder.
As for the toilet paper film, the tentatively titled Arse Wipe, or Shitstorm, I'll be resuming work on my storyboard after posting this entry.
These are all mere practices to get me ready for my upcoming sci-fi film that I will be working throughout the second half of the year. I've mentioned here that it has evolved from a supposedly funny satirical tale to something more conventionally dramatic. The satire remains, of course, my two main characters, Edward and Maya will still run into a bunch of colourful characters who are dealing with life without internet in this postapocalyptic city, and here are my ideas thus far, which I've jot down for my supervisor on my synopsis last week. (if you've forgotten, it is also based on my Blogosphere tale two months ago)
‘Bloggers’ = Some homeless bum who carries his personal diary around begging others to read it and then leave a comment.
‘Chatroomers’ = Someone who goes around speaking to strangers. They begin their conversations with ‘hi! A/S/L? Let’s be friends! LOL!’
‘Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Gamers (MMORPGers)’ = A group of people who are dressed up like fantasy characters congregating, and then whacking each other with foam or toy swords (in the background)
‘Counterstrikers’ = similar to the MMORPGers, just that they dress up in commando uniforms and carry toy guns. Counter Strike fans.
‘File-sharing Vendours’= Someone driving a van (like an ice-cream van), sharing dvds and cds he has stolen from video and music shops.
Digital cultists = A bunch of cultists gathering around a computer, praying and worshipping.
My short film follows a 3-act structure too. First Act is a road movie where the two main characters are in a car. Second Act is a quest movie where the two main characters wander through a foreign city searching for someone (while meeting the aforementioned weirdos). Third Act is where everything is revealed in a startling twist.
This time, instead of drawing my influence from the very low budget short film Jettison Your Loved Ones (download it!) or Jean-Luc Godard's Alphaville. I'm aiming more for a... er, Lost In Translation (two souls bonding at a foreign land, whose relationship can be interpreted as friendship or romantic) meets About Schmidt (not About Schmidt specifically, more like Wes Anderson/Alexander Payne-type humour) meets Pi (insane black and white, claustrophobic settings, the last place a subtle understated romance would take place in).
After hearing my idea, my supervisor asked me to seek two films by Jim Jarmusch, its title has escaped her though, so it could either be Permanent Vacation or Stranger Than Paradise. It's about a bunch of guys trying to go to a beach or something, anyone has any idea which one she's talking about? She said there's this tormented love story in it too that I can use as inspiration too. Hmmmm. (Unfortunately for me, amongst all the films done by him, I've only seen Ghost Dog, which is pretty awesome and funny).
The documentary is a bitch, because we can't really find a good topic that can make things interesting to watch. Will people want to see us wanking about our filmmaking dreams? I can imagine people groaning when they hear another person claiming filmmaking as a 'childhood dream', or a 'part of life', which is bred from 'an unparalleled passion for films', and that regardless of it being a difficult business and industry, we will 'trudge on to realize our dreams'. Such maudlin crap makes me want to puke. I mean, let's face it, 90% of the aspiring filmmakers have the same reasons why they want to be filmmakers, instead of sympathizing with them, or connecting, I will most definitely feel annoyed with such a documentary (I watched something like this today by former Murdoch film students, and even though they went on to win awards left and right, I didn't like the documentary). So no, I don't want to torture my audiences with something like that either.
Or maybe I'm just a self-centered, egoistic, narcissistic scumbag who doesn't like to hear about another person who is too similar to himself.
But then, Pam, who reads this site, managed to come up with a wondrous topic that had me celebrating in joy. We speak about our fear, and who knows? It's something that can be developed. I can voice out my embarrassing fear for dogs. And then participate in a crazy stunt where I try to pet a dog. It's like Fear Factor. Hmm. I shall ponder.
As for the toilet paper film, the tentatively titled Arse Wipe, or Shitstorm, I'll be resuming work on my storyboard after posting this entry.
These are all mere practices to get me ready for my upcoming sci-fi film that I will be working throughout the second half of the year. I've mentioned here that it has evolved from a supposedly funny satirical tale to something more conventionally dramatic. The satire remains, of course, my two main characters, Edward and Maya will still run into a bunch of colourful characters who are dealing with life without internet in this postapocalyptic city, and here are my ideas thus far, which I've jot down for my supervisor on my synopsis last week. (if you've forgotten, it is also based on my Blogosphere tale two months ago)
‘Bloggers’ = Some homeless bum who carries his personal diary around begging others to read it and then leave a comment.
‘Chatroomers’ = Someone who goes around speaking to strangers. They begin their conversations with ‘hi! A/S/L? Let’s be friends! LOL!’
‘Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Gamers (MMORPGers)’ = A group of people who are dressed up like fantasy characters congregating, and then whacking each other with foam or toy swords (in the background)
‘Counterstrikers’ = similar to the MMORPGers, just that they dress up in commando uniforms and carry toy guns. Counter Strike fans.
‘File-sharing Vendours’= Someone driving a van (like an ice-cream van), sharing dvds and cds he has stolen from video and music shops.
Digital cultists = A bunch of cultists gathering around a computer, praying and worshipping.
My short film follows a 3-act structure too. First Act is a road movie where the two main characters are in a car. Second Act is a quest movie where the two main characters wander through a foreign city searching for someone (while meeting the aforementioned weirdos). Third Act is where everything is revealed in a startling twist.
This time, instead of drawing my influence from the very low budget short film Jettison Your Loved Ones (download it!) or Jean-Luc Godard's Alphaville. I'm aiming more for a... er, Lost In Translation (two souls bonding at a foreign land, whose relationship can be interpreted as friendship or romantic) meets About Schmidt (not About Schmidt specifically, more like Wes Anderson/Alexander Payne-type humour) meets Pi (insane black and white, claustrophobic settings, the last place a subtle understated romance would take place in).
After hearing my idea, my supervisor asked me to seek two films by Jim Jarmusch, its title has escaped her though, so it could either be Permanent Vacation or Stranger Than Paradise. It's about a bunch of guys trying to go to a beach or something, anyone has any idea which one she's talking about? She said there's this tormented love story in it too that I can use as inspiration too. Hmmmm. (Unfortunately for me, amongst all the films done by him, I've only seen Ghost Dog, which is pretty awesome and funny).
