Marieke / Proposal Draft

What do you want to make?

This academic year I would like to make a short horror film. In this I would like to incorporate the visual language I developed last year. Night vision recordings combined with digital infrared photos. For my horror short I am currently writing a script. There are 2 main characters: a guy that is a film student and a girl that is a painter. The location consists of the girl’s bedroom with self-portraits and mirrors.

The most important themes for the film are: trauma, memory, intimacy, power structures and violation. The characters are quite likeable they seem affectionate towards eachother and are quite funny. The guy is more of an idealist and the girl is dispirited. Their motives and personalities will not become completely clear just facets of them. I like to keep this aspect a bit open so the viewer has space to project their own views and feelings on these characters (identification). In the dialogue it is clear that these 2 characters are longtime friends.

Because I already make use of non-conventional techniques, I don’t want too many supernatural elements which are often done in the horror genre. In this short the "horror" part is more related to hidden violence not the supernatural. Often a film belongs to the horror genre when supernatural elements are incorporated. Usually when violence is the "horrifying" part in a film it is called a thriller. Even though this seems to have changed in the current cinema landscape with the current trend of psychological horror which is more grounded in reality.

After a discussion with Cem about this film he came with the idea of a video that is recorded on top of another video. The video that is underneath the recording contains the traumatic experience.

I liked this idea but I think it could be confusing for the viewer, so the plan is now: Over the course of the film the other recording will be brought up in the dialogue and is shown near the end of the short. Besides this I want to use infrared images to portray memories that the 2 characters are discussing. The photos show the happy part of that day and the video recording shows the trauma-violence. The trauma-violence will not be shown. Only the beginning of the recording is shown and then it cuts to memories and flashbacks of the girl. This part will be quite surreal in its aesthetics and it is supposed to frighten.

The camera has an active role and is not hidden. My idea now is that the guy that acts in the film is also the one that films. Or at least give the illusion that he is the one that films.

Because I am interested in the philosophy of ethics, I want to make a film that presents questions about right and wrong that are also difficult for myself to answer. These questions mainly relate to themes on trust, power dynamics, violence and protection.

Examples of a few of these questions:

What are our hypocrisies on violence related to the media and the images we ingest? When is violence entertaining and when does it become problematic? How is it possible to mess with the expectations of an audience that anticipates violence? What makes a film violent in its essence? In what cases do we need to show violence, because they portray the truth of our society?

How do you plan to make it?

For the footage I will use my night vision camera and digital camera with infrared filter. For the writing part I will write a script that leaves space for improvisational parts within set frameworks. I personally find improvisation very useful to work with, mainly because it produces natural dialogues. When I write I like to transcribe pre-recorded footage that I recorded as a prototype/experiment. Interesting conversations that I then transcribe become part of the script. For this film collaboration is a necessity, while previously I mainly worked on my own except for the models that I worked with. Since one of the characters is a painter, I am planning to incorporate my own drawings and paintings in the film (these are also part of the storyline). The sound I would also like to design myself if I have the time. In case I don't have enough time, I know a few musicians that could help me or I could opt for noise/sound instead of a soundtrack. The locations will be a bedroom and a location that's based in a beach/forest.

What is your timetable?

The exact timetable I don’t know yet but here is a list of what I have to do:

• Moodboard
• Storyboard
• Make some new paintings and drawings

oct/nov

• Film
• Script

For the film and script I will work with prototypes to see what works and go back and forth between filming and writing. Since I mainly think in images these prototypes are a must for my practice. This process starts in October and I want to be done with the filming and script in February. It's not a conventional way of filmmaking but this works better for me personally.

oct/feb

• Find a crew
• Decide if I want to work with people I already know or actors (and in this case find actors)

dec/jan

• Edit
• Produce the sound
• Producer?

mar/apr

Why do you want to make it?

I would like to make a film that focuses for a big part on the aftermath of a violent encounter instead of on the violence itself. This is because I am more interested in the psychology and consequence of trauma and how this also affects the people that are close to the person who experiences it. Most importantly I want to make a film that engages beyond shock value. This is more the psychological aim but I also want to play with the grammar of filmmaking. Since I am interested in horror and not in feel good movies I want to elaborate on the presentation of violence and scares in this genre. I want to be critical towards the viewer and myself as an aspiring filmmaker. What are the workings behind the psychology of a film?

For example in Funny Games by Michael Haneke at some point the main character says out loud that at least one family member has to survive, or the film wouldn't follow the conventional genre rules. This is extremely interesting to me. Funny Games was originally based on an essay by Michael Haneke about violence in the media. His film Funny Games was the horrifying result of his research and confronts us the viewer, with our hunger for violent imagery.

I want to aim for an experience like this. You are not just watching a film, you will feel like a more active participant.

Who can help you and how?

Cem will be co-director of the film. Of course, there will be other parts of the film that I need help with, mainly with technical roles. I would prefer to ask the help of fellow students for this. For the acting I am still in doubt if I will ask actors or friends. I tend to like films that use unexperienced actors because it can feel more genuine and real.

In the first try-out the "actors" will be me and Cem, this will give me an idea of the atmosphere of the film. When I have this first test, it will be easier to decide if I want to work with actors or friends.

Feedback will be very important as well from a viewing experience. I also consider this help since the feelings that I want to convey with this short are probably the most important part. I can only test this by showing my work to other people. (Not just fellow people in the field, also family, friends and people that look with a different eye)

It would also be interesting to talk to a psychologist or psychology student about fear and empathy in relation to film. Fear is the main emotion that I want to understand and convey with my short. Whereas empathy is an important effect to question and provoke the viewer.

Relation to previous practice?

In my previous practice I developed the (visual language) that I will continue to use now. My work explores the psychological and aesthetic areas of: the uncanny. The projects explore the model-photographer / camera-photographer-model relationship in an engaging manner. The psychology of that interaction is very interesting to me. This results in the experimentality and the feeling of probing, aiming for a compelling effect on the viewer. Because of this my visual language keeps an openness about the process of filmmaking.

Next to that I already researched the boundaries between camera, operator and model. Power structures have been a prominent subject in my practice. For example my short: Look at the Video. In this short the subtitles are the director and demand the model to move, the choreography becomes more extreme in its demands towards the end of the film.

I think I'm taking my practice a step further by making a more narrative work. My obsessions on power structures, boundaries and empathy were already clear in my previous practice they will just have a more polished form now. This is also why I would like to build the set for the short in my own bedroom, since last year my Insomnia project was also based in my own bedroom.

Relation to a larger context / References?

I think the context and references could be related to the genre Psychological Horror but also to artists that play with the medium that film is supposed to be and question it.

Films like It Follows, Funny Games, Man Bites Dog and Keren Cytter's work are my main inspiration now. I have watched a lot of other films that have influenced me but I think these 4 relate to my own film in a more direct way.

It Follows deals with themes of sexuality and assault in a sensitive and frightening manner. It confronts our ability to trust another human being, as there is no monster in this horror film but only human like entities that follow the protagonist. Funny Games blurs the line between fiction and reality and highlights the act of observation. It also questions our hunger for violence as viewers in a very confrontational manner. Man Bites Dog revels in its (fake) documentary setting where a crew follows a serial killer. Morals are continuously questioned in a dark humorous way, only when the crew starts to participate in the violence it's not so funny anymore. Keren Cytter researches the grammar of film in her practice. Her narratives are fragmented and the characters self-aware.

The most relevant book I’m reading now is: The Uses of Enchantment by Bruno Bettelheim: Bettelheim presents a case that fairy tales help children solve certain existential problems such separation anxiety, oedipal conflict, and sibling rivalries. The extreme violence and ugly emotions of many fairy tales serve to deflect what may well be going on in the child's mind anyway.

This interests me because we tend to think that when we come into contact with violence or the ugly parts of life through for example cinema, art, literature, and games that this influences us to become violent. While in this book it is argued that these violent emotions are an inevitable consequence of our fears and are just part of being human. I care a great deal about my responsibilities as an image maker, so I tend to question in what way my own work influences the people that will view my work. Since I would like to question violence and the darker parts of humanity, not encourage it.

Update

(I already updated all of the above but this is just a small synopsis to make my current process clear)

After a couple of tutorials there are a few new elements that I would like to elaborate on now.

Before I thought I wanted to make a short film that fitted into the Psychological Horror genre. Now I am a bit further in my research and I figured out that I am interested in the grammar of filmmaking and how I can play with the conventions and boundaries in this. I like films that are playing with the viewer and that are very aware of their own medium. For example: Funny Games, Man Bites Dog and the work of Keren Cytter. So rather than making a film that is a Psychological Horror short I want to make an uncanny video that balances on the boundary of being a more conventional film. My plan now is to write events and a script for the short that also communicates with the viewers in a way that it calls them out for watching it.

The set of the film will be build in my own bedroom in which I will incorporate drawings and mirrors. This could be a prototype or if it works out well the actual set design. Since I had the plan to use 2 films (a recording underneath the film) I decided to incorporate this idea more clearly into the story. This other recording is named and will be shown at some point in the video after a confrontation.

This is where I'm at so far with my project and proposal.