PDP – The Box Archival Footage Task

THE BOX TREATMENT

Project Title: 

‘Why Do We Look Up?’

Format: 

One short documentary film.

Treatment:

A cinematic documentary that provides insight into why humans are so obsessed with outer space and all the unknowns that come with it. It will follow a group of local astronomers on one of their star-gazing sessions and will include snippets of interviews with the astronomers and their response to the question in the title of the film. The short film will start and finish with archive footage from The Box, “Beyond the Solar System”, to give it a more universal feel and to convey how this persistent curiosity with what lies above has been prominent all through time. In my documentary I want to bring the epic quality of the archive footage and apply it to what the amateur astronomers are doing, as the desire to explore and discover is for scientists and the everyday person.

The film will consist of archive footage, interviews and then cut aways to smooth cinematic shots of the whole process of going out on an ‘observing session’. I don’t want to plan too much beforehand as I want the film to be an organic response to the question. I will put some of the archive footage narration to underscore key parts of the film and then for the rest of the film I want to underscore with an original thought-provoking piano piece, created by a friend of mine.

Themes:

Although I cannot exactly predict what the final film will be like due to its documentary nature, I think it will explore the themes of ‘Future & Fantasy’ and perhaps delve into how the current destruction of our planet is promoting people to look elsewhere for hope. I also think it is likely the film will also look at the theme of ‘Humanity’ as well, as the question addresses us as humans and provides opportunities to explore human nature. Another key theme in the film will be ‘Discovery’.

Reference Material:

Link to musicians previous work: https://soundcloud.com/user-23785376/sets/a-resolution-of-eighteen-years/s-MAOP4?fbclid=IwAR3jzqpboo0FUHJUCjRBSiC-YWyPvzd0t6xQaUU754qS6s71M_Dsm4iEekY

Inspired by how beautifully Danny Cooke captured this Devon tradition in such a cinematic and epic style: vimeo.com/312922113