Finish Poster

Here is my final poster for the short film that I have designed and created based upon my research into the codes and conventions and also some inspiration from other films of the same genre as my own.

The poster was inspired heavily by this image on the right from the film "Clockwork Orange", another dystopian film adaptation from the novel. I used the exact same orange that was used in the background of this image as in my own poster and I also like the use of the white against the orange however decided not to use the same font. I felt that a more regimented and structure fonts would be more ideal to go with the narrative of my film. I liked that within the "Clockwork Orange" poster they used an icon that resemble the film itself, however wanted to do a similar thing but with text that revealed an idea of my short film however made the audience intrigued.

Therefore I knew that a flyer would be coming through my protagonists letterbox with a message on the front cover. "The revolution will be complete when the language is pure." Therefore I used this sentence, which was taken from the book 1984 and therefore my poster would also be self referential as well as my fill and therefore there was a further level of continuity between both texts. However to engage the audience and intrigued them about my short film I decided to remove "the language is pure." to only leave "The revolution will be complete when…" I felt that this would increase my audience are also reveal all at a sense of the Pops as the whole film is structured around an idea of a revolution taking place.

I feel that this poster is the most professional poster that I produced and also was the richest in terms of its content and inspiration as well as reflecting my short film successfully. This poster was also the one that my target audience felt was the most suitable for the idea of my short film.

Chosen Title - Left Unread

After finishing writing the script for the short film I've decided that one of the titles that I came up with when brainstorming a title for the short film was appropriate and also made the film engaging in interesting. The title for the short film I have decided upon was the title "Left Unread". I believe that this title is suitable because, on a basic level what the protagonists does to rebel is to leave the flyer that is posted through the letterbox unread. But also because of the nature of the short film, taken elements and inspiration from other dystopian texts the film itself may be left unread and not fully understood by the audience. Therefore the title tries to provoke the audience to delve deeper into the text to understand it further.

Initial Script

Here is the initial script that I have written for the voice over that will accompany the bus scene where the protagonists is sitting on the bus looking out the window and the audience sees the world through his eyes going by.

Look at it…another bright cold April day. It has always been another bright cold April day for as long as I can remember. That's not saying much, as after all… there’s no such thing as memory, well…no such thing anymore. 

The year is twenty twenty two…or  twenty twenty three…or  twenty twenty four? No one really knows. The years just…… life when on. 

There all getting ready for hate week now. You can’t see it, there is no banners… or poster …or advertisement but we all know. Those things… the banners and what not, where all removed during the “Great Freedom”. There’s stories, wonderful stories about people being happy. Large groups of people would together, just for the enjoyment of being with each other not for mid chant or appraisal. Those things that came after the “Great Freedom” and the government imposed on us.

The government has control of everything now, we all bow to them, we have no choice. There are four Ministries between which the government is divided. The Ministry of Truth, which concerns itself with news, entertainment, education, and the fine arts. The Ministry of Peace, which concerns itself with war. The Ministry of Love, which maintains law and order. And the Ministry of Plenty, which is responsible for economic affairs. Have I heard that before?

But we can’t talk or think about these matters, we are not allowed to, they know they always know. I should not have, I did not have, nothing was said. Forget what was said and then forget that you forgot what was said. 

That is how you stay alive here, that is how you remain sane.

I have used elements from the book "1984" but also built upon some of the ideas of my own to create this dystopian text that I believe has a greater sense of reality as it's not so far fetched as Orwell's text. It is a bit more grounded in the world we live in now but has some ominous tones.

After writing the initial script I have decided that I will take my coursework and combine it with the knowledge that I'm gaining within my examination unit studying post-modernism to create a short film that delves into some of the ideas of  a post-modern text using intertextuality, bricolage and pastiche.

Ideas for the title of the film.

A quick brainstorm of some ideas for the title of the short film.

• Untitled
• 5 minutes
• Completed
• Revolt
• Grand Stand
• Watching
• Left Unread
• The Great Freedom

I'm unsure if I would choose any of these titles or whether I would choose from different. However this is not a main priority as I can change a later date.

Chosen Locations

Before filming it is important to decide on the locations that I'll use to ensure that I have a clear vision of how all the locations will impact on the narrative but also the space that I have available to me to film. For this reason I went to the locations that I thought would be suitable for my short film and took photographs as references see below

Prison cell

Within school there is a small office and if I remove all of the items that are within the room, to create an empty shell I believe that this will fulfil the appearance of a prison cell. If I light it in the correct manner it should create a ominous enclosed feeling that I want the short film to begin with.

Bus

The bus that I will be using will appear something like this as I cannot insure the same bus will appear when I start filming. For that reason I can also not ensure that the interior of the bus will be the same if I need to reshoot anything. For this reason I need to carefully consider what shots I require with in the bus, therefore ensuring that the shots that I do take can easily be reshot if necessary to continue the continuity.

Street

After the protagonists has got off the bus he will walk down a street, this is the street that I will use. I have chosen the street because it is near the location for the interior of the home shots which means it is easily accessible and I can shoot both the exterior shots and interior shots within the same day making my production time effective. Also this street is relatively traffic free therefore I can use a tracking Dolly on the road to create a steady tracking shot. The road being traffic free also means that the filming will be more seamless as we will not have to stop n' start for cars etc.

Home

This is the interior location for where the protagonist will spend most of his time. I have chosen this location because it's neutral colours as this will focus the audience's attention onto the protagonist. The lack of items within the room will create a tense and unnatural atmosphere that is vital for the narrative. However there are slight allusions to wealth as the fireplace is positioned next to the chair but serves no other purpose but and aesthetic feature which further supports the unnatural atmosphere. Also can allude to the ideas presented in 1984 which the short film has been inspired by.

Now I have found my locations I can begin to start storyboarding as I have a firm foundation of references to include within the visualisation of the short film. Also now I have a full range of references including actors, props, costumes and now locations I can include these in my storyboard creating clear understanding and vision for how I want to create my short film.

Chosen Costume & Props

Costume

My short film was heavily inspired by the dystopian novel 1984 by George Orwell. The novel was adapted for film and therefore I felt that to carry this feeling of pastiche and intertextuality; the costume should mirror to some extent the costume worn by John Hurt's character Winston Smith. Within the film Winston Smith only wears a white a T-shirt and a blue overall. This simplistic costume I believe was chosen as its presents the idea that the people in society have no choice and they are without character and life and they all wear the same monotonous clothing, they have no identity. 

Therefore, for this reason of continuing the elements of pastiche and intertextuality I have chosen to slightly adapts the costume from 1984, to incorporate elements that I feel reflect the similar tone of individuals without an identity. Therefore I have chosen to retain the white T-shirt as I feel it can notes a sense of loss of character. However I do not want to use the blue overalls I still wanted to retain the sense of people with out life and character, therefore I chose a very bland greys, blacks for the rest of the costume. For the trousers I chose black sweatpants as I felt they gave a sense of the mundane, people not dressing for work but almost as if they casually standing around. Also I feel that they have no character they have, no substance they just an item of clothing.

However for the jacket that the protagonists will be wearing I chose a black waterproof jacket as again I feel due to this simple neutral colour it lacks any character. For the shoes again I chose a simple great grey pair of plimsolls that weren't smart but they also were not casual there in the middle not quite being either or. 

                                 Black Sweatpants                                            Black Jacket

                                    White t-shirt                                                Grey Plimsolls

I feel that the costume effectively represents the lifeless character that I am trying to portray within society, having references and acknowledgements to 1984 and a state what I have taken of my inspiration from. I also believe this costume is very easy to film with as it won't change and there can be a consistency and continuity across different shots as the clothing will remain the same.

Props

Green Bag

For the short film I've decided that they'll be only one main prop that will be used this is a green bag that is used by the protagonist. The bag is seen during the exiting from the building, the bus scene and the walking down the road. I chosen the bag to be green as it is contrast on the rest of the costume and therefore is a noticeable difference in the protagonists appearance. However, the bag is never explained, the audience never know what is in the bag or why he is carrying it, it leaves the audience asking the question and build the anticipation for the audience. However when the bag is in shot it draws the audiences attention however as soon as it's not seen it is forgotten as it is not a dramatic contrast and it can very easily be forgotten. Also the bag will never be full, it will be slightly empty and this further develop the intrigues and questioning behind what is inside the bag. The bag is actually the red herring for the audience making them asked questions and consider what is inside it actually never focusing on the true issue. This is a key theme an idea that I explore throughout my film.

After I've got my props and costumes sorted I now need to consider locations and start taking photos of where I wants my short film to be set.

Initial Mock up Posters

I have designed three posters that I hope to develop and refine so that one will become the final poster for my short film. Here are the three mockup posters that I have designed:

From this I will present them to my target audience and asked them for feedback. From this feedback I will develop my final poster.

From my target audience feedback I have found that the two favourite posters where The first (on the left) and the seconded (in the middle). I asked my target audience why did they not like the third poster, many said they found the contrast between the red and white to many and that made the poster unappealing. However they also said that they did not understand the significance and importance of the four pillars, even after I explain the storyline to them. For this reason and because the poster seems more ambiguous and unappealing to my target audience I ruled this one out.

Furthermore I asked my target audience why they preferred the first and second choices. Many said that they preferred the first one because of its simplistic and minimalistic nature. They also said that though it was similar to the third one, the contrast was less strong made it more appealing and interesting to look at. People who preferred the second choice of poster said it because it was ambiguous and it left them wanting to watch the short film and find out more because of the character in the background.

From this target audience feedback I have decided that I will develop both posters and then choose which one I want to lead with to create my final finished poster.

Chosen Actor

For my short film I have created a storyline that only uses one actor as the main character. I feel that this both helps and supports the narrative and meaning of the short film and in practical terms it makes it much easier to organise and ensure that the actor is available for filming. I have chosen two actors to choose from:

                                     Connor Barbor                                        Jack O'Connor

I have chosen Connor Barbor as my actor for my short film. I have made this choice because, I don't feel that he looks like the stereotypical individual who has been to prison, however there is a dark and moody look about him that matches the idea and style of the character that I have tried to give the protagonist within my short film. I feel that this is a positive that he does not look stereotypical like a person that has been to prison because the character within the film is distant from the rest of society and removed from the norm.

Within a short film I have found that it is a convention to use a small cast as due to the nature of a short film's storyline has to be established in a quick fashion and therefore the audience needs to become accustomed to the characters background. Therefore having only one character in my film means at the audience can become sympathetic and knowledgeable about this individuals background but I can also elaborate and create a more dynamic and interesting short film because there is less establishing to do of characters and locations.

From here I now need to start deciding and collecting props, costumes and locations that I will like to use within my short film. Also I need to start creating a storyboard as for my short film there is a lot of separate sequences that get piece together. Therefore storyboard process will take a long time and the sooner I start on this the more time effective it will be.