The Machine - Needs Oiling?

[LastChancey]

A fairly short script designed to be acted and shot by one person (me, presumably), and therefore relying heavily on acting and storyline. I wanted the audience to feel like they are viewing different pieces of a puzzle coming together before them; finally ending up with the full storyline in mind and the moral of the story firmly established. Hopefully, a story that rewards a second viewing.

But does it make too little sense? Too much?

You tell me.

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...DgtN2QzZC00YmFiLTgxZGYtZDdjYjliZWZhMWFi&hl=en

 

[polfilmblog]

I was a little unclear about the man he passed. Was it supposed to be the same actor?

"With nothing to do, he slowly lies down on the bed. Staring at the ceiling.

DOUG
Who are you?."

I usually shy away from characters talking to themselves. There's a 50/50 chance it will come off wrong and take people out of the story. It's usually better to have a dramatic conversation with another character to act as a buffer, a layer of distraction and distancing from having the guy just talking to the audience.

Particularly if he's going to lay down some emo stuff like, "Who are you?"

"...he looks exactly like Doug. Same face, same body, but completely different mannerisms."

This is even more confusing. Are you saying that the audience couldn't tell what the first guy looked like, only Doug could, but now we reveal that it is the same actor?

"DOUG (V.O.)
It's this feeling you get, almost
like a deja vu."

Now you've got these two guys banging the same drum over and over. They keep talking about it instead of having a meaningful action around the identity thing.

It eventually looks like a multiple personality thing.

Thing is -- who are they talking to in all these voice overs? There's no gimmick, like writing a book or an email or something. They're just telling the audience things. And the things they say get annoying pretty fast.

"Doug stares at John in the mirror."

If they're both the same actor, how's that going to work?

On finishing this, I really don't get it. I'm not even sure what the hell happened, nevermind why. Maybe that's what you were going for.

What is the summary of this thing?

 

[mad_hatter]

When you say “acted and shot by one person”, what exactly do you mean? Your script seems to call for at least one more on-screen character (the beautiful woman), but then also calls for crowd shots, impossible to do alone.

Also, you have a fair bit of dialogue in there, you’re going to need a sound man. And who’s operating the camera? How would you shoot the crowd shots of the characters walking along the street? Of course, for the indoor shots, you could set the camera up and film yourself, but I don’t think that’d be wise in the middle of a crowded street!

Anyway, I enjoyed the script, it was interesting. It wasn’t too confusing and seemed to come together well at the end. It reminded me slightly of “Memento”. Not sure on the moral though?

Also, one more thought; it calls for an American tourist in Paris. Are you an American? Are you in Paris?

 

[LastChancey]

Yes, I am an American. Yes, I am in Paris.

I have also figured out a lot of ways to overcome the difficulties of shooting completely alone. For instance, simulating a tasteful handheld look by applying camera motion in post-production, using split-screen and compositing techniques together to achieve the mirror effect, and using camera angles that are fixed to my rolling luggage in the crowd scene, which would basically involve me finding a crowded area, shooting one take and then putting on a dress shirt and jacket for the next.

The idea is that as the audience, we're not sure what's going on, in the same way that the characters aren't sure what's going on. We are subliminally led to believe that this may be a multiple personalities thing... although that's not the ultimate solution.

I intended the whole "Two of the Same Person" Gimmick to be a deus-ex-machina (EDIT: on second thought, deus-ex-machina probably isn't the term I'm looking for, but I'm not sure what IS. I only mean that I have no interest in fully explaining whether there is some sort of breach in the space-time continuum that allowed these guys to see each other, or if they were hallucinating, or if John actually died in his procedure and Doug's side of the story is simply a dying dream). This storytelling device is, to me, unnecessary to explain, simply there to explore the idea of human purpose and duality. The plot/resolution I have alluded to is told in a very convoluted way, but if it was in chronological order it goes like this:

1. A rich, young guy living abroad finds himself chronically dissatisfied with his lifestyle.
2. He explores the issue on the phone with an unnamed friend.
3. He decides to arrange another identity for himself and have his memory erased, convinced that the cure for his dissatisfaction is to take away the human urge for purpose in life.
4. He wakes up without his memory.
5. His immediate response is indeed to search for purpose in his life, asking himself the same questions that his prior self had tried to shed.
6. He displays reckless, alcoholic tendencies when the fake identity his prior self arranged is somehow lacking.
7. He gets a phone call from his unnamed friend, and thus begins on a new search for purpose in life, identity, and companionship.

Moral of the Story: Humans need interaction, identity, and above all, a sense of purpose.


And, madhatter, "Memento" was a huge inspiration for this. I really liked the rotating, mechanical feel of that film and the way it was assembled with different timelines running in different directions. I just wanted to infuse a bit more meaning and mystique into my script than Memento had - in the end, there was nothing to decipher, no real outstanding moral, just a big broad gimmick.

EDIT: Also, I should add that sound won't be a problem. ALL dialog takes place indoors inside my Paris apartment, which is quite easy to achieve. Ambient sound should be fairly easy to get with my setup, propping up my equipment for a few minutes on the street, recording ambient, and foreground sounds like rolling luggage, footsteps, etc.

 

[mad_hatter]

So the crowd shots would all be done, essentially, from the POV of the suitcase? How will you be able to frame these shots? How will you be able to tell if they’re even in focus? How do you intend to film yourself, bumping into yourself on a busy street? Don’t get me wrong, I think it could be done, but it seems overly difficult to me, and will require a huge amount of luck to frame those shots as you desire…

That said, for me, the script definitely works and it’s nicely written. So if you’re happy with the technical aspects of making the film all by yourself, then go for it!



One idea though, if you decide to bring other people on board, it might be an idea to have two different actors play the two main roles. Have them the same race, same hair and eye colour, same length of hair, give them both stubble, maybe a scar on their forehead, so the clues are all there to make them be the same person, they’re just not quite identical. With the two characters played by the same person, but not recognising themselves, it becomes almost obvious (to me, at least) that we’re looking at some kind of multiple personality storyline.

 

[LastChancey]

If I had more people on board, that's absolutely something I would do. The whole script was, for me, borne out of desperation - "I HAVE to film something original in Paris, but I don't know anybody there" - so I wrote a script that I could do entirely by myself.

And the suitcase POV was just one example. I thought of doing that shot because with my wide angle lens, I could get some really nice foot-level shots looking up at me, with these awesome Parisian neo-classical buildings towering overhead. Just an artsy way to get the shot without a dolly and camera operator (although I guess it IS a dolly...) For close-ups, which I would use when bumping into "myself" to avoid showing the alter-ego's face or clothing too much, I would just hold the camera in one hand. A nice Cinema Verite style to distract the eye. Actually, the way Aranofsky treated those early doppelganger scenes in "Black Swan" pretty closely resembles what I'm going for. Almost subliminal.

I DEFINITELY wouldn't think about making a movie this way with another storyline. I think that filming everything myself will, however, serve the mood of the story by creating lonely, long, profile-type shots that sort of hint at the fact that this is the same person.