Presentation for Fortune

BA FVIA Year 3 Mikel Camara’s Fortune

1. Introduction:

An overview of project

a. The underlying theme: The biggest fortune in live is not money and fame or reputation, but love.

b. A very brief synopsis: Frederick plays Poker against his brother Chris in order to get his business back, which Chris snatched from Fred making the best of the economic crisis. Fred realises there is more at stake than his business and money, and he’ll have to make a change within his mind in order to recover it.

c. The look of the work - tell us the aesthetic and style of the proposed work (evidenced through descriptions and examples of both your own and that of existing work): Fortune is a Social drama that focuses on the domestic and psycho-drama sub-genres. Both are closely related. Fortune has a redemption plot, which means that there is a moral change within the protagonist from bad to good.

d. Who is your target audience? Where will you send it when it is complete? Is there a particular way that it needs to be shown? The target audience for Fortune would be mainly young professionals. I will be sending my film to film festivals in Spain primarily, so there will be a subtitled version, which I will also upload on Youtube or Vimeo. Extracts from it will also be part of my showreel.

2. Context:

a. How this relates to your previous work: Reference previous work of relevance to this project: My previous films and work always had a psychological influence on it. Forever Together and Bodhi are good examples of it.

b. How this relates to a wider context: is it a particularly important issue for today? Is it a particularly interesting approach? Poker is well famous nowadays, this means that more people would be attracted to watch my film because of this. The fact that the film does not rely only on Poker makes it different in many ways. And I think I am sending an important message to people that may find themselves in the same situation, like people that lost their job because of the financial crisis.

3. Research:

Evidence of research materials (work by others that you have referenced, both written and visual) that you have undertaken in preparation for making this project.: At the beginning the message of my film was going to be :”what happens within us will create what happens outside of us” taken from the documentary “What the bleep do we know” (William Arntz, Betsy Chasse and Mark Vicente, 2004, USA). I worked on the idea of making that alternative world representing the mind of my main character; Frederick. But I came up with few ideas that I couldn’t structure, and were too ambitious and expensive to make. So I thought of a different idea influenced by the film “Intacto”, which Helen recommended me to watch. After structuring my film based on this idea, I got some information from a psychotherapist in order to build my character’s personality (link), this information comes from the ancient sufi teaching of the enneagram, and it gave me a detailed description of how my characters would behave.

4. Preproduction:

Presentation of preproduction already undertaken (materials such as scripts, storyboards, maps, photographs, character sketches, location scouting, sample of a relevant test shot or rough scene you have already shot etc)Through the link you can see the pictures from the location that would represent the inside of the mind of Frederick, I will get rid of all decorations and furniture, with exception of the sofa and the coffee table, this scene will be shot in daytime. Through this other link we can see the magazine cover that the graphic designer made for the magazine that Frederick will find in the sofa of this flat. Now you will see a test shot at the studio that I did to test different possibilities with the lighting, camera, sound and colour correction in post. (link). I specially like the 85 effect, 85 is actually an orange filter that converts daylight to tungsten, it can be used as a gel or as a camera filter. However, in this case it is emulated in post. The only problem is that there is almost a full stop of light loss as you can see in the picture. I have three tunes that I got from a music designer and the artist “Moby” which will be used for the scenes in the flat (link). The soundtrack for the Poker scene will be made with ProScores, which is what I used to create the music and effects for the rehearsal at the studio.

5. Methodology:

How are you going to produce this work?

1. Outline your techniques, resources, and approach.

As you have seen, I’ll use the dolly and tracks from the DMW when shooting the Poker scene, however it requires from more practice and rehearsal, because as you dolly in or out, it is very easy to show things that you don’t want on screen, such as the lighting or parts of the set. I will use a Canon 7D for the filming, which I also used for the rehearsal at the studio. This camera allows 50 frames per second filming, which will be applied to some slow motion scenes. I posted my film on Castingcallpro and I’ve already got 8 candidates for each character so I’ll arrange a casting soon.

2. A realistic schedule of the existing production time, (be particular to your project)

Fortune will be shot in 2 days, on the 4^th and 5^th of March. The auditions for the actors are set to be next week. I have 2 or 3 weeks from the auditions to do more rehearsals at the locations, storyboards, floor plans and shooting schedules.

Script for Fortune (3rd draft)

INT. POKER ROOM. UNKNOWN.
Frederick and Chris stand facing each other on either side
of the poker table. The lighting in the room is focused on
them two and the table. Both wear suits, however,
Frederick’s is sloppy and wrinkled. Chris’ body language
indicates tranquility and control, whereas Frederick’s
indicates the contrary, besides, his eyes look tired. At
this moment Chris has three quarters of all the chips in the
game.

CHRIS

This is not gonna take you
anywhere, you know that Frederick?

FRED
It’ll take me as far as I need
Chris. Just deal the cards,
alright?

CHRIS
It’s not that much about what you
need, but about how you behave with
the little you have.

FRED
Maybe you have something to do with
that, don’t you?

CHRIS
Are you blaming me?

FRED
Well...it seems like you always
wanted what I have.

CHRIS
Oh come on...don’t be a dick,
Fred-the-dick!

Chris laughs defiantly. Fred’s facial expression reflects
hate, he sits up and slams the table with his hands.

FRED
(angry)
Don’t you ever call me that again!

Fred hits the table again with his right hand.

FRED
(shouting)
Do you hear me!

2.

INT. EMPTY FLAT ROOM. DAY. (INSIDE FRED’S MIND)
Frederick opens his eyes, he finds himself standing up in an
empty room of a flat. The only furniture in the room is a
white sofa with a coffee table. There is a messy pile of
papers on the table, graphics and numbers written in red are
all over them. White is the predominant color in the room.
The walls are made of glass, and Canary wharf can be seen
through them.
It is a cloudy day. Fred looks around confused. He rummages
through the messy papers on the table for a moment but
hurries towards the door. Some papers drop to the floor as
Fred passes by the table. Fred tries to open the door
several times, but it will not open. Fred turns and walks
agitatedly towards the glass door on the other side of the
room, which heads to the balcony, but this door will not
open either. He walks back to the other door whispering to
himself.

FRED
What’s going on...

He tries to open the door one more time with no success. He
kicks the door angrily and drops to the floor while taking
his head in his hands in anguish.

FRED
(shouts anguished)
What the hell...what..?

INT. POKER ROOM. UNKNOWN.
Frederick is looking up to his right, then towards Chris.
Fred looks nervous, he is holding the cards with his hands.
Chris stares at him in astonishment.

CHRIS
Honestly Freddy, I think you’ve got

your head full of rubbish.

Fred touches his face anxiously.

CHRIS
What you got?

Both show their cards. Chris sits up and looks at both
hands.

CHRIS
Ha! The beginning of the end!

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 3.

Chris slides the chips from the middle of the table towards
himself with both arms while laughing. Fred looks at his
remaining chips, he has lost half of what he had. He takes a
few chips from the pile and plays with them anxiously.
Meanwhile Chris is smiling and carefully arranges the chips
to a pile. Fred leans forward and puts his hands on the
table.

FRED
Are you enjoying this? Don’t you
think-

Chris silences Fred by raising his hand and pointing at him
with his finger.

CHRIS
-Hold on, Hold on. I wasn’t the one
who wanted to start this game...

Chris looks at both piles of chips.

CHRIS
(sarcastic)
However...it seems that I’ll be the
one finishing it.

Chris laughs insolently. Fred’s face reflects vengeance.

FRED
(upset)
You know what I’m talking about.

CHRIS
(ironic)
Oh, come on, lets say that...at
that moment I moved my chips and
made the best of the situation.
Don’t take it personally.

FRED
(shouting)
How am I not-

CUT TO:

INT. EMPTY FLAT ROOM. DAY. (INSIDE FRED’S MIND)
Fred, visibly disturbed, looks around and goes towards
the curtains by the window, he looks behind them and under
the carpet, as if looking for something. Fred goes by the
window and hits it with his hand desperately.

4.

FLASHBACK.
Fred is standing by the window in the same room in the same
position. He holds a picture of a woman, the picture appears
to be cut in half, someone seems to be next to the woman but
we don’t get to see the person. Fred looks at the picture
visibly shaken by it.
END OF FLASHBACK.

Fred is in the same position by the window as before the
flashback. He looks down quietly and goes towards the sofa
calmly. He sits down relaxed and closes his eyes. His deep
breathing can be heard.

INT. POKER ROOM. UNKNOWN.
Fred opens his eyes gradually. They both stare at each other
for a few seconds. Chris smiles.

CHRIS
(sarcastic)
It’s a shame this is gonna end this
way, I was beginning to enjoy this.

FRED
(upset)
You can’t enjoy something that was
never yours!

Chris smiles confidently and shows his cards.

CHRIS
Tell me Frederick, who is gonna
recognize you now that you have
nothing? huh?

Fred shows his cards and sits up to amass the chips from the
middle of the table. Chris looks upset.

FRED
I worked hard for my money, all my
life, and I bought everything I
own, so I won’t allow you to snatch
it from me.

Chris stands up and hits the table with the palm of his
hand.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 5.

CHRIS
(sarcastic)
Oh really?

Chris takes out a picture of himself. There was another
person in the picture with Chris but they have been torn
out. Chris lays it on the table and sits down staring at
Fred. Fred looks at the picture amazed with no words.

FLASHBACK.
A short version of the last flashback reminds us of the
picture with a woman on it.
END OF FLASHBACK.

CHRIS
(ironic)
Well...Freddy, as you can see I am
not snatching anything from you,
because you bring them to me.**

Fred clambers over the table to pick up the picture, but
Chris is faster and snatches it first. Chris remains sitting
while Fred is standing in a tense position.

CHRIS
(overbearingly)
Forget her Frederick...She is with
me now...

Fred looks at Chris surprised and confused. Chris nods
sarcastically.

CHRIS
(overbearingly)
...What? didn’t you see the note
she left for you at the back of the
photo?

Chris turns around the picture to look at the back of it, he
nods and smiles while looking back and forth from Fred to
the photo.

FRED
(tense)
You...you better tell me what’s
happened between the two of you.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 6.

CHRIS
(overbearingly)
Oh..Freddy! You have been...what?
thirteen years together? and you
suffer from such a lack of
communication!

Chris laughs at Fred. Fred’s face reflects hate.

INT. EMPTY FLAT ROOM. DAY. (INSIDE FRED’S MIND)
Fred is standing, he looks around confused, he turns around
and goes towards the sofa and on his knees he starts
searching through the cushions. Underneath a cushion he
finds a magazine, he stares at it for a few seconds. It is a
business magazine. On its front cover the words "How the
economic crisis will affect us all" can be seen.
Fred rummages through the pages as if he knew what he was
looking for. In between two pages he finds the half of the
picture we saw in the flashback, in which his wife appears.
Fred, slightly shivering from anxiety turns it around, there
is a message written. The picture is cut, we can only see
half of the message: "I won’t be back/finish this, now/for
your brother/busy most of the time/on holidays with"

FRED
(anguished)
No...Please...not you my love.

INT. POKER ROOM. UNKNOWN.
Chris has a few more chips than Fred. The cards are already
dealt.

CHRIS
I guess she couldn’t stand sharing
her life with a loser.

FRED
(upset)
Why do you always have to be the
clever one?

They both stare at each other for a moment. Fred suddenly
stands up and attempts to go towards Chris. Instantly, Chris
grabs the picture from the table and takes out a lighter
quickly. Fred stands still.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 7.

CHRIS
You want this right?

Chris waves the picture towards Fred while moving the
lighter towards it.

CHRIS
I’m afraid you’ll have to gamble
for it.

Fred looks at Chris desperately and sits back on his chair.
Fred takes his hands to his head nervously.

FRED
(desperate)
Why are you doing this to me
Chris?..I..I mean..

CHRIS
(out loud)
Don’t start with your fucking
crying!

Fred looks up towards Chris. Chris raises his finger
pointing at Fred in a defiant way.

CHRIS
Now I’m the one who sets the rules,
so move your chips to the middle of
the table...and let fortune decide.

Fred straightens his back and now he looks at Chris with
superiority. Fred grabs his two cards from the table and
looks at them. While Fred is not looking, Chris takes out an
ace of hearts from his right sleeve. Chris looks up and
looks at Fred, who is smiling and looking at his cards
confidently. Chris looks back to his arm and hides the ace
of hearts back in the sleeve.

INT. EMPTY FLAT ROOM. DAY. (INSIDE FRED’S MIND)
Fred stands by the window, looking nostalgic towards Canary
Wharf. As if suddenly remembering something, Fred turns and
quickly walks fast to the sofa while looking through his
pockets. By the sofa, he takes out the half of the picture
in which Chris appears and waves it in victory. Anxious,
Fred sits in the sofa and reaches the other half of the
picture, which is now on the table. With both pieces in his
hands, he puts them together in order to read the back
message.

(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 8.

It reads: "I won’t be back until I finish this, now that I
work for your brother, I’ll probably be busy most of the
days, but I promise we’ll go on holidays after. Loads of
love: Lisa".
Fred smiles unbelieving. Someone knocks on the door. When
Fred looks up towards the door, everything is suddenly back
in place in the room, flowers on the table, decorations on
the wall. The atmosphere is warmer. The person who knocked
the door opens it slowly.

LISA
Hello my love! Are you...busy with
work? If not...I thought of those
holidays together..

Lisa smiles kindly. Fred smiles while looking at her
mesmerized. After a few seconds Fred stands up.

END

Bodhi - Short film for Experimental film module

This is the finished Experimental project that kept me busy for a few weeks, in it, I try to emphasize the relation between the observer in dreams and dreams themselves.
It was filmed with the Canon 7D that will be used in Fortune, therefore this also was a good "Experiment" as to practice with the camera capabilities a bit further.
Edited on Premiere Pro CS4 and After effects 7.

Bodhi - Surrealist short film from Mikel Camara on Vimeo.

Influences 3 (Intacto)

The film intacto was recommended to me by my tutor, Helen, as it approaches gambling in a very original way. I needed ideas and definitely this film provided me with one of the foundations of Fortune, that is the cut photograph. In Intacto, the characters bet photographs of people, meaning that they collect people as if they were objects. Well, despite differently, my character Chris plays a sinister role in which he also requires Frederick to go all-in if he wants to recover the photograph, as in a metaphoric way of representing the power of the character, who 'owes' her.