My Final Project was originally going to be strictly a social realism piece however I soon found it really hard to keep it exactly to that so I decided to create a drama with using the style of social realism as a massive inspiration to it. Over the course of the final decisions period I had a clear idea being that I was going to make a documentary but not in the full style of it, therefore meaning it to be 'social realism'. As I began planning and storyboarding the idea it just didn't seem right. After talking it through with multiple people over a large course of time I was getting input from everybody saying that it wouldn't quite work as there was nothing in it that would keep a high insert in people. This is when people started to suggest that a drama inspired by it would be better. When talking it through with a lecturer I was talking to him about my idea and he thought that I could make it even better if I made it even more dramatic by making it look really dark and sinister. Almost turning it into a horror but definitely giving it a thriller feel.
Mood Board
Story Concept
My short film is a drama with a massive inspiration from social realism. It is about the current issue of 'spiking'. It will be filmed from a different perspective in terms of I am going to have a female spike a male with a hypodermic needle. My story starts out with my lead female (Sophie) getting ready at her house. She puts on a bright red lipstick and red coat to create a theme of red throughout the film. Sophie then goes downstairs and starts preparing a needle (hopefully indicating that she is a diabetic). She picks the needle up, places it in her bag and walks out of the house. Sophie heads into town where she looks for her 'victim'. She notices 'Alex' (the lead male who gets spiked) and 'Jack' his mate. She takes a fancy to them and decides to follow them. They walk up through town laughing and joking around with Sophie closely following whilst keeping her distance. When they reach the top of town Alex and Jack say their goodbyes and head off in different directions.
Sophie decides to follow Alex who seems to be heading towards the bus station. Alex sits down towards the end of the bus station and starts waiting for a bus. Sophie approaches the bus station and pauses. She takes a look around reaches into her bag and pulls out her red lipstick. She applies a thick layer before placing it back into her bag again. Taking a final look around she compose herself and walks up to Alex. She places herself down next to him and starts a conversation. (Slight montage of them talking). They stand up and walk off together still chatting as they leave. Whilst walking Alex places his arm over Sophies shoulder. They walk into a dark secluded alley way, only lit by a single red light above. They pause and look each other before going in for a kiss. As they start making out Sophie slyly reaches into her bag and starts rummaging discreetly. She pulled out a needle and quickly stabs into Alex's neck. He jumps back in reaction was grabbing his neck and asks 'what was that?' before making a run for it. Sophie comedy places the needle back into her bag before leaving the alley to follow Alex. He runs trying to get away from her but she closely follows. As he begins to stumble more and more she gets even closer. Alex's sees a bouncer, runs up to him and collapsed his feet. Bounce the glances at Alex and then reaches down to give him assistance. Sophie hangs back watching from a distance but then gets spooked and leaves. She walks home calmly and still making herself aware of what's around her. She reaches her front door and places her hand in her bag to find her keys. She stops rummaging and calmly pulls her hand out of the bag. She looks at her finger to which you can see it's bleeding. She drops her hand back into her bag to find her keys. She pulls them out and stumbles towards the front door to open it. The door opens and she steps inside, tripping as she does. Everything goes to black. Sophie is then lead on the floor. Lifeless. Shes spiked herself.
Story ends
Sophie decides to follow Alex who seems to be heading towards the bus station. Alex sits down towards the end of the bus station and starts waiting for a bus. Sophie approaches the bus station and pauses. She takes a look around reaches into her bag and pulls out her red lipstick. She applies a thick layer before placing it back into her bag again. Taking a final look around she compose herself and walks up to Alex. She places herself down next to him and starts a conversation. (Slight montage of them talking). They stand up and walk off together still chatting as they leave. Whilst walking Alex places his arm over Sophies shoulder. They walk into a dark secluded alley way, only lit by a single red light above. They pause and look each other before going in for a kiss. As they start making out Sophie slyly reaches into her bag and starts rummaging discreetly. She pulled out a needle and quickly stabs into Alex's neck. He jumps back in reaction was grabbing his neck and asks 'what was that?' before making a run for it. Sophie comedy places the needle back into her bag before leaving the alley to follow Alex. He runs trying to get away from her but she closely follows. As he begins to stumble more and more she gets even closer. Alex's sees a bouncer, runs up to him and collapsed his feet. Bounce the glances at Alex and then reaches down to give him assistance. Sophie hangs back watching from a distance but then gets spooked and leaves. She walks home calmly and still making herself aware of what's around her. She reaches her front door and places her hand in her bag to find her keys. She stops rummaging and calmly pulls her hand out of the bag. She looks at her finger to which you can see it's bleeding. She drops her hand back into her bag to find her keys. She pulls them out and stumbles towards the front door to open it. The door opens and she steps inside, tripping as she does. Everything goes to black. Sophie is then lead on the floor. Lifeless. Shes spiked herself.
Story ends
Locations
When deciding what locations I was going to use, I knew that I wanted it set in a town. A few factors helped me to decide what exact location i was going to use for example, how busy it was and how easy it would be to get there to cast and crew. One of my first locations I considered was Bristol however, this was quickly ruled out as Bristol is an extremely busy city and I would struggle to get a point in time where it was quiet enough to do filming that wasn't stupid hours in the morning. Another reason I decided to not use Bristol was that although it is only half an hour from my base (my house) I wouldn't be able to go back there on short notice to get any last minute shots if needed. Bristol then was out of the picture.
Another location I considered that was close to my base was Bath. Bath isn't as busy as Bristol however the architectural factors caused it to be a no for the option as it was too clean and posh looking where is I wanted something more rough and ready. I then decided to film in Chippenham as when doing location recces I found it would be the perfect location as there were what you could say nicer areas and rougher areas which will complement each other well. I also had access to a almost perfectly straight high street which would be great for some scenes. When also do my location recce I found that all of the places were within a 5 to 10 minute walk from my base so this made it very accessible for cast and crew. This also meant that we didn't have to worry about all of the kit needed and transport that we we need to get a places.
Another location I considered that was close to my base was Bath. Bath isn't as busy as Bristol however the architectural factors caused it to be a no for the option as it was too clean and posh looking where is I wanted something more rough and ready. I then decided to film in Chippenham as when doing location recces I found it would be the perfect location as there were what you could say nicer areas and rougher areas which will complement each other well. I also had access to a almost perfectly straight high street which would be great for some scenes. When also do my location recce I found that all of the places were within a 5 to 10 minute walk from my base so this made it very accessible for cast and crew. This also meant that we didn't have to worry about all of the kit needed and transport that we we need to get a places.
Risk Assessment
Storyboards
Colour Schemes
Sound
Theses are the sounds i chose to use. I used ones that were all royalty free so that i wouldnt have any copyright claims or issues with the sound i wanted to use.
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For my project, i originally wanted my sound to be really raw and natural. I thought that if I was to use any heavy soundtracks and then it will become really cheesy and corny and take away from the overall feel of the film which I dont want to happen. I decided on natural sounds because when looking at social realism examples I noticed that it was really simple. It added so much to the story because you weren't getting distracted by the surroundings and you were focusing mainly on the character as you should be because social realism are extremely character-driven. When changing my project from pure social realism to more of a horror/ thriller with the inspiration of a social realism the sound I recently had planned didn't work. This was because it seems really out of place and didn't fit with the overall feel I was trying to create. When changing it to a horror/ thriller film one thing that really sticks out is that the soundtracks they have are really complimentry to the film. They use sound to create tension which causes the audience to feel a certain way when watching it. I then decided to use soundtracks which would build suspense and add to my overall feel. This works really well as it cause my sound to have a good flow throughout. This has come partly from choosing the right music but also over laying them correctly.
Equipment Needed
Character Costumes
Lead female character - Sophie
When creating my costumes I was really trying to use the colour theory. In film the colour theory is when certain colours are used and combined to create particular visual effects. My main characters outfit was going to be the one that was really important as as this is where all of the action is happening and it was always happen around her. When creating her character was very obvious that she was a dangerous character. Therefore when you think of danger you think of signs and a particular colour red stands out as always the 'warning' sign. When I ask people what the colour red meant to them in first people I've got the responses of
-somebody who's dangerous -somebody who's going to do something -red is colour for blood A lot of the answers were very much the same so when I was thinking of how my audience would react to the colour red I automatically thought that it would be the best fit considering the responses that I'd gottten from people previously. Whilst keeping the colour red I also had to find clothes that looked very social realism based. When you look at social realism films there are not any obvious brands for example Nike or Adidas etc. Clothes are more basic like Primark or even New look which are the lower market brands. This is because social realism as a genre is meant to to be able to relate to everybody however if you start using brands it's already pinpointing certain cultures and communities. So i went with basic clothes that had no branding that also kept within the red theme of being dangerous. |
Lead male character - Alex
Male characters Friend - Jack
Bouncer
My male costumes and bouncer were more of a simple choice because I wanted something that would just look natural to a random guy and somebody who was working as a security guard. I still needed to keep within the theme of having non branded clothing as if I did have brands as mentioned above it would create a certain stereotype that I was aiming the film at which I didn't want. I think next time I would like to try and create more of a character to my main male character as it could create more depth if I potentially have him come back in like a suit and tie like a businessman or something.
Shot List/Camera Details
Script Version 1
Script- Official
This is the second version of my script. I was really happy with the first one however after receiving feedback and reading it over quite a few times I realized that my ending was not as strong as I would have liked it to be. After taking inspiration from tales of the unexpected I decided to change my ending completely and have it that she spikes herself. I feel that this is much better then the previous one as it carries on with the theme that is put throughout the film.
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Talent Release Forms
MIKEY CAVACIUTI- MALE LEAD
CHARLOTTE CAVACIUTI- FEMALE LEAD
JACOB COX- MALE FRIEND
ALEX COX- BOUNCER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRuITXncB5E
marketing and Advertisement
POSTERS
Poster 1
TRAILER
TEST SHOTS
BTS
These images were taken whilst filming and show what was happening during the making of ‘SPIKE’. It was quite easy filming as we had had a team meeting prior to filming that included all crew members and actors. They were informed of what was going to happen and the shots that were going to be filmed. The filming took place over a period of 3 days, this was longer than expected. However, because it was ‘daylight savings’ it meant that we had to wait till quite late for it to get dark. I did know that this would be the case at the time of planning for ‘Spike’ and considered the thought of doing it in daylight however this was also very quickly ruled out as I knew that it would look awful in the light because it wouldn't create that tense feel to it that it would need.
OPENING SEQUENCE
On my previous social realism styled piece, I had my opening credits intertwined with my opening shots. This created a very 'snappy' look which worked really well. I tried the same effect on 'SPIKE' however was unsure that it worked as it didn't work with the opening shots. I think it would have worked if my style of the beginning was different as mine is almost a montage style of Sophie getting ready.
EDIT
Colour Correction
FEEDBACK FROM FILM
What did you like especially ?
I loved the build up of your main character. At first I thought she was getting ready for a night out but then you realise that there is a sinister side to her and I was reminded of ‘Killing Eve’ !
What stood out to you as memorable?
I felt your tracking of the main character was great and the suspense you built up over who her victim was going to be. I also found the plot twist at the end really clever as it was very unexpected!
Music?
The choice of suspenseful music in the background added to the atmosphere and worked well in enhancing the storyline.
Location ?
I really liked the atmosphere of the town in the early hours of the morning. It gave you a sense of the isolation of your male character and built up an anxiety in me as to his safety. The empty streets brought a sense of suspense and the street lighting an eerie feeling as I watched the main character picking her victim.
Any constructive criticism? How could it be improved?
I don’t think it needs improving I really enjoyed the film and I think it was a great idea to use a twist on the normal idea of a male spiking a female. I think you highlighted this current topic in the news really well.
I loved the build up of your main character. At first I thought she was getting ready for a night out but then you realise that there is a sinister side to her and I was reminded of ‘Killing Eve’ !
What stood out to you as memorable?
I felt your tracking of the main character was great and the suspense you built up over who her victim was going to be. I also found the plot twist at the end really clever as it was very unexpected!
Music?
The choice of suspenseful music in the background added to the atmosphere and worked well in enhancing the storyline.
Location ?
I really liked the atmosphere of the town in the early hours of the morning. It gave you a sense of the isolation of your male character and built up an anxiety in me as to his safety. The empty streets brought a sense of suspense and the street lighting an eerie feeling as I watched the main character picking her victim.
Any constructive criticism? How could it be improved?
I don’t think it needs improving I really enjoyed the film and I think it was a great idea to use a twist on the normal idea of a male spiking a female. I think you highlighted this current topic in the news really well.
-some really good camera angles
-really shows how possible it is to get spiked by either female and male
-well choreographed
-really shows how possible it is to get spiked by either female and male
-well choreographed
-The music made it very tense
-The chase scenes were very smooth considering the cameraman was running behind them
-The scene where the victim collapsed was a little dark, a tiny bit more light would have made it easier to see
-I like some of the shots that appeared from behind a wall to focus on the characters
-The chase scenes were very smooth considering the cameraman was running behind them
-The scene where the victim collapsed was a little dark, a tiny bit more light would have made it easier to see
-I like some of the shots that appeared from behind a wall to focus on the characters
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