Music

I have been listening to different songs and imagining them with my footage; here are the songs I am going to choose from for my introduction when Sam is waking up, getting dressed, smoking weed and leaving the house. The first song is called Sleepyhead, by Passionpit. Passionpit is an alternative/electronic/indie band who hsave made several trippy songs. . This one in particular I feel would work well because it is very repetative and the variety of sounds and high pitches create a very sleepy vibe (even the name of the song is fitting). Sam is supposed to be sleepy!

 This song is called 'Down The Line' by José González. I feel this is very appropriate for my film (even if I played it somewhere else nearer the end) this is mainly because the lyrics are so relevant to my storyline. The lines that stand out to me most are;

I see problems down the line (there are always problems caused by drugs! It's a slippery slope)There was a dirt upon your hands (lots of drug addicts feel unclean and immoral)doing the same mistake twice (some feel like they did wrong and regret it, but still do it again)I see darkness down the line (they could easily end up in a dark place... not literally, emotionally)I know its hard to fight. (addictions are incredibly hard to fight)Dont let the darkness eat you up (don't let the drugs get hold of you)

On each second beat it has a drum sound, this is perfect to film Sam walking to... his voice is also very warming and easy to listen to, the song as a whole is modern and catchy. It would fit very well!

I thought about using this song for when Sam looks back at the camera and finds the horrible video. This song sounds really sad to me, it's very slow, and her voice is so soft and high pitched that it sounds haunting and ghostly. The lyrics are also unhappy so this helps to make the atmosphere more depressing and the scene, more moving.
'Stay awhile, my baby wants me to'
'Don't you go, my baby begs me so'
'And I get weak, I get weary
I miss sleep, I get moody'

Locations

I have been looking at different drug scenes and chases in short films to get ideas for locations;
The shroom scenes in Pick Of Destiny and Skins were both set in forests.

 this is the skins clip

I like the idea of using a forest and have done since I began brainstorming for this film. Forests are seen by many people as magical places (this originates back to fairytales where spirits, fairies and witches live and tree's talk etc) so this is why alot of people take drugs there.  Users take hallucinagetics in forests sometimes in the hope that they can see these mystical creatures. Forests are also seen as scary, eerie places, especially in the dark as there are no lights and therefore lots of places for people to hide. In my film I do not necessarily want to scare my audience, however, I do want to build tension in the chase scene and depict Sam's fear as he runs. The fact he would have a lot of areas to hide is also particularly useful because at some point he does need to escape the man! (It would too, make sense why he went for a walk there... because he is on drugs!!)

 this is the chase scene in Trainspotting, which takes place in the town through the streets. This is effective because you can see that it is not only effecting the two (or however many people involved) running, but also people around them. This subtly giving a moral that your actions affect the people around you too. If I set my film in my local town I imagine it would have a very urban, grungy feel. This is perfect to set the atmosphere for Sam (my youthful, grungy main character) however I think it would be too challenging to film in a busy town where different people are going to be walking around in the background. I have to repeat shots and try different angles etc as they will have moved from one spot to another in the background!

 this is the clip from Pick Of Destiny (which is supposed to be humerous) Here, Jack Black is having hallicinations from eating magic mushrooms. This is set in a forest too, has a very magical vibe.The shot of Jack Black looking at his hand waving slowly made me think of a shot to use. I will have a point of view shot of Sam looking around his room - with everything blurry and slow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR-NNmcgQK4 - this is in due date. Obviously I cannot set my film in a car but I have still found in valuable looking at the acting and the visual effects (to show drug use.) I took the acting techniques and directed my brother to look sleepy. I would have liked to use the starry effect which is shown outside the car window, however I think that would be too complex for me to do!

This is a close up of my brothers face before I applied the makeup to make him look like a drug addict.















As you can hopefully see, I have applied Sam with brown and purple eyeshadow underneath his eyes to make him look very tired!

Lastly, I have positioned him with a fake spliff and a lighter. This photograph was simply taken for me to get an idea of what he will look like in the film - and ofcourse, to prepare him for what I'm going to be asking him to do ;)

 

Costumes

I took a selection of pictures of my brother who is playing the main character in different costumes. Here he is wearing a vintage murky green shirt buttoned up to the top and skinny jeans, this makes him look indie and 'in fashion' - so it would definitly appeal to a teenage audience. However, I think he looks too smart and well dressed for a drug addict. For this reason he won't be wearing this shirt!








This t-shirt looks alot more casual and lazy. The fact it has Bob Marley on the front was a deliberate decision, as alot of people relate Bob Marley to Cannabis. Below that, is the same t-shirt but with a hoody too, to enforce the typical sterotype of a hoodie (yob/criminal/lazy etc) which in this case is completely true!

This is the cotton shirt I mentioned earlier, which is the idea I got from 'Taking Woodstock'. This makes him look very laid-back and careless as it has no shape and is simply worn for comfortablity. I don't think I am going to use this though as it is still clean and well made, not old and rough.         

This is the a plain tshirt with Jim Morrison from The Doors on it, this, I feel is the best tshirt as it looks the most naturlistic and is not smart. I am keeping the skinny jeans and his messy hairstyle.            

FINAL IDEA & CHARACTERS

I HAVE DECIDED ON MY FINAL IDEA.


it is going to be my first idea about the boy on drugs, however, I  have a twist to the story line. At the end when the boy looks back at the media on the camera he could instead, see something disturbing. It'll simply be suggestive, nothing will be shown, the audience can make their minds up for themselves - but it would be something bad.. like a crime, a rape or child pornography etc. The boy then has to make the moral decision whether to tell the police or not, because he too will be in trouble for stealing and may be found out for other things he has stolen and doing drugs.





So I have been thinking about who to use as characters in my film, and have chosen to use my family. This is mainly for convenience and reliability as I live with them and will therefore be able to make sure they do not let down! However, my brother would be perfect for my main character because he looks about 17 (the age I wanted the boy to be) and enjoys acting. My parents will play the couple strolling in the forest - my dad also played the Paramedic in my AS film! For costumes; I have looked at different characters similar to my own (a junkie) in order to see what clothes looked effective.
I first characters I looked at were from 'Taking Woodstock', which is one of my favourite films. It is based on a hippie festival in 1969... in one of the scenes, you see a couple and the main character have an acid trip.. there are also several references to drugs throughout the movie (as a large factor of the hippie culture was drugs).

This is one of the characters in the movie, I feel his long hair and moustache make him look rugged and druggie-like. I like the idea of having an open shirt as it suggests he doesn't really care.





This is the main character, I think his longer hair also looks good... this again shows he is not too bothered about being smart and clean cut. Although I think his jerga looks cool and hip, and would probably exagerate the 'relaxed' look I am going for - I do not think it is rough enough. I could instead use one of the cotton shirts that are very similar. The costume could even have holes in it! That's how rough I want my character to look.

I decided to move away from the hippie druggie look and observe Trainspotting, a heroin based plot, set in Scotland. Below is a picture of Ewan Mcgregor, the main character and total junkie!

Here, he is sitting in his drug den in nothing but a pair of skinny jeans. He is also wearing dark makeup under his eyes to make him look rough and tired. I will definitly put makeup on my brother to help enhance the rough, 'drugged up' look... as will I use skinny jeans, to make him have that slick and cool look.

I have been searching on Youtube for short films, I have no idea what kind of storyline I want to do nor do I have a clue what genre! The first short film I watched was called 'Tick Tock'; the hyperlink to the video is below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOVNNlRjJfI
This film starts from the end and rewinds back to the beginning, I think this is a really clever technique as it keeps the audience captivated throughout - they continue to watch because they want to know what happened in the first place to cause that ending!  I also liked how the sound rewinded made the atmosphere very bemused and hazy, which fit perfectly with the storyline. I may take the idea and start my film from the end.

This is the second film I looked at, which was an A2 short film from another school. I really liked the lighthearted storyline and the music used.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLltR_8GZdk

I think I am going to take one of the songs used in it which is called 'Don't Panic' by Ellie Goulding.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbZKIMC4TJc

Brainstorming :)

I have been searching on Youtube for short films, I have no idea what kind of storyline I want to do nor do I have a clue what genre! The first short film I watched was called 'Tick Tock'; the video is below.

This film starts from the end and rewinds back to the beginning, I think this is a really clever technique as it keeps the audience captivated throughout - they continue to watch because they want to know what happened in the first place to cause that ending! I also liked how the sound rewinded made the atmosphere very bemused and hazy, which fit perfectly with the storyline. I may take the idea and start my film from the end.


I found a website called http://www.shortfilms.com/ which is available for people to upload and watch short films easily. I used this to watch some short films and see what kind of story lines people have used.

http://www.shortfilms.com/video/54/Stalker

This is the first short film I have observed, which I found in the 'Most Viewed and Top Rated' section... knowing that the films called 'Stalker' which has 3862 views and a 5 star rating. I also chose it because it is under five minutes long (the time specification I have been given.) This film is all in black and white which creates a grim, mysterious atmopshere as it as is all the colour has been drained. The first thing I noticed is that it does not have an introduction with titles - which is something I think should have been included as it begins with no foundations and the audience have no idea who the characters are or what the film is called (forgetting the title on the link to the film itself). So when I create my film I WILL MAKE SURE TO USE TITLES AT THE BEGINNING TO INTRODUCE MY CHARACTERS!
The first shot is of a girl standing against a wall smoking, she sees a car drive past, there is a close up on her boots and then you see her walk towards the road. This gives the impression that she is a prostitute. The fact she was smoking also made the atmosphere tense as it makes her appear as though she is a bad girl, up to know good.


I then started brainstorming!
My first idea is about drugs. It begins with a close up shot of a boys eyes opening, (just like the close up of the girls boots in the film above!) the second shot is a medium shot which shows him waking up - we can also see the pit of a room around him! There are drugs on the side and mess all over the floor. He sits up, rubs his hair, shoves on a t-shirt and starts smoking some weed  (to make him appear to be a bad boy, up to no good). He goes downstairs, eats tonnes of food (has the munchies, a result of smoking weed - just so it is obvious to the audience) and goes for a walk in a forest. Then it will cut to a couple also taking a stroll... they then start taking photos of one another. The next shot is of the boy walking by - the couple ask him to take a photo for them. He stands back, gets into position and then runs off with the camera. (This idea I took from a short film I watched on Youtube called Snap)
The man runs after the boy, chasing him through the forest until he loses sight of him. We see the boy run home, and collapse on his bed. My original idea was to have him look back at the couples photographs and then starts crying and says he can't believe hes resulted in stealing, that he didn't mean to go this far and just got into the wrong crowd - but now he's lost everything. I like that that had a moral behind it.

My second idea is a romance about a broken hearted boy. The film starts with a shot of the boy walking through a forest on his way home from school, he is having flashbacks of him and his girlfriend there. He looks really depressed. we see him get home and run staright up to his room.We see a collection of photos on his bedroom wall of him and his ex girlfriend. He types her a text but then deletes it, he keeps looking on her facebook - wants to talk to her but doesn't. His mum comes up with dinner but he tips it in the bin.. etc.. different broken hearted shots.

 Then there are two possible endings;
He see's that her relationship status online has changed to single and then a text comes through from her - the film ends there on a cliffhanger... but it is hinting that she wants to be with him again! (happy ending!)

- The alternative ending is very cheesy. His ex girlfriend turns up outside his house on her scooter and he ecstatically runs out, jumps on the back and they drive off together into the distance.


My third idea is like a little documentary. I would start at the end and keep showing flashbacks. I would begin the film with a girl and her mother sitting on a couch, the girl is crying. She explains how everything constantly reminds her of what happened 'that night'. There would then be a flashback in black and white of her at a party having a great time, there will be music to build tension, the audience see someone slip something her drink. Slowly they see her becoming less and less alert... a guy then approachs her and holds her hand, leading her  into a bathroom, there would then be a hard cut back to the present... she explains that she was raped. The moral of the story is, to look AFTER YOUR DRINK!!1

Research

I have began by researching short films.
Apparently all the films in the early days of the cinema used to be short. There are no precise characteristics or a criteria for short films, other than the running time. This opens up alot of doorways for me and my short film as i can go in any direction i want to! I searched the internet for information on how to make short films. Here I have 8 brief pointers found online that take you through what to do!

1. Introduce main character(s); set the scene.
2. Give the character a problem, obstacle, obsession or addiction.
3. Let the character work out a plan to overcome the problem.
4. Before setting out to solve the problem, there may be a moment of doubt that will require the hero to seek advice from a mentor: teacher, best friend. This is an opportunity to let the audience know more about the problem and weigh it up in their own minds. What would they do?
5. With new resolve (and often a magical gift from the mentor: the watches Q gives James Bond; Dorothy's ruby slippers), the hero sets out to overcome the problem, obstacle, obsession or addiction.
6. Overcoming the problem or challenge (getting the girl; escaping tyranny; saving the world) will be met by extreme opposition from the rival, who will usually have greater but different strengths and will in some ways bear similarities to the hero: the nemesis is the hero's dark side.
7. The hero will appear to fail in his quest. He will give up or glimpse defeat, even death, and will require superhuman effort to overcome this daunting final task.
   The hero wins the final battle, with an opponent, or enemy, or with himself, and returns to his natural state wiser, or stronger, or cured, but not necessarily happier.
8. The journey has made him a different person. He has glimpsed death and can never go back to the simplicity of what he once was.

I probably will not follow this step by step, however, it is still incredibly helpful to see what kind of storyline you need to have to keep the audience gripped for so long!

On the Film Network website It is recommended that you have a really strong beginning;
Most programmers/distributors will be inundated with submissions and so your film has to grab their attention from the very first shot. The harsh reality is that if your film doesn't grab them within the first two minutes,they may not sit through it till the end. Don't waste time on lengthy introductions and credits – spark their interest in the story as quickly as you can. Credits at the start can distract the viewer. Similarly if your film starts with a long establishing shot where nothing really happens, viewers may switch off before you get to show them your great plot and idea. If the pace of your film is naturally slow and ambling, make the shots as rich and enticing as possible to draw the viewer in. Note – a good editor can really transform a film. If you're directing and editing your own film you might be too attached to certain shots to know which bits to chop out to make your film a stronger, more coherent piece.