Production Documentation

U-Turn

By Brandon Shears

A collection of pre-production documents showcasing my work for my final major project, "U-Turn". A short film about a strained relationship between a son and his mother.

MOOD BOARD

The images below helped inspire me when trying to grasp a mood for my short film. They mostly help visualise key aspects of the story, especially the location, while also pulling on relevant short films that follow a similar style to the one I hope to achieve.

Shot from the recent Charlie Kaufman, "I'm Thinking of Ending Things". His work has always been a huge inspiration for me, and the parallels between this and U-Turn is quite striking. Two characters stuck in a car together with dialogue that seems meaningless but symbolises everything.

The main location for the film will be a narrow country road, hopefully, like the one as seen above. To me, these roads are always the most dangerous to drive along due to how narrow they are. Which makes them a great place for the "car crash" that ignites the main story.

The car eventually crashing within the film helps symbolise the broken relationship between the two characters. And while they make "peace" at the end, like an overturned car, the damage has already been done

The quaintness of the British countryside helped inspire me for the premise of the film. Its peacefulness is something we all strive to achieve to a certain extent, especially the characters within U-Turn.

One of my favourite films from last year, "A Marriage Story" is another film that hit a cord with me. The way the scene above escalates into these two characters screaming so much unwarranted hate is how I envision Damon (main character) and his mother arguing with one another.

As an aspiring editor, I really want to take the opportunity with my FMP to focus in on some techniques that hopefully help me develop as an editor. One aspect is using the actors' eyes to help guide and communicate emotion through them.

SCRIPT BREAKDOWN

(ACT 1&2)

The establishing shot of the film will most likely utilize a drone to capture an aerial shot of the car. It’s important to communicate that the car is driving away; rather than heading towards something. Which is why I envision that the car will be moving away from the camera as it drives along the country road. This ties in well with where the main character is emotionally at this current moment.

We’re now introduced to the main character, Damon. Immediately, the audience will hopefully tell he’s in some distress. His clothing indicates that he got dressed in a rush, not thinking about style but more the practicality of getting changed to get out as quickly as possible. Furthermore, his facial expression clearly shows his focus on the road. His eyes will be the best gateway into the turmoil that’s happening within his head; a tool that I’ll be using throughout the film with the actors.

With the car, I took inspiration from my own. Because it’s a fairly old model, it doesn’t come with any Bluetooth nor an aux. So for the last three years of driving, I’ve built up quite an array of CD’s. And since the idea of U-Turn came to me while I was listening to music in my car, I thought it would be appropriate to work it into the film. Plus, I’ve always loved the physicality of the medium compared to digital. I think it creates a stronger, emotional connection because you can hold it within your hands. While it’s not in this current version of the script, I would want to allude to the fact that Damon’s father burned the CD for him and gave it as a gift. This would not only explain why Damon’s not using Bluetooth/aux, it also gives the impression of a strong bond between Damon and his father.

The phone ringing plays a crucial factor in the film. It’s not only causation of Damon’s “crash”, it also symbolises his mother trying to reach out to Damon. Not just in this current moment, but as a mother in genuinel. Which is why it’s so important that at the start of the film, Damon rejects the call.

Damon’s decision to grab his phone is essentially the key choice he makes that starts him down his journey of acceptance. If he would’ve left the phone, none of the events that now follow would’ve transpired.

Visually, I would love this whole scene could be shot in one shot. The logistics of this would be difficult, but I think it would really ground the film in reality which is an excellent contrast to the more fantastical elements when Damon’s mother appears.

When the film flashes to white, the title card for U-Turn will appear, as the main story kicks into action.

Opening the conversation between Damon and his mother talking about spahgetti is purposely nuanced. It helps show the escalation between the pair as we delve deeper into each character’s psychi as the film continues. Sometimes it’s the little things that lead to the biggest turmoil. The fact that Damon quickly becomes so frustrated shows the unfair treatment that he gives his mother. She’s only trying to make conversation. But on the flip side, perhaps she shouldn’t flaunting her new man, especially since she knows how torn up Damon is over his father leaving. Both characters struggle to find any common ground between them, due to Damon’s unwillginess or his Mother’s ingurnece.

When the pair do finally open up about their true feelings, they’re both drowned out from one another. This is the build-up of not only this specific argument, but years of repression and frustration. It’s almost therapeutic for both of them as in a weird sense they both being honest with each for the first time in what might be a lifetime. This burst is really the cornerstone of healing that happens between Damon and his mother. Now that it’s all up in the open, there’s nothing else they can hide behind.

sTORYBOARDS

(OPENING SCENE)