Transition

Transition

The Brief

"This unit provides students with the opportunity to begin the process of focusing their own practice
within a chosen production role and context, ready for the transition into their final year of study.
Independent study, research and critical analysis will inform and underpin the project. Students are
encouraged to focus on a chosen role (Writer, Producer, Director, Director of Photography or
Editor) and a particular output (Drama, documentary, current affairs, entertainment or similar).
Using an existing source of material (for example a Television drama series or a documentary)
students will be asked to re-interpret an aspect of the work from the perspective of their chosen
skillset."
For this project, I will be focusing on the role of a showrunner- a role that combines the tasks of a producer and scriptwriter. I will be responsible for creating characters, a script, and producing a short film for a crew to then film 5 minutes of.

Ideas

It Follows

I began thinking of project ideas with the whole crew as I wanted to ensure that everyone would be able to get what they want from it creatively and for the purpose of the project. We came up with a few different ideas that were all originated from an idea of a thriller short film. I wanted the viewer to be discovering the story along with the characters, and focusing on creating tension and suspense.

The Conjuring

Based on the horror film It Follows, we considered remastering the script of a scene for the purpose of creating a short film. I liked how simple the film is in the way it builds tension without using many of the horror tropes that are so predictable, it makes scary films not scary, such as vengeful spirits wearing pretentious halloween makeup (see above: The Conjuring, the nun). 

I like the idea of a horror/thriller antagonist that isn't a screaming woman in makeup and long clothing. It Follows's antagonist takes the form of a normal looking person that is walking towards the victim constantly. It takes different 'human forms'; appearing first as a naked young woman, then later an elderly woman in a nightgown. The idea and unpredictability of an antagonist that shapeshifts and looks just like you or I (except for the public nudity), to me, is much scarier than someone in dress-up. As the film touches on in a scene where the previous victim explains the 'rules' and consequences of the 'curse', the film makes you suddenly very aware of any person who is walking in your direction. I find it scarier to make horror out of the mundane.

As much as I liked the idea of working in-depth with tension-building, I spontaneously thought of a separate idea that I fell much more in-love with.

Chosen Idea

The idea that I am developing is a comedy short film that follows a group of 4 students/housemates who find themselves in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Combined with their already-lacking knowledge in self-care, the friends struggle to prioritise their survival and maintain questionable defense mechanisms. Ultimately, it's a story of a dysfunctional friend group being forced out of their comfort zone.

Project Goals

For this project, I am hoping to explore the role of a showrunner, as well as developing my creative skills relating to script-writing and designing projects. I want to be able to work with the organisational skills of a producer but combine that with creativity and experimentation with set, costume, character, colour, and the edit.

I also really want to explore how highly developed characters affect a production, as I'm planning to create well-rounded characters that the viewer can relate to, but I want to see if that comes across in the actual film or not.

I want to build on my script-writing skills as I feel they are lacking, so I'm hoping that through research I'll be able to develop that knowledge and improve my writing.

Possible Obstacles

I want to address potential problems with the production so that I can start working on ironing out the creases that may cause issues.

• Time restraint
• We have a short timescale for this production, so it's important to begin with as much as the project as possible in order to stay on-top of the workload and create something worthwhile.
• Plot
• I'm hoping to be able to develop the plot of the script much further, but I'm currently working on making the story unique (especially from Shaun of the Dead).
• Casting
• As we have 4+ people to cast, this will be quite a few people. We have been able to contact one other actor whom we've worked with previously to play one of the characters, but it could prove difficult casting this many people.

Action Plan

To begin with, I need to work on the script to get it finished before the shoot, and start prepping the pre-production paperwork. I've already posted casting calls on Starnow and Mandy.com, so now I need to work on my research of scriptwriting and develop the idea further by collaborating with the director Esme.