Vegas Illusions // Three Act Structure

Vegas is a unique city -- whether you have been there once or many times. It is a place of excess -- where everything is grandeur. I have been to Vegas three times and every time I go I have a different experience.

These experiences were all crafted around the people I hung out with -- which truly shows that it is a city built for you to have fun -- no matter what age or experience you are hoping for.  There are things to do for everyone. 

For this piece, I wanted to do a living portrait. I wanted to integrate both time-lapse and live action and structure a narrative around both.In this post, I will be taking a look a a few different things:

• Three Act Structure

• Shooting in Public

Most of the scenes in the video were shot on my last visit to Las Vegas.  The opening shots were taken on my way there and then the interior shots were piggy backed off another project I was doing for the Four Winds / MGM Group. I broke this film into three distinct sections:

• Inciting Incident

• Rising Action

• Climax

For this film, the actions are seen through the eyes of a 30-something year old account executive, who uses Las Vegas as his refuge.  The inciting incident was his decision to make the trip to Las Vegas in hopes of escaping the stresses of his job, have some fun and maybe catch up on some R & R.  He is a gambler and a people watcher, which makes Vegas the perfect destination.  Each experience just a little bit different -- enough to make each experience unique.

The rising action for this film is his investigation of this town through a new sets of eyes.  Each year he grows older, the more the town changes.  He arrives full of energy for the new short-term memories he hopes to craft.

The climax for this piece is his realization of the superficial nature of Las Vegas (even through he already kinda knew).Below, I have attached the script. 

The dreaded layover. Watching planes take off and land -- hoping the next one is mine. An overdue chance to escape the nine to five. A chance to take off and catch sight of something new. My city of choice, well… you know.A corporate playground where high-stakes, loud music, fine dining, and iconic marquees welcome you on every street corner. Perceptions of reality replicated in building facades. There are people everywhere -- I see them, walking or watching. But somehow I always feel alone. Take the wrong turn and discover a forsaken expanse of million dollar vacancies.Life cycles lasting for only a minute. Careers simply an after thought. Nine to five has no meaning in a city that never sleeps. People hoping for a break from reality but falling victim to something much different. A cocktail waitress throwing her PHD off the dance floor for the allure of money.Mighty illusions. Illusions turned into icons. We are a last chance people, and this is our city of choice. Before I can slow down for long enough to relax, time is up and I must take my step back into the real world. But I'm not sad to go. I'm tired, and it's time to sleep. But I can't do that here. I can only dream.

Shooting in a Public Place

One of the biggest obstacles when shooting this piece was shooting in public.  Because of all the trademarked building that exist in Las Vegas, I was told on many occasions I was not aloud to film.  However, there are a few things you can do to get around this.  One my final trip, I coordinated this shoot with another one I was doing and worked with the MGM Group to gain access to the South side of the strip.  By doing a little bit of research and contacting in advance, in many cases, it isn't that hard to get rights to film.  In other cities, you may want to look at getting a filming permit so you don't run into issues when filming.  Obviously, this isn't necessary for personal projects in most cases but be aware that you may be asked to stop filming in some locations (or might even get fines - depending where you are filming).  A good tip when you are asked if you have permission to film in the location that you are filming is to be upfront and let them know what you are doing.  I find myself often saying that I am either testing gear or shooting a personal project (this doesn't apply if you are shooting on private property!!).

Credits

Voice-Over by David Bannerman (MediaVoice, Nova Scotia, Canada).

Voice-Over Script by Preston Kanak & Nils Sorensen.

Music: The Music Bed themusicbed.com.

Special thanks to Daniel McCarthy.

Special thanks to Alex Stevens, Jeremy Drummond, CJ Gibson & Eric Kessler.