I'm making my first short film this semester. One of the characters will have an existential crisis in a super market's cereal aisle. I have an idea as to how I would show this, but was wondering how others would show it.
Filming an Existential Crisis
- Thread starter seeldoger47
- Start date
You want to show someone questioning the very foundations of their
life - whether their life has any meaning, purpose or value - in a
super market?
Wow. That's so internal. But a great challenge for a class. I can say
that I have no idea how I would externalize someone questioning
whether their life has any meaning, purpose or value. Nor, honestly,
would I want to. I look forward to seeing it when you're done.
life - whether their life has any meaning, purpose or value - in a
super market?
Wow. That's so internal. But a great challenge for a class. I can say
that I have no idea how I would externalize someone questioning
whether their life has any meaning, purpose or value. Nor, honestly,
would I want to. I look forward to seeing it when you're done.
The film is for fun, not for school. I also want the entire short to be without dialogue because I want to tell a story without cheating.
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Interesting; you feel telling a story with dialogue is cheating. I've
never thought about it like that. I made a short (my third one)
with no dialogue and my first had only five lines - four at the beginning
and one as a punch line at the end so I don't have a problem with
no dialogue film.
I look forward to seeing yours. When do you shoot?
never thought about it like that. I made a short (my third one)
with no dialogue and my first had only five lines - four at the beginning
and one as a punch line at the end so I don't have a problem with
no dialogue film.
I look forward to seeing yours. When do you shoot?
As soon as I buy the equipment, which could be a while because I'm having a hard time figuring out what exactly it is I need to obtain the look I want.
My initial thought is that I would have the character working his/her way through a grocery list, methodically adding food, cleaning supplies, toiletries, etc.
Then maybe cut to "ads" (fictionalized) for one of the products, which the character returns to the shelf. Then more "ads" and more things back on the shelf.
Then nightmarish clips of the person's daily life, the job that enables the purchase of these items, the people (spouse? child? parent? sibling?) for whom they're being bought.
All of these images swarm faster and faster - life mixing with the ads - until the shopping cart is empty, and the character is lying on the floor in the grocery store aisle, with other shoppers and employees staring down in amazement/confusion.
That's my thought....
Then maybe cut to "ads" (fictionalized) for one of the products, which the character returns to the shelf. Then more "ads" and more things back on the shelf.
Then nightmarish clips of the person's daily life, the job that enables the purchase of these items, the people (spouse? child? parent? sibling?) for whom they're being bought.
All of these images swarm faster and faster - life mixing with the ads - until the shopping cart is empty, and the character is lying on the floor in the grocery store aisle, with other shoppers and employees staring down in amazement/confusion.
That's my thought....
Mlsesmann is on the right track with his idea
I would have your character in the produce section and he is comparing and contrasting 2 different fruits. Then 3, 4, 5, 10. Then he is more than just looking at them, maybe he starts stress testing them. Every time he bruises an apple or orange this further upsets him.
Those were my initial thoughts anyway. Externalize his questioning behavior and take it to the extreme
I would have your character in the produce section and he is comparing and contrasting 2 different fruits. Then 3, 4, 5, 10. Then he is more than just looking at them, maybe he starts stress testing them. Every time he bruises an apple or orange this further upsets him.
Those were my initial thoughts anyway. Externalize his questioning behavior and take it to the extreme
Have the grocery list in the character's hand keep changing. Maybe even the items in the cart, too.
The list begins with regular, normal "milk, cereal, eggs... " items.
The continues to more personal things like "life, love, meaning... "
Then the list just starts posing questions and statements like "forget it. what's the point? what's your point?... "
Items in the shopping cart change from normal to progressively more inappropriate and bizarre items before disappearing entirely.
Finish with the character just sitting in the aisle floor looking over the empty list and empty aisles all around.
The list begins with regular, normal "milk, cereal, eggs... " items.
The continues to more personal things like "life, love, meaning... "
Then the list just starts posing questions and statements like "forget it. what's the point? what's your point?... "
Items in the shopping cart change from normal to progressively more inappropriate and bizarre items before disappearing entirely.
Finish with the character just sitting in the aisle floor looking over the empty list and empty aisles all around.
That's pretty funny - I quite like that. However the problem is I want to tell the story with visuals only, that means no dialogue and no text. Also I don't have the means to make that happen as it is just myself and one actor making the movie.
All of the above mentioned ideas are really good 
Here are some other things you could incorporate:
Here are some other things you could incorporate:
- You could also have a scene where as he looks at each brand of cereal and the price of them, the price seems to get larger and larger in his mind starting small at the cheap brand of cereal to very large for the very expensive cereal.
- You could have him imagine his bank account in his mind as he is spending and worried he is going to need to sacrifice certain things in order to handle how much or how little money he has to spend.
- You could have him trying to decide what to buy and in the mean time the aisle is getting crowded with other people and their carts, to the point where he is in the road and has to move every five seconds to allow people to pass by. But it gets to a point where he won't move and the aisle becomes congested, and everyone yells at him but he is too deep in thought.
theres nothing wrong with filming products in a grocery store, thats where they belong. it's only an issue if he singles one out and chokes to death on wheates or something
Ah gotcha, just thought it might be a problem later if this gets posted on YouTube, now with all the issues people are having on that site.
No dialogue/one or none actors.
He or she walks down the isle, looking at cereals/products. Some of the boxes read features of the character seen (ambition, creativity, etc.), and each ingredient are the events that lead up to these events. For example, creativity: nice art teacher. Anyway, the person begins to pile up the boxes in the cart. The cart begins to fill up too high. They begin to spill out, and the cart tips over, spilling the boxes all over the floor. The person stands there, looking at the empty cart and the characteristics that make up the identity of the character.
My second idea is the character walking through the isle picking up boxes of cereal. His/her mixture of addiction/loneliness/depression, as well as lack of consistency (basically, whatever you think of as the cause of the character's existential crisis), making the cart tip over and the character to look at what makes them up, and who they are.
How about cereal looking at all of the other boxes, nervously frightened by the lack of difference. Sounds of marching and chanting plague the room. The cereal looks amongst the copies of himself, placed like himself. The cereal falls on the ground, spilling out.
Good luck!
He or she walks down the isle, looking at cereals/products. Some of the boxes read features of the character seen (ambition, creativity, etc.), and each ingredient are the events that lead up to these events. For example, creativity: nice art teacher. Anyway, the person begins to pile up the boxes in the cart. The cart begins to fill up too high. They begin to spill out, and the cart tips over, spilling the boxes all over the floor. The person stands there, looking at the empty cart and the characteristics that make up the identity of the character.
My second idea is the character walking through the isle picking up boxes of cereal. His/her mixture of addiction/loneliness/depression, as well as lack of consistency (basically, whatever you think of as the cause of the character's existential crisis), making the cart tip over and the character to look at what makes them up, and who they are.
How about cereal looking at all of the other boxes, nervously frightened by the lack of difference. Sounds of marching and chanting plague the room. The cereal looks amongst the copies of himself, placed like himself. The cereal falls on the ground, spilling out.
Good luck!
The key will be your actor. He/she has to be able to emote through body language and facial expression alone. Going back to the cereal isle, the crisis could be brought on by the choice between a sugary "kids" cereal and fiber bricks "adult" cereal. Your actor looks wistfully at the tasty treats cereal but obviously feels that the fiber chunks is healthier. Indecision grips him/her and finally they collapse to the floor, clutching a box of each in each hand and shaking uncontrollably.
Have managed to deal with the subject/situation maybe the crisis/theme are different than your ideas, but just to share I've made a feature that have such scenes, which you can reference through the time code, so u don't have to go thru entire movie 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXsMMHizW3o
06:38 - 09:28
16:40 - 21:00
The supermarket scenes in the movie was inspired by Punch, Drunk Love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXsMMHizW3o
06:38 - 09:28
16:40 - 21:00
The supermarket scenes in the movie was inspired by Punch, Drunk Love
Thanks for sharing. I'll have to check out Punch-Drunk Love to see how they filmed the supermarket.
Given the subject, my initial feeling was to film the actor with a still and disciplined camera until he has the crisis. This way the way the movie is shot will parallel how he sees the world, while allowing me to pay homage to Yasujirō Ozu.
Given the subject, my initial feeling was to film the actor with a still and disciplined camera until he has the crisis. This way the way the movie is shot will parallel how he sees the world, while allowing me to pay homage to Yasujirō Ozu.