'Everyone has their thing...'
In this drama with darkly comic elements, we follow 22 year old Nell as she markets and delivers her used underwear with the help of the internet, revealing both her customers' and her own secrets along the way.
Hi everyone, it's Dorothy, the director of Objects of Desire here.
I've been making short films since I was 16, and if there's one thing I've learnt, it's that the best films always share a sense of emotional truth and heart - but my favourites also say something about the world we live in today.
Objects of Desire is based on several of my friends' experiences selling and delivering fetish-based items over the internet. I wanted to do justice to the fact that the way we access our desires is evolving, and so is our perceptions on sex and morality in the modern age.
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For me, it's really important to create female protagonists that are in control, funny and flawed. This is not another moral tale pushing the dangers of the internet, nor is it a story of a girl getting in too deep to know when she's being exploited. Objects of Desire embraces both Nell's work aspirations and sexual desires, whilst staying true to the fact that the online world can have both darkness and light.
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Your contributions will help us to achieve not only technical excellence in all aspects of the filming process, but also pay for well-needed props, costumes and set pieces that allow us to create a believable and visceral world around our protagonist, Nell.
Here's how we plan to do it!
Cinematography -
Within the film's style I would like to look at scenes of warmth and heightened realism, as we enter a world where strange fetishes live within 'normal life'.
I'd also like to play with a sense of voyeurism in the film feeling comforting and tentative. Throughout, as Nell observes her customers whilst delivering packages, they observe her online persona, and we observe Nell. Everyone is curious about each other.
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We plan to create this effect by shooting through set pieces as foreground in the interior scenes, like in the Wong Kar Wai's films 'In the Mood for Love' and '2046', and on long lenses, observing characters through windows and doors like in Hitchcock's 'Rear Window'.
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A note from the Cinematographer -
"The tone and themes of ‘Objects of Desire’ are what really drew me to the project. I really love that it’s starting a conversation and encouraging more honest talk about sexual pleasure. Thus, I want the cinematography to be emotive and have an energy to it. I’m really eager to make the project feel alive and I believe I can do this through camera movement. A point of inspiration for me has been Andrew Wehde’s work on ‘Eighth Grade’ where he uses a lot of tracking shots and dolly movement. I think this style would work really well for some delivery scenes we have on our project, creating a sense of being there in the scene with our protagonist, Nell.
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In order to perfect this on the shoot I have done some tests, but to really get this right we would need stabilising equipment so the footage doesn’t come out shaky. That’s where your donations could be a really big help."
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A note from the gaffer (head of lighting) -
"The moment I read the script, the themes of this film drew me in. It’s different, It’s a female driven story about something that’s not usually explored in film. It’s starting a conversation about people’s inner desires and sexual pleasures and the character of Nell has a personality and energy that needs to be translated on screen.
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As the gaffer, I am determined to make this film look amazing. I will bring out the feminine colours in the world by using shadows and darkness alongside feminine tones and warmth.
In order to perfect the shoot I have been working hard researching lights and the effects of colour in film as the colour theory is crucial, so that this film will be visually exciting. The lighting will truly bring this script to life and help the audience get the same energy from the film as you do from the script. The crowdfunding will help us ensure a quality shoot, enabling the cinematography team to have more creative freedom."
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Production Design -
Nell's world is one of layers - from the glossy packaging and feminine style of her well-crafted online videos, to the messy bedroom in her city apartment, to the ambiguity, yet normalcy, of a discrete, almost plain brown box.
I think it's important to create a rich tapestry of all these layers in Nell's life, and what better way to do this than through the production design.
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A note from the Production Designer -
"As a crew, we understand that creating a fictional world can be a challenge. We have been working hard within the production design department to create a world that you, the audience, can relate to. This film will require a lot of beautiful locations and well-designed props to make it realistic and enjoyable. Our aim is to tell a story that humanizes those behind the camera of your fantasies."
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Sound -
Throughout the film, the audience will be immersed in Nell's perspective. They will come to recognise when a text bleep means a delivery request or personal message, distinguish between the distinct sounds of night time or early morning bird song from within her room, and even come to know the subtle but sweeping underscore that represents Nell's own desires.
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A note from the Sound Designer -
"I’m intrigued with the idea of creating your world with sound design. Showing the things that can’t be seen, through sound. An entire world our characters will walk through. I’m also working on a calming, matter-of-fact approach to the sound design that can put audience members at ease, as opposed to uncomfortable, around the topics we plan to explore. I will achieve this using faint urban sounds, direct and close up recordings, and sounds of nature mixed in with the more urban environment."
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Editing -
One of the most important parts of creating Objects of Desire is that we let the audience observe. I am fascinated by how social media is changing the way we edit films - through the editing, our cinema screen becomes Nell's laptop screen or a 1:1 video, and so at times throughout the film we can switch from observing Nell passively, to becoming an active viewer of her content.
A note from the Editor -
“I am inspired by the film’s of Kaufman such as ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ 2020 and “Being John Malkovich 1999. The editing style of Objects of Desire is designed to root the audience into Nell’s subconscious and the throes of her secret world. The initial half of the film is intended to use minimal cuts and slow pacing to create a dreamlike voyeuristic feel. As Nell’s inner thoughts become more intrusive, faster cuts will ensue to mimic Nell’s progressively more rapid movements and anticipation.”
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Meet the Crew!
And who's this talented bunch of filmmakers you ask? Well come on over, meet our team!
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What We Need & What You Get!
So in a nutshell, We are receiving £1000 from our university (The Northern Film school & Leeds Beckett University) which is enough for us to be able to make a basic film. A basic film consists of transportation and accommodation for actors and a few large pieces of set design with a smattering of props and costumes.
In order to make this film truly exceptional and enjoyable for the viewer we would need the extra £1000 from all of you! Having this extra £1000 will give us the freedom to be able to fill our sets with beautiful, engaging props and art as well as giving us the ability to be able to afford to send our film across the UK and potentially to international film festivals! On top of all of that having the extra money means that we will be able to hire external equipment which would drastically increase the final output of the film, allowing us to set up larger lights and higher quality imagery to film with.
Even if we are not able to achieve our £1000 target from the campaign, any and all donations will contribute solely to the production and marketing of this film. If we are amazingly able to achieve the £1000 and maybe even get more (because you are all Amazing people) then we will strive to get this film and its contributors onto the film circuit together! All proceeds to the film will be spent Only on Film Expenses.
Along with helping our film become much more beautiful and accessible to more people, you will receive a comprehensive reward depending on the amount you donate to us! Please refer to the perk list on the right hand side of this campaign!
The Impact you will have made
Your contribution will mean so much more than simply clicking a few times:
- To us as a team it will greatly reduce the restriction we are having to fight against, particularly this year where the creative arts industry is struggling.
- Towards the film, you will have directly changed how our film looks and feels by giving us the freedom to bring most if not all our creativity to the project.
- The idea of the film is to loosen the restraints on talking about a new age in sexualisation, you will have directly contributed to that discussion and will have helped us and everyone who watches the film understand that it is okay to talk and enjoy these new ideas.
- Lastly, getting a project like this to festivals could launch our careers as filmmakers, as we make our way into the world of film and TV next year when we graduate. From there onward, using this film as our reference, we could all end up one day working to make your next favourite film.
Risks & Challenges
Of course with any creative project there are numerous challenges that present themselves to us. This year is no exception, especially with the restrictions from Covid and social distancing we are going to have to be even more careful towards our cast and crew's own safety. Having to balance safety with realistic content is going to be our biggest challenge by far. We want to make this film stand out for ideas it presents not because it looks safe, what we mean by that is we want this to look like a regular film, not a film that shows social distancing and people being distant toward each other. Even though this film is showing the benefits and excitement one can gain from online pleasures, we are also showing that these online benefits come with human contact and connection, something that has been put to the brink this year.
We will strive to make this film the best it possibly can be, but we do have to think about our safety first. This means that social distancing and wearing masks for crew and cast (off set) will be mandatory. Fortunately, through some clever writing provided from our brilliant minds of Ray Baker and Dorothy McCormack, Actors on camera will not actually be close to each other as may seem on screen. This along with our dedication to keeping our equipment extensively clean will make our set safe enough to work on and will allow us to make this film to the best of our abilities.
Other Ways You Can Help
We all understand how tight money is this year and in general for most people, However that doesn't mean you cant help us!
If you are not able to spare some change for us then please consider helping us out in other ways, for example:
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Sharing our campaign on your social media will help increase the possibility of donations!
- Keeping interest in the idea and asking us questions allows us to incorporate you and your ideas!
- Watch the film when it is finished! It may be a simple request but we would love you to watch the film even if you were not able to contribute in any way.
- Please follow our Instagram account for regular updates and some more insight into the inner workings of our project: @objectsofdesirefilm!
Finally one last big thank you from the Objects of Desire team!
Dorothy, Toby, Ray, Ebony, Amelia, Helen, Alex and Megan.