Concept worksheet #5 (I think or 7 or just one that I'm missing)

Elena Ortiz Concept #: 5

TITLE FOR YOUR CONCEPT (you’re not married to this title forever; but even working titles can help later on): Shrunk

PROJECT VENUE/FORMAT: This is a live action feature

RUNNING TIME (approximately): About 5 minutes

TYPE OF CONTENT: live action video. Real people, real locations.

VISUAL LOOK(S) OF YOUR CONCEPT (stay with the visual here, and don’t be afraid to cite examples from films, TV shows, videogames, etc.): Setting would be in a house like in the beginning of “girl, interrupted” when Susanna is visiting her father’s friend who is a therapist. The setting needs to be comfortable and homey like the set of “The Cosby Show” in order to properly contrast with the mood of the film.

STORY STATEMENT: Jen is a 20 something suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder. She sees a therapist, Carl, once a week at his in home office until one day she finds herself dissatisfied with his treatment. During their session Jen turns the tables on Carl, a small man, and ends up leaving him bound and gagged in his own attic while she has a little fun with his other patients.

NARRATIVE OUTLINE: The story would begin with Jen entering a house in a normal fashion. She uses keys and walks in, leaving her purse on the table and going through the mail. Everything would appear normal and we would follow her through the house into a cluttered office. The first words she speaks address someone named Carl, a character currently unknown to the audience. We aren’t meant to know if he’s in the house or if she’s merely thinking out loud. Jen rifles through the materials on a desk and looks over a list containing names and times. She then proceeds to a file cabinet and removes a large file. Opening it she begins to read the diagnosis of a woman named Jen. She reads her own file aloud as she moves about the house, stopping to get herself a glass of water with studied familiarity. The audience has yet to learn her name and doesn’t know the Jen she’s talking about is herself. She soon closes the folder but continues speaking. This time her voice is raised as if to make sure what she says is heard. She checks her watch and taunts a still unseen Carl. When a knock comes at the door Jen opens it and introduces herself, revealing that she was previously reading her own file. She persuades the woman at the door to enter and as she does the camera pans through the roof and into the attic, revealing a bound and gagged Carl slowly waking in panic.

WHY YOU THINK AN AUDIENCE CAN SHARE IN THIS (what are you trying to say or explore?): I just really enjoy psychology and want to create something that explores the psychological world. I like the idea of a completely knowledgeable patient effectively duping her psychologist and then psychoanalyzing others quite possibly better than her therapist has. I think seeing psychology from the point of view of someone who is considered ill but who has a remarkable grasp on the study itself would be extremely interesting and also maybe a little scary. I want to question what crazy is and make a point that maybe things aren’t as cut and dry as we wish them to be.

I will email you a script.