A young woman expresses herself through dance while she awaits her husband’s homecoming. Her past lingers on; and she struggles to prove to the world that her husband had promised to return one day. The wait takes longer than expected and she gives up before the happy ending.
Logline
I would like to explore the raw emotions and terrible complexities that a woman goes through, while her husband is away serving the Nation.
Project brief
Through the tale of a woman I want to look at the feelings of those families who send their sons, brothers or husbands on missions for serving the country.
My neighbor’s son was selected for Navy, and left home for the same at a very young age. His parents were proud of his career. I remember them bragging about him leaving for a huge mission for the country. The family was not given any other information for two years. Then suddenly, out of the blue the news came that his ship had been missing for 7 months, this devastated the family. Apparently there were search operations being carried out for those men. It’s been 17 year now and it’s the same information they get from the department. Hope is their fuel; the parents are still waiting for their son to return.
Men who are serving the nation are at constant emotional war with themselves and their close ones but they choose their duties for the state over their family. But here, I wish to study the conflict which drives the sentiments of the woman who is in depression while waiting for her man’s homecoming.
Being a wife of a soldier itself has many battles of its own. They agonize to the peak that their husbands will never return back. Several brides don’t see their husbands for years after their marriage. Sometimes the wait is too long and the consequences are uncanny. Sons and daughters forget their fathers face and the families go through a rough time.I am very sensitive to unexpected situations so I also want to explore the repetition of letting out her feelings through dance which will demonstrate unusual emotions trailed by different events that take place every time.
I chose this matter for my diploma film not only because I am personally moved by it but also to illustrate the saga of eerie wait as an artist to the world.
Why?
I knew about my neighbors absence for a while now but it was in the last two weeks that I realized how much pain the family is in, while the son was away to serve the country. The proud parents now had been waiting for their son for long years. The couple has renounced every desire to live but still they wait eagerly.
There can definitely be no rationalization for the love they had for their son and the agony they are going through now.
As I progress with my research on the psychology of waiting wives I get lost in the purpose of this film. This subject is not just filmy to me but the fact of emotionally involving in it is the main reason why I would like to continue taking it forward. I don’t want to show the fault of the departments who keep the families in the dark but it is exactly what caused this disturbance.
Through my film I am not leaving a message to the audience but make them wonder in awe while I take them on a journey.
Approach
Narrative
Cinematically I would like to keep this film in a loop. The same scene of the woman dancing will follow through after every event. The silhouette of this dance reflecting on the window is the reaction within the woman to the events that take place while she waits for her husband.
I want the narrative of the film to pull back the audience and sympathies with my character’s reaction and speculate why she gives up, just before the happy end. ‘What happens next?’ and the twist at the end should keep the audience’s interest intact.
Visual style
The film will be done in 3d digital format in addition to compositing. The entire film will take place inside an apartment and all the props will be modeled within the software.
With this kind of subject it’s hard to find references of films in the Indian techniques of animation. I want to style my character as a modern Indian woman. She is a simple housewife who, with the trauma of waiting has grown thin. There are dark circles beneath her eyes and a dull look on her face.
Though I will texture the props in chirpy colors but if required, with the lighting I could make them dull to create drama. I want to explore different lighting techniques in various scenes as the mood changes. Mostly it will be in the day but while the dance I want to play with back or rim light for the intensity of her emotions.
Sound
In my film I would like to bring out the isolation strongly and concentrate on the sound to enhance it. Since the pace of the film is really slow the music will be soft. I will use ambient sound and will avoid the lip syncing the dialogues to reduce the effort and yet retain the quality.
References
Readings
The waiting years by Fumiko Enchi
Someone I love, died (helping child grieve) - illustrated
A love story starring my dead best friend- by Emily Horner
Animator’s anonymous Blogs,
Short video clips and discussions
Sameerkulavoor.com for style
Diary of a mad woman
Movies
IndependenceDay Children of men
Pearl Harbor
Brief encounter- David Lean
Border- J. P Dutta
Two women- Vittorio De Sica
Learning outcome
By the end of this project I wish to study a lot of things beyond the software exploration itself. Till now I have not worked with emotions much as it was the tricky part, but now I take up the challenge to explore that. I would like to connect with my character and put in my emotions into it while I understand the subject and the medium.
Technically I also yearn for simple movements and impressive key frames. But truly I want to work under pressure to keep in mind the deadlines and achieve the desired results in the given time.
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