STORYBOARD

Storyboard

IDEOLOGY:

An ideology is a world view, a system of values, attitudes and beliefs which an individual, group or society holds to be true or important; these are shared by a culture or society about how that society should function.

It is the idea behind a media text, the secret (sometimes obvious) agenda of its producers. It is important to identify the different ideological discourses that may be present in even an apparently simple photograph.

Is change portrayed as necessary, desirable or even possible? In my A2 short film, it is society that has to change, it is because of the way people treat one another and speak to another is the reason there are crimes such as suicide. Because of other people, that person feels completely useless and alone, like they don’t deserve a life, but they are totally depressed that they don’t realise they deserve to live their life just as much as everyone else.

Are binaries or oppositions important? The binary opposites within my short film is in the two relationships, where in one relationship, the female is completely head over heels for the guy but the guy is in love with another girl. This reinforces the idea that it is the society that needs to change as the male in the relationship is being unfaithful to his partner, whereas the female will do anything to keep her partner happy.

Who is the ideal audience for this film? My message that I want to get across is defiantly being shown in this film. I want to show people that words may only be words but it still hurts and be careful what you say to someone because it may be the last words you say to them. In the film the girl tells her best friend Tessa that she’s dead to her, even though Tessa did a bad thing, they were best friends so it would still hurt when she died.

Who is powerful and who is powerless? At the beginning it looks like Tessa is powerful as she may get away with making a mistake, but at the end it shows that she is powerless that why she chose to commit suicide, because she felt completely powerless and disgusted in herself that she could do something like that. 

NARRATIVE THEORY:

Todorov's theory is used in World War Z. In the first 10-15 minutes everything is going normally, then the zombies attack, and most of the movie after that is them trying to escape and find a cure to get rid of the zombies. In the last 10-15 minutes they show how they escaped from the zombies and Brad Pitt returning to his family, safely. I think this is an appropriate theory to use in my short film as it gives the audience a sense of closure. If the new equilibrium is for a short amount of time the audience might feel they want to know what happens, how the happy ending comes to a close.

I think using Propp's theory, proposing that it was possible to classify the characters and their actions into clearly defined roles and functions would be useful to use as the audience will clearly recognise which role each character plays instead of getting confused, which could lead to the audience not understanding the film and not enjoying it. A good example of a film which used Propp's theory is Harry Potter. The audience could instantly recognise the hero, false hero, the dispatcher, the helper and the villian.

SCRIPT:

LOUISE: Can you believe Tessa and Wyyat are going to be husband and wife, and we’ve been through nearly everything with them now the rest of the world can see what an amazing couple they are

MAC: (Bluntley) Yeah (Phone rings, Mac looks down at his phone but doesnt answer)

LOUISE: (Looking confused) You okay?

MAC: Yeah im just tried (phone rings again, zooms to see whose calling, he looks up at Louise)

LOUISE: Pick up then (Mac picks up the phone)

MAC: Hello?

TESSA: (Worried) Dont hang up, I need to talk to you, PLEASE?

MAC: Sorry im a bit busy at the moment, i’ll get back to you soon (hangs up phone)

LOUISE: Who was that?

MAC: (Hesitant) Ermm.. Phone company.. Stupid adverts

LOUISE: Okay.. I should be getting off now, got to go and get ready (kisses Mac and leaves)

NEXT SCENE:

LOUISE: Tessa? Everything okay?

TESSA: (sniffing) Yeah...

LOUISE: Anything you want to tell me? We’ve been best friends since we were little babies, if you’ve got anything to tell me, i’ll understand, you’ve just got to be honest with me

TESSA: Ermm.. No, its nothing

LOUISE: (Angrily) Fine (walks away)

NEXT SCENE:  

Tessa sends text saying “We need to talk, please meet me and hear me out”

WYYAT: Whats wrong? Your not having second thoughts about us getting married are you?

TESSA: (Slowly and scared) No, I erm n-need to tell you something

WYYAT: Yes?

 TESSA: Louise, you know how you said i can tell you anything, i have to tell you something

LOUISE: what?

TESSA: We need to tell them what happened!

MAC: NO! ARE YOU INSANE

TESSA: (sobbing) Please dont be angry

MAC: We dont need to tell them, we can run away and be happy together

TESSA: A few weeks ago when we had that argument, i went and spoke to Mac about it..

WYYAT: Yeah I know

LOUSIE: AND?

TESSA: Then.. we... erm... ended up...

LOUISE: YOU SLAG!

WYYAT: MY OWN BROTHER?! YOU DISGUST ME!

TESSA: I DONT WANT YOU! I LOVE WYYAT

MAC: If you love Wyyat so much why did you sleep with me

TESSA: IT WAS A MISTAKE, IT DIDNT MEAN ANYTHING, IT JUST HAPPENED

  You were like a sister to me! We’ve grown up together, we went through everything together and you do this to me? You know how i feel about Mac

TESSA: I am so sorry! Please forgive me!

WYYAT: You sleep with my own brother and expect me to forgive you on the day we’re suppose to get married?! You are dead to me!

MAC: Your just a silly girl, the only reason we ended up sleeping together is because i knew you where easy

LOUISE: I want nothing more to do with you!

WYYAT: Me and you will never happen again and its all your fault

TESSA: You don't mean that. Dont leave, please!!!!

POSTER ANALYSIS (2): Cannibals And Carpet Fitters

This short film grabbed my attention because of the hand grabbing the characters mouth, almost like the other person is trying to keep them quiet or stop them from shouting for help. 
In contast to the other poster (Romantic Hideaway) the colours on this poster are all the same, the background colour is purple and red, which is the same colout as the shirt the character is wearing.

The audience may be able to recognise that this is a comdey horror film. The comdey is coming across from the characters facial expression, he doesn't look scared, rather comedic and the horror is coming across from the bloody hand that has grabbed his mouth. 

POSTER ANALYSIS (1): Romantic Hideaway

Romantic Hideaway was the first poster that grabbed my attention that I can get ideas from for my short film poster. The key lock is in a heart shape with splatters of blood, this suggests to the audience that there may have been pain/hurt or even murder in a relationship due to secrets being kept between the couple. The most interesting thing I found was that the poster does not use any characters but still sends across a message and the audience can easily recognise and predict what might happen which allows the genre to get across which is very important in a film poster. 

The poster has a light grey background which fades into white. Even though the background is plain; because of the image being so powerful, it doesn’t make it look boring or unappealing because the image is suppose to be the centre of attention and if there was anything happening in the background the image might not have been as powerful. 

The text colour is in black and red. This could symbolise many things: the colour red usually symbolises rage, anger, passion or love and the colour black could symbolise death, hatred, pain or suffering. One the poster, the title and the actor's names is in black and red. One word is in black and one word is in red. This could suggest that one person in the relationship was in love (red) and the other person was suffering (black) which may have caused death in the relationship.

The layout of the poster allows the audience to focus their attention on the image which in its self makes the audience instantly interested and curious about the film. The title is right below it and the name of the actors is above the image on each side, which may reinforce the idea that each character was in different positions in the relationship.

FIRST DRAFT - PITCH:

SHORT FLIM  ANALYSIS:

The short film that is like my idea for a short film is Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones But Words Can Kill Me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRuQLyzyKt0
This is about a girl who is getting bullied and being called ugly and fat and people are telling her to kill herself.

I want to get a similar message across to the audience that words can hurt more than actions and be careful what you say to someone because it could have a very negative consequence and hurt so much that they wont to end their life.








I think this short film is effective as it gets straight into the main message behind the film and it shows that words hurt more than people realise and even through cyber bullying, saying mean things to someone could really affect their life.
I have chosen a very serious subject to aim my film at because I think everyone to be remembered to think before they speak, because it may be the last thing they say to a person, and if the person is close to them, it is worse because its worse knowing you are responsible for someone to feel disgusted in them self that they want to end their life, thinking it would be better for everyone. 

In the film the camera shots they mainly use close ups, this is to allow the audience to see the pain she is going through from the bullying, and I will also be mainly using close up shots to get the same affect through the audience.

POTENTIAL NAMES:

I have researched wedding film names to see if I could get any influences from them for my short film as it is a wedding film but also a crime film.

Original movies to potential names for my short film:
The Proposal - The Second Proposal

Made of Honour - Best MAN

The Bride Wars - Bridal War

Wedding Crashers - Wedding Secret

These are all names I could think of using names from original mainstream films. These are the films that will also influence the layout of my poster.

The Second Proposal, because the grooms brother, who the bride is having an affair with, asks her to run away and get married to him.

The Best MAN, because the bride is having an affair with the best man.

Bridal War, because there is arguments and in the end someone dies.

And Wedding Secret because, as the title shows, there is a secret, that their having an affair.

PITCH:

The genre for my short film is Drama/Crime. It may seem like a romantic film at first but towards the middle to the end there is drama and crime. At the beginning it shows a loved up girl getting ready for her wedding day, then in the middle she has arguments with people close to her and in the end, a guest finds her on dead on the floor. In the film the characters think it is one of the people that she had an argument with, but only in the last second the audience see that she had killed herself, while the characters still wonder who done it. In my narrative research I found that in films that use Todorov's theory, the audience prefer it better because it allows them to have a sense of closure at the end of the film rather than leaving it on a cliff hanger, and they may not understand the full message if its left on a cliff hanger. Also, I think it is important to use Propp's theory about classifying the characters into clear certain roles, which allows the audience to connect with the characters separately as they know the role of each one. My major influence for the short film was from an event that happened in the British soap, Hollyoaks. The audience could relate to the main character, but even though she was the one that was in the wrong, as she was cheating on her fiancé, the audience felt sympathy for her because she was a caring, loving character.

AUDIENCE PROFILE – A2 Coursework:

The target audience for my short film is particularly aimed at females, and it is revolved around a wedding which the male audience may not take as much interest in as a female would do, but because of the twist I think the male audience may also enjoy it. My short film will aim at the audience aged between 18-25 years. The target audience is mainly shown through the main character, as it is a female, and also in that age group. The demographics for that film would also be C1’s/C2 within the social grade. This is because I believe those people would enjoy romantic films, where something is going to go wrong, and they may dream of having their perfect wedding day. The psychodynamic group for this film would be Utopians, these are people who try and put social messages through their work so that the audience can be educated by their work, this is because I have tried to put a message through to the audience that sometimes words hurt more than actions and can have a very strong affect on the person at the receiving end. The Audience Theory that applies to my short film is also Effects Theory. This is because at the end it is a mystery to the characters about what happened, but the audience know right at the last second what happened. 

AUDIENCE PROFILE - AS Coursework:

The target audience for my previous, AS coursework, 'Hidden' was particularly aimed at males. This was because, the other members in my group were two males, and they knew exactly what were needed in terms of codes and conventions for an action/war film. 

Due to the nature of the genre we included some aspects of danger and a little violence, the film was rated a 15, so, the violence will be limited but this helped to create the tension and suspense. The age range as a target audience was from 15-25 years, this is shown through the number of violence scenes, the extent of the violence, and the actors, who are also in that age group. The demographics for that film would be C1’s/C2 within the social grade. This is because I believe those people would enjoy films like this which involved war and action scenes. The psychodynamic groups for this film would be Egoists, and Rebels, this is because it is more likely these two groups would enjoy the violence more than the other groups and take more pleasure from it. The Audience Theory that applies to Hidden is Effects Theory. This is because of the violence; other people that do not particularly enjoy violence may call it the ‘Mean Violence Syndrome’.

MAJOR INFLUENCES:

The major influence for my short films is from the British Soap, Hollyoaks.

I really enjoyed the storyline, where the bride (Texas) was having an affair with the groom's brother (Mark) and his girlfriend (Theresa) over hears Mark saying he loves Texas.

Texas is pushed out of the window and dies. And there are a number of suspects who all have a very good reason to want Texas dead, but no-one actually knows that the real murderer is the groom (Will) even though he has also got a reason, as he knows about Mark and Texas, but no-one suspects him as he is in a wheelchair, but what everyone else doesn’t know is that he can walk.

The two clips below are the scenes that inspired me. The first one is seeing Texas falling out of the castle, and the second clip is Will having a flash back of what he had done to his wife, Texas.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNLPmDrRdxk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xawd7S99RwU

In this image, it is of all the suspects of Texas's death.

  

This plot particularly interested me and influenced me for my short film, as it is about a sweet, girl that the audience love, and will be shocked that someone had so much hatred that they want to kill her. The audience know it is one of those people (in the image above) that murdered her, but don’t know who it was as they all have an excuse. It leaves the audience guessing about who it is for a while. This is why I enjoyed it so much because there is suspense and keeps the audience wondering who it was.

INDUSTRY AND AUDIENCE

Who are you making a short film for?

• My short film will aim at the audience aged between 18-25. It may possibly appeal to the female audience more than the male audience as it is about a wedding, but because of the twist I think the male audience will also enjoy it.

INDUSTRY AND AUDIENCE

Who are the target audience for the short films you have looked at?

• The short films I have looked at have been for various target audience.
• For example Late Bloomer, the target audience would be aged from 18 onward because it shows how kids at that age see their peers, and the target audience would be able to relate to that feeling because they've been in that position, but it could also be aimed at the younger audience aged between 12-16 years old because they can also relate to it as they are going through that phase at that age.
• However, Interpretation, is for the 18+ who enjoy action films.
• The Desk would be aimed at the audience aged between 15-18 as it is about two students at school, so may not appeal to anyone older than that age. However, it may appeal more to females than males as it is a sweet, romantic film.

INDUSTRY AND AUDIENCE

Who is the audience for short films in general?

• The audience for short films is more specific than mainstream films.
• The main two groups who will be familiar with short films are; students hoping to aspire a career in the industry, and people who are already in the media industry.

INDUSTRY AND AUDIENCE

How are they distributed and exhibited?

• The British Council can help with distributing. They select films that are promoted to a number of major international film festivals. 
• There are festivals such as 'The Smalls'

INDUSTRY AND AUDIENCE

How do they get made?

• The main source of funding short films are produced from is from the UK Film Council.
• Local Councils would also put some money towards a short film especially if it deals with social exclusions or aids.
• Charities will also often fund for short films. The charities will usually fund those short films that the topic/goal of the film is in some way related to their charity, for example Welcome Trust (UK's largest medical research) has an Arts Award for funding various projects including a short film about biomedical science.

INDUSTRY AND AUDIENCE

Why do short films get made?

• Short films may get made because the person wants to get experience in the film business because they may want to get into the media industry, and they are experimenting on all the different aspects of the industry.
• Someone may have a great idea but it may not be long enough to be a feature film but just long enough to be a short film.
• They may have been asked to produce a film with a limited amount of money and it only covers for a short film.
• Short films may be produced to get the message across instantly, without making it hours long, where the audience get the message at the end, short films are on average for 10/15 minutes so the audience will understand within minutes what the message is.

NARRATIVE THEORIES:

Todorov’s theory is used in World War Z. In the first 10/15 minutes everything is fine, then the audience see’s the zombies start to attack, and most of the rest of the film is the characters trying to escape and find a cure to get rid of the zombies. In the last 15/20 minutes they show how they escaped from the zombie and Brad Pitt returning to his family, safely. This theory will be used in my short film as it gives the audience a sense of closure. If the new equilibrium is for 5 minutes or less, the audience might feel they want to know more of what happens, how the happy ending comes to a close.

I think using Vladimir Propp’s theory, proposing that is was to classify the characters and their actions into clearly defined roles and functions, would be useful to use as the audience will noticeably recognise which role each character plays instead of getting confused about whose who, which could lead them to no to enjoy the film. A good example of a film that used Propp’s theory is Harry Potter. The audience instantly identify: The hero; Harry Potter, the false hero; Ron, the dispatcher; Hagrid, the helper; Hermione, and the villain; Voldemort/Malfoy.

MEDIA KEY CONCEPTS

Narrative:

The narrative in short films are different from mainstream films. This is done through the twist at the end. In short films, there’s one main event happening then right at the end the audience see that there is a twist in the narrative. For example, in 'The Desk' the narrative is about a guy and girl in school having a conversation through a desk, in the end the girl turns out to be from a different dimension and they are united as she moves to his school.

MEDIA KEY CONCEPTS

Media Language:

Typically, short films run for no longer than 40 minutes. Which include the begining, middle and end and aslo the credits. 

The camera shorts that I have noticed when watching short films are usually long shots or close ups. This is because there is not a lot of time so they try to get the whole film into a short time so they show as much of the seeting as possible so the audience are familiarised with the setting in which there are in. For example in Interpretation, there are more long shots to show the audience the surroundings of the film which can represent the genre. They are in an ally way at night which could suggest something may happen before anything does happen. In The Desk, the majority of the shots are close ups, this allows the audience to see the characters facial expressions when he finds the reply on the desk. It also shows close up of the desk so it is clear what has been written. I think the camera shots depend on what genre the film is, in a horror film there may be more close up shots and extreme close ups, than any other shots to allow to audience to see how the character is feeling and their emotions during that scene.

MEDIA KEY CONCEPTS

Genre:

There are all different genres. The two examples in 'Audience' section; "The Longest Daycare" and "Late Bloomer" are two different genres. The Longest Daycare is animated, whereas Late Bloomer is comedy. Another example is 'Interpretation' this short film is an Action film.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ayS8SqIqbg

I dont think there is a specific seperate genre for short films, as I have watched all different types of genres and they all use codes and conventions for each genre type.

For example, the genre for ‘Interpretation’ is represented through the lighting. It shows that something bad is going to happen and there would be an action scene. This would be targetted to the male audience, however as a girl, I found it interesting and enjoyed it.

MEDIA KEY CONCEPTS

Audience:

The audience for short films in general would be people who are interested in the film industry, media or art, or enjoy graphic works.

The audience for this short film: "The Longest Daycare",  would be the audience who are already a fan of The Simpsons, but also the younger audience as it is mainly aimed at life of the youngest Simpson who is a child, and this would attract the young audience more than the older audience who do not watch The Simpsons.

Whereas, the target audience for this short film would be aged 18+, as it shows the view of a 11 year old boy, in Sex Education, and how all students felt during that time, and how boys saw girls as 'disgusting' and how differently they act towards the opposite sex now than they did when they were at school. As I watched it, it reminded me of how different the boys in my class used to act towards us girls in year 7, and how different it is now in college.

MEDIA KEY CONCEPTS

Institutions:

Short films are produced by small-time film producers aspiring to become a big name in the film industry. However, short films are more often produced by students for their work, or who want to go into the media industry.
Short films are often screened at local, national, or international film festivals. Short films are often made by independent film makers for non profit, either with a low budget, no budget at all, and in rare cases big budgets. Short films are usually funded by film grants, non profit organizations, sponser, or out of pocket funds. These films are used by indie filmmakers to prove their talent in order to gain funding for future films from private investors, entertainment companies, or film studios. Short films do qualify for Academy Awards if screened in Los Angeles.