Mutoid

Charlotte Moon

Mutoid - Documentary Treatment

Synopsis: The flm I am making is a ten minute long investigative documentary exploring the world of fve year old Aran, who has grown up in a small travelling community in Italy called The Mutoids The flm is a story a!out escaping mainstream society, and explores a community who have chosen to live in a world !uilt from their own imagination, living !y their own rules and creating art "ith Aran as my guide, we will explore Mutonia together, discovering what its like for a little !oy to grow up there and experiencing of the world of Mutonia through a child#s eyes

Proposal: The flm follows six year old Aran, who has !een !rought up on the $ard, in a dou!le decker !us I will immerse myself in the games he plays and attempt to capture the world of his imagination as he lives and plays amongst the art The flm explores what it is like for a child to grow up in such a radically di%erent environment and discover whether it is possi!le to live in a world !uilt from the imagination Through o!serving and interacting with Aran, the flm investigates themes of escapism, freedom and creativity in contrast with isolation, loneliness and alienation which Aran might experience as a result of living an alternative lifestyle in a small community

Character: Aran is, a fve year old third generation Mutoid, who has grown up in Mutonia &n the outside, Aran is a normal fve year old 'nglish !oy, with !londe hair, !lue eyes and a passion for !uilding things out of lego, and playing with toy cars (eing !rought up in Mutonia, amongst a diverse and creative community, has meant that Aran has !een a!le to learn a second language, )uently slipping !etween 'nglish and Italian, and !een encouraged to develop a creative and vivid imagination Aran is one of only a few children who have grown up on the yard, and he attends the local school in the near!y Italian town, making him one of the only links !etween traditional Italy and the Mutoid community

Location: In the early *++,-s a travelling performing arts group called The Mutoid "aste .ompany moved to /antarchangelo di 0omagna in Italy, where they transformed a derelict industrial site into a community where they have lived ever since Many of the residents are artists who work primarily with recycled and scrap materials, producing Mutoid sculptures to !ring their home to life The Mutoid commune is like living in an art gallery It is a place, full of creativity, and endless opportunities, where people have come for generations to escape from reality, and literally !uild a new life for them selves It resem!les a giant playground, a world waiting to !e explored The Mutoid sculptures look like creatures from another world, and the patchwork village is !uilt from houses made from !uses, !oxes, and scrap metal, reminiscent of child hood games I used to play, !uilding dens from card!oard, !ed sheets and other house hold items

The Film: Through o!servational flming, I watch and interact with Aran as he lives his life on the yard, experiencing what the every day looks and feels like for Aran The flm !egins with Aran, as he is helping his Mum to plant shru!s on their plot This sets the scene of the alternative and self1su2cient yard, as well as introducing Aran, getting messy and digging in the soil Throughout the flm we continue to explore Arans world, !y going on !ike rides, adventures, playing with toys and digging "e watch as he is given the right to roam free, discovering his surroundings and inventing imaginative worlds for himself to live and play in "e also see Aran as he goes to school, and visits the local italian town for a carnival, watching as he interacts with other children, plays with his friends and experiences the world outside of the community &n my second visit, it is Aran-s sixth !irthday, and he is having a !irthday party on the yard 3ere, we will experience for the frst time, the outside world entering Mutonia, and will see how the children, and parents from the town react to the strange new ha!itat, and see Aran and the other children playing together The flm 4uxtaposes these events with footage of him skimming stones !y himself and playing alone to ask 5uestions a!out freedom vs loneliness

In addition to the o!servational footage, the flm captures the world of Aran-s imagination through experimental and playful flming techni5ues 6macro, point of view, hand1held7 This involves lots of experiments with close ups of Arans face and hands, and of the things he is interacting with, touching and feeling, such as the grains of sand and soil as he digs etc, which are all familiar feelings that we can recall from our own childhood As we hear Aran talk a!out su!4ects like his friends, his fantasies, and his future, these shots

illustrate his thoughts and illuminate all the little details of the world that Aran sees This intimate layer of, will help the audience feel closer to Aran and experience the world he see-s it I will immerse myself in the games he-s playing and challenge myself to try and flm the way a child would see things

I have also given Aran a little video camera of his own to record with !oth while I-m there, !ut also for him and his family to continue flming on !etween my visits This video camera ena!les us to literally see through Aran-s eyes and allows him to direct the flm himself for a while, and lets us see what things does he fnd most interesting, !eautiful or exciting8 "here does he like to go when he-s alone8 9iving Aran the opportunity to run around !y himself and make his own mini pro4ect, without !eing followed !y me or my camera, also pushes the ideas a!out creativity and freedom Style and structure: The flm is going to !e 5uite )uid in terms of structure, tying together the three di%erent types of footage: predominantly o!servational, with elements of experimental and archive /cenes on the yard will !e slow paced and 5uiet to re)ect the way of life there, and will !e contrasted !y the 5uick pace of the Italian town I will use movement and colour to !ring the Mutoid sculptures to life and capture the fantastical elements of living on the yard There will !e very little dialogue, and no formal interviews 4ust a few musings from Aran, and some undeciphera!le Italian whilst he is with his friends These thoughts or feelings will !e the !ridges !etween scenes It is important for me for my flming and editing styles to feel fun and playful, as it the flm is !eing seen through a child#s eyes

ACCESS: ;rior to making the flm I have visited the Mutoid yard in the summer for the last three years &ver this time I have !een given the chance to experience life there for myself and get to know the community, especially Aran and his family, with whom I have made a very strong !ond 3is family have !een very supportive a!out the flm and have no issues with me flming their son or their home

M T!"AT! #: Initially, my motivation !ehind the flm was to discover the meaning of what is a Mutoid and give support to the Mutonia as for the last few years they have !een part of a legal !attle, under threat of !eing evicted from their land 3owever as the production went on, my motivation has turned into more of my own investigation into the ethics of living the way they do and what the pro-s and con-s are to !ring a child up in a remote community The flm is also primarily an opportunity for me to explore the su!4ects which mean most to me as a director, childhood, playfulness, and imagination, which have always !een key elements of my work &ne of the 5uestions I asked early on in making the flm is "hether or not it is possi!le to live in a world !uilt from imagination8, and fnding the answer to this continues to !e my main motivation whilst making this flm P$ D%CT! # SC&ED%LE: The flm was shot over a two week period, with a two week interval in !etween The frst week Aran was o% school which ena!led us to flm together and play outside every day The second week Aran will !e !ack at

school, so I will !e a!le to see the di%erence in his routine and his !ehaviour away from the yard This week is also his !irthday, when he will !e having a !irthday party, inviting all of his friends who live outside of the community The two weeks whilst I am not there gives Aran chance to flm on his own as well as giving me time to view my rushes and see what I need to get the next time I have a four week editing schedule to get the flm fnished !efore !eing sent to the sound designer and composer

C$E': <or this flm I decided it would !e !est to keep my crew to a minimum as I did not have the funds to )y more than two people to Italy I am taking the role of director, and cinematographer, and I have a sound recorder, who is also my sound designer and composer, which is great !ecause they have !een a!le to collect lots of noises and sounds whilst on location to !e used for their soundscape and soundtrack (ack in the => I have a co1producer on !oard for me to talk to when I need a helping hand I also have an editor who I will !e working alongside, and an editing assistant (%D)ET: My !udget for the flm has !een 4ust over ?*,,, which I raised through kickstarter This money has made it possi!le to pay for return )ights for me and my sound recorder on two separate occasions, as well as other travel costs and food during the shoot I gave myself a small amount to !uy extra e5uipment such as a shoulder rig, and a macro flter, !atteries and /@ cards etc Any leftover funds will !e put towards su!mitting the flm to festivals and organising screenings in the => and Italy