Short Film Idea 1
Deadline = 6th Jan | Extended to 20th Jan
Genre: Thriller, Coming of Age, Dark comedy?
Film Synopsis
The film is about a person – (someone in their mid to late teens) stuck in the woods, after seemingly waking up there.
They ponder if they’re stuck there dreaming, they wonder through the woods for a few minutes – noticing some oddities and things that don’t quite make sense being in the woods – unintelligible signs, neatly packed lunch bag – reality begins to set in that they’re might be stuck there.
Panic begins to consume them, their thoughts and slowly their reality. The main character has to work to face their anxieties and fears, over coming them by working hard to find a way to leave the seemingly never ending woods.
The Antagonist
For this story I don’t see the need for a traditional antagonist. I feel it would be a more poignant story with the removal of a character as the antagonist.
In place of a single character acting as the antagonist, I want it to be the woods. This mass of seemingly unending trees.
Places I want to film
The Woods and its meaning
The woods, as well as the oddities that I plan to have strewn about, will act as an allegory for the main characters’ fears and anxieties. How they slowly built up to a point where they have no other choice to but to face it, head on.
The meaning of the film
The film will be about a person – (someone in their mid teens) stuck in the woods, after seemingly waking up there.
They wonder if their dreaming, they wonder in the woods for a few minutes – noticing some oddities and things that don’t quite make sense being in the woods – unintelligible signs, neatly packed lunch bag – reality begins to set in that they’re stuck there.
Panic begins to consume them, their thoughts and slowly their reality. Frightened and unsure on what to do the main character feels like they’re better off staying in the woods. Thinking to themselves, ‘It’s better to hide and be alone for the rest of their life than be out there in a world that’s too big and loud, with people that don’t care.’
Inspirations and techniques from films I want to include such as:
Inspirations
- Enemy – Film – directed by Denis Villeneuve > Villeneuve uses a unique portrayal and conceptualization of infidelity in his film. I found the use of using the same actor, Jake Gyllenhaal, to play both of the main characters unique, as it helps to add to the mystery of what the film is about.
- Lights Out – YouTube Short Film and Feature Film – Both directed by David F. Sandberg > What inspired me about both the film and the YouTube short film is the use of how accessible Sandberg makes it, breaking down the techniques he uses in on his own YouTube channel > Ponysmasher. He makes it easy by teaching his audience the same techniques he uses. Helping amateur filmmakers to produce close to film quality content.
- The Backrooms – Created and directed by – Kane Pixels (YouTube video series) – This YouTube series has helped inspire many other films and shows. The rights to the film getting bought by A24. The Backrooms is based upon the concept of a liminal space. For the story I want to tell I feel that placing the main character in the woods, or a place reminiscent of a liminal space would make for a more memorable short film.
- The Twilight Zone (1959) and (2019) season 1 – TV Show – The concept of the show itself is something that I found inspiring. Using each episode to show a parable, some more eccentric than others. Some of the episodes, in my opinion, are expertly crafted, some episodes more so than others, from the writing to the actual production of the episodes themselves. However it does fall flat when compared to the original, 1959, show.
Techniques and aspects I want to include
- Slower pacing – I feel that the inclusion of slower paced scenes will help guide the audience into readying themselves into a false sense of security as well as showing what the main character is thinking.
- Suspense – For the type of story I am wanting to tell and for the limited time I feel that I need to make use of suspense, this will also work well with the more horror oriented elements of the short.
- Jump scares and False jump scares – The reason for including jump scares and false jump scares is to help lure the audience into a heightened state. Somewhat forcing their hand into paying attention to the scene.
- For the music I want to have something that is both capturing and haunting much like the intro score from The Shining opening score or something in the same vein as the title score for The Twilight Zone.
__________________________
Short Film Idea 2
With My Time Left
Genre = Thriller, Suspense, Drama, Lite Horror
Film Synopsis
The short centres around a senior named Theo, as they slowly begin to feel someone or something following them. The longer Theo distracts themself from the thing following them, the more prominent it becomes. The Theo begins to realise that they don’t have long left, slowly losing their sense of self.
The feeling of losing everything pushes them to confront the ENTITY, in doing so Theo realises their memories and those they love are fading, only remembering times of sadness and when they were in pain.
After confronting and making peace with the entity, the main character readies themself to make peace with the memories that haunt them.
The Antagonist
I feel that due to the purpose and the message of the story I want to share, the story would benefit from a non-traditional antagonist, a distorted version of the main character as well as in part the main character themselves. I feel it would be a more poignant story without the traditional depiction of a ‘bad guy slasher‘ archetype as the antagonist.
Places I want to Film
Techniques and inspirations
Inspirations
- The Haunting of Bly Manor – Netflix TV show – Directed by Mike Flanagan > Mike Flanagan’s use of ghosts as a metaphor for a persons hidden truths and unfinished business is used extremely effectively and I found that version of both a haunting and ghosts personally illuminating, it was a refreshing take on a concept that has become a cliché.
- Lights Out – YouTube Short Film – Directed by David F. Sandberg > His use of suspense is extremely effective.
- The Portrait of God – YouTube Short Film – Directed by Dylan Clark > The Directors use of misdirection and use of uncertainty is highlighted extremely well
- Prisoners – Film – Directed by Denis Villeneuve | DOP Roger Deakins > Both Denis Villeneuve and cinematographer Roger Deakins both heavily inspire my way of constructing and framing a story Deakins eye for framing a moment is something I find truly mesmerizing.
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – Film – Directed by Michel Gondry | Cinematographer – Ellen Kuras | Written by – Charlie Kaufman – I am inspired by the concept of the film and in particular the implementation of the cinematography techniques used by cinematographer Ellen Kuras and by how the characters are written, their dialogue and how they interact with the world. A clip from the film that illustrates my points – https://youtu.be/8kjjIPi1KkQ
- Smile – Film – Directed by Parker Finn – This is another film that has helped to inspire my short film, it has helped a great deal to inspire the look of the villain.
Techniques and aspects I want to include
- Slower pacing – I feel that the inclusion of slower paced scenes will help guide the audience into readying themselves into a false sense of security as well as showing what the main character is thinking.
- Suspense – For the type of story I am wanting to tell and for the limited time I feel that I need to make use of suspense, this will also work well with the more horror oriented elements of the short.
- Jump scares and False jump scares – The reason for including jump scares and false jump scares is to help lure the audience into a heightened state. Somewhat forcing their hand into paying attention to the scene.
- Ghosts as a metaphor for ones hidden/hated desires < (not sure if that’s the right word I’m looking for)
- For the music I want to have something that is both capturing and haunting much like the intro score from 2001 a space odyssey and the Shining opening score.
- Unreliable Narrator – I feel it a fitting addition for the story I want to tell. The inclusion of an unreliable narrator fits with the main character, as they have memory loss and dementia. The use of memory loss from the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is something that has heavily inspired me to make my short film.
Cinematography inspirations
Two of my main inspirations for how I wanted to capture my short film are cinematographers Roger Deakins and Greig Fraser. The way they are both able to capture beautiful images in some of the most harrowing moments is both mesmerizing and inspiring.
Bellow is a small list of films Roger Deakins was the Cinematographer of, the films listed below make use of powerful imagery, starting with Roger Deakins then moving on to a small catalogue of films that Grieg Fraser worked on:
Roger Deakin’s DP/Cinematography work
- Prisoners
- Blade Runner 2049
- The Shawshank Redemption
- No Country for Old Men
Greig Fraser’s DP/Cinematography work
- Dune: Part One
- Dune: Part Two
- The Batman
- The Creator
The images that they are both, able to create and capture are what I would argue to be the equivalent to modern day Renaissance paintings. The amount of emotion that they’re both able to capture from the actors inspiring. Both cinematographer’s make excellent use of extreme wide shots to help emphasise the scale of whatever they want the audience to focus on.
The meaning of the film
The meaning of this film is based on my own personal experience and struggles with epilepsy. I was originally planning making myself, or someone else that fits my description, to play the main character. However after talking to my brothers and thinking it over I changed the focus of the script so that the main character is an older person with memory issues. I wanted to keep some elements of myself and my own struggles in the character. That is why I settled on keeping the main character an unreliable narrator of sorts.
The foundation of the story is based upon the question of ‘What would I do and what would say to my epilepsy if it was a person?’ For me, I want to show the audience what my epilepsy is like and how it affects me.
For more general audiences the short is about coming to an understanding with yourself, to fully know yourself and to do your best to accept all parts of yourself, even the parts that you don’t show the rest of the world. Understanding that to live life is to be in the moment, to enjoy what times we have and are given.
Writing the script
I used Celtx to write up my entire script, having never used it before, I found it relatively easy to learn as it shares many similarities with another programme that I am more familiar with. My knowledge of the previously used programme, Studiobinder, allowed for me to more easily learn necessary shortcuts and for me to correctly format my script.
As mentioned previously I re-wrote a portion of the script to make it easier for the audience to better connect with the main character, while still maintaining parts of myself in main character. I struggled for a while to find a name for the main character but I eventually found Theo.
Further Pre-production Work – https://app.milanote.com/1Tisfu11sEy38U?p=qaZXWzvJunj
Script unfinished and finished
https://www.celtx.com/auth/public/resource/lgsfn91y
(unfinished script) (1107 words)
(Finished Script) (1203 Word)
Clone Test Footage for Student Short Film
With my Time Left | Student Film
Equipment used
Challenges in production
I faced many challenges while filming With my Time Left, from the cold, windy weather to my seizures, needing me to take multiple breaks while filming, causing the crew I managed to acquire, to wait for me to come too and myself becoming a liability. While the crew waited for the seizures to pass what little light we had left was passing by fast.
Another challenge I came up against was my extremely limited visual effects knowledge, only knowing very basic effects with the use of keyframes. I had to teach myself how to pull off the ‘clone effect’. The effect is reliant upon the use of a tripod, camera and having the actor play how ever many characters are necessary for the desired goal. In Davinci Resolve, the editing software I use
One of the larger challenges I faced during pre-production, was that I was unable to procure actors on time due to poor communication, between myself and the manager for the actors. The last challenge I faced, was not being able to have the sfx make-up artist on set while filming, due to their lack of availability on the days of filming, due to their previous commitments.
What was done to manage the challenges?
As previously mentioned, due to both the cold weather and my seizures the only workaround the crew and I managed to think of, was to extend the shooting days from one day to two.
I was able to find workarounds for both the lack of actors and the poor weather. In place of actors my brother and a family friend were able to fill the roles needed, however the addition of my family friend replacing one of the roles was not in the script and was the first change to the script made while filming.
To tackle the cold weather, I supplied the actors with warm jackets, scarfs and gloves to help keep them as comfortable as possible.
[SEIZURES WHILE FILMING]
Why Changes were made
Unfortunately due to many factors including: The weather, miss communication with acquiring actors on time and my epilepsy, many changes were made before, during and after filming.
The contact I had to gather actors never got back to me and as mentioned my epilepsy as well as the weather played a significant factor in why major changes were made to pre-production, production and the post of the short film.
Documents
Bibliography
Photographs:
Richards, P (2012) Heaton Wood Trust Bradford. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/fewston__swinsty_reservoir_photographs_2008/8098092020 (Accessed: 25/12/2024)
West Bradford Golf Club, Chellow Dene Reservoir (2018) Chellow Dean Reservoir | West Bradford Gold Club. Available at: https://westbradfordgolfclub.co.uk/about/the-golf-course/chellow-dean-reservoir-1920×560 (Accessed at: 26/11/2024)
Films, Shows and Online Series mentioned:
Dylan Clark (2023) The Portrait of God [Online Video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI9fKfX5V68
Enemy (2013). [Blu-ray]. Directed by Denis Villeneuve. Canada: Pathé, Entertainment One, Rhombus Media and Roxbury.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. (2004). [Blu-ray]. Directed by Michel Gondry. America: Focus Features, Anonymous Content and This is That Productions.
Kane Pixels (2023). The Backrooms [Online video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4dGpz6cnHo (Accessed: 05/01/2025)
Lights Out (2013). [YouTube}. Directed by David F. Sandberg. Sweden: Sandberg Company.
Prisoners (2013). [Blu-ray]. Directed by Denis Villeneuve. America: 8:38 Productions and Madhouse Entertainment.
Smile (2022). [Blu-ray]. Directed by Parker Finn. America: Paramount Players and Temple Hill Entertainment.
The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020) Netflix. 09 October
The Shawshank Redemption (1994). [Blu-ray]. Directed by Frank Darabont. America, Ohio: Castle Rock Entertainment and Columbia Pictures
The Twilight Zone (1959) CBS. 02 October.
The Twilight Zone (2019) Paramount+. 01 April