Backup Film Inspiration - The One I Love

The One I Love is a film about a struggling couple (Ethan and Sophie) who seek counselling and go to a beautiful getaway where the couple discover something strange. 


The couple discover that there are perfect clones of themselves at the getaway and the film shows the couples struggle to try and cope with what is happening. The couple eventually discover a house in the getaway that holds perfect clones of themselves, but they discover this by accident as Ethan stays in the house overnight as he has an argument with his Sophie, but Ethan wakes up to find his partner cooking him bacon, which he then states that his partner is a vegetarian and never cooks meat for him. This is where the film hints at her being a perfect clone. As the film continues the viewer is able to figure out that each of the clone is the opposites' ideal personification of their partner (hence why the clone cooked bacon for Ethan). The reason that this is inspiration to me is because of both of the actors' double performances and how natural the dialogue is, I believe that the story unfolds in a well-paced way and has the characters develop in a realistic manner. 

The one thing that I think that this films lacks is sometimes subtlety; sometimes the film can be subtle, like having the clone of Sophie cook the real Ethan bacon as this is later reincorporated into the film. On the other hand however, the film can sometimes be too blatant about what it is trying to tell the viewer, as I believe that there are certain scenes which would not be necessary and would make the film much better overall. For example, there is a scene in which Ethan discovers voice recordings on a computer of two people trying (and eventually succeeding) to emulate Ethan's and Sophie's voices. I believe that the film would have been better off leaving this scene out of the film instead of being so blatant about it and having the character find out these things on a computer, which I believe is a somewhat lazy solution to tell the viewer something. The film did have to somehow tell the viewer that only two people could leave the getaway, be that the clones or the real people, but the film did that towards the end where they are blocked from leaving after Ethan and Sophie escape in a car. The film also has to show that the two people who are left on the getaway have to stay there and 'become' the next guests as the therapist who sends the people there learns every detail of their lives. So I believe that there was no reason to show this computer scene as the viewer would have been able to figure this out for themselves or at least would have been left questioning and intrigued by the film after it had ended. 

Additionally, the actual ending of the film did not need to be in the film as it reveals way too much and answers any questions that the viewer would have had to ask. I believe that films can end on ambiguous scenes which leave the audience intrigued into the universe of the movie and be able to have discussions about the movie; but the ending of the moving is way too blatant in telling the viewer whether the clone of Sophie escaped with Ethan or not as the last scene has Sophie cooking Ethan bacon, clearly showing that it is the clone of Sophie instead, I believe that the film would have been a lot better had it been left on a more ambiguous note and not included the final scene. 

Directors/Inspiration - Edgar Wright

Edgar Wright is a Director known for works such as Shaun of the Dead (2004), Hot Fuzz (2007) and Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2011). 

The reason I draw inspiration from a director like himself is because of his distinct visual style. A viewer can watch an Edgar Wright film and know that it was him who directed it.

I personally love Edgar Wright because of his originality and his ability to take something that has been done a million times before and create something completely new and original out of it. For example, this scene from Hot Fuzz has the character relocate from London to Sandford. 

This is a type of scene that has been done thousands of times in the past, particularly in comedies. The reason this scene is different is because of how unique and original it is. In most comedy films in which the character needs to travel to another city; the film will usually have some helicopter shots of the car the character is in and some shots of familiar landmarks that are recognizable to the viewer whilst being accompanied by some up-beat cheery pop-song. 

Whereas in Hot Fuzz, the transitions between scenes are very quick and jarring to the viewer. The scene is also only 36 seconds long, it uses each of those seconds effectively by showing important things to the character. For example, the characters emotion, The character is clearly shown to be disappointed/depressed by his move from the city (this is much more effective when the viewer has context that he is a very dedicated policeman who loves where he works). The scene also shows a number of props/landmarks that are important: the plant that the main character is holding is often reincorporated into the story and is used multiple time throughout the movie, the phone shows the character's transition from a city to a more rural area (as seen by the phone losing signal throughout the scene), and the camera show important landmarks that are reincorporated into the story throughout the movie. For example, the model village sign shows the area's most famous landmark (this is important to the viewers impression of the area as a model village wouldn't be that much of an attraction to most people and would seem boring to most individuals). The model village is also shown later in the film during a fight scene where the village is used as a weapon of sorts. The giant clock tower is also shown during the scene, this is another landmark that is later incorporated into the film in a way that I won't mention in order to not spoil the film. I believe that theses are all effective uses of screen time as the viewer is unaware that these things will be incorporated into the film at a later time, as opposed to many films which show or tell the viewer something for the blatant reason of using it at a later point in the film. Like World War Z for example, the first scene has to shoehorn the fact that one of the children needs an inhaler, I believe this can ruin certain moments of the film as it is extremely obvious to the viewer that the child will need an inhaler later in the film (which she does). Furthermore, the landmarks that are shown actually have some kind of importance to the story, whereas in most other comedies/films, the landmarks are usually shown just to take up screen time and to show the viewer something that they will recognize.

Edgar Wright often creates a layer of originality within his films that make them instantly recognizable to the view and makes them realize that it was Edgar Wright who directed the film (or the scene). For example, Edgar Wright was signed on to write and direct Marvel's Ant-Man, before he was replaced (due to creative differences) with the director of Peyton Reed. It is clear to the viewer of Marvel films that the director has little creative freedom as Marvel clearly has a winning formula that they do not want to stray too far from. However, what makes Edgar Wright a great director is his originality which is clearly recognizable to the viewer; this is shown in a few scenes of Ant-Man. For example, there are a number of scenes that definitely explore the ideas that would have been expanded on by the previous director/writer Edgar Wright. More specifically there are two fight scenes and a story-telling scenes that create new and original ways to expand upon the types of scenes we have all seen before. 

While most movies/directors would usually have this type of scene shown as a flashback where the editors/directors would use the actors dialogue, Edgar Wright has Michael Pena's character voice over all of the actors while they talk, this is a very original and entertaining scene where in classic Edgar Wright fashion, a scene that we have all seen before has been altered to be new and refreshing. 

Furthermore, this scene also from Ant-Man uses the environment in a very interesting and funny way that still manages to stay relevant to the story.

This scene has the two characters fight around a miniature toy train-set. This manages to perfectly blend comedy and action as there are moments in which the camera pans out and shows that they are fighting on a toy set and provides a brief moment of comedy in what, in other films, would be a tense fight as the whole movie has been leading up to this fight with the main antagonist of the movie. I believe that this fits the tone of the film, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe perfectly as it blends comedy and action in the perfect way (similar to the rest of the modern Marvel films). I believe that Edgar Wright knows that, ultimately, this film has no stakes to it and everybody knows that the main character is in no actual danger, and therefore he makes the final fight scene entertaining rather than making it tense for the viewer. 

Backup Film Inspiration - The Inbetweeners

The Inbetweeners is a great source of inspiration to me because of the way that the characters speak and interact with each other. The Inbetweeners is constantly praised for being being relatable, and I believe this is because of the camera work, dialogue, acting, and the way that the characters speak. 

Firstly, I believe that the camera work is a big contributor to what makes the show so enjoyable and relatable. Almost every shot in the Inbetweeners, the lighting is very dim and gloomy as to represent the weather in England, which is what contributes to the show being relatable to English people. Furthermore, the cinematography in the show is fairly basic which I feel compliments the show as it makes the show feel much more natural and compliments the comedy very well. For example, this scene from the Inbetweeners:

There is nothing too complex about the camera work which makes the scene feel much more natural (there is also no music in the background which compliments the scene well). If you compare this to the scene in the American remake of the Inbetweeners, you can see that the camera work is much more complex with uses of crane shots, which I feel takes away from the scene and makes it feel like much more of a production as opposed to a realistic interaction between people. 

Furthermore the dialogue between the characters is one of the aspects that make the show great. The way that the characters interact and talk to each other is very realistic and relatable, I would like to emulate this type of dialogue in my film. I believe that this could be achieved through a slight improvisational tone to the dialogue as opposed to a more set-in-stone script that would feel more scripted and unnatural. 

Backup Film Inspiration - End of Watch

End of Watch (2012) is a film directed by David Ayer, and starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena. The film is shot in a documentary-style as Gyllenhaal's characters has enrolled himself in a film making class and films him and his partners every movement while they are in the force.  

The main reason this film is a source of inspiration to me is because of the acting and dialogue between the two main characters. The interactions between the characters are extremely realistic and feels like you are watching two cops who have genuinely been best friends for years. The director estimated that about 90% of the dialogue was improvised between Gyllenhaal and Pena, which gives a much more natural feel to the dialogue and interactions to the point where the film actually feels like it's a documentary with conversations of two actual people, which further gives credit to the performance of the two main actors.

Although the film does contrast the realism with what happens to the main characters throughout the film as they continually 'happen' to stumble upon huge crimes that they solve themselves, like entering a burning building to save children before firefighters arrive or stumbling upon multiple scenes that involve a giant ring of cartel crimes that range from torture to murder where the two main characters find a house that has a large group of people locked up inside for example. 

However, these events may draw the viewer away from  the realism, but they manage to keep the film fresh and interesting. Furthermore, the two characters are what ultimately keep the viewers watching as they have very interesting personalities, but they are also not what most people would consider 'straight cops' despite the good that the two do (like saving children from a burning building). For example, their is a scene that has Pena solve a domestic dispute claim by challenging the abuser to a fist fight while Gyllenhaal watches and cheers his best friend on instead of calling the crime in. This adds a fresh view that isn't often seen in movies, where the main characters are essentially the protagonists that still do relatively bad things.

The main reason this film is inspiration to me is because of the extremely natural dialogue and the interactions between the two main characters. I don't wish to achieve the serious nature of the film itself, but rather the style of dialogue between the two main characters as it is definitely the best part of the movie. I believe if I can achieve this standard of interaction between my characters, the film will be interesting to watch.

Backup Film Inspiration - Moon

The next main piece of inspiration for my backup movie is the film Moon (2009), directed by Duncan Jones and starring Sam Rockwell. Moon is a film about an astronaut called Sam Bell who is nearing the end of his 3 year stint working on the Moon delivering  resources to Earth that supply the planet its power based off of components found in Moon rocks. Where the film gets more interesting is the point at which Sam becomes gravely ill and encounters an exact lookalike of himself with the same name and the same memories. 


This leads to a double performance by Sam Rockwell as he discovers a 'clone' of himself. The film becomes increasingly interesting when Sam and his clone both try to discover what is happening as they are both isolated on the moon with only a robot named Gerty (voiced by Kevin Spacey) for companionship. 

The movie is interesting and extremely well made as it manages to keep the audience captivated the whole way through its run time of 1 hour and 37 minutes with only one character and a robot who's can only shows hints of emotion through smiley faces on a screen. The main reason the film is captivating is because of the main story of the characters trying to find out the mystery of what is happening on the moon, and the side-story arc of the two main characters interacting with each other as they have very different looks and personalities despite them being 'the same person'. 

The look and personality of the characters are very distinct from each other (even though they are the same person) which is a source of inspiration to me because it creates interesting character arcs and development and a sense of conflict or at least variety between the main characters. The two astronauts are different because the clone has a much 'cleaner' look too him as his hair is done and his clothes are clean, whereas the original Sam has had to cut his own hair due to him being alone on the moon, furthermore, the original Sam has fallen gravely ill and his skin has started to turn grey and there are visible cuts and injuries towards the main character. This creates a sense of variety between the characters that keeps the film fresh (the original Sam's condition continually deteriorates throughout the movie). Additionally, the personality of the two Sam's are fairly varied as one has been isolated on the moon for the best part of 3 years, this is shown when the two characters interact with each other as they have distinct personalities as the 'clone' Sam shows the type of person Sam was 3 years ago, whereas the original Sam shows the type of person he has become after 3 years of isolation. This is a very good source of inspiration as it adds variety to the characters to keep the film fresh; I would like to have this method used in my short film where I will have my actor play multiple different characters, but each of them will have slight changes to their look and to their personality so that the actor essentially plays an exact lookalike that wears different clothe, has a slight difference in his personality and different hairstyles etc.   

Another source of inspiration to me is because of the double role played by Sam Rockwell and the interesting techniques the movie uses to have the character interact with himself. For example, this scene of the movie cleverly displays the main character having a game a table tennis with his clone. 

These techniques are likely too advance for me to achieve on my own and without the use of  a team of experienced people behind me as this scene requires CG to have that seem less look of him playing table tennis, but it does inspire me to add some kind of movement with characters on screen. 

Backup Film Inspiration - Legend

The main inspiration for my backup film is Legend, Directed by Brian Helgeland and starring Tom Hardy. The film has Tom Hardy play two characters, identical twins Ronnie and Reggie Kray, who are successful London gangsters. While the film itself is rather lackluster due to the main focus on Reggie Kray's marriage with a background focus on the much more entertaining and interesting gangster life and the relationship between the two twins; the film does still have merits due to Tom Hardy's performance and some well made and interesting scenes in the movie. In particular, any fight scene in the movie is very well made with good choreography and good cinematography. The movie is especially notable for the way that scenes are made with Tom Hardy on the screen twice, which makes the fight scene between the two twins very interesting to watch.

Unfortunately, none of the fight scenes are on YouTube, but this scene shows how the film has two characters on screen at the same time. It is achieved very well and blends smoothly to the point where the viewer cannot tell that it is two separate shots.

This is the type of effect that I would like to achieve in my backup film as it is very effective, and if it is done simply, it can be a very effective and easy effect to achieve.

The effect is achieved by having an actor and a stand in act out the scene on camera, then the actors swap places and read out the opposite lines. The only way this can work is to have the camera in the exact same place in each shot so the they can be edited seamlessly on top of each other. Then, during post-production, you can edit out the stand in and replace them with the actor to make it seem like they are having a conversation with themselves or a twin. As long as the actor has a stand in to read lines and the camera is kept in the same place, it is a relatively easy effect to edit and achieve which is why I have chosen this effect to be in my backup film as it still demonstrates a lot of skill without being too complicated. 

Backup Film

During the post-production of my first film (It Watches), I thought that it would be a smart idea to start filming a second backup film that would be a lot easier to make in the event that my first film would not live up to my expectations and in case I would not be able to amend the film through simple re-shoots or editing.

As I was editing my first film, it became clear that there were problems during production that would require re-shoots to fix; this is what gave me the idea to have a back-up film in preparation if my first film would not create the atmosphere and reaction that I hope. 

The backup film will be a rather simple idea that revolves around one character and a small room as the set, ensuring that the least amount of things can go wrong as the backup film is supposed to be safe.

The backup film will be based off of the the 2015 film Legend starring Tom Hardy. The reason I am basing my backup film off of Legend is because Tom Hardy plays two different characters (Reggie and Ronnie Kray). My backup film will revolve around a main character having a conversation with himself/his conscience. My plan will be to use editing and camera techniques to have the main character appear on screen twice in the same shot. This effect is relatively easily achieved with editing software such as Final Cut Pro X as the software allows the user to have a picture-in-picture effect with two different videos being on screen at once. 

If I have a stand-in and an actor go through dialogue together and then have them swap places and say the opposite lines, I can edit the video to make it seem as though the main actor is having a conversation with an identical twin (or with himself).