Second Draft of the script complete

I've now completed the second draft of my script, making a few small changes here and there. My biggest worry at the moment is that I just won't have enough time to do it all. There is a chance that I may have to cut out some scenes, however I still think I'll film them. If I do need to cut down on the length of the film, I can do that in the editing process. Filming all the scenes gives me more creative freedom when it comes to the editing.

Above is a screenshot from my second draft.

Reflective Comment:

While I was still happy with my first draft of the script, I feel that the small changes I have made were for the better. I also feel that I will change it again in the following weeks. I'm thinking about printing off the script and showing it people, and letting them say what they like and what they do not. This way I can get good feedback on what I need to change.

My title and tagline

An important part of it's short film is a title and it's tagline. A title has to be memorable and fit the story. The tagline has to rememberable and eye catching.  Some good examples of some rememberable tag lines are:

• Alien: In space no one can hear you scream
• Inception: The dream is real
• Star Wars: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away

Some taglines I am thinking about using are:

• Death comes for us all
• You can't run and you can't hide
• Even Death has a heart

I'll decide on which of these I wish to use later on. The title is something I am struggling with as well. However, I have decided on some possible titles:

• Kicking the bucket
• The other side
• One foot in the grave
• Dying denial / Denying Death

This list was very helpful for coming up with ideas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_expressions_related_to_death

Reflective Comment:

To be honest, I still don't really like any of my titles. I don't feel like they fit my story, but I'm glad I am getting somewhere with the titles. I am quite happy with the taglines too. 

Storyboards

A few weeks ago I sketched three storyboards for my short film. While they aren't the neatest of storyboards, it's helpful to be able convey my ideas. With the storyboards I can show off my ideas easier and I can also create another storyboard with photos featuring stand in actors. With this I'll be able to clearly plan my actual short film.

I was able to create the first storyboards with stock images and Photoshop. While it still isn't overly clear, I think it's easier to understand than my hand drawn ones. 

Reflective Comment:

While my storyboards aren't the easiest to read, it's good to be able to show off my ideas. However I do really need to further develop my ideas and make it clearer what I am trying to portray.

Poster Draft

I have created a rough draft of my poster. To actually make my poster I am going to take a photo of the two characters on the poster, and I'm going to add the text later in Photoshop. I'll also get character portraits just to be safe. Below is my draft. I used stock images to just create a simple version of my plan.

There are clearly a few things that need to change. For a start I need to think of a title and a tagline that really catches your eye. The tagline I think I want it to be a hypothetical question.  I also want my poster to be A4, not widespread.

Reflective Comment:

I'm happy to finally be able to show what type of idea I have for my poster. Obliviously it's a far way from being done, but I'm glad to be making progress. Soon I want to create a draft with photos, with stand in actors for the photos.

Music Ideas

One thing that I really am struggling with in pre-production is music. It's not actually getting it, it's deciding what type of music I want.

I decided to look at what music my target audiences enjoyed first. One half of my target audiences are males from the ages of 18-25. The type of music they enjoy is as follows.

While it is good to know what type of music my main target audience enjoys, I can't really this genre of music fitting in with my short film. So I decided to look at the other half of my audience, to see what they enjoy. They enjoy the following.

Once again I come across a similar problem. Good to know what they enjoy, but I don't think the genre suits my film. However it was after this research that I had an idea of what type of music I wanted in my short film.

For the first part of the film, I want something dark and slightly scary. This would accompany the scene where the Grim Reaper would kill the main character.

Following this, I would want a simple song, something slightly upbeat, but nothing overly happy. Just background music to accompany the two characters walking and talking.

The final piece of music I would want would be a sadder piece. However not something overly sad and down. Something with a good mix between happy and sad, good music for a send off. Something to accompany the main character passing on to the after life. At this point he's still upset, however he has come to peace with the idea.

I will be updating this post with some examples for each of my pieces. Then I'll have to find assistance when actually creating the songs.

Examples for the first piece: TBA

Starting at 24:40

Examples for the second piece: TBA

The music from the second half of this scene

Examples for the third piece:

To Build A Home - The Cinematic Orchestra

Reflective Comment

Music is easily going to be one of my biggest barriers to overcome. I don't have any experience creating music and I can easily see myself not being happy with what I do end up using. Last year I had Wil re-create the soundtrack three times until he got it right. Hopefully, with planning, I'll be able to avoid something like this happening again. 

Audience Theory

Above is a very helpful SlideShare on Audience Theory. In this blog I'm just going to be going over a few slides from the SlideShare and relating them to my audience and short film.

Effect or Affect?
I do think media affects audiences and vice versa. When it comes to my product, I'm already thinking about altering some of my ideas due to my older target audience. I'm also hoping that my short film will have some form of affect on my audience.

Situated Culture
I think the way someone was bought up could affect how they see and interpret my short film. Someone who was raised to believe in a certain religion may interpret my film in a different light than someone bought up as an atheist. I also think the relationships people may have with the people around them may also affect how they consume my short film.

Personal Identity
My aim is to make my main character very relatable, and as the film goes on the audience start to realize they're relating to the character a whole lot more than they'd like to.

Readings
Of the two readings, I think the audience are most likely fall into a negotiated reading. People will see the film in there own way, and it'll all be very up to debate. However I also think there will be audience members who simply accept the film as it is, falling into a dominant reading sector.

These are a just few of the physiological factors that may have an affect on my audience. It's important to recognize them so that I can shape my film correctly. It's all important as it really does affect how my audience are going to process my short film and its messages.

Reflective Comment
Its very useful to go over these factors, as I have already mentioned they're quite important to how I shape my short film. I want my product to be open to interpretation and to spark debate, and addressing all these different factors is sure way to make that this happens.

Narrative Theory

Our teacher has set us the task of looking into different types of narrative theories to see which one will fit our short films best. The six she has recommended are:

• Tzvetan Todorov's theory.
• Vladimir Propp's theory.
• Roland Barthes Narrative theory.
• Levi-Strauss' theory.
• Allan Cameron's theory.
• Freytag's pyramid theory.

I'm going to go through each theory and debate why my story would suit or not suit these different narrative structures. 

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First of all, my narrative basically goes as follows. My main character, James begins the films in a house. He dies and meets the Grim Reaper, who is to guide him from death to the afterlife. The Grim Reaper and James converse for some time while they make their way towards a location the GrimReaper will not reveal. Eventually they arrive a bench in a nice park, as the Grim Reaper wants to take James to see him friends/family one last time. (I haven't decide which yet!) James then passes on to the afterlife, leaving the Grim Reaper alone. 

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Tzvetan Todorov's theory

Tzvetan Todorvos' theory basically follows the idea that the film starts in a state of peace, where the characters are in a routine. Something happens to disrupt this routine and the characters life, which sets off a chain of events. The story ends with the problems resolved and the peace returned, however the character may be in a different position than they were at the start.

This fits with my narrative very well. My character starts in a state of equilibrium and in a sense he does end in another state of equilibrium, passing onto the afterlife. The issue that causes the chain of events is James' death, and his refusal to accept it.                 

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Vladimir Propp's theory

Vladmir Propp's theory claims that all narratives have seven key characters. They are as followed.

The Hero or Victim - The protagonist. The one you follow and root for.  This does fit my main character, as he is a victim of dying.

The Villain - The antagonist. Works against the Hero/Victim. No real character fits this arch type. While the Grim Reaper does kill James, he has no choice because it's his job. There is no evil intent.

The Magical Helper - The character who assists the Hero/Victim. I have no character fits this, as the James has no struggle that requires assistance. 

The Princess - The one the Hero loves and wants to be with, and maybe even saves. In my short film there is no love interest and no one to save.

The Princess' Father - The man who tasks the Hero to save the Princess. However, no princess means no Father.

The Donor - The character who sacrifices himself to assist the Hero. However, in my story there is no need for a Donor.

The False Hero - Takes credit for the Hero's success. Again, there is no real for success in my story, so no need for this character either.

None of these characters really fit any of my two characters. Only the Hero/Victim really fits with James, but none of the others are needed for mine. So really, Vladimir's theory isn't that helpful for me.

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Roland Barthes' theory

Roland Barthes' theory is when narratives are a bit more complex. The narrative jumps around, isn't always clear with it's meanings and sometimes require several re-watches until you really understand. The plot is sometimes described as a ball of thread that has been unraveled.

My plot is very straightforward. It has a simple premise with a clear start, middle and end. While there are some deeper meanings to it that are up to interpretation, there is nothing really that needs figuring out. It's all very clear.

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Levi-Strauss' theory

Levi-Strauss's theory revolves around binary opposites, things that oppose each other but are still linked in some way. For instance, good vs evil, old vs new. My story does follow this in a sense, as my character James is very against dying. 

My story does sort of the binary opposites of Life vs Death.

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Allan Cameron's theory

Allan Cameron believes there are four narratives that a story can follow.

Anachronic - Includes flashbacks and flash forwards, sometimes confusing the audience. As mentioned earlier, my story is very linear and does not jump back and forth.

Forking Path Narrative - Shows two narratives, both only different by a small difference. My story as mentioned already, is linear and follows one story.

Split Screen - This shows two different characters who are only involved in a similar scenario, which are often linked. While I do only have two characters, they feature in the same narrative, as it does not split.

Episodic Narrative - This choice of narrative is split into different episodes, told over a longer span of time. My short film is, well a short film. 

None of Allan Cameron's narrative structures fit in with my short film.

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Freytag's pyramid theory

Above is the Fraytag pyramid. It's very similar to Todorov's narrative theory, which I think will fit for my short film very well.

Exposition is the start, which for me would be just before James dies. The rising action would be James actually dying and meeting Death. The Climax would be James realizing he is dead but refusing to pass on to the after life. The Falling Action would be James coming to realize that passing on isn't too bad, and the Denouement would be James passing onto the afterlife.

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In conclusion, it seems that my short film fits the Fraytag pyramid and Todorov's narrative theories. It's very simple, doesn't jump around and is very open to interpretation. It doesn't require several re-watches, and does not feature a large cast of characters. It's for these reasons I chose the two narrative structures.

Reflective Comment: Going over the different narrative structures has been very helpful and has actually helped me confirm my actual narrative. Knowing what narrative structure I'll be following will certainly help me later down the line.

Related products target audiences

As mentioned in my previous blog post, I have finally found out what genre my short movie falls into. The philosophical genre is not an overly well known genre, however there are still other films that I can use to investigate the genre's main target audience.

Unfortunately,  YouGov has no data on either Waking Life or MindWalk. However it does for Solaris. As I had hoped, it would seem that Solaris has a very similar target audience to my short film.

This target audience is almost identical to one half of my target audience for my short film. While I am leaning more towards a male, 18-24, Social grade ABC1 target audience, I still also want to attempt to attract the target audience above.

I think having one young character and one older character, both target audiences will be able to relate to the short film and should enjoy it. Both of my target audiences enjoy similar works and have similar few, the only difference is the age gap.

Also worth noting that both target audiences use Twitter and Facebook daily. This will be extremely helpful as when it comes to distribution, all advertising will have to be done online.

Reflective Comment: While it is annoying that YouGov doesn't have all the data I need, I'm sure with further research I'll be able to find out some useful information. Also knowing that Solaris has a similar target audience shows that I do have the right idea. 

Genre

Genre - a style or category of art, music, or literature.

As I have mentioned several other times on my blog, I have struggled greatly with trying to find a genre that my short film fits in with. However, after some research I think I have found a genre my film fits in with.

The first genre I believe that my film fits in with is philosophical. A film that belongs to the philosophical genre questions normally addressed in discursive philosophy. The role of society, the purpose of life, ethics or morals, the role of art in human lives, and the role of experience or reason in the development of knowledge.

The basis of my film is quite simple, a character who has died has a lot of questions about life and the meaning of it. Religion, war and purpose of life are all going to be talked about in my film. My film clearly falls into the philosophical genre.

Some other philosophical films -

• Waking Life (2001)
• Mindwalk (1990)
• Solaris (1972)

               

Reflective Comment: It's taken me a while but I have finally found what genre my film falls into. Now that I know this, I can find other films that are similar in style, learning from them and even learning what target audience they have. This is going to be a massive help to me.

Character research

As my short film revolves around the character of the Grim Reaper, my teacher thought it would be best if I actually did some more research into the character and his origins.

So what I learnt was that the personification of Death first appeared during the 14th century, and was first named in 1847. He frequently appeared in paintings at the height of the bubonic plague, a skeletal figure with a scythe, sometimes wearing a black cloak.

However after this, he began to appear in cultures all across the world. India, Poland and North America. Other personifications of Death have also appeared over human history, however with different appearances, names and characteristics, such as in Celtic religion and the middle east. Sometimes he delivered death, sometimes he was only a guide. In some cultures Death was even a female.

After this the character of Death became so well known that he's appeared in nearly every form of media. He's in books, comics, games, televison shows and films. For inspiration, I have no lack of sources.

Reflective Comment: Knowing the origin of my character and seeing how all of the different cultures of the world view him is very helpful. I can take different pieces from different depictions of him to create a unique yet familiar character that will hopefully be rememberable as well. 

Target Audience Vlog

Above is a video where I go through who I think my target audience is. I still however feel that I need to be going into more detail still. Once I can finally figure out what genre my film falls under, I'll be able to find films with similar target audiences.

Reflective Comment: While I still feel I need to go into more detail, I'm glad that I'm making progress with identifying my target audience.

Looking for an actor

So as I have mentioned before, one the problems I feel I face is finding suitable and professional actors. I found a website where you can post ads for actors in your local area. The website is called www.starnow.com

I was able to post an ad the website even suggested actors who they thought suited the role. Here are some photos from the website.

However, after one day I received a very sad email. Apparently I was not aloud to post an advert due to being only seventeen years old. This is quite annoying, as this website would've been very helpful. I'll have to try find another way around this problem.

Reflective Comment: I'm glad that I am sort of making progress towards finding an actor for the Grim Reaper. While my advert being rejected is a set back, I do feel a lot less overwhelmed now trying to find actors.

My plans for the ancillary tasks

With my brief I have the choice of three ancillary tasks, and I have to choose two to actually create. I've already decided that I am going to create a poster and a magazine spread. I already have some rough ideas for both of these tasks.

For the poster, I want something quite simple yet eye catching. In my presentation I told everyone that I was fond of making a minimalist poster, however I have gone off this idea. The reasons minimalist posters work is because everyone knows the brand, so they're easy to recognize, even if they have only two colors on the whole poster. My film is not recognized, so all a minimalist poster will do is confuse potential audiences. 

 

I have decided instead to go with a more eye catching poster. The final scene of my short film will be Death and James sitting on a bench, just before James passes on. I think that this scene would fit well for a poster, James in his dressing gown and Death in his dark cloak, sitting on a bench. I think it would catch eyes and make people a bit more curious about the project.

Also, the title for the film would appear on the poster, and I think a tag line. However I am yet to decide on both a title and a tagline. All I know is that I want my tag line to be a rhetorical question of sorts.

For the magazine spread, I think I'm going to create an online review. Due to the fact that my film is a independent film, its not going to feature on any large and well known magazines like Empire. However I have found a small reviewing site called 'Way Too Indie'. This website reviews blockbuster films and short films alike, so I think this will be perfect for my review to be placed on.

Reflective comment: In reflection I'm quite happy that I've found a suitable site for my online magazine spread. The ancillary tasks I have planned a lot less than the actual short film, so it's good to finally to start to make progress with them.

I'm hoping to create a rough draft of the poster soon, so that I can convey my ideas easier.

Character Costumes

My short film only features two characters, and I want their costumes to be very recognizable. I have the recently deceased characters, James, and the Grim Reaper. I have two ideas for what both characters are going to look like.

James as a character isn't too happy about dying, and is taken by surprise. For his costume, I was thinking of just a dressing gown. It high lights the fact that he wasn't prepared in anyway for his death, and would be quite memorable. One of my inspirations for this was the film The Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy. Martin Freeman isn't at all prepared for the destruction of Earth, and therefore for the rest of the film, while travelling to different planets, he is dressed only in a dressing gown.

  

For the Grim Reaper, I was thinking of an mostly black costume. So something light would suit James better. Something like this: 

As mentioned earlier, I want the Grim Reaper to wear mostly black. I think I have decided that for the time being, I am going to have the Grim Reaper be an older man in a black cloak. The Grim Reaper is normally depicted with no face or a skeletal face. Like below.

However, after the first scene, the Grim Reaper would actually pull down his hood to reveal that he's just a old man. Maybe mid 50's.

The plan is get someone to model the two costumes, not the actual actors (As I haven't decided who they will be yet!) so I can get a look of what the costumes will look like. Then after I've found the actors, do the same again. 

Reflective comment: Knowing what the characters are going to wear is quite important as it can be quite hard to visualize the scenes when you don't know what the characters look like. Now I that have a rough idea of what they will be wearing, I can start to visual the scenes a bit better. This will also make story boarding a whole lot easier. 

Presenting my pitch

Last lesson I presented my pitch. Below you can see the video.

We had to present our pitch to the class to prove that we were able to create our chosen media product and it's ancillary products. I was able to explain my ideas well and in return my class also pointed out which areas that I seemed strong in and those in which I seemed weak.

After this presentation it really does seem like that my biggest problem is going to be actors. I'll be uploading a blog post soon about what I plan to do about acting soon.

Reflection: Presenting my idea was really good for me as it made me realize what my biggest problems are going to be when it came to production, the characterization of the Grim Reaper and the actors I choose.