Project Proposal

PROJECT BRIEF:

I'd like this animated piece to deal with visualising the psychological aspects of a character. It would describe the inner workings of his mind in the ways that he perceives reality, juxtaposing it with his warped paranoid consciousness. Using styling cues inspired by genres of animation and film such as Film Noir and Suspense cinema, I'd like to create a convincing persona of this paranoid man, as well as his environment. Attention would also be paid to the soundscape of this piece, as I feel the aural environment is just as powerful as the visual, sometimes even more effective at invoking and sustaining an emotion.
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ATMOSPHERE

“The air inside the bus is stale, sure evidence of disuse. As the door shuts with its hydraulic hiss, he looks around in panic. A familiar nausea begins to set in, fuelled by the heady mix of odours. A strong women's perfume mixes with warm, salty sweat, evaporating into the heavy air.
The dark, heavyset man peers furtively over his shoulder at the lone woman standing with her child near the window, his eyes darting rapidly between her legs and her chest. She turns her gaze quickly from him, looking outside, while pulling her child closer towards herself.
Beads of sweat trail down the side of his face and drop into his shirt. The cotton absorbs the droplet, and a small wet patch remains, paying homage to its final resting place.
A mosquito breaks away from its swarm in the back and lands lightly on the side of his neck. He doesn't feel it until its needle like mouth pierces his skin. He raises his arm to swat the insect away but years of evolution stand in his way. The mosquito swallows its share of blood and flies away long before its host decides to intervene.
The attendant standing outside nods an affirmative to the bus driver, who revs the engine in reply.

He stands still, clutching his bag, silently waiting for his building paranoia to abate. As the bus begins to move, the crowd inside seems to grow thicker, suffocating him with every breath. The people around him push in even closer, forcing him to look upwards for fresh air. There is none to be found, however, for the air itself is now thick with the smell of fear. He shuts his eyes tightly fighting that familiar feeling.”
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LOGLINE

A man trapped by his own paranoid mind, realises that he can do little to escape its vicious cycle.


SYNOPSIS

In a bus at an airport, a young man is seized by a sudden fear. He feels trapped and claustrophobic inside the vehicle and this feeling is exacerbated by the crowd inside. His entry into the designated aircraft does nothing to allay these fears, but instead worsens them. As the plane takes off, an intense paranoia takes hold of him, forcing him to resort to medication to soothe his troubled state. Drowsy from the pills, he soon falls into a disturbed sleep. He dreams of terrible apparitions, and disaster, sleeping rather fitfully. When he rises from his slumber, however, his condition appears to have been alleviated. Much relieved, he disembarks from the aircraft, and upon receiving his baggage, proceeds to the receiving area.

His lover awaits his return and the two leave the scene rather cheerfully. All seems to be well as they board a van to leave the airport. It is then that he feels familiar stirrings within him. As his paranoid mind begins to manifest itself once again, he can do little to keep himself from being swayed by its power.

BACKGROUND

I'd like the project to be an investigative venture into the paranoid mind, touching upon some basic points such as the causes and effects of paranoia, the alterations it brings to reality, and some of the tangible side-effects it might have on an individual.

The story idea would prove to be even more meaningful if I could place it in a context, probably a current situation, thus making it easier to relate to. For example, situating the character in an Indian airport, where more and more people travel everyday, could perhaps lend itself to the storyline.

The predominant focus of popular animation films has been on action-oriented plots, often viewed just as a form of entertainment. More often than not, the themes that they touch upon are out of context and not contemporary. The values that they have imparted to us in the past have been derived from stories told over generations (read classic Disney) and their characters seem to our modern sensibilities rather black and white.

It is in the grey areas that I find my character. He is neither black nor white, just human. I'd like my project to focus on capturing and describing accurately the psychological world of a character. I have no doubt that I would have to resort to some of the cliches of popular cinema, but they are cliches for the very simple reason that they work. However, I also want it to be a foray into the mind of a character and instead of creating a rollercoaster-ride of enthralling events, I'd like to create a deeper understanding among the audience.


QUESTIONS+POINTERS:

What are the elements that constitute a genre?
How does a genre influence the personalities of characters and their interactions with environment?
Are there certain mannerisms and traits that these characters display and how do they differ from those coming from a different genre?
How does one visually portray an intangible psychological aspect of a character? (using behavioural responses, mise en scene, sound, lighting etc.)
How has psychological characterisation been used in the past, and how can I incorporate it into my story idea?
What could push an individual to a point where it becomes difficult to cope with reality, and in what manner does that individual cope?


RESEARCH + PROCESS:

My research would focus on works concerning human psychology, as I feel this would allow me to add more depth to the character in the story. I'm also looking for recorded interviews and research papers concerning mental disorders, and hope to use them to build my script.

It would also be concerned with the representation of mental disorders in cinema, animation and fiction.

The question of converting the written description into a visual has been an essential preoccupation from the very beginning, and I hope to achieve this by combining animated characters with stylised effects. For example, in order to describe a smell, and convert it into a visual form, I would use a mist-like effect, possibly colour it according to its character- a dark murky green for a disagreeable smell, or a soft blue for a pleasant odour.
The building paranoia of the character would translate into quicker, more jagged camera cuts and angles, repeatedly showing what he sees, and magnifying its effect on his mind by using an effect to warp the way a character appears.
I suppose I could employ certain physical idiosyncrasies to add depth to the character as well, attempting to describe his mental or emotional state. For example, he begins to fidget with his shirt button when he is nervous, or he shuts his eyes tightly before he enters a closed space etc.

TIMELINE:

I have attempted to delineate various phases along with a rough duration of the production process I intend to follow, as well as important computer software usage:

(some phases will be executed simultaneously, or combined, depending on production requirements)

1.PRE-PRODUCTION:
Scripting + Storyboarding (2 weeks)
Character design (1 week, Corel Painter)
Environment design (2 weeks, Corel Painter)
Animatic creation with rough arrangement of sound (1 week, Adobe Flash+Soundbooth)

2.PRODUCTION
Rough animation, followed by cleanup (2 weeks, Adobe Flash)
Painting animated frames(2 weeks, Corel Painter)

3.POST PRODUCTION
Compositing (2 weeks, Adobe After Effects)
Editing+Sequencing (1 week, Adobe Premiere)


RESOURCES:

In order to lend the story idea credibility and style, I expect to draw inspiration from various bodies of work from literature, cinema and animation, some of which I have listed below:

Edgar Allan Poe- The Black Cat, The Telltale Heart
Philip K. Dick- A Scanner Darkly, Blade Runner
Roald Dahl
Henry James

Tim Burton- The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, Vincent
Richard Linklater- Waking Life, A Scanner Darkly

David Cronenberg- The Fly, Naked Lunch, eXistenZ
Ingmar Bergman- Through A Glass Darkly
Werner Herzog- Nosferatu
Fritz Lang- M, Metropolis
Alfred Hitchcock- Psycho, Vertigo, Rear Window

Wes Craven
Ray Harryhausen

Obviously, this list is not absolute, and as the project progresses, I expect to locate more source material.

LEARNING OUTCOME:

Accurately communicating an emotion or a state of mind within a short period of time is a big challenge. Through this project I hope to be able to achieve that very goal.
The devices required for this task are numerous, and I hope to successfully use some of them to my advantage. For example, the usage of generic elements and the creation of a convincing soundscape could strenghten the story idea and allow an audience to be able to connect with the psychological character of the film.