I LOVE YOU LOS ANGELES

apes and essence...

Before I post the movie I wanted to just put some quotes from Aldous Huxley's Ape and Essence that correspond to the movie.

If he makes himself a part of the machine, in which the collective madness is incarnated, one or the other of two things is bound to happen. Either he remains himself, in which case the machine will use him as long as it can and , when he becomes unusable, reject or destroy him. Or he will be transformed in to the likeness of the mechanism with and against which he works, and in this case we shall see Holy Inquisition and alliances with any tyrant prepared to guarantee ecclesiastical privileges.

MACHINE AGAINST DESIRE IS NO CONTEST. Los Angeles, the machine. The plot is tangent to the MAN from the West character/mythology. The story begins a century or so ahead of the current time. World War III resulted in the attack and radiation of most areas of the world. One area left unscathed due to location was New Zealand and now in the 22nd century they launch a team of scientists and explorers to the coast of California in an effort to see how things are getting along since the bomb.

as we roll in to the close...

Sorry for no posts for about a month but I have been filming and editing my film. I have the set of stills of the movie. Wednesday is the final so I will have the movie posted by then.

Opening Sequence

This is a sketch so far of what I am going for.

Concept of shooting

Here is an amalgamation of the types of camera treatments mentioned below.

I met a man, he was a good man...

So here is a review of what my midterm consisted of:
Deriving off of the idea that Los Angeles is a mecca for those who exist to escape and escape to exist, a goal of the narrative is to expose the city at its under exposed ephemeral points. Focusing on set typologies such as on ramps, bridges, and roof tops, collecting and meshing these elements formulate a new city/landscape, a new datum line removed from the weight of the concrete and pavement. Where I am now in this whole situation is figuring out what are the actions (still I know) as to what is driving the narrative without creating false constructions. I am trying to let the story evolve itself. The goal is to allow for this system of places to to realign themselves, shifting datum. Thus the agency overrides physical geography. Now where I need to focus on the Journey of Experience. Jean Micheal Crettaz, who said on my crit, said that so far I was being very Icon Obsessive. I agree with him completely.

But to continue on what I presented...

Characterization:
There are 3 main characters....

Woman from the east

She came from the desert from the land of bountiful room opportunity. Running from things she new, history.

Wants a new. Was counting on something. The journey was more for self awareness and to learn about herself than to really discover something new. Protected with her clothing. Worn with a new life ahead. Bright eyed and wrinkled.

She is very self involved.

CAMERA TREATMENT:close shots when we are in her gaze, even when it is of herself. Close shots like the western shot. Example is like the last scene in Once Upon a Time in the West.

Man from the west

He’s running way from the water. He rode in with with the tied. He was a drifter and looking to set some roots. He’s rugged and looking for some stability in his life. Salt stained breath. Sunned. Running away on those who gave up on him. He is ready to give up something to the city. He’s looking for something to count on him. Maybe once he’s needed he will understand how much he needs himself. He’s selfish in a different fashion. All he’s ever known is his self.

CAMERA TREATMENT: When we are in his gaze or looking at him, we are following along with a steady cam. Much like Children of Men.

The City.

You can never touch its true self. It’s moving. It puts you on the exterior shots. You see all of it but you have no idea what is really underneath it. What are the city’s wants? It’s been formed between the sea and the desert. SAND AND SAND waves and wants. We never touch the ground while we are in it. Nature is somewhere else. When nature hits the roof (roof top garden) the other parties are spun out of the city.

CAMERA TREATMENT: The use of the 360 camera comes in to visualize the gaze of the city.For example, the "All Seeing Eye" by Michel Gondry and Piere Bismuth referenced before. While we see 360, seeing everything, the all seeing eye, we miss things that happen while the camera is turning. The woman and the man walk in and out of the scene. The camera keeps moving thus the ground/view is never stable. It is always shifting. The city is alive and moving. In Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies, Reyner Banham claims that the language of design, architecture, and urbanism in LA is the language of movement. Granted he was referring to driving on the high ways, but where is the movement its own force for generating a new scape?

Now for the players:

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN:

Woman and the City

The city is the place of hope. The city lets her in. The city opens its views/ faces to her and he becomes consumed with her self in the landscape more than the landscape that she can manipulate. The city has nothing to offer her if she cant give part of her self to it. She wont let her self break for their existence.

Man and the City

He’s ready to give. He’s lost most other things. The water took most of it away. City also brings hope and happier times. Some place where he wont be shoved away.

Man and woman

They see they both are in love with the city and think they might love each other. But she can’t see beyond herself. So he just lets her go. She moves to where he was from in regret to know what he did. It happens so fast and keeps moving so fast that she can accommodate or understand. So they never get it together . As I am revising the screen play.. they might never be seen together.

Opening Sequence

Linear movement towards the city. Filming of desert and images of life from out east intertwined. Pictures of water, good times, smiles, friends and a city that once was home. What is home? Where are you from? What happens in this new landscape, landscape of drift/shift/float? It starts with adrenaline, big brown eyes, and wanting lips. We approach the city, the skyline in the light. The sunrise glazes off the metallic mountains with the snow scraped ones toward infinity.

We then are in the city. We are zooming to the Rosslyn Hotels. We get to the intersection of 5th and Main. We stop linear movement and start zooming up towards the sky, towards the signs until we only see signs.