P3- Potential Place in Market and Target Audience

Idea 1- Pizza Boy

This short film idea was based on the short, 'The man who couldn't stop putting things in bins'. This similar product was released and distributed by Virgin Media Shorts. But it has not won any awards and the only ratings it would receive are those of people visiting the Virgin Shorts website to watch the comedy film. This means that my idea has a potential place in the comedy market on similar platforms to the Virgin Media Shorts website as other viewers may be looking for similar short films as 'The man who couldn't stop putting things in bins'. However, as this short film hasn't won any awards and has no visible ratings on IMDB it may be more practical to put 'Pizza Boy' onto a distributor platform such as YouTube as it would be much easier for people to find my film and view it. 

Target Audience-

• Gender: Both male and females will be interested in this short film.
• Age: My short film is aimed at young adult audiences specifically between the ages of 16 and 25.
• My film will appeal to students as they are more accustomed to the humour that can be brought from awkward and embarrassing situations such as the scenes shown in my short film. They also have experience with part time jobs such as the 'Pizza delivery boy' role shown in mine so the main character would be relatable for them as he is also a student. 

Idea 2- A Decade in the Making

This short film idea was based off of the short films 'Paperman' and 'The Blue Umberella', but primarily the former. Both of these short films are Disney Animations and were first broadcast before major feature films such as 'Wreck it Ralph'. On IMDB 'Paperman' recieved a rating of 8.3 out of a possible 10 which is very impressive. The short film also won two awards, one being an Oscar for 'Best Short Film, Animated' and the other being an Annie Award for 'Best Animated Short Subject'. 'Paperman' was a Cinema Feature which was highly popular and leaves 'A Decade in the Making' a place in the romance market. This short film idea would be put on the distributor platform YouTube as it would have better chance of being seen as that website is so popular and widely used.

Target Audience-

• Gender: This short film would be targeted at females due to its theme and genre of Romance.
• Age: This short would be directed at anyone above the age of 16 as the timescale of the film reaches over ten years and so there is no specific relatable age of characters. 
• Lifestyle: Any lifestyle of viewer would be interested in this short film as an escapism technique. 

P5- Feedbaack

'Pizza Boy' Feedback:

• We received alternative suggestions for the title of our films, one of which being 'The Takeaway Kid'. We have considered this new name or another alternative but still have found that 'Pizza Boy: A Day in the Life' is the best fitting for a mockumentary. 
• It was also suggested that we add a 'twist' to the short film but as the film is a serious documentary spoof we felt that this idea would not fit well in our plot line.

'A Decade in the Making' Feedback:

• A suggestion of an alternative name we were given was '10 Years On' which could work well for the film so we will keep it in consideration.
• Another few suggestions were that we include a twist or include a villain. I think that it would be beneficial to the short film if I include both of these elements so I will keep them in consideration. These changes may be used as this feedback was relevant and a good idea.

P5- Production Plan

Working title- 'A Day In The Life: PIZZA BOY'


Dates and timescales, including product launch date- 

13th Septeber: Filming begins
14th September: Film remaining scenes
15th September-19th September: Review footage/begin to edit
20th September: Re-film if necessary
Continue to edit through til October.
13th October: Music score for the film begins.
20th October: Edit music with footage.
24th October: Film is released.
Resources and equipment-
The equipment I need to use will be needed on every location.

• We will need a video camera for every scene in order to record.
• We will use a tripod in order to keep the camera balanced and level. 
• We may use ........ in order to film smoother tracking shots. However this is depending on availability of the piece of equipment.

Personnel and activities-

Crew list:

• Bethany Heslehurst: Producer/Director
• Hannah Tempestoso: Producer/Director

Cast list:

• Sophie Heath: 'Pizza Boy'
• Georgia Broad: 'Customer 1'
• Dawn Little: 'Customer 2'
• Aimee Clark: 'Customer 3'

Budget-

Equipment hire: 

Camera hire- £20 deposit

Hiring actors- £0 (actors are volunteers)

Travel and expenses- £0 (Locations are within walking distance)

Costume and Prop hire: £20 (estimate)

Hypothetical Budget-

In order to make this idea into an actual feature film I would have too hire film crews/actors etc. Of course this would require a much larger budget.

Actors- I found a website 'castingnow.co.uk' which specialises in advertising roles needing to be filled in film productions. I found a job very similar to the job I'd need filled if I were to produce 'Pizza Boy' as a feature film. This job offers £40 per day. I would need up to 6 actors for this project for at least 3 days of filming. This gives me an estimate of £720 minimum.

Camera Crew- 

I used the website 'tallboy.co.uk' in order to get an estimated price on hiring a camera crew. Below is the price guide:

This guide estimates that full crew would cost from £1,250 per day. I panned on filming at least 3 days which would bring to total up to £3,750.

Costumes and Props- This would not change in price as I would be using the same for either film production.

In total the film would cost a minimum of: £4,470 to make.

Relevant legal and ethical issues-

Estimated age certificate: 12A

• Representation issues: The way in which some characters are represented as 'scruffy' due to their geographical locations could be seen as offensive. In order to prevent any offences we are deliberately not stating specific locations of the different 'customers' we will be visiting. this allows an ambiguity that keeps the film remote.
• A legal issue we could face is not having permission to film on our locations. In order to prevent this we have written up consent forms for our actors and location owners to sign their consent too. By collecting these forms we have data confirming that we have the right and permission to film on the locations we have consent too and to film people who are consenting.
• Our cast is purely made up of white, female actresses as they are the only actors available to us at the time of filming. This may cause a representation issue as only one gender and only one race is being used in our film. If this becomes an issue for anyone involve in the film or anyone watching the film we shall attempt to hire a more diverse cast.
• A legal issue we could face is the use of other company logos, for instance a pizza box from an actual pizza shop. We need to prevent this by using blank pizza boxes in our film.

P3- Storyboards

I have developed some ideas for my short film through the use of a story board. These story boards present a rough idea of what one of the scenes in my short film might entail. These are not definite or final ideas, they need development. 

Story Board 1-

Frame 1: Pizza boy adresses camera directly and gives a brief 'introduction' to the short film and what will be filmed.

Frame 2: The camera follows pizza boy on his journey, shows his journey between houses on a small 'pathetic' scooter in which he is unstable.

Frame 3: We see the first customer of the night as the pizza boy approaches the door and knocks ready to deliver the customer's order.

Story Board 2-

Frame 1: First customer answers door, is confused by the camera crew.

Frame 2: Customer acts irrationally, embarrassing the pizza boy with her wild antics.

Frame 3: The door is slammed shut and the pizza boy turns to try and offer some explanation to the camera. 

P3- Sample Scripts for 'Pizza Boy'

Sample Script(s)- ‘A day in the life: Pizza Boy’

Scene 1

Setting- Front of ‘customer’ house

Cameraman: So, what are you doing now?

Pizza boy: Well we’re at the first job of the night now

Cameraman: Just a typical working night then?

Pizza boy: Right, yeah, typical night should be all right… Let’s go then

[Pizza Boy walks up path to door with camera crew following behind…knocks on door]

[Waiting several moments with no sign of customer, suddenly a face is pressed up against the window]

Customer: [disappears from window and several pound notes are pushed through letter box]

Pizza Boy: [Picking up money/confused] What about your pizza?

No answer. Pizza boy places boxes on step and turns hesitantly to the cameraman.

Cameraman: Has this happened before?

Pizza Boy: err…stuff similar…there isn’t really a procedure for it… the transaction is still considered complete though [Looking down at order sheet]

Scene 2

Setting- Pavement and road area

Short scene with hardly any speech

Pizza Boy gets on a small scooter and attempts to balance himself and his orders, he begins to push himself forward but the ride is very wobbly/unsteady. Pizza boy trips over the scooter

Pizza Boy: **** {Expletive to be covered with a ‘beep’}

Scene 3

Setting- Front of a new ‘customer’ house

Pizza boy is looking wounded, clearly doesn’t want to be at this house. Studying order sheet with a frown

Cameraman: You don’t look particularly excited to be here

Pizza Boy: [looking up/stutters] I-I’ve had trouble with this house before

Risk Assesment/Recce Checks

All the locations we will be using are simply front doors. Each door will be the home of a cast or crew member so we will have written permission from the homeowner to film on their property. However, because all of the locations are outside there may be some risks we would need to take care of before filming.

Home Location  (1):

When we were filming test shots for our short film we used one location that we decided we would use again as one of our locations for our actual film. The location was the front garden of one of our actresses’ home so we do have written confirmation that we are allowed to film there.

Risk:

• ·      The pavement leading up to the home was cracked and uneven. This causes a tripping hazard that could lead to one of our cast or crewmembers falling over and injuring themselves. It could also mean that the camera or other expensive and fragile equipment could be dropped and broken on the concrete.
• ·      Next to the path there was a row of decorative pebbles that also pose a tripping hazard. This danger could lead to the same consequences as the first risk.
• ·      There was a small step up to the front door that can be easily overlooked and forgotten about. Members of cast and crew may forget about the step and walk into it. This could lead to members injuring themselves of damaging equipment.

How I will prevent these:

• ·      We could lay down flat and even boards of card or plastic over the uneven concrete in order to smooth out the ground in which the camera will be filming on.
• ·      In order to avoid this tripping hazard, we could cordon off the areas with bright tape in order to ensure that members of cast and crew do not get close enough to trip or fall.
• ·      We could also place bright notice on the step so that it doesn’t escape the attention of the people working on the film and that way they can avoid the step accordingly without falling over it.

Pitch Presentation

P1- Prezi for 3 short films.

Prezi- 3 short films.

P2- Initial Short Film Ideas

Idea 1

My first idea has been developed from Spike Jonze's short film 'I'm Here' in which two robots fall in love with one sacrificing his body for his partner. I was inspired by the idea of lovers sacrificing themselves for each other and so have developed a similar concept with sci-fi elements. My idea would be set in the future when the rich members of society have their own genetically grown humans, the purpose of these humans would be for the actual member of society  to have longer lives with better health, for example if the owner had a medical condition they could transplant an organ or even limb from their genetically grown human. These 'humans' are known as 'investments' as the rich members of society are investing in their own futures. 

The purpose of the production would be to entertain audiences with this genre of a sci-fi love story. By including these two genres into one film I am making the short film accessible to a wider audience.

•  

The message I am hoping to send to the audience is similar to the one portrayed in 'I'm Here' as the original message and my own are that equality for all is extremely important. The inequality in my short film is shown with the 'investments' as they are treat as property rather than people with feelings. I think my idea will evoke sympathy in my audiences and make them more aware of minorities.

Medium- The story in my film will be shown in Anachronic form which means there will be a series of flashbacks depicting the past events of Stacey sacrificing herself for her lover. The production could be seen at a film festival or online. 

Running Time- This particular short film will run approximately 6 minutes in order to fit in all of the flashbacks in a reasonable amount of time without the film becoming too complicated.

Synopsis- A male, Max, and female, Stacey, investment meet in the facility where they are all kept, oblivious to the world outside. Stacey knows what they're real purpose is and hides it from Max so as not to scare and worry him. Max's owner starts to become sick and needs a lot more from his investment, i.e. blood, stem cells. Eventually, Max's owner needs a heart, Stacey finds out and sacrifices her own heart for the operation knowing that she will die. Max had no idea this surgery was planned even for himself and is confused when his partner never comes back. The narrative viewpoint will switched between both Max and Stacey.

Key Scenes- 

• The first key scene would be at the beginning of the short film where we are introduced to the budding relationship between Stacey and Max, there will also be flashback in this scene that shows their first meeting when Max is new to the facility. This scene will be key as it'll show the subtle emotions between the characters that will hint at a very personal relationship.
• The second key scene will be of Stacey finding out about Max's fatal operation, we see by the emotions on her face that she has resolutely made the decision to stop this. But the audience doesn't know how until the end.
• The final key scene will come at the end where we see Max alone with tears down his face he's clutching tightly in his hand a letter the audience will only see the ending part which will say 'I'll always love you, Stacey x' Then there shall be more flashbacks that depict their first meeting, Stacey saying goodbye to Max for the last time and also Max searching desperately for Stacey in the facility only to be told by a worker what she has done.    

Character List-

• Stacey- The heroin of the story, she is 27 and is fully aware of exactly what is happening in the facility, which leaves her very pessimistic about getting too attached to fellow 'investments' when she knows that sooner or later either they or she will be gone. Stacey's owner is relatively healthy and so she has not yet been need for a serious operation though she knows there is talk that her owner wants a baby and is unable to conceive herself.
• Max- Max is 25 and is captivated by Stacey as soon as he meets her. He works hard to worm his way into her very strict life, he doesn't understand why Stacey is so guarded as he like every other investment is not aware of their true purpose. Max's owner is very sick and so Max has to undergo operations regularly as a donor. 

Idea 2

My second idea has been influenced by the short film 'The Man Who Couldn't Stop Putting Things In Bins' which is a Virgin Media Short. The film is a mockumentary which means that it is a spoof of an actual, serious documentary. The concept of my short film is 'A Day In The Life' which is a popular concept for interviews and documentaries. My short film will follow a day in a life of a pizza delivery boy as he spends his evening as usual. Each order that he delivers will lead to a different comedic character that will ensure the pizza boy's night is an interesting one. 

The purpose of this short film would be to entertain and present comedy to the audience. 

The message I am hoping to send to the audience is that not everything is as bad as it could be. I think subconsciously the film would instill inspiration in the viewers. 

Medium- The short film could be shown at a film festival or available to watch online.

Running Time- This film will run for 5 minutes as the scenes shown will only short and to the point as it were. We will film more and longer scenes to be cut down, edited or even discarded in the editing process.

Key scenes- 

• One key scene will be the first scene which shall have the main character speaking with the off screen camera man as it will act as a kind of introduction to the film as it explains what they're going to be doing. 
• Another key scene will be one of the pizzaboy actually making one of his deliveries and it of course won't go exactly as he expected.
• Another will focus on the owner of the pizza shop answering a few questions from the cameraman which will give the film a more realistic quality.

Character List-

• The main character will be ..... who is the pizza delivery boy in the film. Being the main character means they will be in practically every scene.
• The owner of the pizza shop ..... will also feature as a character in the film as they have an interview though they will only have one scene.
• The last recurring character will be the cameraman who won't be seen directly but his voice will be heard asking questions and almost providing a narrative for the film.

Idea 3-

Our other idea was to film a 'romantic/comedy' that follows a boy and girl through their lives doing similar activities, this will present the idea that the pair are perfect for each other. We were inspired by this idea from the Disney short film 'Paperman' and the other Disney short 'The Blue Umberella'. The film will be shot as a 'split screen' which will show parallels of the two character's lives.

The purpose is to entertain.

The message I am hoping to send to the audience is that there is a 'perfect true love' for everyone even if you don't meet that person for quite a while. 

Medium- The short film could be shown at a film festival or available to watch online.

Running Time- This film will only run for 4 minutes as it is a split screen we can show scenes simultaneously allowing us to show more in a smaller space of time.  

Character List-

• 'Boy'- The male love interest.
• 'Girl'- The female love interest.