EXPERIMENTAL FILM job roles

We have distributed the various form themed scenes among the group members:

Alex (Sound recordist/editor) - Sound & colour

Lucy (Camera) - Edit/Montage, lighting & score

Ben (Director/producer) - Composition, costume/props/set & gesture

EXPERIMENTAL FILM early scripts

Woman is getting dressed and fixing her hair. she is looking over a script disdainfully.

Man enters.

Man:

          Hi

Woman:

          Hi

Man:

          Listen, we need to talk.

Woman:

          ok, but I have to get to set in a couple                      minutes.

Man:

          ok, here's the thing-

Woman:

          It's just so stressful. The director is            taking this whole thing in a terrible                   direction.  He just never listens to me…

Man:

          Sweetie, listen

Woman:

          What is it?

Man:

          I don’t think I can do this anymore

Woman:

          what do you mean?

Man:

          I'm sorry, it's over.

Woman:

          how can you say that?

Man:

          I just don’t feel the same as I used to.

Woman:

          is it me? I can change!

Man:

          look, don't take it personally.  We just                      don't want the same things.

Woman:

          I can't believe this is happening

Man:

          You want to focus on your career and I                       want to settle down.

Woman:

          Oh typical! You have never supported me!

Man:

          That's not true!

Woman:

          it is! you only care about yourself! like                     right now, I tell you that I'm having a hard             time at work and you break up with me.

Man:

          well that’s hardly fair

Woman:

          ugh, fine. You're right. I'm done.

Man:

          oh don't be like this!

Woman:

          fuck you.

Scene opens in a dressing bedroom/dressing room in black and white. A girl center shot is looking upset and restless. She is surrounded by pictures of the countryside and objects like a map, a guitar, plants and pans. She is wearing casual un-fancy, almost peasant-esque (but clean and neat) clothes. There is a window in the background.

Cut to a man, he is very smartly dressed in a suit. Books surround him. He is confined in the room to a corner, in a square chair. He is annoyed, but trying to look cool and collected.

Woman: there is nothing left to say

Man: (laughs and pulls out a book from his shelf) you don’t understand

Woman: no, you don’t understand, I want to get out and do things

Man: we do do things

Woman: but for myself

Man: what?

Woman: I don’t want to rely on this things now (pushes away books) looks out of window and closes the curtains on industrial building)

Man: (cutches book)

Woman: (looks out the window, this time at a grassy field) I’m going to things in my own time, off my own back

Man: (uses inhaler)

Woman: storm out the room

Cut to corridor section.

1. INT. PRODUCERS OFFICE

Producer is sitting in a chair reading a newspaper.  Director enters, he is stressed.

Producer:

          Ah, Director.  How's things?

Director:

          oh not bad

Producer:

          good, good. How's production going? We still on               schedule?

Director:

          um, yep. Everything's going great! Except-

Producer:

          except?

Director:

          well the leading actress is a bit… moody

Producer:

          moody?

Director:

          yeah…

Producer:

          How so?

Director:

          well…

swoosh transition

2. INT. DRESSING ROOM

Dressing Room

Actors are doing their hair and makeup.  Runner pokes head round corner.

Runner:

          five minutes miss

Actor:

          So, you doing anything after shooting today?

Actress:

          (Noticing subtext) … yes.

Actor:

          Oh. I was wondering if you wanted to get a drink or           something but-

Actress:

          ok thanks

pause

Director enters with new script

Director:

          hey guys, just letting you know I've made a few adjustments to the                script, nothing major, just pages 10-36, ok see ya in five

Actress picks up script and silently fumes as she flicks through it.

Actress:

          oh my god, I can't work like this

Actor:

          what's wrong?

Actress:

          have you read this?

Actress holds up script, close up reveals it is the script for the film.

          it's awful

Actor:

     oh it's not too bad

Actress:

     yes it is! the man is a total wimp, and the woman is an over opinionated bitch!

Actor:

     he's not that wimpish

Actress:

     he's unbelievably wimpish! Look in this scene she literally towers over him

Actor:

     … well, it's only a job in the end

Actress:

     what?

Actor:

     I mean we're getting paid, why the fuss?

Actress:

     fuss?? Because I am an artist! I will not be stifled by this melodramatic,   over stylised, lazily written, half baked, and conflicted-

Runner pokes head round the corner

Runner:

     two minutes miss

Actress turns to runner and screams a torrent of abuse at them. The runner slips out of the door. The actress turns around, the actor flinches.  She picks up the script and rolls it up.

Actor:

     What are you doing? You can't do this

Actress turns to the camera and stares dead on. She storms out.

3. INT. CORRIDOR

Actress storms out of dressing room.  She

4. INT. SET

5. INT. PODUCERS OFFICE

woosh transition

Producer:

          So not too bad

Director:

          No, not too bad

END.

EXPERIMENTAL FILM documents

This is planning from an earlier stage of the idea in which the actress actually decontructs the scene's forms here self by 'attacking' various crew members.

corridor
sound mixer	shouts at him	levels get fucked
composer	threatens to destroy ukulele	music goes
sound recordist	shoves him out of the way	sound gradually goes the further she moves away subs from then on
colourist	shove	colour goes
focus puller	pushes face	focus is out
grip	takes the camera off streadicam	camera is shaky from then on
Set
script supervisor	rips script up in front of them	subs become jumbled
editor	"Stop it!"	one shot from then on
props master	throws props at him	no more props
set designer	rips down backdrop	no backdrop
costume designer	takes off costume	no costume
gaffer	turns light off	poor lighting
director	slap	ends

The 'basic' scene script

This is the script for the 'base' scene of the film, off which all the others will work The scene is written, and will be filmed in way that is quite 'standard' so that it may then contrast with the other experimental versions of itself.

Scenario - woman wants to get out of cramped relationship. She wants to go out and live life, and feels that the man is imprisoning her.

Woman enters with an air of seriousness.  Man is nonchalantly sitting among his mountain of kindles!

Woman:

listen we need to talk

man:

(not really listening) oh yeah-

woman:

bob for now, please listen

man:

(puts down mountain of kindles)

what is it?

woman:

I can't do this anymore

man:

how do you mean?

Woman:

you're suffocating me, I can't-

 man:

I- I don't understand

woman:

I need some space,

Man

(laughs smuglyish)

stop being melodramatic you've got everything you need here-

Woman

no. I want to get out and live life. I can't just stay inside and let life pass me by. you're too reliant on everything. i- i- I can't live like you do.

Man:

(insulted)

what do you mean, "like I do". I live like any normal person.

Woman:

you don’t live like a person at all! it's like your on life support or something. you think you're some sort of genius but the truth is, you can't really do anything for yourself bob for now

man:

(speechless for a second) i don’t…

woman

you have it too… 'cosy' here. it's fake

(man still speechless)

Woman

I don’t want it 'cosy', life isnt like that

Man

(realising gravity of situation)

no, please. I can change

Woman:

(looks out of window)

no. you can't.

(starts towards door)

man:

(desperate)

you wouldn’t be able to go on without me. you need me. you can't leave and expect things to be better. you can't make it on your own. you-

woman:

i'm sorry. it's over.

(leaves)

EXPERIMENTAL FILM

So the word for the film is 'Form'. As in film form. In our film we will be playing with the various of film form, e.g. sound, lighting, gesture, costume, colour, editing etc. The idea is to explore the idea as extensively as possible by repeating a scene again and again, but the 'message' of the clip, while remaining the same from each repetition, will change in the way its told e.g. told through colour in one, then composition in the next. Bela Balazs has been a great influence on the idea, through his essays on the topic of film formalism, as has Sergei Eisenstein for the same reason.