Project Proposal

DIPLOMA PROJECT PROPOSAL
BHARAT CHAUHAN
ANIMATION AND VISUAL EFFECTS


PROJECT BRIEF:
I’d like to work on a live action film that uses CG elements. The film deals with a man living in a post apocalyptic environment who is trying to battle loneliness in an ‘empty’ world. The film also deals with another idea where the character constantly puts himself in a lucid dream in which the world still functions normally and the effects of that on his real life. I’d like to use computer generated imagery to show different elements that effectively portray this world. Constant parallels are also drawn between the macro and the micro.

LOGLINE:
A man living in an empty world constantly searches for connections and normality through his dreams.

DESCRIPTION:
This is to give a brief description/idea behind the story that I am currently working on. This is not necessarily the actual chronology of events.

The story is divided into two different segments – one part deals with the character and the other one is purely visual.

A man lives alone inside a room in a post apocalyptic environment. Not much can be seen outside and is almost always night. The room is filled with books and empty water bottles. The man has a machine which he plugs himself to live in a dream world that is reminiscent of his life before the events of apocalypse. There he has a normal life. Soon after, ‘glitches’ start appearing in this dream world that he can’t understand. He wonders if there is something wrong with the machine.

There is a large spaceship suspended in the sky that he can see. He believes that most of humanity was able to escape the apocalypse and are living on that ship and have left him behind. He often wonders if he has actually died and is living in some kind of hell as a punishment for his previous life. The spaceship here becomes a symbol of redemption for him.

Unknown to him, there are a few other survivors left in the world but are separated by large distances and are unaware of each other. Since there are so few left it has become easier for people to tap into each other’s consciousness and dreams. The ‘glitches’ in this man’s dream are a result of that.

This part strictly serves as a background where actual events are going to take place.

BACKGROUND:
The project stems from my interest in physics and science fiction. It also draws heavily from the current scientific predictions revolving around the year 2012. I would like the film to not deal with the actual events of the so called apocalypse but rather with the time after many years have already passed after the actual event.

Mainstream films, whether animation or live action that are build around the idea of apocalypse generally tend be action oriented often viewed as a form of entertainment. After a point it has simply become a rerun of a rerun. I personally have felt more drawn to films that underplay the idea of apocalypse and deal more with human emotions. A recent example would be a film called The Road. It is this area that I would like to primarily focus upon – something that is about the silence and the calm after the storm has passed.

The film also deals with the importance of “dreaming” in a world where one is alone and uses dreams as an escape route – a sort of self imposed “matrix.” And the constant return to the real world to do simple yet necessary actions like eating, drinking or even reading.

I’d like my project to focus upon the differences present between the real world and the dream world that this character has imposed upon himself, as well as the constant search for another living being.


QUESTIONS + POINTERS:
How does one create a science fiction without using extensive and clichéd computer generated imagery/visual effects?
What constitutes science fiction as a genre? Is it simply the imagery and the environment or much more?
How does one strip these visual elements to their basic forms where they only serve as a hint and background yet still get the most out of them?
How does one respond to being completely isolated and alone? What would drive one to continue living in such a world?
How have these concepts been used in the past and how can I incorporate them in my work?

RESEARCH + PROCESS:
My research would focus on works that are centered on isolation and survival. I’m also looking for scientific research done of hypothetical apocalyptic scenarios as this would allow me to give factual depth to the script.

Another part of the research would deal with dreams and dream theories.

The largest part of my research would center around science fiction works that are based on similar concepts of post apocalypse.

RESOURCES:
Some of the resources being used for research and inspiration have been listed below.

Films:
The Road – Jill Hillcoat
Lost Highway – David Lynch
The Fountain – Darren Aronofsky
The Stalker – Andrei Tarkovsky
La Jetee – Chris Marker
The Wild Blue Yonder – Werner Herzog
Altered States-Ken Russell

Books:
Physics Of The Impossible – Michio Kaku
Roadside Picnic – Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
Sandman – Neil Gaiman
The Stand – Stephen King

Artworks:
Alex Gray
Android Jones
Ernst Fuchs
Dino Valls


This obviously is not a complete and final list.

TIMELINE:
Here is broken down timeline of the process I would be undertaking to create this film

Pre-Production
Scripting (3 weeks)
Visual Ideation & Experimentation (1 weeks)
Location & Actors scouting (1 week)

Production
Shoot (2 weeks)
CG Asset Creation (2 weeks)

Post Production
Compositing + Special Effects (3 weeks)
Editing + Sequencing + Rendering (1 week)

LEARNING OUTCOME:
I would like to push my skills of being able to incorporate computer generated imagery with live action footage a lot further. This would also allow me to shoot an actual film which is of a slightly larger magnitude and length, which would be a challenge as well as a great learning opportunity.