The Foursome, A Film Short
Project Background
Summary
"The Foursome" is an inverted morality tale, or perhaps an anti-morality tale. It is one of the shortest stories in the book Moments: Short Stories. Four friends who regularly play cards face the question in their own and in each other's lives: is a wife's infidelity morally or consequentially any different from that of a husband's? Ultimately this leads to a key issue of whether one individual's personal standards should, in every case, be used to judge another person. These questions are played out in the conversations and emotions of the four men over a card game.
Objectives
The brevity and underlying gravity of the story make it ideal for a short. We wanted to film it, but we needed to decide how to go about it. As always, it is useful to start with enumerating one's objectives. In addition to shooting this entertaining story, what did we have in mind?
First, we think this thought-provoking story is timely. Currently, so many issues are percolating about the role of women in societies, and how men perceive and act toward them. The Taliban victory in Afghanistan has re-plunged women into dark ages, as they're banned from jobs, education, freedom of association—and forced into full veil and true slavery. Gisèle Pelicot, the French woman whose husband drugged her and invited strangers to rape her, made her trial of his crimes open to the world, declaring that she is not the one who should hide and be ashamed. Rebecca Cheptegei, who ran in the Paris Olympics, was set ablaze—murdered—by her boyfriend in Kenya who was envious of her successes. Questions abound about sexuality, second-class citizenship, and brutality toward women. "The Foursome," played by an all-male cast, explores one tiny facet of the evolving awareness of double standards when it comes to women. We want to showcase it.
Certainly, another goal is to tout the book, Moments from which the story is drawn. If someone likes "The Foursome," they'll probably enjoy other stories in the book as well. So, this short will help spread the word.
A third goal is both giving and selfish: we want to create a film that both entertains and gives us joy in the creating. The actors and crew who will bring this to life will be practicing their craft and adding their artistry to their fullest.
What goals do we not have? This short is not about making money; it won't be distributed but will be free on YouTube. And it isn't to garner glory, so it won't be entered into festivals in hopes of winning an emblem or a trophy.
The Film Style
If you can convey something through action instead of dialog in a film, then do so. But there's a caveat that shouldn't be ignored: if you must take significantly more time to convey through action rather than dialog, it may not be worthwhile. This is what was on our minds when pondered about the staging of "The Foursome."
Cutting to the chase, we decided not to change the nature of this dialog-focused story. Rather, we seek to highlight the dialog. We don't need a well-dressed set; we need a minimalist one. As in a black box theater, such a set allow us to explore concepts and emotions more purely, without distractions or the need for supplemental technology and "stuff" that, whether intended or not, can degrade the focus on dialog and quality of acting. So here is our focus: we want to showcase the actors and what they're saying. And by doing so, we are allowing the directors, cameras, and other crew to shine. And that brings us to our hope for the short. We want to achieve a piece of art that attracts viewers and is a mark of pride for all those who participate in making it.
"The Foursome" is an inverted morality tale, or perhaps an anti-morality tale. It is one of the shortest stories in the book Moments: Short Stories. Four friends who regularly play cards face the question in their own and in each other's lives: is a wife's infidelity morally or consequentially any different from that of a husband's? Ultimately this leads to a key issue of whether one individual's personal standards should, in every case, be used to judge another person. These questions are played out in the conversations and emotions of the four men over a card game.
Objectives
The brevity and underlying gravity of the story make it ideal for a short. We wanted to film it, but we needed to decide how to go about it. As always, it is useful to start with enumerating one's objectives. In addition to shooting this entertaining story, what did we have in mind?
First, we think this thought-provoking story is timely. Currently, so many issues are percolating about the role of women in societies, and how men perceive and act toward them. The Taliban victory in Afghanistan has re-plunged women into dark ages, as they're banned from jobs, education, freedom of association—and forced into full veil and true slavery. Gisèle Pelicot, the French woman whose husband drugged her and invited strangers to rape her, made her trial of his crimes open to the world, declaring that she is not the one who should hide and be ashamed. Rebecca Cheptegei, who ran in the Paris Olympics, was set ablaze—murdered—by her boyfriend in Kenya who was envious of her successes. Questions abound about sexuality, second-class citizenship, and brutality toward women. "The Foursome," played by an all-male cast, explores one tiny facet of the evolving awareness of double standards when it comes to women. We want to showcase it.
Certainly, another goal is to tout the book, Moments from which the story is drawn. If someone likes "The Foursome," they'll probably enjoy other stories in the book as well. So, this short will help spread the word.
A third goal is both giving and selfish: we want to create a film that both entertains and gives us joy in the creating. The actors and crew who will bring this to life will be practicing their craft and adding their artistry to their fullest.
What goals do we not have? This short is not about making money; it won't be distributed but will be free on YouTube. And it isn't to garner glory, so it won't be entered into festivals in hopes of winning an emblem or a trophy.
The Film Style
If you can convey something through action instead of dialog in a film, then do so. But there's a caveat that shouldn't be ignored: if you must take significantly more time to convey through action rather than dialog, it may not be worthwhile. This is what was on our minds when pondered about the staging of "The Foursome."
Cutting to the chase, we decided not to change the nature of this dialog-focused story. Rather, we seek to highlight the dialog. We don't need a well-dressed set; we need a minimalist one. As in a black box theater, such a set allow us to explore concepts and emotions more purely, without distractions or the need for supplemental technology and "stuff" that, whether intended or not, can degrade the focus on dialog and quality of acting. So here is our focus: we want to showcase the actors and what they're saying. And by doing so, we are allowing the directors, cameras, and other crew to shine. And that brings us to our hope for the short. We want to achieve a piece of art that attracts viewers and is a mark of pride for all those who participate in making it.
