Jake Smiths media project

Critically evaluating video production

2010-05-11T02:59:00.003-07:00

In what ways does the media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

In the group, I was the one that came up with the original idea. We then went over it and tweaked it to make it run better and then to also make it fit into the 5 minutes. Throughout filming, we tried to maintain continuity in order for the film to flow. I avoided breaking the 180degree rule in the film, to keep it natural. I used a variety of shot types to keep the film interesting. I tried to be creative with shot in order to more than just show the sequence of events, an example is the low medium close shot which shows the letter being opened and the mystery on the protagonists face. Some of the shots were cut quickly, which rhythmically tied in with the music to add to the pace of the film. The music was started and stopped at specific times to tie in with the movement on screen, examples are when it starts when the protagonist starts to run down stairs, and when the music stops dead when the door slams shut.

Throughout the film, I wanted to ensure the audience were wondering what the letter said, along with who the sender was. I feel I achieved this. Whenever something happened to Chris the letter would be in shot in order to relate it to the event.How effective is the combination of your main product and the ancillary texts?

In the media production, I was trying to create mystery from the start, to keep the audience engaged throughout and I feel with the choice of shots, costume and music I achieved this.
The atmosphere was maintained when I created the advertising poster, as the colours were kept dark and I selected one of the most powerful images from the film, which asks more questions than it answers.

Media advertising is important in advertising as it initially gets the title out there. It is also important that the advertising keeps to the vibe of the film with what it says and its colour scheme, as it needs to give people an idea of the type of film. It also introduces people to elements of the film before they see it, for example in the poster I designed there is the image of the Chris looking at the letter, so people are perhaps wondering about the letter before they see the film.When designing the poster, I wanted it to be as dark as possible, so I took a still for the film and altered the colour and shade of it. I then lightened areas of it to subtly bring attention to it( Face and letter). The poster looked dull without a background, so I again took a still from the film, which was the front door, and once again changed the colour. I felt the title should stand out as they are sometimes lost in a monotone colour scheme, so I chose bright red in a sort of typed font to stay with the theme of the letter.
*HERE COMPARE TO OTHER POSTERS*

What have I learned from audience feedback?

When given the brief, It was no specified the genre of the film that we made, only that it was to be 5 minutes. This led us to do some research on the type of film people mostly went to see at the cinema. Out of 30 people questioned from a mixture of 16- 50 year olds in the Dearne area, comedy and thriller were the genre with the highest count, so we decided to do a thriller as a comedy would perhaps been more difficult to write and perform well in.
I ensure that while filming and editing, that the film would be a narrative. The chain of events were in chronological order and each significant event would have it's own shot, in order to show it's significance. Anything that affected the protagonist would then show their reaction. The film is shot in familiar locations to any viewer. I creative decision I made was to not disclose the content of the letter, despite during other points in the film having POV shots, for example the shot of the mobile phone. The mystery of the letter left the content open to interpretation for the audience.
Part of my idea was to make my audience relate to the character, I set the film in ordinary surroundings like at home and at work, and put him in ordinary situations like browsing the Internet and using their phones, so the viewer see themselves in the character, making them feel more empathy.

I copied my film to a USBmemory stick and carried it around with me, showing it to people who had a spare 5 mins. This was not the best way to get feedback as it was difficult to keep a record and it was people I knew, who are less honest face to face anyway. I decided to upload it to YouTube as it keeps a record of the amount of views and all the comments made.
The film received a range of comments, generally with a positive mood. There was a range of comment based on technical aspects of the film, and others just saying whether they enjoyed the film or not.

When trialling the film, different audience members picked up on different aspects of the film, example being at the end of the film when the screen goes dark, there is the sound of a letter being posted, implying that a similar sequence of events is going to happen to another individual, meaning the letter is a continuous chain. Not all audience picked up on this. I think it is important to have things like this in the film, as it gets the audience thinking and gives them a sense of achievement when they figure something out.

Use of differing Media Technologies in the stages of production

During the production of our film project I have used digital cameras and editing resources and also digital sound recording equipment. Also, the Internet has been used throughout. These involved the Sony HD 1000, a DV100 which was used to transfer shots from the camera onto the computer, a Nikon D60 I used to take photographs of the location, a Zoom Recorder, an Apple Mac, Final Cut, iMovie, Blogger, Garage Band and Photoshop.

The final cut software came in very handy through the editing process, as it contains many features to help you ammend mistakes made during filming eg. filing from a different angles and directions in the same location can lead to the colour being different in each shot, so the colour corrector in final cut lets you change the tone, so in my shout it was too yellow, move the colour corrector to blue and it makes the shot look like natural light. Another instance is when I wanted to maintain the point of focus between 2 shots, but when I filmed it the green door wasn't at the same area in each shot, so I zoomed in slightly on the second shot and altered the centre of the image so on 2 shots a green door was in the same place on the screen, thus making it flow as the viewers eyes don't have to move around the screen.

*PICTURE OF COLOUR CORRECTOR NEEDED*

*PICTURE OF POINT OF FOCUS CHANGE NEEDED*

Film Poster

2010-04-25T06:06:00.000-07:00

This is the poster I designed to promote the film. I kept it dark in colour in order to give a dark vibe, I felt a light cover would conflict with the style of the film. I figured the photo was suitable as it asks questions and doesn't really answer any, leading to a viewer wanting to watch it.

I have shown this to an audience and the general feedback is that it looks smart and and official.
Some quotes -
" I like how the door is in the background, as it visually add some depth to the picture and is also relevent to the theme of the poster".

" I think it is good that emphasis is put on the eyes and the letter, and that this is subtly aided by the highlighting of these parts".

"The emotion caught in the subject of the poster is great, as it really captures shock, worry and fear, therefore leaving you wondering what is on the other side of the letter, and wanting to see the film".

Audience feedback

2010-04-22T03:12:00.001-07:00

I have posted the video on youtube in order to get feedback http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gjD0FTse6A . I have received both technical feedback and feedback on whether people enjoyed the film or not. It overall seemed to be positive. I posted the URL on some film and critique forums and also asked people I know if they would watch and rate.

Research

2010-03-30T07:53:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSTA97Msls8
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_of_the_Demon
These links show a film which has a similar idea to the one which I have used in the sense of the parchment whcih brings bad luck to the reciever.

Opening Sequences

2010-02-05T01:47:00.001-08:00

We have been looking at creating a suitable opening sequences to our film and so we decided to research other opening sequences to see what would have the best effect for our film, here are a few opening sequences and their importance.

North by Northwest opening sequences

This is the opening sequences to North by Northwest by Alfred Hitchcock, this is one of his later films but the reasons i chose this opening sequence as it was the first to include moving text, this makes it a milestone in opening sequences and something we should be looking to emulate with our opening sequences.

Se7en

This is the opening sequence for the film Se7en, this is stylised with a 7 in the text for greater effect that it is based on the 7 deadly sins. A main theme in this sequence is the effect that it is old and on a form of media that is skipping, as well as the writing in the sequences which is very crude. i chose this as another good example as it is a thriller like our film and also because of the music used in it which is very suitable for the effect the visuals have. we should look to create a sequence which has this type of thriller effect on the audience. another effect used in this sequence is the skipping effect were it makes it look like the film is skipping and the music can be heard skipping too, this is a good effect as it makes it seem surreal.

The Ring- fan created

This is an opening credits sequence created by a fan of the film The Ring, it is not from the film but shows the type of opening sequence we could make as this was made with roughly the same equipment and funding we have. This means it is a closer opening sequence to what we can create. I think this is a good opening sequence, it uses a lot of good themes such as music which is like scary lullaby/music box music, which is often used to create tension or suspense in films like horrors and thrillers, and also the use of crude writing like in the opening sequence for 'Se7en' which uses the same and it also uses the skipping effect like in 'Se7en' too.

Music box

this is a music box i found which is the type of music we would be looking for if we were trying to create a similar opening sequence to the Ring sequence.

Props

2010-01-21T06:28:00.000-08:00

These are some of the props we used in our short film, The first prop is the letter which is what sets of the curse when someone receives it, we tried to find an old style letter that looked used and couldn't find anything in stationary stores, we eventually found this in a craft store. It's good because it does look worn which is an effect we wanted to show that it has been passed between numerous people beforehand.

The second image is of the bottle of pills, this prop is used for when the protagonist commits suicide, we found an old empty medicine container and then filled it with vitamins to make it look like it was filled with drugs, it is a prop that has been used before in films and TV programs when someone is taking an overdose this is why we used it instead of just alcohol of a knife. The bottle has connotations without requiring text to explain what it is or speech to inform what is going to happen.

The third image is of a bottle of vodka, this prop was used when the protagonist was trying to commit suicide again, we used this along with the medicine and other drugs as well as the knife to emphasise how he is feeling about his deteriorating life. in the bottle was water and so in some of the early shots we had it full and in the later shots we emptied it to show that the main character had drank it all to aid in his suicide.

the forth image is of a CD case, this was again used when he was committing suicide but this time it was to sort drugs off of. This way of taking drugs has become symbolic in media especially films which is why we included it rather than just sticking with the other drug references. The CD was also a sex pistols CD which we used due to its iconic status as a group with many links to drugs.

The mobile phones shown is not the one that was used but is the exact model. We used this as it is state of the art which ties in well with the characters description of being conscious of his appearance and belongings.

Call Sheet

2009-11-02T18:29:00.000-08:00

Call Sheet/ Daily Schedule

ITEM/TITLE___Post Mortem_________________ SHOOTING DATE__02 November 2009________

PRODUCER Aran Ellmer

DIRECTOR Jake Smith

CAMERA Aran Ellmer

SOUND Aran Ellmer

ADDITIONAL CREW -

CALL TIME/RV 15:20

LOCATION/DIRECTIONS/PARKING Barnsley College, Honeywell Site.

CONTACTS 07983480***

SCHEDULE Film scene 3

TIME DETAILS OF ITEM 2.30 hours including 10 minute break

Shooting Script

2009-10-17T07:37:00.001-07:00

Scene One - empty street - Night

shot 1 - establishing long shot of dead body on a dark street at night
shot 2 - medium close up of body lying on side of the road
shot 3 - close up of a letter poking out of the mans pocket
shot 4 - medium close up of a pair of feet walking towards the body
shot 5 - close up as a gloved hand takes the letter out of the pocket and tracks as he puts it in his pocket
shot 6 - medium shot of body with the man walking away in the background in all black

Title Screen

Scene Two - Day 1 - Chris' house - Morning

shot 1 - medium long shot of Chris coming down stairs and picking up the post
shot 2 - close up shot of the post as Chris throws it on the table on top of his bag and the letter can be seen
shot 3 - medium shot as Chris looks at the time with the clock in the background
shot 4 - medium close up shot as Chris grabs his bag
shot 5 - medium shot as Chris runs out the house, camera pans to follow him

Scene Three - Day 1 - Outside Chris' house - Morning

shot 1 - close up of Chris locking door
Shot 2 - long shot of Chris running down the garden to his gate
shot 3 - close up of Chris' hand slamming gate behind him
shot 4 - medium shot as Chris gets in his car
shot 5 - medium close up as Chris sits in his car and then sits forward after hearing a crack, shot from inside the car
shot 6 - close up shot of glasses he sat on, focus changes to the letter on the bag on the passenger seat

Scene Four - Day 2 - outside Chris' house - morning

shot 1 - close up shot of Chris' hand closing his front door
shot 2 - medium tracking shot of Chris walking down the garden path to the gate
shot 3 - medium shot of Chris from behind the car with top of car in shot
shot 4 - medium close up of Chris as he walks to his car
shot 5 - medium shot from behind Chris in front of his car panning down to show the broken window and glass on the floor
shot 6 - medium long shot of Chris looking round and inspecting his car

Scene Five – Day 3 - Outside Chris' house - Evening

shot 1 - medium shot of Chris pulling up outside house in car
shot 2 - close up of Chris' hand opening the door through the broken window
shot 3 - medium shot as Chris opens his gate and walks up the path, leaving the gate open
shot 4 - medium shot behind Chris as he slowly approaches door
shot 5 – medium close up of door open ajar
shot 6 – medium shot of Chris as he pushes the door open

Scene 6 – Day 3 - Inside Chris' house – Evening

Shot 1 – Medium shot from inside house as Chris enters looking around
Shot 2 – medium long shot showing room that's been robbed
shot 3 - medium close up of Chris' feet as he moves them to show the letter on the floor which he picks up
shot 4 – medium long shot showing Chris stood in front of door looking round and then at the letter, then drops his bag

Scene 7 – Day 4 - Chris' house - Evening

Shot 1 - medium long shot of Chris walking up the path to his door from bottem of garden

shot 2 - medium long shot of back of Chris walking to door and door opening

shot 3 - medium close up of door opening and Michelle holding a box

shot 4 - close up shot of the box full of her things

shot 5 - medium shot of Chris' face

shot 6 - medium shot of both of them from the side

shot 7 - medium long shot over Chris' left sholder

shot 8 - medium long shot over Michelles right sholder

shot 9 - medium shot from side as Michelle walks past Chris

shot 10 - medium close up of Chris face as Michelle walks away

shot 11 - medium long shot over above Chris' head of Michelle as she walks down garden to gate

shot 12 - medium shot as Chris walks into the house and closes door

Scene 8 - Day 5 – Chris' work/ office - morning

Shot 1 – medium Shot showing Chris looking at photo or facebook
Shot 2 – close up of the photo
Shot 3 – medium long shot down corridor as boss is walking down and looks in Chris' office as he walks by
shot 4 – medium shot of Chris with door in background and boss walks back and into the room
Shot 5 – medium shot from behind the boss as Chris and his boss start to talk
Shot 6 – medium shot just left of the boss as Chris spins round in his chair
Shot 7 – low medium shot from boss' left
Shot 8 – low medium shot from Chris' right
Shot 9 – higher medium shot as Chris walks past boss
Shot 10 – long shot down corridor as Chris walks out of office and down hallway

Scene 9 - Day 6 – Empty street - Evening

Shot 1 – long shot of Chris walking down road
Shot 2 – medium close up as Chris drinks from a bottle
Shot 3 – medium long shot from behind Chris s he walks down road with people walking towards him
Shot 4 – medium long shot from side as they talk to each other
Shot 5 – medium shot from Chris' left
Shot 6 – medium shot from strangers right
Shot 7 – point of view medium shot as they punch Chris
Shot 8 – medium close up as they go through his pockets and take his phone and wallet
Shot 9 – long shot up the road as they run off
shot 10 – medium close up of Chris zooming out into medium long shot

Scene 10 - Day 7 – Empty street - Early morning

shot 1 - medium shot of Chris lying in road in same position as earlier but a few hours later
shot 2 - point of view shot as Chris wakes and sits up
shot 3 - medium shot up as Chris sits on curb
shot 4 - medium close up as he goes through his pockets
shot 5 - medium long shot up street as he stands and goes through his pockets looking for his things
shot 6 - close up as he finds the letter in his pocket
shot 7 - medium shot from across road as he sits down and reads it
shot 8 - close up shot of his face while reading the letter tilting down to show the letter
shot 9 - medium shot as he puts it in his pocket and stands up
shot 10 - medium long shot of a car/van driving up the road
shot 11 - close up of Chris' face
shot 12 - long shot down empty street
shot 13 - medium long shot of car/van driving off
shot 14 - medium shot of Chris lying in road dead
shot 15 - close up of side of his face
shot 16 - medium low shot showing Chris and road and somebody walking up to him
shot 17 - medium close up of a gloved hand retrieving the letter from Chris' pocket

2009-10-12T04:01:00.000-07:00

Call Sheet/ Daily Schedule

ITEM/TITLE___Post Mortem______________ SHOOTING DATE__17 November 2009________

PRODUCER Aran Ellmer

DIRECTOR Jake SMith

CAMERA Aran Ellmer

SOUND Aran Ellmer

ADDITIONAL CREW -

CALL TIME/RV 13:30

LOCATION/DIRECTIONS/PARKING 50 Nicholas Lane s639as, park at front on street

CONTACTS 01709890105

SCHEDULE Film scene 2

TIME DETAILS OF ITEM 3 hours including 20 minute break

Script

2009-10-12T03:33:00.001-07:00

Scene 2(Chris' car)
Chris:(after sitting on and breaking glasses) "Awww, damn!"

Scene 4(Chris' workplace)

George: (walks past door and once again see's Chris not doing as he should, so enters room and approaches Chris)"I've warned you about this before, i'm sorry, we're going to have to let you go"
Chris:"aww".(hits keyboard)

film posters

2009-10-12T03:30:00.000-07:00

This is a poster for the film The Ring, the film is about a curse passed on by a video tape that kills the watcher after seven days, although it is more precise in the date of death than ours and the nature of the curse isn't the same i have still included this as it is about a curse that kills after an object is passed along so shares a big similarity with our short film.

Risk Assesment

2009-10-06T08:27:00.000-07:00

RISK ASSESSMENT

Product Name: Seven Days (A Short Film)

Director: Jake Smith

Date or period this Risk Assessment covers: October - December 2009

Risk assessment carried out by: Jake Smith an Aran Ellmer

Location address and Contact No.
50 Nicholas Lane, Goldthorpe. s63 9xx 01709 890***

108 Highwoods Road, Mexborough, S64 9xx 01709 326***

HAZARDS

Costume/Make-Up Vehicle NO

Access/egress NO

Machinery NO

Diving Operations NO

Animals NO

Manual handling (attach specific assessment) YES

Explosives/Pyrotechnics/ Fire effects NO

Audience/Public NO

Mines/excavations/caves/tunnels/quarries NO

Flying Ballet NO

Communication Failure NO

Noise (attach specific assessment) NO

Hydraulic Hoists (Cherry Pickers) NO

Compressed gas/cryogenics NO

Person with special needs NO

Lasers NO

Confined spaces NO

Physical exertion NO

Location Catering NO

Derelict Buildings/dangerous structures NO

Radiation ionising/non ionising NO

Hire of Lighting Equipment YES

Electricity or gas YES

Speed NO

Scaffolds NO

Fire/Flammable material NO

Tropical Diseases NONE

Smoke Effects NO

Fight sequence YES

Vehicles/off road driving YES

Stunts YES

Glass YES

Violence/ Public disorder YES

Physical Effects NO

Hazardous substances NO

Water NO

Heat/cold NO

Weather YES

Hostile Environment: NO

Working patterns/working hours NO

Inexperienced performer or children NO

Working at heights /trips and falls NO

Lifting appliances/ machinery NO

Other NONE

Brief detail of activity to be recorded: The activity is a short film about a man who's life takes a turn for the worse after receiving a letter. Each part of his life falls apart over the next week until he ultimately takes his own life on the Sunday. For the most of the time there will be one character in shot apart from 2 occasions where there are 2 people exchanging dialogue.

Hazard Identification Risk and controls

Hazard: Trips and falls over cables from cameras, lighting and audio equipment

Persons affected: Camera crew including director and Sound operator. Cast

Severity: Moderate

Risk: Low

Controls: Ensure short cable runs where possible.

Use gaffer tape or other devices to ensure cables are secured.

Limit personnel entering work area with tape or other barrier

Use wireless audio where possible

Please use additional sheets are required
N.B. THIS MUST BE SIGNED BEFORE THE PRODUCTION CAN GO AHEAD
I have read the above and am satisfied that:
· It constitutes a proper and adequate risk assessment in respect of the programme activity and that the precautions identified above are sufficient to control the risks.
Adequate arrangements are in place to communicate the risk assessment findings and to co-ordinate the safety arrangements of all those affected, e.g. site owners, engineers, contractors, freelances, resources, etc.

Signature of Producer ……………………………………………………… Name (printed) Date

2009-10-06T07:54:00.000-07:00

The film starts with a shot of a man dead on a path, a letter is seen protruding form his pocket and a close up shows a blacked gloved hand taking the letter. The title shows on the screen in black writing on a white background fading into a shot of the protagonist Chris. We see Chris getting ready for work and then going downstairs when the post falls onto the mat. Chris picks up the post and goes to the kitchen, while the kettle is boiling he reads the post which is all bills except the last letter is addressed to Mr Anderson in handwriting. He looks at it quizzically and opens it. While reading a look of confusion comes across his face. He carries on reading till the end and then checks the other side for writing and checks inside the envelope but finds nothing. He then realises the time and abandons the kettle grabs his bag and rushes out the door, he puts his bag on the passenger seat and sits down on his glasses, he checks them and they are broke to his annoyance, the broken glasses are shown then a shot of the letter before fading to black and showing day 2 in white writing.
Day two has Chris similarly to 1, getting up and ready for work

in his car he crams the letter into the pocket of his bag.

The next shot shows the same hand delivering the letter through a letter box and it falling on the mat. the man in the house is seen getting ready then going downstairs and picking the letter up. he reads it and seems puzzled so puts it on a table and leaves the house, at work he goes to put his glasses on but finds they are broken which is quite frustrating to the man. the next shot shows him going to work but finding his car has been scratched/crashed into. then the next day we he returns home from work to find his house has been robbed, then the next day he is fired from his job, then the next his girlfriend dumps him, then the next he gets beaten up and then final the next day he commits suicide. after this the same hand with glove is seen taking the letter from his pocket and re delivering
day one – breaks glasses
day two – something wrong with car
day three- house gets robbed
day four- gets dumped
day five- gets fired
day six – gets beaten up
day seven- commits suicide

The film starts with a mysterious hand picking a letter from a pocket, sealing it and posing it, the the screen fades to black. The man gets a letter Monday. The content of the letter is unseen and the man appears puzzled by the letter and sticks it in his pocket. Over the next week, gradually worse things happen to the man each day. He loses his job, his girlfriend, gets beaten up and his life spirals out of control until on Sunday he decides to end it all and throw himself off a bridge, the ultimate bad luck. When doing this the letter falls out of his pocket. The mysterious gloved hand then picks up this envelope, and is seen sealing and posting it. The next shot is Monday and the shot is identical to the first shot of the film where someone is receiving the same letter, this implying similar unfortunate events are going to happen to this person, so the letter being a curse, a continuous never ending chain.

character profiles

2009-10-01T05:16:00.001-07:00

Protagonist - Chris Anderson

Chris is a young man who works in an office doing clerical work, he isn't happy with his job but at the same time has no desire to commit to changing his life or finding a new path. He is becoming increasingly more annoyed at his daily life and how quickly it is passing him by. He is a very clean person and untidiness is leading to a lot of anxiety for Chris. He spends a lot of time cleaning and this is annoying him because he can't stop. His life appears to be him working cleaning or filling the gaps with watching tv or going on his computer.

Likes:
Chris's most prized possession is his car that hes currently working to pay off, apart from his car there isn't much else he really enjoys. He watches TV and spends time looking at various websites to pass the time but he doesn't have any hobbies. He does like to keep up a good appearance and is always checking himself in the mirror to check his hair is fine and tie is straight, he uses an array of cleanses and gels to make sure he keeps a clear complection and likes to keep them all in order and neat.

Dislikes:
Chris hates dirt and mess, if there is mess he will clean it up straight away, his cleanliness is verging on an obsession, it takes over his home life and work life and makes him clean his prized car on a near daily basis, this is also what is leading to his anxiety. He has a mild OCD which cause him to keep everything aligned.

Chris' boss - George Kaplin

Directly in charge of Chris where they both work. They both started working there at the same time and got on well when within the same team they got on well and seem to have an understnding with each other that should there be a need for redundecies Chris will not be fired. He is happy with Chris' performance but knows as a friend that he can do better but never tries, because of this everytime a promotion arrived Chris was passed over and his George received it instead.

His personality is hard but fair. He still gets on well with people as he was once on their level but knows when things need to be done then they need to be done.

Likes:
George likes going out with people from work to the pub like on the weekend and after work, he used to enjoy Chris' company but Chris hardly seems to go anymore as he spends all time at home. George is also quite flash and likes the finer things such as expensive watches and designer suits, he drives a better car than Chris but doesnt care for cars as much as Chris.

Dislikes:
He dislikes impolite and rude people, this is one of the things he brings poeople up on at work. He also dislikes lateness in his staff and poor apperance, this is why he likes Chris as he is always smart and presentable and is always polite.

Chris' girlfriend - Michelle

Has been Chris' girlfriend for over 2 years, starting to doubt that Chris would make a good husband in the future as he has no ambitions and is happy to stay where he is even though he complains about his situation all the time

Likes: she likes spending time with Chris watching films and going out, this is happening less tho as Chris is becoming more reclusive. she does like reading which she is doing more now as Chris is spending less time with her

Dislikes: Michelle dislikes rudeness and untidiness, this is why she originally liked Chris but she also dislikes Chris' lack of ambition and this is starting to affect their relationship

questionaire results

2009-10-01T05:01:00.000-07:00

these are the results of the questionaire we have created to find out what the audience is looking for in a film and what would be best to include in our production.

Developed Idea

2009-09-29T08:08:00.001-07:00

the film starts with a shot of a man dead on a path, a letter is seen pertruding form his pocket and a close up shows a gloved black hand taking the letter. the next shot shows the same hand delivering the letter through a letter box and it falling on the mat. the man in the house is seen getting ready then going downstairs and picking the letter up. he reads it and seems puzzled so puts it on a table and leaves the house, at work he goes to put his glasses on but finds they are broken which is quite frustrating to the man. the next shot shows him going to work but finding his car has been scracthed/crahsed into. then the next day we he retunrs home from work to find his house has been robbed, then the next day he is fired from his job, then the next his girlfriend dumps him, then the next he gets beaten up and then final the next day he commits suicide. after this the same hand with glove is seen taking the letter from his pocket and re delivering

The film starts with a mysterious hand picking a letter from a pocket, sealing it and posing it, the the screen fades to black. The man gets a letter Monday. The content of the letter is unseen and the man appears puzzled by the letter and sticks it in his pocket. Over the next week, gradually worse things happen to the man each day. He loses his job, his girlfriend, gets beaten up and his life spirals out of control until on Sunday he decides to end it all and throw himself off a bridge, the ultimate bad luck. When doing this the letter falls out of his pocket. The mysterious gloved hand then picks up this envelope, and is seen sealing and posting it. The next shot is Monday and the shot is identical to the first shot of the film where someone is receiving the same letter, this implying similar unfortunate events are going to happen to this person, so the letter being a curse, a continuous never ending chain.

Questionnaire

2009-09-28T03:48:00.000-07:00

What is your name?

How old are you?

What is you ocupational status?
Student
Employed part time
Employed full time
Retired
Out of work

Do you like thriller genre films?
Yes
no

Do you like horror films?
Yes
No

What is your favourite thriller/horror film? Why?

Who is your favourite film director? Why?

How many times do you go to the cinema a month?
None
once
twice
three times
more than three times

Have you seen any short films and if so how many?
None
1-5
More than 5

Where have you seen these short films?
Cinema
Tv
Internet
Other (please list)

What was the subject of the one you rember most if you have seen any?

Would you be interetsed in a short story about a curse being passed on by a letter?

What interests you in this?

Web Links

2009-09-28T03:33:00.000-07:00

www.bbfc.co.uk - for film certification
www.virginmediashorts.co.uk/ - research on short films
http:/www.imdb.com - research on films
www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/12196 - short film advice

short films

2009-09-28T03:23:00.001-07:00

short film one- black button. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrKnhOJ-R80

the film is about a man in purgatory and is given a choice to sin, he chooses to for a reward and is then condemed to hell.

the film is similar to the film we will create in that it contains only a small amount of characters and is based upon one mans choices and the consequences of that choice

short film two- the window http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huBlNu8EcMw&feature=channel

this film is a bout a man who is dying in a hospital bed and is dreaming to try and deal with it. the film contains similar elements to what our film will such as recuring images such as the clock being prominent. in our film the letter will be like the clock.

short film three- making the difference http://www.virginmediashorts.co.uk/films/film/making-the-difference/

this is a documentary about peoples preferences in cakes, and the difference in peoples views

the film doesnt share many similaraties to our film, it isnt a fictional film and it isnt shot in the same style, it does have quite a few establishing shots which is omething we wil go for in our film to try and make the film feel longer.

specimen treatment

2009-09-21T03:49:00.000-07:00

Program Title - 7 days

Duration - 3-5 minutes long, length of a short film

Audience - Aimed at a young audience between 15 and 40, mainly men who's
similar audience to programs such as

Showing - The film will be shown on film 4 as they commission short films, so this would be the best platform to show it on. It will also provide funding for the film to be developed. after its initial release it could also be released in cinemas and online.

Resume - Main idea - a man receives a letter from an anonymous stranger, over the next few days his life starts to spiral out of control. Each day he experiences more unlucky happenings, such as being fired and being dumped by his girlfriend, until the final day when he takes his own life. The letter is then retrieved and re delivered for another victim to experience the same fate, all by the same stranger who we never learn the identity off.

Suggested elements- Many scenes will be nearly identical in shots, they will be shot the same way but showing the effects of the previous days on the character
we will use quick shots of the characters grabbing items in rapid succession

Film days - it will be filmed over 15 days towards the end of October and the begining of November

Location Shots

2009-09-21T03:46:00.000-07:00

Initial Short Film Ideas

2009-09-14T04:01:00.000-07:00

Idea 1
A student is doing his exams and is loosing sleep over them, he can hardly sleep in the build up to the exams. hes seen trying to sleep and then study but each time he keeps getting disturbed. He starts to imagine someone called steve who is imaginary. Steve keeps him company while hes not sleeping and makes him re think what he is doing at that point in his life. he tells him what to do and when hes doing something steve told him to do he meets a girl they fall in love the end!

Idea 2
The film starts with a mysterious hand picking a letter from a pocket, sealing it and posing it, the the screen fades to black. The man gets a letter Monday. The content of the letter is unseen and the man appears puzzled by the letter and sticks it in his pocket. Over the next week, gradually worse things happen to the man each day. He loses his job, his girlfriend, gets beaten up and his life spirals out of control until on Sunday he decides to end it all and throw himself off a bridge, the ultimate bad luck. When doing this the letter falls out of his pocket. The mysterious gloved hand then picks up this envelope, and is seen sealing and posting it. The next shot is Monday and the shot is identical to the first shot of the film where someone is receiving the same letter, this implying similar unfortunate events are going to happen to this person, so the letter being a curse, a continuous never ending chain.

Idea 2
2 college kids are given an assignment to create a film for a course they are studing but cant come up with any ideas, so decide to plagiaris an idea from a film but cant decide on which one, in the end they decide to take ideas from two movies they both picked. when they show the films it ends up being a tape of the pair planning to plagiaris a film after they left the camera on while trying to come up with ideas and so fret they will be in trouble, but at the end every one applauds and they get away with it even though their tutors are suspicous

Film4 Productions

2009-09-14T03:43:00.000-07:00

www.film4.com/videos/film4-films

This is the film 4 website with films they have previously produced, it has a wide variety of full length and short films, this is one of the reasons we are choosing film 4 for producing our short film and for distributing it so that it can be produced to the best possible quality and so that it can reach the largest possible audience.