forum I dunno if this is a good idea but...
Started by @n o s t r a d a m u s location_city
tune

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@n o s t r a d a m u s location_city

I haven't posted on here in YEARS but I just wanna gauge interest in a concept I came up with to see if I should even bother writing it. Basically, I just dropped out of this crappy inner-city film school and I've been thinking about the secret history for a solid five years, so i kinda wanted to combine the two.

The logline I've got at the moment is this:
Five film students at a grimy South Melbourne art school get more than they bargained for when their assigned grad film topic leads down the dark rabbit hole of the low budget film industry.

In terms of plot I'm thinking something akin to the bacchanal plot in tsh. Basically they set out to simply make a documentary about the Melbourne underground film scene but eventually they get sucked into all of the goings on and are commissioned to make a snuff film by some pretty high up people. All of this carrying the undercurrent of how the failures of the teacher become the failures of the student and how, generally speaking, arts schools never really prepare you for the realities of your chosen area. Can you tell I'm jaded about my old uni? haha

Obviously, the paths each of the students take lead them to damnation - as is custom in the dark academia genre at large. Although instead of the ivy league wasp aesthetic of most DA literature, I want to focus in on the punky, student loan debt, doc marten wearing side of academia that actually occurs in most art schools.

General characterisations go as follows (none of them have names as of yet but they're all mostly based on people I know):

  • The pedantic and overbearing DOP who'll argue about anything, has hair like Jesus, and definitely likes hanging out in the bathrooms at parties a little too much if you catch my drift. Where does one draw the line between getting the best shot and creating the best shot?
  • The Director who can't hide the fact that he has older sisters, spends all his free time at the pub, and has an emotional attachment to his belt chain. If he's and alcoholic now, what will he be when things get dicey?
  • The older jaded mum-friend Producer/1st AD who's had plenty of bad experiences with men, and enjoys going against the grain of her hyper-religious immigrant parents. How far is she willing to push that rebellious streak, I wonder?
  • The plucky poser Sound guy, whose never had to work a day in his life, and definitely dresses too much like the director for it to be a mere coincidence. Does he have a crush maybe?
  • And the Editor/Continuity, who might be the only crew member with their life together. Then again, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Like all good snuff films, there will be death, there will be blood, and there will be shaky-cam.
Would you read about it though?