Initial ideas for my film

8/7/2019 Initial ideas for my film

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Initial ideas for my film

Narrative

My films narrative will generally be linear, however; there will be fractures sections

of the narrative (e.g. flashbacks, dream sequences) which will serve as character

development. From the films opening, the ending will be made apparent, making the

entire film retrospective (or a flashback, if you prefer.) It will show the climax to the

film and will cause the audience to question, how did it get to that stage? I may use

the main characters voice to directly narrate to the audience which would create the

illusion of the film seeming like a story or events from his diary.

Certification

I plan to certify my film either as a 15 or an 18. I plan to veer towards the

certification 18due to my film containing violence, self harm, drug use and

domestic violence, all which will be apparent from the beginning of the film.

Genre

The genre of the film will be drama/thriller. My film will take aspects from the

novel/play genre Bildungsroman, as it will focus on the physical and mental growthof a central character. There will be an element of comedy in the film (e.g. little jokes,

moments of stupidity etc) however; this will not be apparent within the opening of

the film. There will be a subgenre of horror in the film, which will serve to freak out

the audience; however the horror aspect to the film will not be elaborated on too

much.

Setting

My film will be set in modern day, to create verisimilitude and characters which the

audience can relate to. My film will be set in England and therefore I will use British

based actors as they will be easier to find, will find it easier to connect to the character

and will be recognisable by the audience.

Location

I will set a lot of the scenes of my film opening in areas around my house, as I will

have complete control of the interior of my household and I can edit the interior to

suit my needs (e.g. for mise purposes.) I will also shoot a section of my film in which

the main character is isolated in an alleyway behind my house. This is due to the fact

that it is usually vacant and therefore no one will interrupt the filming of the film.

Also, I can use that section of land to reflect my characters feeling on life. (e.g. as

there is dead end at the end of the alley, this could signify my character being lost,

trapped, isolated, and so on)


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Targeted Audience

The targeted audience will be a niche audience who are interested in psychological

storylines or enjoy seeing the progression of a central character. The targeted age

range will be between 15 20 and will target both genders. I will not pitch my film

to anyone younger than this age due to the fact that my film contains certain themes

that may not be suitable for people of younger ages, and the true messages of the film

may not be understood by anyone younger than my specified age.

Themes

Some of the themes that will be highlighted in my movie are Obsessive love,

Death and The convergence of reality/fantasy. The key themes of the play will

not be apparent from the beginning of the film, yet the origin of these themes will be.

Films Title

The title of my film will be designed in a written style, which would give the audience

the impression of the film being like the diary of the main character. This will also beapparent during the names of the cast and institutions which would build on the diary

like feel.

Origin of my ideas

My ideas stem from dreams I had as I child which I recorded in a note book. When I

read over these notes, I found that most of these dreams linked together to give

meaning, and when I took some of these dreams and reordered them, I was left with

the base idea to my film. Also, I was inspired by dark toned novels I had read in the

past which inspired the mood of my own film. I was also inspired from well known

films such as Fight Club to create a character who creates this other fictional entity

which takes over his life.

Conflict/Obstacles

Some of the conflicts that will occur within my film are:

Characters conflict with self

Characters conflict with bullies

Characters love interest (grows obsessive)

Characters fixing of the past

Film Brief

Below is a rough outline of the storyline of my film. I simplified my films storyline

into roughly 25 words in order to get an idea of what my whole film would be about,

before focusing on the beginning.

A disturbed male of 17 finds solitude in the mysterious gothic girl known as Raven

whose negative influence gradually leads him towards a murderous fate.

Characters / Casting

I already have a rough idea of what I want my characters to look like and therefore I

will try to find actors who fit the criteria. I wish for my characters to be different from

their general stereotypes and therefore I will try to find actors who do not appear

stereotypical. For my opening scene, only a few characters that are key in the plotwill be included to prevent the audience from becoming confused due to an overload

of characters. Below is a list of characters who will appear in the films opening, a

description of their relevance in the film, along with a image of what I roughly want

them to look like, along with my justification:


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The violent father This characters will be

the cause of the main characters issues. He

will hold a negative influence on the

protagonist and will cause psychological

scarring on the protagonist. I have chosen this

male because he looks quite menacing and

powerful and seems as though he would fit to

role quite well.Key things I will be looking out for when

casting this character are aggression and

explosive anger. (Aged around 26 30)

Raven This character will take the role

of the false ally, claiming throughout the

plot that she wishes to aid the protagonist

however in the end her true intentions

become apparent. This character is key to the

plot as she is responsible for the majority of

the life choices the protagonist makes. I have

chosen this female as she has a strong gothic

look about her.

Key things I will be looking for when casting

this character are seriousness, coldness and

wickedness. (Aged around 17- 19)


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Love interest This character will take the

role of the love interest in the film. Her

appearance in the films opening will be minor,

however her importance will be great as it will

show the main characters goal or desire

which leads him to do what he does. There will

be two actors to play the love interest. One willbe in her teen years (seen to the left) and one will

be in her early adult years (seen below.)

Key things I will be looking for when casting this

character is a memorable smile.

Love interest This character will play the older

role of the teen love interest (seen above.) The role of

this character in the film opening will be very minor

(no lines or actions) however this character will be

very important, as it will show the terrible crime thatthe main character has committed, driving him to his

suicide.


character will be the ability to convincingly and

effectively play dead. (Aged 25 35)


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The bully This character will play an

antagonist in the film and will serve as the

reoccurring obstacle in the way of the main

characters goal (to get the girl) This character

does not hold much influence over the maincharacter yet holds a significant influence over the

love interest, who turns a blind eye to some of the

things he does. This character will serve as a

reflection of the Violent Father so some of their

mannerisms and traits will be the same.


character is a broad/tall build and aggression. (Aged

17 20)

The Protagonist This is the main character and

will frequently appear in the films opening sequence.

This character may also have to speak directly to the

audience as a kind of narration and therefore the actor

cast as this role will need to have good quality

speaking skills and should be able to read lines with

natural intonation. There will be three versions of this

character. The first will appear in the opening scene

(aged 25 35.) Key things I will be looking for with

this character are high quality acting skills. The

second will be the child like version (aged 5 7.)They will need to slightly resemble the older versions

of the character, but will not need much skills. The

third and final version of this character will show his

teenage years (age 17 18.) This version will appear

the most in the films opening. Since this character

will be very demanding and is crucial to the plot, I

will be very picky about casting. This characters

mannerisms, traits, and the like will be taken and

developed from my own and therefore, I would like to

find a very strong (ability) actor who has a similar

mindset to myself and who can grasp this character

inside and out.

Finally, my films title is still undecided, however a few of my ideas are:


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The End I initially thought that this would be a compelling title as it would cause

the viewer to immediately question what the film is going to be about and why The

End is so important. I have decided against this title as it is not very clear in meaning

and does not sound that intriguing.

The Diary of a Nobody This is one of my favourite film titles due to its uniqueness

and its meaning. Since the central character feels like a nobody, I have incorporated

the word nobody into the title. Also, because the twist I plan to add at the end of my

movie which shows the love interest of the main character to be a figment of his

imagination, I have included the word nobody in the title to relate to the fact that the

love interest is in fact nobody, and that most of the extracts from the main characters

Diary will be about this nobody. I have finally chosen to use the word diary in my

film title due to the fact that there will be frequent references to the main characters

diary throughout the film, as diaries usually represent the contents of a persons mind.

Therefore, the erratic scribblings that will be seen in the diary will show the

erraticness that exists in his mind.

My Story I originally thought that since the majority of the film would be shown

through the eyes of a central character, it can almost seem as though it is the selfnarration of a story, hence the title, however I have decided against this title due to its

lack of creativity and originality.

All for You This is another one of my favourite title ideas, as it relates to the main

characters strain and struggle throughout the film, all for his love interest. It may also

be the message seen written on the lead male right before his suicide, indicating that

everything he did was all for you.

Overall, the name of my film from careful deliberation will be eitherAll For You or

The Diary Of A Nobody.

Initial ideas for my film

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