Formal Pitch

Here is us presenting our powerpoint to the class. Though we did not get any feedback, we are still generally pleased with our progress. The main cause of concern is the small amount of time we have given ourselves as we plan to shoot our short film at dusk. In order to achieve this we have to be very organised and schedule exact times we plan to shoot to try and avoid missing our small window of time.

Formal short film pitch

Here is our group pitch where we expressed our ideas for our short film. This was originally made on powerpoint but was converted into a video using iMovie in order to make it accessible to view on our blog.

Treatment

Classification/ Genre:

Our short film could be categorised as both a horror and thriller as we plan for it to contain elements from both fields. We have chosen these genres as they are the most interesting to us and could be to an audience once completed.

Short Summary:

A vigilant killer takes justice into his own hands as he gets rid of those who have wrongly freed by the justice system, sparked by the death of this wife but a convicted murder that the justice system failed to keep away from the public.

What professional films inspired you and how?

From the research we have done in preparation for our short film we are most inspired by the TV show Dexter as the TV show deals with similar themes to ours as well as the same classification. By looking at Dexter (in the opening sequence in particular) we have been inspired to use to use a large amount of micro shots in the same why they are used in the opening sequence of Dexter has they help the audience come up with false accusations as to what is going on however is then clear when the bigger picture is revealed, however this will be different in our piece as our version will be implied rather than clear as we will not use a bigger picture however something obvious to make it clear as to what is going on and for the audience to keep up with what is going on.

What makes your idea different?

Audience

Our target audience would be aged over 18 because it containing suggested graphic scenes of violence. Our target audience would be males who are fans of film and TV shows that are in the genre of Thrillers, Horrors, as the themes of this short film are though not commonly associated with females so the majority of male viewers would be larger than the majority of female viewers.

Length

As the maximum limit for our short film is 5 minutes we have decided to aim for a final cut time of roughly between 4:30 – 4:45 so we have enough time left over without going over the limit.

Logistic and feasibility –In terms of equipment, location and actors.

• Equipment – For our short film will be using a number of different props that include fake blood, (which will be used throughout) Tools, (such as knives & rope) a cork board with newspaper clipping and string connecting them, files and newspapers that we will need to produce ourselves as we will need to create a short that attracts the attention of the killer in our film.

• Location -  Our storyline only consists of two locations as more than 3 would make filming hard as well as effect consistency. Then first location we will need is a white room/ warehouse, were the killer is based. Here will be all his things for example, his board of newspapers clippings, Here we will shot the scene that include him cleaning up from his first kill at the beginning of the film and where he notices the newspaper article on his next victim. The second location will be a forest or woodland area. We have decided on this location as it will be an empty area therefore we do not need to worry about other people being in our shots as well as an interesting scenery. Here we will shot a chase scene between the vigilant and the victim, in this location the chase scene will be more interesting due to the obstacles. From this we will be able to get a Varity of different camera angles which will help our piece look more professional

• Actors -  As our story will only consist of roughly 2 characters (as one is only implied as we only see there arm) we have decided we will not need anymore than 2 characters however we are considering only using 1 as we are planning on not showing either of the characters in full however we are undecided on this idea.

Health and Safety issues

When filming the scenes in the forest we will have to be careful that the actors are not injured while running by falling over or getting cut by branches, therefore we may have to carry out this scene in a slower motion but speed it up in editing.

Where would your film be screened/ distributed? Includes YouTube and other Internet channels?

There are a number of places that our short film could be shown. We envision our piece to be screened in cinemas as we feel if shown on a larger screen the details within the piece would be appreciated better. However if it were to be uploaded on to a site such as YouTube it would be much easier for larger numbers of people to access it.

Short film production

Dexter Opening Sequence case study

Synopsis: Dexter’s a blood spatter-pattern special analyst for the Miami metro police department, who also leads a secret life as a serial killer.

Summary: the opening credits of the TV show depict the morning routine of Dexter.  We see the mundane tasks of Dexter such as: shaving, getting, dressed and eating. These simple tasks are given a sinister edge by multiple micro shots and suspious drops of red to create the theme of blood.

Themes: blood is major theme in the opening sequence. It is effectively used in order to create a sense of unease in the audience. The multiple shot featuring a sharp knife, again illustrates a far more sinister picture than what is actually happening. Death or murder is the biggest theme of the opening sequence, with implications of strangling, smothering and slicing.

Characters: only one character (Dexter) is apparent all throughout the opening credits. Despite their only being one person present, the sequence implies shades if guilt to the cheeky play of innocence with Dexter smiling. These mixed messages of good and bad quickly establish that the character of Dexter isn’t what he may seem to be.

Camera techniques:

Micro shots: A large fraction of the opening sequence features micro shots. It is used to focus on what seems to be quite injurious behaviour (putting on the t shirt). These shot a detrimental in transferring the idea to the audience that there is something malevolent about this character. However these shots are countered by the final scene which is a mid-shot of Dexter leaving his house with a cheeky smile. For all the micro shots used in the opening sequence this is the first time the audience is shown the full picture. What’s intriguing to note is that the seemingly friendly character Dexter shows the world is a complete contradiction to what is implied behind closed doors. Furthermore the micro shots also suggests that if people were to focus more on Dexter, like the audience have been inclined to do, you would find cracks in the facade of Dexter. Close ups are again used to foreshadow something ominous about Dexter.

Editing:  The editing of the opening sequence is used to bare minimum with most of the editing focusing to cut in sync with the accompanying soundtrack. The sequence switches from slowing the speed of the scene as shown with the slowing down of the coffee grinder, to a quick cut of the same scene. This is effective in showing the passing of time, also the slowed down scene aid in showing the minuscule details such as the orange juice squirting out as Dexter cuts it. These are all visual metaphors for the oddity of Dexter’s life.

Mise-En-Scene: Location – the opening sequence is situated in his house and features Dexter’s bathroom and kitchen.

Costume - When the audience see’s Dexter’s full profile for the first time, he is dressed quite casually in a shirt and light trousers. This casual appearance reinforces the image that Dexter is trying to show everyone.

Props – A number of props are used during the opening sequence, most notably the fake blood and knifes used in the cooking sequence.  

Sound: no dialogue is used throughout the credits. The piece of music played is quite jaunty, adding a sense of creepiness. In addition to this, there are diagetic sounds, particularly in the kitchen scenes with the sound of sizzling and cutting.

From this opening sequence, there is major points and directions that have inspired me. The main one is the use of micro shots, and in the way they create a sinister feel to them without need any dialogue to explain to the audience what they are trying to convey. Furthermore the way they have used subtle drops of blood to indicate and imply the act of murder is something that I found to be a very effective and efficient way to allow the audience to create the idea of what is going on on-screen.

Ben Case Study

Synopsis: a native college student is cast into a world of blood, violence and terror as she desperately tries to find the whereabouts of someone only known as Ben. Through her journey of looking for him, she found the body of her best friend in the woods, surrounded in a bath tub filled with her blood. Shocked by her murder the female protagonist, spurred on by this, she loses her sense of innocence and begins her hunt for the killer. The video ends with her running through a marsh.

Themes: The video is shot and cut into a trailer. This format made the video very snappy, as trailer are produces in order to gain the audience’s attention the trailer mocks the modern day slasher film that is regularly produced in Hollywood. The nature of the trailer causes it to be quite satirical, despite its heavy use of blood and violence, the typicalness if this storyline makes it into a dark comedy. Blood and violence is generally a theme throughout the trailer, with the protagonist shown to be covered in blood and tired up by unknown forces. This type of scene has become so regular that it becomes a cliché scene that it loses the sensitivity.

Characters: although there is the mention of three characters, only two are actually shown during the mock trailer. The main female protagonists and her best friend, neither of their names are mentioned, however to juxtapose this, Ben is the only name given to the audience, but is never shown in the trailer. The main character is portrayed as a casual college student, texting and giggling about with her best friend. The best friend is only given one line of dialogue, but her character is used more importantly as the death that then sets off a spiral of events surrounding the main character. Despite never being seen the character Ben is by far the most interesting thing in the trailer. As the character is never shown, the air of mystery of whom or where Ben is, is furthered as the protagonist is also shown to wonder with increasingly more desperations.

Camera techniques: an establishing shot in the very beginning is done to paint the image of something normal and ordinary, when in actual fact a storm of violence is slowly brewing. Hand held is used heavily in the action sequences. This makes the actions sequence a lot more surreal to the audience. These are also shot in first person perspective as it then puts the audience in the place that the protagonist is in. Close ups are used effectively to move the storyline and to gauge the type of characters. The close up of her face giggling and looking shyly towards her friend, suggests to the audience that Ben is a boy that she likes and is maybe flirting with. This instantly establishes the relationship between her and Ben.

Editing: In the beginning of the video there are slow fading transitions between scenes, this gives the trailer a settled feel; however this quickly changes at the end of the best friends death scene and the action sequences begin. The cutting speeds greatly increases and create a sense of her desperation and the adrenaline of the action/running scenes. There are a few fade to black transitions between the opening scene in order to create some mystery and suspense, as the audience is and almost expecting a twist of some sort.

Mise-En-Scene: both girls in the trailer dress casually in the attire that would be common for a teenage girl i.e. shorts, vest top or a plain black shirt.

Props: early in the video the protagonist us shown to be texting on her phone, which is seen as a hugely typical teenage activity. In the midst of all the action, in which the protagonist is tied, a unknown figure is shown to be holding an axe. This gives a completely different feel to all the other scenes as this is the first time that there is a physical proof of someone hunting the protagonists rather than the scene of her aimlessly running from the supposed villain.

Setting: the woods is a key setting as it rings back to the mocking of modern slasher, as the most typical scenes are that of an innocent girl walking into the woods. These scenes of the protagonist heading into the woods us a nod to this, and gives the audience the indication of where the storyline is going.

Sound: sound is an important factor to the trailer in order to aid the intensity of the scenes with suspense and action. The trailer begins with a steady drum beat in the background of all the dialoge, giving a sinister and eerie feeling to the audience. The soundtrack continues and builds as more instruments and strings are added, creating more tension. The music suddenly stops and when the dead best friend is found. This draws the audience and contains the shock value as everything turns deafeningly silent. However this silence is broken by the blood curdling scream of the protagonist and a new orchestral soundtrack, which is another nod to the way Hollywood produce “epic” scenes.

Target Audience: the audience will be to the large majority of people as it is available on YouTube and therefore accessible to most people. However it would be more suitable and catered to the younger generation as they would be more privy to the mock humour of it.

The main things that inspired me is the way the running scenes through the first was shot and choreographed. The slasher-esque genre this trailer delves into something that I want to take and adopt into my own short film. I also liked the way hand held cam was shot in first person as it helped create a more realistic way to produce an action/running scene.

Unwind short film - Case Study

Unwind – short film
Synopsis: A world gone mad with an obsession with new body parts. From the age of 12-18, parents can sign their children off to be “unwound” Unwinding is a process where by 100% of the body is used and recycled as a donor.

Summary: The short film focuses on the unwinding of Kelsey. It starts with the process of unwinding and delves into the emotions of Kelsey. Not much happens, as the storyline is mainly told through dialogue rather than setting. Almost inevitably, Kelsey dies at the end of the short film with her body being successfully unwound.

Themes: Morality of unwinding is a huge theme as it begs the question to what has happened to society that has made it down rail to such an extent that parents can sell their children as donors.

Characters: there are only three characters of note; and only one of them are named, Kelsey. Kelsey is the main character and the one being unwound. The other two characters are a nurse and a doctor. The nurse’s character is the one creates an alarming sense of calm, which seems completely odd once the audience figure out what is actually happening. In contrast the doctor takes a more physical role, rather than the dialogue heavy nurse. In turn this makes him more of a secondary character to that of Kelsey and the nurse.

Camera techniques: Close up – Majority of the scenes consist of close ups of just Kelsey’s eyes. This is as close as the audience get to seeing who Kelsey is. Only showing Kelsey’s eyes is a way to invoke sympathy from the audience, as the close up make the emotions that Kelsey is going through extremely raw and real. 1st person perspective: the other camera technique used is the 1st person perspective of Kelsey, meaning that the audience experience and see everything that Kelsey is. This is extremely effective as it pulls the audience right into the scene, making it seem as though they are the ones being operated on, rather than Kelsey. Using these shots also helped move the storyline without needing to use dialogue, specifically the scene the scene in which Kelsey loses her eyesight, the screen goes black in order to represent that. Again this creates a sense of going through what Kelsey is seeing.

Blurring/focus: going in and out of focus is done several times during the short film. This is mainly done from the 1st person perspective and creates a sense of confusion that Kelsey has as she wakes up. Editing: Basic editing techniques are used in the short film, such as cutting into a black screen, which illustrates Kelsey’s blindness. The cutting rates are quite steady until the end, where the cutting rates then speed up to convey Kelsey’s distress as she nears the end of the unwinding process.

Mise-en-scene:
Costume: the doctor and the nurse are both wearing scrubs and a medical gown. They have also covered their hair and are wearing masks, this is done to quickly establish who they are.

Location: as most of what we see is in Kelsey’s perspective, it is hard to note where she is, although the nature of what is happening leaves it easy to assume that they are in an operating.

Props: a number of props are used, most notably the breathing mask, as it indicates to the audience that Kelsey is the patient. A series of medical knives are seen, creating a sense of a authentic procedure, rather than a pale imitation of one.

Sound: just like the 1st perspective shots, sound is a key element in moving the storyline and creating the raw emotions of Kelsey. When the short film starts you can hear the diegetic sounds of a steady beep, instantly setting the scene in a hospital. Sound effects are used in crucial scenes such as the moments in which it seems that Kelsey’s legs are removed is not shown and is purely done using the sound of bones crunching and the doctor seemingly pulling at something.

Much like Dexter, I took great inspiration from certain things. The 1st person perspective, I felt help move the narrative without needing to do much. I feels this simple way of showing what the character is seeing is a perfect way for me to create suspense in my short film. The use of sound is something I take inspiration from as I think using sound in certain scenes will help me create the setting a lot more efficiently without being bogged down by adding dialogue to explain what is happening.

Short Film Brainstorm 2nd Draft

We have looked a few possible opening scenes in some detail (included a possible soundtrack and locations) for our short film with references to films/tv show we have seen similar scenes to or ones that we are inspired by. 

1st short film brainstorm

Quick brainstorm for possible ideas, as a group we've decided that producing a short film intrigued us more than making a music video.

Production Schedule

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