Ideas for Filming the Drowning Flashback

Dylan, like the character in the video above, dies of a suicide drowning. We spent some time thinking of how to show this. Options are for Dylan to jump into the water from a height or to walk into the water and swim to the deeper ocean and then stop making effort to keep his body floating.

In terms of the actual drowning we wanted it to seem realistic. Many drowning scenes in movies show hands and arms flapping about and the character shouting for help. Through our research we realised that a person is not drowning if their head is above the water and has the ability to keep themselves up. Also, as it was his choice to drown and only a choice he regretted in death, having Dylan shouting for help wouldn't be in-keeping with the storyline.

We will show Dylan in the water as he sinks. This will be filmed on a Go-Pro in the water. The last shot will show Dylan's arms falling into the water and then the camera will pan around to reveal Dylan standing on the beach watching his death. To do this, we will need another actor in the sea to put their arms up as it is all one shot and our actor will already be on the beach.

Genre(s) of Our Film

Independent: Also known as indie films, these types of films are feature films which are produced completely, or for the most part, outside of the major film studio system. They are also produced and distributed by independent entertainment agencies. These films are easily recognisable through their content and style due to how the filmmaker's personal artistic vision is realised. Marketing is normally characterised by limited release, however, can sometimes have quite major marketing campaigns and a much wider release. It is possible for it to rival a mainstream film production if it receives necessary funding and distribution.

Sci-Fi: Short for science-fiction, sci-fi is described as "a genre of speculative fiction dealing with imaginative concepts such as futuristic settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, time travel, faster than light travel, parallel universes and extraterrestrial life". It has been called a "literature of ideas". Historically, they were meant to have some grounding is scientific fact or theory but in recent years this has changed dramatically.

Horror: This film genre is "seeking to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on  the audience's primal fears". The genre started off with films inspired by authors such as Edgar Allan Poe, Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley and have existed for over 100 years. Typical themes include the macabre and the supernatural and these can overlap with fantasy, supernatural fiction and thriller genres. Often, they deal with the viewers' "nightmares, fears, revulsions and terror of the unknown".

Camera Shots

Our film has a unique yet simple filming style. there are 3 main types of shots that we will using over the course of the filming day.

For the drowning flashback, we plan to show Dylan sinking into the water. We have looked at a number of videos and photos that are similar in action and style to gain inspiration for our filming. The photos below are almost identical to the style that we are planning to go for in the shots for this flashback. The shots will hopefully capture the moment of Dylan's sinking and then the moment of his death. It is crucial that we film these shots well as they will be extremely important in telling the story as they will be the shots through which we reveal the plot twist that Dylan is actually dead and in purgatory. 

For the shots of Dylan on the beach our main aim is to show his isolation and loneliness. The shots should make Dylan appear completely alone as he is without human connection and that is his biggest problem in regards to his death. He misses family and friends. We also wanted to show his emotion towards being so alone. The photos below are similar to the shots we have thought about filming of Dylan as they show him sitting and walking on the beach in great despair.

We also decided to have a blurry lights effect as part of the shots in our film. This helped to create the indie style as well as exaggerate the otherworldly setting. Myself and the other cinematographer spent a lot of time preparing how to create these types of shots with our DSLR cameras.

Using A Plot Twist

Our short film consists of a huge plot twist. Through watching many different short films over a number of months we realised that a common feature of short films is the use of plot twist. As we intended to have our film in-keeping with the codes and conventions of most short films, we decided that we should use a plot twist in it.

Throughout the film, our protagonist appears to be isolated in another universe. He speaks in a voiceover about how alone he is and people and things he misses in his life. At first, the audience may assume that he has been stranded here on a mission or that some tragic effect has caused him to be stuck somewhere without any human contact.

Our film will be using a number of flashbacks to show moments in Dylan’s life. As the film progresses, the flashbacks will get gradually darker as Dylan explains the difficult time he had when he began university. He fights with his family before leaving and shortly after getting there his relationship with his girlfriend ends. While at the university, Dylan begins to spend a lot of time alone. It is clear that Dylan’s life stopped going as planned at this time.

The very last flashback shows Dylan drowning in the sea. He explains that his life got so out of hand that he killed himself as he did not see the point in going on anymore. Through the voiceover we learn that this mysterious universe he is currently in is, in fact, in purgatory. Dylan is forced to stay here as his cause of death means he is not able to enter heaven.

We also learn that Dylan regrets his choice to end his life and that he now wishes he was still alive so that he could have the chance to fix things. He now realises that things were not as bad as they seemed and that he could have made something of himself but now he has it worse off in purgatory. 

This plot twist causes the audience to be in shock when they find out what has happened. everything comes together at the end of our film as the truth is revealed to the audience through the protagonist.

The Role of a Scriptwriter

In our group, I was assigned the role of scriptwriter. A scriptwriter is defined as "a person who writes a script for a play,film, or broadcast". I met with the director and went over the key points in the film that I needed to include. I thought about the message that we were trying to convey through the character of Dylan and what dialogue would be best to use in the film. I had to have a good idea about who the character of Dylan was and what type of person he was. I also needed to understand why he was reflecting on these previous incidents in life. I had to think of every aspect of his character to make sure that I wrote the script in the best way to tell his story.

In the writing I had to make sure to get Dylan’s pain and loneliness across as the audience needed to have sympathy for him however I made sure to avoid it being too dramatic and over-the-top as they needed to empathise with him.

The dialogue also needed to clarify that Dylan was previously extremely happy and therefore give the audience background information that helps them to understand that his misery has only occurred recently making them assume his current feelings are the result of a tragic event.

Mentions of specific scenery/images and sound effects were also added into the script to give a vision into what would be visible while Dylan told his story as well as what was available to hear. This would therefore make the filming day easier as the director would be able to tell myself and the other cinematographer what exactly needed to be filmed. It will also make editing easier as we will already have a basic plan of what type of sound effects will be needed and will not have to spend as long planning our sound effects post-production.

After the first draft of the script was written, I showed it to the group so that we could decide together what changes we needed to make. We agreed that the twist needed to be more dramatic and shocking. This meant that the script was redrafted to make it appear that he was stranded but not dead so the plot twist worked better. During the long discussion we also thought about the case of Dylan's death and decided to change it into a suicide. Due to this we had to make the flashbacks turn from being upbeat at the beginning to dark/uncomfortable memories towards the end showing how his life fell apart which caused him to take his own life. This also meant that I had to add in some lines about how he felt that he was full of regret for his actions as he now wishes to be alive again but, at the same time, not give away that he was in fact dead which was a challenging task that caused me to have to think and plan a lot before writing.

Use of Flashbacks For Main Task

Our main task will include flashbacks. Flashbacks are often used in film and TV to give background information into a character's past. They help the audience to gain knowledge to make the scene more straightforward.

In our main task we plan to have a number of short flashbacks that will appear as the main protagonist refers to them. Dylan is remembering people in his life and his passion for sport as well as how he was due to become a university student. These flashbacks help to show how Dylan was previously living a happy life with which he was content. This creates a huge contrast between happiness/inclusivity and lack of emotion/isolation. The audience will, as a result, have a better understanding of just how much Dylan has lost and so will be more likely to empathise with him.

The flashbacks also create a sense of nostalgia as he thinks of his family, his friends and his girlfriend and admits to feeling lonely without them. The audience pity Dylan as they can see his struggle in losing them. He was never used to being alone and is at a loss without them.

Our aim is to show how Dylan's previous life was full of love and joy and contrast it with the loneliness that now consumes him.

Naming Our Protagonist

After a lot of research, our group decided on the name Dylan for our main protagonist.

Dylan is an American name. The name 'Dylan' means 'born near the sea' and 'son of the wave'. In Welsh mythology, Dylan was a god or hero associated with the sea. In the myth it states that "And immediately when he was in the sea, he took its nature, and swam as well as the best fish that was therein'.

It is derived from the word 'llanw' meaning 'tide' or 'flow'. Some believe is to be from an old Celtic word meaning 'sea'.

As Dylan's drowning is the cause of his death we thought we could use the name in an ironic way. Instead of being in control of the water, our protagonist loses control in it. It is also a reminder for us as to how he died so throughout the film there is a hidden clue in his name as to how he met such a sudden death at a young age.

The name is also quite common shown by this graph:

Due to the name being common and well-known, it makes our protagonist seem to be an ordinary teenager. He doesn't seem to be the type of guy to stand out from the crowd in any way. The audience will be pulled into a belief that this is simply someone with a happy, peaceful life reflecting on good times. This makes the twist during the film even more surprising.