Moving Forward: Scripting

Narrator:

(00:08) I'm a ghost - I live in the shadows - I could be in the room right now and you'd never know it.

I take my job very seriously - planning each and every detail with acute precision.

But why is this important to me? I am a hit man.

(00:26)I study my targets maliciously; I become them. I get to know them inside and out, leaving no stone unturned.

(Laughs)

Some might say I know them better than themselves.

(00:36:15) Who AM I? Who am I really? Well, that... I guess you'll never know.

(00:41:03)On the surface, I am an average woman. You could pass me on the street, unbeknown to the facts.
***Could cut to street shot - however may not fit in with the rest of the film***

The fact that I could kill you, leaving NO possible spec of evidence.

(00:52:01) I go about my routines just as any other would.

(00:56:01) You could say it's an easy life... If you don't count endless agencies and contractors trying to wipe your non-existent persona off the face of the earth. Other than that, I enjoy the simple pleasures in life - I have my dreams... fancy house, nice car, good pension... yet, with my current job title, i can't see any of those becoming reality.

(01:29:02) Diegetic sound - eating, slurping of drink, 'slow motion' sound effect on the pan

(01:49:02) My life is nothing to be proud of. I receive hits from anonymous contractors. They give no reason. No motive. Just get. The job. Done. I could be killing innocent people for all I know. All I do know, is that I take my job to the next extreme with the detail I go to...

(02:10:13 ) Could be linked to my OCD I guess... Yep, A woman with OCD that is a hit man - how more conventional could you get hey?

(02:21:01) My routines can get quite bad. Sometimes they can interfere with a hit. I've been in situations where I can't fire until I've loaded and unloaded 4 times... time delays on a moving target are tricky to say the least. Sometimes it plays into my hands, if I know I won't be able to.. eliminate a target... before I've counted out a routine in my head, I can time it so on that last count.. BAM. Job done.

(02:34:07) Car starts

(03:15:10) As for this hit, well I can't give too much away on the details of the person. Mainly because I only know their name, their address and the place of the hit. It's not that often that I have to take a hit on a woman - when I do, I sometimes feel like a traitor as such, like I'm breaking a.. a code almost. But then I think to myself, wait Tegan, you're a killer. You thrive off the buzz, the thrill! Who cares who I'm killing... at the end of the day, I'll get my pay check.






 

Pitch Feedback

After presenting my idea in the form if a pitch, I was given a number of pieces of feedback based around what I presented.

The first main area that was evident needed work was the script. In my film, the narrative is entirely based around my script. The voice over is going to reveal the plot twist at the end. Meaning that if the script is not worded perfectly, the film's quality (in its entirety) could be brought down. 

The reason I did not present a script in this pitch is because I did not want to present something that was not finished and did not have any detailed meaning behind it. 

To make my animatic even more detailed and present a more accurate version (which will be closer to the film) adding the voice over will allow me to see if all of the timings work. This will highlight any errors with my script    

Pitch Questions

What is the meaning behind in/behind my film?
- Explore OCD, reflected in the main protagonist - routines/excessiveness
- Look at women in the action/adventure genre - mystery of the main protagonist and the job (assassin as such or hit man) of the antagonist. Controversial as such for a women to be in that business. When looking at Hollywood films, majority are men.

Who is my target audience?
- Based for males and females ages from 15-25
- In my responses from my audience survey I had an even number of responses from both genders
- Aimed at online users - research shows that they are the most common audience for short films
- students/apprenticeships. low level jobs
- reflected in one of the characters

What is the narrative - How have I created meaning?
- Animatic


Ancillary Tasks:
- Poster
- Review

Storyboard

Animatic

Mock Posters

As well as the film, I have to produce a film poster. Here I have 3 very different examples.
The first poster is heavily influenced by the likes of Saul Bass. The bold color for the background really makes the poster stand out, as the page is infused with such a vibrant color that it would distract and draw the attention of anybody that is walking past or viewing online. To make the image stand out, I have used a bold, yet streamlined font (Helvetica Neue - Regular) and have made it white. This color makes the writing stand out, but compliments the main color of the poster. I felt that by using black font would have made the whole dynamics of the poster appear much more aggressive and would contrast with the main background. Further influenced by Bass' work, I have decided to just use one image on the whole poster. The image - although the imagery used is not linked to or appears in the film itself, the use of a raven connotes the death that is to come in the film. Again, I have made this image a silhouette which has been done for a similar reason to the  

Mock Review

This is a mock up of what I imagine my final film review will look. The layout is heavily influenced by my research and that of 'Total Film' Magazine. The use of having a large image positioned in the centre of the page draws the reader in. The image I choose will have to draw the reader in and encapsulate them, making then want to read the review of the film. I also that by using a star rating system would heavily influence wether or not the reader will engage in the text itself, as they aren't going to necessarily want to read a review that a critique has given say one and half or two out of 5.
The use of multiple images will also help to engage the reader and again further make them intrigued by the film. To improve this design, I can warp the text around some images and include key quotes from the text and make them larger and separate, again enhancing the point being made.

Equipment

When it comes to filming my short film, there is a number of pieces of equipment that I will need to use to make the shoot efficient and as effective as possible.

Equipment:
Camera: Canon 600D
External Microphone: Rode NTG-2
Tripod
Laptop
Software: Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects

Inspiration for My Short Film

A number of elements in my film have been heavily influenced by various hollywood and short films. For example I have been looking at how women have become more and more popular within the action/adventure genre. Actress's such as Angelina Jolie have become renowned for playing roles in these kind of films. She has starred in films such as 'Tomb Raider' and 'Salt' which feature the woman being the main protagonist and have the lead fighting role. There have always been superhero characters which are female, however, films like 'Batman', 'Superman' and 'Spiderman' have had previous films made throughout the previous decades. Yet films like 'Catwoman' were not made until fairly recently and films like 'Wonder Woman' have never been made before. This ongoing debate has interested me and  has made me want to incorporate this area into my film. By including two female characters in my narrative, I hope to arouse the debate about females in action/adventures film.

Furthermore, I wish to embody the short, quick , fast paced, harsh style scenes from films like Hot Fuzz and Shaun of The Dead. The scenes near the beginning of the film show someone getting performing their morning routine and making themselves a coffee and toast. The shots feature extreme close ups and they cut very quickly, creating the sense that the person is either in a rush  

Actors

When it comes to the actresses for my film, I would have preferably wanted people around the age of 20/22. However, because I did not receive replies from the people I asked, I had to reconsider my options. I decided to go with Hannah Vincent for the main protagonist as she has had previous experience in drama and is fairly confident in front of the camera. She is capable of dressing smartly which suits the character well as she is a businesswoman.  

For the antagonist/narrator of my film, I have chosen Harriet Newman - her use of spoken English is eloquent to another level, and her pronunciation is perfect. Furthermore, Harriet (when she ties her hair up) does actually look smart and sophisticated - everything needed from a contracted killer. Harriet does not have a drama oriented background, however she is a born singer and performer when it comes to music, and she has starred in a number of music videos - therefore I am hoping this previous experience will rub off on my will.

 

Props

Throughout my film, there are going to be a number of props that will need to be used. As of yet, I am not too sure on all of them. However, the ones that I do know, I need to accumulate.


Car 1:

Car 2: 

Bag: 

Laptop: 

iPhone: 

Locations

For the film, I need to scout my locations in advance. At the moment I have a few locations in mind. I know that I will be needing the main rooms of a house. These rooms don't have to be from the same house as I can cut the shots to make them appear as though they are from the same house - keeping the continuity of the film exact.

Possible locations:

Example Script

Narrator:

"I am Joe Bloggs (Example Name) I am one of the best Hit Men in the world, I have never been caught and I do not plan on being caught any time soon. I plan my hits to the smallest detail, making sure that everything is perfect. I study my targets maliciously, I become them; getting to know them inside and out. I research them extensively, piecing together their past and their present. Almost planning their next move them."

"I am prepared for anything - no situation can take me by surprise. I am prepared for death, death does not scare me.

Chosen Idea

After having 3 initial ideas, I now needed to chose an idea to make into my final short film.
After going over my ideas, I thought about which one would allow me to use the most creative, and different camera shots and which I could play around with the narrative and scripting of the piece. I decided that idea 2 would be the best.

Outline of the idea:

The main character wakes up in their bedroom on a normal day. POV shot of this happening, looking around the room. The camera cuts to the whole bedroom ands the person getting out of bed. What is going to set this person from everyone else in the world? They are going to have severe OCD. The camera will show them performing their routines, making sure everything is in its correct place (close ups/extreme close ups) making the audience assume that everything in this persons house needs to be in order and be perfect - to be exact. From the house and its belongings, assumptions should be made that this is an average person, living off of an average wage. The routine should look monotonous - as if this person is doing the same routine they do everyday and that today is nothing special. As this routine beings to unfold, it is key that we do not hear the person talk (this should remain throughout).
Narration will begin to play over the top of the live footage. "I am Joe Bloggs, I am one of the best hit mans in the world, I have never been caught, and don't plan on it either.."
One of the main elements to this film is that the narration will be parallel to the footage; "I study my targets maliciously". Shot of studying paper, running finger down an article. "I am prepared for anything". Shot of the person getting changed into warm, heavy clothing.
The next part of the film moves the person on from the house. They leave the house, briefcase, satchel, work gear all in arms, heading toward their car. To further highlight the levels of the OCD and perfectness, once in the car they have to perform another set of routines, just to turn the car on. The camera will then show the car pulling away and the person driving off.
This is where the plot twist comes in the story. As the person is driving along, they suddenly die, no guns, no foul play can be seen to be apparent. The camera cuts to a new car, with a different person in it. The new character is on the phone and merely says (in the same voice as the narrator) "Target is down". The film will end abruptly, leaving the audience to ponder what has just happened.
I feel that if this film is done correctly, then for the majority of the sequence people will believe that they are watching the hit man get ready and that the voice of the narrator is the hit man as well. Yet with the plot twist at the end, out becomes apparent that the person you have been watching was in fact the target.

Short Film Initial Ideas

After brainstorming possible scenarios and genres, I have come up with a possible three storylines that I could explore and possibly flesh out and make into my final film.

Idea 1: An average business man monotonously goes about his daily life, doing the same routine day in day out. One day, he realises (or thinks he does) that some food that he bought the other day had gone. He dismisses it, thinking it could be rats or a small animal and carries on with his life. This disappearance of food continues and the man becomes ever-more suspicious. He checks his locks and windows and everything is as it should be. He sets up a CCTV system in his house and the results are shocking - an old woman moving about his flat whilst he was at work, eating his food, using his shower and toilet - in a nutshell living there. It transpired that she had in fact been living in one if his cupboards.

Idea 2: A person wakes up and gets up like the everyday person. Their house is nothing special - just the average, working class house. However, it is clear from their routine and the cleanliness and order of the house that they have OCD. We get a sense as the audience that everything has to be perfect. As we see the routine unfold, we never get to hear this person talk.
Narration starts... "I am Joe Bloggs, I am the best hit man in the world"
This narration is parallel to the live footage. "I study my targets maliciously..." Shot of person reading the paper. "I am prepared for anything..." Shot of person getting dressed into warm clothing.
After the routine is complete, the person walks toward their car and gets in. Another ODC routine is carried out just to start the car (highlighting the level of OCD this person has). We see them drive off and along the road. The driver suddenly dies. The camera shifts to a different car, with a new character talking on the phone, in the same voice as the narration. "Target is down".

Idea 3: An elderly man has been in a vegetative state since suffering a stroke some 10 or so years ago. He has been living with one of his daughters since the incident and has no memory of who he is, or who they are. One of the other siblings moves into the mans old house and they decide that it would be good to move him in too. After a few days of being back to living in his old house, the man wakes up and his memory has been revived. However, he still thinks that it is 10 years ago, he see's his grandkids and is amazed at how tall they have become and is amazed by the change in life (montage showing modern life). That night, adamant his memory would stay, he says goodnight - but nothing else to his family - and goes to bed. The next morning he wakes and has returned to his vegetative state - his family are distraught he couldn't say goodbye.