Attempts On Her Life
Scenario’s – 1, 5, 9 and 11
Contents
About the Play
Intentions – What I Want to Explore
Scenario 1 – All Messages Deleted.
Scenario 5 – The Camera Loves You
Scenario 9 – Threat of an International Terrorist
Scenario 11 – Untitled (100 words)
Areas to Research
Test: Lighting and Shots
About The Play
The play was written by Martin Crimp in 1997
The play represents on of the high points of experimental theatre.
As the play’s subtitle – Seventeen Scenarios For Theatre – Attempts On Her Life is not a linear narrative.
The scenario’s take various forms, from monologues, adverts and pop lyrics through to negotiations between unnamed
speakers in unspecified locations, all trying to pin down the nature of an unseen central character: ‘Anne’.
This character appears to be a suicidal singles-holiday hostess, an international terrorist, a porn actress, a suicidal
modern artist, a refugee and a make of car, among other things.
The play is partly an exercise in examining the way words on a page create the ‘reality’ on stage and the way that
directors and actors assign meaning to dialogue.
There are no allocated lines to a particular speaker, and the script indicates no number for a cast. Which means free
rain with casting, directing and acting.
The writing is witty, perceptive, cynical, beautiful and cruel.
Source - http://www.culturewars.org.uk/2007-03/attempts.htm
Intentions – What I Want to
Explore
Academic:
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Personal:
transferring a play written for stage
onto screen.
exploring a range of different
genre’s through the scenario’s;
music video and thriller being my
two main genres, along with a
walk-through tour, news, gallery
and flashbacks.
Looking at practitioners such as
Bertolt Brecht and Antonin
Artaud who’s ideas compliment
the play and content.
using a range of media through
out the film, such as voice over,
projection, acting and writing in
order to gain the desired effect on
the audience.
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I want to explore my editing
capabilities, I intend the piece to
be heavily edited. This will show
my skills in editing and create
challenges for me to gain the
desired effects.
exploring media outputs that I
haven’t used in film before – such
as projection.
show my key skills – editing,
camera work, singing and acting.
Scenario 1 – All Messages
Deleted.
Shots – long, medium and close up
Mise En Scene – phone, bottles of
alcohol empty and full, pills, pill boxes,
sofa, homely feel, body on floor.
Lighting – key lighting in areas of interest
– phone, bottles and hand
Camera movement – snaking on floor
Sound – voice over of answer machine
messages, all overlapping.
I want this scene to feel as the opening of
a thriller movie.
The answer machine messages are all
going to be overlapped so you can only
hear key parts of the speech.
I want it lit as though it could be
associated with a police crime scene.
Signalling that something isn’t right, this
will reflect the camera movement, the
mise-en-scene and the way the scene is set
up.
I want the camera to snake around the
floor, and as this scene is cut up into 3
(the other scenario’s are cut into the
scene) I want the camera to land on the
character’s eyes before transitioning into
the next scene.
Scenario 5 – The Camera
Loves You
Madonna style music video
I feel that singing is one of my talents, so
although Madonna is not usually the style I
would choose I feel that her music suites the
scenario well. I am getting a friend of mine to
write some original music for the scene and
filming it in the style of a Madonna music video,
with a lot of photography involved.
Photographs
Filmed photo shoot
These are videos that have inspired me for this
scene:
The Camera Loves
You – National Theatre
Bright lights, flashes
D&G
perfume
Greyscale – film
Adverts on blog – use as
similar inspiration (roxie,
adverts)
Madonna - Vogue
Fast and filmic
D&G Sunglasses Advert
The Camera Loves You – College Project
Scenario 9 – Threat of an
International Terrorist
Trapped Feeling
Projection Throughout
Words on Screen
Words Mimed
Little Camera movement
I want this scene to display a sense of
entrapment and surrealism. The
suggestion of the projection in the scene
displays to the audience what images she
is seeing, and her “internal” monologue.
There are a range of flashbacks and
montage sequences throughout the scene
to connote the dialogue in the script.
I think that with this scene I am going to
take the camera and do a few minutes
handheld POV footage and use this as
the basis of the scene, following life, with
flashbacks and images popping into
mind when something is seen.
This notion for the scene will show a
personal side to the character, as well as
touch on the possible sick mind and
mental illnesses the character could have.
Scenario 11 – Untitled (100
words)
3 personas: 1 – on stage, 2 – on stage (When persona 3
speaks – look into camera.) 3 - audio
This scene I want to show the extent of my capabilities, as
an editor, actress and film maker.
Words on screen
I feel that by showing this in a “Gallery” set-up, I can
frame and shoot it to work to my advantage as I feel that I
am a strong and confident presenter and by staging it as a
tour around a gallery I can play to that.
Mise En Scene = Gallery setting, minimalistic, one
projection on a back wall playing footage of swinging feet,
on TV playing footage sourced from YouTube, podiums
of the objects listed throughout the script.
Studio lighting.
Source images of degenerate art etc to have pop up on
screen and place around set.
This scene to me is the hardest one to do in the whole
script, it’s a challenge to film and to edit because timing
has to be precise in order for the scene to work.
I want the scene to have 3 persona’s as I feel 3 points of
view are shown in this scenario, all contrasting to one
another. It also links the other scenario’s in together
nicely.
The image to the left is what I will be using for the 100
words that is in the script, there was an exercise I once
used to do in school, and that’s on IQ tests where you say
the color not the word. This is what I want to do with
this, so the words appear in a certain order on screen
another word will be said during the voice over. This
could confuse the audience or make them work to
concentrate on what is going on. This could change in the
edit.
Degenerate art
Areas to Research
Surrealism
Bertolt Brecht – Political Theatre
Thriller
Antonin Artaud - Surrealism
Psychological Thriller
Music Video
Madonna
Hallucinogens
Schizophrenia
House M.D (TV Series)
Effects and Emotions
Test: Lighting and Shots
Test shot for Scene 1 –
Camera movements
Effects
Test shot for Scene 9 –
Reflection on glasses +
colours on face.
Questions?