Dealer's Choice- The Structure

I feel I can work with the 3 Act Structure in my piece:
Act 1
-The sliced bread is first viewed in the kitchen in its wrapper; it's freshly baked and the bread appears cozy in its place among other objects in the center of the kitchen.
-The man, "Roger," is introduced through a short shot of him yawning, taking off his coat, and walking into the kitchen.
-His introductory scene merges with the bread's, as he is seen walking into the kitchen from the bread's viewpoint. He walks around and walks offscreen for a moment. His face is then suddenly right behind the bread wrapper. His hand fumbles around in it.

Act 2
-A shot of him is seen as he quietly takes two slices over to the toaster.
-The bread's viewpoint returns, as he slowly moves them toward their torture chamber. They're placed in, and he is viewed to be waiting somewhat impatiently. The bread's viewpoint is at the same view, and heat can be seen radiating on their bodies in the toaster.
-A panning shot is seen of the man walking to the fridge, and he somewhat quickly pulls out ham, cheese, lettuce, and mayonnaise and walks back to the toaster in another pan to pick the toast up.
-Seen from the bread, it falls on a cold plate, a knife moves in the background, there's a moment of silence, until the knife comes down scraping the bread. The scrape is loud and painful. A quick cut is seen of the man calmly applying the mayo, and then it returns back to the cut of the bread's crumb skin slowly falling off.
-Another view is seen of the man as he applies the sandwich ingredients to the breads. A quick shot is seen of the breads all being smashed on the cold plate; they break a bit.
-The man is seen cleaning the mayo knife a little. The bread is seen silently sitting on the plate. It is only temporary, as the knife comes down and stabs the end. The knife cuts through the sandwich in half diagonals, and as it runs up towards the camera, the mayo spills.

Act 3
-The man is seen fiddling with something below (the sandwich) for a moment, until he picks up half the sandwich and pulls it toward his face.
-A close up is seen of his mouth biting the sandwich; it begins making a scream, and the scene returns to the cut of the man, hearing a faint scream. He pauses and looks up. He chews a bit more slowly, and he hears strange loud crunching with a small wimper. He raises his eyebrow at the sandwich, but then decides to assume it's due to his tiredness and continues eating and walks offscreen.
-The same shot is seen of the bread wrapper from the beginning, only the bread seems slightly more shriveled up from its fear.


I am also working with titles, trying to figure out if something like "The Crime Scene" might give away too much, but it would emphasize the humor. The text of the title and possibly something at the end could emphasize the "political" aspect, but I want to see if the visuals do that alone.
I do want the shots of the bread to vary slightly from the shots of the man, as I want them to appear more gruesome as the viewpoint of the man as a suburban man and the man as a murderer varies.

Dealer's Choice- Characters

Characters- The Twin Slices: "First" and "Second"
1. How does your character think?
The slices both think as identical twins, and they both want simple lives, to merely live in their home and examine those passing by.
2. How does your character think he/she thinks?
Both slices have dreamt of one day seeing the world, but they accept that reality constricts them.
3. What does your character want?
They both want to take an afternoon nap in their home.
4. What does your character think he/she wants?
They both wonder if the wrapper sometimes just contains them.
5. What does your character believe?
They have simple beliefs, and prefer not to think too much about the heavy details in life.
6. What does your character think he/she believes?
They do sometimes each question if their life really has meaning.
7. What is your character’s truth? Mythology?
The slices firmly think they are meant to watch over their siblings and the outside world as well.
8. What is your character’s real truth? Real Mythology?
They somewhat know from their past mother's death that humans aren't as trustworthy.
9. What does your character need?
They both need to understand what humans feel their purpose is.
10. What does your character think he/she needs?
They both think they only need watch humans.
11. What actions does your character undertake?
The first slice is the only one who is alive enough towards the end to utter a yell that transcends physics and reality.
12. Why does your character think he/she does what he/she does?
The first slice is in pain, and it feels that it can only attempt to warn the others as well as attempt at a typical human expression of pain.

What the audience needs:
• Understanding: What events past, present and future push your
character into action
The two slices in the past were born in a bakery, as their mother sacrificed herself to create their birth slices. They feel somewhat more protective of their siblings in the present, and their future deaths are meant to be a warning to the other slices.
• Emotion: How your character feels
The slices feel at peace at first, but once they are harmed, they feel pain and fear.
• Urgency: How important this is for your character
They strongly want to live their lives and protect their siblings.
• Sympathy: Why your character does what he/she does
The first slice yells to warn the others, and both slices have always watched over their siblings due to a sense of responsibility for their mother's sacrifice.
• Specificity: Detail making your character’s motivation clear
They stay in their wrapper, never attempting to leave, because they value the protection and bond with their siblings.
• Originality: Something we’ve either not seen before or have seen
before but is being presented in a different way.
The bread slices are characters on their own, and they are also the main characters.
• Mystery: Building the puzzle about what your character will learn
about him/herself one piece at a time
The second slice realizes he can't survive for his family, but the first slice realizes with enough willpower he can transcend physics, and they both learn that humans can't be trusted.
• Flaw: A problem to help humanize your character in our eyes.
They both give up on living throughout most of their torture scenes.

Characters- The Hungry Man: "Roger"
1. How does your character think?
The man usually thinks about his family and work often, but at this moment, food is consuming his thoughts on this Sunday afternoon.
2. How does your character think he/she thinks?
Even so, at the back of his mind he worries about how his job isn't going as well.
3. What does your character want?
He wants to make a sandwich for lunch.
4. What does your character think he/she wants?
He actually is worried about work, and he feels like the food will calm him down.
5. What does your character believe?
He believes in family values, and he is traditional in many senses.
6. What does your character think he/she believes?
He sometimes thinks about escaping from the typical suburban life, but he knows there are simple ways of dealing with issues.
7. What is your character’s truth? Mythology?
He knows that relaxing and eating lunch will help him get through the rest of the Sunday and prepare for Monday.
8. What is your character’s real truth? Real Mythology?
He also knows that lunch can't cure everything, and he will still stew about some of the issues at work.
9. What does your character need?
He needs to take a moment to realize that food isn't everything.
10. What does your character think he/she needs?
He thinks right now all he needs is the perfect sandwich.
11. What actions does your character undertake?
He slowly takes bread slices and ingredients out, he toasts the bread, spreads mayo on it, adds the ingredients, slices it, and he eventually eats the sandwich. He is also murdering the twin slices in the process.
12. Why does your character think he/she does what he/she does?
He is doing it to create a perfect sandwich in hopes of relaxing.

What the audience needs:
• Understanding: What events past, present and future push your
character into action
The man was assigned a job a while back he assumed he would enjoy, but it feels mediocre to him presently. This leads to his events of slowly making a sandwich to relax.
• Emotion: How your character feels
He feels hungry and stressed until he makes his sandwich.
• Urgency: How important this is for your character
He feels making the sandwich will really help him relax, and the urgency to make it perfect is high.
• Sympathy: Why your character does what he/she does
He murders the bread simply because he is unaware his relaxation technique is killing what seems to him to be a lifeless object.
• Specificity: Detail making your character’s motivation clear
He wants to make a perfect sandwich because he knows the taste will relax him and help his thoughts of worry drift away.
• Originality: Something we’ve either not seen before or have seen
before but is being presented in a different way.
He is strangely very determined at the sandwich being perfect, and he is also completely unaware he's committing a murder.
• Mystery: Building the puzzle about what your character will learn
about him/herself one piece at a time
He learns for a moment that maybe making the sandwich wasn't good when he hears a yell, but he changes his mind feeling that maybe his hunger and stress made him imagine it.
• Flaw: A problem to help humanize your character in our eyes.
He is drowning his worries through food.

Dealer's Choice- Plot

The plot involves the narrative of the bread made for the sandwich. The man simply is making lunch, while the bread is brutally taken away from its home and murdered. Both worlds are seen, and they eventually combine at the end.

The bread in the kitchen had been there a few days untouched. A man comes home stressed from work. Slices of bread sit peacefully among their brother and sister slices, and they all nest in the wrapper in a warm environment. The moment suddenly changes as a man comes in the kitchen for lunch. His day has been average, and he can't wait to just make a simple sandwich to satisfy his hunger. He pulls the two brother slices from their home. He walks over to the toaster. His hand slowly moves them into it, and he is seen waiting. The slices feel the heat and burning pain from the toaster. The man pulls ham, cheese, lettuce, and mayonnaise from the fridge to add to his recipe. He picks the toast up, and scrapes the mayo on, and the toast's skin drops bits of itself. The man moves over, and places the ingredients of the sandwich on the two toasts, and they are all crushed slowly. The man pulls an item from the utensil drawer. From the toasts' viewpoints, it appears to be a knife, as it stabs the bread, slowly cutting down the center and its own applied mayo guts spill everywhere. The man is silent a moment, then picks up half the sandwich. The bread feels the bite from his teeth, and in its last moment, it utters a faint cry. The moment clashes with the man's world, as he looks up, raises his eyebrow, pauses, and then continues to chew. The bread wrapper is seen zooming slowly away, as the other slices fear their fate.

Dealer's Choice- Theme

I want this film to overall focus on a different viewpoint- it's a viewpoint other than a regular human's of an everyday life of an object without actual life. I want to see how an inanimate object would feel if it actually had feelings through the use of the camera viewpoints, sounds, and cuts. There is also definitely a running theme of humor, as the object chosen alone is often considered humorous, and the drama surrounding the object, or the murder of a sandwich, is also meant to be humorous. I also want to be somewhat preachy with "don't kill sandwiches" to make a bit of a statement about political extremists.

Dealer's Choice

For this project, I wanted to work with my last focus on more humor in my films. This one would be unique in that the main character would be toast/a sandwich. I thought about how much my family makes sandwiches, and I thought it would be interesting from the sandwich's point of view.

-The first scene would introduce the toast and the man who is in the kitchen to make a sandwich. The bread is viewed at its own viewpoint, as the man pulls it out of the bread wrapper.
-The bread would first be toasted. There will be a close up of the toaster, emphasizing the burning and heat.
-The next scene will have the man getting the ingredients, and he applies mayonnaise to the side of the toast. The camera focuses in again, and the scrape noises are emphasized.
-The next scene, the man places the layers of meat on the toast, crushing the elements against each other
-The man pulls out a knife, and the close up shot is seen of the sandwich being stabbed and sliced in half, and the mayonnaise spills out
-The man is seen in full view, and he slowly pulls half the sandwich up, a close up is seen of him biting down; the full view is seen again, and there's a faint yell. The man raises his eyebrow.

I mainly want to work with views and cuts from the view of the man to the closeups. The ending might need more tweaking, but I felt it added to the humor.

Julia Walker- Artist Lecture

Julia Walker came to Memphis College of Art and gave a lecture on environmental-friendly and modernist architecture, primarily located in the American Southwest. She began the speech describing the International Exhibition of Modern Architecture that took place in the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1932. She described how this really emphasized modern architecture’s design, but this was its shining point up until the destruction of the Pruitt-Igoe housing among other circumstances.

She described how the southwest brought an opportunity to bring back the simpler designs and mix with the environment due to the area’s constant battle with sun, sand, and heat. Many modern structures there were a part of the land in their construction and design. She described an example such as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ocatitto Camp, which were cabins that used an agreeable diffusion of light. She also described Al Beadle’s White Gates House which created an oasis in the desert, as well as she described Chafee’s Ramada House which resembled old Pueblo structures.

She described Rick Joy’s Desert Nomad House as well as his Tuscan Mountain House. They both were very simple and conceptual, and they brought about what Julia Walker described of important elements of good design; some being it needs to be innovative, unobtrusive, honest, durable, among others. She mentioned these weren’t all required, but they did apply to several modernist architectural designs. The quote she left with approached a new idea towards the idea of the modern among the desert land; “It is no desert.”

Point A to Point B Production Package Part 2

Number of Days I'll shoot: at the very least 1, but 2 would work the best due to weather issues

When working with the actor and the test shots and scenes, the weather is definitely an issue, as there was rain this past weekend. The weather issue occurred with my last piece, and the best option would really be if I had a camera for at least 2 days. There were also scenes involving traffic, where I wasn't sure if the sound would work well. The crew and I are also working on various props, trying to find appropriate toys. The robot will be built. There will also be a scene involving a dog, and there are still a few kinks to work with in safety issues along with the dog behaving appropriately. He's friendly and obedient, but in new scenery this might not work as well for him. I'm also wondering how the camera equipment will work in the car with its movements, especially in the scene where the car breaks down.
The weather overall is the biggest issue for a film shot mostly outdoors, and I'll check it the night before to make sure of it and hope for the best; it always seems to be the most unpredictable factor.

Here also are some of my thumbnails as well as lighting sketches of the house and the hardware store:

Point A to Point B Production Package Part 1

Analysis of Script
Characters' Life goals/objectives
-The Inventor: He is young and ambitious and determined to finish his greatest work.
-The Driver: She's the side character who drives across the intersection blocking the Inventor from crossing. Her goal is to enjoy the scenery while driving to her home to cook dinner for her family.

Character Obstacles
-The Inventor: He can't finish his goal due to a final screw missing from his greatest work, and he also happens to be out of them. He runs into obstacles of this obstacle getting a screw.
-The Driver: She has issues getting home before dark, but she can't help watching the sun set.

Actions to Overcome Obstacles
-The Inventor: He runs into several particular obstacles getting his screw:
--First, a stray dog is in front of his car.
---He overcomes this by shooing the dog, and for a minute, dogs.
--Second, the Driver at a three way stop drives very slowly to cross
---He overcomes this by being forced to be patient.
--Third, his car breaks down.
---He overcomes this by trying to work on it, but he eventually gives up and runs.
-The Driver doesn't overcome her obstacle due to becoming easily distracted.

The Ways and Methods Used
-The Inventor: He must shoo the dogs with his arms waving and voice, be patient for at least a moment, and he attempts to fix his car, but he isn't as mechanical with cars and decides running is the best option to get to the hardware store for his screw.
-The Driver doesn't overcome this and keeps driving in a slow manner.

Adjustments Made when Characters don't Succeed
When the Inventor can't fix his car, he decides running will suit his obsession to finish his greatest work quickly.

Realistic Doings Actors are Engaged in
-The actor for the Inventor will actually run for a bit in one scene, he will actually drive, and he will also be screwing the screw for his final work.
-The actress for the Driver will actually be driving.


Breakdown the Script
Number and Types of Actors- 3; a young adult male, a female driver, and a worker at the hardware store register

Number of Scenes each actor will be in and the length of the performances- the actor for the inventor will be in about 8 or 9 scenes, and being the main character, he will be in all the scenes throughout the film; the actress for the driver will be in 1 scene, with the duration only being about 10-15 seconds; the worker at the hardware store will be in 1 scene with a short duration of only 3-5 seconds.

Requirements, number, and types of locations
-5 locations, 3 are outdoor locations along the road, 1 is the Inventor's home, and particular props are required, and 1 of the locations is the Hardware store

Number and types of stunts and special effects
- 1: smoke will be used for the car breaking down

Special Costumes and Make-up
-The Inventor has somewhat of a grungy look, but overall average

Props
-The robot (aka greatest work)
-Various toys/stuffed animals that are (or appear) handmade
-Car
-Animals/Dogs
-Tools
-The screw

Locations
1. The House
Sound Quality: quiet; Available Light: 1 overhead light and two small windows; Power: 4 outlets



2. The Street with the Dogs
Sound Quality: outdoor natural noises; Available Light: sunlight; Power: none


3. Three Way Stop
Sound Quality: outdoor natural noises; Available Light: sunlight; Power: none


4. Car Breakdown Street
Sound Quality: outdoor noises along with traffic noises; Available Light: sunlight; Power: none


5. Hardware Store
Sound Quality: quiet with customers talking; Available Light: fluorescent lights above; Power: an outlet




Here is my spreadsheet mentioning estimated times and schedules of the scenes:


The actor for the Inventor will be Lee Yager, and I have his contact information along with the Driver's who will be Susan Gibson. The locations take place at the actor's actual house and the area around there, and both of the talents know the area well. The Hardware store were completely fine with the filming, and they have the date and know of the arrangements.