Why is that information relevant? I couldn't tell you. I can tell you it makes a convincing hook though!
The short film A Personality (a prospective title) would follow a social media figure filming their daily internet vlog to upload. They are larger than life on screen: all of the shots are exactly what one would watch in the internet video. After the initial prank is complete, there is a midshot of the cinematographer putting down the camera to show the influencer the clip that was just recorded. Moments like this continue as the video progresses. Throughout the recording process, the influencer progressively partakes in more dangerous activities. These moments would be paired with close-ups of the screen of the camera recording the influencer and of the cinematographer's expression, distraught. The climax of the film would have the cinematographer interject into the activities of the influencer, asking them why they desire to do these crazy stunts. The social media personality finds themselves in an outburst, expressing that nobody cares about how they feel or what their opinions are. All that matters is what the person in front of the camera does. Hell, the influencer is paid to be the personality, not for their own self-worth.
This was as far as my brainstorming went. I'm unsure what the ending would be, perhaps the cinematographer would ultimately soothe the influencer, or conversely, confirm the influencer's suspicion and prohibit them from escaping the fake personality they present on camera.
The inspiration for this came from two primary sources, both deriving from YouTube. Logan Paul, the ex-Vine star now YouTube legend draws unfortunate inspiration due to his "dead body in a suicide forest video". This moment in his career symbolized the most extreme action that one could take for the sake of "entertainment". Based on his comments after the fact, he is distraught and disappointed in himself that his ego outweighed his morality in regards to what situations he would put himself into. This is where I derived the primary storyline.
The tone is another essential aspect of this film. In my mind, I envision a dark environment indicative of the influencer's intrinsic sadness not only affecting themself but their environment. Shane Dawson (YouTube) has a YouTube series exploring the sociopathic nature of another social media influencer (ironically about Logan's brother, Jake (lol that's my name!)). The animations that he adds are obscure and eerie, which would fit the depressing tone of this piece incredibly well.
Jake Paul Sociopath (Shane Dawson) (Part 1)
In my next posting, I'll elaborate on the story Luis and I are deciding to run with!! We are super excited to put it together!! I'm particularly excited to work on developing the characters, as that is one of my favorite things to do in theatre!!
Have a great day,
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