Brief Overview:
For my digital artefact I will be creating a short horror film inspired by my mental health. Over the past two years I have been dabbling in short horror pieces, often with absurdist ties in a bid to explore unique storytelling. In addition to challenging traditional approaches to film making. In the future I wish to have a career in the film industry, thus these projects have been collections to show future employees. In regards to what this artefact has to do with future cultures; I am hoping that within my film itself, you will see the exploration of my protagonist’s future. Which I hope, in itself will depict and challenge the future of Hollywood’s portrayal of mental health.
Methodology:
Due to the fact that I will be making an entire standalone film. This project will be more than just my movie, it will also include my university Instagram and WordPress blog as documentations of this piece’s future. I will aim to weekly share my plans for this film as well as exclusive behind the scenes. Including scripts, snippets, teasers, effects, research and photographs. I will also be using my blog to detail my future plans for this movie: how I hope it will turn out, views I hope it receives, as well as hypothetical futures such as distribution were it a seriously funded short film.
Further Clarification:
For further context. This movie will be in vignette form, each respectfully titled as an act. The piece will follow the mind of a protagonist (yet to be named) as we see her control over her intrusive thoughts crumble. As the plot progresses, we will start to see a shadowy figure consistently in the background following her in addition to foreign voices taunting her. I want there to be confusion as to whether this is all in the protagonists mind or if there is foul play at hand.
Production Timeline:
Because I’m working with film having a rigid and concise timeline is unrealistic. And I mean this in the sense of because I’m working on this piece alone; I have to do pre-production, the actual production, scripting, filming, editing and postproduction all by myself. So if I’m forcing myself to consistently churn out footage out of obligation, my piece will lose its sincerity and the quality will be diminished. This is why I’m super keen to be able explore this subject matter within my blogs and instagram, because I can be honest with where I’m at and what I’m doing. I can do things at my own pace and share my journey, all whilst getting feedback on things that I’m actually doing in the moment. That being said. I can’t just improvise this whole thing, so here is a loose schedule of what I’m planning to do:
brontanardo 
Pingback: Further Research | brontanardo
Reblogged this on Future Cultures.
LikeLike
I haven’t seen many people do a short film as a DA before, so this should be interesting to follow along with. I would’ve loved to have seen some mindmaps or other scribbles you’ve made during your brainstorming phase as that would’ve added a layer to the written part of your pitch. I appreciate the layout of your production timeline, as someone else who has created shorts films in the past. It’s the most useful way of mapping where aspects of the filmmaking process overlap with each other. Working by yourself is a great feat so I wish you luck in pulling it all together.
Research-wise, all I can think to offer is for you to look into the film Swallow (2019). It’s about a woman who feels like she’s not in control of her life. In response, her brain develops overwhelming intrusive thoughts telling her to swallow things she shouldn’t. Eventually, she gives into it and starts forming pica, a rare eating disorder. It’s a fantastic portrayal of pica and, by extension, parts of comorbid conditions such as OCD. CW: her life is controlled by her husband and that may perturb you.
https://www.rogerebert.com/chazs-blog/femininity-and-ocd-in-swallow
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: BCM325 – Pitch Comments and Critical Self Reflection – Taylah's Turbulence
Pingback: BCM325 – Pitch Comment Reflection – Utter Omnishambles
Hi Bronte!
I think exploring this area of our lives is well thought out, as it will always be relevant and necessary – now and into the future. There is so much about our mental health that isn’t known or isn’t accommodated for, so a DA such as your short film would be really valuable.
As the format of DA’s in BCM can be pretty rigid (and short!), with the timeframe od creating something that exists online, I think using your Instagram and WordPress accounts to document mental health and its future could also be wise. Instagram reels in particular are brilliant for creatives (and in your case filmmakers) for sharing behind-the-scenes work or information – this would be great for both future forecasting on mental wellbeing & any predictions of evolution in future healthcare. Events like COVID-19 have accelerated people’s consciousness and awareness of the need for strong mental health supports within our world, so this is more important than ever.
https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/technological-ventures-offer-new-hope-future-psychiatry
If you did want to explore the future of mental health and wellbeing, the above source is really useful when thinking about the future of digital psychiatry, particularly the potential that technology has on accessibility & affordability, and chiefly measurability. Digital phenotyping is a concept I found particularly interesting. Technology allows previously unmeasurable data to be captured and associated with mental wellbeing thanks to “big data”. The possibilities of confidentially tracking behavioural patterns allows psychiatrists to monitor symptoms and intervene earlier.
Really keen to watch your progress throughout the coming weeks with your short film, and thanks for such a fun pitch video, we stan fellow creatives 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: BCM325 Peer’s Pitch Feedback – Jess Wainwright