Initial Ideas

We have come up with an idea which is similar to Jumanji; it involves a board game (monopoly), causing chaos and issues for the players as they play.

We have thought about:

• Setting
• Props
• Characters
• Plot/Synopsis
• Target Audience

Setting

In order to create a realistic and mellow atmosphere, we have decided to use Amy's living room, (another post displays permission for this), which is spacious and appropriate. This will be the main setting and perhaps the only setting which will allow us to manipulate the lighting and carefully focus on what's in the frame.

Props

We have decided to use props such as: money, invoices, wine glasses, wine, monopoly, etc.

Some of these props are going to be used to create a chilled out evening which consists of a game of Monopoly and a few drinks between close friends. Props such as the money and invoices indicate the start of chaos and trouble that the game will eventually bring.

Characters

It's been decided that our characters will consist of two couples that are close friends that frequently meet up. They will be male and female couples, so overall, there will be two males and two females aged around 17-19.

Target Audience

We have aimed our short film at young adults, male and female, around the age of 17-25. We feel this is an appropriate aged target audience because of how they can relate to the characters as they are also 17-18 years old. Also, the Monopoly game will appeal to them because it's a well known game and can be played by anyone. In addition to that, the situations that the characters are planted in also relates to our target audience because the short film deals with real life money issues and displays a realistic atmosphere of young adults enjoying each other's company and drinking. 
We have already posted on social networking sites in order to gain audience feedback about our idea:

Plot/Synopsis

A couple invite their friends over as the parents have gone away which means they have a free house. Their friends are another couple which they are very close to and they meet frequently. The couple begin setting things up for the evening, such as setting out wine glasses and filling them with wine and making final touches to the living room. They decide to play a board game and they choose Monopoly. When their friends arrive they begin playing Monopoly and drinking wine, subtle things begin happening during the playing of the game but they don't notice, these things are good things like receiving real money. 
As they begin picking up chance and community chest cards, things become more sinister; they pick up cards such as "pay £200 to the electric company" and it actually happens, so they would receive an invoice through the door that's demanding the £200 and if it's not paid, a power cut occurs in order to indicate that it's happening in real life. Things get worse and eventually one of the characters decides to cheat by stealing money from the Monopoly bank, this causes serious consequences and he starts losing real money as a result of his cheating. Eventually, the cheating character gets a phone call which informs him that his possessions are being taken away because of his actions, this will be the end of the short film; it's clear that the game isn't normal and possesses some kind of strange power, just like the board game in Jumanji.
The film would carry on displaying the 4 young adults continuing to play the game as they've realised that they have to keep playing in order for all these catastrophes to be fixed and return to normality.

Research and Planning-Closed Doors-Film 1

'Closed Doors' is categorised under thriller/mystery following the linear narrative of a University/collage student with a dark past.

in the opening scene we have a LS of a door, the door is positioned at the centre of the frame connoting importance at some level. the decor is simple but effective in turn creating a mysterious and enigmatic feeling towards what lays behind. The ingenuity of the lighting also backs up the mysterious atmosphere of this 'closed door', by using a low key lighting but focusing it on the door draws the viewers attention. we then have a sudden cut to the tittle shot. the font again is simple; a white shade inserted in front of a black canvas. this technique connotes further the dark and sinister significance of the closed door.
We then have a sudden cut to the tittle shot. The font again is simple; a white shade inserted in front of a black canvas. This technique connotes further the dark and sinister significance of the closed door. to support the sinister atmosphere, although subtle the font type is sharp and slick just one of the many icons in a thriller sequence.


After the tittle page we are introduced to our first character, his composition again is at centre frame-possibly implying he is what is behind the closed door- he is positioned with his back to the camera at a MS, the camera slowly tracks towards the character creating small but gradual amounts of anticipation for the audience, another iconic and stereotypical technique among the thriller genre. the lighting seems consistent to the initial shot of the door and is focused on the subject, in this case the character, conveying that he has personal closed doors of his own.

The next scene reveals some elements of his personality. The camera is at an extreme close up/ECU allowing us to see vivid features of the characters face and get a much more up close and personal perspective of the character. at this point the character has heard a noise from the other side of the door and seeks to investigate, it turns out to be two students discussing social life and through dialogue we hear them decide not to invite the main character to their social event. Through facial expressions from the main character it is evident that he is an individual who is reserved, insulated and spends his time alone.

The next scene successfully applies repetition as a tool for suspense and enigma. we see the main character respond to another noise piercing through the wall behind him through a 4 shot series of shot reverse shot and a tracking shot. this automatically creates tension, there are also no non-diegetic sounds through out most of the film and in this particular scene excaerbating the suspense further.

Pre-Production Research Film 5 - 'Ambition' - christopherlewiscook via Virgin Media Shorts - By Joe Blissett

'Ambition' - christopherlewiscook
Virgin Media Shorts
"Six year old Thomas has an ambition, an ambition to save up his pennies to buy himself a toy from his favourite toy shop. Once his piggy bank is full, Thomas is confronted with a dilemma and has a big decision to make"
Genre: Family
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The sequence begins with a high angle long shot of a family emerging from their family home on what we assume to be a weekend day. We can tell this from the way the family are dressed, but in particular the young boy who is named 'Thomas'. Thomas is wearing blue jeans and a big green rain coat, and this is what indicates to us that this is unlikely to be set on a week day, as Thomas would probably be wearing school clothes, such as trousers as well as probably holding a book-bag of some sort or carrying a rucksack, none of which are seen at the point. Also because of Thomas' age, we can assume that he is likely in infant or junior school and so we could assume that the lighting of the scene may well be lighter if it was on a school day, because it would be morning. However because this is not the case, we, the audience, assume that it is a weekend and that the family are going out for a walk somewhere, probably to the town or to a shop. The lighting of the scene does appear to be brightened, implying a positive mood, and the calm soothing non-diegetic sound also helps connote this. The shot then pans down and zooms into a penny, potentially creating the emphasis of the penny itself, making the audience wonder where the film will lead because of this. As the boy (Thomas) picks up the penny and the camera pans back up to his face, the title appears onscreen in a soft, simple font, suggesting the film to follow a similar trait; adopting a possible convention of the genre type. A close up of Thomas in his room placing that penny into his piggy bank indicates some sort of beginning of a journey, one in which the audience assumes will lead to something climatic at the end... however we aren't sure. However the title itself (ambition) refers to every child's aspiration in saving money to afford something special, such as a toy. This links to the general representation of the social realism in Britain as it is common for children to want to save money in order to get what they want, and so the audience understand this which makes the film more entertaining to watch and more relatable.
As the film progresses, Thomas finds himself earning extra money from things such as down the back of car seats as well as doing household chores around the house, in which his parents give him a couple of pennies each time he does it. This is particularly displayed when a long shot shows Thomas hoovering his front room whilst his dog sits out of the way on a chair. By showing Thomas doing this kind of job it contradicts what the usual association of children is like, however it can also show the accurate example of a child's determination of getting what he wants, something that many parents can relate to, which in turn, achieves the ultimate connection between audience and film.

At many moments in the film, close up shots of the piggy bank indicate to the audience the emphasis behind the final goal of achieving what Thomas wants to get, and around the aspect of without this prized possession, he, like many kids, won't get what they want and won't be happy.
However once he has finally saved up enough to buy what he wants at the toy shop, he is faced with a difficult dilemma. As he approaches the toy store, a mid shot of the boy's face displays one of shock and sadness as he sees a man dressed in a dog costume (appealing to the audience once again) holding a bucket to which the money donated will go towards helping disowned dogs. A brief pause in the scene shows the boy looking back at the shop at the one toy he wanted, before turning back and facing the man in the costume. A close up of the man in the costume before a shot reverse shot of the boy again, indicates to the audience the connection between the two characters, making us emphasise with the boy, before a close up of the bucket with the picture of the disowned dog on the front is used to also emotionally attach the audience with the situation. We then see the boy walk up the bucket before a close up shot shows us the money falling into the bucket. It's this close up of the money falling into the bucket which really places the emphasis of the boys ambition. For ages he had wanted to save up for the toy, yet in the end it wasn't worth it and he figured that it should go to a good cause, making the audience sympathise. The boy then turns back to his mum with a smile on his face before the scene fades the black and the credits role up, indicating the end of the film.

Something I particularly liked about this short film was the lack of dialogue. By doing this, it made the audience focus more on the scene and story, which then in turn also makes them become a part of the story and emotionally attached to the boy's journey, and so it would be good if our group could replicate something along these lines perhaps, but maybe not using the same genre, however this one did work very well.