Location

Some pictures of the rooms we will be shooting the film in. 

 This is where Billy will wake up in the final shot.

 This hallway could be used when Billy looks in the mirror and thinks he is smashed but it's treally the mirror.

 This could be the room Billy sits in when he gets drunk and stoned.

The same room at a different angle.

 Again at a different angle.

 This is where Billy will walk in at the beginning of the film.

 This is the kitchen we will see Billy walk through to get his beers and go to the sitting room.

 Another angle.

 The fridge where the note will be placed and where Billy gets his beers from.

Another possible sitting room for the drinking and smoking scenes. 

Another angle of the possible sitting room.

First draft of the Synopsis

After a hard day’s work, Billy Hash decides to unwind the only way he knows how. After a couple of ice cold beers, Billy decides to get out his weed, after a large amount compared to what he usually would do, Billy becomes completely different due to the overdose and when a friend pops by to see how he’s doing, everything turns a bit sour, with the state that Billy’s in the worst happens, Billy is threatened and kills his friend, after passing out due to the amount of drugs taken by Billy, he wakes up thinking that he had dreamed everything from what had happened the previous night, this is until he goes into his kitchen and sees a blood soaked knife on the table, he knows straightaway that something bad has happened, he looks in the next room and his worst fears are confirmed to him, he hadn’t dreamt a thing and it was all real. Billy is feeling all sorts of emotions, sadness, regret, guilt and with all these emotions running through his head he doesn’t know whether to hide the body, just leave everything and run away or turn himself into the police. With all these ideas running through his head at such an intense time who knows what he will do?

Moodboard

this moodboard features all the aspects of mise en scene that will be included in my short film. by creating this it allows me to plan ahead and learn what we need to include to create verisimilitude within the film.
as the key theme to the short film is drug and alcohol abuse, i have featured a large amount of images that show scruffy clothes, smoke, messy rooms, alcohol and young adults as these are some of the stereotypes for the life of someone resorting to drugs.
i have also included some images that a slightly blurred, half way through the film, our character, Bill Hash, begins to hallucinate and struggles to see the difference between reality and his imagination. this also represents the effects that can be caused by schizephrinia, a mental disorder that can develop over time.

Narrative Theorist

we have chosen Syd Field for our narrative theorist as the theory being demonstrated here in the image, supports the overall plot and storyline for our short film.
the setup for our short film is going to be, Billy Hash getting home from work, and starting to drink. The plot then moves onto the confrontation, where we see Billy taking weed and his friend coming to visit in the first half.
in the second half we see the story take a negative turn, ending with the death of his friend. finally the climax will show Billy waking up in his bedroom, believing that it was all just a dream.

Conventions

Conventions of drama/Film noir films

Drama

Drama films tend to focus mainly on the portrayal of human emotions, in such a way that allows the audience to create emotional attachments to the characters and also creates empathy.  Popular plots used in a drama are, drug addictions, injustice, and corruption.

Sound is a key aspect within a drama, as it emphasises the emotions of characters and draws out the emotions of the audience, linking the two together. Strong non-diegetic sound can indicate to the audience the next step within a plot.

Mise-en-scene is used to reinforce the narrative. Very little in the way of dramatic costume will be used as drama bases itself around real life situation that could realistically happen. The lighting and colour of the film will be natural and authentic, with very little editing, this allowing the film to look realistic, simple, and conform to the conventions of real life. Lighting is emulated to look as natural as possible. This allows the film to look as true to life as possible, therefore fulfilling the aim of achieving a realistic look. Editing in drama films can change depending on the plot and emotions of the scene. It may vary become fast paced, indicating the feelings and characteristics of what is happening, or become a slower pace, emphasising the lack of emotions, feelings, and disarray within the scene. Editing within drama tends to avoid jump cutting as it pulls the audience out of the realistic aspects of the film and highlight the fact that it is not reality, this defying the point to a drama, defying the point to engage the audience into the narrative.

Cinematography within drama films can change depending on the plot and mood of the scene. The use of camera angle, tilt and shot can be used to draw out specific emotions of the audience. A slow pan can be used to show tension, or fast handheld camera movements could portray anxiety or stress. The cinematography in a drama film is very rarely dramatic, and tilted. The shots used, will try to recreate a focal view point as if it was your own eye line shot. This once again is helpful in maintaining the realistic environment. Handheld cameras can be used in scenes where a character is moving, adding to the suspense, unsteadiness and highlighting the rush of the character. This also puts the viewer into the eyes of the character further drawing them into the shot. Drama films usually try to engage the audience and invest them into the diegesis of the film world. Making the audience believe that what they are seeing could be try and immersing them in to the film film. This re-enforces realism through the narrative. Films of the drama genre are usually narrative driven, focussing mainly on the storyline rather than the visual effects. Therefore, the plot is a key aspect and isn’t usually based on fantasy. To allow the audience to empathize, the characters must be realistically believable, and usually are based around the real life of a character, maybe focussing on the emotions, mental state, or actions of this character. This giving the viewer a chance to relate to and empathise with the character, further drawing them in to the plot. The viewer is likely to have felt these emotions, and so it is easier for them to engage. The ending of the drama film is usually either resolved or sometimes can be left as a cliff hanger. Depending on the initial plot to the drama, the plot can either end extremely well, with the problem being resolved, or really bad, with either death, or severe problems accruing. It is very rarely that a drama will not resolve itself in some way; as it would fail to fall create the final outcome needed to follow conventional endings to this type of film.

Film noir

Within film noir, certain plots show up more frequently than other, such as mental illnesses, psychological, ain and punishment, drug abuse, murder, criminals, and wrong decisions. These storylines lead the audience into a dark film, a film that tries to portray the darker side of emotions and highlights the disruption and mayhem in society.

Cinematography focusses on trying to convey the weaker and stronger characters, the unconventional outcomes and using shots that are displeasing to the eye in a way that leaves the viewer at unease.  Shots that are distorted, skewed and uncomfortable to look at, put the viewer in a position of discomfort, linking them to the emotions of the film before the storyline has been unveiled. Extreme close-ups and depth of field is used to portray the hidden emotions and story behind the character, emphasising the effect the film is trying to portray. This allowing the viewers to see the characters as mysterious and secretive. Depth of field shows how there can be something being hidden from the shot, or it can make a feature within the shot more dominant, whilst also linking the two objects together. This can be used to not only link the characters together, but show a more dramatic representation of the object.

Initial Ideas

• Idea 1 - OCD ( for our first idea, we decided to focus on the life of a Young Woman suffering with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It would be filmed in the style of a Documentery, with a voice over depicting what is happening in the shot, from the point of veiw from the young woman).
• Idea 2- Split Personality ( for our second idea we decided to focus on a character that suffers with a split personality, struggling to decide who to listen too, they good voice in there head or the bad one).
• Idea 3 ( for our third idea, we decided to do a short film on a young man in his early twenty. the film would show the side effects of drug and alcohol abuse, with the climax to the short film being the death of one of his best friends).