I Know You From Somewhere is a short film about a woman whose life is ruled by social media when a video goes viral of her saying something that has been twisted to make her look bad.
It stars Angela Trimbur as the main character Katherene, and was written and directed by Andrew Fitzgerald.
Review:
I enjoyed this short film as it highlighted the amount of power social media has in the world today by showing how people use technology to document their lives and keep in contact with other people around them. What I found most interesting was that the film seemed to criticize this power that society gives media such as dating sites, for example when Katherene was using one she called it a 'catalogue of humans', making a somewhat normal concept in today's world seem strange and also showing she is slightly skeptical about the media. My favourite part of this short film was the twist in the middle as, although I didn't see it coming, it made sense with the film's central theme of media and could happen to anyone in real life as it showed how people are extremely influenced by what they see online and can take it as evidence even if it is not true.
Influence on my work:
Both my screenplay and this short film deal with the theme of technology slightly differently, however, the plot twist in the middle of the film when Kathreen goes viral inspired me to think differently about the media and the ways in which people use it everyday.
Before watching this short film I had been thinking about how technology is used for more practical purposes such as Ida having two separate phones for work and home and using a computer in her office to write up legal documents and emails. After this film I considered the effect social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have on the real world, and the effect these sites would have on the world in my screenplay.
How Ida would use these sites in her life seemed obvious; she seems addicted to her phones and tablet and is someone who likes to stay connected so she would be constantly posting to show her friends what she is doing. Because of this, I began to think about Diana and her lack of social media. Diana has probably not used a phone or computer in some time, so she may be familiar with these sites but not with using newer versions of them.
Considering Diana's lack of knowledge about this area of technology and the big impact it has on today's society made me consider the prospect of Diana somehow going viral as I hoped this could provide conflict, not only between Diana and Ida, or Diana and the world, but also because of her own emotions, maybe even fear, at the daunting prospect of having millions of people be able to see you and you not know who or where they are.
When I began planning my screenplay, I considered how a life without technology would be by coming up with ideas for what Diana would do for entertainment and food, her opinions, and some personality traits she may have because she doesn't use technology. Due to this, I have always known that Diana would be an artist who sketches the landscape around her because of her appreciation and connection to nature.
This gave me the idea of why she would be sitting at the park bench every day which is why I also considered this as being how she is exposed on the internet.
I thought if Ida were to post one of Diana's drawings without Diana knowing, it would mean Diana would be surprised when strangers started to recognize her work, and even her, in the park.
This idea helped to develop what I wanted to aim for in my screenplay, which was for both Diana and Ida to find some compromise between technology and nature. Having her artwork online and shared with people all over the world opens Diana up to seeing that technology has a positive impact she didn't previously know about, giving her a reason to buy a phone and use it without sacrificing her morals but still changing because of what she has learned throughout the screenplay.
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