Studio Shoot Research and Meeting Preparation

So are proposed meeting that was meant to be happening today (Thursday 10th November at 5:00pm)  was moved back to Friday 11th November at 8:30am due to too many people suddenly being unable to make Thursday. We are still expecting everyone to have done the task assigned to them in the previous meeting (refer to previous post). I have spent this week preparing for the meeting by assisting in the organisational side of things such as helping everyone further understand what they are meant to be doing for this meeting and in general using the information that Logan (Director) has provided me with.

I also felt like because our subject is so heavily based on the theory of the Id, the Ego and the Super Ego that research needed to be done on this. Here is what I found out:

The theory of the Id, Ego and Super Ego was first thought of and developed by well know Neurologist and Phycologist Sigmund Freud in 1923:

He is also responsible for many other Phycological theories such as the Death Drive which is the explanation of people compulsive repetition, ager and hatred. I am focusing in on The Id, The Ego and The Super Ego which was his way of defining someone beyond the simple means of Conscious and Unconscious. It is a way of defining someones personality into 3 major states. These are systems within us and not parts of the brain. They are ways we cope and act but there is nothing physically in our bodies that explains why.

The Id is the primitive part of a personality which is based purely on animal instinctive. It is all to do with our biological traits which are inherited and simply make us human. It is composed of things like personalities present at birth, Sexual instincts (to mate) and Aggression. It is said that the Id is part of our unconscious thought because it is purely base on instinct. This is why a lot of people aren't as aware of this side to themselves unless for example they are in a very stressed situation where undue bursts of anger come out. When we are born we are simply just the Id because we haven't yet developed the Ego or the Super Ego hence why children can seem so primitive at times. The Id never changes or develops with time, it simply always stays with in your unconscious mind. The Id is your impulsive side only led by Pleasure and what you wish for or want without giving a care to the consequences. When these wants and wishes aren't met then you are left with Unpleasure or Tension. This is why the Id is thought of as negative because it is only led by these impulses which is why it is irrational. The Id is something which is never present on the surface because the Ego and The Super Ego take control majority of the time.

The Ego is what you develop when growing up which works to mediate between your unrealistic Id and the very realistic world. It is developed from your Id but has been developed by the outside world. Therefore the Ego is the realistic component of your mind which is responsible for making ration decisions rather than the irrational ones that your Id would want you to make. You Ego will work to try and satisfy your Id's impulses and wants but it will figure out the best way to do this with in the world without causing negative issues to anyone or anything else. They work to make you function in what would be classified as a normal way. Your Id and Ego will both want the same things and will also both seek pleasure in life however your Ego will think about the good way to satisfy this because your Ego is the part of you that knows the difference between good and bad or wrong and right. The Ego can be weak so is simply intervenes with your Id and tries to steer you in the best direction it can finding you ways to get what you want. If the Ego fails to do this it can leave the person in a state of anxiety and then your body will use its unconscious defence mechanisms (another Freud Theory) to get rid of these horrible feelings and thoughts. The Ego is essentially your self control which encourages you to think through situations rather than just diving in. If people don't have a strong Ego then they tend to let the Id show its self too much.

The Super Ego is much more focused on the values of society and making you meet these as a person. This develops around the ages of 3 to 5 years. The Super Ego works a lot harder to control the impulses of the Id and to also sway the ego to work towards much more moralistic goals. Your Super Ego will strive to get perfection in society eyes. The Super Ego can be responsible for the feeling of guilt when you do give in to your Id hence why you feel bad when you do something unmoral or bad. The Super Ego also has an element of the ideal self to it. The ideal self is how you imagine you ought to be in terms of life goals and how you should behave as the perfect member of society. Again when we fall short of this ideal self the Super Ego may again punish us with anxiety and feelings of guilt. However it can also reward us when we achieve something by making us feel proud. If a personas Ideal Self is set too high then they will constantly feel like they are failing which can again explain peoples mental and personality issues in life. This ideal self and how high your standards are is set by the blues you are taught in your childhood and your upbringing.


This Research has been very informational and has shown me a lot more about how the Id, the Ego and the Superego control you and also each other. Now having done this research I have a much clearer idea about how these characters should be played in our piece...

The Id needs to be very animalistic and also very childish. It should be much more jerky and fast paced in movements because then it reflects the impulsiveness of the Id. The Id needs to be aggressive but not solely aggressive as this isn't the only feeling the Id has. It should act on any emotion much more dramatically then the SuperEgo. The Id holds no prisoners so should be bold yet it also says the Id will never want to harm itself so we also need to show some kind of defensiveness as well.

The Ego isn't going to be played by an Actor and is instead the Mirror that the Id and the Superego fight in. This works quite well because form my research the ego seems to be the middle ground between these two extremist versions of yourself. However the explanation for why the Id wins the fight could now be explained by the fact that the Ego always seems to work closely with the Id to help get it what it wants.

The Super Ego needs to be played in a very strong and upright manor because they are trying to reach perfection. They should be much more graceful with their movements as well to show that they are the better half. They will feel guilt when they do lash out and we need to express this. However when they feel like they are winning they need to be proud and again we must find a way to express this.

I feel like this research and brainstorm will really help me get the creative ball rolling in the meeting tomorrow and will also help as preparation for the Casting it will help us all gain a better understanding of what we need for the roles.