Director's Statement of Intent
1. What film or TV show is this from?
This is an original script.
2. After reading the entire script, in 3 sentences, what is the story of the entire film?
A married
woman invites a male friend over, but begins to feel nervous after she can’t
tell whether her feelings are remaining completely platonic. Her friend learns
that her husband is on his way home, but instead of telling her right away,
tells her that he has feelings for her. She sends him away, her husband comes
home, and she spends time with him.
3. After reading the entire script, what is the theme or message of this film?
The theme
is that although it may not be easy and it may cause some problems, it is best
to be open and honest about your feelings, especially with someone you are in a
committed relationship with.
4. In 3-5 sentences, what happened in
the story immediately before your
selected scene?
This would
be the opening scene of the film if it were longer, so the before element is
hopefully inferable from the story. Before this, Sarah and Kenny have been
casually hanging out, while Mike has been at work.
5. In 3-4 sentences, what is the
story—the beginning, middle, and end—of this scene? In other words, what
happens as the scene starts, as it progresses, and as it ends?
Since the
entire story is this scene at this point, this is the same as question 2.
6. What, specifically, must the
audience understand narratively/plot-wise in order to engage in this scene? How
will you communicate each piece of information?
There is
kind of a lot of information that needs to be conveyed in a short amount of
time here.
The
audience must know that Sarah is married to Mike and not to Kenny. This is communicated
through bits of dialogue throughout the piece, such as Sarah talking about her
honeymoon.
They must
know that Mike is on his way home, and that Kenny knows this but Sarah doesn’t.
This will be communicated through the text and the shot of Kenny seeing the
text, which Sarah won’t be in.
They must
know that Mike doesn’t know that Sarah has invited Kenny over, which will be
communicated through Kenny asking Sarah whether or not Mike knows.
They must
know that Sarah is a bit nervous/guilty about having Kenny over, which will be
communicated through her performance (facial expression and verbal tone).
Finally,
they must understand that Sarah has some suspicion about whether or not Mike
saw Kenny leaving. This will be communicated through Mike’s suspicious
performance once he gets home, in which he doesn’t say much and treats Sarah
with wariness.
7. What is the narrative and thematic purpose
of this scene within the larger story?
This is the
opening of the story, so this scene sets up the situation of Sarah, Kenny, and
Mike. Thematically, it’s meant to set up the emotional tension created by this
situation, while still creating empathy for all of the people involved. Through
this emotional exploration, the scene will hopefully begin to establish the theme
of the problem of Sarah not communicating her feelings to Mike.
8. What emotion do you want the
audience to experience while watching this scene? Why? How, specifically, do
you intend to do this?
I want them
to feel a mix of sadness and suspense. The sadness is meant to be a part of
empathizing with Sarah. She has probably made some poor choices, but has done
them for good reason, which is something of a tragic place to be in—this is why
the sadness. The suspense is important because it reflects the consequences of
her choices, as well as the choices that Kenny makes. Although it would be nice
to give Sarah time to hash out her feelings and relationship with Kenny, in
life, sometimes we’re not given this, and the fear that Mike will find out has
to take over.
I intend to
capture these feelings largely through tone and lighting. I want the lighting
to be soft to create a cozy, faux-candlelight effect. This helps the empathic
nature of the scene to be there. Still, I want there to be high contrast in the
tone, and the lighting will be fairly low-key. This will help to create
suspense—through non-coincidence of tone in the surroundings of the image. This
is not film noir—the characters do not have malicious or hidden motives. This
will be reflected in the softness of the lighting.
I will also
use character blocking to reflect a lot of this. In the beginning, Sarah and
Kenny will be physically close. However, as Sarah gets more stressed, and as
she realizes more and more problems, they will be farther and farther from each
other. Likewise, when Mike first comes in, he and Sarah will be far apart,
helping with the suspense between them. When they end up physically close, it
will feel tense because we still don’t know what’s going on in Mike’s head.
9. What is the first image of the
scene? What is the final image of the scene?
The first
image is of Sarah leaning against Kenny on the couch. The final image is of
Sarah leaning against Mike on the couch.
10. Why is this scene personal to you?
What specific personal experience(s)
does it remind you of?
Although I
don’t tend to withhold my feelings from other people very much, I have had
times in my life when I’ve not known the best way to approach my feelings
toward another a person. For instance, for a while, there was someone in my
life I liked, but they were in a long relationship at the time. I figured it
would be best for me to not tell them about my own feelings, even though it was
difficult. Once this person ended that relationship and I finally told them
about my feelings, that brought about its own whole new set of problems. This
scene reminds me of this because it is precisely about this—not knowing what to
do in a relationship and using coping
mechanisms to deal with the anxiety that bring about their own set of problems.
11. How should the lighting feel in this
scene? Why? You may include sample image(s). (Not from the actual film!)
I want
soft, warm, but low-key lighting. This is to simultaneously create intimacy,
empathy, and suspense.
This is a
good amount of softness and contrast This
is the correct warmth and softness, but a bit high
This is
really close to what I’m going for, although indoors
12. Which two specific visual elements—line, shape, space, tone, color, rhythm,
movement—do you intend to use to purposefully communicate the emotion of the
scene? (You will be graded on your execution of this plan)
Tone: this
scene will use high contrast to create suspense and tension. The darkness
surrounding the characters will help us feel like there could be something
lurking in the shadows. There isn’t anything physically there, but emotionally,
maybe there is. Additionally, this will help key us into their facial
expressions, and performance will be important here.
Movement: This
scene will feature movement in a few ways. There will be a few tracking shots
in which we move with characters as they move around. This is to place emphasis
on the meaning of their movements as they move toward and away from one
another. Additionally, there will be a shot of hot chocolate spinning in mugs.
This is intended to reflect the turmoil Sarah is feeling.
13. In a bulleted list, describe three potential obstacles you may face
in creating a successful scene. Describe how can you be prepared to overcome
these? Be specific!
Lighting:
I’ve never had such a careful, tricky lighting setup to try to work with
before, so this is something I will have to be aware of at all times. We will
have to use our brains to light this, but I think we can do it.
Camera
moves: Although there are only a couple of shots I intend on doing this, I want
to have a couple of Steadicam shots. In the past, it seems like a lot of people
in our class have had trouble using the Steadicam. As such, I will be sure we
spend plenty of time balancing and weighting it, and that Spencer knows how to
use it. Additionally, if it doesn’t work, I have a backup plan that we can use
to avoid unwanted handheld shots.
Performance:
This scene will rely heavily on strong performances. I plan on spending a good
amount of time with the actors helping them understand the motivation behind
their characters, and making sure they stay connected at all times.
Additionally, I am casting all acting students to perform in this scene.
Shot List
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