Indigo Lady A Quicktime Storyboard, 2nd Draft

Brilliant work by Sapna Gandhi

New Scenes with Sapna Gandhi in the title role

Diana Slampyak's Development of the Character, Violet Milazzo: First Interview

sylviatoyindustries

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First set of interview questions
1 message

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sylviatoyindustries Lewis	Sun, Nov 20, 2011 at 2:34 PM
To: Diana Slampyak
interview questions for Diana/Violet I was so excited I could scarcely wait to get dressed and go into town.  But my mother came into my room wearing a narrow, lavender linen shift.  Her crazy black curls were pulled into a thick pony tail that stretched her white face across thin, flat cheekbones and slanted her eyes - YOU HAVE BLACK HAIR, BUT THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT YOU'RE CAUCASIAN; YOUR DAUGHTER IS DARK, NOT AS DARK AS THE PORTRAIT OF HER GREAT GREAT GRANDMOTHER, FLAVIA MILAZZO; IN FACT NOONE WAS SURE THAT FLAVIA MILAZZO WASN'T A DARK INDIAN, A MIXED BLOOD NEGRO OR AN ARAB, EVEN THOUGH SHE SAID SHE WAS SICILIAN AND SPOKE ITALIAN - DID YOU DYE YOUR DAUGHTER'S HAIR BLONDE WHEN SHE WAS A CHILD SO NOONE WOULD QUESTION WHETHER SHE WAS CAUCASIAN. Violet   Are you helping her get dressed, Blackie? WERE YOU UPSET THAT YOUR HUSBAND WAS DRESSING YOUR TEN YEAR OLD DAUGHTER? Indigo   Mommy!  Mommy!  I look just like Flavia Milazzo. Violet   Are you? Blackie   It’s her birthday. Indigo Mommy!  Daddy says I’m a princess. Violet Don’t you think she’s old enough to dress herself? Blackie Jealous of your own daughter?  Or me? SO WERE YOU JEALOUS OF YOUR DAUGHTER OR YOUR HUSBAND, OR WAS THERE SOMETHING ELSE. Violet She’s old enough to dress herself. And then Mommy smelled Daddy’s fingers; and Daddy shook his head - WHY DID YOU SMELL YOUR HUSBAND'S FINGERS.  But Mommy got hysterical anyway.  She always got hysterical if Daddy and I were alone - WHY DID YOU GET HYSTERICAL WHENEVER YOUR HUSBAND AND DAUGHTER WERE ALONE.  It took her an hour to calm down before we could leave the house - HOW DID YOU "CALM DOWN": JUST CHILLING OUT, DARK ROOM WITH A CLOTH ON YOUR FOREHEAD, HOT TUB, DEEP BREATHING, YOGA, ROSARY, ASPIRIN, SEDATIVE, DITCH WEED. -- sylviatoyindustries

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Sapna Gandhi's Development of the Character, Indigo Milazzo: First Interview

sylviatoyindustries

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First set of Questions - I will call you tomorrow
1 message

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sylviatoyindustries	Sun, Nov 20, 2011 at 2:32 PM
To: Sapna Gandhi
interview questions for SAPNA/INDIGO I was so excited I could scarcely wait to get dressed and go into town.  But my mother came into my room wearing a narrow, lavender linen shift.  Her crazy black curls were pulled into a thick pony tail that stretched her white face across thin, flat cheekbones and slanted her eyes - YOU HAVE BLACK HAIR, HAS ANYONE EVER TOLD YOU THAT YOU'RE CAUCASIAN; EVEN THOUGH YOU AND YOUR FATHER ARE NOT AS DARK AS THE PORTRAIT OF  FLAVIA MILAZZO; IN FACT, ISN'T IT TRUE THAT NOONE WAS SURE THAT FLAVIA MILAZZO WASN'T A DARK INDIAN, A MIXED BLOOD NEGRO OR AN ARAB, EVEN THOUGH SHE SAID SHE WAS SICILIAN AND SPOKE ITALIAN - WHY DO YOU THINK YOUR MOTHER STARTED YOUR HAIR BLONDE WHEN YOU WERE 18 MONTHS OLD. Violet   Are you helping her get dressed, Blackie? LOOKING BACK, DO YOU THINK THERE WAS ANYTHING STRANGE ABOUT YOUR FATHER HELPING YOU GET DRESSED WHEN YOU WERE 10 YEARS OLD. Indigo   Mommy!  Mommy!  I look just like Flavia Milazzo. DO YOU/DID YOU THINK YOU LOOKED LIKE FLAVIA, EVEN THOUGH YOUR MOTHER DYED YOUR HAIR BLONDE AND DO YOU THINK IT WOULD HAVE BOTHERED YOUR MOTHER THAT YOU THOUGHT YOU DID. Violet   Are you? WHAT DID YOU THINK WHEN YOUR MOTHER  GOT UPSET ABOUT YOU BEING SO CLOSE TO YOUR FATHER. Blackie   It’s her birthday. Indigo Mommy!  Daddy says I’m a princess. DID YOU REALLY BELIEVE YOU WERE A PRINCESS - IF SO, WHAT MADE YOU THINK THAT. Violet Don’t you think she’s old enough to dress herself? Blackie Jealous of your own daughter?  Or me? DID YOU/DO YOU THINK YOUR MOTHER  WAS JEALOUS OF YOU AND OR YOUR FATHER. Violet She’s old enough to dress herself. And then Mommy smelled Daddy’s fingers; and Daddy shook his head - HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOUR MOTHER DID THIS  But Mommy got hysterical anyway.  She always got hysterical if Daddy and I were alone - HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN THIS HAPPENED.  It took her an hour to calm down before we could leave the house - WHAT DID YOUR MOTHER DO TO "CALM DOWN": JUST CHILLING OUT, DARK ROOM WITH A CLOTH ON HER FOREHEAD, HOT TUB, DEEP BREATHING, YOGA, ROSARY, ASPIRIN, SEDATIVE, DITCH WEED. -- sylviatoyindustries

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Indigo Lady: First "Review"

by my friend on Vimeo:

Christina W Ward 18 hours ago: Reflections, why do we do this to ourselves?...It's not like the "astral" physical world is of concern? I love your story..."ruffles & an invitations to artificial birthdays..." Your passion makes this what it is: BOLD!

sylvia toy industries Lewis  17 hours ago: christina: even though the title character is very different from the kind of woman that i am - and was raised to be - i empathize with her. she is in a limbo of her own making, because in spite of her visceral impulses, she does not go past superficiality. and you're right: we do it to ourselves, and i am passionate about living with awareness that all of 'this' will turn back into stardust someday.

Christina W Ward 5 hours ago: I want more! ...Oh, I kind of liked envisioning you as the character, it made it more real...I am glad to know you know the difference, that makes me confident your objective was something I acknowledged as well!

Indigo Lady - casting memo

sylviatoyindustries 

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Indigo Lady quicktime storyboard - casting memo

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sylviatoyindustries Lewis	Tue, Nov 15, 2011 at 4:40 AM
To: Sapna Gandhi, Diana Slampyak, tyler cohen
http://vimeo.com/32135353 hey. so i combined the montage studies that i've been making for the last month with interspersed talking head of a reading of the original stage version script. there will be talking head clips in the movie (monologues of the main characters - i.e., Sapna/Indigo, Diana/Violet/Indigo's mother, Russell - that are improvised by the actors based on the script). but also scenes of characters in action; much of this will be green-screened. there will be a lot of montage, effects (visual & sound), etc., that happens on the editing table. but there will also be full-frame clips, probably at the beginning of each plot point. just so you know, i play the ghost of the great great grandmother, who never speaks, just haunts the montage at 50% opacity at plot points in the central character's throughline, wearing a black veil and looking somber. FYI, i am upping the mother's role in the movie because the conflict between mother & daughter is one of the story's strengths. i am going to wait and see what Sapna and Diana come up with in their monologues before i cast Indigo's father. nidal, i'm including you on this even though you haven't committed yea or nay. i am reworking the script that i sent you because i think the relationship between the detective and Sapna's character (Indigo)  happens too late in the story. i probably will add a different unattainable male character who appears early (in Sapna/Indigo's) childhood; and right now i'm thinking that character is probably a priest when he reappears in the story - probably as the intercedent between the detective and Indigo's husband's mistress. meaning, it is the priest who convinces the detective to investigate Indigo's husband's disappearance. steve, can you please watch this and think about playing Russell, the husband? nima, can you please watch this and consider playing the priest? rebecca, i will ask you about this when you drop by - but in case i forget, as is my MO, will you watch this and consider playing the mistress? -- sylviatoyindustries

Film version of the 1990's solo play, 'Indigo Lady': a Quicktime storyboard

This first draft of the 'Indigo Lady' QuickTime storyboard is intended to help me, the designer Tyler Cohen and the actors go forward. 'Indigo Lady' will be a video performance art feature based on my 1990's one-woman play about a young woman who, "disappointed in love and marriage, murders her husband and turns him into ham." 'Indigo Lady' layers reality, memory, fantasy, desire and delusion. The surrealistic montages in the movie will show that layering. The talking head will be replaced as the characters created by the actors retell the story of 'Indigo Lady,' her family, life and loves in their own words, while the ghost of a famous female ancestor haunts them. Whether the ghost of Flavia Milazzo is real or only exists in Indigo Milazzo's head is part of the mystery. The play is quite visceral and so far, the QuickTime storyboard is even more so. The imagery is disturbing for some viewers, and is not intended for children.

This video and the other studies done so far for 'Indigo Lady' will soon be compiled into a Quicktime storyboard to help me, the designer Tyler Cohen and the actors go forward.

This scene happens in the title character's memory, which is compounded of events she witnessed growing up on a ranch in rural Nebraska. It's said that farm kids learn about sex from growing up with animals; perhaps they also learn about violence and suffering. Many thanks for the borrowed footage from the Internet Archive Community Video page.

Flavia's Ghost Reads from the Book of Judith

in this possible scene, Flavia reads the controversial book of Judith in the Old Testament, dealing with the fabled Hebrew general, the widow Judith, who slew the oppressor of her people, Holofernes, by cutting off his head. in this section, Judith essentially tells the elders - the male elders - to grow a new set.

in the movie, Indigo (Sapna Gandhi) possibly would lip sync her grandmother's voice reading in Italian, while the ubiquitous ghost of Flavia haunts the background.

Flavia's Ghost

green screen sketch for my video performance art feature, which layers reality, memory, fantasy, desire and delusion in the story lines of the two main characters, a mother and daughter at war with each other and their own disappointments while the ghost of a famous female ancestor haunts them - or, taunts them. whether the ghost is real ultimately will depend on the viewer.

this is another study for my movie in-progress, "Indigo Lady" (a solo play by Nena St. Louis, staged in 1995 at the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre), about a serial murderer who murders the men she loves when they disappoint her. i'll be working with my talented gal pals Sapna Gandhi (Indigo) and Diana Slampyak. Tyler Cohen is creating the basic design of the settings. the movie will largely be based on Rashomon-type storytelling - i.e., monologues improvised by the 3 main actors (the third is the only man who survives, a detective who investigates the husbands' disappearances). (Indigo's trophy wife mom). Nena St. Louis play the ghost of Indigo's great grandmother, the founder of a ranching empire in Western Nebraska.

to interweave fact/memory/fantasy/illusion that are the stuff of each character's version of what happened, i will be using montages in a lot of the scenes. right now, i'm having a lot of fun creating video "sketches" while Tyler creates the real ones.

We will be making good use of this!

Study for 'Indigo Lady': The Homicide Investigation

An exercise showing Detective Donald's POV as he familiarizes himself with his prime suspect's neighborhood on his initial investigation of Russell's disappearance and possible murder and Indigo's paranoia about men and grim hatred of Russell, who raped her on their wedding night, as well as her madness and macabre sense of humor.

Detective Donald opens his investigation

Once an actor is cast for the role of the homicide detective, Indigo's love interest Donald, I hope to use Nebraska footage as a backdrop for some of Donald's monologues.

sylviatoyindustries Lewis

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Indigo Lady

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sylviatoyindustries Lewis	Sat, Oct 8, 2011 at 6:48 AM
To: Sapna Gandhi, Diana Slampyak Cc: indigomilazzo@gmail.com, tyler cohen
Ladies: First, please add Indigo's email to your contacts. If you're wondering, Milazzo was an old boyfriend's last name (Mee-la-tso). Indigo's mother, Violet, named her daughter after her favorite color; I named her that because indigo is ancient and used to be highly valued and precious. Although there is a script, we will be improvising, and the story will be based on Violet's and Indigo's monologues. We will work one on one at first, and when we know what the story is, we'll schedule shoots with all the cast/crew involved in particular scenes. Since I know how to do this now and have a more complete kit, every scene will be produced - i.e., designed, lit, sound-teched and testshotted. We will have a plot, but this movie ultimately is a feature-length video performance art piece. And that is something I'm an expert at! Tyler, let me know when is a good day to meet this month. Chris and I have story conferences every Monday night until the 'Keskarel' script is completely done, but I have no other commitments except for day job. Sapna and Diana, your first monologues will be based on what follows: Indigo Daddy was the most ambitious Milazzo since Flavia Milazzo made the family fortune.  He was a butcher and a rancher; and he opened Flavia, Nebraska’s first supermarket, Blue Girl’s, on my tenth birthday. Early that morning, hours before the opening day ceremonies, I woke up under the frilly white canopy over my bed and saw Daddy grinning.  He pointed to a ruffled, lacy blue organdy dress and blue patent leather slippers that lay on the end of my bed.  And then he placed a crown of artificial columbines on my head. her father makes her take baths in milk to lighten her skin Blackie   Happy birthday, Princess. I felt as magically beautiful as Flavia Milazzo in the painting at City Hall.  I didn’t mind the stiff fabric scratching my skin.  I was so excited I could scarcely wait to get dressed and go into town.  But my mother came into my room wearing a narrow, lavender linen shift.  Her crazy black curls were pulled into a thick pony tail that stretched her white face across thin, flat cheekbones and slanted her eyes. Violet   Are you helping her get dressed, Blackie? Indigo   Mommy!  Mommy!  I look just like Flavia Milazzo. Violet   Are you? Blackie   It’s her birthday. Indigo Mommy!  Daddy says I’m a princess. Violet Don’t you think she’s old enough to dress herself? Blackie Jealous of your own daughter?  Or me? Violet She’s old enough to dress herself. And then Mommy smelled Daddy’s fingers; and Daddy shook his head.  But Mommy got hysterical anyway.  She always got hysterical if Daddy and I were alone.  It took her an hour to calm down before we could leave the house. The opening day ceremonies for Blue Girl’s market began at noon with parade down the main and only paved street in town all the way to the new store, which stood on the most official block in Flavia, Nebraska between City Hall and Flavia Milazzo’s house.  My father and I waved to the crowd from the back seat of a red Mustang convertible.  I got to cut the shiny, blue eight-inch ribbon tied on the steel and glass doors of the most modern structure that ever had been built in Flavia, Nebraska.  The crowd sang me ‘Happy Birthday.’ I was quite pleased with the progress of my tenth birthday party as I greeted the crowd and handed out pieces of the five by five foot sheet cake that had been shipped all the way from a bakery in Lincoln.  Daddy stood under a tree smoking cigars with the mayor.  My mother sat near me on the lawn in front of the store, eating her cake.  She glared at me over her plate. Violet You’re cutting those pieces too big, Miss Priss. Blackie She’s having fun, Violet. Violet She’s too young, Blackie! Blackie Did you want to cut the ribbon, Violet? Violet You’re going to be sorry you spoiled this child. Blackie She’s a beautiful girl, Violet.  Men will always spoil Indigo. Violet Yes, Blackie, she is beautiful.  But she’s strange.  Men don’t like strangeness in women. I had the feeling she was about to get hysterical again.  I told my parents I had to go to the bathroom.  But I didn’t go to the bathroom.  I sneaked next door into Flavia Milazzo’s house.  It was the first time I was here by myself.  This tiny house--as frail and thin-skinned as the old matriarch herself must have been when she died at 109.  I forgot my mother had the floors redone.  The stink of varnish pierced my nostrils.   She ruined the floors!  How could she make them shiny?  Those spindly legged tables and chairs weren’t shiny.  Those bald Persian rugs with ragged fringe weren’t shiny.  It smelled so bad in the house; I thought I might be able to throw up--the varnish fumes mixed with the smell of roasting meat.  I heard men yelling at each other about spitting the pig. I'd never seen a pig spit before.  Smoke rose from a pit which had been dug in the middle of the store’s gravel parking lot.  Several men stood around the pit, positioning a pale, stiff pig with a heavy stick running from its mouth in front through its asshole. My mother was such a weakling.  She was so squeamish that she never touched raw meat without wearing rubber gloves.  She wouldn’t even let me come into the kitchen while she cooked.  This was the first time I’d ever seen raw meat.  I wanted to see more!  I ran outside. Indigo   Daddy!  Daddy!  I saw the pig! That was the day I decided to become a butcher.  I wasn’t afraid of meat--I was a Milazzo. Daddy never let me butcher anything larger than a goose until my fifteenth birthday.  That’s when he let dress the star of my birthday barbecue, a young boar.  Butchering the pig created a weird mixture of feelings in me--the thrill of carving an animal as large as I was, the horror of feeling its warmth and fleshiness; and the uneasiness of dissecting what seemed too familiar to kill. That night, I woke up from dreaming that I was a pig, and that somebody tried to slice open my abdomen.  I had a searing pain in my crotch, and I felt something warm and wet on the inside of my thighs. Indigo   Blood!  AAAAAAAAAAAH! My parents ran into my room, their gaping eyes and mouths mirroring my own terror.  I told them about my dream. Violet   No more knives! Blackie   Don’t get hysterical, Violet.  We just won’t be cutting any more pigs, that’s all. Indigo   I don’t want to butcher anything small! Blackie   No cattle, young lady. Indigo   If you won’t give me anything larger that a suckling, I just can’t be a butcher. It’s just as well that I decided not to be a butcher anymore--as soon as I started menstruating, boys followed me around.  Thanks, ladies. -- sylviatoyindustries

This video is a study in layering related events to explore how suspense, paranoia and unanswered questions create different layers of emotional response, any and all of which can compel action. This video is one of a series in my development of the visual concept for Indigo Lady, the story of a female serial killer in rural Nebraska. I was limited by a fever while working on this and used my malaise to shoot with the mindset of one who's cooped up in an environment dominated by a malfunctioning TV that's somewhat anthropomorphized.

Shine, A study for 'Indigo Lady'