The film aims to blend the surreal with the mundane realities of our existence. The Man in the doorways character acts as a surreal representation of our hidden anxieties which often obstruct the goals in our daily lives, appearing as unsolvable problems, which is ratter to be avoided an ignored. Thus, ‘A Man is The Doorway’ is a short and experimental piece which aims at portraying human escapism and argues that there is little difference between our inner state and the physical world by creating a visual metaphor in the shape of a strange man, standing in the doorway.
RESEARCH
Themes: our main themes for our piece were on Existentialism, Escapism and surrealism.
DEVELOPMENT
Cinematography:
This is a story of a man trapped in his own inability to confront the problems he faces, he is anxious and an escapist by nature. We are aiming at representing his troubled state of mind by using a variety of shot types and editing of varied pacing. Examples of shot types that we could use are for one; close up shots which can be used to make the viewers feel slightly uncomfortable and in touch with how our protagonist is feeling being filled with anxiety, or even however the audience perceive his emotion and makes them really question whether they have felt the same way. Tracking shots can be used to follow the protagonist through the hall and give a sense of realism for the audience as if they’re actually following up with them. If our film was to incorporate this it would really give the viewers a real sense of going into the unknown however we would have to be careful that it doesn’t come off as a horror shot more of a curious yet anxious scene. We will too be using wide shots in the film to give off the sense of emptiness and loneliness that the protagonist is feeling, the wide-open space can be seen as discomforting towards viewers with all the bleak and exposed space available. The Location we will be using also has ties to the films theme due to the long wide and dingy hall having an anxious feel to it yet the urban location that is pictured is a staple in society seen everywhere showing that the protagonist is going through an everyday experience which is being disturbed by the man in the doorway. Visuals for our piece mainly involve Autumnal/Urban pastel like colours which convey the protagonists drained lifeless state.
Editing:
The editing that we want to use will hopefully portray the character’s anxiety to the audience. We really want to highlight the sense of discomfort that the character is experiencing throughout the film so that the audience really sympathises and can almost feel a quintessential taste of it. Fast paced cuts will be used to show the characters chaotic thoughts, as he imagines his life if he were to avoid confronting the man in the doorway. Of course, the human mind does not work in an organised, chronological order, so we are going to attempt to use the fast cuts in order to achieve this effect. We want to highlight the fact that the main character is going through an intense change in his routine life. The impact of the man’s presence is going to be implemented using the fast-paced cuts in the scene when the man is revealed for the first time, thus contrasting with the opening shots, showing the protagonist routine way home using long, uninterrupted takes. As the story advances, it gains momentum in the middle part, before ending abruptly, which will mirror some of the opening scenes in the way of using long takes, thus creating a sense of conclusion.
Sound:
The music in our piece will use early 20th century modernist music, this will be used to build an uncomfortable atmosphere which will intensify throughout the short. to connect the audience to the character on screen as his anxiety will get worse as he is left for longer in this uncomfortable situation.
Resolution:
Ideally,I would have wanted the communication in this group to have been strong. Being able to communicate creatively if I had an idea I feel was taken out of my hands in this group and didn’t get to express that in my role as the cinematographer. I just felt that the director was very controlling which is understandable but at the same time it’s group work and everyone’sopinion is just as valuable as anyone else’s. I would have liked to help more with the shooting as I want to progress more in cinematography.
Outcome:
I personally would have wanted the concept of anxiety to have been pushed a bit more into the short film because that’s what I really wanted it to be about. However,it ended up being a bit more about being odd and quirky than being about anxiety. I definitelywant to do a piece on anxiety as I think as someone that relates to it I could create something amazing. I really should have pushed for my ideas to be heard a bit more, I just find it quite hard to push through when it seems like my ideas are being belittled and sidetracked by big headed, selfish, egotistical, ignorant members of my group.
I believe that what we wanted to highlight in our film was shown. I think anxiety and what it can do to a person is shown throughout our short film. It is important to understand that anxiety can affect many people in a plethora of ways. I myself being a sufferer know how that feels. I think if I could have changed anything about our film I would have made it a bit more obvious that the main character is suffering from anxiety rather than leaving it open for interpretation. I might be contradicting myself just a bit but it was a bit difficult to get my point across when there were such headstrong characters in my group. I wanted the short film to be more about anxiety however I’m not completely sure that it was ideally the case. For myself, I would definitely say in future projects that I need to speak up more because my opinion and ideas are just as important as anyone else’sideas in the group. It’s still worth mentioning my ideas to the group because at the end of the day it is a group and groups are supposed to work together. This is not group work and I just think it honestly shows immaturity by ignoring others in the group.
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