Sorry I haven't had any videos posted lately. Moving back to LA has been very eventful, but as you can see, things are queueing up and we are always looking for new Ideas here, where Videas Keep Coming. So shoot them our way and tell your friends about a video that you liked if you saw it on this page!! new videos soon. I promise.
yours,
Patrick
4 comments:
Here’s an idea for a short film—the basic premise is that a group of friends meet up at a bar for the first time since returning from their junior year abroad. They have all gone to different places and are eager to share their experiences (for whatever motivation they may respectively harbor). So there are four students: one who went to France, another to England, another to Spain, and the last one went to a small town in Virginia (Blue Ridge Mountain/complete Appalachia) thinking it was another country. They all come back finding America to be lacking in culture and show no shame in showing their disdain for their home country. For those of you who have studied abroad and attended meetings where they tell you what not to do when you get back, these four students are the epitome of that.
I have found that there are three potential situations that arise when someone gets back from abroad. It is possible to come back enlightened and more cosmopolitan—think “citizen of the world” mentality. Then you could also come back thinking, “Go America!” and praising beer, Miley Cyrus (“Party in the USA”), and Nascar. The final option is that someone thinks they’ve grown, matured, and become more enlightened in the ways of world. But in reality, they’re actually quite small-minded. It could be interesting to examine the first and last possibilities through these four students, and maybe the bartender serving the group drinks could represent the Go America mentality.
A few ideas that I’ve come up with for the characters based on the countries they went to… Suggestions please! I studied in Paris so I have plenty of info to give there but need/want other opinions. Here it goes:
-France: wine, coca-lite instead of Diet Coke, Rive Gauche vs. Rive Droite, the French you learn at first (enchantée, etc.) is very middle class
-England: propriety, class system, Guiness/pints, riding the tube, clams, UK vs. the Continent
-Spain: Ibiza, house music, clubs, eating dinner late and staying out till 8 am, tapas, “Madrith” (Spanish pronunciation of Madrid)
Ultimately, the overarching message is that Americans are ignorant, and rich people who think they’re so much smarter and well-traveled and cultured are actually the exact opposite because they take themselves so seriously.
PS-
The kid who went to Virginia would come back and be stuck in a Civil War/Reconstruction mindset. Various ideas I have for what he could talk about is slavery, the Confederacy, Robert E. Lee, War of Northern Aggression, states rights, Appalachia, plantations....
Short set to BOOTS OF SPANISH LEATHER by Bob Dylan. A girl and a guy, separated by distance, juxtaposition of handwritten letters and a broken up couple doing their own thing, ending with leather boots worn by the girl and the dude... The historical reference to Spanish boots as instruments of torture could be used in a subtle way. To avoid copyright/licensing issues, perhaps someone could record themselves playing and singing the song. There, of course, you have the choice to go with someone who has a true singing voice or someone who has more of a Dylanesque voice. Filming style à la DON'T LOOK BOOK and a better attempt than RENALDO AND CLARA could be cool too.
these ideas are baller emily. lets figure it out asap.
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