Any original ideas that were rejected and why - Pre-Production Planning

Our brainstorming begun when we had vague ideas that our film should evolve around the idea of following a thriller genre, as it was something which (as a group) we were familiar with as we all did a short film using this genre last year and so we started brainstorming various ideas that could fit into this genre again, using the usual conventions of the thriller genre, such as things like the police, blood, weapons, and the use of deep non-diegetic sound. From then onwards, we started off with the idea that our thriller film should follow particular steps.
These included the idea of having a plot twist at some point during the film, either in the middle of the film or at the end when the audience suddenly has a realisation of what has actually just happened in the film as some kind of shock. We also thought that we should include an interrogation scene to it by having the police questioning a character over something they'd done in the past (following the typical conventions of the thriller genre). The idea of setting our film during the Halloween period was also liked within our group as it would set up a good base for the idea of a eerie scenario in which a kidnapper (another one of our initial ideas) would go out every Halloween to kidnap another victim, keeping them somewhere the police would be unaware of.

We thought that our antagonist should have the traits of being unstable in his life, potentially having mental health issues as well as evidence of abuse from his early life through the use of scars or noticeable differences in his appearance. As well as this, the group believed that the antagonist would always have one over on the police, and so would appear more superior throughout, even when he is caught by the police, the idea continues that the police still wouldn't be able to find the kidnapped children. The idea of the kidnapper being abused as a child was also suggested by the group as it would possibly explain why his life is so unstable in the present day, as well as another idea that he was abused as a child for wanting to go 'trick or treating' with his friends but he wasn't allowed, and so that's why he aims to get revenge on the children on the night of Halloween.

The film would end with the overall idea or realisation that the kidnapper once experienced what the children now experience on Halloween and this would of been revealed through the use of costumes/props of old children's Halloween costumes from when the kidnapper was a child, as well as tally marks and the kidnapper's name in the room where the children are kept, portraying the idea that he was once one of children and that this has been continued over decades.

However, although all of this was very well thought out, we suddenly came up with a completely new and improved idea that we believe would be easier to achieve and be more enjoyable to make. The overall basis around it is that a group of friends get together at someone's house and decide to play the popular game of 'Monopoly'. As the game progresses the audience and the characters begin to discover that the game is different than any other game and that it has a mind of its own. The film evolves around a twist in which one of the characters decides to cheat and so the game turns against the player and bad things begin to happen to him. We think this idea would be more suited to us as it would be simpler to film as we would only need one location (someone's house) and the character's that we'd have would be more easily accessible compared to the original idea of being able to use someone's children for the Halloween scenes, and so we decided to scrap that idea.

TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR NEW FILM IDEA, FIND THE POST ABOUT THE SYNOPSIS OF OUR FILM! 

Lighting decisions

Lighting:


We plan to shoot the short film at night, this is because the lighting is easier to control and it suits the synopsis. There will be lights on in the background producing light however we will use additional lighting to balance it out and keep the light focused on areas when needed.

The power cut will take the setting into complete darkness, this will only last a few seconds for the purpose of suggesting something is off. Afterwards the lighting will return to normal.

When the character cheats the lighting will dim to show something has happened it wont be drastic but it will be noticeable enough for the audience to pick up on it.

In each room the characters appear in we will have lighting that is in that room but use additional lighting if needed. In areas like the kitchen we may not need the additional lighting as the room should be bright enough, however in the hall, upstairs and the living room it is more likely that the additional lighting will need to be used as the lights in them aren't as powerful.

Health and Safety

There are a few hazards in the setting we have chosen, there would be more risks when we are filming.

The main hazard/health and safety issue is the fuse box we will be using to simulate a power cut, we will need to take care when switching the electricity on and off. It is high up so we will need to make sure the person who is turning it off is standing safely and securely on a chair.

Other problems that may occur is having the wine and the glasses, if something was to smash there would be safety issues. To avoid this from happening we will need to take care to keep them a safe distance from the side of the kitchen counter.