Group Meeting

 Today was my first group meeting!

 I got to talk with four other students which all gave me very useful insight into my project. The dilemma I was facing was coming up with scenes to film. My initial idea was for the story to take place in a house where the woman is hiding with the kidnapped child. During the five minutes of the short film, she will be inside the house with the cops surrounding them where she reflects on her life and ultimately turns herself in. However, my classmates explained that it might be a little hard to feel empathy for the main character if she kidnaps a kid from the start. Instead, they suggested that her kidnapping take place at the end, where the audience has already formed an emotional attachment to the character. Another piece of advice they gave me was to use flashbacks sparingly, or else it may confuse the audience from constantly shifting between past and present. 

With all of their advice in mind, I have a much better idea as to how I want to portray this story. The story will begin with her taking a kid around town and when she sees certain objects she will have a brief flashback. Within the first minutes, it will become apparent to the audience that the kid is not hers and she has kidnapped him. The next minute will become overwhelmed with paranoia and guilt as she realizes what she has done. When she goes to the police station to turn herself in, it is revealed that there was no kid. The main character was in fact struggling with mental health issues after dealing with the loss of her son, so this was her coping mechanism. 

I really like this new idea because it is easier to humanize this character as well as give the audience a plot twist. However, I am so indecisive that I will come back on tomorrow and see if there is anything else I want to change!