PRISM is an independent feature film delving into mysteries of existence

A door is opened

Story Notes

After a fruitless morning of medical research on the pineal gland and technical research on medical imaging aberrations, Leanna feels no closer to an answer than when she came in.

Throwing herself at the mercy of the library's walking database, Rupert Alexander, she asks for ANY other material he can think of. Reluctantly he mentions a strata of "non-professional" research materials which suggest the pineal gland plays a role in the connection between the body and the soul.

Leanna is on this instantly. It rings true to her. Her intuition is on fire.

In a darkened corner of the upstairs folklore and historical collections Leanna discovers a treasure trove of information which resonates with her powerfully. She devours it, pulling one book after another out. It seems that each page she turns has significance and poignance for her situation. Her eyes are opened to an entire field of study of which she was either not aware, or had not yet been ready to discover, until now.

There's an old saying about there being nothing so powerful as an idea who's time has come. This is usually used in reference to social movements but it is also powerfully true in terms of personal and spiritual development. Sometimes our dogma, or our habits keep us sheltered from information. Then when the time is right, it pours on us like a flood and we realize it has been around us all along.

This is the sort of moment Leanna has, and it not only enlightens her, it opens something up in her. Something powerful. Alone in the dark hallway, tuned in to this new awareness, she hears a voice, and sees a shadow.

This proves too much for her at the moment and she runs out quickly, but she now knows in her bones what she must do.

Filmmaker's Notes

This series of scenes was a lot of fun to shoot. Joe Keenan was awesome as our humming librarian. Karen also handled the spooky (and haunted) upper floors of the state library very well, (considering no one wanted to be in there alone)

An interesting technical note. While Leanna is standing in the hallway the light winks and then goes out. How do you do that on cue? If you're Hollywood you build an electronic rig. If you're an indie production you loosen the bulb and attach fishing twine from the DP's kit to it, then have a "bulb twine gaffer" pull it to the side to make contact, and wiggle and release the twine to make the light fizzle out on cue.

Extras

People have been both inspired, and creeped out by Leanna's reading montage. I've had a number of questions about the things she was saying. So, for the first time anywhere, I'm going to post most of it here. These are all original phrases but they are based on other sources from people's research or real life experience.

•Rene' Descartes founder of modern philosophy and mathematics, famous for the theory "Je pense, donc je suis" also known as "cogito ergo sum" or "I think therefore I am" theorized that the pineal gland was the seat of the soul. This was a central tenet of his philosophy

•The pineal gland Is located at the geometric center of the brain. It is light sensitive and handles systems for wakefulness and dreaming.

•The pineal gland is often associated with ajna, the sixth primary chakra or the third eye, as well as with the Kether and Da'at sephirah in the Quabala

•The third eye or mind's eye, connected with intuition, the ability to see beyond the normal world. The third eye lies on the symmetrical center meridian of the body in the center of the forehead at once separating and unifying the two hemispheres of the body.

•It is thought that the pineal gland sometimes produces small amounts of dimethyltryptamine or DMT an extremely strong psychedelic. Experiences with DMT often exhibit similar characteristics, the most common of which involve explosive expansions of the mind as well as frighteningly vivid encounters with other worldly entities who communicate that they have been expecting them.

•The universe is continually created and recreated by the mind. We are a thought in the mind of god.

•Imagine yourself as a wave on the ocean, separate and distinct but connected to the ocean and every other wave. This is the nature of reality of which we only see the surface.

•Interference patterns perceived only by the higher mind and through this awakening, a new consciousness arises.

•Though a devout christian John Dee's encounter began a lifelong pursuit for answers through both science and the occult

•Goethe's theory of colors required both light and darkness to produce the full spectra.

•I came "in tune" with an alternate reality which had always been there, just under the surface.

•The shaman would retreat into a cave to begin the month long ritual

•Headaches and persistent visions followed the subject for years after the encounter.

•I felt a presence, I could not explain it, but the room seemed darker and colder, and I felt utterly alone

•Strange occurrences, unexplainable and unforgettable

•The subject did not know where she had been or what she had done, when she found out she was racked with abject horror and remorse.

•Tales of these encounters date back thousands of years

•An evil presence pressing down on me like a weight suspended from a great height.

•I saw something I was not supposed to see and I am now stalked by a shadow night and day.

•There is a long secret history of entities stalking man down through the ages, watching us, and sometimes more

•...on more than one occasion reported the unnerving presence of a sweet looking child but with black eyes and a blank stare

•Something whispered in my ear, I could feel cold breath on my neck.

•Horrible noises, a voice unlike that of a man

•I saw a dark shadowy figure at the foot of my bed, I could not move. It stared at me.

Interviews

Selected Scene Explorations

Thoughts and Spooky Production Stories:

HInts and Inspirations.