Self-Portrait

For my self-portrait, I want to do something that has to do with my empathetic side. I'm always putting myself in other's shoes and trying to see how they would feel in a certain situation. It doesn't always seem like a two-way street though. I can have feelings for someone and I know that they'll never care enough to think a certain way about me, and this self-portrait can be about dealing with that. 

So I want my film to be about a "pet rock." Maybe "pet" isn't the right word to describe it, but the idea is that it's something I care for that ultimately can't give anything back to me. I want to set up elliptical events that are an allegory for my last serious relationship. There are things from that in the past that I think link well with the theme I'm going for. It might appear to be somewhat of a narrative but the events don't necessarily happen in order, although there will probably be a clear beginning and ending. I might play around with that in editing and see how I like it though if I switch the order up. I’ll actually be in the video, and this rock will be with me. I’ll talk to it some, spend time with it, care for it, enjoy its company, resent its company, be by myself, carry it with me in my pocket, etc. 

I’m also toying with the idea of varying the size of the rock to represent the different levels of emotional drain; the heavier it is, the more it drags me down with it. The rock might appear to come closer to me sometimes, or even have a pareidolia effect where it seems to take on human traits. In the end it’s still just a rock and I’m better off without it and the illusion of having someone there for me. Then I’d like to close with sitting with a couple friends, as opposed to the rest of the video where I’m the only visible person.