Job Specifics:

Details:

Logline

A wealthy businessman struggles to keep his car on the road as a small mistake tips his ego into collapse.

The Concept

The big-city businessman can be seen as the ultimate excess of the ego, operating in a world driven by competition, where every action is an attempt to be more successful than your competitors and peers. This filters down to every aspect of your life - appearance, clothes, car, friends and reputation are all constantly scrutinised by everyone around you. Fall victim to this pressure and you start to play the game, constantly trying to outdo everyone else. Your ego can either thrive (perhaps if you are naturally inclined to be self-centred) or buckle under the pressure (if underneath the version of yourself you are trying to present is not the real you.)

Fractal aims to explore this through the character of a businessman, Richard, who is trying to resist the anxiety of doubting himself but is pushed over the edge by a sudden blow to his confidence. He suddenly becomes convinced that he is not as successful, respected or as good a person as he thought he was and loses grasp of his sense of self.

Richard attempts to drive home from work, trying to ignore the increasingly crippling thoughts of self-doubt that are tearing him apart until he can resist no longer. A fragmented narrative reveals the pressures building up on him in the office.

The Character

Richard Layton (appearance 45-55)
Smart, strongly built and well-groomed, Richard at first seems to brim with confidence, but underneath is a core of insecurity and anxiety.
He sees himself as a hardworking family man, aiming to create a comfortable life for himself and his family. This is indeed who he was when he first started working at Cardin & Co., a financial advisory company. His natural intelligence and work ethic have served him well in making progress and developing a reputation for himself as one of the company's best advisors.
However, at a young age he had difficulty fitting in socially, and was never popular or recognised for his qualities by both his peers or his parents, giving him deeply rooted insecurities about his image and reputation.
This lead him to fall victim to the toxic competitive environment of the city, and eventually give in to its game of constantly competing against others for validation.
However, recently his performance has declined because of a build up of stress and fatigue, leading him to worry about his abilities and reputation. In doubting himself, he no longer feels that his work is valuable, and is losing his motivation, along with it his comfort in social situations and ultimately his mental health because he is suddenly unsure of who exactly he is. Despite taking on the lead role in his firm's most recent deal, he is not able to concentrate on it and the deal is falling apart, yet he cannot admit this to himself or others. This in turn will hurt him because his weaknesses will be revealed to his peers and his reasons for doubting himself increasingly tangible.

The Project

Fractal will be an 8-minute short film, shot as a final assessment for the main module of second-year BSc Film and Television Production at the University of York. The project has been developed over the year to reach its current form and is to be shot Monday 13th March - Wednesday 15th March on the University of York campus. The film will be shot on industry-standard equipment at one of the UK's highest ranking film production courses. Actors will be required from 10am-10pm on these days at the campus in Heslington, which is easily accessible from the city centre.

This project is unpaid but expenses and meals will be paid for. Actors will receive a copy of the finished film and footage for showreels.

Please get in touch if you are interested or have any questions!

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