TASK 2 //
HEAD ON
The first head on I have created is for my idea of a short film which is based around the life of a 17 year old female, who is struggling to deal with peer pressure into using drugs and alcohol. She is part of a single-parent family, as her mother died after overdosing on drugs and alcohol. Her background of this made her despise the thought of the use of drugs, however this is all her friends do in their spare time. The father is doing his upmost best to support the family of two, however he is also having a hard time trying to keep his daughter safe from the use of drugs. The film will feature flashbacks of the mother overdosing and the daughter coming to visit her in hospital, which I believe will make the storyline understandable and allow the audience to fully grasp the concept of her background. The female is white and has a group of friends with similar backgrounds. She is financially stable and lives in a council estate house, located near council estates and parks.
This idea for my short film has many positives: one being that it follows the typical synopsis of a coming of age film covering themes, such as drugs and alcohol, as well as peer pressure within a group of teenage friends. These friends would be around the conventional age of 16-17, which is what I have seen to be a pattern in existing productions within the genre. Also, the film will be able to demonstrate editing skills, where I am able to create a flashback. From a casting perspective, I believe it would be manageable, as I would need a group of friends and two adults to play the roles of either parent.
However, looking at this film idea from the perspective of the setting and location, I would like to film partly in a school when showing the group of friends planning their late night outing to drink alcohol. When using a school as part of my location for my film, I am unable to show my attention to detail when analysing and amending the mise-en-scene in my shots, which I aspire to do in my film. The school will already be ready to film in before I have changed anything, which shows a lack of mise-en-scene knowledge. Furthermore, when replicating the flashback of the mother in a hospital bed, it would be difficult to create this setting with the resources I am able to use. I would be able to partly decorate a room to show it to be a hospital bed, however it will not be to the standard of my short film which I hope for it to be at.
Plot of Head On
Positives of Head On
Negatives of Head On
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Positives of Head On
However, it will be hard for me in terms of casting to find a female around the age of 16 years old who is able to play the violin and is able to film whenever I am free to do so. Also, I will need to cast a group of people who can also play the violin to be seen playing the instrument during the recital the female protagonist attends at the end. To avoid these issues, I am flexible in terms of what instrument the cast members play, as long as they can demonstrate a great deal of talent and can portray the gothic, emo-inspired look I aspire to display.
With this storyline, I am also able to show that I can demonstrate a flashback through the use of editing. Alongside this, I will be showing the use both shots from a steady tripod, as well as handheld camerawork, which shows my knowledge when using cameras. Another advantage to this storyline is how it also follows the typical storyline of a coming of age film, as it explores the theme of bullying. It can also briefly include the use of typical locations, such as school, parks, alleyways and subways. This can allow the audience to relate to the production and keep them enticed throughout.
Plot of Head On
Another short film idea I came up with was the storyline to be focused around a 16 year old female who turns out to be someone who she is not stereotypically thought to be at first glance. She would be portrayed to be a goth and have an emo-influence, where she is heard listening to rock and heavy metal music. We then see her walking on the streets through alleyways and subways where her voiceover begins to play. We then see her walk past school, suggesting that she is ditching class. In the end, we see her entering a theatre room, where she is shown playing the violin. This is not stereotypically associated with someone who wears dark make up and black clothing. The film could also contain flashbacks of her time in school, where she could have been bullied and harassed by other people, due to her fashion choices. It could represent that playing the violin is her outlet, where she is naturally gifted and talented.
I have chosen to base my film around the timeframe of the 1970s as when researching into periods in the past to pick when my short film should be based around, I found the 1970s were when racism was at its peak, especially towards people of Asian backgrounds. I particularly like this idea for my short film, as it will portray the school lives of both backgrounds: white and Asian.
Although the school is accessible to film in, it would be hard to demonstrate my attention to the mise-en-scene, as the classroom will already be decorated accordingly to what I will need it for it to be in the short film. Also, I believe it would be extremely difficult to buy costumes and decorations to create the feeling of the short film to be set in the 1970s within the budget and resources allocated for my short film.
Positives of Head On
Negatives of Head On
For my next head on, I chose the story line to be around the life of a 17 year old male, who is Indian and follows the Sikh religion. To allow my film to stand out greatly from productions already made, I would have my short film based in the 1970s. My film would explore themes such as bullying and racism, which are typically a part of a coming of age film. The film would show the male protagonist being bullied in school, as well as conventional locations, such as parks and alleyways. It will also show how the boy tries to ignore the bullies at first, however this is not helping the situation and begins to fight back.
Plot of Head On
Negatives of Head On
Positives of Head On
On the other hand, using this story line means I would have to cast an entire class worth of 14 to 15 year olds, which would be very difficult to find a day where all of these people would be free to film with me. This could cause delays in terms of filming, which would not be ideal. Moreover, I would need to cast two parents and also would need to buy heaps of boxes to represent the family moving.
An advantage of pursuing my idea of this short film as my final production is that it explores the typical codes, themes and conventions of exploring the school life of teenage girls in a coming of age film. This will allow a large audience to relate to the story line and can entice a large audience to view my full production. Alongside this, my school is able to support me with filming on topics such as learning disabilities, as there is a support centre for people dealing with these issues. As this is on school site, I would be able to communicate with people who deal with these difficulties and I am able to find out what it feels like to have autism and could even cast one of these children as the protagonist of my film.
My final head on has been made around the idea of my short film synopsis being on the life of an autistic 14 year old girl who is about to start at a new school, due to her Dad being offered a new job in London. With the stress of her leaving her old house and her friends, she is despising her first day at school, and rightfully so. She is coming face to face with certain difficulties such as settling in, as the staff fail to effectively support her. Furthermore, the students dismiss her and ignore her, making her feel unwelcome and upset. She feels the teacher is picking on her when she is asked a question in front of the class, making her humiliated, as she does not know the answer.
Plot of Head On
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