WORSHIP ME,
By Oliver Wilshaw
A fictional gothic punk styled short film based on Plutchnik’s wheel to show emotion as a cult, following their omnipotent cult leader. Yet, the leader is not fully revealed until the end of all three acts.
SYNOPSIS
My idea is influenced by Robert Plutchnik’s wheel of emotion. His theory was that we all carry 8 basic emotions illustrated by his diagram known as the Plutchnik Wheel. He suggested that both humans and animals carry 8 emotions and each emotion contrasts with each other. At the midpoint, they all meet called the neutral zone. A point in which all of those emotions connect to. I concluded that emotion is a supremely powerful force. Faith, systems, cults, politics and corporate entities to name just a few who use it to manipulate. Whether it is to perpetuate the myth of eternal happiness or to build up anger etc. This idea that we inhabit ourselves around these forces (emotions) tells us a certain story of worship. Deliberately set in a void-less room to create a sparse environment, 4 of the 8 emotions are characterised by four different people. Four people who are the equal opposites to each other as Plutchnik philosophised. Sadness to Joy, Anger to fear. These are the four who embark into this strange void less room without a voice and no individualism to differentiate them. Only their expressions tell us their story, their mood, their emotion.
TREATMENT
My piece is focused on this particular formation (Plutchnik’s wheel), beginning with the first four of eight emotions in Act 1 of a three-part trilogy. Sadness, Joy, fear and anger. These four will be represented by actors who will play the part of each emotion. Four actors, for four emotions. The reason behind the selection was down to Plutchnik’s idea that each emotion has an opposite to create an equilibrium between the two. Sadness contends with joy as does anger with fear like the points of a compass as north to south etc. they are their equals in opposite. These are the four I’ve chosen to express in my piece, because of the familiarity we have with each of them. What you’ll get from my piece is a fictional gothic punk styled short film with the sense of cultism structured in narrative much like the pictures in dreams. It is intended to be a silent film with no script, the text shall be infused into the scenes as well as the actor’s titles (assigned emotion’s.) I’m using actors as the representatives of the four emotions to expressively show their emotions with the use of ambient noises in the background. Like the faint sobbing of someone crying for sadness, the sounds of sirens for fear to the grunting and heavy breathing of someone with anger and even the sounds of merriment and laughter for joy. All these will support the actors as they perform expressively. This process of manufacturing these sounds will not come until after all the scenes are shot and edited. As regards to soundtrack music. A subtle piece will play throughout the sequences that will be heard more clearly between each transition of one emotion to the other.
All actors shall have red cloaks as part of their costumes with skin-toned undergarments. I wanted this to be done so, as it gives a cult effect as I intended. I also eradicate any other signs of individualism (appearance wise) as my idea for the four is to look like complete equals visually but respond as opposites to each other.
One of the actors will also have their hand painted in a white crackling effect paint with the edges of their fingertips painted in black to give a dirt effect. This will be the final scene where a mysterious hand meets the suspended arm in the air.
The set will be deliberately made using only the basics, Using the power of lighting. To create a sparse environment. The setting will be in a studio, set to darkness with red-filtered lights filling up the background as a white light shines down on the actors (spotlight beam) This light will quickly fade and it will signify the beginning of the first actor’s expressional sequence. In total four lights, will be present as the actors perform their piece with one from above and three on the ground around them.
The camera itself will remain positioned still front facing the actors on a tripod at all times during their sequence. However, when it comes to the anger sequence I wanted to get a few up-close shots of the side of the mouth in a roaring position. Which will later be put through post editing and slowed down to capture the moment with more effect. other scenes will transition to materialistic objects that will help symbolise the emotion such as the scene of a woman dressed in a black suit in a blue-lit background holding an urn in mourning, to show sadness, the tears falling off a statue of the Virgin Mary, the falling of a heart necklace hitting the ground all for sadness alone. For the others, such as Joy the clashing of beer cups for joy, the stamping of the feet and the stereo playing. Anger will have fast cut scenes of fast-acting movements and roaring scenes and fear will have phobias showing.
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