Short Film: Pitch

Heather

Research into similar products• I researched the first short film that was ever made.• Comedies were extremely popular.• Continue to research short films as they progress.• Producers moved on from comedies and expanded in terms of skill and genre.

• Following my research I found that, comedies were a popular genre in the early 1900’s• Nowadays short films are more diverse with multi cultural characters, range of genres

and stories that appeal to a wide range of audiences.

Genres, codes and conventions• The different types of genres available in short

film is similar to those of feature lengths.• Certain genres are not as pronounced in short film

making.• After research into short films, I found I liked 4

different genres.Genre Codes and conventions

Drama Realistic settings and locations, characters and scenarios based on real life, there isn’t always a happy ending, can sometimes leave the audience in suspense, themes explored are usually love, crime, family etc.

Teen a relationship experiencing a crisis, teenagers are the main characters, usually some return to equilibrium, themes explored are partying, drugs, pregnancy

Romance Men and women are usually the central characters, always a happy ending, a conflict which someone has to solve, intimate relationships, someone scared to show their true feelings.

Initial ideas and final idea

•A teenage boy and girl are madly in love and are planning to run away together. They don’t tell their parents as they feel that they will stop them.

ROMDRAM

•A girl is worried that she may be pregnant and confides in her best friend to give her some advice. She decides to take a test.

TEEN DRAMA

•A hopeless romantic stumbles across love one day on a trip to the park. She then gets asked out by her lifetime crush.

ROMCOM

•The film follows 3 teenage girls who are best friends. One girl thinks she may be pregnant, another is pregnant but is hiding it from her friends, the other girl has parents involved in domestic violence and wants to commit suicide

TEEN DRAMA 1

•A teenage girl comes from a strict culture and is pregnant, she is hiding it from her family and friends, in the end she decides to end her life..

TEEN DRAMA 2

•A teenage girl is pregnant. The film is a monologue that uses flashbacks to show when she was happy and all the events that lead up to the final climax of her killing herself.

TEEN DRAMA 3

The final idea that I have

decided to do is TEEN DRAMA 3. Within this film I have combined ideas from all the previous ides including suicide, pregnancy and strict parents.

Synopsis

• The film follows Rachel, a happy girl who thought she had it all in life, until one day her whole world fell apart. The whole film is a monologue as Rachel explains the great friends she had, the bright future and a great boyfriend who she loved. As the film progresses, Rachel realises she is pregnant, she tries to tell her boyfriend, but he rejects her as do her friends. She is left with two options either to run away or commit suicide. In the end we find out that she does commit suicide.

Audio and visual influences

One of my main influences are TV programmes. I enjoy watching teen drama series like Gossip girl, because of the drama involved and I can relate to some of the topics in my own life. I see it as a way to escape from my problems and imagine my living my life as some of the characters do.

Another TV programme that I enjoy watching is 90210. This is another teen drama show, the main characters are teenagers and that’s what makes it interesting to me, I enjoy watching relationships being formed and breaking apart.

Target audience(secondary research)

• Following my research on the history of short films, genres and codes and conventions.

• Target audience would be females and males of over 25’s

• TA because the comedy and romance genre is popular amongst short films and these films appeal to both males and females and people of this age group.

• There are not many short films under the category of teen drama, which is why mainly over 25’s would watch short films.

Target audience (primary research)• The results from my primary research showed that people

aged between 15 and 25 were the main audience of short films. A lot of them also said that they enjoyed watching teen dramas presumably because they are young, but as my TA will be teens I will base my story around issues that teens are facing today.

Theorists and theories• Claude Levi Strauss(binary opposition) – Sara and Amy are

opposites as Sara is more confident and outgoing, where as Amy is shy and introverted.

• Perkins - Rethinking stereotypes

• Tzvetan Todorov• The element of equilibrium – Sara wakes up and smiles• The disruption of equilibrium – She begins to get morning sickness

and doesn’t feel herself• The recognition – She thinks she is pregnant and tells her boyfriend• The attempt to restore equilibrium – He tells her not to worry, but

she takes a test• Return to equilibrium – Amy tells Sara it will be alright and she will

stick by her.

Music and Sound• The results of my primary research shows that

audiences would prefer to hear dramatic and upbeat music. This will add to the tension building atmosphere of the main character Sara not knowing whether she is pregnant or not.

Ancillary tasks: Film reviewI will be making a review page for a magazine. I will be basing my review on the Empire magazine and how they design their film reviews. I have chosen the empire magazine as I think that it is a popular magazines that appeal to a wide range of audiences. It appeals to teenagers as it is a feature film based magazine and usually has an A list actor as cover model.

This section gives a brief summary about what to expect in the film.

Beneath the plot is the main body of the review and it includes positives and negatives about the film.

Key explaining the different star ratings available. This film actually achieved a 4 star rating which is ‘excellent’General information on the film including director, actors etc.

As this is a DVD film review it includes the star ratings for other DVD’s out now.

Ancillary task: Film posters

The main character is the main focus on the poster, which shows us that the film revolves around her. She is wearing red, which symbolises love and passion, possibly suggesting that the character has a love interest in the film

This actresses' name is on the poster, but her character image is not on the poster. As the name is underneath the main character, it could suggest that she is on her side. The colour white shows that this character may not be older than the other's.

The credits are in a white colour to make it look professional and detach from the girl themes of pink.

Actors name is in a bigger size and centre placed, making it more eye catching, as opposed to the directors name, which is smaller in size and beneath the title.

Only one character on front of poster, he takes up most of the poster, suggesting that he is the most important and attraction for the film

Lead character is male, shows dominance, it appeals to a target audience of males and people in their mid 30's and over.

Tagline - It is near his head as it relates to his thinking. It is thought provoking and makes you think about your own life.

Codes and convention• Even though short film posters are different to

feature films they still share similar codes and conventions that nearly all posters have.

Feature film:- Title stands out to the audience- The names of the actors always stand out and are mainly placed at the top of the poster. Their surnames are also coloured in a different colour, especially if it is an A-list actor. -The directors names are not always put emphasis on as much as the actors and are usually in a smaller font or not even in the front cover at all.- The protagonist is always in the centre to attract the audiences attention-Background usually tends to be white, especially if it is a comedy genre- Release date of the film is usually at the bottom in bold letters in order to stand out to the audience, so they know when to watch it. - Feature film posters have a colour scheme where they tend to use only two/three different colours as their theme. Example The Proposal's colour scheme is Red, Black and White only.

Short film:- Due to short films low budget they usually tend to have their poster in just writing or include only a few number of people. -The films title has is being put more emphasis than the actual protagonist. This is because short films don't tend to have famous, Hollywood actors and therefore the actors they cast are not known to the audience and are therefore not important or attention-grabbing. -They have the name of their website, where the film can be obtained from- Finally they don't have a release date, unlike a feature film poster.

Locations, props, equipment and people.• Location – 3 bedrooms, Street, bathroom, kitchen.

Shooting schedule

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NOV  

      First day of filming for rough cut film. Includes scenes on first location.

Second day of filming rough cut. Includes scenes on second location. 

    

Begin editing rough cut film.

Finish editing of rough cut.

Present my rough cut and gain feedback.

Make appropriate changes to storyboard and script if any.

      

Begin filming for final cut of film.

Second day of filming for final cut of film on second location.

Begin editing final film.

Finish editing final film, add titles and company logo.

Screen my final film to members of target audience, gain feedback.

Make final changes to my film.

  

       

 

DEC  

        

  

            

  

            

  

  

         

I hope you enjoyed my pitch