Research and Planning - Video

Treatment

(This is the first copy of our treatment)

The genre of our film is romance. For our film we will need three characters maximum. The film is about a couple and the girlfriend has health issues which she does not want to disclose to her boyfriend, she believes that it is not fair on him that he has to live with her illness so she decides to leave him. So one day whilst the boyfriend is at work she decides to leave. She leaves in letter explaining her reasons for leaving. As soon as the woman leaves the man comes in finds the letter. He is shocked by what he is reading. He runs out the house and drives around looking for her. Millions of flashbacks are going through his mind at this point and figures out that she has been rather strange lately. He is going ballistic and is not in the right state of mind. He drives past the hospital thinking she might be in there so he turns back. Driving at full speed to reach the hospital so he can see what is dearest to him, his girlfriend, maybe for the last time. He drives closer and closer to the hospital and is at a ferocious speed, not aware of his surroundings. Just focused on reaching that hospital. Suddenly as he looks at his windscreen he sees a woman, he breaks but not hard enough and the woman comes thumping onto the car and then the floor. He rushes out of his car to see that it is his girlfriend. The protagonist, in disbelief, looks down and the film ends. Our film is a romance film which has a very different twist to it and is different from the typical love film where the lovers reunite in the end. We believe this will appeal to our audience.

Our audience is people aged between 16 to 25, as the couple in our film is a young couple. We’ve decided not to make our film no longer than four minutes as it would be too lengthy and may bore the audience. We want them to be engaged throughout the film. Everything in film happens in the same hour so therefore we will not need many props. The only place we will need some props is the scene where the protagonist is going through the flashbacks. For this we will only need a change of clothes for each character and this can easily be attended to. The location of the film is mostly going to be on the roads so therefore we thought we’d use small quiet estate roads so therefore it’d be easier to film the crash scene without causing trouble for the public and other drivers. We are still working on the getting our actors but this task can easily be handled as we know many people who will be willing to be in the film but we just need to pick the right person for each parts. We are planning our film to be mainly on youtube, this will be our main platform. We are also thinking of also uploading our film onto facebook.

Research and Planning - Video

I have completed the task of carrying out three case studies. This was very helpful as I gathered numerous idea's which we could utilise in our film. I also discovered the kinds of shots we can use in the film, this was extremely helpful as it would be now easier to complete the storyboard quicker as I now knew the shots we would be able to utilise. This information will undoubtedlty assist me in helping my partner with the stoyrboard.

Research and Planning - Video

Case Study – Disturbance by Jason Hill

Disturbance is a short film which has a generic of horror. The director has opted to use a linear narrative and shoot in live action. The target audience of this film are men and women 18 years and over as it is a horror film.  It is a film about a girl who is alone in her house at night time and she keeps hearing noises and is disturbed by these noises, hence the name ‘Disturbance.’ She then is woken up at night by the disturbances yet again but this time she decides to discover what the noises are. She looks around the house and finds nothing. So she decides to check the living room, she opens the living room door and sees something terrifying and screams out in horror. The film ends here and leaves the audience wondering. As the generic of this film is horror; this is why the film is set at night. There are also very fast cut rates in the film which builds up the suspense and horror. The fast cut rates and the suspenseful ending of this film has influenced me to utilise these effects in my short film.

The film mostly consists of mid-long shots and close up shots of the house and the protagonist. And a few point of view shots are used to show the emotions of the protagonist. This is a very good shot to portray emotions and I believe I can use this in my short film when my protagonist reads the letter and has mixed feelings. This shot can make the audience almost feel what the protagonist is feeling and this is a very good way to engage my audience and create pathos towards my character. I believe the lighting was a bit of an issue in the film as it was shot at night so therefore to tackle this problem in my film we will be shooting our scenes during the day and evening so we have natural lighting. The protagonist in this film is left to feel isolated as she is all alone in the big house and the directors use of camera shots has made her feel even more isolated. Long shots are used to make the protagonist look small and this is a great way to isolate her.

Throughout the film the sound is mostly non-diegetic. There are edited in sounds of someone breathing and also eerie noises which create more suspense; which adds to the horror genre. These non-diegetic sounds create much suspense in the film. This is another effect which I can take and enhance into my own film. This effect will work really well in the crash scene as non-diegetic sound can create suspense. There is one scene where the director has opted to utilise diegetic sound. This has been done to give the audience information on what is happening. There are also edited sounds of footsteps and doors creaking and this has given me a notion of adding in a sound of a fast thumping heart into my own film as this will really bring out the emotion of my character when he reads the letter. The ending of this short film has been a big influence in my film. The film ends with a mid-shot illustrating the character screaming out in horror and straight after this a blank screen appears and by this we know film has come to an end. This leaves the audience itching their heads as to what she saw and leaves them on the edge of their seats. This is an enthralling way to end the film and I will use this aspect in my film to create the same effect.

Research and Planning - Video

Case Study - Dear Dad by Shauna

‘Dear Dad’ is film which has a generic of comedy and is shot in a linear narrative. It is a short film which is filmed in live action and is about a girl who plays a trick on her father. She writes a letter explaining that she wants to leave the “nest” and go off with her boyfriend and that life is not all about education and money. This is a bit ironic as her boyfriend has no money or education. The dad is shocked with this news and is in disbelief but as he reads on he finds out that she is only joking and she’s popped round to the next door house. The film starts off with a low angle shot showing the protagonist entering her room.  Then a mid-long shot introduces the location which is her bedroom. We are shown the protagonist tidying up her bedroom and some non-diegetic upbeat music is played throughout this scene. In this scene the director has used mostly mid-shots and a few close-up shots. In the end of this scene the protagonist is seen writing a letter and leaving it on the bed. A low angle shot has been used to maybe show that the protagonist is powerless over the father that is the reason why she wants to leave.

The next scene we are introduced to the father. He is first introduced through a high angle shot and this shows the power he has. The producer has also used diegetic sound when introducing the father. Editing is used here to add the footstep sound which creates a realer effect.  A close-up shot is then used of him heading up the stairs and again the producer has decided to use diegetic sound of footsteps.  We are shown the father reading the letter and here a close up shot is used. Editing is then used to add a dream state when the father starts reading the letter and a flash is shown of how he thinks things will be like. He is shocked by what he is reading and finishes reading the letter. But then he turns over the letter and notices some writing at the back and this informs him that she is just joking around with him. During this scene the director has edited in a drumming sound to show the tension which is felt by the dad. But then an abrupt screeching sound is followed which illustrates it was all a big joke. The father is relieved and run’s downstairs and here the director has decided to use a low angle shot of the father and this is a contrast from the beginning as he now feels powerless.

The target audience for this film are children aged between 16-24 and also parents as the film shows the bond between a father and the daughter. Groups such as teens are portrayed in this film as being very humorous as the protagonist, Rosie, plays a prank on her father. The youth here are shown in a positive light in contrast to the media which shows them in a bad light. The producer has not needed to use much props as everything happens in one day.  Looking at this film has given me many ideas such as the shots which I can use in my own film. The low and high shots in this short film has mainly attracted me as I can use low or high angle shots to show how powerful a character is. The scene in my film where the protagonist reads the letter and then runs down the stairs, here I will use a high angle shot of him running down the stairs to show how powerless he is right now. The editing techniques which have been applied in this film have been an attracting point for me as I have decided to utilise these techniques in my film. Such as the fade effect which connotes a character going into a dream state. I will apply this technique to my film when the protagonist is going through the flashbacks so the audience are aware that he is going into a flashback state. Another effect which I have decided to use from this film is repeating the flashbacks. When the protagonist in my film is going ballistic, I will keep repeating the flashbacks very fast for a short period of time to connote that his mind is everywhere, he is not focused whilst driving and he is going mad Studying this film has also given me ideas of adding a comedic element to my film to appeal to my audience more.

Research and Planning - Video

Case Study – Twenty Pounds by Chris Broom

‘Twenty Pounds’ is a short story about a girl who has drug issues. The film has been shot in live action and has a linear narrative. The genre of this film is drama. In the film we are shown her journey and what she has to do to purchase some cocaine. In the end we find that she burns the twenty pound note which symbolises her end in drug taking. The twenty pound note symbolises her whole journey and also what she is going to use it for. The director has opted to use Todorov’s linear narrative in his film as the film is shot in the sequence of beginning, middle and end. The film also is shot in live action. The theme which is set out in the film is youth and drugs but we go onto actually realise this is the theme only during the end of the film. The audience of this film are people who have dealt with drugs before and also adolescents as they are normally associated with drugs. 

The film starts off by zooming, a close up shot, into the British £20 pound note, hence the title ‘Twenty Pounds.’ Non-diegetic sound is played throughout the film. We know the film is going to consist of some sad event as the non-diegetic music played throughout is melancholic. As the camera zooms out the twenty pound note, we are then introduced to the protagonist. A transition is used to move from the twenty pound note to the protagonist. We are shown a close up shot of the girl and then a close up shot of the twenty pound note which is on the floor. A long shot of the girl is then screened to establish the setting and we are made aware she is walking through a outdoor shopping centre almost in pursuit of the twenty pound note which is on the floor. She is walking a bit fast in chasing the note however the music played in the background contrasts her urge for the twenty pound as it is very slow and melancholic. This shot establishes the story as we now know the aim of the girl. But the twist is that we do not know what she is, later on in the story, going use the twenty pound for.

As the film progresses long shots and close ups are used to convey her chase for the twenty pound note. We are then shown the deuteroganist in the film who is the drug dealer. We are introduced to the antagonist by a close up shot of his feet; this creates a sense of mystery as we really do not know he is a drug dealer until the end. We are just shown a glimpse of him and this creates more mystery but then the scene develops and we are shown an insight into life. The story here takes another twist as we discover that he is actually drug dealing to fund his music lessons. A long shot is portrayed to show him playing the piano with his instructor. And a shot reverse shot is used when he hands over the twenty pounds over to the piano teacher. The next scenes are long and mid shots of the drug dealer smoking and also a high angle shot of the drug dealer is taken to show his power. After this scene we are shown the protagonist again and she finally is victorious in chasing the twenty pound. Throughout the film we are only shown the lower part of the protagonist’s body using a mid-long shot; but during the end where she purchases the cocaine she is mainly shown in full and this shot could symbolise that she does not feel whole until she consumes the drug. In the end she purchases the drugs and a mid-long shot is used to highlight this. Still images are used in the end to piece together what has actually happened throughout the film. And finally the film concludes in a close up shot of the protagonist and the twenty pound note as we find the protagonist burning the twenty pound note which symbolises her end in drug abuse.

This film influenced me in many ways and gave me many ideas such as the notion of using motifs in my film to portray transpiring something. For example in our film we are going to show a scene where our protagonist finds a letter from the hospital and this letter is going to be a symbol of the antagonist’s illness.

Research and Planning - Video

- Today we expanded our idea and thought about different twists we could have in the story. Firstly, we thought we'd have a dramatic car crash at the end of the film. So for the crash we looked at another case study, the link is below, which gave us notions on how we'd film our own car crash. Initially we thought we'd do a short film with the genre being love/romantic. And the foundation to the film is that the woman leaves the man for another. But we thought this was too orthodox so we scrapped that idea as we wanted something unconventional. Therefore, we changed the story from the woman leaving the man to the woman being ill so which leads her to not wanting to be with her boyfriend anymore and leaves a letter explaining that she's decided to leave. We also twisted the ending to where the woman has a car crash but her boyfriend is the one who crashes her.

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z651WT4Q2Zg

Research and Planning - Video

Creative idea's:
- We brainstormed some idea's for our short film. Got a little idea of what we might do. We decided that we do not want our film to be no longer than 4 minutes. The maximum characters we need is 3. We also looked at some video's on youtube. These video's gave us some ideas of what kind of location we need and also the kind of shots we are going to use. A video we looked at was called "Dear Dad.."

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7dQ78r0wBY





 

Research and Planning - Video

Wk. 1	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
10/09/12		Getting into groups and deciding what task we would like to do for the coursework	Production schedule
Wk. 2	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
17/09/12	In groups: discuss the ideas for the coursework	Research	Case studies
Wk. 3	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
24/09/12	Treatment - a rough plan of what I intend to do
Wk. 4	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
1/10/12	Focus groups, starts at the beginning of this week and will run until Friday, end of this college week.			Focus groups
Wk. 5	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
08/10/12				Pre-production - create a detailed storyboard
Wk. 6	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
15/10/12	Shooting the video	Shooting the video	Shooting the video	Shooting the video	Shooting the video	Shooting the video	Shooting the video
Wk. 7	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
22/10/12	Shooting the video	Shooting the video	Shooting the video	Shooting the video	Shooting the video	Shooting the video	Shooting the video
Wk. 8	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
29/10/12	Half-Term	Half-Term	Half-Term	Half-Term	Half-Term	Half-Term	Half-Term
Wk. 9	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
	Shooting the video	Shooting the video	Shooting the video	Shooting the video	Shooting the video	Shooting the video	Shooting the video
Wk. 10	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
05/11/12	Editing	Editing	Editing	Editing	Editing	Editing	Editing
Wk.11	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
12/11/12	Editing	Editing	Editing	Editing	Editing	Editing	Editing
Wk. 12	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
26/11/12	Editing	Editing	Editing	Editing	Finish Editing
Wk. 13	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
03/12/12
Wk. 14	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
10/12/12					Research and planning, the film poster, and magazine review page
Wk. 15	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
17/12/12   (between 24th December, 2012 to 4th January 2013 there will be a Christmas break taking place)
Wk. 16	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
07/01/13				Producing the film poster and magazine review page - all photography needs to be completed by this time!
Wk. 17	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
14/01/13				Producing the film poster and magazine review page - Print screens of how the work was done and the final products should be uploaded to the blog by this time
Wk. 18	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
21/01/13				Deadline for post-production focus group
Wk. 19	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri
28/01/13	Begin with planning and scripting the Director's Commentary and "extras" DVD (Evaluation)
Wk. 20	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri
04/02/13	Voiceover for the 11th task should be done by this time
Wk. 21-24	Mon	Tues	Weds	Thurs	Fri
11/02/13 - 04/03/13	Final Advanced Portfolio - Final Deadline for whole coursework!