Final film title idea, working off of feedback

We had decided to call our film opening "Non compos mentis", which means 'not of sound mind'. We thought that this would be a good title as it would show off the idea that our main character was troubled and that the storyline would closely follow the title. However after feedback we found that many people either thought it wasn't the most fitting title and some did not know what 'non compos mentis' meant off of the top of their heads.

Miriam claimed, "Not everyone will know what the title means, thus leading to some confusion."

Rachel said that by having this as our title, we 'risk having the effectiveness of the opening compromised'.

Along with several other comments from fellow students that we showed the idea to, we decided that 'non compos mentis' was not the most effective title to use.

When we presented a group of our peers with the storyline of the film opening and a list of possible title names (mentioned in previous blogs), the vast majority decided that 'Psychosis' was both an effective and almost chilling film title.
To fit the title into our opening, we have placed it at the end, when the climax is imminent and the music has built up. We found this to be effective as the screen blacks out leaving a blank space for the title, we overlaid this title screen on top of a montage of clips that we had to carry on showing footage rather than having a still frame of the title. Psychosis is also a fitting title as the word means 'a severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality'. This is an accurate title name as it is able to describe the mental state of our main character. It is also more likely to be understood as it has 'psych-' in it. When presented with this film title, people who gave feedback were able to more easily associate the storyline of our opening with someone who has a questionable mental state.

Refining Film Title Ideas

After completing our title research, we had around five ideas for what the title of our opening could be, according to the plotline. As we were putting our clips together though, we realised that to build our character profile effectively and to make the scene as obvious as possible, a split personality would be harder to represent. As a result we changed the idea of our opening slightly, now instead of a split-personality wherein our actress is haunting herself, she is now terrified that her twin who died prior to this event is following her around.

This led to us narrowing down our film title choices down to three candidates:

• Psychosis
• Idiosyncrasy
• Non Compos Mentis

Out of these three the one that stood out the most was "Non Compos Mentis" meaning: 'not of sane/stable mind'.

This is the title we have decided to use and we are going to overlay text of the title and the opening credits during the first longer clip of our main character crying. During this quick cut montage, we plan to have the name of the film appear in the centre of the screen and then as that fades out we will have the credits at the bottom of the screen during the entire duration of this clip.
We believe that this is more accurate to the genre of a psychological horror as the name in itself sparks an interest into what the film is going to be about, by having it at the beginning overlaid on one of our effective clips, it should appear creepy and engaging.

Title Ideas...

What are our ideas based on?

Due to us having concluded our plot for our opening sequence, we have understood that we are creating a psychological horror based on the concept of a girl suffering with schizophrenia.

Therefore the following titles are based on this dual personality, or visage idea, where she can see people or think thoughts that are either not there or true, hence when she finally sees herself (or more specifically her darker unconscious).

Our ideas

• Psychosis- " a severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with reality."

• Idiosyncrasy- " a mode of behaviour or way of thought peculiar to an individual."

• Psychoneurotic- (in reference to psychoneurosis) " a neurosis based on emotional conflict in which an impulse that has been blocked seeks expression in a disguised response or symptom."

• Aberrant- "diverging from the normal type" "departing from an accepted standard." 

• Non Compos Mentis- "not sane or in one's right mind."

• Capriciousness- (in reference to capricious) " adjective to describe a person or thing that's impulsive and unpredictable"

• Dichotomy- " a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different." 

Developing Our Ideas

Second rough story board: 

We have developed our initial ideas of "Schizophrenia" further, including some more features and techniques we want to re-create. These are our finalised ideas.

Plot
Our girl character is mentally ill, caused by traumatic events of her own wrong doing (such as adultery, promiscuity, abuse and excess). In the opening she experiences flash backs to when she tries to drown herself, and to where she is running away, through the tunnel. However, she is trying to escape from herself - although she doesn't realise this - because of her split personality. The focus is on her fears being all in her mind (a psychological pain or separation from her humanity) that she cannot release herself from, building up to a climatical ending in the underground lift (symbolising her oppression) - where she and her darkest side are suddenly face to face, displaying how she can no longer keep running away from her problem.

We are going to use mirrors and eye contact lenses to represent the binary opposition within her alter-egos. The mirror in the first scene displays reflection, where as the black and white contacts we plan to use as part of our costume, differentiate the two personas as slit, despite the character being as one. The white contacts show her mindset through innocent eyes; the black contacts displaying her evil view point, the deranged, confused and dangerous self.
 



Mirror shot inspiration:

The Grudge is a perfect example of mirror reflections having a life of their own, portraying these two figures as completely different through contracting actions and facial expressions.





A similar mirror technique is used in Black Swan, another key psychological thriller we have been inspired by, where we can see the two sides of Nina whilst in the dance studio.

Drowning scene

To emphasise our characters depression, we want to use shots of a suicidal attempt at drowning herself, in the effect of a flash back in between the chase scene. The idea is to send a message across to the audience of how her condition constantly plays with her mind, therefore causing her to spiral out of control, wanting to end part of her life whilst her dark side persistently prevents her capabilities of doing so.

These images are examples of shots we want to create, using a water tank or bath and camera angles from overhead in close up framing. She will blow bubbles and shut her eyes as an action of trying to let herself go, into the water, immersed in a world far from her condition. The atmosphere should be cold and isolated, and we may even use a black and white filter along with this, to really enhance her isolation from the normality of the world.