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VISUAL GUIDE TO THE FILM
AN EXISTENTIAL PRODUCTION
SYSTEMS
Overview
GENRE
Psychological Meta-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
FEEDBACK LOOPS
SYMBOLS
SIMULATIONS
ANCIENT MATHEMATICS
ALIENS
CLONES
THE OCCULT
OBSESSION
INSANITY
FOURTH WALL
FRACTALS
DREAMS
DEATH
REBIRTH
BREACHING REALITY
Synopsis
SYNOPSIS
Systems is about a screenwriter named Danny, who writes a screenplay called Systems, about...
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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 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 surreal mind-bender about Danny’s fight for survival against a malevolent film studio. Beneath that, it’s a search for meaning inside the systems that shape consciousness, reality, and the universe itself. Why are we here? Who is writing the story? How much control do we really have?
Violent, funny, strange, and full of momentum, Systems is an existential thriller with the energy of an action movie. It is also the first entry in a cinematic anthology called The Systems Universe.
I hope you enjoy this maddening film, and the stories that follow.
Writer's Vision
Fractal System
A MATHEMATICAL SYSTEM
FOR THE AUDIENCE TO DECODE
THE FRACTAL SYSTEM
This movie follows a mathematical framework called the Fractal System. It governs the appearance and repetition of every object, action, location, character, shot, scene, sound, and more, creating an intricate set of patterns that Danny eventually comes to recognize.
DANNY CAN SEE THE SYSTEM
As Danny becomes self-aware, he recognizes the system controlling the film. We learn the rules of the Fractal System alongside Danny as he attempts to crack the code and escape the system.
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 occurs a specific number of times,
and that number is usually 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
The clues are everywhere. The question is how far you’re willing to go.
Comparisons
COMPARISONS
WHO'S WATCHING THIS FILM?
Film Comparables
In the Mouth of Madness,
Pi,
Barton Fink,
Lost Highway,
Under the Silver Lake, 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.
Festivals
SCREENPLAY FESTIVALS
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.
Summary
Teaser
WRITTEN BY
JESSE BLASKOVITS
Copyright © 2024 Systems Movie. All Rights Reserved
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