Strange Intention
A character, a table and a piece of paper.
About
This is an experimental film where the action of a scene is repeated, but one key aspect of the scene changes drastically which inevitably changes not only how the character responds within the scene but also how we respond as the audience.
Our project will focus on the various ways of making a scene. The duration of each version of the scene will be about 15 seconds. The final video will be a few minutes. The repeated scene in a loop will be handled separately each time. The scene we want to perform will show a person entering a room. She will approach a table in the middle of the room on one side. The person will take a piece of paper from the table, wipe it in his hand and throw it behind her. Then she will leave the room.
Our goal is to show that the scene can be treated in multiple ways. We want to prove that a scene, using each time a different artistic technique, can tell something entirely new, thanks to the various variants that we have produced. Editing and music will play quite a significant role in rendering the final video but will be of less importance compared to the camera and aesthetics. Acting will also be important.
We hope like this to generate different emotions and make the viewer pay attention to how to tell a «story» that varies according to the technique of execution just with a banal scene. This basic, neutral scene, which thanks to the manipulations exercised, will evolve over the video.
This project is important to us because even without effects created in post-production (using computer software), we can create something visually impressive with practical effects (that is, manually, without digital retouching). The transitions will be made so that several scenes are brought together in a coherent and fluid scene.
Director’s statement
This project was a final year major project in college. It’s what we call a “Travail Personnel” and I was awarded the top grade for it.
The idea of this short was to help me understand at a deeper level what made an audience feel certain emotions during a film. Why would they begin to cry, or feel anxious for a character for example? I had to study and think creatively how this was achieved.
This film was also an experimentation with transitions, how we manipulate a narrative through transitions. This was key as it proved to be a major part of the way the story was told and was responsible for further confusion as of if the scenes were connected or not?
Credits
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Actress A - Leslie Rochat
Actor B - Matteo Marchi
Actor C - Daniel Polka
Extras - Karen Bueno, Jasper Venezia, Sára Dérer, Manon Guenin
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Writer - James Rigby, Manon Guenin
Director - James Rigby
First Assistant Director - Manon Guenin
Cinematographer - James Rigby
Camera Operator - James Rigby
Gaffer - James Rigby, Manon Guenin
SFX - Manon Guenin
Production Designer - Manon Guenin, James Rigby
Art Works - Manon Guenin
Sound Operator - James Rigby
Sound Design - James Rigby
Editor - James Rigby
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Production - James Movies
Location - Vaud, Switzerland
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Highest Grade “6” given for a Final Major Project
FAQs
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We shot this film during the entire day, in 5 consecutive days.
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None.
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Working in a small environment.
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Highest Grade “6” given for a Final Major Project.
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We had one main actress, two which were crew and a couple of extras.
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Very pleased with the outcome. The editing process was difficult but very rewarded in the end. This is by far one of the best projects I’ve managed to put out.