In my production team's original work, which has yet to be titled or produced, the
heroine is a schizophrenic young adult who perceives that she is a murderer although in reality, no crime had been committed. This goes against the usual psychological thriller mold displayed in films such as "The Machinist" and "Shutter Island"-- 'disturbed' young man goes on a mind-bending journey that leads him to realize that he had killed someone, and is only jailed once this epiphany occurs, rightfully restoring justice. So our film is pretty much the opposite-- a young girl is institutionalized for confessing to a murder that never occurred, and cannot be released until she comes to the realization that it was all within her own mind. But what exactly do these fabricated memories reveal about our heroine's sub consciousness, and more importantly, her past as it relates to her present and future?
The introduction partly consists of an interview, going on between a mental health expert in an asylum institution and the heroine herself. It goes along the lines of a session of therapy in prison, "How are you feeling today?" "What's on your mind?" yada yada yada. However, the camera's focus is entirely on the girl herself, while the therapist's voice can only be heard. (The ominous voice's presence is never seen.) Finally a countershot near the end of the introduction reveals that the chair across from the heroine contains no one: The conversation had all been her imagination, and the voice of the interviewer had come from inside her own head.
This type of audio hallucination, along with exaggerated symptoms of anxiety, paranoia, and disorganized speech/thought, is the best way we can provide justice to symptoms of schizophrenia without representing the disorder in a completely inaccurate manner. "Critics have faulted movies for their emphasis on the grossly disorganized and bizarre behaviors of characters with schizophrenia, many of whom are shown experiencing vivid visual hallucinations. In reality, although some schizophrenia symptoms may be bizarre and grossly disorganized...auditory hallucinations are far more prevalent than visual hallucinations." Not to mention that, "the psychiatric patient turned homicidal maniac is an ever-present feature of contemporary 'slasher' or 'psycho killer films,'" while in reality, people with this disorder are more likely to cause harm on themselves rather than others. So is there any way to create a creepy psychological thriller that completely does justice to the complexities of schizophrenia? Not exactly, but we might possibly be on the right track.
"Critics of entertainment media have indicated that cinematic depictions of schizophrenia are stereotypic and characterized by misinformation about symptoms, causes, and treatment." My production team cannot wait to develop a character within a plotline that, although eerie and suspenseful, is not a complete deviation from what could very well occur to someone experiencing these unsettling symptoms. More information coming soon.
http://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/appi.ps.201100371
Owen Ph. D, P. (2012, July 7). Portrayals of Schizophrenia by Entertainment Media: A Content Analysis of Contemporary Movies. Retrieved March 10, 2015, from http://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/appi.ps.201100371
In addition to setting, costuming is an essential part of mise-en-scene that could truly make or break the entire vibe of a film. Today, I discussed with our featured actress Shanna Iglesias what she will be wearing during filming...which is set to occur either Tuesday or Wednesday of this week at NSU.
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So what's newest on the journey to creating an original psychological thriller opening scene? Well, for starters, we have come up with the name for our production team: "De-Ranged Pictures." The reason for this is that, in addition to capturing the creepy essence of our motion picture, the name also serves as a play on words. De ranged could also be taken in a more literal aspect...such as 'not all over the place.' Regardless, our production company's name is catchy enough and frankly, quite irrelevant in the grand scheme of this project.
Next, our script is complete along with our casting! We used an online service called "writer's duet" to create the script and a rough outline of the screenplay. This service is efficient in the sense that it is really easy to differentiate between dialogue, actions, and shots, which made our job as novice screenwriters a helluva lot simpler. It might behoove us to attach a copy of the script for the opening scene in "Shattered," but it contains some major spoilers, and running along with the element of suspense that is prevalent in this blog as well as our film, we have yet to disclose this. *insert evil laugh.* However, we are glad to announce that Shanna Iglesias will be starring as our film's disturbed protagonist, Abigail, and Josh Prem will be featured as the voice of the nonexistent interviewer. We are sure that these actors have what it takes to do justice to our script, and truly encapsulate the creepy and unsettling vibes that De-Ranged Pictures is trying to convey through this piece of media.
Due to scheduling conflicts, we have yet to film. However, this is somehow fortuitous because it gives us the opportunity to find the perfect filming location: a secluded office space with a creepy ambiance. Other than that, the only materials we need to complete the setting are a big desk/table, two chairs, and a dusty mirror to hang on the wall. All of these set pieces are accounted for, and De-Ranged Pictures plans as of now to film within an office space at Nova Southeastern University's medical school building located in Davie Florida. This is subject to change, but will most likely wind up being our filming location. Filming is expected to be completed within two sessions: one shooting the focused interview aspect of the opening scene, and the other to shoot three tiny flashback snippets which will give the audience more background information regarding the protagonist's story.
Suspense is an essential element of 'good film', a key ingredient that many modern scriptwriters fail to include in their works, resorting to a formula that leaves out the element of surprise. Even so, surprise and suspense are very different terms, and the essence of suspense stems just as much from the production aspect as it does the prewriting one. So what exactly is suspense? And furthermore, how does one produce the effects of suspense within film audiences solely through the process of scriptwriting? "Keeping the audience on the edge of their seat is a function of suspense. Suspense is not the same as action, nor is it the same as surprise. Suspense is the anticipation of action. The longer you draw out the anticipation, the greater the suspense."-image.jpg)
"Tension in unresolved conflict. The conflict has to exist below the surface, and it has to threaten to erupt at any minute. When you throw a gun or a knife into the scene, the tension escalates. Want to add suspense to your dramatic conversation? Just add a weapon!" Well maybe a physical weapon doesn't exactly apply to the scene my production team is creating, but can an emotional and internal weapon such as a cognitive disorder serve as a substitute just as eerie and unsettling? hmm.
The introduction partly consists of an interview, going on between a mental health expert in an asylum institution and the heroine herself. It goes along the lines of a session of therapy in prison, "How are you feeling today?" "What's on your mind?" yada yada yada. However, the camera's focus is entirely on the girl herself, while the therapist's voice can only be heard. (The ominous voice's presence is never seen.) Finally a countershot near the end of the introduction reveals that the chair across from the heroine contains no one: The conversation had all been her imagination, and the voice of the interviewer had come from inside her own head.
This type of audio hallucination, along with exaggerated symptoms of anxiety, paranoia, and disorganized speech/thought, is the best way we can provide justice to symptoms of schizophrenia without representing the disorder in a completely inaccurate manner. "Critics have faulted movies for their emphasis on the grossly disorganized and bizarre behaviors of characters with schizophrenia, many of whom are shown experiencing vivid visual hallucinations. In reality, although some schizophrenia symptoms may be bizarre and grossly disorganized...auditory hallucinations are far more prevalent than visual hallucinations." Not to mention that, "the psychiatric patient turned homicidal maniac is an ever-present feature of contemporary 'slasher' or 'psycho killer films,'" while in reality, people with this disorder are more likely to cause harm on themselves rather than others. So is there any way to create a creepy psychological thriller that completely does justice to the complexities of schizophrenia? Not exactly, but we might possibly be on the right track.
"Critics of entertainment media have indicated that cinematic depictions of schizophrenia are stereotypic and characterized by misinformation about symptoms, causes, and treatment." My production team cannot wait to develop a character within a plotline that, although eerie and suspenseful, is not a complete deviation from what could very well occur to someone experiencing these unsettling symptoms. More information coming soon.