Pre-Production Unit: Research - The True Protagonist's Name

With the new changes comes Vision’s new part in the film: pretending to be a friend of Perry’s and helping Sean and Zoe with finding him. This scenario requires Vision to talk to the two of them meaning he can’t go by the name ‘Vision’.

The next step is for Vision to go by another name, one that would help to make Sean snap out of the delusion: his own name. This means the TP now needs a name to be used as Vision’s ‘pseudonym’.

I wanted a name that had a secret meaning or was symbolic: a name that was relevant to the film. So I started looking online to find names that had meanings like ‘real’ ‘false’ ‘truth’ and ‘true’. I found three names that interested me the most: Justin, Archie and Trigg.

Justin:

http://www.meaning-of-names.com/french-names/justin.asp

Justin literally means 'just' or 'true'. It's also a used name in the UK making the name much more convincing.

Trigg:

http://www.meaning-of-names.com/norwegian-names/trigg.asp

Trigg means 'true' in Norwegian. I quite like this name for how unique it is and can be safely assumed to be a nickname for someone. 

Archie:

http://www.meaning-of-names.com/english-names/archie.asp

Archie is the abbreviation for Archibald and is combined from two Germanic words meaning 'genuine' and 'bold'. It can also mean 'true'.

I've chosen to go with the name Archie for the TP and Vision as it's meaning is accurate to the film but it's also a relatively unique name. I didn't want my character's names to disappear and be forgotten about because they're too 'generic' so Archie will fit nicely with this criteria. 

Pre-Production Unit: Research - Setting the Tone Part 1: Music Examples

Below are some songs and films that are similar in tone or style to Grit: I will request to my cast and crew that they listen and watch these to help get a better understanding of Grit and where it’s mind-set is. This post will look at just the music examples and most likely grow throughout the next few weeks.

Music:

1. Crystals by Clam Casino

This song is very manic and feels like a bunch of noises mashed together. These uneven and seemingly random sounds help convey the feeling of disorientation. A complete collapse of the mind which is exactly what I think Grit portrays. Out of all of the examples this song is the closet to the thematic style I want from the film.

2. Lead Me Home by Jamie N. Commons

Lead Me Home has a sense of travelling inside it's calm, brooding tones. As if you were on a journey or there was a building up of something. This song, I feel, fits the film because of the brooding. A lot of thinking goes on in Grit and there is a 'journey' of sorts that Sean undertakes in learning what happens. I aim to have a growing sense of 'something is going to happen' in the film and listening to this song helps with that.

3. Dream by John Cage

This song feels like an audio representation of the happy lifestyle the TP has created in his false world. You can get a sense of sadness and tragedy: like he’s not ready to let go yet; holding on to whatever he can get to prevent the pain and guilt from returning. The almost repeating notes help enforce this fact: he’s been reliving the same thing. The occasional lower notes that play suggest a darker side to the song or that there’s more to this than what we can hear. Therefore this song, I believe, is similar to the tones Grit will utilise: the calm before the storm.

4. Retrograde by James Blake

The song starts peacefully enough but it’s second half that really makes it stand out. I feel this is reminiscent of the plot of Grit. More importantly this second half of the song is how I picture the breaks in the film when aspects of the TP come through Sean. The almost monotonous sounds becoming white noise to Sean as his brain struggles to comprehend everything. The second half is, to me, a very accurate representation of the TP's mind. The lyrics themselves are strangely reminiscent to the film too: as if Vision were having a conversation with Sean.

Pre-Production Unit: Pre-Prodcution - Rules of the World

One thing that was suggested in my script feedback tutorial was to establish the rules of my world: what can and can't be done inside it. This would help me to understand what could be written into the film. As long as the script stuck to these rules: the film will work.




So I went and made a list of 6 rules for the world of Grit. More specifically the FALSE world.



1. Sean and Vision cannot touch each other.


2. Despite the world being false, Sean believes it’s real; therefore everything must be plausible and believable.


3. Vision is trying to bring the delusional side of TP back into reality.


4. Everyone is controlled by both sides of the TP (guilty and delusional).


5. The film is a battle between the delusional and sensible sides of the TP (Sean vs. Vision).

6. Sean and Vision must have the same likes and dislikes.

Pre-Production Unit: Research - New, New Grit

I had my new Grit Idea but I hit a roadblock: I couldn't come up with any content between Perry's body being found and the confrontation at the end. My reason why was that I didn't want it to be a detective film or get too like Sherlock Holmes or CSI with the kind of clues and thinking to solve the problem.

I went back to the white board in the smaller lecture room and wrote up what I had:

Mike came in to give me a hand trying to work the content out and how to create some form of 'investigation' for Sean to conduct. Tim and Sophie also came in, a short while later, to also help out and the four of us stood for some time pondering what to put in the gap: how do we get from Perry's body to Sean killing Vision and everything being revealed?

Mike suggested the idea that instead of being killed at the start, Perry goes missing instead, this idea actually worked well: it automatically created a goal for Sean. Find Perry. This removed any detective elements and brought it down to a more realistic level: our protagonists only knowing as much as we do.

With this proposition in place we then needed to get from a missing Perry to the confrontation. This allowed the idea of leads to come through. If Perry's missing, then his personal effects are too (i.e. phone, wallet, keys) these are potential leads if they're found. We played with this idea and decided that Perry's wallet would be handed it, a meet up with Sean and the person who handed it in would then occur, which would then set up the next part of the story.

We didn't want it to be a Sean-meets-several-people format so for the next 'lead' Mike suggested a ransom note; created by Vision as an attempt to redirect Sean to the crime scene. More ideas were thrown forward but one that stood out was showing the gradual break in the film:

What if traits of the True Protagonist seeped into Sean?

Sean is of course fake, an identity taken on by the delusional part of the TP's mind to escape his own. So what if those aspects began to come back each time Vision tries to break the world?

We inserted these elements in based on already-established traits of the TP (Irresponsible, anger issues, alcoholic, paranoid) and suddenly the film had a new layer to it. Sean's sudden changes of character would lend towards the film's growing frustration and build of tension in trying to find out what happened to Perry. This growing paranoia and anger would help to set up suspicion Sean has against Vision and to make the confrontation happen.

The final idea was then proposed:

Every odd thing, every break and lead, is Vision trying to get Sean to confront what he's done?

Instead of Vision being an imaginary friend or an established character, he's introduced to us and Sean as a friend of Perry's who wants to help find him too. However the entirety of events that happen have been controlled by Vision all along. Perry going missing was Vision's first attempt; then the wallet to try and lead Sean straight to the woods where the murders happened. Then the ransom note tries the same. Vision gets more desperate and straight-up kills off Perry to hammer home the truth. Then Vision takes advantage of Sean's changes and paranoia to lure him to woods where the final confrontation happens.

This idea worked: Sean was happily living in his false world, oblivious to what he'd done and then Vision infiltrates the world and slowly tries to expose the truth. This then allowed a battle to happen between the delusional and guilty sides of the TP's mind: every attempt the guilty side tried (e.g. the leads, the body etc) the delusional side would counter with an alternative method to avoid the truth coming out (changing the ransom note location). We thought of every aspect of the battle and planned it out:

Vision has one goal: get Sean to the location where the murders happened. Sean has one goal: keep the delusion going. Each attempt Vision makes exposes a little bit of the real world to Sean, this then causes real-life traits of the TP to come through.

Happy with this: myself and Mike created a clean timeline of the entire events in the film

After another 4 hours stood at the white board I have a new grit:

Prologue:

True Protagonist is in a relationship with Zoe, they share a house together. Sean and Perry are good friends of theirs.

True Protagonist is irresponsible; has anger issues and a drug abuser. His abuse of drugs leads him to developing the Jealousy Delusional Disorder which causes him to think that Zoe is cheating on him with Sean.

Some time passes (Unknown?) and Zoe organises a camping trip for the four of them. This causes Sean’s paranoia and jealousy to escalate and at the camp site he flies into a rage seeing Sean and Zoe in the same tent and kills them both. Perry witnesses this and tries to run/call the police however Sean kills Perry too.

This triggers a new Delusional Disorder: Grandiose.

TP creates a false world where Perry, Sean and Zoe are still alive but TP has taken the identity of Sean, so he can become the man he thought Zoe wanted. TP does not exist in this false world but is the creator of it instead.

This is where Grit begins: in the fake world.

We join Sean, Zoe and Perry at the house TP and Zoe shared. They’re having a laugh and just casual stuff. Perry leaves after a while.

The next day Sean and Zoe are out and receive a message from Perry inviting them over to his house. They accept and begin to head back.

They reach Perry’s house but find out he’s not home. A new character appears: Vision, who introduces himself as (TP’s name?) he says he’s Perry’s friend and was also invited. Sean suggests they call the police, Vision says he’ll do it and hang about until the police arrive, Sean and Zoe leave, promising that they’ll keep trying to call him.

(Vision's first attempt and first part of TP comes through: quietness)

Next day:

Vision, Sean and Zoe meet up to talk about Perry, they also get to know each other a bit more (Zoe instigates this). Vision says that the police found no suspicious activity and therefore cannot do anything except put him on the missing persons list.

After some discussion Vision says that all they can do it wait for more news.

1 Week Later:

Sean receives a message from Vision: Perry’s wallet has been handed in to the police, he can arrange a meet up with the person who handed it in. Sean obliges and he and Zoe go to meet the person who handed the wallet in. The guy says he found it at [campsite]. Sean asks what was in the wallet and the person begins to describe the contents, getting to a drivers license. Sean then states that Perry doesn’t drive and therefore it mustn’t be his wallet.

With the trail now cold Sean and Zoe head home. Sean makes a nasty comment that Zoe disapproves of and an argument ensues between them.

(Vision's second attempt and second part of TP comes through: anger issues)

Next Day:

A letter comes through the couple’s letterbox, Sean opens it to find a ransom note: it states “If you want to know more come to [campsite]” Sean hands it to Zoe who reads it aloud: the location name is now different.

At location:

Sean and Zoe go to the location and wait: no-one ever arrives and, frustrated, Sean gets drunk.

(Vision's third attempt and third part of TP comes through: alcoholism)

Next day:

A hung-over Sean stands in front of the mirror [Mirror Scene].

He’s interrupted by a phone call from Vision: “You need to take a look at the news”

Sean Turns on the TV: the report is about a body being found: Perry’s body. The person who found the body is being interviewed: Vision.

Sean either leaves the room or throws something in anger and frustration. He switches the TV off and calls Zoe.

Sean asks where she is and if she knew about this, hence why she’s gone.

(Vision's fourth attempt and fourth part of TP comes through: paranoia)

Same Day:

Sean and Vision are together. Vision is sorry that Perry’s body was found. Sean asks how he came across the body. Vision says he was [excuse here] Sean notices that it’s inconsistent with something Vision said when they first got together. He points this out and shouts at Vision, Vision shouts back stating that he’s telling the truth whether Sean likes it or not and storms out.

Immediately after:

Sean talks to himself, pacing back and forth, as he debates what to do, maybe he should follow Vision he thinks. He agrees with himself on this and goes out to see where Vision goes.

(Vision's final attempt and ALL parts of TP have come through ready for the final confrontation)

Campsite:

Vision walks to a campsite, Sean still behind him. Two policemen block a crime scene but Vision walks through: flashing a badge/ID to them. They attempt to stop Sean but he kills them with a suddenly appearing weapon.

(Sean's attempt to stop Vision getting to the tents but Vision counters with fake ID)

Sean has Vision now. The confrontation happens. There in front of them are two tents. Vision gets Sean to unzip it: inside are the dead bodies of Zoe and Sean. This confuses Sean: What’s going on he proclaims. Vision reveals all to Sean: they are the same person; this world is fake and merely a delusion Sean is having. Having this dream to avoid responsibility for what they have both done: killed Sean, Perry and Zoe. Vision states that Perry’s body is in the other tent. “He tried to call the police… we stopped that…”

The world begins to crumble and break around them: unusual camera angles; switching places and broken continuity flood the scene.

Vision lays all the cards on the table. Sean slipping between his true form (TP) and Sean’s body still tries to deny this through the very end: instead accusing Vision of the murders and trying to frame him. “I knew there was something wrong with you…”

Sean kills Vision.

We are suddenly in the TP’s house, what we identify as Vision is lying on the floor: dead. There are cans of alcohol on the floor and what appears to be drugs. The TV is on showing a news broadcast that shows a photo of Sean, Perry and Zoe.

Fade to black.

End.



As you can see: throughout the film Vision's attempts get more severe and harder-hitting. He even makes an attempt when Sean is 'hungover' to really hit him when he's down.

I'm extremely happy with how the film has developed. This version is a lot more clear and believable and contains the same story and the same themes I wanted.

Next up: the scripting process.

Pre-Production Unit: Research - Black Magic Tests

Myself and Mike went out on the 10th October to Teston Park to shoot some of the nature there with my Black Magic Production Camera. The aim was to let Mike understand and get acquainted with the camera he would be using in the Major Production and to test the camera itself.

We had the camera set at:

Pro-Res 422
25fps
1960-1080
5200k
F3.5-6.0 (Dependant on the shot)


The lenses we shot with were:

Canon L Series 24 -105mm
Sigma 70 - 300mm


After we had filmed we took the footage off a couple days later and tested it's colour correction capabilities in Premiere Pro and SpeedGrade. Mike said he would take it home and tweak it to make a before and after video comparison.




Pros:

- As can be seen in the video, the images are very nice. Even these which were almost run and gun style.
- The post-production possibilities are very strong too: the camera is designed to capture as much information as possible to then take into correction.
- The camera's features are operated by software which can be updated when the developers release them: therefore adding the possibility of improvement.



Cons:

- Slight issue with focussing though that may be down to the LCD screens' 800-480 aspect ratio which is quite paltry when shooting in 1080p or higher.
- The features on the camera are bare bones. It would have been handy to have things such as the ability to change the colour of the focus peaking highlights; expanded focus, and lens info.
- The battery life is only around 90 minutes.
- High file sizes (my 480GB SSD drive can be filled in 20 minutes when shooting 4K RAW)


We will carry out another test in the next week or so to really see what the camera can achieve but for now things look promising despite the little niggles overlooked in the camera.

Pre-Production Unit: Research - New Grit

After trying to work something out with Grit I found it to quite a tricky task: I went into the small lecture room that has a massive whiteboard on the wall and decided to attempt to work Grit on the board:

I started by writing each main character's name on the board and noting down key aspects of them. For example: under Zoe's name I wrote that she was the trigger for the delusion. After this I started to string bubbles off one another with ideas, statements or questions as can be seen coming from Sean's segment. This was to help me establish key points of Grit e.g. the fact that everything is false but Sean believes it's real. 

With some key aspects on the board I listed possible jobs that Sean could do (bottom left). The first hour comprised of me staring at these sections trying to figure out what job Sean could do that would give him power, worth and a goal. 

I looked at the Serial Killer option and began to write up an idea at the top of the board. Every character in the film could be a victim of the TP's who populate the delusion. Zoe found out his secret and he was forced to kill her to avoid further detection. Her death would then be the trigger point. The TP creates a false world to avoid any responsibility for his crimes and to deny the truth that he's killed the one person he actually cared about. 

I began a more detailed write up that tried to cover over all the problems there was with the previous Grit:

I was still struggling with a goal when at this point Sophie, who is going to be my editor in the Major unit, came in to lend a hand. We began trying to think what the possible goals could be for Sean to keep the audience's interest. Sophie liked the idea of Sean looking for a killer. The killer actually being Sean as he's distanced himself from his own murders. 

My issue with this was: why Sean's body? Why take on the identity of one of your victims? He clearly needed to be of some significance. So we thought of an alternative trigger point: Zoe cheated on TP with Sean and he killed them both. This would allow the identity of Sean to be assumed as he was the object of Zoe's desire and clearly a better man than TP.

Despite the little issues I really liked this idea as it challenges the audience's morals as they realise that all this time they have been supporting a bad person. Confident I had my idea sorted I brought in our tutor to have a look.

The board changed slightly during the talk (bottom left)

Our tutor liked the new idea and how it made much more sense and was still a complex piece, however they weren't keen on the fact that the TP is a serial killer in real life. They questioned the purpose of this and what it brought to the film. Saying that someone who isn't an established killer would be more interesting to watch than someone who kills all the time. Maybe someone who perhaps killed by accident. I argued that the audience wouldn't know the TP was a serial killer until the end: thus throwing them into a uncomfortable state where they've realised they've been cheering on a serial killer without knowing it.

I was reluctant to change the idea as the TP being a serial killer also allowed one of the 'hits' to be the body found and give Sean the motivation to want to hunt for the killer to protect Zoe. Making the TP kill by accident would require him to kill his trigger point: AKA Zoe. This part was fine but it would then require some motivation in the delusional world for the goal to be set. This would have to come in the form of killing off one of the main characters and I was reluctant to do this straight away as there wouldn't be much time to flesh them out, nor would we care about someone who's killed in the first minute of the film.

After our tutor left, Sophie suggested the idea that the TP has anger issues and kills with impulse. I pondered this and thought of the idea that the TP caught Zoe having an affair with Sean and killed them there and then.

One issue I had though was Perry: what's the point of him now? I did like the character though and wanted to keep him in so I tried to think of a scenario where the TP could kill him too. We thought of the possibility that Perry was a witness to the TP killing Zoe and Sean and was killed too. This would create a suitable trigger point and allow Perry to stay in the film.

I then expanded on this idea with TP going on a trip and discovering the affair; the murders then happen. I started to think what the goal could be and how to establish it and came up with the idea that the film begins with Sean, Zoe and Perry out together or something, Perry is soon found dead and Sean determines that someone has killed him and sets out to find out who.

In truth Perry was already dead and Vision has managed to seep through the memories of Perry's dead body into the delusion in a bid to end it. Sean manages to convince himself that someone else has killed Perry, rather than himself and avoid the reality check Vision has attempted to make apparent. 

The film then follows Sean and Zoe as they try and find out who did it; ultimately leading to the confrontation between Sean and Vision and the huge reveal. This idea allowed the accidental murders to happen and create a motive for Sean to want to hunt the 'killer'. Sean's body could also still be used as he is Zoe's desire. The TP can get the best of both worlds and live a life without consequence as he's controlling everyone's actions and be the man Zoe wanted.

This was written up on the board so I wouldn't forget (the messy bit on the middle-left of the board).

Here's a write up of the final section as my handwriting is pretty bad:

"4 Characters in reality: TP, Zoe, Perry & Sean. TP knew Zoe was cheating on him so he set up a trip (Camping?) so he could kill Zoe & Sean*. Perry is collateral. TP then, feeling extreme stress, created a false world where everything's OK and he is now Sean: the object of Zoe's desire. Perry is found dead in this false world as Vision's attempt to bring TP back. Vision almost wins but Sean (AKA TP's delusional side) manages to conjure up the idea that someone else killed Perry. Thus: a hunt begins.

*or catches them in the act."

My final problem with Grit was the gun used at the end to shoot Vision. As the film is set in the UK guns are extremely rare. So either I can come up with a plausible way for the TP to obtain a gun or he imagines the gun and accidentally kills himself in a different manner. Maybe even Vision is killed in a different way? This will have to be solved very soon as I need to know how the TP killed the trio in the first place.

After 3 hours of thinking and tinkering I finally had Grit's problems solved. I was very surprised that this worked: I genuinely thought that writing this up on the board was just going to be a waste of time and consist of me scrawling over it and getting nowhere. Instead the fact that it was all on one 'page' in front of me and easy to see any part of it helped out significantly. Rather than having to scroll up and down a word document constantly to find one piece of information I could find any piece right in front of me with ease. This is a technique I'll have to use in future.

The next step now is to create new character bios and backstory and begin the re-draft.

Pre-Production Unit: Pre-Production - Tutor Script Feedback and First Reworking

I sent my tutor a copy of the first draft of the script so they could read through it.

We then sat together as they gave feedback for it:


- It needs a goal.
- The characters are unbelievable: Sean and Perry don't convince as a contract killer and a drug dealer.
- The card scene is a waste of time and doesn't give us anything.
- They sound like students.
- There needs to be a progressive build up to a boiling point.
- Basically the script needs a massive redraft.


Some of the points I would still defend such as the card scene and the unbelievability as one is my style of writing and the other is intentional.
I do understand about the goal aspect: 99% of films do have an established goal but again I intentionally didn't include one.

So a redraft was needed for Grit: something I was reluctant to do as I did get very attached to my idea. I liked how it was and I feel it made sense.

After the talk I got down to reworking the plot with the added knowledge of the feedback and the Delusional Disorder.

I was struggling a lot with trying to keep aspects of the film I wanted such as the film breaking; the idea that no-one is real in the diegesis and the Delusional Disorder and mix them with a goal.

Coming up with a goal was very challenging because of how the film was constructed originally without one: it was designed without a goal and to put one in created a disequilibrium with the purpose of certain aspects and the cohesiveness of the story.

This meant I needed to look at the entire plot in general...