Once upon a time there was a village of people who all lived in fear of being different.
A Brilliant
Blue is the story of a young man who is born into a society that fears what
they cannot understand; who fear what is different, and he is different. Whereas
all those around him wear masks shrouded in flowers as grey as the sorrows and
fears they represent, he has but one flower of a bright and brilliant blue.
Not feeling as the other villagers do, he lives his life
as he chooses, without the pressure of having to conform. As he continues to do
so, the villagers fear him more, the crueler they are and the bluer his flower
becomes.
This is because he understands. He
understands why they fear him, a trait that no other villager possesses.
One he comes to love a villager, but, understanding that
she cannot love him in return because he is so unlike any other, he learns to
hate being different too. In that hate he cuts off his solitary flower in the
hope that he might be like his peers and dies in the attempt.
The villagers do not change their ways but every so often
another flower that adorns their masks will bloom, tinged with a faint, yet
brilliant blue.
I want to create a short film where every shot looks like
an illustration from a fairy-tale. In order to do so I will be using paper cut outs
- emphasising light and shadow - and model scenery with live actors green
screened in, as well as constructed set for visuals akin to The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1920).
This is in order to create the sense that the characters are walking on the
page of a story book.
Furthermore, given the vast number of films and
television shows that use chroma-keying as an integral part of production I
feel that it is a skill that would be incredibly advantageous to carry with us
into the industry.
Normally, a village would require a large number of cast,
however as all the villagers wear masks and as they hate being different (a
trait that is inherent of their characters), I believe it would be more fitting
to use a small number of actors filmed as the oompa loompa scenes in Tim
Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
(2005), where one actor performs multiple actions in separate locations to
create the impression of a larger population.
The story would be narrated to give the impression that
it is being read from a book.
After the submission deadline I would wish to take the
film to fantasy film festivals which would (hopefully!) help gain recognition,
for all involved, in the industry.
