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VISUAL GUIDE TO THE FILM
AN EXISTENTIAL PRODUCTION
SYSTEMS
Overview
GENRE
Psychological Thriller
When the events of a screenplay begin to unfold in his real life, a writer suspects he’s inside of his own film. Knowing his character’s tragic fate, he desperately tries to prevent the end of his existence before the credits roll.
LOGLINE
THEMES/ELEMENTS
CONSCIOUSNESS
PHILOSOPHY
OCCULT
MEANING-MAKING
EXISTENTIALISM
FREE WILL
ALIENS
FEEDBACK LOOPS
GENIUS
MEANINGLESSNESS
ART & LEGACY
INSANITY
SUICIDE
TECHNOLOGY
THEORY OF EVERYTHING
GODHOOD
BREACHING REALITY
DETERMINISM
SELF-REFERENCE
INFINITE REGRESS
DEATH
Synopsis
SYNOPSIS
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AS HE DESCENDS INTO AN INFINITE WRITING REGRESS, HE BEGINS TO FEAR THAT HE'S ONE OF THE MANY LAYERS BEING WRITTEN...
"WHAT IF I'M JUST A CHARACTER INSIDE OF A FILM"?
"HELP"
"I know you're watching me"
HE QUESTIONS HIS OWN FREE WILL AND DISCOVERS THAT...
WE ARE ALL WATCHING HIM INSIDE OF A FILM CALLED SYSTEMS
WORSE, HE FINDS HIMSELF ON THE SAME TRAGIC PATH AS HIS CHARACTERS - FATED FOR VIOLENCE, MADNESS, AND...
SUICIDE
HE TRIES TO CHANGE THE PLOT...
BUT EVIL PRODUCERS, PHIL AND LARRY, LOVE THE STORY TOO MUCH...
"HELL OF AN IDEA DANNY"!
"EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING IS PERFECT"
THEY WORK FOR INFINITY ENTERTAINMENT, AND THEY'RE HELL-BENT ON COMPLETING THE FILM - BRINGING DANNY CLOSER TO HIS DEMISE.
SUDDENLY, ANYONE WHO SUPPORTS SYSTEMS IS WRITTEN AS AN ANTAGONIST, EVEN HIS OWN CO-WRITER, JESSE
AND NOW DANNY MUST FIGHT FOR HIS LIFE. HE MUST RE-GAIN CONTROL AND BREAK FREE FROM THE STORY.
REFLECTION
BUT WHAT IF EVERY ATTEMPT TO DEPART FROM THE STORY IS JUST ANOTHER PART OF THE STORY?
WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO HIS EXISTENCE WHEN THE CREDITS ROLL?
DOES HE EXIST ONLY TO SUFFER AND DIE FOR OUR ENTERTAINMENT?
DOES DANNY TRULY POSSESS CHARACTER-CONSCIOUSNESS OR IS HE SIMPLY JUST...
A CHARACTER INSIDE OF A FILM?
WRITER'S VISION
A CELEBRATION OF CINEMA AND A SEARCH FOR MEANING
On the surface, Systems is a thrilling mind-bender about Danny's fight for survival against a malevolent film studio, but on a deeper level it’s an existential inquiry into the nature of consciousness, metaphysics, and mortality. It’s an action movie for the mind, filled with violence, humour, and off-the-wall energy.
Systems is surreal, vibrant, dark, and fun!
Writer's Vision
Fractal System
A MATHEMATICAL SYSTEM FOR THE AUDIENCE TO DECODE
THE FRACTAL SYSTEM
Systems adheres to a mathematical framework called the Fractal System. This system governs the occurrence of every object, action, location, character, shot, scene, sound, and so much more into an intricate set of patterns and rules, which our protagonist, Danny, eventually comes to recognize.
DANNY CAN SEE THE SYSTEM
As Danny’s character-consciousness emerges, he becomes aware of the system that governs the film. We learn the rules to the Fractal System through Danny’s attempt to crack the code and escape the system.
The first thing we learn is that everything in the film revolves around the number 8:
- 64 SCENES
(8 X 8)
- 128 SECONDS PER SCENE
(8 X 16)
- 2048 SHOTS THE ENTIRE FILM
(8 X 256)
- 32 LOCATIONS USED
(8 X 4)
These numbers are everywhere: 1,2,4,8,16,32,64,128 This is the Fractal Set.
Almost everything in the film recurs x times, where x is a Fractal Number from the Fractal Set.
EVERYTHING IN THIS FILM IS CONNECTED
From physical objects to subtle actions, there are HUNDREDS of Fractal Elements.
CONNECT THE DOTS
In Systems, the dots are abundant. Hopefully we'll be solving the puzzle alongside Danny for years to come.
The Market
THE MARKET
WHO'S WATCHING THIS FILM?
Film Comparables
Fight Club,
Donnie Darko,
Barton Fink,
Adaptation,
The Shining, and
Synecdoche New York
Fans of:
The Occult
Science/Technology
Metafiction
Writing
Patterns/Geometry
Philosophy
Mathematics/Logic
Puzzles
Challenging movies (not cookie-cutter)
Existentialism
Alternative Realities
Psychology
CHARACTERS
EXAMPLE CAST
The puppet masters. Two fast-talking sociopathic producers with the sole intention of causing Danny's insanity - played by the same actor.
Phil and Larry
Fearful of his collapsing reality. Aware that he's a character inside of a film.
Danny
A cowboy dressed in all black, who drives a Red Semi. He is the Threshold Guardian. He delivers Danny to Act 3, in the town of Port Lester.
The Temptress in the Red Dress. Danny adds Lillith into the film because he's pressured to include a female character.
Who's side is he on - Danny's or Infinity's? It doesn't matter, just as long as Danny completes his "Character Development".
Lester
Lillith
The Psychologist
Danny's co-writer/alter ego. The opposite of Danny: passionate, and committed to completing the film.
Jesse
A psychonaut who inhabits a space called The Void. He too seems aware that he's a character inside of a film.
Razz
Cast
LOCATIONS
References
Locations are governed by the Fractal System, so there are exactly 32 Locations.
16 occur once. 8 occur twice, and 8 occur 4 times.
16 x 1 scene
Book Store
Jazz Club
VHS Store
Park
Stage
Cool Cafe
Red Semi
Arcade
Beach
School
Tiki Lounge
Night Club
Mansion Lodge
Limo
Astral Plane
Floating Head
8 x 2 scenes
Forest
Motel
Theatre
Pool Hall
Psychologist's
The Void
Hospital
Lake
8 x 4 scenes
Danny's Apt.
Jesse's House
Port Lester
Residential Roads
Cabin
Infinity Studios
Diner
Childhood Home
Locations
Notable Location
DANNY'S APARTMENT
Filled to the brim with thousands of sticky notes and towering stacks of notebooks. This is the room of a mad writer.
Notable Location
DINER
A red retro diner.
This is Jesse and Danny's regular spot.
Notable Location
INFINITY
STUDIOS
A corporation with the sole intention of causing Danny's madness and suicide.
Notable Location
CABIN
This is where Danny has written his character to end his life. He involuntarily finds himself here at the climax of the film.
Summary
SUMMARY
Danny writes himself into his film ad infinitum. The self-referential parameters evoke
character-consciousness, leading him to realize he's just another layer inside an infinite regress. He then falls into an existential abyss, and questions the fabric of his reality and the meaning of his existence.
Danny represents us, aware of our finite mortality, in search of meaning. Systems is an existential journey wrapped in a surreal and chaotic world. As we decode the fractal system alongside Danny, we'll look at the systems that govern our own lives, and find ourselves inside our own feedback loop.
WRITTEN BY
JESSE BLASKOVITS
Copyright © 2024 Systems Movie. All Rights Reserved
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