Initial ideas for my film

Narrative
My films narrative will generally be linear, however; there will be fractures sections
of the narrative (e.g. flashbacks, dream sequences) which will serve as character
development. From the film’s opening, the ending will be made apparent, making the
entire film retrospective (or a flashback, if you prefer.) It will show the climax to the
film and will cause the audience to question, “how did it get to that stage?” I may use
the main character’s voice to directly narrate to the audience which would create the
illusion of the film seeming like a story or events from his diary.

Certification
I plan to certify my film either as a “15” or an “18”. I plan to veer towards the
certification “18”due to my film containing violence, self harm, drug use and
domestic violence, all which will be apparent from the beginning of the film.

Genre
The genre of the film will be drama/thriller. My film will take aspects from the
novel/play genre “Bildungsroman”, as it will focus on the physical and mental growth
of a central character. There will be an element of comedy in the film (e.g. little jokes,
moments of stupidity etc…) however; this will not be apparent within the opening of
the film. There will be a subgenre of horror in the film, which will serve to freak out
the audience; however the horror aspect to the film will not be elaborated on too
much.

Setting
My film will be set in modern day, to create verisimilitude and characters which the
audience can relate to. My film will be set in England and therefore I will use British
based actors as they will be easier to find, will find it easier to connect to the character
and will be recognisable by the audience.

Location
I will set a lot of the scenes of my film opening in areas around my house, as I will
have complete control of the interior of my household and I can edit the interior to
suit my needs (e.g. for mise purposes.) I will also shoot a section of my film in which
the main character is isolated in an alleyway behind my house. This is due to the fact
that it is usually vacant and therefore no one will interrupt the filming of the film.
Also, I can use that section of land to reflect my character’s feeling on life. (e.g. as
there is dead end at the end of the alley, this could signify my character being lost,
trapped, isolated, and so on)
Initial ideas for my film

Targeted Audience
The targeted audience will be a niche audience who are interested in psychological
storylines or enjoy seeing the progression of a central character. The targeted age
range will be between “15 – 20” and will target both genders. I will not pitch my film
to anyone younger than this age due to the fact that my film contains certain themes
that may not be suitable for people of younger ages, and the true messages of the film
may not be understood by anyone younger than my specified age.

Themes
Some of the themes that will be highlighted in my movie are “Obsessive love”,
“Death” and “The convergence of reality/fantasy.” The key themes of the play will
not be apparent from the beginning of the film, yet the origin of these themes will be.

Film’s Title
The title of my film will be designed in a written style, which would give the audience
the impression of the film being like the diary of the main character. This will also be
apparent during the names of the cast and institutions which would build on the diary
like feel.

Origin of my ideas
My ideas stem from dreams I had as I child which I recorded in a note book. When I
read over these notes, I found that most of these dreams linked together to give
meaning, and when I took some of these dreams and reordered them, I was left with
the base idea to my film. Also, I was inspired by dark toned novels I had read in the
past which inspired the mood of my own film. I was also inspired from well known
films such as “Fight Club” to create a character who creates this other fictional entity
which takes over his life.

Conflict/Obstacles
Some of the conflicts that will occur within my film are:
• Character’s conflict with self
• Character’s conflict with bullies
• Character’s love interest (grows obsessive)
• Character’s fixing of the past

Film Brief
Below is a rough outline of the storyline of my film. I simplified my film’s storyline
into roughly 25 words in order to get an idea of what my whole film would be about,
before focusing on the beginning.

“A disturbed male of 17 finds solitude in the mysterious gothic girl known as ‘Raven’
whose negative influence gradually leads him towards a murderous fate.”

Characters / Casting
I already have a rough idea of what I want my characters to look like and therefore I
will try to find actors who fit the criteria. For my opening scene, only a few
characters’ that are key in the plot will be included to prevent the audience from
becoming confused due to an overload of characters. Below is a list of character’s
who will appear in the film’s opening, a description of their relevance in the film,
along with a image of what I roughly want them to look like, along with my
justification:
Initial ideas for my film

The violent father – This character’s will be

the cause of the main character’s “issues”. He
will hold a negative influence on the
protagonist and will cause psychological
scarring on the protagonist. I have chosen this
male because he looks quite menacing and
powerful and seems as though he would fit to
role quite well.
Key things I will be looking out for when
casting this character are aggression and
explosive anger. (Aged around 26 – 30)

“Raven” – This character will take the role

of the “false ally”, claiming throughout the
plot that she wishes to aid the protagonist
however in the end her true intentions
become apparent. This character is key to the
plot as she is responsible for the majority of
the life choices the protagonist makes. I have
chosen this female as she has a strong gothic
look about her.
Key things I will be looking for when casting
this character are seriousness, coldness and
wickedness. (Aged around 17- 19)
Initial ideas for my film

“Love interest” – This character will take the

role of the “love interest” in the film. Her
appearance in the film’s opening will be minor,
however her importance will be great as it will
show the main character’s “goal” or “desire”
which leads him to do what he does. There will
be two actors to play the love interest. One will
be in her teen years (seen to the left) and one will
be in her early adult years (seen below.)
Key things I will be looking for when casting this
character is a memorable smile.

“Love interest” – This character will play the older

role of the teen love interest (seen above.) The role of
this character in the film opening will be very minor
(no lines or actions) however this character will be
very important, as it will show the terrible crime that
the main character has committed, driving him to his
suicide.
Key things I will be looking for when casting this
character will be the ability to convincingly and
effectively play dead. (Aged 25 – 35)
Initial ideas for my film

“The bully” – This character will play an

“antagonist” in the film and will serve as the
reoccurring obstacle in the way of the main
character’s goal (to “get the girl”) This character
does not hold much influence over the main
character yet holds a significant influence over the
“love interest”, who turns a blind eye to some of the
things he does. This character will serve as a
reflection of the “Violent Father” so some of their
mannerisms and traits will be the same.
Key things I will be looking for when casting this
character is a broad/tall build and aggression. (Aged
17 – 20)

“The Protagonist” – This is the main character and

will frequently appear in the film’s opening sequence.
This character may also have to speak directly to the
audience as a kind of narration and therefore the actor
cast as this role will need to have good quality
speaking skills and should be able to read lines with
natural intonation. There will be three versions of this
character. The first will appear in the opening scene
(aged 25 – 35.) Key things I will be looking for with
this character are high quality acting skills. The
second will be the child like version (aged 5 – 7.)
They will need to slightly resemble the older versions
of the character, but will not need much skills. The
third and final version of this character will show his
teenage years (age 17 – 18.) This version will appear
the most in the film’s opening. Since this character
will be very demanding and is crucial to the plot, I
will be very picky about casting. This character’s
mannerisms, traits, and the like will be taken and
developed from my own and therefore, I would like to
find a very strong (ability) actor who has a similar
mindset to myself and who can grasp this character
inside and out.