story idea

4:46 a.m.

Its midday, Jake is on his way home from his friend’s house. He always walks this way but he has never walked home this late. As he just arrived at the entrance of the woods, this was the quickest way home but that route was always the scariest. His granddad always told him never to walk through the woods alone, in the day time. It was now 10:32pm. Jake used the back of his phone to light the way but that only lit up very little.

Jake felt a little weird, like he was being watched. He was.

In the corner of his eye, he saw something. Something dark and sinister. As he walked past the, a rough silhouette caught his attention. He quickened his pace, he should’ve taken the long way around. His heart rate increased, he began to run. Adrenaline filled his system and he just running and running, he did not know where, just ran.

Jake took a moment to look around but it was too dark to gage where exactly he was. No car noises no lights, just pure darkness engulfed him. The moon was grew upon the dark misty sky like a haunting plague. The night was growing but he was still walking around aimlessly to attempt to figure out a familiar part of the forest.

 

His granddads voice replayed in his mind like a tape on loop, he had wished he had listened to him. It’s been 10 minutes from seeing that mysterious figure, he wanted to know what it was, and he was confused.  Then, he saw what appeared to be a street light glimmering in the distance, he quickly looked around and ran towards it, he wasn’t being stuck in there on himself any longer.

He was right, I was a street light so he jumped over the small wall separating the forest and the main road. 

Jake finally reached his house after what seemed like a long night, he walked and his mum was in the living room asleep, she had been waiting for him to come in.

It was late and he didn’t want to wake her up to apologise, so he thought he would just explain in the morning. As he slowly walked up stairs he felt a sigh of relief, but one thing kept coming up on his mind, even on the walk on the main road he was think he exactly did he see in the forest. Jake laid in his bed and tried to sleep. But as he laid there looking up at his ceiling, he grabbed his phone of charge and went on Google. He typed in the name of the woods he walked though, Willow Bank. He scrolled down past all the adverts and all the other things that wasn’t relevant, and stumbled across a newspaper article in 1999. He pressed on it.  It opened up and what he saw made himself feel sick and disgusted. 

On February 13^th  1999 a 13 year old girl was walking by her dog in the middle of the day, when she supposedly been kidnapped by a runway patient from the nearby mental health hospital. She had been beaten to the point of death, then raped and left hidden under the old rail way bridge that went through the south part of the forest.

All bloody and bruised, the little girl was found lying lifeless and still. Eyes still open with no sign of life. As police investigated, they discovered that her heart and kidneys were missing. After months of investigation, the runaway was never seen again but the girl was identified with a name of Annie Owens. She had just moved to the town from Southend London with her father hoping for a better life.  

As tried to go back to sleep again, he had visions. Visions that replayed in his mind. It was her.

The little girl was there, stood in the forest. In the dark. Her white dress stained with mud and blood. He couldn’t see her face in the dream but it felt real. Like he was stood in front of her.

He woke.

Lifeless and still, he laid in his bed scared to move a single inch. He felt like she was in his room, but he was just being silly he thought. He raised his head, weary eyed, and he tried to work out the time, 4:46 am. Darkness engulfed the room, he wanted to look around to make sure nothing was there. He took a quick glace around and saw nothing, so he thought nothing of it and rested his head back on the pillow and as he laid there, he sensation of which he was being watched ran through his mind. He looked again

She was there.

At the end of his bed.

A dark, lifeless silhouette, in a dark abyss.

Location #1 for our Short Film- Outdoor Church

This is the first location we will be shooting at when it comes to the production stage of making our short film. This location is good because it has a slight eeriness to it and is appealing to the eye because it looks symmetrical. Scenes that will be shot in this location will be the opening sequence (where our protagonist is praying on the centre bench and takes off on his motorcycle) and the second will be the dream sequence (where the protagonist dreams of his wedding day).

Research into Genre by Chris Osbyrne

Genre

What is Genre?

Genre is a style or category of art, music, literature, or in this case, film. Genres are very important because they allow you to find your target audience and meet with them on a familiar level they all understand.

What Genre is Our Film?

Our film is a hybrid of genres but I think that it is most strongly categorised as a psychological thriller. 

What are Psychological Thrillers?

Psychological thrillers, unlike regular thrillers, focus on the mind and how the film can manipulate your thoughts and predictions as to what will happen in the film. Examples of psychological thrillers could be Se7en (1995), Memento (2000), Inception (2010), Shutter Island (2010), Psycho (1960) and Silence of the Lambs (1991). They can often be mistaken for horror films because they have the same 'shock value' as a horror whether it is bloody violence, coarse language or supernatural elements interlaced into the narratives.

Iconography of Psychological Thrillers:

The Police Department or a large authoritarian characters - In this case, Se7en's main characters are police detectives working on a case involving a murderer who kills people based on the seven deadly sins. However, our film will not have any police departments. This is not because we don't want to work it into the story, but we don't think we will be able to fit it into the time-lenth of the film.

Dream Sequences - In this case, Teddy, from Scorsese's Shutter Island, is dreaming about his dead wife as she crumbles to ash in his arms, due to her being burned in a house fire. A scene in our script is very much inspired by this scene because our protagonist reunites with his partner on their wedding day but she vanishes when he turns to look at her; instead of crumbling to ashes, there will simply only be her wedding dress on the floor in a dramatic tilt down shot.

Psychopaths/Sociopaths - Psychopaths, such as the above picture of Hannibal Lecter from Silence of the Lambs, are very common in Psychological Thrillers because their insanity can confuse and manipulate characters and audiences alike. However, our film does not have a psychopathic character but definitely has some mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety, perhaps even bipolar disorder.

Strong and Bloody Violence - Violence is a key part in psychological thrillers because they add to the shock value of the film itself and demonstrates the harshness and cruelty of the world the characters are set in. This image, from Park Chan-Wook's 2003 film Oldboy, is a perfect example of the horror that can emit from a thriller with its very graphic suicide headshot that follows. Our group will try to use make-up to create a bloodied and gruesome face, what with her supposedly returning from the dead.

The 'Reveal Shot' - Many psychological thrillers end with a sequence that can completely flip the entire narrative of the film on its self and have a whole new meaning. This shot, from American Psycho which was adapted from Bret Easton-Ellis' novel of the same name, is a perfect example of how this can happen. Before this, we find out that none of the murders which Patrick had been committing were real at all, they were merely fantasies that he had sketched in a notebook. And here, he is coming to grips with the reality of his own existence in life, with the line ''All of this has meant nothing'' as he realises it was all imaginary. Our film will have a 'Reveal Shot' as such when we discover that the strange being in our protagonists house in actually his wife, revealed through the ring she wears on her finger.

Symbolism or Foreshadowing - Having symbolism or foreshadowing is great way of making a psychological thriller almost feel inevitable and the director is attempting to try and convey the message throughout the story before it is even revealed. This image from the picture above is from Ridley Scott's 1982 classic Blade Runner and conveys Deckard picking up and studying an origami unicorn that was left outside his apartment. The unicorn appeared earlier in the film as a dream of Deckard's which only he could have known that he dreamt of. However, the fact that there is an origami unicorn outside his house suggests that someone knew that he dreamt of it because they were able to see Deckard's dreams. This, therefore, reveals that Deckard must be a 'replicant' and it is most likely Gaff that wanted to tell him because throughout the film he was making origami animals.

Possible film distributor- StudioCanal UK

logo from 1999-2011

One possible film distributor that could distribute our up coming film could be: StudioCanal UK, which was formally known as Optimum Releasing. The distribution company first appeared in 1999, where they wanted to be a modern and independent distributor of new releases. Films were released under 4 strands; Optimum Releasing (new theatrical releases), Optimum Home Entertainment (new DVD and Blu-ray releases), Optimum Classic (DVD re-releases of back catalogue films), and Optimum World (new and back catalogue world cinema releases). However, then in 2011 it was acquired by a French film producer and distributor and this is where it acquired a new name 'StudioCanal UK'. Studio Canal was already within the French film domain but through acquiring Optimum releasing it has aloud the company to step foot into an international market.

StudioCanal UK has distributed films from;

 'Submarine'

Original US film poster for Submarine
 

Submarine is a coming of age comedy drama, adapted from the 2008 novel 'submarine' by Joe Dunthorne. The film was directed by Richard Ayoade and was produced by both Film4 productions, Warp films, UK film council and a series of others. The film  had a limited budget of 1.5million but at the box office made 3.8 million through numerous positive critics submissions on rotten tomatoes( gained 88% from 114 critics reviews).  The film used a British cast from actors such as Craig Roberts who is known for starring in the hit CBBC show 'Tracey Beaker' and 'young Dracula', Yasmin Paige mainly known for starring in the Sarah Jane adventures and then Sally Hawkins who has featured in numerous British films from 'made in Dagenham, Blue Jasmin and Paddington. The film also featured 6 songs from the Arctic monkeys member 'Alex Turner' from Sheffield. The soundtrack later went onto chart at 35 in the UK album chart. 

This is England

 

 

This is England is a British drama written and directed by Shane Meadows. The narrative focuses on the skin head subculture that emerged within Britain through the 1960s and exposes how 'white nationalistic' views were a key part of the skinhead scene. The film also highlights what the skinhead scene was mainly influenced by and how life was back in the 1960s for both adolescents and other age groups. The film was distributed by Optimum Releasing and had a limited budget of £1.5 million, however at the Box office made £5 million. The film had that much of a success it was later adopted into a TV series on channel4; 'this is England 86' and went onto having numerous following series. The film also casted a British cast; from 'jack O'Connell' known for playing 'cook' in the hit TV series 'skins', Chanel Creswell and Stephen graham. The film locations also kept to British roots by being shot in Grimsby, Nottingham and  was shot in the geographical area of the midlands. The success was gained through numerous review aggregators, such as  Rotten Tomatoes. They reported that 93% of critics gave the film positive reviews(based on 89 reviews).

 

Optimum Releasing is an ideal distributor, due to the access it has within the film domain on an international demographic scale. Another factor is how it also enables independent film producers to uphold niche genres. For instance Submarine was Ayoade's directorial debut which establishes how Optimum Releasing offers new and upcoming directors the chance to proceed their film ideas. In comparison with choosing a multi media conglomerate to distribute the film I personally feel that due to how niche our genre is and how the Target Audience may be considered 'limited'. Choosing an independent distributor would give our film more overall success as the company would have had previous films similar or have distributed films with a niche TA etc. Optimum releasing also has specific contacts- such as film festivals i.e. Sundance. This would therefore give our film the most suitable and reliable chance to succeeded. As those typically who go to film festivals are open minded to niche genres.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Film analysis

nvaders Analysis  

https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2015/11/24/invaders/

The short film invaders is about 2 robbers who plan to rob a family Christmas dinner. The film was produced by a company called 45 year old productions.

The title sequence of this short film is a close up, of a doormat with the name of the film. The name of the film is in the centre of the shot, making the viewer have full attention to it.  With it having no music, just the dietetic sound of the wind and the leaves. The shot fades out in a black screen.

Then after, fades back into a different scene. This long shot of the car and house shows two different pieces of action happening in one scene. The first piece of action is that in the house, there a family celebrating Christmas round a table. The house is all unlit apart from the dining room where the family.

The other bit of action in one shot is the two robbers in the car, talking to each other. The car is also dark and slightly lit to unclearly see them.

The shot after this, uses a medium shot to look into the window of the house. The voices are not clear but it is enough for the viewer know what is happening in the scene. The other more noticeable sound is the crickets in the background making noise, to portray that is it late in the night.

The camera diverts to the two men in the car, the camera doesn’t show their face straight away, but you can hear them, talk. One of the first shots is a close up of the car. The car is old, dated and tatty which shows that the people doing the robbery may be from a lower social class. 

The next shot is point of view shot from the end of the knife. This is effective because it shows you the person holding the knife and what he is wearing.

After choosing the mask, the pair of robbers use this cartoon cut out face. The focus pulls from them walking to the car and the camera is at the door. The non-diegetic festive music reflects what they are about to do by setting the scene. 

In the short film, there are many POV shots this makes the audience feel like he is seeing what the character is seeing. This makes the film more immersive.

After one of the characters is stabbed in the head, the camera goes to a long shot where you can see everything happening in the scene. From the car, to the family in the house still having the dinner even though there are two men outside with axes.

After one of the characters fondles for the car keys. The camera goes to a close up of a mask on the floor, and then you see the charter slide and fall over the mask. This shows the viewer what is happening and the cause for the next events.

The robber then falls over and slices his neck with the keys he has in hands. This shot is filmed on a medium shot, this is show the viewer what has happened can even see the blood and the expression of the character’s face.  

The film shows then various number of shots, showing the results of what has happened. This medium shot of the door makes the viewer see the blood the amount blood on the door. But in the shot you can see the family has moved from the front left window, so this could imply that they have gone sleep or switched rooms.

Towards the end of the film the camera zooms in to his face as he spits out some of teeth. Blood dripping down from this neck and onto his suit. This mise-en –scene shows how bad the cut is and that he is dying from the loss of blood.

To conclude the analysis, the short film uses a range of shot to portray the action that is happening in the scene.



Some Test Shots for our Short Film

Possible Distributors for Our Film

Possible Distributors for Our Films

WarpFilms:

Warp Films is an independent film and television production company based in Sheffield & London, UK, with a further affiliated company Warp Films Australia based in Melbourne, Australia. Films that they are famous for supporting are 71, Four Lions, This Is England, Kill List as well as a number of short films made by Lynne Ramsay, Richard Ayoade and Chris Cunningham. I think this distributor would be good for our film because not only are they local but they also have worked with small independent films/short films. 

Blumhouse Productions:

Blumhouse Productions is an American horror film and television production company, founded by Jason Blum. Blumhouse produces micro and low-budget horror movies, such as the Paranormal Activity, Insidious, The Purge, Sinister and Ouija franchises. In 2014, Blumhouse produced the Academy Award–nominated drama film Whiplash, for which Blum was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Although Blumhouse Productions are known for making feature-length horrors more than anything else, they have recently expanded into short films and therefore I think they would be a suitable distributor for our film, what with our genre of film being a psychological thriller.

Studio Canal:

StudioCanal UK (formerly Optimum Releasing) is a film distributing company working in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company releases many films, including foreign language films, Studio Ghibli films and independent British, Irish and American films in the United Kingdom and sometimes Ireland. StudioCanal have distributed a wide range of films from large productions to smaller productions like ours. StudioCanal are a widely known distribution company also and could bring in a larger audience and a perhaps provide a wide release instead of a limited release.