CW (8/11/19)
Final Idea
My idea surrounds a young boy who is struggling to cope with the death of his older sister after she drowned at sea whilst trying to save him. The guilt and grief he feels haunts him through a doppelganger of himself who he meets after waking up from one of his frequent nightmares. The film is conventional of the horror genre with low key lighting, pathetic fallacy shown through rain and grey skies, sinister make-up and scared character expression. Water will be used frequently through rain, leaky taps and the sea to symbolise the traumatic experience undergone by the young boy.
Casting Choices
I decided to use my 10 year old brother in the film to play the young boy, due to the practicality of him always being around to film as well as his innocent appearance which would make the horror more uncomfortable for the audience because seeing a child being haunted by guilt and grief is quite distressing. I only wanted one character (two including the doppelganger but obviously played by the same actor) to highlight the isolation felt by the young boy after losing his sister and also it is difficult to have more than one character development in a five minute short film, therefore the focus will be just on the young boy and his struggles.
Character Profiles
Thomas - The young boy who's name means twin, symbolic of the doppelganger who represents his guilt and grief shown through a sinister looking version of himself. Usually a very energetic and cheerful person but since the death of his sister has become recluse and unhappy.
Inner Thomas - A sinister version of Thomas who feeds off the guilt and grief that has taken over the young boy. Doesn't have any real personality traits as he is just a reflection of Thomas's inner demons that he has to come to terms with and overcome.
Mise-en-scene Application
Setting - Thomas's house and the beach
Hair and Make-up - Thomas will have his hair quite normal to show the lack of excitement and effort in his life. He will have a pale complexion to show he doesn't often leave the house and his under eyes will be dark to highlight his lack of sleep but also a hue of red to show he has been crying a lot.
His doppelganger will be sodden wet and be almost grey in colour with a hue of blue to represent how he feels he should have died at sea rather than his sister as he feels so guilty.
Costume - Thomas will wear black trousers and t-shirt to illustrate how he no longer has any colour in his life. The inner Thomas will be wearing red swimming trunks and a yellow t-shirt to show how he was dressed the day he lost his sister, more colourful since he was happier.
Lighting - Mostly low-key lighting to add to the ambience of a horror film, and also represent the lack of colour and happiness in Thomas' life. This will also help having shadows throughout the film to imply the weight on his shoulders and how he has darkness looming over him, whether that is psychologically or a supernatural element.
Character Expression and Movement - Thomas will show his emptiness inside through a sombre expression, looking down or staring into space never smiling. He will move slowly and with no real purpose. However, his doppelganger will appear sinister through a sadistic smile and always staring at Thomas and moving quicker to represent the rapid self-destruction taking over Thomas'.
Props - There will be no significant props apart from photos of Thomas and his sister, and other everyday household objects. However, water will be a huge symbolism in the film with reference to it through rain, taps dripping and flashbacks to the beach in Thomas' nightmares.
Narrative Application
The film opens with a shot of the sea and then of Thomas, in order to set up the film and let the audience the idea of water and the beach will play a significant part in the story. Following this we see Thomas sat at home with the background noise of his parents arguing upstairs and slamming doors, to imply an unhappy home life but the audience are still in suspense to why. After that Thomas is seen walking upstairs and then a cut to a tap dripping then back to Thomas who is looking into his sister's untouched room. We then see then see Thomas in bed and his mum coming in and give him a kiss, we don't see his mother however to further the idea of his isolation. It then cuts to a shot of rapid water and muffled shouts of "Thomas" and then abruptly cuts back to Thomas waking and gasping for air. Thomas can hear the tap dripping so gets up to turn it off, as the audience can see a figure behind him he turns around but there's nothing there. He walks downstairs and turns the light on to reveal his doppelganger for the first time who smiles slowly at Thomas who stands frozen to the spot dumbfounded. Who childishly squeezes his eyes shut and when he opens them the doppelganger is no longer there, he runs upstairs as a shot is shown of a puddle on the floor that only the audience see. The next shot is of the next day and Thomas is sat on his sister's bed looking through photographs when he lays down on her bed clutching the photos and falls asleep with tears in his eyes. Once again he wakes gasping for air from a nightmare, sitting up he hears coughing and spluttering from another room. The camera follows Thomas into the bathroom where he sees his doppelganger stood tilting his head and smiling at Thomas. Thomas runs downstairs and shuts himself in the living room and sinks down to the floor. After a few seconds there is scratching at the door, Thomas grabs a nearby object as a weapon and hesitantly opens the door where the audience are relieved to see its just the cat, until the camera pans back up to reveal the doppelganger once again. Tired and frustrated Thomas shouts at his inner self to leave him alone and to go away to which his doppelganger opens his mouth and water pours out whilst he slowly raises his arm and points upstairs, gesturing to his sister's bedroom. Thomas gingerly walks back up the stairs and goes into his sisters room where he finds her stood there. She hugs him and tells him its not his fault and that she loves him. Thomas opens his eyes and finds himself still lied down on her bed. He kisses the picture of her, then we can hear his mother calling him saying they're going to the park. The last shot is from the top of the stairs as the audience see him holding hands with his mother and family leaving to go to the park. Illustrating him letting go of his guilt and whilst still remembering his sister he is moving on healthily with his mother and father.
Sound Application
There will be diagetic noises of rain, the sea, the dripping tap. As well as the scratching at the door, muffled shouts from mother and father. There will also be small amounts of dialogue from Thomas, his sister and his parents. The non-diagetic noise that the audience will hear will be copyright free music that reflects the mood of the scene. This will be played very quietly just enough to create a sad atmosphere as well as a scary tone during the horror scenes. Such as: Wanderlust - Crastel and Sleep - Scott Buckley for the sadder scenes. Copyright free music will also be used for the horror scenes.
Shooting Plan
I plan to get the shot of the beach and my brother on Sunday 10th November. For the other scenes I plan to start filming every Tuesday starting from Tuesday 12th November until completion.
My idea surrounds a young boy who is struggling to cope with the death of his older sister after she drowned at sea whilst trying to save him. The guilt and grief he feels haunts him through a doppelganger of himself who he meets after waking up from one of his frequent nightmares. The film is conventional of the horror genre with low key lighting, pathetic fallacy shown through rain and grey skies, sinister make-up and scared character expression. Water will be used frequently through rain, leaky taps and the sea to symbolise the traumatic experience undergone by the young boy.
Casting Choices
I decided to use my 10 year old brother in the film to play the young boy, due to the practicality of him always being around to film as well as his innocent appearance which would make the horror more uncomfortable for the audience because seeing a child being haunted by guilt and grief is quite distressing. I only wanted one character (two including the doppelganger but obviously played by the same actor) to highlight the isolation felt by the young boy after losing his sister and also it is difficult to have more than one character development in a five minute short film, therefore the focus will be just on the young boy and his struggles.
Character Profiles
Thomas - The young boy who's name means twin, symbolic of the doppelganger who represents his guilt and grief shown through a sinister looking version of himself. Usually a very energetic and cheerful person but since the death of his sister has become recluse and unhappy.
Inner Thomas - A sinister version of Thomas who feeds off the guilt and grief that has taken over the young boy. Doesn't have any real personality traits as he is just a reflection of Thomas's inner demons that he has to come to terms with and overcome.
Mise-en-scene Application
Setting - Thomas's house and the beach
Hair and Make-up - Thomas will have his hair quite normal to show the lack of excitement and effort in his life. He will have a pale complexion to show he doesn't often leave the house and his under eyes will be dark to highlight his lack of sleep but also a hue of red to show he has been crying a lot.
His doppelganger will be sodden wet and be almost grey in colour with a hue of blue to represent how he feels he should have died at sea rather than his sister as he feels so guilty.
Costume - Thomas will wear black trousers and t-shirt to illustrate how he no longer has any colour in his life. The inner Thomas will be wearing red swimming trunks and a yellow t-shirt to show how he was dressed the day he lost his sister, more colourful since he was happier.
Lighting - Mostly low-key lighting to add to the ambience of a horror film, and also represent the lack of colour and happiness in Thomas' life. This will also help having shadows throughout the film to imply the weight on his shoulders and how he has darkness looming over him, whether that is psychologically or a supernatural element.
Character Expression and Movement - Thomas will show his emptiness inside through a sombre expression, looking down or staring into space never smiling. He will move slowly and with no real purpose. However, his doppelganger will appear sinister through a sadistic smile and always staring at Thomas and moving quicker to represent the rapid self-destruction taking over Thomas'.
Props - There will be no significant props apart from photos of Thomas and his sister, and other everyday household objects. However, water will be a huge symbolism in the film with reference to it through rain, taps dripping and flashbacks to the beach in Thomas' nightmares.
Narrative Application
The film opens with a shot of the sea and then of Thomas, in order to set up the film and let the audience the idea of water and the beach will play a significant part in the story. Following this we see Thomas sat at home with the background noise of his parents arguing upstairs and slamming doors, to imply an unhappy home life but the audience are still in suspense to why. After that Thomas is seen walking upstairs and then a cut to a tap dripping then back to Thomas who is looking into his sister's untouched room. We then see then see Thomas in bed and his mum coming in and give him a kiss, we don't see his mother however to further the idea of his isolation. It then cuts to a shot of rapid water and muffled shouts of "Thomas" and then abruptly cuts back to Thomas waking and gasping for air. Thomas can hear the tap dripping so gets up to turn it off, as the audience can see a figure behind him he turns around but there's nothing there. He walks downstairs and turns the light on to reveal his doppelganger for the first time who smiles slowly at Thomas who stands frozen to the spot dumbfounded. Who childishly squeezes his eyes shut and when he opens them the doppelganger is no longer there, he runs upstairs as a shot is shown of a puddle on the floor that only the audience see. The next shot is of the next day and Thomas is sat on his sister's bed looking through photographs when he lays down on her bed clutching the photos and falls asleep with tears in his eyes. Once again he wakes gasping for air from a nightmare, sitting up he hears coughing and spluttering from another room. The camera follows Thomas into the bathroom where he sees his doppelganger stood tilting his head and smiling at Thomas. Thomas runs downstairs and shuts himself in the living room and sinks down to the floor. After a few seconds there is scratching at the door, Thomas grabs a nearby object as a weapon and hesitantly opens the door where the audience are relieved to see its just the cat, until the camera pans back up to reveal the doppelganger once again. Tired and frustrated Thomas shouts at his inner self to leave him alone and to go away to which his doppelganger opens his mouth and water pours out whilst he slowly raises his arm and points upstairs, gesturing to his sister's bedroom. Thomas gingerly walks back up the stairs and goes into his sisters room where he finds her stood there. She hugs him and tells him its not his fault and that she loves him. Thomas opens his eyes and finds himself still lied down on her bed. He kisses the picture of her, then we can hear his mother calling him saying they're going to the park. The last shot is from the top of the stairs as the audience see him holding hands with his mother and family leaving to go to the park. Illustrating him letting go of his guilt and whilst still remembering his sister he is moving on healthily with his mother and father.
Sound Application
There will be diagetic noises of rain, the sea, the dripping tap. As well as the scratching at the door, muffled shouts from mother and father. There will also be small amounts of dialogue from Thomas, his sister and his parents. The non-diagetic noise that the audience will hear will be copyright free music that reflects the mood of the scene. This will be played very quietly just enough to create a sad atmosphere as well as a scary tone during the horror scenes. Such as: Wanderlust - Crastel and Sleep - Scott Buckley for the sadder scenes. Copyright free music will also be used for the horror scenes.
Shooting Plan
I plan to get the shot of the beach and my brother on Sunday 10th November. For the other scenes I plan to start filming every Tuesday starting from Tuesday 12th November until completion.
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