Creating a Short Film Pre-Production (Task 2 Unit 3, 5, 6, 7)

We have now moved into the second part of our pre-production, making notes and planning for the production stage. The ideas we have so far are in the image on the left; non-linear. So to make it clearer, the genre we have decided on is mystery/drama. The two main characters will be a reporter (which will be played by Rachel), and a camera woman (who is played by Emily, however she will not be seen). We will be filming in a cellar, a care home at the top of a street called Abbeymoor, the street and the house in which the cellar is in. We'll be using handheld, wireless and boom mics, as well as the presenter mic in the radio studio at college. Some audio that we'll create ourselves (possibly using a boom mic) are footsteps, glass smashing, someone falling down the stairs, reporter talking, screaming etc.

• Scene after intro: flashback (100 years?) of what happened in the house. Man and woman in a domestic relationship. Man attacks woman, pushes her down the stairs into a cellar, holds her hostage, woman dies from malnutrition (ideas of intro so far, there is more to be discussed). 
• Intro: Camera catches the reporter talking about planning to break into the abandoned haunted house, then the reporter picks up the camera and breaks into the abandoned house.

Treatment

The group collaborated to create and finalise the treatment. The treatment is a plan and overview of a film idea and includes:

• The Hook: this is a sentence which states what the film is about.
• Identification of the Genre: state what the genre of your film is, this can be just one genre or more, just as long as you note all the possible genres that will be in the film.
• Synopsis: this is the same as the blurb on the back of a novel, it tells the reader about the film, but it doesn't give the plot away. It describes the films in a way that makes them eager to watch it.
• Overview of the film: this part of the treatment is specifically for the commissioning editor, to give them a deep insight into the film, in an attempt to persuade them to give you permission to start creating the film because they feel that it could be a successful film. Also included in the overview, would be a small paragraph about the lessons and the purpose in the film and what it can teach its audience.
• Casting and Location: This tells the commissioning editor about who will be in the film, the names of their characters, the part they play in the film, and then the name of the actors.
• Unique Selling Point: The unique selling point is what makes your film different to other films.
• Target Audience: Who are you aiming your film towards, and does the genre of the film target a certain type of audience.

The Hook

Journalist breaks into a house to uncover a mystery 100 years ago.

Identification of Genre

Murder-Mystery

Synopsis

A man leaves a mental asylum thinking he is cured. He later gets into a disagreement with his wife. A hundred years later a journalist and her camera woman break into the house to see what they can find about the missing couple. They see some strange things on camera. Will they make it out? Will the story get told?

Overview of the Idea

Our idea is a woman in a domestic relationship 100 years ago and the backstory will be told via a voice over, the male involved is going to have a form of mental illness and is returned home to his wife after being in a care home..The short film then returns to the present, showing a journalist and a camerawoman going back to the house to investigate the murder that happened 100 years ago. They then find the house is haunted and capture the strange things they see on camera. The two main characters in this film will be the journalist, Rachel Smith, and the camerawoman, Emily Rhodes. The journalist is a professional and well dressed character that is determined to get the best stories she can find. Whilst the camera women will be more casual with her clothes. During the flashback, there will be a male who is called William, he will be dressed in mainly black or dark clothing with an angry, revengeful persona. The final character will be a female, named Gladys, she will be wearing a plain dress to keep in with the fashion of the 1917’s, she will also be quite well spoken as standard English was frequent during this time.

The purpose of this short film is to entertain the audience and create tension and we’re going to do this by ensuring we incorporate all the genre convention of a murder-mystery.

A lesson that this film teaches the audience is about letting curiosity get the better of a person as the journalist went into the abandoned house not knowing there was a spirit inside. Another message within the film is actually a very meaningful one which may be slightly hidden, this being about seeking help during a domestic relationship before it is too late and things get out of hand. Our short film will also highlight the contrast between modern day and 100 years ago in terms of mental health, as the character William would of not of been offered the correct help due to lack of understanding, research and education on the topic.

Casting and Location

Rachel-played by Rachel Smith

Emily-played by Emily Rhodes

William-played by Nathaniel Cookson

Gladys-played by Megan Cardwell

Location-UK,Nottinghamshire,Worksop,Rachel’s Cellar

Unique Selling Point

Our USP of our short film is that it is a true story, set in a real location. We’d rather film in a real location that has had real life paranormal experiences than film on a green screen, as filming on a green screen may not look professional.

Target Audience

I think the target audience for our film will be quite a wide range, however, due to death being a key theme within the film under 15’s should not be the target. Another point based on age is that we believe there will not be much interest in people over 50, the age range still remains quite high though because some parents may want to come with their children to watch. In terms of male and female there is no set gender in which we are targeting it towards. A key target group that may highly relate to the narrative is anyone who is suffering with a domestic relationship as this is what two of the character are involved with. When thinking about broadcasting the short film, I think it can be broadcasted by any channel and will probably be after 7pm to make sure no young child are likely to be watching this.

After watching a couple of youtube videos which explained how to create a DVD menu and create a timeline where you can organise your intro, your dvd menu, send links to your images on your DVD menu so the buttons work and send the user to the right place. The images and text must be relevant to the short film and its genre.