The purpose of this proposal is to sell my idea to the producers, so that they can approve of it and make it into a film. In my primary and secondary research, i came to the conclusion that thriller films have a wider target audience and the thriller genre is one of the most popular genres of film. In my research i also found out that people liked thriller short films that had aspects of horror in them.
Film Synopsis
A boy is on his way home from the local store, when he finds a strange looking book covered in blood, on the floor.The book contains profile photos of random people. The book turns out to be a "death" book that gives whoever is in possesion of it, the ability to pass judgement on people who have committed acts of injustice, by killing them.
Twist and Hook
The hook of the film is the book that the boy finds.The first twist of the film is that the people in the photos are people that the boy has encountered or seen during his journey to the local store. The other twist is that there is a photo of the boy in the book and underneath the photo someone has written "Judgement: Death" in blood. Because the boy has passed judgement by killing people, he too has committed an immoral act. My short film will have an open ending. I believe by having this kind of narrative ending, I can create mystery and suspense.
Tagline: "Justice isn't always fair" "you can't escape judgement"
Influences
My short film was influenced by the manga book series and psychological thriller film Deathnote. My short film idea was also influenced by a 2014 news article about a chicago native teen vigilante. Below are the box office figures for deathnote. The film made $110.2 million in the United States and 147.3 million in Japan. The box office numbers suggests that the film was very successful.It also suggests that there is a very large target audience for Physiological thrillers. This is evidence that my short film will be successful.
| Box office | Budget: $32 million US$147.3 million (Japan) US$110.2 million (United States) |
|---|
Film Rating
My short film will be suitable for 15 years and older. Therefore i will need to follow the guidelines for a 15 rated film according to BBFC. A 15 rated film is not limited in the content and themes that it can show, provided that it is appropriate for 15 year olds. When classifying and regulating 15 rated films, The BBFC deem the following themes acceptable for a 15 film. Strong Violence,Frequent use of strong language,Sexual activity, drug references and nudity. However the context in which these themes are shown and used should not, in any way, glamourise them. For example, the use of strong language and violence has to be justified in the story of the film. Continued or aggressive use of strong language will not be passed as a 15 rated film. My film will be rated 15. The is because the film will include themes of mortality and violence.
What does the 15 symbol mean?
No-one under 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy/rent a 15 rated video. 15 rated works are not suitable for children under 15 years of age.
Are there any limits on what sort of theme a work can have at 15?
No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.
What might I see in a 15 rated film or video?
Any of the following:
- strong violence
- frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***').
- portrayals of sexual activity
- strong verbal references to sex
- sexual nudity
- brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence
- discriminatory language or behaviour
- drug taking
(http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/15)
Primary Research and Secondary Research
In my primary research i was able to find out more about the target audience for short films. I was able to come to the conclusion that the target audience for short films were university students and adults. I disscovered that the target audience for short films were very niche. Most of the short films that were shown on YouTube and other distribution platforms were aimed at specific audiences. As part of my research, i watched short films on youtube to look for any conventions and to get a sense of what people liked to see in short films, particually thrillers and horrors. Looking at comments under some of the short films, i saw that many younger people who had watched the short films were somewhat confused about the story and narrative of the films. Looking at their youtube channels/profiles i was able to find out their ages. The fact that younger audiences did not understand the narrative of these short films, further re-establishes my conclusion, that short films are aimed at a much more older and knowledgeable audience. Aswell as looking at comments, i also looked at views and profile pages of some of the viewers. I noticed that people liked thriller short films that had aspects of horror in them. Because of this, i intend to add aspects of horror in my thrriller short film.i also noticed that people really liked the animated credit motion graphics. In my Secondary research, i was able to find out about different trends in the thriller genre. In my research i was able to find out that films in the same genre or similar to my short film were successful. For example final destination made $112.880,294 in box office earnings. One trend that i saw while watching these short films, were that thriller and horror short films were more popular than any other type of short films. In my secondary research, I looked into different ways that I could fund my short film production. I saw that Crowd-funding was a reliable way of funding a production.
(Screenshot of Cameron Covell's YouTube Channel)
(Screenshot of comment section for "2AM-The smiling man)
Unique Selling Point
The unique selling point of my short film is that it is based on a news article about a chicago Vigilante. I am confident that my short film will be successful. This is because it was influenced by a successful film.Another reason my film will be successful is because there is a large audience for thriller films. In my research i found out that thriller and horror short films were more popular than any other type of short film.
Budgeting
Budget Breakdown
Clothing £7-£40
Food and Transport:
Bus £1.50 per journey (half the rate for 16-18 years old)
Train: £2- £5 (half the rate for 16-18 years old)
Food/catering : £2-£20
Fake Blood £1-£3
Plain A5 book £5-8
Photo paper for profile pictures £5-£10
Average Total: £60- £87.50
Camera-The will be provided for me by the College
Tripod- The will be provided for me by the College
LED camera lights-The will be provided for me by the College
Computer- The will be provided for me by the College
Video Editing software- This will be provided for me by the College
Funding
For my funding i will be using Kickstarter. The way that kickstarter works is simple. People can look at other peoples projects, if they like the project, they can pledge money to make it happen. If the project succeeds in reaching its funding goal, all pledgers are charged. If the project does not reach it's goal,no one is charged. It has been proven that kickstarter is reliable source of funding. Many artists, musicians and filmmakers have found sucesss with funding through kickstarter.
Regulation & Certification
The main regulating body for film in the UK is the BBFC. The British board of film classification (BBFC) is an independent body that is responsible for regulating films that are released in UK cinemas and released on DVD in the UK. The office of communications (OFCOM) is responsible for regulating TV, Radio and video on demand in the UK. Since i will be using YouTube and short film festivals as my platform of distribution,The BBFC will not regulate my short film. This is because, The BBFC can not regulate films that are streamed and watched on online platforms. This is because the films on these platforms are being streamed worldwide and not exclusively in the UK. Also, The BBFC cannot regulate film that are entered in film festivals.
I have changed the idea for my short film a number of times. My idea was previously about a group of students that were brought together because they had all witnessed a murder of another fellow student. Each of the students who witnessed the murder, did nothing to help the student. After being brought together by unforeseen circumstances, the group of students try to piece together the mystery of the murdered boy and the strange events happening around them, while trying to evade the hunter who is after them. After further exploring the idea , i realized that the idea was too advanced and complicated for a one minute short film. By combining my primary and secondary research i was able to come up with a suitable idea for a one minute short film.
Distribution
The platform on which i will be distributing my short film on will be youtube. The reason i have chosen youtube is because it is a worldwide platform, so lots of people will be able to watch. I will also be distributing my short film in film festivals. Entering my short film in a film festival would be a really good way of promoting and advertising my short film.These types of festivals give independent film makers the opportunity to showcase their work.
Distributors from all over are likely to come and watch the films in the festival. I will be entering my short film in the london short film festival.
bibliography
http://www.bbfc.co.uk/what-classification/15
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Destination_(film)
No comments:
Post a Comment