Ode to Amiel: a Micro-Budget Experimental Essay Film
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University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 2015 Ode to Amiel: A Micro-budget Experimental Essay Film Phyllis Redman University of Central Florida Part of the Film and Media Studies Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Masters Thesis (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STARS Citation Redman, Phyllis, "Ode to Amiel: A Micro-budget Experimental Essay Film" (2015). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019. 1297. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/1297 ODE TO AMIEL: A MICRO-BUDGET EXPERIMENTAL ESSAY FILM by PHYLLIS REDMAN B. A. McNeese State University, 1985 M.A. Southeast Missouri State University, 1995 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in the Department of Film in the College of Arts and Humanities at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Spring Term 2015 Major Professor: Christopher Harris © 2015 Phyllis Redman ii ABSTRACT Ode to Amiel is a feature-length experimental essay film by Phyllis Redman, made as part of the requirements for earning a Master of Fine Arts in Film in the Entrepreneurial Digital Cinema track from the University of Central Florida. The film explores one woman's reaction to trauma and depersonalization disorder through the journal entries of 19th Century Swiss philosopher, Henri Frederic Amiel. Passages from Amiel's Journal Intime provide the narrative and voice over for the lead character, a grieving mother who finds herself locked behind an inescapable, invisible and immaterial barrier that separates her from the outside world. Following the guidelines of the film program, the film was produced on a micro-budget (under $50,000) level. The goal was to create a film that was effectively a no-budget film, one similar in process to that of Tarnation, an award-winning experimental film created for $200. With an actual shooting cost of under $1,000, Ode to Amiel met this challenge. This is the record of the film's progression from development to picture lock, in preparation for distribution. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the faculty and staff of the University of Central Florida's film program as well as my fellow cohorts in the program. In particular I would like to thank Christopher Harris, my thesis chair. His guidance and expertise enabled me to explore artistic dimensions that I would not have envisioned. Additionally, I would like to express my gratitude to my Thesis Review Board members: Ula Stoeckl, Steve Schlow, Jason Burrell, Lori Ingle, and Dr. Michael Strawser. Their careful consideration of my proposal helped steer me away from potential problems and toward a more carefully considered film. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................1 Filmmaker’s Statement ............................................................................................1 Intentions and Challenges ............................................................................1 CHAPTER 2 EVIDENCE OF AESTHETIC LITERACY ..................................................4 Literature Review.....................................................................................................4 The Essay Film ............................................................................................4 Depersonalization Disorder .........................................................................9 Partial Screening List .............................................................................................13 CHAPTER 3 EVIDENCE OF FINANCIAL LITERACY ................................................15 Complete Budget with Assumptions .....................................................................15 Business Plan .........................................................................................................16 Changes to Business Plan ......................................................................................26 Final Cost Report ...................................................................................................28 CHAPTER 4 EVIDENCE OF PRODUCTION LITERACY ............................................29 Theory of Production .............................................................................................29 Production Literature Review ................................................................................32 Production Timeline...............................................................................................34 The Film in Still Images ........................................................................................35 APPENDIX A TREATMENT ...........................................................................................39 Rationale/Thesis .....................................................................................................40 Approach ................................................................................................................40 Script ......................................................................................................................42 Script Notes ................................................................................................43 APPENDIX B BUDGET AND FINAL COST REPORT .................................................70 Ode to Amiel Budget .............................................................................................71 Final Production Cost Report.................................................................................72 APPENDIX C MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION PLAN .........................................73 Film Festivals .........................................................................................................74 Online Marketing ...................................................................................................75 Lectures ..................................................................................................................75 APPENDIX D CREDIT LIST ...........................................................................................77 APPENDIX E CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENTS ......................................................79 v REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................87 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. Partial screening list (Part 1) ......................................................................................... 13 Figure 2. Partial screening list (Part 2) ......................................................................................... 14 Figure 3. Budget page 1 ................................................................................................................ 15 Figure 4. Budget page 2 ................................................................................................................ 16 Figure 5. Budget page 3 ................................................................................................................ 17 Figure 6. Budget page 4 ................................................................................................................ 18 Figure 7. Budget page 5 ................................................................................................................ 19 Figure 8. Budget page 6 ................................................................................................................ 20 Figure 9. Budget page 7 ................................................................................................................ 21 Figure 10. Budget page 8 .............................................................................................................. 22 Figure 11. Budget page 9 .............................................................................................................. 23 Figure 12. Budget page 10 ............................................................................................................ 24 Figure 13. Budget page 11 ............................................................................................................ 25 Figure 14. Final cost report ........................................................................................................... 28 Figure 15. Woman filming at the lake .......................................................................................... 35 Figure 16. Amiel appears in a vision at the lake. .......................................................................... 35 Figure 17. Woman peers from windows of home at night ........................................................... 36 Figure 18. Visions of Gracie Anna appear in the waves at the lake ............................................. 36 Figure 19. One of many vultures stands guard in the yard ........................................................... 37 Figure 20. Amiel is camera-aware ............................................................................................... 37 Figure 21. Overlays of multiple images .......................................................................................