So here I am in front of my computer, attempting to organize my life and do my assignments while battling a nasty flu. This is one of the nastiest I've had in awhile- my nose keeps leaking like a Tondo water line and my head feels like Joe Pesci's got it in a vise. I keep on going from fully clad in sweaters (because I'm so cold) to fully shirtless (because I start to sweat like a backup dancer on ASAP). Sickness sucks. At first I welcomed it because it gave me a legitimate reason to stay home and work on my film project, but even that's been hard. When you've got 15 kilos of mucus up your sinus and clogging your brain, you'd be pressed to be creative too.
But despite that, I've managed to flesh out my short film script for the semester. It's called 'Blinding' and it's a story about a man who is told he is about to lose his vision the very next day.
Have you ever asked your friends the question "If you were to keep one of your senses, what would it be?" I have, and if I were faced with that unfortunate scenario, I'd choose to keep my sense of sight. Why? Because I've realized that I am first and foremost a visual person. I'm a filmmaker and photographer, and I imagine it would be hell to wake up blind and not be able to do these two things (not to mention watching movies, concerts, The Simpsons)...
And that's where the idea for 'Blinding' came about. A man is told he has one day left before he goes blind and this makes him realize how much he's taken his sight for granted. He decides to spend his last day wandering Sydney and taking in as many sights as he can, and in doing so, he taps into his memories as a child we get to see the type of person he really is when he unveils a secret in the end.
I was going to shoot in 16mm, but after great consideration and punching up some numbers, I've decided I can't afford to shoot on film and with the way my script will go, I'll be doing a lot of run and gun filming in places sans permit again, so a PD-170 or a Panasonic DVX-100 might be the way to go. I'm planning to experiment with stark black and white as well as richly saturated colours- to emphasize the things we look at but take for granted: sunlight on trees, neon signs, cigarette smoke, traffic stoplights. As the man walks and sees all these he needs to realize how much he'll miss looking at these mundane, everyday things.
Despite the film's melancholic tone, I'd ultimately like it to be a gentle reminder of how we shouldn't take things for granted and that we should learn to welcome change and accept it. As the sun sets and the man's vision begins to give, we see a sense on acceptance overwhelm him and as we go to all black, sights and colours are replaced by heightened sounds of waves crashing and birds chirping. So in effect, the man truly has lost nothing.
I asked some people what they would do if faced with the same problem and their answers were interesting- they would re-read their favourite book, watch a movie, go to a strip club, and go biking or running at breakneck speed. So while I'm on the subject, you guys might want to help me out with your ideas- what would YOU do if you had one day left to see?
