Context

final major project

For the rest of this year we will be working on our final major projects. For this we will be coming up with an idea which we will be pitching to our lecturers and classmates in the form of a power point. We will be researching, planning and producing a project which can be any form of digital media.

Y1 Reflection

So far this year I have learnt a lot about the media considering I had never been taught on this subject before. My favourite units which we have completed so far would probably be Units 1 and 5. In these units we planned, shot and edited short videos; in Unit 1 we produced a promo video on a topic of our choice, and in Unit 5 we produced a documentary and interview about a person and topic of choice. Since I enjoyed these units the most, for my FMP I am thinking of filming and editing a video of some sort. My ideas so far include a short film, a documentary or music video. What I have discovered on this course so far is that my favourite areas of film are camera operating and editing, and I find visual effects and motion graphics slightly harder, so I will probably use minimal visual effects in my FMP, but I hope to practice and learn more during the rest of the course next year. Overall this year has been successful and I am enjoying the course. During this year I went on a trip to Pinewood Studios where I got an insight to how they work together to produce films such as Star Wars and Marvel movies. This was interesting and developed my understanding of behind the scenes of television.

Here are a couple of my favourite photos that I got at Pinewood Studios.

Inspiration

To begin my research for my FMP, I m going to find examples of other student's work which will inspire me and give me ideas for what I want to make.

I found this short film that was made by some students on YouTube, and I am leaning towards the idea of a short film with a meaning behind it, like this. One thing I noticed and have taken inspiration from is their use of titles. I really like how they've embedded them into the scene, for example the title would disappear as an object in the scene went in front of it. I think this is very clever and makes the film flow smoothly. Another thing I liked about it is the use of colour to convey meaning, and I also like the angles and shot types they have used.

I liked this short horror film made by a student because the plot is simple, yet it still keeps you on the edge of your seat. I also liked how they used an associative colour to portray the atmosphere and mood of the film. In this case they used a dark blue colour scheme to represent a cold and eerie atmosphere along with darkness and unease.

This short video on YouTube done by a student at Weymouth College caught my attention because I really liked the use of transitions and different editing techniques. I also like how the set is very simple, but this makes you focus on the person which is the aim of the video as it is demonstrating their indentity and who they are. That is another reason why I liked this video as it is diverse and I like that they are confident and not ashamed of who they are which can be very inspirational for other young people.

After researching other students' FMPs, I've discovered that videos/short films are my main area of interest. I think what I would enjoy most would be a short film with a meaning behind it as I really like psychological films and films with deeper meanings, or I would do a compilation or edit such as the "GENDER(LESS)" video. I would find these most enjoyable as what I am most interested in is camera operating and editing.

I have made a mindmap on MindMeister of ideas to help me gather all my ideas in one place and to build on them.

Fmp Timetable

Using Microsoft Excel, I created a timetable for the process of my FMP to help me manage my time and have a clear vision of what I want to be achieving. It will help me to complete each stage one by one without feeling overwhelmed as it is written out and I can see what I need to do and when.

Idea Planning

I have decided to intend on producing a short film with a strong meaning behind it which will make the audience think. I am aiming for this however I can appreciate that this could be very challenging but I am up for a challenge so I will try my best. I also think this will be good to do as my skills are most developed in filming.

I am thinking I could combine two of my ideas from the mindmap and do a short horror film where the "villain" is a metaphor for a meaning that has manifested itself into physical form. A short film I like that uses this idea is "The Guest" on YouTube. I like this video so much because of the deep meaning behind it and how "the guest" is portrayed in such a way that you feel the discomfort and terror that the protagonist also feels. My aim is to make the audience feel like this. I also like the eeriness of the short film; there is not much background noise and little dialogue, which I think makes it feel more creepy and uncomfortable to watch. I think this is a good technique because "the guest" represents suicidal thoughts and depression, and the whole feel of the video portrays those themes well in my opinion.

Due to lack of access to SFX makeup and CGI, the antagonist would have to be not clearly seen throughout the film. However, I like this idea because it can represent how some things are always there in your subconscious but you avoid or can't face it properly so you try and run from it.

SET & location

I would like my short film to be set in some woods as it is getting dark, which works very well as there are public woods near my house so this location would be easily accessible. I want it to be in-between daylight and night to set an eerie mood while still being able to see what is happening.

characters

I am intending for there to be two characters in my film - the protagonist and the antagonist. In this case the antagonist has power over the protagonist, although they aren't necessarily real. The antagonist is a metaphor for your subconscious and how it can control you and take over in different forms of mental health problems. I will leave this up to the audience to interpret the mental illness that is consuming and intimidating the protagonist, as this way there is more flexibility for the audience to relate and understand the concept and meaning of the short film.

To the left are some images which the antagonist in my film is inspired by. I am aiming to portray a dark shadowy figure that cant be made out. This is because it represents the dark feeling inside that comes with mental illness, and that it is always going to be there although you don't know why or what it is.

EXTRA CHARACTERS:

Mother (voice of)
Father (voice of)
Baby brother (voice of)

To give the audience context of the protagonist's situation I am intending on including a scene which has the voices of these characters portraying an example of her "home problems".

My intentions for the protagonist are a young girl who is facing issues at home.

Target Audience

I created a Google Form and asked a classmate who is a member of my target audience to fill it in. This helped me get an outsider’s opinion and view on my idea.

The last answer “only people with interest in film” tells me my FMP is suitable for my target audience –

Ages 16-25
Interest in film

I also did research and found from various sources that teenagers and young adults enjoy thrills more than other age groups and they tend to have more free time to watch TV. I also learnt that the ratio of male:female that watch horror movies is typically equal. I read multiple websites all of which gave me similar/the same imformation, so I am confident these statistic are mostly correct.

Sources: Link Link Link Link Link

Sustainability/safety

To ensure that the production process is safe and sustainable, I will be putting precautions in place. Because the set I will be using is close to my house, myself and the actors can walk to the location to not contribute to carbon emission. We will also make sure the area we are using to film is left how we found it and there is no rubbish/litter anywhere. Another thing we can do to be mindful of the environment is not disturb wildlife, including animals and plants.

For everyone on set's safety, we will be wearing suitable footwear and clothing depending on the weather, along with bringing food and water to keep everyone hydrated and energised. I will also make sure everyone is familiar with the area and knows their way around in order to prevent anyone getting lost and/or injured.

mY fMP pITCH

FMP Pitch.pptx

FMP Pitch Script.docx

Mollie.MP4

PITCH EVALUATION

We pitched our ideas for the FMP in a PowerPoint which we presented to our teacher and classmates. I began by creating a PowerPoint and on each slide I added a title for each part of my plan. On each slide I summarised each aspect of my FMP plan in bullet point lists and pictures. This was more effective than writing long sentences as it keeps the audience's attention more and is more professional than reading it all off the screen when presenting. Because of this, to assist me with what I was going to say I wrote a script which I read off my phone while presenting. To give a good presentation I tried to use the script as least as possible which I somewhat achieved however I could have practised more if I had more time to make my PowerPoint. Overall I am happy with my pitch as I got all my points and ideas across in my PowerPoint and the audience approved of my idea. On the other hand if I was to do it again I would try and be more confident and more fluent with speaking, which I struggled with as public speaking is not my strong point.

I received peer feedback for my pitch from my classmate Maya White, who said "I think you got your idea across successfully, but to improve you could've had more confidence and eye contact with the audience."

Genre and the wider media world

My project sits in the world of media as a horror, thriller and psychological short film. The style of my short film is going to be gritty, raw, bleak and bare. These intentions will help production be easier for me as I do not have professional and enough equipment to produce a "pristine looking" film. This way I can still make something that looks good by embracing my limitations and incorporating that into the style. Additionally this style suits the themes involved in my idea as they are quite depressing and dreary.

Since my project is hopefully going to have a psychological element, this will help communicate the meaning of my film to the audience because it will make them think more deeply about possible explanations and reasonings behind it.

This doesn't really differentiate from my original ideas as I was planning on doing a psychological horror type film from the beginning. I have just developed my ideas and built on to them based on materials, location, equipment and my personal skills.

These answers will help me with my research as I now have a clear idea and vision for how I would like my film to be. Therefore I can research and get inspiration from other sources which are relevant to my plan, meaning more of what I research can apply.

Statement of Intent.docx

Project Proposal.docx

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