You know what the first thing I noticed about this place was? That people look at you in the eye. Like you're a real, living, breathing human being. I'm pretty sure I've had more eye contact in the last two months than I have in the last two years. I'm not kidding. The best thing? sometimes you meet their gaze and they fucking smile!

Ah, man... these fucking things. These are probably like the single thing I hate the most about this place. These and cash. I swear I can feel myself ageing every time I cross a fucking street. And you know, the worst bit is that I actually fucking wait—here, like a fucking idiot, just like everyone else. They make me feel bad about being a normal fucking human being that crosses the street when there are no cars. That's some next-level panoptical Foucault shit, you know? That we follow these fucking things. You shut your brain off at night for one second and suddenly you're standing in some corner, waiting for the light to change, when you could've just kept walking.

I want to have kids, I do—lots of them, actually. But how am I meant to provide for a family and be present if I'm all over Europe touring my DJ set or some shit? No one ever tells you when it's time to give up on what you really want to do with your life. It's just awkward—maybe my dad would, actually; I think he's the kinda guy that would bite that kinda bullet for me. It's also not desirable. I'm not gonna be like "ah, yeah, Tina? by the way, I can't see you for the next three months because I landed this sick residency in The Netherlands". But at the same time, it's like: "how is it possible that I can't do this one thing for myself? How do I get to the point that pursuing any kind of self-fulfilment sounds so outlandish, selfish—even fucking stupid?"

I used to be afraid of failing, or like, not being successful—whatever that means.
Things feel so simple when you're a kid. You kind of have no choice. You go to the next year, you do your exams and the next, then maybe new school, uni. But, everything is cut out for you—you just have to show up, and even that is assisted. You have this loose notion of what it is to become someone, but it's really quite meaningless. When do we grow old enough to know that we won't actually be astronauts or footballers or firefighters?
I guess at some point, everyday circumstances just get in the way and suddenly you're stuck in someplace you hate for the rest of your life, or if you're lucky like us, you face some kind of tough decision. And surely you have to be bold, and you have to be conscious, present. Because it's all those little moments, all the thing's in a day's work that make up your life and go on to shape the future. So, I'm not really scared of failure anymore. I think I'm maybe scared of being somewhere that keeps me far from the little moments that really mean everything. I'm scared of not trying, but I'm even more scared of not ever noticing that I didn't even try at all.

We always think that we'll be happy when we have this or that, but really, it's all smoke. "All the beauty is in the attempt".

we're always running out of time.

I remember being 16/17 and desperately wanting to be in a band and be famous. It felt like the only way. I was unhappy and confused then, but in my head, that was the only way out. It was a simple enough and clear goal. I don't even have that anymore.

I've always been very intense, full of dreams and goals, but I think that this new way that I've been feeling. It might be my very last crisis. I know I've had a lot of them, but this time it's different because I don't have anything to chase anymore, and I don't know how to get that desire back.

How do you know you're making the right choice, right? It seems so simple, but it's not! If you're passive about the decisions you make now, like today, you end up in a 9-to-5 limbo, like everybody else. I don't want that! I tried it. It sucks. Okay—some people don't even question themselves about what they really want!! They take the first easy way out without ever trying anything else. Do you know want that for yourself?

There were these couple of nights when I couldn't sleep. Then I couldn't

Who?
A twenty-something-year-old student of a creative field (I'm thinking artist, so it's not too specific) on exchange abroad, in Germany (we don't have to say where he's from). He has a confident, knowledgeable, and almost carelessness to him. He seemingly thinks a little too much of himself and can come off as almost pedantic, but we find out that he's scared, fragile, lost and disillusioned with his current state as an artist, a man, and a human.

What?
We follow our main character whilst on a walk, where he's talking to someone (I haven't figured this out yet—I first thought of him speaking as if he were talking to a talk show host, but now I'm a little bit more attracted to the idea of him speaking as if he were catching up with a close friend), perhaps more like talking at someone in a very one-sided conversation. During this talk, people turn their heads towards the pair, and give confused and judging stares, and our character responds to that by murmuring and lowering his voice.

The monologue begins superficial and our main character is able to maintain his cool, almost pedantic facade, talking about all the things he's been up to and how great his time in the new city has been. As the conversation runs, the themes of the conversation get less superficial, but entirely out of the will (or more like necessity) of our main character. He begins to elaborate and fixate on specific themes that are only lightly touched by the conversation. This challenges him as he continuous to ramble as if he were going through a series of tough, large, open-ended questions (which, of course, the audience cannot hear be uttered by his companion).
The interaction eventually erodes his facade, and he slowly starts to reveal his fear and general state of disillusion. He questions himself and the decisions he's made, and interprets his life as stagnant, only to find questionable optimism in something far-fetched in the future, where he reluctantly says things will line up and resolve for him. His final sentence subtly questions this optimism and frames it as one filled with reluctance in a "right?" (or similar). The audience is finally allowed to see that he wasn't talking to anyone this whole time, but rather externalising his internal worries.

Where?
The city, anywhere. Which makes it quite challenging, in the sense that it might be overwhelming to try and find specificity within the vastness. The only thing I have figured out is that we require at least a few harsh light sources that could cast a strong shadow, as well as a few areas with a reflective surface. The idea here is that we might subtly suggest and foreshadow the twist by hiding it in plain sight: that is, by showing that only one set of legs or bodies cast a shadow, when two should. The same goes for reflections: revealing that there is no one beyond the boundaries of the frame.

How?
It's simple, but perhaps difficult to properly execute. We keep the framing tight to our main character, follow his gaze and talk, cutting to his point of view and environment when appropriate (e.g. the awareness of others' stares via a POV shot, followed by a detail shot of the mouth closing up, becoming less articulate). Perhaps over the shoulder shots would also be useful, but I don't have a clear idea of it, since I don't know about the character's idiosyncrasies. Perhaps he begins by not crossing red lights (as a pedestrian), but loses that sense of structure by the end of the short. Just an idea.

Why?

M7 Film- and Postproduction
Prof. Nora Bibel
Exposé
The exposé is a plan for a project/text in which its goal and the context in which it stands are fixed in a preliminary version. It includes both the central components of the content as well as considerations and plans for its practical implementation. By creating a methodological sequence of steps and a goal in terms of content, it is an elementary tool for systematically implementing a project/text.

1. name, semester
Andrés Nava H., Sacha Kaflon—Semester 2 (Erasmus)

2. initial situation, question, hypothesis (WHY)
Decide on a product and narrow down what constitutes that product. What conditions and opportunities are associated with it. What needs do you want to address? What do you want to achieve? What message do you want to tell?

3. genre, target group, objective
Analyze your target audience through empirical surveys.
Find out what needs your target audience has and what storytelling is best to reach them. What is your objective?

4. title of the work/ working title/ motto/ headline

5. topic/ idea/ summary (HOW)
Briefly narrow and describe the topic/idea for the project.
What is the core idea? What does the work refer to? In what context does it place itself? What is it trying to convey? Is there a hero? Is there a conflict? Do you narrate emotionally? What narrative setting are you using?
- completeness
- accuracy
- objectivity
- brevity
- comprehensibility

6. supplementary explanations: background information, research (examples, theories, etc.), explanation of your own approach.
What kind of learning is to take place through your spot? (Cognitive psychology) What emotional triggers do you use?

7. implementation, solution, content and technical (WHAT).
What is the narrative structure? How is plausibility created?
Describe here the film language of your commercial with all the details discussed, such as image composition, camera angles, movements (camera, actors), light, color, sound, music, language, editing

(8. script)
9. storyboard
10. schedule