CONCLUSION

Ultimately, I am proud with the final result of the script. I believe I have managed my time effectively, in order to conduct extensive research and produce several drafts over months.  I have left enough time to get Feedback from Ian, alongside other individuals, which made me aware of what I could improve on, allowing me to make adjustments, before the deadline. I have weeks researching key films, artistic movements, writing my script, getting feedback and finally adding the extra camera and action descriptions in my script, that would provide a more vivid idea of 'The Inner Voice'.

The Inner Voice summary

Visual elements

• Overly bright scenes, to show how Kate is overwhelmed by her surroundings. Dark, dim scenes, lacking colour, to reveal her inner darkness. 
• High contrast lighting
• Dominance of the colour red, representing the threatening atmosphere 
• ECU/CU of monstrous gazes 
• Surrealist visual style is prominent, especially in dream sequences, which artistically reveal Kate's unconscious fears.
• Blurry shots- representing Kate's dizziness 
• Bright spotlights are visual motif throughout the film 
• Glass windows are used as a visual motif throughout the film. This reflects how Kate is merely an observer of her reality, peeping at the dancers through glass windows, displaying her social distance. 
• Mirrors are also a visual motif. This also causes Kate to reflect upon her life. 
• Ballet sequences 

Sound:

• Amplified sounds, train screeching against the tracks, voices, laughter, whispering, Kate's inner voice
• Ballet music in the dance studios 
• Distorted, eerie and horrific sound, reflecting Kate's perspective 
• Frightening sound effects. For example, the time that Kate realises that the dance teacher has caught her peeping, there is a sudden sound effect. 
• Limited dialogue from Kate throughout the film

Camera-work:

• Many hand-held shots to reflect Kate's disturbed mind-set
• Steadicam, to capture smooth movements during the ballet sequences

Editing:

• Fast- paced- It will be reflective of Kate's panic and how she jumps to negative conclusions. 
• Jump cuts 
• Slow-paced editing- As the film continues and Kate becomes more calm, the pace begins to slow down, particularly through the ballet sequences. 
• Montage editing- Depicting the Kate's mundane cleaning routine in the dance studio, everyday from 9-6. 

Characters:

• Kate (protagonist)
• Kate's mother Leslie
• The dance teacher at the dance company

Main character's goals:

• To audition for the local ballet production 
• To get rid of her anxiety 
• To become free of her mother's voice and live independently 

Themes: 

• Critical parent 
• Anxiety 
• Freud and the the unconscious 
• Reality and illusion- Kate is under the illusion that her inner voice, belongs to herself 

Presentation PowerPoint

The Inner Voice from me14s

 

To create my PowerPoint presentation for my screenplay the inner voice, I had to consider the key ways to get the audience's attention.

• I ensured to include only very brief notes on the PowerPoint slides. I felt that using dense and length descriptions would distract the audience. It would also be challenging for them to read and listen to me at the same time. Therefore, it was important to stay concise.
• I tried to stray away from giving mere plot details. I included the ways I see the story coming to life through specific visual and sound elements.
• I focused on one idea per slide, so the audience don't get confused. The points I emphasised on were: my inspiration, the premise, visual and sound elements, my mood-board, introducing my opening nightmare sequence, and analysing it through psychoanalysis, and finally concluding with the main themes of my piece.
• The short speech I have prepared expanded on these notes.

 

Methods for pre-visualisation for the nightmare opening sequence

I-CLONE

Using I-clone would be challenging if I were to try and create the circus set and the hectic action of the crowd and performers. It would certainly not be possible to add all the details I aim  to include for the scene, especially under the time restriction for this project. Furthermore, my experience using this software is limited and many elements within it require purchasing, thus the quality of my pre-visualisation wouldn't be of a very high standard. In this respect, I will not be using I-clone, as realistically speaking, I cannot wholly and accurately represent the scenes within my screenplay.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Taking photographs to construct a storyboard is an attractive method for me. However, considering the complex nature of my scenes, I don't think this would be the most appropriate method. It is highly unlikely that I could gain access to an empty circus, or find firefighters, and actors to be involved within the scene. It would certainly be challenging to produce the monstrous faces of the creatures in my opening sequence. Evidently, I will be very limited if I do use photography.

MY CHOSEN METHODS: 

DRAWING: 

I finally decide to create my pre-visualisation using drawn sketches, which will wholly represent the opening scene of my sequence. With this technique, I have the utmost creative choice of including the set design, props, actors and colours to closely show how I imagine them. This allows me to draw out each complex detail of the scene, in order to most accurately transfer my creative vision, more so than other design methods.

MY APPLICATION: 

Before drawing out my scenes, I reviewed my opening nightmare scene in the screenplay, and re-wrote the scene according to the different shots.

1. Track in and pan across a large group of monstrous creatures
2. CU of a young woman
3. ELS of the woman, now we see that she is nude and trapped in a cage
4. ECU of the woman's eyes wondering round
5. Woman's perspective/low angle shot of monstrous performers on trapezes swinging in a backward/forward motion
6. MS of firebreather breathing fire very closely to the woman's face
7. woman's perspective/Eye level shot of the performers brushing against the cage throwing juggling balls at the woman
8. The woman get's dizzy and the atmosphere around her begins to blur
9. A series of shots of the blurry atmosphere

PHOTOSHOP:

After drawing my images, I decided to use Photoshop to make them visually match my vision. I enhanced specific colours, especially red, to create a threatening feel to the atmosphere. The key features I used for this are hue/saturation command, and the selective colour command. I also used the brightness/contrast feature to increase the contrast in the scene. The lighting effect was used to create a spotlight on the woman, she was brighter than other parts of the image. I used the clone tool, to paint more of my image, than I had done in the original paintings. Overall, my work on photoshop helped to make the images more vivid and cinematic, creating the aesthetic I had imagined.  Examples of how I have edited the photos are shown below, through a before and after comparison.

ORIGINAL DRAWN AND PAINTED: 

EDITED: 

ORIGINAL DRAWN AND PAINTED: 

EDITED: 

ORIGINAL DRAWN AND PAINTED:

EDITED:

ORIGINAL DRAWN AND PAINTED: 

EDITED: 

ORIGINAL AND DRAWN: 

EDITED:

ORIGINAL DRAWN AND PAINTED

EDITED

ORIGINAL DRAWN AND PAINTED 

EDITED: 

AFTER EFFECTS: 

After drawing and editing my selected images, I used After Effects to produce a filmic sequence. I first begun by putting the shots into order on the timeline, for the duration I wanted them for. Then I included some special effects. For example, to create the impression that the atmosphere was started to blur from the dizzy woman's perspective, I duplicated the images, changing the opacity for each. Then I moved each image individually, so they weren't in sync with one another, creating motion blur and a disorientating feel.

After effects was also significant to use, as I could effectively incorporate my films's intended camera movement. I have shown this through manipulating the key frames for position and scale. 

This programme was also beneficial as I was able to include sound. Even though this was not essential for the 2 minute pre-visualisation, I strongly felt that my images would work in accordance with the music. Throughout my whole film, the interaction between the sound and image is also important, so I wanted to give the audience a feel for my screenplay. I chose an instrumental soundtrack from one of Britney Spear's live performances, for the song Circus. It sounds bizarre, but the track was fitting with the eerie and horrifying atmosphere of the circus. Extra sound effects of crashing symbols were added to enhance the hectic environment.

My final stages within After Effects, was to include the camera and action directions within the shots, so the audience could understand what was going on.

CONCLUSION:
Due to the dramatic visual and sound style of my project, using a combination of drawing, painting, Photoshop and After Effects was advantageous for me, as it enabled me to include maximum detail.
Additionally, I have become more knowledgeable about After Effects and Photoshop, which will help me throughout my academic and professional career.

Evaluation: strengths and weaknesses

Strengths: 

• There is a strong development of the protagonist Kate. Her anxiety, worries and fears are introduced from the very start of the opening nightmare sequenced and developed through flashbacks, dreams and hallucinations in the film. In this sense, the audience are able to sympathise with Kate, as they gain an understanding of the horrific inner-working of her mind. 
• Positive message. Although Kate struggles with anxiety and is possessed by negative thoughts, my screenplay aims to capture a hopeful attitude; Kate takes steps to replace her inner-darkness and despair, with more positive thoughts. 
• Realistic subject matter. The story-line focuses on Generalised Anxiety Disorder, which is a fairly common disorder.  Anxiety disorders affect 40 million people in the United States aged 18 and older (18% of the population). My screenplay aims to raise awareness about this mental illness. 
• Balance. Although there are many terrifying images and sounds within the film, there are also ballet sequences, which juxtapose against the harshness.  
• Symbolic elements- There are deeper layers of meaning within the film.  For example, in the opening nightmare sequence, many symbolic elements can be deconstructed to suggest the latent meaning beyond the bizarre aesthetic. In particular, the monstrous creatures, who form the circus crowd and performers, manifests Kate's unconscious fears of social interaction and negative judgment from others, hence the reason why the atmosphere appears so horrific. Therefore, a strength of my film is that is can be interpreted behind its dramatic visual aesthetic, through psychoanalytical theory.

Weaknesses: 

• It may be challenging to produce some of these scenes on a student budget. For example, the opening scene of the extravagant circus will be costly. Additionally, many actors and dancers may be required, to act the part of the students in the dance studio, and it is may be expensive to hire professionals. 
• There is an issue with accessibility. Locations like a circus and a whole dance studio may be difficult to get permissions for. 
• Therefore, my screenplay may be too complex for the restrictions of a student. 

ADJUSTMENTS: 

If I wanted to produce this screenplay, as a student production, I can consider making some slight adjustments. Firstly, there is a possibility of transforming those dramatic dream sequences into animation, which would be fitting with the surrealistic style of my screenplay. Additionally, I could start emailing a variety of small dance companies, to see if the space could be used for filming. If not I could perhaps rent out a small studio in a gym and create the illusion that the audience are in a dance studio. Furthermore, casting call pro is a useful website for hiring actors free of charge and will be appropriate to use within the confinements of the student budget. I truly believe that with this adjustments, my film will be feasible for production. 

IAN'S FEEDBACK

28/04/2016 

Ian's feedback advised me to include more struggle from Kate within the plot, to make it more balanced and dramatic. I reflected upon this and took the opportunity to re-read my script, and I marked in red, where more tension/conflict could be added.

Firstly, I found that as Kate suffers from anxiety, I need to add tension even to the more simple and mundane scenes.

CHANGE 1: KATE ENTERING THE DANCE STUDIO TO CLEAN

INITIALLY: 
Kate rushes to the dance studio and changes to her cleaning outfit.

CHANGED TO: 
Kate slowly and apprehensively walks up the dance studio stairs. Through the glass doors, she sees a bunch of dancers. She hides behind a close corner out of their sight, and enters the building as soon as the dancers leave the reception area.

JUSTIFICATION: 
The scene before didn't have enough of a struggle. This updated scene more closely captures Kate's anxiety, as it represents the supposed simple act of entering a building as challenging and difficult. It ultimately shows how Kate's anxiety is a huge problem with her life, as it even causes her to be late to her cleaning job.

IAN'S FEEDBACK CONTINUED: THE ENDING OF MY SCRIPT

CHANGE 2: KATE AUDITIONS FOR LOCAL BALLET (ENDING) 

After speaking to Ian, I have realised that my ending wasn't dramatic enough. It didn't include Kate's last struggle before she finally decides to perform. Therefore, it didn't provide a strong enough ending that I wanted for the script.

INITIALLY:  
Kate's name is called for her audition. She has a second of doubt in her mind and walks to leave, however she immediately turns back to perform without hesitation.

CHANGED TO: 
Kate is sitting anxiously by the wings of the stage. Her name is called to perform. She looks towards the stage to become overwhelmed by the overly lit bright lights. Her mother's voice begins to repeat in her head again, telling her that she isn't good enough. This voice takes over. The judges turn into the monsters that Kate sees in her nightmares/ Kate's mind wanders and she collapses on stage for a few seconds. Paramedics gather round. Kate imagines herself ascending upwards into the air, above the stage, she sees the judges as nonthreatening now and starts dancing in the air. She regains conciousness, ready to perform. It takes her a while before she actually starts dancing, and she makes mistakes, but nevertheless, she is showing signs that she is taking steps to overcome her anxiety.

JUSTIFICATION: 
The updated scene, in my opinion leads to a more effective conclusion. Here Kate is still struggling with her nerves and collapses. The dream sequence here, is important, as it shows a changed perception on the same situation. The judges are still there, but Kate decides in her dream to take the full control, ascend upwards into the air, to see them as friendly faces. She now chooses to see a different side to the situation. This also links well with the nightmare sequence at the beginning, showing how Kate is no longer intimidated by people around her. Therefore, there is more of an emotional effect when Kate starts to perform, as the audiences have witnessed her stressful emotional journey, which leads to a hopeful ending; Kate is taking steps to overcome the negativity dominating her mind.

CONCLUDING IDEAS FOR MY SCRIPT 

• The aim of this film, is not to show Kate becoming a professional ballerina, like the typical dance film. It rather shows how dance can be an expressive art form, powerful in overcoming certain types of stress, fear and anxiety. Dancing is merely a hobby for Kate, which she uses to overcome her social anxiety and gain her confidence. 
• My script offers a hopeful attitude in overcoming certain issues, but by no means intends to say that this is easy. Kate is taking steps to overcome her anxiety. By the end of the film, she is still anxious about performing and throughout the dance, she still becomes nervous, thus Kate isn't completely rid of her problem but she is on the right tracks.