love story (booklet: process documentation) by janice cheung

INT. STUDIO 1 & INT. SEMINAR 1 bridge 4: archetypes remixed

11.03.2021 - 12.01.2021

love story

a film by

Janice Cheung created in Botson, MA & New York, NY

CONTENTS

LOVE STORY A FILM BY JANICE CHEUNG

(2021)

INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE FILM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 03

STAGE 1: DEVELOPMENT ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MOODBOARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MOVIE (& POSTER) REFERENCES: psychological horror & romance INITIAL IDEAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . .

06 07 08 09 10

STAGE 2: PRE-PRODUCTION & POST-PRODUCTION STORYBOARD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MOCKUP VIDEO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SCREENPLAY: LOVE STORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EDITING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . .

12 13 14 18

STAGE 3: DISTRIBUTION POSTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 SHORT ART FILM: LOVE STORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

STAGE 4: REFELCTION EVALUATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 CREDITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

ABOUT THE FILM

INTRODUCTION

love story is a short film about the relationship between GIRL 1 and GIRL 2 (played by Aviela Berk & Sade Ajas) and how it turns out to be not as romantic as you might think. The art film experiments with the archetypes of psychological horror films and attempts to break the stereotypical “look” and “plot” while still aiming to leave the audience unsettled afterwards.

STAGE 1: DEVELOPMENT

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Park, Michelle. “The Aesthetics and Psychology Behind Horror Films.” Undergraduate Honors College Theses 2016-, Long Island University. 2018. Chapter 1: The Allure of Horror Film (pg 3-12). https://digitalcommons.liu.edu/post_honors_theses/31. In this first chapter “The Allure of Horror Film” of Park’s Honors Program Thesis on “The Aesthetics and Psychology Behind Horror Films”, she examines several psychological theories and aspects to reveal why humans are driven to enjoy horror movies. This chapter talks about the few theories she has on why humans watch horror films and how it attracts us, subconscious mind, catharsis, curiosity and fascination, thrill-seeking, a reflection of our fears, etc. are some of the concepts that have been proposed. She also talks about why people choose to watch fiction (especially horror) films over documentaries. Through this chapter, Parks gets straight to the point of how and why people are attracted to horror movies and what makes this genre appealing by making use of multiple theories from philosophers, psychoanalysts, and psychologists (e.g. Glenn D. Walters’ “Understanding the Popular Appeal of Horror Cinema: An Integrated-Interactive Model”) to support her reasons. Park also used examples of popular genres/themes in horror movies to support her point. This research is a useful source for its credible information. Quite a few points from Park’s thesis and the theories that she mentioned could be very valuable for a project that explores what makes the horror genre alluring and what the important/significant elements of horror films are. Quoting this source could be a relatively reliable way to support areas that examine techniques that can terrify audiences. This source also provides a good series of theories from different philosophers, psychoanalysts, and psychologists that can be further investigated if needed. This source could help shape the plot and shots of the short psychological horror film less traditionally and in a way that it is less predictable and expected by the audience. 06

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR? “Psychological horror is a subgenre of horror and psychological fiction with a particular focus on mental, emotional, and psychological states to frighten, disturb, or unsettle its audience. The subgenre frequently overlaps with the related subgenre of psychological thriller, and often uses mystery elements and characters with unstable, unreliable, or disturbing psychological states to enhance the suspense, drama, action, and paranoia of the setting and plot and to provide an overall unpleasant, unsettling, or distressing atmosphere.”

- “Psychological horror,” Wikipedia, Accessed November 09, 2021. https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_horror.

2. Ballon, Bruce and Molyn Leszcz. “Horror Films: Tales to Master Terror Or Shapers of Trauma?” American Journal of Psychotherapy 61, no. 2 (2007): 211-30. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly journals/horror-films-tales-master-terror-shapers-trauma/docview/213111589/se-2?accountid =12261. The authors, Ballon and Leszcz, discuss and reflect on cinematic neurosis while reviewing cinematic-related psychiatric case reports. Ballon and Leszcz use the horror movie, “The Exorcist”, as one of their main examples to explain how horror films could act as a stressor for cases of cinematic neurosis. They presented the case of a twenty-two-year-old woman (Ms X) who “presented intrusive thoughts of demonic possession and flashbacks of the film”. This particular movie is also used to explain how real-life events can be embedded in a movie’s narrative (e.g. characters, symbols, etc.) and how these elements could act as a trauma to the audience while taking into consideration the person’s personality structure and experience with stress. Through this text, Ballon and Leszcz offer insights into case studies and get straight to the point by referencing relevant clinical cases and studies because the goal of this text is to report and discuss the symptoms caused by the trauma of watching a horror film. This text is considered to be a scholarly source, therefore, it is an informative text and a very useful source because of its objectivity and credibility. Cases mentioned in this text could be very valuable for a project which explores human behaviours after watching horror films. Several ideas mentioned, such as how the home is the setting of the movie and how a lot of horror film narratives “set up basic oppositions within”, would help generate ideas on how to break the archetypes of horror films. This text also provides important and helpful information on the movie “The Exorcist” that could assist in expanding ideas and concepts while working on this project. The real-life example mentioned in this source could lead to new ideas for the plot of a short psychological horror film and allow me to think about the reactions I hope to get after screening this short film. 07

MOODBOARD Below is a moodboard created to showcase the stereotypical “look” of the horror genre, including movies and illustrations. Links/ References: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/YQJPd. Staake, Bob. “Hell Train.” The New Yorker. July 31, 2017. Accessed November 10 , 2021. https://www. newyorker.com/culture/cover-story/cover-story-2017-08-07. “Poltergeist (1982).” IMDb. https:// www.imdb.com/title/tt0084516/. “The Silence of the Lambs (1991).” IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102926/. Cavalcanti, João Pedro Alves. “Suspiria (2018) movie poster.” Behance. Accessed November 10 , 2021. https://www.beh a n ce . n e t / g a l l e r y / 7 0 2 5 9 8 7 5 / Suspiria-(2018)-movie-poster.v

ARTIST STUDY: STEVEN RHODES Steven Rhodes is a Brisbane, Australia-based illustrator and graphic designer. He is hugely interested in mid-century modernism and kids book design from the 1970s and 1980s work. He began to experiment with curved borders, typeface and overall design of the era. He then combined that interest with subversive horror themes to produce and create darkly humorous retro designs. In the two posters below, a relatively stereotypical typeface is used for the title. The overall tone of the poster design is relatively dark and a black background. Looking into how Rhodes changes the posters of horror movies into witty graphic designs, one of my initial ideas for this project was to recreate some psychological horror movies in the style of romance movies. “TDK Original Interview: Steven Rhodes.” The Design Kids. November 2018. Accessed November 10, 2021. https://thedesignkids.org/interviews/steven-rhodes/. posters from https://www.stevenrhodes.com.au/. 08

MOVIE (& POSTER) REFERENCES: psychological horror & romance Here is a series of psychological horror and romance movies I looked into, especially the poster designs, taking notes of what the common elements are in both genres.

Links/ References: Black Swan (2010): https://www.imdb.com/ title/tt0947798/ & https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Black_Swan_(film) Cam (2018): https://www.imdb.com/title/ tt8361028/ Daniel Isn’t Real (2019): https://www.imdb. com/title/tt8745960/ Get Out (2017): https://www.imdb.com/title/ tt5052448/ & https://www.amazon.com/POSTER-ORIGINAL-JORDAN-DANIEL-KALUUYA/ dp/B06XG94T7P Gone Girl (2014): https://www.imdb.com/ title/tt2267998/ Midsommar (2019): https://www.imdb.com/ title/tt8772262/ mother! (2017): https://www.imdb.com/title/ tt5109784/ Split (2016): https://www.imdb.com/title/ tt4972582/ Us (2019): https://www.universalpictures. com/movies/us & https://www.imdb.com/title/ tt6857112/ About Time (2013): https://www.imdb.com/ title/tt2194499/ Begin Again (2013): https://www.imdb.com/ title/tt1980929/ Call Me By Your Name (2017): https://www. imdb.com/title/tt5726616/ Don Jon (2013): https://www.imdb.com/title/ tt2229499/ Ghost (1990): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ File:Ghost_(1990_movie_poster).jpg Love Actually (2003): https://www.imdb.com/ title/tt0314331/ Marriage Story (2019): https://www. latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/ story/2019-08-20/marriage-story-teaser-trailers-netflix Me Before You (2016): https://www.imdb. com/title/tt2674426/ Silver Linings Playbook (2012): https://www. imdb.com/title/tt1045658/ The Fault in Our Stars (2014): https://www. imdb.com/title/tt2582846/ The Notebook (2004): https://www.imdb. com/title/tt0332280/

INITIAL IDEAS EDITING IDEAS * break traditions, don’t follow typical approaches • colour grading: warm tones (X cool & dark vibes) • lighting: bright, spotlights? • music: more intimate and sweet but turns out to be not romantic • captions: e.g. (music playing) (indistinct conversations)

GENERAL SHOT (SCENE) IDEAS • clipping fingernails > blood dripping • camera angles: shoot subjects from a lower angle, appear taller and larger, creating a sense of glory and superiority, power!! • “i love you” > words start falling down > transition into raindrops/blood dripping - inspiration from “If anything happens I love you”

INITIAL PLOT IDEAS 1. Scene from nightmare comes to life • start out with a person sleeping > transition to dream/nightmare scene > person never wakes up OR keeps waking up to it happening in real life * presenting it as a fake event but turns up being real (fantasy vs reality) • developed idea 1: married couple (they already have a relationship), could be the husband is having a nightmare where his wife is trying to poison him and he wakes up and the wife is dead next to him, so it reveals that the guy killed the wife and the wife is getting revenge (haunting him?) insomnia; intimate scene but turns out to be a more gruesome scene 2. No reflection in the mirror • self-doubt/struggle with the sense of identity • questioning one’s existence 3. Hypnotise someone, and can’t snap them out of it • brainwashing (?) inspired by the hypnosis scene from “Get Out”, the idea of the Sunken Place 4. Every time you wake up, you’re a different person • movie reference: SPLIT - a man with 24 different personalities who kidnaps and imprison three teenage girls in an isolated underground facility 5. Meeting imaginary friend • only you see the “friend” but at one point everyone starts seeing the same “friend” • inability to distinguish between fantasy and reality * more action, fewer dialogues - show the audience what the characters are afraid of * NO jump scares * play with point of views (to express different sides of the story) 10

STAGE 2: PRE-PRODUCTION & POST-PRODUCTION

STORYBOARD MORE DEVELOPED PLOT (combination of 1, 2 & 5) * starts out with man’s pov * • romantic scenes between the couple (e.g. going to movies, linking arms, date at a restaurant, etc.) • cooking lovey-dovey scene, the wife walks by: thinks he’s cooking with wife, sees his wife • BUT he’s actually cutting his wife’s body and cooking it, wife peeks over the shoulder and sees body parts • flashes of horrific stuff - little slip-ups * transition to wife’s pov * • 180-degree view/flip from up; reverse order of what happened to the wife * wife’s pov * • wife runs to the mirror and realises she has no reflection (?) • elevator shot: wtf did u see that?! moment * moment of truth??? * (could be from the general public’s view) • from everyone’s pov, they can’t see the wife • imaginary wife - because he killed his wife • intimate scene but turns out to be a more gruesome scene (transition reference: Criminal Minds S3:E2 In Name and Blood: intro) • eventually finds out that he actually murdered the wife

MOCKUP VIDEO SCAN QR CODE below to view mock up video

^ link to YouTube: ^ street view (day / night) https://youtu.be/JkqF7fQevSY (wide shot, still)

^ couple walking down the street (wide shot, still)

^ couple at a restaurant, a date (wide shot, still)

^ couple at a restaurant (cont.) (cowboy shot)

^ couple at a restaurant, a date (medium full shot > medium shot)

^ boy comes home, warm setting (cowboy shot, tracking)

^ boy cuts various ingredients (close up)

^ girl running to mirror, in shock (medium shot)

links/references for mock up: movie scenes from About Time (2013). https:// www.netflix.com/title/70261674. cutting ingredients scene from YouTube: “The Only Knife Skills Guide You Need” by Joshua Weissman (00:03:45-00:04:00). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoqVGdmVlKk. stove scene from YouTube: “How to Prevent & Douse a Kitchen Fire | Deep-Frying” by Howcast (00:01:25-00:01:28). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fD1hkfubKE.

Lessons from the Screenplay. “Gone Girl — Don’t Underestimate the Screenwriter.” YouTube. June 8, 2016. Accessed December 04, 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF3lFPW4E1o&t=89s. In this video, Gone Girl is used as an example as the movie delivers a twisting, contemporary noir thriller using classic screenplay techniques. The channel delves into three of screenwriter Gillian Flynn’s strategies (efficient action lines, the last line is the point of the scene, and subplot character) to learn how and why they work so well. The video uses specific scenes from the movie to showcase how Flynn wrote the screenplay effectively. This video serves as a useful source because it offers a great analysis. The section on “effective action lines”, could be used as an inspiration and reference as to how I can write a compelling screenplay that offers good guidance for myself as I film the final product. This source allows me to explore how a good screenplay could be written to set the tone/mood of a film. This video and other videos from this channel could also be useful for future projects relating to film production. 13

SCREENPLAY

EDITING

^ screenshot of editing workspace on Adobe Premiere Pro

^ screenshot of colour grading workspace on Adobe Premiere Pro 18

STAGE 3: DISTRIBUTION

SECTION 4: FINAL PRODUCT

POSTER

SHORT ART FILM: LOVE STORY

00:00:13

00:01:08 22

00:01:53

^ SCAN QR CODE above t o view short film: love story

^ poster on door of classroom 23

link to YouTube: https://youtu.be/efgHuF2wIfw

STAGE 4: EVALUATION

EVALUATION

The main goal of my project is to challenge and break the archetypes of a psychological horror movie and the stereotypical “look” and “plot” while still creating a sense of unease. One of the objectives of this short film was to keep it less predictable and straightforward. The colour-grading of this film was one of the most important elements that contributed to the mood and tone of the film, and it successfully reflected the intention. The use of a movie poster and the placement on the door leading into the classroom also created an environment that feels like a movie premiere. One of the challenges of this project was to cast actors/actresses for my short film and to direct them. While I have created short films before for promotional and entertainment purposes, I have never developed a psychological horror storyline or written a screenplay for a short film before. Since I am gaining interest in film production (e.g. creative direction & photography/cinematography), there are still many fascinating areas for further exploration and experimentation. After receiving feedback from peers and my professor, I could work on the build-up of the murder scene. For example, close up shots of hands could be filmed and added to hint/lead up to the cut-up hands. The transition between the two scenes of cutting ingredients and Girl 2 realising the horrific reality was rather quick. In order to improve this, scenes showing how Girl 2 processes and registers what was happening could be added (e.g. showing of holding hand scene but flashes of how the other person isn’t there) to present a better buil-up to the reveal. Another comment was that they interpreted the meaning/backstory as Girl 1 wanted to be together with Girl 2 so badly that she killed her and literally consumed her. More documentation of the production stage of this project could have been recorded. I should keep this in mind while working on a film production-related project in the future as the production stages of this project are not as well documented compared to other stages.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Ables, Chris. “Halloween Movie Poster Series.” ArtStation. Accessed November 10, 2021. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/YQJPd. “About Time (2013).” IMDb. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2194499/. Ballon, Bruce and Molyn Leszcz. “Horror Films: Tales to Master Terror Or Shapers of Trauma?” American Journal of Psychotherapy 61, no. 2 (2007): 211-30. Accessed November 09, 2021. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/horror-films-tales-master-terror-shapers-trauma/docview/213111589/se 2?accountid=12261. “Begin Again (2013).” IMDb. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1980929/. “Black Swan (2010).” IMDb. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/. “Black Swan (film).” Wikipedia. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Swan_(film). “Call Me By Your Name (2017).” IMDb. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5726616/. “Cam (2018).” IMDb. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8361028/. Cavalcanti, João Pedro Alves. “Suspiria (2018) movie poster.” Behance. Accessed November 10 , 2021. https://www.behance.net/gallery/70259875/Suspiria (2018)-movie-poster. Curtis, Richard. “About Time (2013).” Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/title/70261674. “Daniel Isn’t Real (2019).” IMDb. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8745960/. “Don Jon (2013).” IMDb. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2229499/. “GET OUT MOVIE POSTER 2.” Amazon. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.amazon.com/POSTER-ORIGINAL-JORDAN-DANIEL-KALUUYA/dp/B06X G94T7P. “Get Out (2017).” IMDb. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5052448/. “Ghost (1990 film).” Wikipedia. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ghost_(1990_movie_poster).jpg. “Gone Girl (2014).” IMDb. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2267998/. Howcast. “How to Prevent & Douse a Kitchen Fire | Deep-Frying (00:01:25-00:01:28).” YouTube. Posted Jun 10, 2013. Accessed November 17, 2021. https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fD1hkfubKE. Lessons from the Screenplay. “Gone Girl — Don't Underestimate the Screenwriter.” YouTube. Posted June 8, 2016. Accessed December 04, 2021. https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=CF3lFPW4E1o&t=89s. “Love Actually (2003).” IMDb. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314331/. “Me Before You (2016).” IMDb. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2674426/. “Midsommar (2019).” IMDb. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8772262/. “mother! (2017).” IMDb. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5109784/. Park, Michelle. “The Aesthetics and Psychology Behind Horror Films.” Undergraduate Honors College Theses 2016-, Long Island University. 2018. Chapter 1: The Allure of Horror Film (pg 3-12). Accessed November 09, 2021. https://digitalcommons.liu.edu/post_honors_theses/31. Phillips, Emma Latham. “Cleon Peterson's new exhibition Blood & Soil attacks American politics head on.” It’s Nice That. 6 July 2018. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/cleon-peterson-blood-and-soil-art-060718. “Poltergeist (1982).” IMDb. Accessed November 10 , 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084516/. “Psychological horror.” Wikipedia. Accessed November 09, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_horror. D’Zurilla, Christie. “See 'Marriage Story' trailers with Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver.” Los Angeles Times. August 20, 2019. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-08-20/marriage-story-teaser-trailers-netflix. “Silver Linings Playbook (2012).” IMDb. Accessed November 10 , 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1045658/. “Split (2016).” IMDb. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4972582/. Staake, Bob. “Hell Train.” The New Yorker. July 31, 2017. Accessed November 10, 2021. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cover-story/cover-story-2017-08-07. “TDK Original Interview: Steven Rhodes.” The Design Kids. November 2018. Accessed November 10, 2021. https://thedesignkids.org/interviews/steven rhodes/. “The Fault in Our Stars (2014).” IMDb. Accessed November 10 , 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2582846/. “The Notebook (2004).” IMDb. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332280/. “The Silence of the Lambs (1991).” IMDb. Accessed November 10 , 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102926/. “Us (2019).” IMDb. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6857112/. “Us.” Universal Pictures. Accessed November 13, 2021. https://www.universalpictures.com/movies/us. Weissman, Joshua. “The Only Knife Skills Guide You Need (00:03:45-00:04:00).” YouTube. Posted Jan 20, 2020. Accessed November 17, 2021. https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=aoqVGdmVlKk.

love story

written, directed, produced, cinematography & edited by Janice Cheung songs “PEACHES ETUDE” Written By FINNEAS Piano by FINNEAS Copyright © Interscope Records & OYOY & “BONA FIDE / INTRO” produced by @jnkmsc / mix & mastered by @jnkmsc / lyrics by @jnkmsc performed by JUNNY cast GIRL 1 . . . Sade Ajas GIRL 2 . . . Aviela Berk props designed by Jocelyn Tsui special thanks to Kevin, Jocelyn, Caitlyn, Liia, Cheon Pyo Lee & Jaclyn Lovell

RELEASE DATE December 01, 2021

thank you :)

love story (booklet: process documentation)

Articles inside

WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR?

MOCKUP VIDEO

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

MOODBOARD

INITIAL IDEAS

STORYBOARD

CREDITS

EVALUATION