New Potential

We recently acquired a Glidecam HD-1000 which enables us to create much more dynamic camera movement. As a result of this we are revising the story board and where appropriate, utilizing this new equipment.

Below is a short film made by using the HD-1000, it does well to show off its potential.

Research & Inspiration

The idea its self was not taken from anything I had previously seen, however, with the idea formulated there are a number of short and feature length films from which shooting style can be examined and imitated.

I found this short film on Vimeo. What I like so much about it is its simple introduction the the main character, the shots immediatly connote who this character is and to an extent what he's like. The cheery song layered over the top emphasis's the lighthearted nature of the film and alongside the stylised and simple yet well written V.O does well to further round up the protagonists personality.
  

The choice of voice actor was clearly taken into consideration for this film, the somewhat nasally sounding voice fits perfectly with the comical side of the piece, the fact that the voice is somewhat 'funny' sounding works a lot better than if the same film used a well spoken, deep and meaningful 'James Bond' style of voice.
This is relevant to the drama brief as it will be essential to get the V.O sounding right otherwise that images just wont match up.


The second piece of inspiration is from The Social Network. The scene in which Mark is blogging about the break up with his girlfriend is useful as its similar to what we're aiming for during the V.O/blogging narration. By using the sounds of typing as used in this scene along side the V.O, it wont always be necessary to see our character physically typing the narration, the sounds will act as a audible signifier and the audience will be able to work out and accept that he's blogging and not talking directly to them.

Below is a useful video for taking inspiration from. It highlights the kind of things a 'bad' online dating video might include, helpful for writing the screenplay.

The film Clerks was a great film to watch in order to gain ideas as to what can be done with very simple, static cinematography. Due to our equipment list being restricted, its impressive to see what can be done with essentially just a tripod. This style of shooting will be one we hope to imitate, the long takes and simple editing goes well with the well written dialogue and forces the characters to move the narrative along and keep an audience entertained.
   

The scene in which Dante is getting ready for work is simple and precise, there is little 'fat' and through the editing the audience gets to know quite a lot about the character despite the sequence being just under three minuets long (titles included). This way of progressing the story is something I plan to emulate, when watching a character get dressed, there is no need to show every part of the procedure. In the clip above for example, simply leaving the bedroom, putting on shoes, making coffee and getting into his car is all that's needed to ensure the narrative moves along quickly. Even with so few shots, the audience is able to connect the events, fill in the blanks and accept what Dante is doing.  

The simple shots also connote the atmosphere in which the two friends work. The mundane day to day chore that it is to work in such a business is represented in the static shots and the symmetrical, even framing.  Nothing (other than a few of the odd characters that come into the shop) is out of the ordinary, just another average day for Dante. 

Idea Two (A final treatment will follow)

The film revolves around the attempt of a stereotypical 'geeky' character to find love on the internet. The story begins with the character posting a video dating bio on the internet and concludes with him finally getting some female attention and leaving his home to attend a date. The majority of the film will be made up of the 'bio' itself, being inter-cut with his day to day lifestyle. The second half of the film is the waiting game that follows and eventually the run up and preparation of the date. The film ends on a high as he leaves his home with high expectations of whats to come.

The use of the characters V.O will narrate the story, being disguised as journal entries to avoid a direct connection between the audience and protagonist. I felt this would work well as it avoids a documentary feel coming through, not only this but it reinforces the characters isolation from the rest of the world.        

Drama!

This was our original treatment and the one we pitched, however as we tried to develop the project we soon ran into problems. There were a few major fundamentals that we felt wouldn't work. While we wanted a simple concept from which we could create something technically sound, I believe we went too basic and the finished film would have been too mundane and uneventful to warrant really making it in the first place. 

None the less, here is the original treatment;

Treatment (Idea one)

A short drama that explores the struggle of three friends when the power cuts out and tension begins to rise. After swift negotiation it is decided that Desmond will embark to the corner shop to top up the power as the cold and isolation begins to set in at the house.

Narrative Development: The film begins with an introduction of the characters at their home, after establishing the group dynamic and learning a little about each of them by observing them in their ‘natural environment’ the electricity meter runs out, causing each of them a level of disruption. With this being the catalyst for the disequilibrium, it is decided by way of various methods i.e. rock, paper, scissors that Desmond, the most naive member of the group will go to the shop to top up the meter.

The middle of the film will revolve around the journey of Desmond, cutting back periodically to the two friends at home. Desmond, being a simpleton, is easily distracted on the way to the shop and takes a long time meaning that the two friends at home quickly get bored and begin trying to entertain themselves. When finally Desmond returns to his irritable friends it turns out he’s forgotten all about the electricity and has instead brought back some milk.

Through simple, light hearted comedy we’ll take this otherwise mundane task and transform it into a playful, feel good and relatable short film.

Visual Style: Considering the film is set at night, interior lighting is a key component to stylistic control. We hope to emulate Guy Richie films in terms of cinematography and mise-en-scene with smooth edits used throughout. Lighting and mise-en-scene will be tightly controlled in the house scenes where props will play a large part in telling the story eg. Candle melting away showing passing time/chessboard changing etc. Flashbacks will also play a major part in developing character construction, providing quick glances into the past of the characters. We plan to make use of alot of camera movement and homemade dollies eg. Rope around lampposts/boom pole tripod etc. To give the film a unique feel and keep viewer interest high.

Audience: We believe that this short would appeal to a wide audience, due to its relatable content however we are aiming the film at a mainly university student demographic.