Documentary Proposal: Grandfather

I tried and tried to look at ideas for my final project. My favorite idea and the favorite of my professors is just not materializing. The contact I had for the documentary isn't responding to my emails. Perhaps the thought of being filmed in his every day life intimidated him? I don't know. The other concept was looking into the African guys that work Roppongi and try to get guys in clubs. But I had remembered the difficulties another friend of mine had encountered when trying to film on the streets of Roppongi. I'd rather be able to focus on the documentary than getting kicked out of every location and dealing with police. I had enough of that last semester when trying to shoot narrative fiction in Tokyo. So, the story I've decided on is to go back and retrace the life of my girlfriends grandfather. I suspect he had a great impact on who she is today and I'd like to do an oral history of his life and discover how he helped shape who she is.

PROPOSAL


WORKING TITLE: Nao no ji ji

Director: Thomas Vanderhyde
Format: HDV
Camera: Canon XH-A1

WORKING HYPOTHESIS:
a. In life I believe that our families shape who we are and instill values and points of view about the world that we carry forward into our adult personalities.
b. My film will show this in action by exploring the every day life of Naoko and how it relates to what her grandfather taught her.
c. My film's main conflict is the modern life of Naoko vs. the life of her grandfather.
d. The POV character will be Naoko and her mother.
e. I expect my film's structure to be determined by the chronological order of the grandfathers life.
f. The subject and POV suggest a style that is nostalgic and intimate family portait of three generations of Japanese life.
g. Ultimately I want the audience to feel a sense of introspection about how their own family shaped who they are.

2. TOPIC AND EXPOSITION:
a. My film subject is the life of Naoko's grandfather.
b. Exposition would include a brief introduction to the family.

3. Action sequences.
Primary action sequences might include recreations of events remembered from his life.
- walking with granddaughter
- visits when she was sick
- activities together
- his last days

4. Main characters.
- Deceased grandfather
- Naoko Katsuura
- Yoshiko Katsuura
- Yoshiko's sister

5. Conflict
Who he was vs. how he is remembered.
Naoko's modern life vs. Family history

Possible stories of his past that other characters are unaware of.

6. Social Significance
Every generation before us paves the way for opportunities they did not have. They shape who we are as people. We carry the memory of loved ones we have lost forward into our future, taking what they gave to us and passing it down.

7. Motivation
I'm in love with Naoko. She's my girlfriend and best friend. I've noticed that tears well up in her eyes when she tells stories of her grandfather. I often wish I could have met him. It's obvious they had a very close bond. I want to know who he was and pay respect to a man that helped shape such a wonderful young woman.

8. Audience
a. My intended audience is people that have an interest in Japanese culture.
b. I can expect the audience to know the feeling of losing a family member but not to know particulars of Japanese familial relationships.
c. I assume positive prejudices are the grandfather/daughter relationship, and negative ones might be associated with war time Japan.
d. Countervailing facts, ideas and feelings that my audience needs to experience are the experiences of a Japanese soldiers side of WWII.

9. Interviews
Naoko Katsuura, 20, F, grandaughter of subject, explore the relationship with grandfather, and first hand recollections.

Yoshiko Katsuura, 55, F, daughter of subject, first hand accounts of his life as a father and stories he would tell.

Yoshiko's sister....?

10. Style
a. A horizontal story structure that chronologically follows the life of the grandfather while simultaneously using b-roll to thematically explore it's effect on Naoko and her mother.
b. Point of view of Naoko and her mother. Everyday life, walk and talk, sit downs should not look too staged.
c. Narration: Still undecided. Have thought about including my own voice but afraid this might be too heavy handed.
d. Lighting: Intimate, would like to use natural outdoor light for some shots that achieve a nostalgic, vintage glow.
e. visual and other rhythms: This may depend on soundtrack and or motif's that arrive through interviews. (i.e. "He laughed a lot!" Intercut with staccato shots of Naoko and her mother laughing)
f. Parallel story using Yoshiko talking about her father's effect on her daughters life while using footage of Naoko in applicable situations.
g. intended juxtoposition: See F. Could also use contradictory footage for humor or ironic tension.

11. Tone
-Intimate curiosity, Investigation, Revelation, Tension, Resolution, Sadness, Acceptance, Resolve, Intimate Knowledge and Love.

12. Structure.
a. progression of time will could be bookended by archival photographs.
b. Story will be told via interviews with subjects children and grandchildren.
c. Elements used to tell story will be turning points in life, (marriage, WWII, children, etc...)
d. Important information will emerge via interviews and first hand accounts of photographs.
e. Climatic sequence will be the passing of the grandfather as told by the daughter and grandaughter.
f. Falling action after the climax will be the reflection of impact he had on their lives and what he might think of his grandaughter today.

13. Final scene
Could be a return to opening sequence of Naoko in the late afternoon summer light.
Talking about how she will never forget her grandfather and he will always be with her. "Sometimes we lose the people we love, but they never leave us."