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. 

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.

CHANGE 2: THE ENDING (seen in the next blog post) 

Brainstorming the critical voice

After reading numerous articles on a child's relationship with their overly critical parent, I was made aware of some of the common phrases that the parents would use. In this regard, I brainstormed ideas for the critical voice in my screenplay, that would identify closely with the toxic mother, who constantly belittles her daughter.

Phrases:

• 'You are not good enough'
• 'Don't do that!'
• 'You look fat today'
• 'Don't be stupid'
• 'You'll never be successful'
• 'You can't handle this task'
• 'No one appreciates how hard you work'
• 'He doesn't really care about you'
• 'You're better off on your own'
• 'You're not like other people'
• 'You're not attractive'

Other characteristics of the critical voice:

• Harsh and aggressive sounding
• Loud
• Patronising
• Nagging
• Assertive
• Repetitive
• Overly negative and dark
• No sign of love or care

My intention is to dramatise these voices as much as possible, making them as negative as possible. This will lead to the motivation of the main character Kate, which is to become free of these voices. Additionally, I aim to gradually replace these harsh voices, with the calmer, more positive thoughts that Kate begins to have over time.

DECISION ON KATE'S UPBRINGING

Glancing over psychological films such as Psycho (1960) and Black Swan (2010), there is an emphasis on overbearing parents, who are too emotionally attached to their children. Therefore, I decided I wanted to explore the critical and emotionally detached parent. 

I read several articles by children, with overly critical parents, I listed the key characteristics.

• Unrealistic expectations of a child 
• Telling the child off constantly 
• Put a lot of pressure on child 
• Negative attitude 
• Psychologically abusive, making the child feel inadequate

My idea for Kate's mum was that she would constantly insult her daughter, and simultaneously display a lack of affection towards her. 

PROGRESSION: PLOT CHANGES (changes and adjustments)

1. KATE AND DANCING

INITIALLY: Kate attends private ballet lessons.

CHANGED TO:  Kate doesn't attend private ballet lessons. Kate is a cleaner and is transferred to clean at a dance studio. It is here that she is again reminded about how she used to dance as a child, as she peeps at the dancers, through the glass windows, as she is cleaning. However, up until this point, she represses her past and how she used to dance. It becomes clear that she stopped dancing because of her mother's discouragements.

JUSTIFICATION: I felt that this adaptation in the script would be more logical and realistic. If Kate has traumatic memories of her overly critical mother and suffers from anxiety, it would make sense if she has completely stopped dancing. This change would allow my screenplay to be more dynamic; first Kate is just a cleaner looking at dancers through glass windows, then she is able to confront her dark past and try to relieve it in a more positive way. In this manner, I aim to capture a hopeful tone and truly show the progression in Kate.

 2. KATE AND CLEANING

INITIALLY: Kate is a cleaner by night at a hotel.

CHANGED TO: Kate is a cleaner and is transferred to various locations. When the film starts she is transferred to clean at a dance studio from 9-6.

JUSTIFICATION: I felt like my initial idea lacked strength, as it wouldn't so much allow Kate to reflect on her past. However, Kate's cleaning job at a dance company is significant, as it reminds her of her previous attachment to dancing. Therefore, this would be more relevant to the story. It also adds to the visual quality of the film, as there are balletic sequences.

3. KATE AND HER MOTHER (DINNER SCENE)

INITIALLY: The mum is alive.  Kate and her mother eat dinner. Her mother is critical towards Kate, expressing how she should get a 'proper job'. Her mum shows her disinterest when Kate says she has started dancing again and continually dictates Kate through her harsh voice. The voice runs through her head. Kate has a flashback of when her mother didn't turn up to one of her dance performances as a child. She comes out of flashback, with built up anger towards her mum. She smashes a plate against the wall and storms out of her mum's apartment.

CHANGED TO: The mum is not alive. The dinner scene runs the same up to the flashback. After Kate returns from her flashback, she gets increasingly furious, as she realises how her mother never supported her. She clenches her fist, picks up the cutting knife and stabs her mother, blood splatters over the white table cloth and the mother's white dress. However, after a moment, there appears to be no woman sitting at the table and no blood, as we find that the mother is only part of Kate's hallucination. 

JUSTIFICATION: My decision to have the mother dead is to imply that the mother has left profound effects on Kate, despite not being alive. Kate is still very much governed by her mother. The point where she stabs the hallucination of her mother, is a significant point, metaphorically suggesting that Kate has killed off the critical voice. 

CREATION OF MY OPENING DREAM SCENE (including progression)

According to the screenwriting expert Syd Field, the opening image in a screenplay is vital and it should summarise the whole film and its key themes. Therefore, I tried to focus on representing Kate's unconscious fears and worries through the nightmare, which will be the key ideas of the film.

OPENING NIGHTMARE SEQUENCE: 

I received feedback from a friend over the first scene of my script, suggesting that I should enhance the nightmarish quality. Upon re-reading the opening nightmare sequence of my script, I also felt that I could create an even more dramatic and horrifying atmosphere that would immediately introduce the audience to the psychological nature of the film. I re-visited the works by Salvador Dalí and Freudian theories to help me dramatise my first scene. 

FIRST SCENE DESCRIPTION INITIALLY: 

At a circus, a nude woman crouches on stage, trying to cover herself, by folding her hands across her chest. There are bright lights cast upon her. Watching her are monstrous creatures, who loudly chat and laugh among themselves. 

In order to convey, a more horrific atmosphere, I looked at a key features of the traditional circus and transformed them into terrifying features. 

CHANGED TO: 

At a circus, a nude woman crouches on stage, trying to cover herself, by folding her hands across her chest. It is revealed that she is trapped within a cage. Her body remains still but her eyes begin to wonder round. She sees the monstrous creatures forming the audiences, who laugh at her. There is a particular focus on a monstrous woman. There are monstrous creatures on trapezes, high in the air, who swing back and forth and throw juggling balls at her. There is a fire breather, breathing fire in very close proximity to the cage. There is a monkey crashing symbols. Eerie and high-pitched circus music fills the air. The colour red is predominant in this scene, reflecting how the woman feels threatened within her surroundings. 

**NOTE- I marked the new aspects in green. 

JUSTIFICATION OF CHANGE: 

I am much more satisfied with my opening sequence now, as it identifies more closely with the psychological genre and Freud's theory. It more effectively visually and audibly reflects the horror within Kate's mind that I wished to display. Psychoanalysis can be used as a tool for interpreting this scene.

·         Monstrous creatures on trapezes: symbolic of how she feels intimidated by people in real life. It draws focus on how she feels insignificant in her life.

·         Juggling balls are thrown at her: Symbolic of how she doesn’t feel integrated within society; the way in which she feels like the world is against her.

·         Monstrous audiences: symbolic of her fear of being judged

·         Special focus on woman: her intense fear and worry of judgement from her mother, which becomes an apparent theme in the film.

·         The spotlight: this is associated with the prevalent term in psychoanalytical theory:  ‘spotlight effect’. In the nude woman’s mind she becomes the central focus for other people, leading to her anxiety, hence the reason why she looks embarrassed and humiliated. The fact that she is nude also signifies how she feels vulnerable to judgement.

·         She tries to cover herself- she is repressed; this could relate to sexual repression or even more so how she suppresses her own voice.

·         The fact that she is in a cage- further reinforces her psychological distance from the world

·         Fire-breather- She is threatened by some people's presence.


    Kate's anxieties, fears and worries are re-occurring themes throughout the screenplay. Therefore, I think I have been successful in listening to the advise of Syd field, by introducing the main concepts of my film in the introduction. 


r

MOOD BOARD

Not a typical dance film
rather dance is used to overcome general anxiety as opposed to performance. ..
deeper level, beyond stage fright...

Research: Key films

American beauty (1999) (dinner scene) 

I was drawn to this particular scene in the film as it builds up tension throughout the family dinner. Firstly, easy listening, cheerful music is juxtaposed by a heavy door slam and the following tense conversations of the family. Over the course of the meal, the conversation becomes more fast-paced, snappy and voices are raised. As this builds up, Lester Burnam suddenly smashes the plate of asparagus, with such aggression that it shatters. Here, I realised how a very mundane scene, such as eating dinner can be transformed into a dramatic piece, which is more interesting for the viewers. Additionally, the scene sheds us insight into these disturbed characters' mindset, who are dissatisfied and frustrated in their everyday lives.

MY APPLICATION
When writing the dinner scene between Kate and her mother (imaginary) instead of making it a dull sequence, where the pair eat, I wanted to show a lot more, much like the scene in American beauty. My aims were to show the relationship between Kate and her mother, the attributes of these characters, whilst building tension and including an explosive moment. My current ideas are as follows:

• Kate and her mum start eating in silence, they are very careful with their cutlery, trying to make the least noise as possible. This reflects their OCD nature. 
• The mother starts to talk critically towards Kate and her voice and the silent sounds of the cutlery begin to amplify, building tension
• Kate goes to flashback, remembering how her mother never supporting her
•  She comes out of her flashback, her mother's voice is still in her head. 
• The explosive moment finally arrives when Kate smashes a plate against the wall (similar to American Beauty). When the voices don't stop, she stabs her mother (imaginary) with a knife. 

I feel like I have been successful with adapting an ordinary scene, into one that reveals the toxic relationship between Kate and her mother. Like, the American Beauty sequence, I believe I have gradually built up dramatic tension, through an initial calm and quiet atmosphere, to a loud and irritable environment. 

German Expressionism: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) 

The expressionist style within this film is visually appealing to me, as it projects the psychological aspects of the characters onto the set design. The backgrounds are very distorted and out of proportion, the shadows are dominant, and the sets are heavily imprinted with black paint.
What actually appears to be non-realistic is actually a reflection of the inner-workings of the characters.


MY APPLICATION: 

The German expressionist style was highly influential for me, due to the psychological nature of my film. I also aim to project Kate's mind-set through the sets and colours of the film. For example, in my opening sequence, I want to show a horrific circus, with an emphasis on the colour red, to create the threatening atmosphere, reflecting Kate's nervousness. Like The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, I also intend to use high contrast lighting for more terrifying scenes.

Research: Ballet lesson accuracy

Although I have attended dance classes in various styles, I have never attended a ballet lesson, nor understand how they are structured or work. Therefore, I had a concern concerning the accuracy in my film. 

In my film Kate (cleaner) begins to be guided in dance by the company's dance teacher Rob, which I imagine would take the form of a private ballet lesson. In order, to present accurate scenes, I will be reviewing real private lessons, which I have found posted on YouTube.

Key elements I have identified:

• The music starts playing and the student dances the sequence. Meanwhile, the teacher observes the movements, moving around the dancer to get a glimpse of all angles.
• The teacher pauses the music and assists the dancer with problematic sections. 
• Physical contact between teacher and dancer 
• Verbal instructions given to student 
• Student practices on their own 
• Assisted again 

Although, such details may seem trivial, they were particularly helpful in constructing the art directions and dialogue for the scenes where Kate is instructed by Rob. 

Research: Salvador Dalí

I truly admire the works of the surrealist painter Dalí by the way he artistically captures a dramatic scene, whilst simultaneously making a connection with psychological theory. Many of his paintings include explicit and exaggerated symbols, referring to Freud's idea of our dreams and how they have a latent meaning, connected to our mind-set.

CASE STUDY: Melting clocks painting 

The Persistence of Memory (1931)

Saussure's concepts of the signifier and signified can be applied to study this painting, whereby the former refers to the sign and the latter refers to the meaning.

The signifiers: 

• Desert setting 
• The landscape is desolate 
• Use of bright golden light 
• There are clocks bent out of shape, looking as if they are melting 
• Head like object lying on the ground, it resembles a whale 
• Ants gather round on an orange clock 

The signified: 

• Melting clocks are symbolic of the passage of time- we lose the perception of time in our dreams, hence the reason the clocks appear to be distorted and out of shape. Time is not a concern whilst we are dreaming, instead as the title The persistence of Memory suggests, within our dreams we are reminded about different periods within our lives, within a chaotic order. 
• Head like object lying on the ground- The eyes are closed assuming the position of a dreamer. This signifies that the surroundings are observations within the dream. 
• desolate atmosphere- wide scope of possibilities as to what we dream about 
• Signifies that dreams are linked but at the same time separate to reality. 
• Ants gather round on an orange clock- The ants can be interpreted as attacking the clock. This can relate to our unconscious anxiety, regarding time. Maybe we are anxious to accomplish a specific goal by a certain time? To get to work on time? 

Other influential works by Dalí: 

Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening (1944)

The Dream (1931)

MY APPLICATION: 
I observed how surrealist artists, including Dalí transform very ordinary objects like clocks, into an unrealistic form, within what we perceive to be reality. This brought up a really interesting idea about the nature of dreaming and how the familiar becomes unfamiliar. Dalí's work are a visual inspiration for me and will help me with the development of the development of my screenplay, with particular consideration to the visual aesthetic, cinematography and dream sequences. Ultimately, the works by Dalí have encouraged me to make use of meaningful symbols in my film, as opposed to very literal representations. 

Research: psychological concepts

As well as forming my character profile, it is equally important to conduct research into key psychological terms, before I can actually start writing my script, in order for my writing to be accurate.

I decided to centre my research around mental distress and anxiety.

ANXIETY:
characterised by feelings of tension, worry and fear, which are frequent . The individual has the tendency to over-exaggerate a perceived problem.

• An individual with anxiety dreads everyday situations 
• Some suffer from panic attacks 
• Stems from childhood such as traumatic experiences
• Largely co-occurs with depression.
• Worries are exaggerated
• Pre-determining the future, as holding negative outcomes  
• Unable to relax in many cases 
• Trouble concentrating 
• Irritability 
• Watching for signs of danger
• Feeling like your mind's gone blank 

The disorder is accompanied by physical symptoms...

• Muscle tension 
• Headaches 
• Stomach cramps 
• Spontaneous crying 
• Feelings of despair 
• Pounding heart 
• Sweating 
• Dizziness 
• Insomnia and fatigue 
• Shortness of breath
• Feeling tense and jumpy 
• Going to the bathroom frequently 
• Low energy

 THE SPOTLIGHT EFFECT

A tendency to believe that other people pay more attention to us than they actually do in reality. This notion can be associated to people with anxiety, who feel worry as they perceive that they become the central figure of our people's gazes. 

DREAMS AND THE UNCONSCIOUS 

Freud theorises that dreams reveal the unconscious of the mind, including repressed fears and worries. 

In relation to anxiety, an anxious individuals worries and traumas of their past that fill up their unconscious mind will be manifested through their dreams. 

The dreams will stop when they acknowledge and confront their issues. 

MY APPLICATION: 

Such psychological research was essential for me, in terms of developing Kate's character and to also develop her story in the film. Looking at the common symptoms for people with anxiety is enabling me to represent the disorder more accurately through the action, description and dialogue in my screenplay. The works of Freud concerning dream analysis is particularly fascinating for me, and I aim to manifest Kate's worries and fears through very visual dream sequences, with profound meanings. I imagine that Kate has repressed the traumatic experiences, involving her abusive mother and is in denial of her anxiety, which will seek through in her dream, I conducted further research into the dreams that someone with anxiety might have: 

• Teeth falling out- a sign that we are losing our sense of control 
• Being naked in public- clothes are the armour that protects us from the rest of the world, so losing that puts us into a vulnerable position, whereby we feel exposed, ashamed and subject to the gazes of others. 
• Falling- a sign that we are not fully secure in our lives. 

I might be using some of these elements in the dream sequences of my film, however I don't want my scenes to be too Cliché or general. As I am inspired by the works of  Salvador dali, I will be using more bizarre and specific symbols to reflect the inner-working of Kate's minds. 

Additionally, I will also be adapting other key psychological notions in my screenplay such as 'The spotlight effect'; my main character Kate has fallen prey to this 'spotlight effect', as she feels the constant gazes of the people around her, leading to her anxiety. 

PROGRESSION: Character changes

Throughout the duration of writing my screenplay, I have made minor and major changes and adjustments to my character Kate, since developing her research profile.

1. KATE'S JOB

INITIALLY: Kate works on her laptop within her apartment for a financial company. 

CHANGED TO: Kate works as a cleaner and is transferred to various locations.

JUSTIFICATION: Although, working from home at a financial company may be a realistic job choice for someone suffering from social anxiety, I felt that this would be too dull and mundane for my story. The possibility for a plot development, such as Kate overcoming her anxiety, is restricted and much of the shots will include visually uninteresting shots of Kate typing, that doesn't reveal much about her character.

Due to the duration of my script being between 10-15 minutes in length, I have to choose a job that allows the main character to reflect on her current life, leading to the turning point of the story.

After a week of brainstorming, I thought that a cleaning job would open the possibility for Kate to interact with her surroundings and change her negative perception of the world. This will certainly add to the story, as Kate's OCD nature can be reflected in this position, whereby she manically cleans all surfaces until they are spotless. I imagine that this role would also be more visually interesting for the viewer, as I could use a re-occuring motif of mirrors and windows, which Kate uses to reflect upon her own life. Furthermore, I aim to add a scene whereby Kate is made to interact with others, by which she begins to take steps to overcome her anxiety. Accordingly, this is a much more effective job for Kate, as it reveals more about her character and enables the plot to progress more easily. 

2. THE INNER VOICE 

INITIALLY: The character's inner voice was a projection of her internal thoughts, constantly voicing out that she isn't good enough, leading to her social anxiety.

CHANGED TO: Kate is under the illusion that the inner voice is her own, however, later on in the plot it becomes evident that it is her mother's voice, which still controls Kate, despite the fact that she is passed away. She gradually becomes free of her mother's voice, replacing it with more positive thoughts and so she is better able to interact within her society.

JUSTIFICATION: After observing key psychological films, including Black Swan (2010) and Psycho (1960), I was able to identify the re-occurring theme of the mother-daughter relationship. Therefore, I felt that changing the critical inner voice to the voice of the mother, would reveal Kate's relationship with her overly negative and critical mother, which would better illustrate why Kate suffers from anxiety at this point in her life. It also provides me with a stronger plot, by which I aim to further develop her relationship with her mother growing up, through a series of flashbacks, dreams and hallucinations, which are all common features within Psychological dramas.

 

Research: developing the character of my protagonist Kate

I will be working on developing Kate's character over the next few weeks. I am starting to create my character now, to provide me with a lot of time to form several drafts of  my script, as well as making additional changes to the character Kate, so its fitting with the story.

***NOTE: What I marked in  RED are details that I have changed later on in my script development process.

10/03/2016- 1/04/2016

Kate's story (as it currently stands) 

• She suffers from anxiety, whereby she feels overwhelmed in busy places and struggles with day to day interactions.
• She is governed by her critical and toxic inner voice

In order to effectively develop my character, I will be adapting Syd Field's technique of separating the character's life into two basic categories: interior and exterior. 

Interior- birth until the film begins 

• Kate is born in London. 
• She lives within the crowded city. 
• She is an only child brought up by a single mum, who is overly critical and emotionally distant. Her mum wasn't affectionate enough. 
• During primary school, she has started dancing as an extra-curricular activity. She became very enthusiastic about it and performed in a few dance shows at school.
• As a child, she regularly missed out on other kid’s birthdays and sleepovers.
• Her mother died at a young age, when Kate was 12 years old. 
• As she was getting older, she became more introverted. 
•  As the years progressed, she has developed stage fright and eventually stopped dancing.  
• Throughout school and college, she spent a lot of her time reading in her room and remained detached from other people. 
• Whenever she was picked on to speak in class, she would break out in sweat and go blank. She sometimes missed class to avoid giving speeches and never addressed this issue. 
• As a teenager, she didn't enjoy socializing and having night outs like other people her age. 
• She hasn't been in any romantic relationships and generally struggles to form connections with people. 
• As a child, she regularly missed out on other kid’s birthdays and sleepovers.

 Exterior- the moment the film begins to conclusion (including the need of character, action of character)

• Kate is 25 years old, living in London. 
• She lives alone in a singe bedroom apartment. It is extremely tidy. 
• Kate works from her apartment for a financial company. 
• She travels by public transport: bus and train. 
• She attends private dance lessons. 
• She has OCD- regarding cleaning 
• She suffers from insomnia. 
• She suffers from generalised anxiety disorder
• She has an ongoing unconscious worry that she will do something wrong. 
• Kate is at a low point in her life. She feels like she has wasted many opportunities and is deeply unhappy.
• When Kate acknowledges her anxiety as a problem, she seeks to overcome it. 

REFLECTION: 

Whilst reading Syd Field's book 'Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting', I realised that even if a detail may appear to be trivial, it may actually be of value upon writing the screenplay. For example, certain facts might be unbeknownst to an audience, however, for a screenwriter these minor details are significant in terms of determining how the character behaves or speaks. I found that forming the backstory (the interior aspects) for my character were especially useful in this regard. 

Research: Spellbound (1945)

Salvador Dali’s creation of the dream sequence in Hitchock’s film Spellbound is particularly fascinating for me, as it marks the visual style of surrealism that resides closely with Freudian notions and psychoanalysis. The sequence contains many different mystical and absurd symbols, including curtains with eyes painted on them, a game of black jack, a girl going round kissing everyone and someone running down a pyramid. This imagery artistically portrays the main characters mental distress. 

MY APPLICATION: 

This dream sequence enhanced my understanding of the Freudian notion ‘the uncanny’ effect, of the strangely familiar being present in dreams.

Akin to Spellbound, my screenplay will feature a protagonist, who is mentally troubled, which I wish to illustrate through dream sequences. I am certainly intrigued by this overt use of fantastical imagery, which signifies the main character Gregory's guilt, as he thinks that he has murdered a man. 

Additionally, I seek to commence my film with a dramatic nightmare scene to enable the audience to gain an insight into my main character's distress; Freud states that "Dreams are often most profound when they seem the most crazy."

In my opening scene, I will be transforming ordinary symbols into bizarre symbols. I have a vision of a nude woman on stage in a circus, exposed to a crowd of monstrous creatures, who laugh ferociously. This supposedly represents the main characters' unconscious fear of interacting with others, hence the reason why the crowd have monstrous and frightening qualities. 

Feedback: Meeting with Ian

10/03/2016

During the meeting with Ian, I discussed the psychological nature of my screenplay and my intention of using dream sequences, to convey the mental distress of the protagonist. I was advised to watch the dream scene in The Red Shoes and the film sequences and art works by Salvador Dali. This feedback provided me with a useful guide to conduct further research and even more importantly provided me with the inspiration to construct the first scene of my screenplay. 

Research: PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER/DRAMA CONVENTIONS

It was extremely beneficial for me to re-visit the key conventions of a psychological thriller/drama, in order for audiences to successfully identify the genre of my film.

Mainly using the films: Psycho (1960), Fight Club (1999), Black Swan (2010) and Shutter Island (2010), I have gathered some notable features of the psychological thriller/drama.

Mise en scène

• Shadows and low key lighting 
• Mirrors are commonly used 

Sound: 

• Eerie and suspenseful sound-score 

Camera-work:

• Quick camera movement 
• Hand-held camera movement 

Editing 

• Fast paced sequences 
• Jump cuts 
• Montage editing 
• Frequent use of flashbacks 

Other themes:

• Reality and illusion- The main character in the film typically tries to distinguish between what is real and what is not. 
• Often there is a theme of the protagonists relationship with their parent. In terms of Psycho (1960) and Black Swan (2010), the role of the overbearing mother is important for influencing the development of their children. 
• Death 
• Focus on perception, often the protagonist, who is mentally distressed. 
• A character has to overcome specific mental challenges 
• Hallucinations 

MY APPLICATION 

Watching a wide variety of psychological thrillers/dramas has certainly helped me in terms of adding relevant details to my screenplay, regarding cinematography, art direction, sound, as well as bearing key themes in mind.  

Research: Todorov narrative theory (1969)

 

Robert McKee states that research is a lengthy and vital process in order to proceed with screenwriting. He explains that 'day after day a huge stack grows on the side of his desk: but these are biographies, the fictional world and it's history, thematic notions, images etc. Research and imaginings of all kinds fill a file cabinet while the story is disciplined to the step outline. Finally, after weeks or months, the writer discovers his story climax.'

In this regard, I shall proceed with my research early on, before even attempting to write my screenplay,  in order to gather an in depth background of the subject matter and characters I  wish to represent. This will enable me to discover my main character's motivations, fears, goals, behaviour and how they speak. Ultimately, I will be able to find the direction for my screenplay.

TODOROV:

In order to guide me with the ordering and nature of my scenes in the film, I reviewed Todorov's narrative theory. 

Tzvetan Todorov theorises that every narrative adheres by a standard structure.

1. EQUILIBRIUM

During the first part of the story, the situation is calm and everything is as it should be. 

2.  DISRUPTION

The second part of the story represents an incident which will disturb the happiness.

Realisation

3. REALISATION

The third part of the story represents when the problem is recognised by the characters.

4. RESTORED ORDER 

The fourth part of the story represents the characters trying to fix the problem.

5. EQUILIBRIUM

The final part of the story represents the problem being solved.

EVALUATION: 

This theory can be criticised for being too simplistic and rigid, for it assumes that a fixed narrative structure can be applied to every film. However, modern texts are particularly more complex than Todorov suggests, for they explore more unique possibilities for the narrative, which opposes the traditional narrative structure. In this sense, his theory can be perceived to be outdated. 

If we analyse Fight Club (1999) it is apparent that its structure opposes this theory. The film commences with the issue; Edward Norton is trying to cure his insomnia. Evidently, the film immediately starts with the disruption and skips the first stage of Todorov's theory, which is equilibrium, 

MY APPLICATION: 

After gaining an understanding of this theory, I am going to adapt aspects of this structure, without sticking rigidly by it, in attempt to freely use my own creativity. As I am producing a short psychological film, my intent is to capture the attention of my audiences immediately, thus it will be logical to commence the story with a DISRUPTION. I aim to do this through a nightmare sequence, representing the protagonists' mental distress. In this scene, I have a vision of the protagonist being entrapped within a circus. 

Accordingly, my narrative structure skips the first step of Todorov’s theory, but complies with the rest, as shown below. 

1. DISRUPTION: the protagonist suffers from social anxiety and finds it difficult to interact in her everyday life. 

2. REALISATION: through reflecting upon her past, the character eventually recognises the source of her problem and understands that she must confront it  

3. RESTORED ORDER: the character aims to fix her mental disturbance by replacing the negative voices in her mind, with more relaxing and positive ones

4. EQUILIBRIUM: The character feels more at ease with other people and she is taking steps to be better able to function in her everyday life normally.

It is also important to realise that this represents the equilibrium as the character is more content in her life, although she isn’t fully cured, she is finally on the right route of self-improvement.  

STARTING POINT

The very first step that we were encouraged to undertake was to produce a list of what we are passionate about to give us inspiration for our screenplay.

Here is my list below: 

•    Psychology- psychoanalysis, dream analysis, Freud and the unconscious. 
• Dancing- Latin and Ballroom, Ballet, Hip Hop, Jazz
• Music- Jazz, Indie, Classical, French music 
• Spoken poetry 
• Being creative 
• Family and friends 
• Visually striking films 

My main influence for The Inner Voice stems from a combination of my utmost fascination with psychology and my passion for dancing. I aim to depict these themes artistically, whereby the protagonist Kate's perception of the world will inform the visual style and sound of the film.

At the same time, I aim to convey a hopeful attitude, whereby Kate gradually overcomes her problem through dancing. 

In order to produce an effective script I realise I have to manage my time productively over the coming weeks to:

1. Conduct thorough research into the psychological themes my project deals with including anxiety, psychoanalysis such as Freud's theory of the unconscious and his interpretation of dreams.  
2. Deconstruct psychological drama films in terms of camera-work, sound, mise en scène, editing. key themes
3. Deconstruct short films (10-15 minutes) and focus on how they uncover a story
4. Examine the visual style of art works and film sequences from the Surrealism Movement, including the works of Salvador Dali
5. Critically review key scriptwriting theories to inform my practice, including Todorov’s narrative theory, Strauss’ binary oppositions theory and works by Syd Field
6. Analyse film scripts in terms of their layout, format as well as their description 
7. Use the hot seating technique to establish my central character’s background, motives and key personality traits
8. Pay special attention to clichés and prevent their overuse, but rather adapt and oppose conventions in an imaginative way. 
9. Write my script with enough time to produce several drafts before finalising a version I am proud of
10. Consider presentation techniques and a software I can use to convey my project ideas the most effectively