Unit 11 film ideas/design brief

For unit 11, we are tasked with creating either an essay, video presentation or a short film. I have chosen to plan and create a film, approximately 4-5 minutes long based around Lacan's lack theory. The concept between Lacan's theory is the lack that we feel in our lives and how we feel that crucial missing piece with obsession.

• Obsession of love/a particular person - lacking companionship
• Obsession of technology/social media - lacking of human interaction
• Obsession of material possession e.g. clothing or a vehicle - lacking an aspect of lifestyle
• Obsession of a location - lacking an aspect of lifestyle
• Obsession of nature/animals - lacking human interaction
• Obsession of music - lacking physical expression
• Obsession of celebrities - lacking an aspect of lifestyle

After researching Lacan's lack and different types of obsession, I have chosen to base my film around the lack and obsession of a want of human interaction and companionship. I want to portray this by filming an actor in a busy location/city, but alone and separated from everybody around them. I find this obsession interesting because we all have a crave for human interaction, as it is usually a part of our day-to-day lives, however some people fill that lack with other obsessions, such as Timothy Treadwell in Grizzly Man, who filled his lack of human interaction by living and associating with wild bears and nature.

This song/music video, performed by City and Colour, titled The Lonely Life, features many visual techniques that portray loneliness, by using a shallow depth of field, blurred/smudged edges of the frame and a lack of actors/people in wide open locations. I will be creating a separate blog post on soft focus, which can be found here... (http://sarahdavismediahnc.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/camera-techniques-soft-focus_5.html).

I plan to use technical features and editing aspects associated with obsession, such as close-ups, shallow depth of field, long takes, diegetic sound and instrumental music. I also plan to shoot in a wider range of locations, since my last film based around the American New Wave was shot in two locations, which I feel could be improved. Since planning, shooting and editing my last film, I evaluated aspects which I feel were positive, and things which needed to be improved to increase the quality of my film.

I will be considering health and safety as I shoot, with regards to equipment, and locations. Ensuring that I/whoever I am with, are away from danger e.g. busy roads.