The idea for my short film stemmed from two main ideas, the first was my fascination with awkwardness and dislike as a part of relationships, and the second was my obsession with the classic movie “road trip” and the powerful ways they can be presented in film.

The way I came to my idea was a journey that began in last Friday’s tutorial, where by drafting ideas of our filmic interests, the story naturally came to me.

For example, we were asked to explain what interested us when thinking about “people” as a subject. Immediately, I was able to identify that I am fascinated by isolation, and the way it can fuel clear and philosophical thoughts  from myself and the people around me. What do people think about when they have nothing else to worry about? Furthermore, is dislike between two persons fueled by a lack of understanding between them? or is “dislike” just a naturally occurring, almost biological condition between two subjects who cannot interact, like similar bases of a magnet.

The above image rally spoke to me when considering this idea, for it suggests that dislike is institutionalized and artificial, as opposed to naturally occurring and biological. Whilst an identifiable political tension exists followers of Judaism and Islam between Israel and Palestine now, this image would suggest that tension is developed forcefully, and everyone is born as companions.

When considering the idea of “places”, I was inspired by the Australian roads, a place of exhaustingly long highways, often devoid of industry, that for me personally allow free-thinking and uninterrupted thought.

Finally, I thought of my love for music in film, and the way it can completely change the way we interpret a scene. The idea of Australian roads played into this as well, where I considered all the times I had been driving in a car listening to my favourite music on my iPod, and the way that music segregated me from the vehicle and was able to mould my emotions to fall in line with that of each song. A great example of this is the recent film Paper Towns, based on the John Green novel by the same name.

When director Jake Schreier uses Australian folk musicians Vance Joy’s ‘Great Summer’ in a driving montage, the roads and the goal of the trip gains a completely new meaning. Now not only are the characters attempting to find their missing friend, they are also gaining a zest for adventure and discovery that comes as a natural emotion felt as one finishes High School.

So this is how my idea came to be, fueled by these inspirations, I have come up with  a rough draft of a statement of intention…

Jerry and Rachel, two high school enemies now in University, are forced to endure each others company when Jerry is asked to take Rachel to a music festival by the girl he is trying impress. Left with no choice, they embark on the trip and awkwardness ensues. Neither are willing to diffuse the awkward tension, until a flat tire forces them to wait by the side of the road for assistance and finally talk about their issues.

I look forward to working on this film further, and deliberating on whether it’s the idea I will pursue for my final project.