DEVA Essay: Why my Movie Will be Abstract

Aiden McFetridge
Carlos,Cruz
Beacon Capstone Project
11/07/23

I always found lost footage horror films to be the scariest. The mystery of the
monsters they face or the mental struggle of it all seems to stick with me more than any
other franchise.Self isolation is a practice that is extremely and often undertaken for
many reasons, self isolation can be an eye opener to someone's mental or physical
health as some may suffer from depression and want to hide in their rooms whilst
physically can show that they don't want to see their loved ones in such a poor state so
they tend to move away from their actual life My movie Dissipate will show the fear of
wondering what comes next in a found footage scenario. The movie focuses on two
main characters' voices whilst being followed by cameras. While they are living their
life and enjoying the end of the day they decide to get some forks for their dinner and
realize that they are all gone. They assume all of them are in the dishwasher but they
are missing, which causes a panic between the two characters. As parts of their house
disappear, whether it be spoons or knives or the front doors, eventually gets one of the
characters locked in one of the rooms for years. The character is unable and does not
need to eat, sleep or drink. The cameras displayed around the house and in the room
our character is isolated in now. Self isolation is an ongoing problem that 33% of the
population go through and that not many people tend to discuss. The concept of self
isolation is the importance on balancing physical along with mental health and
emotional well-being.

The first and most important part that I will remove from the movie is people.
People tend to help carry the message of a movie forward but through this I want to
challenge myself by not including them. While people are almost integral to
storytelling and have been a primary focus in films,I want to take them away to show
that storytelling can still happen without the use of people.By diversifying the use of
actors I believe more styles of film can be made cheaper and in some cases if done right
better without seeing actors. I will still move the plot forward by having audio cues and
camera switches into separate rooms. I feel as though experimental films use people
way too much, whether it be just an outline of a person or just to use actors to make the
plot move forward. I feel as though I can show how films can still be done without the
help of emotions in faces or body language. My movie will be based on tones of people's
voices and not their expressions making you be able to feel their desperation. Overall I
believe that people are not required especially for a movie like this. Eventually, when
the characters get separated it will show over time that the character who got locked in
the room became desperate. Showing and having actors is a very important subject to a
movie, however I feel as though that film is an art form and can show many different
styles and that having no actors playing in the film can be a different form of film and
something that ive personally never seen before and would like to expand on.
Something else I want to heavily focus on in the film is audio. Audio in films is
very important and often overlooked in film . While actors play a crucial role in
showing emotions in storytelling and in film, I feel as though audio should be focused
on maybe even a bit more then the actors themselves. Audio that many should focus on
would be music and dialogue. Music and dialogue is one of, if not the strongest thing,
I've heard in movies. Audio can be used to show tension or love or any sort of
emotion.Some examples include dramatic music when a main character dies or slow
more somber music plays when two characters fall in love. The way I want to use audio
is through the characters emotions, examples can be crying, shouting, and begging in
tones that make the audience feel for the character. Music is also a form of audio and I
wish to include that show a sense of sadness or a feeling similar to being cold such as
using a slow and calming music or if the character is angry or mad at someone no
music at all could play which in some cases silence can be the best form of a backdrop
to many scenes in a film. Audio is used and can be used in so many different ways and
sometimes I feel as though the actors and scenes tend to take away from many
emotions. Sadness is the main point I want to inform the viewer with. My movie will
use audio cues such as slamming doors and moving silverware to inform the viewer
that maybe our characters are not alone. At the end of the movie more somber and
sadder tones will be used in order to show the hopelessness and acceptance of our
main characters' new life is now like with their friends or family.

Using objects more prominently in filmmaking can contribute more variety and
creativity to a film and even storytelling advantages. Objects slowly overtime in my
movie will be stripped away from the characters, giving them almost no chance at
surviving. I want all of the objects that many people in the horror movies tend to gloss
over or ignore would be used in very important ways to the story. Objects that would
not usually be used in a survival situation tend to be ignored such as old photographs or
glasses. In my movie I want every object to be used. In some scenes, cards will be used
to show how our main character has games to keep each of them sane such as counting
floorboards or listening to music by cds or even trying to experiment with his
surroundings by throwing things into the hole that the windows and doors have
created, and seeing where they could go. I want everyday objects you'd see in a house
that you would never expect to be used this way to be used. Objects tend to be glossed
over but I want them to be not the strongest but a focus in this movie.

My motivation for this film is mostly Covid and how that tragedy in history made
me and probably many felt everyday; whether that was waking up for virtual school or
seeing someone they care about pass away. I was at my lowest during virtual learning
and covid. Self isolation was part of my day to day when I used to be so outgoing and
enjoyed meeting new people everyday. That was stripped away from me in what
seemed like only a few days. Throughout my lockdown journey,I realized that many
people I called friends didn't want to talk or even tried to reach out. This only made this
form of isolation hurt more as I knew that no one was going to come over after all of
this blew over. In some ways I want to show this emotion or feeling I had and put it into
a film and make it so that audiences can witness how it feels to go down this rabbit hole
of emotions. Making people knowthat no matter how hard you looked in that time that
no one was going to help or listen. Throughout this experience I figured out in a
bittersweet moment that you don't have to wait for someone to fix you, sometimes you
have to pick up the pieces yourself.

Film can be a very subjective and artistic form of media. I plan to end the movie
with our main character begging to be released. It will never happen as he slowly
accepts his new life and keeps a calendar watching the years go by, wishing he could
see his friends and family. The audience will learn not to seclude themselves from the
outside world. I hope they will not be bound to their rooms and try to live more in the
moment as we never know when that could be stripped away. People, audio, and
objects are all things we take for granted, whether that be seeing people or hearing
certain things or even touching certain objects.