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 about escaping mainstream society, and explores a community who have chosen to live in a world built from their own imagination, living by their own rules and creating art. With Aran as my guide, we will explore Mutonia together, discovering what its like for a little boy 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 been brought up on the Yard, in a double decker bus. 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 diferent environment and discover whether it is possible to live in a world built from the imagination. Through observing 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. On the outside, Aran is a normal fve year old English boy, with blonde hair, blue eyes and a passion for building things out of lego, and playing with toy cars. Being brought up in Mutonia, amongst a diverse and creative community, has meant that Aran has been able to learn a second language, fuently slipping between English and Italian, and been 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 nearby Italian town, making him one of the only links between traditional Italy and the Mutoid community.

Location:In the early 1990's a travelling performing arts group called The Mutoid Waste Company moved to Santarchangelo di Romagna 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 bring 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 build a new life for them selves. It resembles a giant playground, a world waiting to be explored. The Mutoid sculptures look like creatures from another world, and the patchwork village is built from houses made from buses, boxes, and scrap metal, reminiscent of child hood games I used to play, building dens from cardboard, bed sheets and other house hold items.

The Film:Through observational 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 begins with Aran, as he is helping his Mum to plant shrubs on their plot. This sets the scene of the alternative and self-sufcient yard, as well as introducing Aran, getting messy and digging in the soil. Throughout the flm we continue to explore Arans world, by going on bike rides, adventures, playing with toys and digging. We watch as he is given the right to roam free, discovering his surroundings and inventing imaginative worlds for himself to live and play in. We 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. On my second visit, it is Aran's sixth birthday, and he is having a birthday party on the yard. Here, 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 habitat, and see Aran and the other children playing together. The flm juxtaposes these events with footage of him skimming stones by himself and playing alone to ask questions about freedom vs. loneliness.

In addition to the observational footage, the flm captures the world of Aran's imagination through experimental and playful flming techniques (macro, point of view, hand-held) 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 about subjects 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 both while I'm there, but also for him and his family to continue flming on between my visits. This video camera enables 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, beautiful or exciting? Where does he like to go when he's alone? Giving Aran the opportunity to run around by himself and make his own mini project, without being followed by me or my camera, also pushes the ideas about creativity and freedom.

Style and structure:The flm is going to be quite fuid in terms of structure, tying together the three diferent types of footage; predominantly observational, with elements of experimental and archive. Scenes on the yard will be slow paced and quiet to refect the way of life there, and will be contrasted by the quick pace of the Italian town. I will use movement and colour to bring the Mutoid sculptures to life and capture the fantastical elements of living on the yard. There will be very little dialogue, and no formal interviews just a few musings from Aran, and some undecipherable Italian whilst he is with his friends. These thoughts or feelings will be the bridges between scenes. It is important for me for my flming and editing styles to feel fun and playful, as it the flm is being seen through a child’s eyes.

ACCESS:Prior to making the flm I have visited the Mutoid yard in the summer for the last three years. Over this time I have been 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 bond. His family have been very supportive about the flm and have no issues with me flming their son or their home.

MOTIVATION:Initially, my motivation behind 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 been part of a legal battle, under threat of being evicted from their land. However 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 bring a child up in a remote community. The flm is also primarily an opportunity for me to explore the subjects which mean most to me as a director, childhood, playfulness, and imagination, which have always been key elements of my work. One of the questions I asked early on in making the flm is “Whether or not it is possible to live in a world built from imagination?”, and fnding the answer to this continues to be my main motivation whilst making this flm.

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE:The flm was shot over a two week period, with a two week interval in between. The frst week Aran was of school which enabled us to flm together and play outside every day. The second week Aran will be back at

school, so I will be able to see the diference in his routine and his behaviour away from the yard. This week is also his birthday, when he will be having a birthday 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 before being sent to the sound designer and composer.

CREW:For this flm I decided it would be best to keep my crew to a minimum as I did not have the funds to fy 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 because they have been able to collect lots of noises and sounds whilst on location to be used for their soundscape and soundtrack. Back in the UK I have a co-producer on board for me to talk to when I need a helping hand. I also have an editor who I will be working alongside, and an editing assistant.

BUDGET:My budget for the flm has been just over £1000 which I raised through kickstarter. This money has made it possible to pay for return fights 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 buy extra equipment such as a shoulder rig, and a macro flter, batteries and SD cards etc. Any leftover funds will be put towards submitting the flm to festivals and organising screenings in the UK and Italy.