The wish to reshoot the opening completely in the post “Rough Cut Woes: The Final Verdict” was only my thought on the matter of the rough cut and what I thought was the best plan of action. I recently talked the matter over with my group to convince them of my hopes to reshoot the film and reorganize the sequence of our opening. Needless to say, it was a hard fought battle.
They at first all stood opposed to the idea due to its seemingly difficult appearance. At a first glance, this idea seems like an impossibly and needlessly difficult task to accomplish. But on further discussion, my group members began to see the merit in reshooting the film entirely and how it actually held the possibility of being easier. Not having to worry about continuity or finding the “perfect location” to continue where we left off were large bargaining chips. Additionally, I presented the argument that our film plot is based within a dream sequence. Our film starts out with our protagonist “waking up” within a dream. This allows us more ‘free reign’ when it comes to openings we can do compared to other genres and plots.
Negotiations on what we would change and what we would keep the same began and we finally came to the decision to completely reshoot the film and scrap all of the previous clips. Of course, we will still retain the memories of our experience to show us what to do differently this time as well.
As previously stated, we will be far from changing EVERYTHING about our film and actually, there will be a lot that we are keeping. Here’s the list.
What We Will Change:
- Setting: The setting is the first major thing that will change drastically within our opening. As stated in a previous post, our production designer, Bianca suggested the Health and Science room or “hospital” room to us and we all scouted it together. We ultimately decided that this location would be the best for our film, not only because it would provide more opportunities and possibilities, but it was a much better alternative to that of a cramped, dark room.
- The Sequence of the Opening: the opening will follow a different sequence of events than that of the initial rough cut. We initially had Lionel wake up in a motel and the opening was centered around him finding the source of the dripping sound before seemingly supernatural events occurred in the bathroom. This will be altered, since the setting is now a hospital. He is planned to solely wander in this area and experience creepy events here
- The Dripping: Although discussion occurred about omitting the dripping element altogether, we still wanted to use this to emphasize our brand of water. However, in this opening, we only plan to have the dripping occur in the sink next to Lionel’s bed, waking him up before he turns it off. This will have the dripping, and thus, the brand of water, act more as subtle foreshadowing than the centerpiece of the opening.
- The Costuming: The pajamas will certainly no longer work in this setting, as it might only serve to confuse the audience. Instead, Lionel will be dressed in a hospital gown to accentuate the hospital setting.
- The “Red Dress Girl”: While we are still unsure how it will unfold, the plan it to have her not appear on camera. During the rough cut, it was difficult to configure a setting that had the proper creepy vibe and still work practically in revealing the character. We might still change our minds and take this route during filming, but the plan it to have her shadow appear from behind the curtains around the hospital “rooms.”
What Will Remain the Same:
- The Plot: The plot of the film is remaining intact. As previously stated, we will not dig our opening up from the roots and will keep the character of Lionel, Lionel’s backstory and the idea of the opening being a dream sequence intact.
- The Actors: We will be keeping the actors the same: my brother, Robert, and our cinematographer, Katelyn. These two fit well with the role, and since the roles are also not changing, there is no need to change them either.
- The Brand of Water: As previously stated, this will remain a part of our film’s brand and will still be presented in the opening. However, it will function more as subtle foreshadowing instead of the core aspect of our title sequence. It will be easy to look past as nothing is planned to follow up the dripping sink, but it will be used to suggest the importance of water to Lionel’s head trauma “later in the film.”
- The Overall Genre/Feel: Of course, there was no way we could change the genre of our film at this point, but we still plan to present the creepy, paranormal vibe that was present in our rough cut.
If all goes to plan, we will secure permission to film in the room and film there Tuesday, March 12th!
Lucid Elucidation's Explanations 