PAPERCLIP

PAPERCLIP
After a final unanimous decision, our group decided on the idea for our film trailer called PAPERCLIP.
PAPERCLIPis a stylistic independent film based on the genre of romance, drama and the coming of age, which is conventional of most independent films based on teenage characters. Our film also follows recurring themes of searching for liberation, companionship, belonging and self discovery.

BEATRIZSpanish origin, meaning voyager (through life)
Beatriz is a 19 year old girl who lives a mundane life in the downtown areas of the city and is stuck in a dead-end office job. She has a mysterious history and is a quiet, emotional person who despite her need for companionship and loneliness, has learnt to live independently for a long time.
She has the appearance of wearing floral andyoung girl-styledresses such as lace, frills and wears a large ribbon in her long hair. She has a passion for creativity, wandering and nature.

CALEBHebrew origin, meaning whole hearted and faithful companion
Caleb is a 20 year old boy, who likewise is stuck in a mundane lifestyle living in the suburbs with his mother and 10 year old sister. He seeks direction, liberation and independence in his life and is determined to find it.
He longs to be noticed and seeks to find a companion in life to share his experiences with. In terms of physical appearances he has messy Indie hair and tends to wear a chequered, plaid shirt and jeans.

THE PLOT
Decidedly, the plot of the film trailer appears to differ from the story of the entire film so that not the whole story is given away and the audience are left with some narrative enigma so they were to desire to watch the film if we did so. The story begins with shots of the main characters dull, repetitive and mundane lives such as by showing Beatriz confined in her office cubicle fidgeting and playing with red paperclips and simultaneously, showing Caleb being served breakfast alongside his younger sister.
At this point Calebs mother serves him with a full bowl of Coco pops cereal, treated just alike his 10 year old sister and he realized what sort of life he is actually living. Likewise, him and Beatriz, who do not know each other, decided on the same thing to escape and begin a journey of self discovery and go in the search of the life they both want to live where they can be free and gain some company to alleviate the sense of loneliness they have both always felt. The scene is cut with a twisted paperclip heart on her office table, or a drawing of a heart on the condensation on a public transport window. Both characters decide to leave and find somebody to love, Beatriz gets onto a train to go wherever it takes her, and Caleb decides to leave home.

THE PLOT
However, despite having no knowledge the other and beginning separate journeys, a sense of irony is created as both characters are always in the same scene and a short distance from one another. Unfortunately, before they are actually able to meet something miniscule occurs that causes them to miss one another by a few centimetres or even by a few seconds, for example: they pass another whilst crossing the street but do not acknowledge the other; they are standing at opposite sides of the pier; Caleb accidentally flicks a paperclip he is fiddling with into Beatrizs coffee whilst sitting near each other at a coffee shop, but he turns away before Beatriz looks up to find out who did it; Caleb is convinced by his friends to talk to Beatriz at a busy Woodland party they are both invited to, but she finds a paperclip in the dirt and disappears behind a tree before Caleb is able to reach her, she is suddenly out of sight despite their proximity.
There is sadly, only one instance where the two characters speak to one another but is accidental when Caleb decides to call a friend whilst walking alone, he dials the wrong number and Beatriz picks up the phone instead, unaware who the person on the other end of the phone is, they both apologise and end the phone call.

THE PLOT
The film continues with a series of various scenes where the two have near-meetings but never actually meet until they find themselves face to face in the distance of a meadow, contemplating whether to continue their journey or go home. They both meet eyes and even though they do not know much about the other, they have a slight recognition that they have been there all along and feel a sense of completion, as if their meeting as fate and completely natural have they finally met their soulmates? They have finally found what they have been searching for and start towards each other, however the idyllic scene ends abruptly and throws the audience back to the beginning scene with Caleb and his breakfast cereal. The audience, unknowing whether the entire series of events actually occurred or whether time has passed, he leaves his house the same way he did in the beginning and as he crosses the street the shot fades to black. There are a few sound effects of crashes and bangs, implying a car crash and that Caleb has died. The audience are left with the enormous question whether he died before ever going to begin his journey and thus that is why he and Beatriz never met, whether he had dreamed it all, or that he had already met her by this point.
This ending relates to a recurring theme in independent films of dreams versus reality and allows the audience to challenge the idea if Beatriz and Calebs meeting was ever real or just fictional and also plays on the idea on what could have been. However, this is what would occur in the entire film, the trailer ends on the hopeful note of the two meeting in the meadow after a concession of shots showing their near-meetings. They meet eyes in the meadow before it fades to black.

THE TITLE
The PAPERCLIP may appear to be an obscure choice considering the story of the film and what occurs however, there are a few reasons as to why we chose this as our film title.

• There are constant instances where there are paperclips in the film, this creates a sense of light heartedness and a playful edge to such a drama-orientated film.
• Paperclips are symbolic of holding things together or keeping them attached, which is representative of the relationship both characters desire to feel.
• Paperclips create irony, because it is the small and miniscule items that are what keeps the two characters from such an important meeting which will make a turning point in their lives.
• The paperclips are supposed to be symbols of order and organisation, however, both the characters lives are the opposite, they want to livespontaneously in a way that shows no order or confinement.