Pitching & Statement of intent for my film.

Draft script for "Lost Property"

A look into existing short films for Idea 4....

Over the summer I looked at a number of short films that explored the ideas of bullying, mental abuse, passive aggressive behavior, multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia and all sorts of other mental health issues. Below are a few that I've looked at with annotations underneath them indicating why they inspire me and why I like them. 

Emotional Abuse - A short film by Daria Azizian

This 3 minute short film explores the idea of emotional abuse and bullying, and the harsh repercussions it can have on the individuals that experience it. The film is no more than a campaign against the injustices of bullying, cautioning us to be mindful of our words and how we treat others. 

Project smile- A short film by Robert Pretschner and Said Wali

Short, simple and straight to the point are words that come to mind when I see this. This short effectively demonstrates the power of smiling, and how a simple smile can brighten someone's day. However, what I'm interested in most about this film is the overall look and feel; it's look I would like to emulate in my short film.  

Imagine- A short film by Carl Mason and John F. McDonald

This emotional award winning short film follows the story of a young couple and how they have to cope with the harsh reality of possibly losing their daughter at a young age to a very rare incurable disease called Niemann Type C. This type of disease is terminal and causes neurological decline and dementia. Approximately 800 or so people in the world suffer from it and the majority of the sufferers are unfortunately, young children. 

The film is captivating, tear jerking, and inspiring. The tone, style, music and editing encapsulates everything I want in my film. 

Free writing for Idea 4 (continuation)

A series of shots around London during the evening/night time. (Avoiding iconic symbols like big ben)

A young man sat in the dark on a sofa or his desk typing an idea for a script.

He struggles to come up with ideas because he thinks his stories aren’t compelling enough.

Every time he finishes a script, he either deletes it or puts the document in the recycling bin and starts from fresh.

In response to this issue he shuts down his laptop, unplugs his USB drive and gets his bag, along with his books and computer.

(Shot of bag slamming on a desk or something?)

He goes to the library or book store- then he tries to look for ideas, shifting pages, looking for inspiration. The librarian comes over and tells him to be quiet because he’s being too noisy.

He can’t find anything he’s looking for so he leaves the library and goes for a walk.

After sometime, someone steals something that belongs to him, his bag containing his USB drive filled with all his scripts and ideas. Immediately he pursues the thief but ultimately fails to get him because he’s too fast.   

“Whatever, I was going to get rid of it anyway” – Protagonist

He continues walking, maybe he tracks the thief’s footprints or something, and the thief unintentionally leads him to something that encourages him to keep writing and never give up.

Maybe he sees the message and that doesn’t do much for him.

One morning or day the protagonist is at home, he’s throwing away all his ideas and stuff and then as he’s about to format his pc, he hears the postman putting mail through the mail door thingy.

He rushes downstairs, finds some bills, opens his mail and finds his USB drive, along with a quote from the thief maybe? Or a letter from a BFI film company or something. 

Moodboard for idea 4....

Here is a moodboard I put together for the character of my film. I really think these images capture precisely how I want my character to be portrayed. 

Thoughts on my initial ideas...

Towards the end of the summer break, I ran a few of these "Initial thoughts" by a few of my friends, and other people, in an attempt to see which one they think would be the most viable as well as what was most likely to get me the best possible grade. I also realised that soon I would have to narrow my focus down to 1 or 2 ideas, and eventually 1.

The elimination process...

This was very difficult to execute because I was interested in every single idea, and so it was hard to let go of some of these ideas because they all had potential to produce something great. 

Idea 1. Post Apocalyptic >> Guy or pair of students discover they're the only ones left in a country or the world?
Thoughts: I am a huge fan of science fiction, and it is undoubtedly one of my favourite genres for films. After discussing with the idea with some friends and other people, they seem to really like it and thought it would be a great idea to explore since I'm so passionate about it. But another reason why I held onto it is because with Sci-fi you don't really have to always adhere to the codes and conventions of film - you're allowed to break some rules. This notion, coupled with the ambiguous nature of Sci-fi opens up a number of possibilities for me. 

Nonetheless, I think it was a case of my enthusiasm for Sci-fi overruling any opinion or suggestion is the reason why I kept it. 

Idea 2. Action>>Guy purchases a kebab or pizza. We see him in the park and as he's just about to sit an unsuspecting thief takes his food. He immediately gets up and pursues thief.  
Thoughts: After discussing this idea with some people I decided not to go with it for a couple of reasons: Firstly, I looked at the number of shorts, whose ideas are based on the same concept - too often, it's being done. In simple terms, let's just say it's too "cliche" (hate using that word). Secondly, I thought it was too simple of an idea, and wasn't really "CMP standard." My friends said pretty much the same thing and thought the other ideas would work a lot better. 

Idea 3 (Imaginative/Explorative)>> Two guys sat at a table discussing, talking about ideas for short films. They discuss numerous possibilities - the film cuts in between these ideas/possibilities. 
Thoughts: I bet you already know exactly why I decided to dismiss this idea? Yup, you're right! It's too overdone. Don't get me wrong I do believe this idea had potential, but I just felt that in order for it to work it would have to be either: done in such a way that it is very different from what's already out there, which is merely impossible, or it would have to just be really really well done to stand out from the rest. The former would require a lot of work, where as the latter would also require a lot of work, but it wouldn't be feasible. Nonetheless, there will always be more opportunities in the future for me to explore this idea further. 

Idea 4 (Drama/Action)>> A series of shots around London during the evening/night time. (Avoiding iconic symbols like big ben)

A young man sat in the dark on a sofa or his desk typing an idea for a script.

He struggles to come up with ideas because he thinks his stories aren’t compelling enough.

Every time he finishes a script, he either deletes it or puts the document in the recycling bin and starts from fresh.

Thoughts: This concept seems to be the most favoured of all the ideas I presented to people. To sum up the feedback, collectively speaking, people think this idea is a very touchy and emotional one, which rightly is. It's just one of those ideas that people can really relate to and connect with on a much deeper level. As a friend of mine put it "I could see this working and making people cry."

Images that inspire me...

I'm a very visual person, and I find that looking at images or existing Artwork is a surefire way to get the creative juices flowing. Here are a few images and existing imaginative-type works of art that I find inspiring.