Portfolio Project Idea Reveal!!!

Hey there Cambridge!

I am so excited to announce my idea for my film opening, as well as the process I went through to plan out the plot.

My film is called Focus on the Past and is about a lonely janitor who travels to an old town to discover if he was part of a life preservation experiment where his body was frozen and awoken 15 years later.

I included pictures of my initial notes and edits for the plot that I wrote out on my iPad while I was brainstorming.

Full plot:

My film idea with red marks
for editing.

A lonely janitor named Brit Jones finds a magazine from 2001 during his shift. He notices the cover presents an image of a wealthy man who owns a life preservation company and a frozen body undergoing the preservation process. The company featured in the magazine is known for preserving people in their bodies to awaken them years later. This freezing procedure makes the person unconscious, reduces brainpower, and limits memory. However, this company was shut down by the government once there was a report of a successful outcome. More importantly, the janitor notices how the preserved body looks much like himself and decides to visit the old, creepy town the company owner is from to uncover the truth of his own past.

It is important to note, though, that ever since the life preservation company was shut down, a small organization has been spying on the products/people of this experiment to see how they perform in real life. Once they realize Brit Jones is discovering the truth of his past, they begin tracking him down to stop him. In the end, it is revealed that the building Brit Jones cleans used to be the warehouse for the life preservation and was replaced by a furniture franchise, where Brit Jones now works today.

Film opening: 

The film opening will begin with a janitor mopping/brooming some place, like a bathroom. That is when he finds a magazine and notices the cover. He has a whole moment where he realizes that this magazine might be the clue to unlocking the truth of his past. There is a small sign at one point that someone else is there watching him. Now the title shows. The next scene will begin where he is in his small home, trying to call the phone number of the life preservation company on the magazine. The janitor is frustrated as no one ever picks up the call. He gets up to drink water or juice in the kitchen and 'freezes' in thought. His roommate comes in suddenly and scares him and warns that he is moving out soon and that Brit will be fully alone once again. The roommate sits on the couch and notices the magazine and wonders since when does somebody read a magazine nowadays and makes fun of the idea of a life preservation procedure.

My notes on what happens in the film opening.

The film opening introduces the context of the film through the magazine and reveals background information of this story. The part where the janitor 'freezes' with a thought is meant to allude to his past when he went through the preservation procedure. Next, him being all alone again will foreshadow his daring journey to an old town where he will feel lost and confused about the thought of his past.

Actors and set:

For the janitor position, Brit Jones, my boyfriend plans on playing the role. The roommate will be his brother and the spy, although they will barely be seen in the film opening, will be my sister. This cast is tentative and can change. I might switch the actors for Brit Jones and his roommate.

The janitor will be cleaning a bathroom in the first scene of the film opening. My friend suggested I use a park bathroom since those are likely to be dirty. Although, I could change the setting to not be a bathroom. My teacher suggested the idea of possibly filming at school. I could also try to convince my dad again for me to film at the restaurant he manages. The next few days, I plan to check out different locations and confirm one.

Creating my title: 

The image below shows the three titles I had in mind for this film. Brit Jones was a definite no. It sounded too much like Indiana Jones and I feel like naming the film the protagonist's name is mostly if the film is actually about them or their journey/life. I did not want to focus on his journey to the old town, but rather on the purpose of it. Next, I came up with Focus on the Past. This one I like a lot. It sounded great and focuses on exactly what I would like to focus: the janitor's past. Just in case, I tried to come up with another potential title, hence Moving Backward, but that one did not sound right. So, no.

My title ideas with red notes of my initial thoughts of them.

Upload (2020-2025)

Inspiration: 

My plot was created from a one sentence mad lib I made to build the plot. I filled in the blanks with my first immediate thought for it. Below is an image of my first notes on it and the plot, written below that, came to me right after. As you may notice, the characters and setting have changed, but the story is still the same. Even though I really did not have a major inspiration for this film, it does remind me of Upload (2020). In this show, a man is uploaded to a virtual world once he dies so that he can continue life. The bodies go through a whole process in order to send their mind into the program and the body is then kept for future experimental purposes, like creating clones. It somewhat mirrors my plot on how there is a procedure to preserve a body and then awaken it so that it can exist in the future.

Original one sentence mad lib.
Green highlights for ideas that changed
or no longer exist.

Reflection: 

Well, this is my breakdown for my film's plot and what will occur in the first two minutes. I still have to confirm a location and who exactly is playing who in the film, but other than that, I feel ready to write the storyboard and script. I am really excited get going with the most exciting parts of this project, filming and editing, and that moment is coming close! I'll catch you in the next blog where I bring in a media theory to include in my film.

Citations: 

Upload (TV Series 2020–2025) ⭐ 7.8 | Comedy, mystery, Sci-Fi. (2020, May 1). IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7826376

Matadeen, R. (2020, May 3). Upload: Explaining the upload process in the Amazon series. CBR. https://www.cbr.com/upload-disturbing-upload-process-explained/

Yours Truly, 
Macie 💗