Me, Myself & I- New Idea

As it is the early days of my film degree and I have not yet used Avid editing software, I have decided to change my Me, Myself & I project so that it is more the camera that will make it a good piece and not the advanced editing. What I mean by this is that to split screen myself three times (to create three people) would be beyond my capabilities at this time considering the time I have to make the film and  my lack of experience with the editing software. However, this is a technique I am interested to explore in the future, but for now at least I will put it on hold.

This means then that I must have a more camera and visual based idea in mind, I do. My new idea takes strong inspiration from the Nicolas Winding Refn film Bronson (2008) starring Tom Hardy as 'Britain's most dangerous criminal': Charles Bronson.


You may be glad to hear that I am nothing like person on which this film is based. however stylistically there is something in this film I wish to mimic within my piece, which is the use of a theatre in which Bronson looks over his life and offers a commentary of sorts, although it is much more than just a simple narration of his life, he applies face paint and acts out in a sort of monologue fashion that gives a glimpse into the insanity of the character. I do not consider myself to be insane (funnily enough) but I do think that I could play on this style and highlight some of my personality traits. For example I actually have stage fright, what better place than on a theatre stage to show this to the audience. However, this would be exaggerated to highlight it in a comedic manner.

The Picture on the left is the cover for Bronson taken from:  http://www.imdb.com/media/rm119769344/tt1172570?ref_=tt_ov_i

In Bronson the theatre is dimly lit and quite dark all around, this gives an impression of two things, the first is that Bronson is quite a dark character, this is then emphasised by the performance of true insanity from Hardy, and also from the things that Bronson has done. The other thing this lighting gives is an impression that we are inside Bronson's mind, the actor on the stage serves as the voice in Bronson's head and the audience are reacting how he would expect them too, this is also emphasised by the fact that we know Bronson strives for fame so these visuals are him imagining his success to a degree.

This is the theatre used in Bronson, as you can see the framing is beautiful and really nicely gives the impression of being trapped in a box, for example Bronson's mind. (Photo taken from: url). This is a theatre in Nottinghamshire so I could not use this specific theatre, however near to where I live is Billingham Theatre which I think would give me a similar aesthetic which will serve the purpose I am looking for.

Images of Billingham Theatre (Top from: http://www.ukurbex.com/index.php?/topic/1519-the-forum-theatre-billingham-2009/) (Bottom from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/stagedoor/6417322669)

The above photos are of Bellingham Theatre which I believe would be a perfect place for me to do the in my head pieces of the film, however I think that I will be different from Bronson by not having a crowd, I may still include the noises that a crowd would make though, I may do this to be somewhat surreal and show that it is in my head. 

The other thing to consider is the make-up that Hardy wears in this film, I could mimic this exactly or I could use imagery that is more relevant to me. 

As you can see by the picture next to this Tom Hardy wore make-up that suggests his insanity so I don't really think this would work for what I am trying to portray. However I am thinking of showing how big a football fan I am so perhaps I could get my teams badge painted on my face for one of the segments. I also plan to do a small section were a very nervous me goes on stage and faints from stage fright, for this I may paint a worried face over my own for comedic and hyperbolic value to highlight the nervous part of my persona. Tom Hardy Bronson Photo Taken From: (http://quotesgram.com/charles-bronson-movie-quotes/). 

This research into my inspiration has given me a lot to think about and plan, now I need to storyboard, script and have a plot outline, all of which will feature on here when they're finished.