What is the ‘controlling idea’ (Robert McKee) of your portrait? So far I’m framing the participant (Ed) in a situation which he had no control in. I can kind of shape him as a survivor as he had a 1/10 chance of dying. I can also shape him as a reformer because he has looked back and re-evaluated his life and his memories. If I unpack his story carefully I will be able to have distinct zone where these ‘controlling ideas’ are evident.
How is your portrait film structured? (Remember there might be multiple forms of structure employed) E.g. Discussion and depiction of an event or process? A Journey? Use of voiceover narration? Other?
This will be both a journey narrative and a voiceover narration. I’m going to make it so that it seems like the participant is just narrating the video but at the end finally show him in motion in an interview setting. I’m going to make it so there are three (or four) zones. The introduction (before the title reveal) will have a sharp statement to attract the audience to his story. The second zone will explain how the interviewee lost his memory. The final sequence will be a reflection of what happened. It will show how he lives on.
What do you want your audience to make of your interviewee? (e.g. What are you saying through them and/or human nature, human folly, or noble human inspiration?)
Through the interviewee, I want to emphasis to the audience how fragile life can be, or show how simple problems such as a headache, can turn into a life or death situation. Most importantly I want the audience to sympathies with the interviewee and connect with him. Most people wouldn’t have been in his situation but everyone has family and memories which are precious. His family could have lost him and he could have forgotten his family.
How is your portrait being narrated? Why? How does it affect the structure?
The interviewee narrates the majority of the portrait. BUT friends and family have told most of the information to him because he was unable to remember what happened. For this reason he has multiple perspectives and conflicting views. I will have to be careful how I structure the narrative so it makes sense. Showing the interviewee talking at the end will also give the video better structure because it make it look as if it is current time, looking back on his experiences (which were narrated).
What role will the ‘found footage’ play in your portrait? For example, reinforcement? Ironic counterpoint? Contrast? Comparison? Other?
The found footage I will definitely compliment the narrative. I will use footage from ‘Dead men Walk’ and ‘The indestructible Man’, which obviously work well with the theme of the documentary. I will get footage from when they are creating the indestructible man such as the electric bolts followed by a shot of the indestructible mans head to represent the seizure and the change his brain is going through. When the indestructible man wakes up, the narration will also be talking about waking up. the footage will act to visualise the audio narration.
Does your portrait have a dramatic turning point? I think the portrait will have at least two or three turning points (if that’s even possible in three minutes). Like I said earlier I there will be a very abrupt sentence at the start of the film which will entice the audience into the narrative. They will know there will be a dramatic turning point somewhere. I think the main drama will come from the coma sequence and the waking up sequence where the interviewee doesn’t remember who anyone is.
When does this turning point happen in your portrait and why? At the beginning? At the end? Two-thirds through?
Id like to think that there will be various turning pints in the portrait. The centre one, which is when he falls into and out of a coma will be in the middle, or 2/5th of the way in. Obviously the Ed is still alive because he is narrative, so, being that this event happened in the middle, will make the audience want to watch right though to the end to find out how he has progressed.
How does your portrait gather and maintain momentum? The portrait will gather momentum from the start as the audience is plunged into “I didn’t know who my Mum of dad were” or a narration a long those lines. I’ve chosen three songs with will lift the audience into each narrative zone. The songs have no words but they are constantly evolving with the narration. The pace of the narration will also be in time with the music so its not like I’ve just chucked music over narration. The momentum will also be maintained via thoughtful planning of the narrative. I don’t want to sell the candy too early so I will have to pace each zone into separate climaxes.
Where will your portrait’s dramatic tension come from? The gradual exposition of an overall situation? A volcanic, climactic moment? An impending change or crisis? The contrast between what the interviewee talks about and the found footage?
The dramatic tension will build from the first words as previously said (I don’t think its necessary to talk about them again). I will throw the audience into the situation. Each of the two or three peaks will give the portrait tension. the found footage will compliment the narration. I will select clips that demonstrate emotions of fear, curiosity or ‘awakening’.
Does the portrait have a climax and/or resolution? Outline them.
I feel like the climax and the resolution will mash over each other in the end. Every documentary needs a resolution and without a resolution, the climax will be crummy. Climaxes usually happen just before the end but i hope to have a few throughout the 3minutes