CHALLENGES WITH OUR IDEA

We had toyed with the idea of Steve inserting the earpiece and changing to a small child however, on reflection we know there are a few problems with this.

It would be difficult to present to revitalisation process and make it believable and easy to understand for the viewer. Also, it involves an extra actor and there could be difficulties involved with working with a small child. 

In addition, the explanation for the revitalisation process could be too longwinded for our film. 

However, if we can overcome these difficulties then we would love to incorporate this into our film. 

FIRST DRAFT OF SCRIPT

Ext. suburban street, daytime
Steve: Look am telling you mate am not going in there she’s lost it it mightn’t be safe
Dew: For christs sake mick we have to do something this has been going on 3 days now
Steve: Exactly! Best leave this to the professionals! Im sure we can get some kind of ghost hunt-
Dew: What are you on about, shes not possessed or something
Steve: I dunno….. Dewy mate theres definitely something supernatural going on
Dew: Gods sake shes clearly just had some kind of break down and this is how her minds responded, she’ll snap out of it if we try hard enough
Steve: Well you seem to think you know it all Dew so if something goes wrong youll have to blame yourself
Dew: Right stop acting like she’s some kind of wild animal
Inter Hallway in a house
Steve: After you..
Dew: (Whispering) Well come on
Steve taking a step forward however not beside Dew
Dew rolls his eyes, hurry up
Steve:am no going in first
Dew: Just cmere… What the bloody hell is that
Steve: What are you talking about
Dew: That thing in your pocket
Steve: Aw this old thing, It’s self defense.
Dew: For christs sake this isn’t a bloody drug bust.
Steve: You know what, you never know.
Dew: For f@$§ sake, just hurry up.
Steve: Go then
Dew: fine. Right slowly and quietly
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
They open the door into the room-
Walking cautiously into room
Dew walks over to the woman in the middle of the room
Steve begins cautiously circling the woman
Steve: I can’t believe this is happening to me
Dew: MARGARET!! HELLO! CAN YOU PLEASE ANSWER ME, I KNow you can see me margaret.
Steve: Maybe we should throw water on her
Dew: No.
Begins poking her
Dew:(grabbing her shoulders and shaking) Margaret please stop this,
Steve: Here Steve whats that
Dew: What??
Steve; That thing in her ear
Dew: That’s an earring Mick
Steve: No not that! Look it looks like there’s something in her ear hole
Dew: Where?? Let me see

Steve: Im not coming any closer but its there alright
Dew: What on earth-
Dew: Thats an earpiece, there’s a wire, there’s  a bloody wire what is this
Dew: Why is that in her ear, Mick what is this
Steve: Emm i honestly it looks a bit freaky to me
Dew: Right it mustn’t be anything but i want to see if can take it out
Steve: Are you sure that’s a good idea you know nothing about it
Dew: Yea i don’t like the look of it i want rid of it
Dew approaches it and slowly takes it out of her ear
The woman suddenly falls to the ground drops the cup
Steve: HolY Jesus
Dew: Margaret! Hey hey hey, what are you doing
Steve: Is she okay? Is she waking up
Dew: Oh my God Mick, Oh my god
Steve: What!!
Dew: I think- no this can’t be happening
Steve: WHAT IS WRONG with her
Dew: I think we’ve killed her
Steve: WHAT
Dew: Look she’s not breathing, but this is impossible
Steve: Oh my god we’ve killed her
Dew: Margaret wake up this isn’t funny
Dew: Right whoevers done this, Let me see that earpiece
Steve: Are you sure it’s safe to touch
Dew: Well someone’s going to have to do it
Dew: It’s just a bit of plastic, i don’t understand,
Steve: Maybe it wasnt the ear piece
Dew:No it has to be what the hell is this thing is their something playing from it or somehthing, (absent mindednly holds it up to his ear shoves it in) takes on a blank stare
A message is heard/broadcast
Welcome, t
Steve: Do you hear anything?
Steve: Mick Hello
Steve: What are you doing
Steve: MICK

LOCATION IDEAS

This is the outside location that we're looking at on Camden Street in Belfast.

CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF SHORT FILMS

Characters  -  This is a common convention in short films. Generally there are only two or three characters introduced in a short film, there isn't enough time to incorporate too many characters or long back stories.

Twist -  Usually there is a twist in the story to engage the viewer. This is a convention because the film is so short, it would be boring without one.

Low Budget - This is a common convention because generally the films are made by independent film makers who don't have a lot of funding. This is another reason for only having a few characters; to keep the costs down.

Length - Generally, short films are 5-10 minutes in length but can sometimes stretch to about half an hour.

Situation - A convention of short films is to have them set in an everyday situation and to make them relatable to the viewer in some way. Normally, there is no CGI and basic equipment is used in the filming.

Todorov -  Todorov's Theory of Equilibrium is a common convention of short films. That is, equilibrium at the beginning is followed by disequilibrium (a sudden twist) and then a new equilibrium is restored.

SHORT FILMS

Short films are films that are shorter in length that normal films. Often they are taken on as a film maker's first major project because it is not as big of an undertaking as a full length feature film. 

Film students, film festivals and young people are the main audience of short films. They are mostly distributed online and this is what attracts young people who view them on sites such as Vimeo, Youtube and Short of the Week. Film  students watch lots of short films to gain knowledge on genres and codes and conventions, as well as to find inspiration for their own work. Film festivals showcase lots of short films to help amateur film makers to make a name for themselves. 

This is a list of famous short films:

Short of the Week is where I will be finding most of the material that will influence my work. It is a site used mostly by amateur film makers and a good place to find specific genres of a good quality. 

IDEAS FOR A2 - BLACK MIRROR

This year we have decided to go for an entirely different genre from last year.
We want our short film to be set in 2018, in a normal looking house with a small cast. This year we will include dialogue, as opposed to last year.

So far our idea is that two builders come across a women who initially is thought to be insane but on further observation, is being controlled by a device in her ear. When the men remove it, she drops dead. One of the builders, out of sheer curiosity tries the earpiece on and from that moment is controlled in the same way.

We have been inspired by the style of Black Mirror, especially the episode called Nosedive. In this episode, Lacie is controlled unknowingly by her social media account which lets others judge her with one look. In the end she has a breakdown due to the stress caused.

Although the story lines will be completely different, the ideas of control and not knowing about it will be similar.