A Change for the Better

        While researching locations, I found it increasingly difficult to find the right house that properly emulated the time period that I originally imagined. The reason I originally chose the 1860s was because it was the endangerment of the Civil War. During this time period, mental illness was considered a physical weakness, not even an illness at all. This would have been the perfect environment for the growth of Williams internal conflict: he is terrified because of his symptoms but shuts down and refuses to seek help for fear shame or embarrassment of not being able to control himself and handle the situation "like a man".
        I believe I've found the perfect solution. The town and forest will remain the same to emulate a eerie and primeval sense; however, the time period will leap ahead 100 years to 1969, the "peak of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War". This will be a much better environment to breed the conflict withing the film. This war was considered one of the most horrific wars in American history, with a reported minority of all soldiers assessed during the time period being diagnosed with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. However, when the data collected from  National Vietnam Veterans' Readjustment Study (NVVRS) - a diagnostic scale used to investigate PTSD during and after the war - was re-analyzed, it was discovered that 80% of veterans showed chronic symptoms of the disorder when interviewed up to 25 years later. Most of the aforementioned information I just mentioned I gathered from the website of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, which claims that "unfortunately, only a small number of these Veterans actually sought treatment from mental health providers" during the era of the war and the years thereafter.  However, civilian journalists report that

             "The policy for receiving treatment and compensation for ptsd for soldiers in the military
             during the war was that if the soldier experienced symptoms 6 months after their return
             home it was considered a “transient situational disorder.” This meant that it was a
             pre-existing condition which was not eligible for treatment by the United
             States Government."

Anti-War Prootests

The framing of these reports is what interests me the most, and I promise that reading the entirety of this post will be both relevant and beneficial into understanding the complexities behind my film and its characters. It is clear that in many ways, the government made mistakes during this time period, and overall the effects and the severity of PTSD on veterans was stifled. The combination of the lack of incentive to get treatment due to the understating of the disorder by officials and the fervent disapproval of the war by society breeds internal conflict in even its audience just by the plight alone. Many of the soldiers, whether drafted (1/3 of all involved) or volunteers (2/3 of all involved), were resented and marginalized by the rampant anti-war sentiments back home.

Meet William and Minnie

     For the past couple of days I've been at the Florida State Thespians Festival, and watching my friends and prepare and perform since the beginning of October, I've seen them grow as actors and people. I've finally picked the actors I'd like to portray William and his fiancee Minnie, they are both young actors whom I'm going to age to fit the representation on a 19 year of (William) and a 17 year old (Minnie). This is slightly older than the typically almost married and independent couples in this time period, but I chose this age to justify certain plot elements: why Minnie doesn't leave him (she is naive and loves him but the experience has hardened her into being able to cope maturely), they are engaged but not married (I wasn't privy to actors I felt could represent a married couple properly) and I want both of them to display a certain level of vulnerability and innocence that is much more apparent in a tortured youth.

Represention

     Comparing the symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder to the plight of victims in media, including films, the representation of those suffering of PTSD has been deemed quite accurate (PTSD Treatments Help). Presenting a correlation, PTSD most commonly developed from experiences during war, and victims of the disease are usually represented as violent and stoical combat victims or war veterans and are usually men. Personally, I has this preconception in my mind due to this common media representation. When I fantasized a story line revolving around a PTSD victim, I immediately thought of a covert, shut down, male war veteran.

     One fiction film which incorporates these components is "Iron Man 3". Tony Stark is a sarcastic "violent, unpredictable, and dehumanized" (Maseda/ Dulin 2012), and he claims to suffer from a series of anxiety attacks throughout the film that correlate to the DMS (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) criteria. There is a strong correlation between his panic attacks and his inability to sleep, combined with his lack of emotion he properly depicts the main components of a man suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. One notable feature, however, in the manner that he is represented is despite his negative attribute (a component of the PTSD or merely his personality) his is depicted as extremely "manly" and also is very likable. He is humerus because of his sarcasm and apparent lack of emotion, a trait that is used to Marvel's advantage during the more lighthearted aspects of the film. This seems dichotomous at first glance, but in truth many representation in the media of those with PTSD either makes them amiable and likable through their detachment and savage dehumanization (portraying them as a type of bad-ass, for lack of a better term). It is either this humerus interpretation or rather a more sentimental one, sich as in Grey's Anatomy, in which the character Owen Hunt is strictly delineated as "macho" and surly yet vulnerable, making him likable through the sentimentality that his plight evokes from the audience. 

     Taking these representations into account, there are certain aspects I want to maintain most for the sake of the genre. William will not evoke any humor. I want William to be a closed-off, broken down, hardened young man to emphasize the atrocities he's encountered and evoke human emotion. I will be using the same philosophy as author Tim O'Brian in his novella "The Things They Carried", using artistic freedom and author's interpretation of events to present realistic situations in a slightly tweaked manner in order to accurately depict how something is mean to make someone feel as opposed to accurately represent the even that occurred. 

Creating Man

     In this post I will flesh out one of the main characters of the film, William. He is one of the two and only primary characters in the film, and one of the two seen in he opening, so it is imperative that I delineate his persona and represent him accurately.

     The following is a compacted list of  the earlier years and basic information of the male protagonist to better understand the type of person he is, his habits (which I will create later), and the type of person he will grow into. I plan on going into much more detail with his character analysis but this is simply primarily background.

William (second most common name from the 1860s to the 1880s)

• Age: 19 years old (the perfect age to be involved in the war, since boys were typically drafted in the Civil War at 18 and younger volunteers lied about their ages, and still too young to be married)

• Hometown: Concord, New Hampshire (this area is heavily forested, making it an ideal setting for most of the episodes since this is where most of the fighting wil have taken place in his circumstance; it is also significant in Civil War history)

• Type of childhood: father is authoritarian and mother is passive; live in Kentucky (this is a boarder state so it could be the cause of a relevant conflict that explains why William lives with his fiancée and why they are not there to help him)

• Most poignant memory: hunting a deer in the woods with his father and choosing not to shoot it (this could be incorporated into a poignant episode where his innocent memory of not shoring the deer is distorted to him shooting the deer and the deer transforming into a person representing his horrific his experiences were)
• Most important childhood event that still affects him: his battles in the civil war because he was so naturally and simply innocent (reflected by the incorporation of the memory of the deer)

The Plot!

     I wanted this blog to show my progress in depth from step 1 the the end...but I was too excited about this I absolutely had to post (even though I already posted today)! While driving home from a show today, an acquaintance of mine told me that the way I spoke sounded as if I had PTSD. It didn't really bother me if it was a complement or not...but it got my mind spinning! It inspired me for the plot of my film:

My First Conclusion

 

                      To help me actually decide on a genre, I began researching directors and 

                 editors who have successfully integrated both realism and formalism. Truthfully, 

                 no film is entirely realist or entirely formalist, there are elements of both in most 

                 films, so it begs the question as to why I an so fervent in combining them? 

                                              I want to juxtapose them to reinforce a conflict.

                        To get inspiration on how to accomplish this, I'm most interested in the director's 

  and editor's techniques and their process as opposed to their equipment and software; 

  of course, I have no budget at all so there would be no rationale for me to attempt 

  to mimic every aspect of their process. To make a film sensational, step 1 doesn't 

  have to be buy an 65mm camera. Step 1 should be: What do you want your film to do?

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     There is a drama that was created in 2005 called "The Tree of Life" by Terrence Malick. From the beginning, engendering the idea for the film with a project in the 70's called Q, Malick wanted a film that would delineate the "origins of life".  He attatched a universal and overarching story to a plot revolving around a dysfunctional Texas family (adding unparalleled poignancy and reliability to his project of a suspected 20 years). The movie is a metaphysical representation of the purpose of life and death, and he accomplished this with highly symbolic images and scenes throughout the movie.

   

    The movies centers around the character Jack, focusing particularly on his childhood through what appears to be sequences of memories. One particularly interesting interpretation of the film, expressed by Matt Zoller Seitz in "Your Guide to Terrance Malick's 'Tree of Life'", revolves around the concept that most of the images and sequences the audience sees are all happening in Jack's mind, whether memories or his "imagining of things that happened when he wasn't there." This interpretation has inspired me, making me delve into long periods of stream of consciousness fantasizing plot lines and tropes I can incorporate in my film! My ideas could easily be channeled into a psychological thriller, focusing on the question of reality versus the perceptions of a tortured mind; to me, though, this seems too unrealistic to successful achieve as an amateur.

    The manner in which they filmed "Tree of Life" was needless to say unconventional. Malick often improvised on set, shooting scenes out of order of with no affiliation to each other. While I don't really have the time or the resources to go through hundreds of minutes of footage like the editing team on this film, I appreciate the idea that “the film is really built around a lot of little scenes – hundreds of little scenes and moments,” (Billy Webber, initial editor for the film). The team working on the film described their unique filming style as "walking down the garden path...where nothing is locked down, where you don’t know where you’re going, or where the film is taking you." In my mind I associated this to the type of film openings that introduce the main character, conventionally presenting a 2 + 2 situation, where the the basis of the character and the story is given but it leaves the audience with inescapable questions. I believe that if I use this kind of film opening with the inspirations from "Tree of Life" I can create a film that the audience will connect to emotionally.

    The other director I focused on was Samuel Mendes, particularly with his work nn his drama "American Beauty". Although I am not particularly a fan of the film itself, and I do not plan on mimicking the execution of his ideas, I did appreciate the overall concept of how he integrated realism and formalism. Mendes appears to switch between the two styles, following the life of a father in a realist manner, portraying his life as such. However, during pivotal moments, Mendes inserts formalist scenes reflecting the situation of a character to reinforce the theme of the film. An example is when the main character, Lester, first sees young Angela and sees an unparalleled beauty withing her. This is the concept of the type of juxtaposition I'd like to incorporate in my film.

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    Through this research, it seems obvious now that my genre should be drama. Not solely because my two case studies were dramas, but because I came to the realization that I want my film to portray and evoke unrestrained emotions. Dramas overall do this most successful because of their relatable plots, and if I juxtapose formalism and realism distinctly, I can create a meaning that reinforces the theme and the conflict. 



  Ebiri, B. (2011, October 12). Growing The Tree of Life: Editing Malick's Odyssey. Retrieved March 11, 2016, from http://ebiri.blogspot.com/2011/10/growing-tree-of-life-editing-malicks.html 

  Malick, T. (Director). (2011). Tree of Life [Motion picture]. USA: Fox Searchlight.

  Mendes, S. (Director). (1999). American Beauty [Motion picture]. USA: DreamWorks.  

 Seitz, M. Z. (2011, July 7). Your guide to Terrence Malick’s “Tree of Life”. Retrieved March 11, 2016, from http://www.salon.com/2011/07/02/watching_tree_of_life/

  The Playlist. (2011, July 12). The Lost Projects And Unproduced Screenplays Of Terrence Malick. Retrieved March 11, 2016, from http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the_lost_projects_and_unproduced_screenplays_of_terrence_malick?page=3

 

 

 

 

   

Step 1

              First and foremost...I wish I could tell you how I'd like to start, and all my grand ideas for 

          the beginning of this journey. Quite frankly, though, I have no idea where to begin.

             This is a journey that I am sharing to the world about how a story is going to grow, and how   

          I'm going to grow with it. The final product you will all see by April will be a two-minute film 

          opening for something completely and utterly created out of the lunacy of my own 

          mind...which is terrifying. The interesting thing is that you get to take this journey with me.

So here's Step 1. Part One: Style

I want to begin by fully establishing my style. I’m faced with the decision of either formalism or realism, but I won’t choose. Through verisimilitude (an integral component in realist films) I can focus on the conventions of a formalist film while still maintaining believably and plausibility. Overall I believe that reliability is what makes a film poignant and resonant with in an audience, after all this is the entire purpose of catering to a target audience. I truly believe that I can find a median between the two.

            The reason I feel so fervent about this is because I share the belief of most formalists that film is an art form. Conventionally, a formalist film focuses on the beauty and power of the image, and the image is stylized based on the director. I want to focus on technical elements (mise-en-scene, editing, effective shots and angles), and verge away from the everyday simplicity of realism, while still depicting a believable plot. This form of production leaves the director to display what her mind and show situations through a different lens.

Simply, formalism focuses on how something is shown as opposed to what is being shown (as in realism).  The most effective way I can think of to combine these two styles is by maintaining a perfectly plausible plot that in its content offers depth and the opportunity for the audience to come to its own conclusion; but I will attempt to manipulate the conclusion they come to through vast utilization of specific technical elements (and I will make these elements abundant).

Verisimilitude is the quality of seeming real. Even though I will be producing a fiction piece, the one decision I have set in stone is that my creation will dance on the line between realism and formalism.

If I were to categorize this intention of this film, it would be verisimilar formalism.

Step 1. Part 2: Genre

Based on my style, from a fairly agreeable list of genres most popular, I've narrowed them down by preference. My film will most likely either fall under action, drama, fantasy, sci-fi, or thriller. This seems like a broad spectrum, however, there are overlapping conventions within these genres that appear to be the most appealing to me as a director and a creator. 

Some of the genres above appear to be coupled, such as fantasy and sci-fi, but the most notable distinction between them is the possibility of the plot elements. More specifically, within the fantasy genre there is no possibility of this actually happening, whereas within science fiction there is plausibility in the plot and the elements it is based on (usually justified by scientific or medical background). This is the distinction between the two…and as I wrote this as my own solid though, I have ruled out fantasy because I know I want the film to revolve around the aspect of verisimilitude.

            Among the last three (drama, action, and thriller), the distinction seems fairly clear, but I’m going to delve into them anyway. The most prominent distinction between these genres is the tone that they conventionally depict. A thriller obviously wants to evoke suspense or discomfort in an audience, a drama is meant to convey and arrangement of all emotions in their most raw form, and action movies focus almost exclusively on plot elements and fighting. Since the action genre doesn’t leave much room for depth in production, what I want to do is incorporate the engaging conventions of action into the genre that I eventually decide on.  Whatever my creation ends up being, it will be a beautiful hybrid.

Corrado, C. (2013, April 30). Formalism and Realism. Retrieved March 10, 2016, from https://chloemariecorrado.wordpress.com/formalism-and-realism/

Most Popular by Genre. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2016, from http://www.imdb.com/genre/

Realism. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2016, from http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Independent-Film-Road-Movies/Realism.html