Preliminary Task 1- Concept

Concept:

Film Title:

'Tyrant'

All members of Sensational Studios collaborated together and brainstormed a number of possible options for our film Title. We wanted a name that will stimulate outward interest, intriguing our target audience before even watching the trailer, however, we also wanted a name that portrays what our film is about... Although our film was about someone seemingly vulnerable who was bullied and therefore becomes a worse bully, we did not want to use the actual word 'Bully' in our title as it is extremely cliché towards classic high school dramas and therefore doesn't really carry a THRILLING  feel about it. Rather we came up with 'Tyrant' as it is very similar to a bully but just on a much more extreme scale. A tyrant is a person who has no legal limits on his or her power by law or constitution. This is exactly what is portrayed in our film, a person who goes to extreme measures, which are illegal, lethal and cruel, to do whatever it takes to get revenge om his bullies.

Target audience:

Our target audience is a an older and more mature audience as violent themes are portrayed as well the display of weaponry in a child's possession. This older audience will be able to understand the students' motivation behind their violent action as they are mature, whereas a younger, immature audience may only focus on the act of violence and deem it as acceptable- which it is not- rather than understanding the context of the situation. This mature age will range anywhere from 18 years old.

Characters and Plot:

Our Film Opening will consist of our main character ( cast as Jack ) running away from his "bullies." He will be portrayed as a scared, frail and incapable character, being skinny and wearing glasses. His backstory is that he has been picked on his whole life and viewed as an 'outsider' in social environments. He has no friends to help or support him but has rather had to deal with this constant emotional and physical trauma for as long as he can remember. However, one night, he faces the unthinkable as he is viciously chased and attacked by his bullies under the darkness of night. After going through the worst beating that he has experienced, he finally decides that he has had enough. Years of built up anger, rage, hurt and lack of love drive him to do the unthinkable.... arrange a single- handed mass school shooting for revenge towards all those who cast him out. He will make them suffer all the pain he has felt over 12 years in just a matter of minutes...

Setting/Time

Seeing that this is our first film, we will be shooting the 'Tyrant' in a location we are all very familiar with, "City Impact Church," as we have school here every day. This will simplify the process a lot more as it means that the risk of there being any unexpected 'hiccups' is much less than in a location that we are unfamiliar with. As mentioned in 'Location,' this also allows us to plan our scenes and shots around an exact location, allowing us to get the best possible result- compared to having to compromise if the other planned location does not work exactly as envisioned. .

In terms of time, although it presented itself as a challenge, we managed to find a time to film that best suits us and our talent. Week days were not an option as some of our cast worked night shifts at their jobs, and 'Sensational Studios' did not want to be out late on a school night. Therefore, we managed to settle on a Sunday night as no one is working and there will be people at our location, meaning the carpark lights will already be on and non extra arrangement must be planned.

Props/costumes:

We did not want to take on effects that were too ambitious for our first film, like excessive blood or wounds, and therefore decided that we would rather experiment with bruising. (We later, however, decided that the bruised effect was not strong enough and that we did need to add blood in where bruise would be located on his cheek). This will be done using make up- as mentioned in 'Props and Costumes'- and will be shown on the victims face after being attacked by his bullies. As our bullies are fellow 'highschoolers' they will be wearing very casual but coordinated clothing, oversized sweatpants and hoodies alongside "streetwear" shoes, such as vans or airforces. As for our main bully, she will be wearing half of her hair in braids, inspired by woman's UFC fighters as shown below, and the other half will be curled. She will also wear limited makeup to make her come across as more masculine, but still a recognisable woman.

 

Our Attempts at bruising and blood:

  

Our final attempts on set of our Film:

 

 

 

We were very pleased with the results of our makeup on set as the it looked very realistic. We ensured that it wasn't too excessive but rather realistic to the degree of force the punch was given with.

Filming/editing:

We will be making use of many dolly shots during our 'Running/motion shots' to ensure the shots are smooth and continuous, just like the running. Furthermore, to get a smooth tracking shot we will be making use of my car, setting up the tripod inside the boot of the car and driving at a similar speed to which the cast will be running.

Our shot duration will be short, cutting to  and from a black screen between the shots. This will create the suspenseful mood we are aiming for as the shots are short and concise- mirroring the breaths of the victim as he is running from his bullies. 

Sound:

We will be layering the sound of a heartbeat over our chase scene, this will accelerate as the chase intensifies. Furthermore we will be starting the 'Film Opening' with just a plain black screen and the sound of fast paced footsteps and heavy breathing. Minimal perspective will then be added as we cut to a shot of the victim running by himself... More footsteps will soon be added, allowing the audience to realise that he is being chased, before revealing a shot of the bullies chasing after him.

Our choice of music will be crucial as there is not much digetic sound.