For starters, an individual with OCD doesn't just have obsessions over specific things. For it to be considered Obsessive-compulsive disorder, these obsessions have to affect important activities that the person values. These obsessions are then accompanied by intense and uncomfortable feelings of fear, disgust, doubt and a few others. I think this is important to address as we begin to film our opening because it demonstrates the larger effects that OCD has on an individual. For instance, OCD unfortunately affects individuals everyday because it causes them to perform compulsions on repeat which consumes a large portion of their time. But even worse, this disorder tends to take over individuals' minds where they then feel out of control and eventually begins to affect their emotions. I was thinking that my partner and I could portray the emotional struggles behind this disorder by showing our main character getting frustrated , disgusted, or even having a mental break down when something is not as perfect as they need it to be. The International OCD Foundation states that the frequent intrusive thoughts that an individual with OCD receives, triggers extreme anxiety and affects day to day functioning. I believe that we could begin our film with a completely normal looking person waking up in the morning and progressively as they go to complete basic daily tasks, we show the anxiousness and the need for everything to be perfect.
One important thing that I have learned from my research is that not all repetitive behaviors or rituals are considered compulsions. Therefore it is vital "... to look at the function and the context of the behavior,"as the International OCD Foundation claims. Let's put this into perspective, sometimes routines( such as morning and nighttime) require individuals to repeat specific tasks but are typically a positive and functional aspect of everyday life. As a result of this, Catalina and I must put into consideration that just because our main character is shown repeating a few tasks or wants something to turn out perfect, does not mean that it will be directly interpreted to our audience that the individual has OCD. With this being said, I think that we should maybe tone down the amount of repeated tasks our main character completes, and focus on a solid few that will justify their actions. For example, someone suffering from Obsessive-compulsive disorder behaves the way they do and repeats specific actions with the intention of trying to escape the anxiety or the frequent obsessions occurring in their minds. I also think that by lessening the amount of repeated compulsions it will also make our opening less repetitive and will keep the audience more intrigued.
I learned that compulsions are not just classified as repeating routine activities. Below are list of a few other compulsions one may experience when dealing with OCD. I think that by incorporating some of these into our opening will also assist in making it less boring and will portray the different ways Obsessive-compulsive disorder affects people.
- Checking that you did not/ will not harm others
- Checking that you did not/ will not harm yourself
- Checking that nothing terrible happened
- Checking that you did not make a mistake
- Checking some parts of your physical comdition or body
- Rereading or rewriting
- Repeating routine activities (examples: going in or out doors, getting up or down from chairs)
- Repeating body movements (example: tapping, touching, blinking)
- Repeating activities in “multiples” (examples: doing a task three times because three is a “good,” “right,” “safe” number)
Other Compulsions
- Putting things in order or arranging things until it “feels right”
- Telling asking or confessing to get reassurance
- Avoiding situations that might trigger your obsessions
"What Is OCD?" International OCD Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
One of the strong suits of your blog is the thoroughness with which you write in every post. You really write allot as to where the reader can get a great understanding of what you want for your movie. Besides that I think your thoroughness really helped you when describing OCD as the director creating a movie with a character who has this illness needs to understand the effects that it can have on a person. One thing that would improve your blog would be to add some sort of visual media to your posts. You could include pictures, videos or even gifs as a way to attract readers. These visual forms of media could also help you in explaining some of the topics that you elaborate on in your blog. Besides that if you’d like some help in creating your film I saw the video "Top 15 Mistakes Beginner Filmmakers Make" by the channel D4Darious on youtube extremely helpful. He goes through all the little things that new filmmakers overlook while making their movies and I improved because of watching it. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1myw_0W5E8
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