I came up with an idea in second year for maps and journeys, before joining "The Brain" group, and decided not to do it due to lack of confidence and not really sure where to take it in terms of visuals. 

My original idea was a dance film based around the idea of anxiety movements, with exaggerated sounds from the movements themselves creating a sort of rhythm.  The focus would not be so much on how the dancer looks, keeping her/ him ambiguous, but on how body parts such as hands contort, move and react when a person is feeling anxious. I wanted the audience to feel more tension as the piece went a long, making the rhythm faster, the sounds amplified and the cuts quicker, reflecting the build up someone feels anxiously. 

This was quite a personal piece to me as it's something I suffer a lot from in every aspect of life, but it's not something I talk about very much and seem to hide how I'm feeling a lot. The idea came to me when we were put under pressure last year to say our ideas to the class, and as it travelled around the circle until my turn, I noticed how interesting and uncontrollable my movements were. Things like shivering, tapping my feet on the floor, squeezing my hands together to the point where they were sore...I thought it might make quite a nice movement based piece. I'm aware anxiety is a universal thing, and a lot of people get it to some degree, so I was hoping the piece would be relatable, as well as personal. 

After re-presenting it this year as an idea I didn't really think would actually develop any more, I began talking to Laura about it as she was pitching and interested in something similar. She showed me this video, the music video for Stromae's Quand C'est : 

The video represents the struggles of a cancer patient, with the idea that cancer can sneak up at any time. The title of the song, Quand C'est emphasises this, as with the correct pronunciation can sound like "cancer" without even realising it.  

We really liked the claw like projections used in the video and the way they interact with the dancer and Laura suggested incorporating this in our film. Tree branches and vines would weave in, possibly restricting her movement more and more and enclose the space, adding claustrophobia. I want the film to go in a similar style to the original idea, focussing on the gestures associated with anxiety,  but with also having this over-looming thing (the trees) gaining more control - the thing the performer is anxious about. In real life this can just represent more normal things, for example the knowledge that I'd have to say my idea out loud to the class that day. The trees are basically the problem the dancer is facing. 

However this is something that needs to be discussed and developed more, but I'm very excited about working with a mixture of live action and animation, as I really enjoy the style.