Portfolio Project Post #3

This post is one of the most important because I will be creating my first draft for the plot of my movie. My opening has to be a hint to the plot of the full movie meaning I should start planning for the opening by making the plot. When making the plot I want to make sure that whatever the idea is it could easily be filmed where I am without the need for too many actors, big props, or anything else that may be hard to come by. The big details I want to jot down today are the setting, characters, conflict, tone, title, and target audience.

Plot/ Opening Idea

My idea so far is pretty simple. A comic book writer is struggling to come up with adventures for his character because his life lacks adventure itself. The film starts off with the writer waking up to another regular day as always and proceeds to get ready. Although, behind him out of the ordinary things keep happening as he goes about his day, only noticeable by the audience. This leads to him eventually sitting down with writer's block when out of nowhere his fourth-wall-breaking comic book character comes to life to bring inspiration and adventure to the writer.

Setting

The setting of the opening will definitely start in the main character's room and move throughout his house as he gets ready for his day. I may have the character leave his house to write in order to add more interesting shots to the opening. Possible locations would be a local park, a shopping plaza, or maybe even the golf course near my house. To keep things simple I'll rule out the plaza because it could get crowded easily which would complicate filming. That leaves any park and the golf course as potential filming locations. 

Characters

The only two characters necessary for the opening would be the writer and his comic book character. I may add more characters later on if needed, but I plan to keep things simple so I can focus on what's important. The writer's name is William Stills and his character's name is Psycho Paranoia. As explained William is a comic book writer living a life full of dull moments. Psycho is a super-powered burden on Willy due to his uncontrollable ability that makes his thoughts and emotions into real-life situations and occurrences. Willy is what Pyscho calls William. Psycho is completely wacky and out of control which is exactly what Will needs in order to spice up both of their lives. I may need two actors although, if I want to make Psycho a figurative alter ego of William then I might just use one. 

Conflict

The obvious conflict throughout the movie is that Psycho keeps creating problems for Will and Will has to figure out how to get Pyscho back into the comic book. The underlying conflict is within Will because he is too comfortable in his boring shell of a life and he needs to do something adventurous to get inspiration for his book. Little did he realize that these two conflicts are intertwined because he is trying to get rid of the very chaos that inspires him which goes to show his inner-problem of running away from the experiences that make life worth living.

Tone

There are many tones I want to appear in the opening. I want to start with the depressive state conveyed mainly by dark coloring that represents Will's emotions while getting ready for another boring day. Although, I want there to be a sense of mystery mainly conveyed by music when random things start happening in the background. Finally, I want the tone to completely shift with Psycho's entrance to bright and wacky. Heightening the music could also help to exaggerate the change in tone.

Title

The title I came up with for the movie is Still Paranoia. It's a mix of the two main character's last names which makes it easy to remember, but it has a much deeper meaning. Still Paranoia is supposed to be a representation of Will's mental state before meeting Psycho face to face. He feels stuck, or like he's standing still in this feeling of paranoia that's stopping him from seeking adventure. It's a simple play on words that works great to explain the underlying conflict in Will.

Target Audience

This is a story meant to relate to anyone who feels like their imagination and sense of adventure are confined by the responsibilities of life or just their own anxiety. I can see this being targeted towards anyone, but with my style of comedy, it would likely resonate most with a young adult/ teenage audience.