Post by Captain Galaxy on Apr 20, 2010 0:03:03 GMT -8
The Pitch
I was going to post this next to the futuristic buildings posts in the How far can this go? thread. However, I am currently writing a short film that takes place all in one night, focusing on character, music, and atmosphere. As such, this picture and many others I have found or taken myself have served as inspiration.
Basically, I'm trying to present the city night as an intriguing and mystical place. I happen to categorize rural towns and metropolises as sides of the same coin, and as such, I am in love with both extremes of cultural presentations: the bustling, loud, and energetic life of the city, and the calm, quiet, and serene and mysterious nature of rural life.
I'll take this opportunity to pitch the somewhat whole idea of what I'm trying to achieve. Cities are not usually bluntly presented as the antithesis that I believe they are to rural life: Full of energy, wonder, but lacking in mystery, as opposed to towns that are more rural in nature: the outskirts of the town are usually very dark, hilly country side. There is a lot of room for super-natural and mystical energy and atmosphere. They are quiet and mysterious. Cities on the other hand, are always characterized as bright and loud, even at night, due to the immense amount of street and building lights it has.
What's very interesting to me, and which I wish to present, is that while cities are loud and bustling in the daylight, they are actually extremely quiet and serene at night. They offer the same kind of mystique and atmosphere that a rural night might offer, albeit with city lights. But that's a good thing.
Thousands of tiny artificial suns; the city is lit by the stars above, and the stars closer to the ground. Late at night when everyone sleeps, what goes on out there on the tiles?
The Premise
Our story follows a young nameless girl, a college pupil with the semblance of an artist, who decides to spend one entire night out and about, believing she'll find something new and amazing.
While it shares the visual aesthetic and mise-en-scene I am aiming for, this picture was found long after I had solidified my vision, though it still adds fuel to the fire.
Along the way, she meets a quirky character by the name of Charlotte, another girl seemingly the same age, who spends her midnights rollerskating in an empty underground parking lot, chewing on a variety of candy as she does.
After playing a rollerskating game with Charlotte that involves the chuckling of lollipops, Charlotte and The Girl decide to roller-skate throughout the city, throwing purpose to the wind, and letting the wind take them where it will, so to speak. A montage highlighting their instant deep bond ensues.
I intend to fill the film with music like this, specifically the montage, along with music similar to the Pillows'. However, I will write the music myself, and have already begun, using inspirations like this. Lately, I've been kept up late at night by a blessing stream of wonderful spontaneous music melodies.
Play the song, and try to imagine what the final product would look like: two weird young girls rollerskating late at night, looking for adventure, this song playing over.
Eventually, there comes a point not too far into the film where, in their city wide voyage, the two girls stroll past a restaurant just coming to its late night closing time. Inside, is a nameless male whom we will call the Hero. Almost close to finishing up his moping duties, the Hero looks up to see The Girl, gracefully and happily strolling by on her skates. Through the windows he sees her, a beautiful girl gliding through mild steam vents like a specter, almost too good to be true. Intrigued, he hurries to finish his duties and pursue the girl, always one step behind as he chases her down through the film.
The rest of the film follows these two parties, Charlotte and The Girl, and The Hero and his Pal, each in search of something, always encountering strange, interesting characters and out of the ordinary, perplexing situations. In the end, The Girl doesn't really find what she is looking for, and The Hero never finds the girl.
The Characters
As character is a huge part of the film, I am currently focusing on making the players interesting and fun.
The Girl, as she will be called, even in the credits, is left nameless for a reason. She seeks adventure in the night because of her reminiscent memory of seeing an Angel late at night once when she was younger. The actress to pay her would have to portray her as charming, energetic, smart, and adorable.
Charlotte is the only character named because it fits her vice of eating Chocolate Chips. She is mostly characterized by her awkwardness and choice of apparel: tight black jeans, quad skates, red twill coat and pitch black shades.
The Hero is also left nameless for a reason, to establish a sort of everyman persona. To add to the effect, he wouldn't be a traditional Hollywood actor but quite the opposite: not too handsome, not too ugly, confident but not too much... etc.
The General Feel and Aesthetic of the Film
So far two places have inspired me and will act as sets to scenes that are essential to the understanding of the film: a rather decrepit underground parking lot here in our backyard of Old Town Tustin, and the Huntington Beach Pier.
The Parking Lot scene will be the second scene in the film, in which The Girl meets Charlotte, after The Girl decides to leave her apartment to take a stroll out on the town. It is very important because it sets up the tone and the pacing for the rest of the film. It introduces our main heroines and introduces the spirit of the adventure they will undertake:
Shortly after meeting, they decide to play a game that involves two players on roller-skates, one chasing after the other, attempting to stick a lollipop on the back of the other.
The Huntington Beach Pier. In the film it will be more empty.
The Pier scene will be the second to last scene and the last scene Charlotte and The Girl spend together, though it will define the humor of the film and their relationship:
It is near sunrise, and the last leg of the night is running its course. Charlotte and the Girl are spending their last moments together discussing their dreams, all the while throwing flower pedals into the ocean over the pier's railing. As The Girl speaks she looks to the sky, while Charlotte listens and focuses on the water below as she throws flower pedals down, one by one. She watches as each pedal hits the water. Suddenly a hand reaches from below the water and catches one. Charlotte is startled and looks up through her pitch black shades to see The Girl's reaction. The Girl did not witness the event. Deeming it the best thing to do, Charlotte smiles and nods, not even mentioning it.
The End
The Hero and His Pal reach the pier, thinking they've finally caught up to the girl. His Pal leaves, telling him its all up to him now, and that she has no where else to go. However, she is no longer there. He sees only Charlotte, sitting on a bench, eating Chocolate Chips.
The last scene is back at The Girl's apartment. She falls on her back onto her bed facing the shutters, where the sun is beginning to bleed through. As the sun begins to reach her face, she smiles, closes her eyes, and goes to sleep.
I envision this song playing at the end, and it is perhaps the only piece not mine that I will use. It will begin at the pier, when the Hero reaches it, and I picture the Credits beginning when the Synthesizer riff begins.
