Cell Short Film Project: Conception
Link to final film:
Plot
The year is 2075; there are only two major phone companies left both of which steal, eavesdrop and hack into their users mobile phones to gather information to sell to sensationalist newspapers across the country. The government are unable to intervene in the scandal due to the high amount of revenue they are getting from both companies. A young conspiracy theorist blogger has been gaining information about the whole situation and revealing it on his blog site. He has yet to gain the proper information that would end the tyrannical rule of both phone companies; but his luck may change when a supposed ‘government worker’ contacts the blogger and states that he may information that would change the tide in the blogger’s favour. This information may come at the cost of the blogger’s personal safety and his freedom as well as compromising all the work the blogger has so painstakingly worked on. They will meet in an empty alleyway behind in which all will be revealed. As the informant waits for the blogger to arrive at he places a small microphone on the rim of a trash can lid and one on his collar. The blogger approaches the alleyway entrance but stops to select the record option on his tape recorder. As they have their chat the blogger begins to look more and more nervous until he states that he has enough information and he then takes his leave. The informant says something into the microphone on his collar and silently takes his leave. The blogger walks off visibly shaken and nervous until he is startled by the sound of approaching sirens and shouts telling him to get on the floor.
Characters
Blogger- A self proclaimed conspiracy nut who uncovers mysteries and plots by big figures in major companies and governments. Though his blog isn’t popular and only gets 15 readers a post he feels as though this next tip can skyrocket his popularity and improve his public opinion. He first comes across the conspiracy when he receives a tip online that links him to a blacklisted(unable to be seen by the normal public, it can only be seen by high and medium ranking government workers) site that shows an unedited graph of the revenues of the governments. He is nervous and anxious but knows that this is a thing he has to do.
Informant/Whistle Blower- This mystery person introduced himself as a former government worker who knows a lot about the phone company and revenue scandal. The Informant is cloaked in enigma and won’t tell the Blogger how he got his information; the Informant insists he can be trusted though. His mannerisms and language suggests he can be trusted but he lets a few words slip that may indicate that he is not to be trusted. Near the beginning of the film he places a small device underneath a trashcan lid just out of sight from the Blogger. Near the end of the movie when the Blogger is starting to get nervous and tries to leave the Informant insists he stays but as soon as the Blogger leaves the Informant mutters something into a microphone, he roughly says something along the lines of “get him”. Sirens approach the Blogger and the Informant’s true intentions are known.
Audio
The audio will consist of normal noises you hear in the city; this can be seagulls, cars, people talking/shouting, lorries and trucks reverse beeping sounds and if the location is near a waterfront the sounds of a harbour will be heard(water crashing against a wall, boats beeping and again seagulls squabbling). As the Blogger is approaching the meeting location the audience will be able to hear heavy breathing and maybe an inhaler being used. As the Blogger and informant are talking noises such as lorries beeping will startle the Blogger as he gets increasingly unhinged throughout the conversation.
Target Audience
The target audience for the short film will be people who enjoy the ‘thriller’ genre; They may also like directors such as David Fincher as he wrote and directed many thriller movies such as “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”, “Zodiac” and “Gone Girl”.
Cell Short Film: Script
Cell Short Film: Evaluation
Self-Evaluation
Overall Pro's and Cons of the Project
Pros:
I managed to make all the actors walk and stand in very specific places according to my script. I've managed to edit the film to a degree I am ok with as I managed to edit in police sirens and light effects; also the title in the beginning disappears as the actor passes by which was not originally in the plan but I liked it so I kept it in.
Con's:
Filming wise, there was little to no trouble; the only problems were a couple of people interrupting a shot and a police officer asked us what we were doing(more detail below). I had to have help(during editing) with the police siren light effect as well as having help with the timing between the speaking segments and the matching video along with it.
What Went Well and Didn't Go So Well
I would say that the filming aspect of the project went well as both my actors learnt their lines and voiced them in the manner in which I had imagined while planning my film. Filming went smoothly with only a couple of pedestrians interrupting while shooting. Editing the film was simple enough but I did I have to look up some tutorials that demonstrated the technique to properly time sound and frame sequences. My group was we were doing by a couple of police officers; but after a short explanation they understood and waked off.
I don't think I panned the camera well as it seems to lag behind the actors in some scenes. The sunlight was to intrusive and I should have used extra equipment to block or reduce the intensity. The actor who stated "now" during one of the scenes; his head was cut off at the top of the frame. During that scene I should have panned upward.
Skills Development
Because this is the first professional film project I've learnt how to co-ordinate actors and equipment to fit a scene. I've also learn't some techniques on Adobe Premier that should help with future effects. I've learn't how to properly time sound and video for future projects.
How Did Pre-Production Effect Post Production?
As stated before the sun was an immediate issue; in the video you can see faces being blurred by the sun light. In Post production I made an effort to darken the shot by applying overlay effects(such as sepia, darken etc.) the effects only darkened the actor's faces further so I just left the who unedited. Another Problem during Pre production was the noise level and background noise. Because my film was set under a bridge there were not a lot of consistent sounds; due to this I only included music and the audio when the actors talked.
Peer Evaluation
I've left my film on YouTube to be evaluated by my peers; here are a few:
"Aaron Hooper Peer assessment
- Love how the title disappears
- Good use of music
- Good story, especially the twist at the end of the film
- Lighting not up to scratch"
This is what Shan Doherty had to say
"Shan Doherty
The sound worked well with the scenes and really set the mood for the film, the shots were interesting and the acting was good. The film seemed quite short and I didn't really understand what was going on at first, but towards the end it became more clear."
From all the evaluations I can gather that I needed to improve the lighting, maybe tweak the police light effects. But I made the title effect appear and disappear well. And apparently the shots were good.
