proposal

For my A2 coursework I intend to:

-Create a short film(main task)

This short film will be a thriller as I enjoy the genre and feel I understand what makes it successful than say a romantic comedy.Im not sure how I will create a storyline for this film ,  I think I will begin by writing a script so I get a sense of the story. There are also several other aspects of creating a film which I need to take into consideration such as actually shooting the footage and editing. Hopefully I now have the experience to improve on both this year.I intend to choose a soundtrack from the website Free sound.

-A poster to support this film(ancillary task)
This poster will be influenced by the art deco style of the 1930's as I want to make it memorable to audiences. I am going for a bizarre image , such as the Inception poster. I am not sure how I will go about creating this post but I want to develop an image that has synergy with the final product.

-A magazine review page(ancillary task)

This review page will comment on the successes and failures of the film , much like that of Empire or Total Film. I know that magazines are not my strong point , but  I will develop the skills I gained last year to create a much improved piece of work.

Illusion storyboard (second draft)

This is the storyboard I used to plan my initial ideas for my film , Illusion.There are obviously a few differences as This was drawn near the beginning of the process and I had new ideas as I began filming with my actors. This storyboard and my script allowed me to explore ideas and themes before shooting the final product and you may notice that the final product is vastly different. The main reason for this difference is that I needed to extent the running time to at least three minutes due to the fact I needed to spend time building more tension.

short film storyboard (first draft)

This video below is a collage of photos from my first attempt at a film storyboard.I achieved this by taking the photos and adding them to windows movie maker in order to create a cartoon effect.I thought it would be a more original way of displaying the content instead of only uploading the photos by themselves.This technique allowed me to brainstorm my initial ideas for the film storyline.I intended this to be my final storyboard for my actual film , but I was not happy with the storyline and decided to change it completely. This process did help me to practice brainstorming my ideas.

Proposal video

This video explains my proposal and how I set out to achieve each of my goals. I  have to complete three main tasks including:

1 main task- my short film which will be a thriller

2 ancillary tasks-My film poster and my magazine review page

Inspirational texts- Magazine reviews

This magazine film review is very clear to its audience with its overall plain style. The article is missing any real colour , making the central image more appealing. We have a brief description of the certificate , release date , director , screenwriters and run time plus a short plot description in the left hand corner. All of this makes it easy for an audience to navigate to this section and find additional information. Additionally the title of the film is much larger and placed firstly to reduce confusion and the verdict is highlighted by a more prominent shade of black , as this is the most important aspect of the review and gives a summary on its quality.

This review for The Road grabs my attention as the main image and text are completely separated making the section look more professional and simple to read. Additionally , there is a larger pull quote highlighted in larger capital letters and an orange colour as it is an important comment in the article. The size of the text also seems important to me as it helps me to know what film I am reading about without much hassle with the title being crisp and clear. To make the article even more interesting to fans of the film , the page includes a trivia box , giving the audience more facts and
information.

Lastly, is this article which has a red black and blue colour scheme , tying in with the films main character. The written text is again separated from the main image making it much more easier to access the information. The verdict section is placed at the end as it is a  final summary of the films strengths and weaknesses. The small caption helps the audience to understand what is actually happening in the scene it is placed over. the film of the month title on the right corner tells us it is going to be a positive review.

inspirational texts-film posters

This poster is unique and intriguing becasue of its pitch black background and sillouette which appears to resemble a rabbit.This inatantly tells me this is a strange film.The title font is a striking white and is easily recognisable to the audience.The pitch black background helps us to focus on the centre and doesnt give too much away about the narative.The ammount of images within the silloutte explains that this is a complex film.The lack of colour connotes that this is a film for older people as it does not have the usual bright colors to attract children.









The second poster has a similar colour palate to the first in that it releases on its unusual background to intrigue audience and make them think its something unique and original.The red masthead is stands out because it is written in capitals.The red colour is much more prominent than the other , which  are dull.Leonardo Dicaprio's name is bigger than the other cast as he is more likely to pull in audiences because of his bigger fan fan base. We can see the main protagonists clearly , and agin it is Leonardo Dicaprio in the centre , where people first look.I personally like the text used because it is easy to identify and may use something similar in my film poster.

The final poster is mostly dominated by the image as he is the focus of the films storyline.The tagline "change the past,Save the future"gives the audience some hints to what exactly is happening , but leaves the rest of the story for people who have seen the film because the poster has drawn them in.The film tries to encourages fans of previous films to see it when it say"from the Director of Moon".The title is covered in red to distinguish itself from the blue background.The prop of the gun connotes a sense of danger and tells us that the thriller will have action too.

Research into conventions of my chosen genre and form

With a great deal of thought I have decided to create a short thriller film that builds suspense nearer to the climax. It will also be a drama and feature a script  , unlike my project last year , The Trail , which was mainly dialogue free. I filmed this project for AS film studies and it too included several elements of suspense.This included a dramatic use of music that gradually built up the tension and a use of quick cuts that connoted that time was running out.Over the period of researching short films ,such as Doodlebug by Christopher Nolan , I have found that a project of this form can benefit from focusing on a specific theme such as Identity , Death or love and remain basic to fit in the short five minute duration.

Also intriguing is that a few of the films I uncovered involved narrative devices such as plot twists or a specific artistic style which made them both entertaining and memorable. Short films also seem to help filmmakers achieve their goal by making a project that relates to them without needing a huge budget.

I also liked the idea of having more than one character in my next short film as I think a variety of protagonists will help to engage the audience and help them relate to some of the individuals. I realise that both sound and editing are key in order to create an effective short film ,especially considering the genre I have chosen so I will carefully consider this when creating the soundtrack.