Exploring the Expression of visual language in my story.

Below I have shown a breakdown of certain visuals in my story and how I will replicate them visually on screen for my end of year film. I have mentioned previous symbols I intend to use but in this post I will go into the exploration of my visuals in more depth. I am aware that this will help me as a film-maker to plan an array of visuals as pre- production before I begin making a shot list and so on.




The first thing I will be expressing visually is the location. The main location I have chosen for my film is Coney Island Beach County Down. I am aware that the visuals for this will depend heavily on the weather on the week I begin shooting. I am also wary of filming at night in darkness although I am certain I want to include the coastal lighthouse in some on my visuals.

I like the visual idea of a lighthouse as they symbolize  beckoning people back home. Lighthouses were meant to guide sailors back into the harbor, back home. So the lighthouse, in a way, represents the return of optimism and of life back on shore, back home. This relates to my story as my character is dislocated from a normal life of life. She is trapped in a Psychological state and in need of help. The light on the shore symbolizes the danger and the possible end to the dislocation she is facing.



The sea is another visual I want to explore. The sea can be a symbol of  the process of therapy; its calm presence and sense of space, a place to reflect on the past, and to dream and hope about the future. A place to look ahead and 
imagine what could be waiting on the horizon, actually or metaphorically. The sea can mirror a persons mood, for example full of rage beating off the shore. The sea can also be a symbol of life and death and danger.



I intend to visually express my main characters thought and memories with the use of flash backs of her and her son on the beach. I intend to film these hand held and almost in a dream like sequence with pull focus.



Another visual I want to express is the dislocated and trapped state of the protagonists mind. I think I can do this by using an isolated forest where the protagonist looks lost.

Using Symbolism

Symbolism is the practice or art of using an object or a word to represent an abstract idea. An action, person, place, word, or object can all have a symbolic meaning.


I plan to use a lot of symbolism in my film, as I mentioned before Maya Deren used a lot of this in her experimental work and I would love to take inspiration from her work. Now that I have the concept and the reasoning behind the protagonists psychological dislocation I can begin building the plot up with the  use of symbols, sounds and visuals. The cause for the mothers dislocation - 'disturbance from a proper, original, or usual place or state' is the death of her son. The most common symbol for this, as Maya Deren also used is the Grim Reaper.

I could incorporate this into one or two of my visuals. A broken mirror can represent loss and seperation. An empty field, an animals body, items left in a public place for example, a coat, a book and a used candle, these are just a few symbols which can portray loss.

I will deffinately be incorporating various of these symbols into my film. I find it a very interesting way to give meaning behind a film with little or no dialogue and I am looking forward to producing this film.

The concept.

 I have chosen to base my end of year film on the Psychological dislocation that a mother has experienced after the loss and death of her child. The plot will follow a non linear narrative which explores the dislocation within the balance of the woman's brain. The locations will be mainly set in Coney Island county down. I intend to include various beach scenes including the light of a lighthouse and imaginary sightings of her son. I intend to do a bit more research and then begin writing the first draft of my script.

The dislocation between the Visuals and Audio.

Just recently a thought came to mind when thinking about poems that explored the same theme and tone as the visuals I had in mind. For example an isolated beach with a piece of a persons clothing with the words about drowning being read simultaneously to the image being filmed. The idea occurred to me about dislocating the visual and audio, for example having sad, lonely, isolated images mixed with song lyrics or poems that we associate with happiness. I feel that this would give a whole different sense to the theme of dislocation. I watched 'Shame' (2011) By Steve Mc Queen. There is a scene in this film where a character takes the famous song 'New york'  By Frank Sinatra and slows pace of the lyrics right down and is crying whilst singing. This gives us a whole new meaning. This sparked my idea to possibly try something similar in my end of year film.

Looking for the right words. . .

I am certain that I will be producing a poetic themed film which explores a characters state of mind. I intend to do this in a non-linear narrative. I feel this will add to the them of dislocation if the pieces and structure of the narrative are dislocated, similar to the protagonists mind.

I began thinking of meaningful poems which explore the idea of being trapped in your own mind almost drowning in negative thoughts and not being able to escape. A very well known and popular poem came to mind. 'Not waving but drowning' (1957)  By Stevie Smith. This poem explores the unseen psychological problems that people face. The poem describes the 'dead man' not waving but drowning. The poem explores being misunderstood and shows miscommunication between the speaker and society, almost being dislocated. I intend to use words over the visuals and I plan to do more research but this is the type of tone I am aiming towards.

Nobody heard him, the dead man,   

But still he lay moaning:

I was much further out than you thought   

And not waving but drowning.

Poor chap, he always loved larking

And now he’s dead

It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,   

They said.

Oh, no no no, it was too cold always   

(Still the dead one lay moaning)   

I was much too far out all my life   

And not waving but drowning.