Youth Project

PROJECT PROPOSAL #3

I've always tried to make films about things I know, whether those be hobbies or life experiences. I've tried in the past to make a film about 'what it is to be young', but feel I likely failed. Now that I'm a few years older, I feel I'm mature enough to try and create a film in that period of life successfully.

Because the genre is such a large one and can range from all sorts of films, from Brick to Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 'youth' would just be the starting point and I would craft a narrative around it, such as the story of a difficult break up, and an immature person trying to come to terms with it, while in the grander scale of things also trying to find their place in the world. I feel this could be written into a short.

INFLUENCES:

One of the influences on my desire to do this was Tony Richardson's Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner. More so that other films I'd seen, it makes a real (and strong) attempt to tell a narrative about what its like to be a rebellious youth against the back drop of a controlling academic private school.



STYLE:

Stylistically, the film would be a continuation of the ideals previously laid out (ie, freedom/confusion) in this pitch. The first would be the use of a handheld camera, which has become very popular lately but first gained notority in Breathless.

I feel handheld would be most appropriate to the narrative, as it has that manic youthful energy that tripod or crane shots lack. Godard himself used it because he wanted the film to feel like a documentary, to lend an authenticity to the picture. Because I live in an age where these type of effects are quite common, I wouldn't have to worry the audience would be confused thinking it was a documentary.

The other element I'm influenced by in Breathless is their groundbreaking jump cuts. Nobody is quite sure why Godard did it (several theories are present in the previous link) in the first place, although most accept the idea he had significantly over-shot and needed to shorten the film dramatically.



Whatever the reason, the manic energy it gives the film would be highly suitable for a picture about young characters on the brink of starting their lives. Also at times the cuts can be confusing for the audience to follow, which also would be appropriate, seeing as its about characters often confused by themselves and their surroundings.