BSA 231 W7 : Open Heart Surgery

The biggest set piece in my film is probably the tense open heart surgery sequence, in which the main character goes through surgery to get the curse removed as the monster attempts to put a stop to it. It's an important scene because it's honestly one of the most exciting parts about the idea, a big step up from the shaving scene and a very important part of the plot. I see it as one of the big differentiating factors of my film and would be very displeased if it was absent from the final work. It also seems hella fun to do so:

I did some research -



The thing that bothers me about this kind of footage is that, while real, it's hard to see and shot very close, which makes sense I mean it is real surgery, but still, would have liked a better quality vid. In The Killing of a Sacred Deer there is a heart surgery bit that is shot better than this, but still so uncomfortably close. Not doing it in this fashion could be a big part of making my film unique.

I looked at some diagrams of open heart surgery as well  -







This photo's not too bad:



I have to make a note that my story isn't entirely set in the real world though, I mean I've got the doctor doing heart surgery, not sure that's the way it usually works. I don't really care much though, it;s a movie and when people watch it I'm hoping they'll be too invested in the story be taken out of it, might even have him do the surgery with the patient upright since that's a more interesting visual.

Found these weirdos making hearts from clay, one of them even has it pumping (which is exactly what I want):





The surrounding tissue and blood and stuff shouldn't be too hard to do, fixing it to the body should be easy to hide to since surgeons always use that blue fabric to cover the patient.

This will be difficult location wise though, I am considering the use of a dentist's office, there are a lot of dentists in Invercargill, one of them is bound to let me film in there. It gives the surgical vibe, but has a unique aesthetic of its own.

I'll give the clay heart thing a go next week, we've already done fake blood in the past so that shouldn't be too hard.

I probably should plan this sequence pretty well before hand so that we get everything we need on set, plan it almost like I would a VFX sequence.

Already just for this one scene I am stacking up a lot of things that I need, like scrubs, the blue fabric, the surgical tools and of course the surroundings...

BSA 227 W7 : Struck By Lightning, oh and BLOWING UP

Today in class we did a tutorial where someone is struck by lighting and then BLOWING UP!, it's another of the video co-pilot tutorials, which I've attached below:

The first thing we did was insert the footage, then we changed the time code to twelve seconds, which is a bit longer than the clip we got:

Then we duplicated the "Run" layer (CTRL + D)

We freeze framed it (right click > Time > Freeze Frame) and then put it underneath the first layer.

Then we created a third layer, this one above the first and freeze framed it towards the end of the clip (5s-6s of  a 6 second clip)

We created a mask around just the feet and then feathered it slightly.

Again we duplicated the original clip and renamed this one pop or explode. Then put it above the feet layer.

We freeze framed this one again 

From this freeze frame we created a mask down to the person's feet, this will be blown up leaving only his feet standing (pun?)

Made this into a pre-compose, this mean it can have multiple layers onto itself, and selected Move all attributes into new composition. 

The new timeline above specifically for this layer now.

We used an effect called Pixel Polly, it like breaks the image apart into different segments and you can edit it to be bigger or smaller pieces, to make it red I added a Tint effect

To add the lightning we used an effect called Advanced Lightning under Generate

This can be edited in different ways as well. 

Here you can see we've just got the feet left.

We added an adjustment layer and added the curves effect which we could use to adjust the overall colour grading of the image. The brightness was turned up quite a bit when the lighting strikes to give that effect.

To add a glow around the character we added a new light blue solid and masked it to be only around the character, then change the opacity

We added in the sky as well, simple act of adding it in and masking appropriately. 

The most emasculating image put to celluloid.

FINAL TRASH:

BSA 231 W7 : Title and Design

For my manifesto and for anywhere that my film needs to be presented in text or image I am going to have to create a specific visual identity. The first thing is the title, which is already very clear in my mind:

"Jump Scare"

Moodboard:

BSA 204 W7 : Jump Scare Development

The actual jumps scares are something I need to start thinking about now, a lot of the generic horror movie jumps are already present in some form with the ex-patient character and his methods of escaping death. Because of this I am thinking of making the scares that happen to the main character a bit more creative than the standard fare:

One idea is kind of present with the ex-patient character but still is something that can be juiced and hasn't really been seen in another movie of this sort. this being the fact that the ex-patient doesn't shave. I could have a scene where the main character shaves and really stretch out the tension. This also incorporates a mirror, which is one of the things I wanted in the first two scares.

This shaving scene would have to take place after the first jump scare of the film, so that the audience really knows how the entity operates.

BSA 204 W7 : Character Development, Action and Objectives

Development and character arcs aren't exactly the same, development is the journey from the start to finish, the arc is a broader overview of where the character is at point A and where they're at at point B.

A---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------B

There's also the term "growth", which as I understand it is more of an upward change where they end up in a better place that they started in.

They don't have to become "better" by the end of the film as long as they learn a lesson and change by the end of the film.

There's a loop in storytelling where a character informs action and action informs character, and so on. There could also be a third element to this equation, that being values - which could inform character and could be changed by actions.

There are two things motivating our characters:

External Objectives ("Outer Want")

Internal Objectives ("Inner Need")

The use of need and want display that the internal need is more important than the outer want, they can be both achieved at the same time (hearkening back to last week's stakes intersecting), in Star Wars for example where Luke achieves his outer want (destroying the death star) and at the same time fulfills his inner need (to follow in his father's footsteps).

There is something that Patrick coins as a Lose-Win Character Arc, where the character loses at their external objective but satisfies their internal need, like Rocky. Or Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade where he loses the holy grail but connects with his dad, and what we looked at last year with Little Miss Sunshine.

These films feel more realistic in a way. I've noticed this trend before but had a hard time describing it then, to me these types of movies were always bittersweet films, a term I think perfectly describes the nature of the emotion present.

Movies like Nebraska (2013), La La Land (2017) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

It can also be very unsatisfying if a character achieves their outer want but not their inner need.

We did an activity in class where we had to create a Lose-Win scenario:

1. Devise a protagonist

Sabbath

Born into a cult where men hunt bears, he finds himself the victim of a poor genetic makeup and feels weak. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

2. Tangible short term objective

Kill the bear

3. Potentially long term objective

Wants to become independent - his own man / Be accepted by his father

4. A Location

The Woods, wooden village in middle of the woods

5. Establish an antagonist (gender/occupation/background) at this location with a competing external objective


Viktor Brutus (his Dad) / The Bear

6. Develop the conflict

He goes out to kill the bear, he doesn't do as well as the other kids, he finds a bear - it's a mother bear - it has cubs. He considers killing the cubs, can't do it, the mother bear wakes up and attacks him. Injured, he scales a tree and hides there - I don't know what exactly happens but he forms a friendly relationship with the bear and takes it back to town.

7. Resolve the conflict: what concession/sacrifice does your protagonist make in their pursuit of their external objective/outer want that ultimately fulfils their internal objective/inner need?

He comes back to town, riding a bear - naturally - and kills his dad - with the bear, naturally - and then says "I'm my own man now".

8. Create a Beat Sheet

We didn't get the time to get past beat 4 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Patrick also mentioned this general:

Pyrrhus of Epirus
---->I'll look it up later

BSA 206 S2W7 : Life is Beautiful (1997)

In class this week we watched Life is Beautiful (1997) an Italian comedy set during the holocaust.

We were tasked with writing our reviews on it:




I loved this movie. Straight of the bat the concept is very unique - a "holocomedy", what a disastrous but undeniably ballsy idea.

I think it paid off. Out of the gate the film proves its proof of concept by having the main characters drive through a Nazi parade and accidentally salute. The reason the movie works though, I think, is because it doesn't colour the war as anything that it wasn't. The events are all treated with respect and seemingly accurately represented. It is simply through the eyes of such a colourful and fun character that these situations become comedic and enjoyable.



One could say that if  this character did exist he would have gone through the events depicted in the film, the same argument used by Tarantino for his WWII semi-comedy Inglorious Basterds (2009). I think that film could be seen as much more offensive than Life Is Beautiful because it does actually change major events of the war, but that film also isn't set within a concentration camp - it's played much further away from the true horrors of the holocaust.

The movie is unrealistic and comical though, with coincidences that would be very hard to see play out in real life, especially so frequently and in the life of one person. The film doesn't cheat where it counts though, the coincidences are for gags, the serious plot points all play by the rules, not making it overly easy on the character.

The character is almost perfect, which could be seen as a flaw. He is an unrealistically fun and charismatic man with no flaws and the inability to do wrong, yet we root for him throughout. His intentions are good and he's always fighting an uphill battle, a battle that he wins by consistently outsmarting his opposition and the unfair world which he occupies. It's an extremely talented underdog, its also a film told from his son's perspective, making it very possible that it is a subjective look at the man and not objective, a fictionalized and accentuated version of this man. Whatever it is, it's fun to watch. It could also be seen as an "angelic" story, where the main character doesn't change and instead changes those around him.

Robert Benigni starred, directed and co-wrote this film, for which he won an oscar for best acting as the film won the oscar for best foreign picture, I can't imagine how big his ego must have been after this, especially after getting such critical acclaim for portraying a man with virtually no faults.

The film reminds me a lot of the films by Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin, one man walking through the world and making it entertaining. This is a genre that was very popular during the silent era and hasn't seen much re-visitation since. This is an excellent example of that type of film working to the best of its ability, being extremely similar to the tone of Charlie Chaplin's mixture of drama and comedy in films like The Kid (1921). Since I think properties like Mr. Bean has touched on that style but I think Life Is Beautiful might be the best of example of how it can be used extremely effectively.




While I was watching it I did realize that this is the type of film I would love to see in theaters as well, crazy that it released the same year as Titanic. These movies capture a magic of what its like to go out and experience a movie at the theater. It's filled with romanticism and magical moments that are few and afr in-between in real life that makes it feel almost like a fairy tale (like the love of his love falling into his arms upon first meeting or when he plays music for her in the concentration camp).  One of the best things of this movie, that Titanic also does, is its relentless pacing, it tells its story and once it starts it doesn't stop, always entertaining and the hours fall away without the audience even noticing.

Admittedly the two halves of the movie feel very different, the weird thing is I actually found myself closer to crying during the extreme positive emotion found in the first half. During our break in the middle I was sure I would be bawling by the credits knowing how the movie plays out, it is odd then that I found myself much less emotionally worn by the end of the second half.

 Maybe it's just that sad stuff isn't as sad as when not contrasted with happy stuff, I thought there might have been a flash back at the end of the film of when the father was still alive, a poetic clip of their family life we never got to see, but there wasn't. If there was I'm sure I would have shed a tear and that's probably the only thing I would personally alter about the film. Everything else is neat, tight and very well made. It's one of those movies that makes me feel like I should just quit film-making right now because I would never reach the peaks that this film has an therefore there is no use in trying anymore (others like this are Titanic and La La Land).

BSA 206 S2W7 : Tests

About a week or two back we did some filming, some of that was for this class wherein I tried out the Jonathan Demme style:



Tracking Shot

Demme uses zoomed in shots of characters walking through an environment, usually one that they are familiar with, and has foreground elements pass over them. There is usually layers to these scenes as we follow the characters from a distance.

In my experiment I filmed a person walking from one side of the street to the other, the camera work was shaky and there's not enough elements passing in front of the character as he travels, this leaves it feeling less dynamic than it could have been otherwise. I notice with Demme the subject moves more towards, or perpendicular to, the camera.

The thing is that this actually turned out pretty well from a blocking perspective, everything clicks somehow and even the focus pull at the start is on point - surprisingly it only took us three takes.


Following Shot 

Demme uses these in two ways - 1) to show a character is familiar with a location (we move in front of the character, looking back at them as they travel) and 2) to show a character is entering an environment they are less familiar with (we follow behind the character as they travel).

I only did the latter one and not to the same effect.



Close-Ups

Demme uses close-ups a lot, specifically Big Close-Ups (or American CU's, wherein the face takes up most of the frame), these along with their directness to the camera are a staple of his style and one of the biggest techniques I had to try out:

BSA 231 W7 : Changes and Manifesto Update

I'm changing my idea two weeks before I start shooting, I will be doing the manifesto with this new idea in mind, that new idea being:

Title

"Jump Scare"

Logline

A film in which a man with a recently diagnosed heart condition is haunted by a supernatural entity that wants to literally scare him to death.

Final Shooting Script

TBW (To Be Written, although I have made a start, see: https://bomyburghfilm2.blogspot.com/2018/08/bsa-204-week-7-jump-scare.html)

Character Bios

The Marine

The protagonist of our story, this military man is forced into early retirement when he suffers a heart attack, after surgery he starts experiencing supernatural encounters with a being that is putting a lot of pressure on his heart. Tired of his doctor's seeming incompetence and due to his growing suspicions the man decides to investigates only to find himself the latest in a long string of heart surgery patients haunted by the mysterious entity.

He is a man determined to find solutions, but also someone who struggles with the sudden shift in his world. He's used to being capable and reliable, now he has to adjust to a new world where running is dangerous for him and where he feels himself becoming more and more insignificant. He's a strong man forced into a weak body and he's having trouble with the transition.

The movie sees him starting to accept his newfound situation, the arc set-up is one in which he has to come to accept his new state of being and learn to live a happy life and not drive away those closest to him. This is of course cut short along with a vital artery when he dies.


The Doctor

A man who isn't particularly attractive but who every woman in the world seems to have a crush on. The doctor made a deal with a demon to provide it weak-hearted targets in return for his supernatural sex appeal.

He struggles somewhat with the immoral choice that he's made, it's also sent him down a dark path in which he has become a sex addict. By the point that he is confronted buy two of his patients he has grown tired of his situation and feels the fleeting relationships that he has are empty and meaningless.

He agrees to help, even though knowing that he will lose his sex appeal, his arc is one of coming to accept who he really is and not rely on the superficiality that his increased sex appeal offered. At the end of the film he encounters a cleaner who walks in on them slaying the demon and his charms are no longer effective, he has selflessly sacrificed his own power to help others, at the end when his powers don't work The Nurse is still into him, saying it's because of his actions and personality, not due to his artificial charm.


The Ex-Patient 

A diagnosed schizophrenic who has earned himself a restraining order because of an attempt to confront the doctor, who slept with the patients' wife at the time of his surgery.

He has become a recluse in his fight for survival, he has devised different ways of avoiding the entity and not getting killed by its frights. Strategies like always listening to music, never shaving, not having reflections or sharp objects in his house and turning corners slowly.

This character is a shell of his former self and has become a mess in his efforts to stay alive, he is at the end of his rope but believes that his strategies are working. He has a long standing relationship with the entity, which he simply addresses as Scary Face.


The Nurse

The Nurse has a relationship with the doctor character but he cheats on her with someone else, leading her to become somewhat depressed and ends up helping The Doctor's displeased patients. She is young and finds herself in a situation that she doesn't fully understand, her relationship with the doctor is strained but even after what he did she finds it hard to dismiss his unnaturally effective charm.

It adds comedy to the scenes with all four characters, especially the interrogation scene, but it also leads The Nurse to become a stronger individual, she is the one in the third act who point out the monster can be killed and ultimately the one most intent on doing so.


The Demon

A supernatural entity that is too weak to collect souls properly like others of it's kind, it instead feeds of those naturally weaker - people with heart problems and pays it's dues by scaring them to death.


Artistic Intent

I have a very clear idea of what I want in my head, it will take some careful wording though.

Production Design Concepts

The entity itself will play off horror movie tropes - specifically the type of designs usually seen in jump scare filled movies where the monster's basically just a scary face. This is alluded to by the Ex-Patient character who calls the entity Scary Face.

  

The creature designs from Sinister (2012) and Insidious (2010), who are essentially just a scary face in a suit.

I am also taking inspiration from creepy-pastas and internet jump scare videos, things like Jeff the Killer (those kind of creepy smile stuff, so maybe my monster has a smile, then again the idea is that he is weak in comparison to his peers so maybe he's sad instead).


Intentions for Sound Design 

One of the big sound design elements I intend to incorporate is the constant presence of a heart beat which is a very important thematic connection to the plot. This relates directly to the main character's own heart, so it grows faster or slows down depending on his emotional state. This of course stops when The Marine dies, it returns threefold when the other three characters start moving the plot towards is climax, transitioning into a musical piece with an 80's synth inflection as the characters engage in a suit-up montage.

Musically I want to go with something like Alfred Schnittke's orchestral works, something I stole from Yorgos Lathimos, one of my primary stylistic inspirations. He uses the piece String Quartet No. 2: I. Moderato in The lobster, this is the same piece I am currently using for the opening, that which transitions into String Quartet No. 2: II. Agitato as the title appears on screen.

For most of the jump scare sequences music will be absent and quieter noises of foliage and ambient noise will be amplified to increase the suspense in these scenes.



References and Influences

I want to take inspiration partially from the films of Yorgos Lathimos (The Losbter (2015), The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)), but of course the whole idea comes from modern supernatural horror films like Sinister, Insidious and that sort. Saw (2004) (the original) is also an inspiration I think, because of how fun it is with it's set-ups and sequences. The execution in later scenes might lean more heavily to the style seen in that movie too.


Ethical and Legal Considerations 

At the moment the only thing I can think of is that it could cause problems for people with actual heart conditions, this is a small concern however because all horror movies that rely on jump scares do that in my mind.


Script Breakdowns

I'll do it when I have a script


Hypothetical Budget

Need to make a start on this (obviously)


Storyboards/Shotlists/Camera and Lighting Plans

I am very eager to start story-boarding and more-so to make an animatic with sound of the opening sequence to create a good representation of what exactly I want the final product to be.

Resources Required

I will need to make a prosthetic of some sort for the heart surgery scene, the clothes and equipment (like a scalpel) will also be tricky to sort out. At the moment my chief concern is the practical effect, which along with the animatic is the next thing I want to get sussed.


Shooting Schedules/Draft Call Sheets

--

Location Information

Locations I need:

- Doctor's Office
- Hospital 
- Main character's home
- Past Patient's home
- Surgery Room

Risk Assessment

--

Other Relevant Paperwork and Release Forms

--

BSA 204 Week 7 : Jump Scare

I've decided to change my script, even though this is after the proposal (as it usually is), because I have come up with an idea that I am way more excited over, hopefully I can pump the first draft of the script out quickly enough so that I don't lost passion in the project.

_________________________________________________________________________________

Logline:

A man develops a heart condition and starts being haunted by a supernatural entity that scares people to death

Beat Sheet:

I open the movie with the main character seeing his doctor, we establish that he's recent;y had surgery and that he is experiencing weird hallucinations of sorts, which is acting on his worsening heart condition. The main character tells the doctor about his experience but the doc says that this is actually a common thing for people following a heart attack, its a subconscious fear or insecurity about their condition. The doctor keeps getting texts and has to leave the office for a bit, suspicious and unwilling to end their appointment the protagonist stays in the office and has a look through the doctor's files, finding other patients who underwent similar surgeries.

He gets home, experiences one of the scares, and looks up the other patients, each one having died from a heart attack - after the surgery.

There is one alive and he contacts him, they find they have had the same experiences and the other patient has adapted his life to live with the jump scares, they have apparently diminished in extremity and regularity. That patient says that he has a rare form of schizophrenia apparently.

The main character investigates into the doctor. It turns out the doctor made a deal with a demon to let him haunt patients with heart problems and kill them - collecting their souls - in return to be make the doctor irresistible to women.

He teams up with a past patient and a disgruntled nurse, both of whom seek revenge for the doctor's vagrant ways, and they corner the doctor. He explains himself to them and agrees to help fix the problem, but to do this he has to perform open heart surgery on those afflicted.

The climax is divided in two - 1) Open Heart Surgery with the constant threat of a jump scare and 2) the team splitting up and trying to bait the entity to jump scare them so they can kill it.
_________________________________________________________________________________

Treatment (kind of):

We start with a heartbeat and V.O. on black, the man is describing his experience, fade In to a doctor walking the halls he has a clipboard and waves at nurses as he walks by, we fade out again and transition into the doctor's office, the doctor tells the man that this is perfectly normal for someone who has underwent a surgery of the nature that he has, it's simply the subconscious fear of another heart attack. The man says these things didn't happen while he was dreaming and it hurts, it's stress on his heart, he asks whether or not its happened to any of the doctor's other patients. The doctor says that it has, it's a symptom of going through something that shocking. A secretary pokes her head through and says the doctor has to see someone else, the doctor says he won't be long, the man asks what can be done about it. The doctor says its a psychological issue, nothing medicine can fix. The man says he's not sleeping, maybe the doctor can at the very least give him something for that. The doctor's phone buzzes, he looks at it and looks back at the man, he says he'll see if he can sort something out and tries to reschedule, asking when would suit the man to return. The man says he needs it now, he's scared of what will happen to him and he can't spend another night with that fear, it hurts more and more each time and he's afraid he'll have another heart attack. The doctor says that the man might need to just create less pressure for himself, take a break from work. The man rebuffs that it doesn't happen at work, it happens at home. The doctor's phone buzzes again, the man tells the doctor that if could just at least sleep he'd not have to deal with it, the doctor says he'll sort something out for him but that he has to leave now. The man says he paid for an hour, and the man won't be charged for the full hour the doctor says, he apologizes but he is very busy, the man should come back another time, he says he made a note and will get on it soon as possible (demonstrating him putting the note in his file cabinet). The man should just call for another appointment, the man is displeased, he says this appointment took a week to get, calling doesn't work, and if the problem isn't alleviated now he can't continue with his life. The doctor says that it's a personal matter anyway, not his area of expertise. The man says that his life is in danger, isn't that the doctor's area of expertise? The nurse pops her head back through and urges on the doctor, a pause, the nurse hovers and the man looks a bit defeated, the doctor asks the nurse how long it will take - she makes a comment that it should be fast (it's sexual), the doctor tells the man to wait there and relax he shouldn't be more that twenty minutes (? asking nurse). He leaves and tells the man he'll get him medication.

The man sits frustrated and looks at the filing cabinet, everything of the doctor is very well organised. He stands up and goes over and starts rummaging through the file cabinet, he finds the folders with heart attack patients. He sees some went through the same operation and there are others who complained about the monster. He takes pictures with his phone, a nurse passes the office but the blinds are closed, he finished snapping the pics, closes the cabinet, picks up his jacket and leaves the hospital, as he does so he passes a service cabinet, inside two people are going at it, the doctor's golden pen falls to the ground. The man walks through the hospital walls and thinks he sees something following him but he's unsure.

When he gets home the man experiences one of the jump scares and locks himself in his room where he starts googling the other patients he looked at. One after the other happens to have died of heart attacks soon after their surgeries, he does find one person who is still around. He has to take a piss and goes to use the toilet where he experiences another scare and has trouble with his heart.

He goes to visit the patient who is still alive, he finds that the man has experienced the same things that he has and have devised various strategies to avoid dying of fright, this apparently works. The man has odd habits - like not shaving or turning slowly - and his house is build in a weird way - it is void of reflections for one and is built in a square shape, lacking corners.

He talks to the past patient about maybe apprehending the doctor, but the patient refuses this request, he says that the doctor is too hard to reach and that he has tried before and have been subsequently banned from the hospital premises for making a scene. He was banned partly due to his anger at the time about the doc sleeping with his then-wife. The main character points out that he has more reason than anyone, but the man says he's tired and have found a way to live. The main character asks whether or not he would get it removed it he could, the patient says of course he would but that he will help him if he finds a better way.

The main character drives home, as he does so he drives past the hospital where he sees the nurse from the beginning running out of the building and crying. She stands at her car and he goes to talk to her. She reveals that the doctor and her had a relationship and that he cheated on her. This gives the protagonist the way in to interrogating the doc.

He has another jump scare at home and the next day they use the nurse to get inside the doctor's office, there the doctor reveals that he has made a deal with a demon in which he provides it with weak souls in exchange for being irresistible to women. During their heart operations he weaves in a string pattern into their hearts that attracts the demon and essentially curses them. He says he can fix this by taking it out again. The main character agrees to this.

The two finals scenes:

1) A suspenseful sequence in which the doctor and his two assistants operate open heart surgery on the main  character with the constant threat of a jump scare looming over them - the character gets jump scared and cuts a vital artery killing the protag, during this he also accidentally cuts the demon with the scalpel though leading into:

2) The climax in which the remaining three characters decide to bait and kill the demon since it seems like it can be damaged, this means they have to put themselves into deliberately vulnerable situations to bring it out to play, the first thing they do for example is split up

At the end they kill it

_________________________________________________________________________________

Locations I need:

- Doctor's Office
- Hospital 
- Main character's home
- Past Patient's home
- Surgery Room

_________________________________________________________________________________

''JUMP SCARE'' FIRST DRAFT by Bootje Myburgh


Over black we hear the sound of a slow heartbeat, it continues over:

THE MARINE (V.O.)

I get this feeling that there's something in the house with me, and not just at home, like it's following me everywhere I go and it's not just the presence, it's real, like I see it, like a hallucination--but a violent one Doc

FADE IN
INT. Hospital Halls

The Doctor is walking through the halls of a hospital, it's in slow motion, he has a clipboard in one hand and pockets a golden pen with the other, as he walks through the halls he nods to the nurses

THE MARINE (V.O.)

And I'm scared because it's causing a lot of stress on my heart, every time it's this visceral jump and I see this face come out of nowhere and there's this horrible screaming sound, it's like someone's playing a prank on me but it's, it's something evil--

The Doctor is sitting behind his desk, across from him is The Marine telling his story

THE MARINE

--it happens infrequently at any point in the day I just get this horrible chill down my spine, hear noises in the house and follow it and turn around, or look to the side or something and this evil-like, well just--face lunges out at me and every time that pressure on my heart returns like with my attack

THE DOCTOR

How many times has it happened now?

THE MARINE

Since my surgery last month, about four times, and it doesn't always go as far as a jump, but I've had that paranoia come over me way more times than that

THE DOCTOR

That's actually perfectly normal for someone who's just undergone a heart attack, especially someone who was as seemingly healthy as you, I've heard similar stories with many of my patients, it's not really a medical condition per se, it's shock - your brain is having trouble processing it and has created a subconscious fear of going through that experience again, there's not really much I can do to help, I'm afraid it's a psychological problem

THE MARINE

Yes doc, but it's not--I-I'm awake when these things happen, in fact I'm awake all the time now because I'm losing sleep because of it, maybe there's something wrong with my pills or maybe just, maybe you could just help relieve my sleep deprivation

THE DOCTOR

If you're not sleeping than that's the source of your troubles, after a while it becomes hard to tell the difference between being awake and not--

The Doctor's phone vibrates on the table and the screen lights up, he gives it a quick glance 

THE MARINE

Hey Doc, it's just it didn't happen before the surgery, there must be something that you could....

THE DOCTOR

It really isn't my area of expertise, I could maybe get you medication for the insomnia, but the actual ailment that you seem to be suffering from comes from a psychological place, if you're not seeing anyone already I could recommend a psychiatrist to you?

THE MARINE

Your past patients, did they have the same experience as me, like did they see this thing too, or...

THE DOCTOR

Not exactl--similar experiences, as I said it's normal after such a traumatic exp--

There's a knock at the door and a nurse pops her head through:

THE NURSE

Doctor, I'm sorry but your needed urgently in the west wing

THE DOCTOR

Yes, I'll be right out

The Nurse nods and close the door again

THE DOCTOR

I'm sorry, I have to go, maybe we can reschedule this appointment?

THE MARINE

I'm afraid man, this thing is playing some serious games with my heart, it's getting worse everytime and it sounds like bullshit but you said it yourself, stress and fright can kill you, one of these days my heart's gonna stop 

The Doctor's phone buzzes again, he picks it up this time:

THE DOCTOR

Tell you what, I'll make a note

He takes his gold pen and writes down on a pink post it note, he shows it to The Marine

THE DOCTOR

It says to get you something to help with the insomnia, and I'll put it right here in your file

He opens his file cabinet, which seems to be sorted by the type of ailment, and takes out The Marine's file and sticks the post-it note to it

THE DOCTOR

Next time you come I'll have that ready to go, but I have to leave now--

THE MARINE

This appointment took me a week to get and the attacks are getting worse, I'm gonna have another heart attack proper

THE DOCTOR

You're putting too much pressure on yourself, I've done what I can, what you need to do now is maybe just take a break from work, have some time off

THE MARINE

That doesn't help, it happens it home - I told you it happens everywhere I go, how am I supposed to go on with my life if this doesn't get fixed

THE DOCTOR

I don't know. And frankly it's not my problem, this is a personal matter that needs to be sorted with a psychological professional, it's not my area of expertise

His buzzes, there's the nurse's shadow at the door

THE MARINE

My life is in danger, how is that not your area of expertise?

The Nurse knocks

THE DOCTOR

I'm coming

THE MARINE

I'm not leaving until someone helps me

The Nurse enters again, she lingers in the doorway

THE NURSE

Doctor? Doctor you're needed urgently

The two men look at her

THE NURSE

It should be quick though...

THE DOCTOR

Okay, I'll be back in 20?

The Nurse confirms this with a thoughtful nod

THE DOCTOR

Yeah 20 minutes, if you don't mind waiting I'll come back with the pills you requested, how about that?

THE MARINE

Sure

The Doctor takes something out of his desk and starts for the door

THE DOCTOR

Okay then

He hurries to the door and the nurse excitedly exits into the hallway, on the way out The Doctor gives The Nurse a pinch in the butt and she giggles as they both walk away in a hurry

The Marine sits in silence, he's exhausted, he looks at the filing cabinet. His eyes light up a bit as an idea pops into his head.

He looks towards the door that was left ajar, gets up, pokes his head into the hallway and closes it gently.

He makes his way across the room to the filing cabinet, opens it where he saw his file, looks at his own file and the pink post-it, he looks at the other folders - they are all heart attack victims. They all seems to have undergone the same surgery as he did - he starts opening a could, only looking away to check over his shoulder as a shadow passes by the door. There are notes of similar experiences to what he had.

He starts taking photos of the other files with his phone. 

The Marine closes the cabinet, picks up his jacket and exits the office, starting to walk down the hall. He walks past a service cabinet, inside of which there is rummaging, through the bottom of the door two sets of feet can be seen, pants down by the ankles, The Doctor's golden pen falls and rolls towards the door. 

The Marine walks down the hallways, and looks around nervously, a shadow passes behind him, he keeps walking. In a reflection he sees something and as he walks past a hallway he sees another shadow, he ignores these and heads out of the building.

The Doctor walks back through the hallway, he's buttoning up his shirt, he walks past another nurse who looks at him and he looks back. The title shows as the music crescendos:

_Jump Scare

NOTE: (The opening scene is accompanied by music like Alfred Schinttke's String Quartet No. 2: I. Moderato with the title showing at it's peak)

BSA 227 W6 : Second Thoughts

Now that I know about video copilot I am reconsidering what I might do - seeing the extensive nature of compositing has got me excited to try out some of these techniques.

So I looked at some of the tutorials and chose some that I am interested in. It shouldn't even take that long to do all of them and my skills at after effects will improve tenfold, if I can then string together all of them in a narrative I'll be sussed for the assignment and it would be a ton of fun to do.











If there is a story that I can adapt all of these techniques to and maybe take a stylistic approach similar to Wakaliwood then it would be perfect.

BSA 227 W6 : Destruction

Video Copilot: https://www.videocopilot.net/

We did part of a tutorial from this site, they seem to be the ones providing content for quite a couple of lessons now, I must have missed it last time but they have a lot of materials and tutorials relating to after effects on their website - very nice.

In class today we looked at how to make a building look somewhat destroyed.

BSA 227 W6 : Proposal

 

It's not very good, I should have put more time on the visual presentation, I wrote a lot but the storyboards suck and the concept art isn't even there.

BSA 231 W6

We were supposed to write a script ready to go for this week's class

EXT. SOCCER FIELD
Some kids are playing football in the distance, but the camera is zooming in on the under bush of a hedge other side of the fence. We keep moving in to something that looks like hair. The ball violently smashes into the hair and reveals a face, blood starts dripping down it - it’s a girl. She’s not moving, one of the boys investigate
INT. BATHROOM
Our main character stands at the sink taking a pill, he’s talking on the phone to a significant other of some kind expressing his anxiety about the case and general frustration with the team.
He takes the pill and it has an effect on him, we get a voice over establishing what the general setup is - that the world has become addicted to a new drug that is so good its been legalized.
EXT. SOCCER FIELD
The detective walks out, draping his detective coat over his shoulders, he’s tired.
There is commotion outside, some police officers are already on the scene and there are bystanders, as the detective walks we pan to reveal the body in the distance. It’s surrounded by curious kids, a police officer is trying to keep them at bay but not doing a very good job.
Detective yells at kids who are tampering with the body, asks policeman who's there where the forensics team is
- They keep going at it and he pushes one aside, someone across the field tries to get his attention - it's the constable in detective gear, the kid kicks a ball back at him, policeman takes kids away, parents arrive complaining
- People arrive in a car, it's the commissioner and his coneys, they discuss the case, the pretend detective trips randomly falling over not being accustomed to his new leather jacket, they acknowledge this
-
INT. HALLS
The characters all enter the building, glad to be rid of the cold, they immediately start making themselves comfortable. One of the officers is tasked with interviewing a potential witness
We cut from this to the main meeting:
INT. LOCKER ROOM
The officer interviews the man, who is a chicken farmer, a proud breeder of cocks,
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM
They discuss it with the Head of Police and the family (who include a father, mother, older brother and younger sister)