Film Pitches

Today we sat and watched 4 1/2 hours of film pitches. The pitches varied in development stages but were all quite interesting. Most were inspired by paintings at the National Gallery but some were documentary ideas. There were some which were very much recreations of the paintings or very literal interpretations of paintings. Others, ones I found more interesting, were more abstract and creative. FOr example the 31st pitch was one inspired by Van Gough's chair painting. The chair would be an animate object which was pining for an artists attentions. The artist tries to paint still lifes etc but the chair keeps butting in and stopping the artist from doing his work. Eventually the artist tries to bury the chair to get rid of it but then decides it might make a nice subject and paints it. The chair is now content but the closing shot is that of the table edging closer to the artist. I like the cyclical element of this... it may never end! I also really liked an idea but I am concerned with how hard it may be to actually create. The idea was pitch 16 and is inspired by MY painting!!! Ophelia Amongst the Flowers by Redon. The idea is that a camera pans over a body of a woman in a stream and is one continuous shot. The camera focusses on specific important areas of her barely clothed body which is half submerged and surrounded by flowers which are highly symbolic. The idea would have to be part/ mostly created in the studio as no actress would be able to stay in freezing cold water for long enough to get a perfect shot. Another idea I like is inspired by a painting called Interior (I'm unsure who it is by) which was the 5th pitch. The idea is that you see a woman in a black dress (as in the painting) and we watch her comfort, what we assume to be a baby crying and wailing. We never see the baby though. We see her wandering around a baron landscape making comforting sounds and comments. The camera then pans to a small grave which has been pre dug which a shovel next to it. We see her bend down and place something into the grave. She turns to face the camera and we see her face for the first time and hear that the screams and wailing were all being made by her, she walks towards the camera with the shovel, raises it high, brings it down and then the camera goes black. This pitch idea is very gothic and nightmarish. I think it would be great fun working on location and creating such a chilling piece.

I will be interested to see out of all 31 pitch ideas, which will be chosen. None of the ones I like will probably be chosen!!!