Final idea

My final idea

My final idea came when I was listening to the song by Katy Perry 'One Of The Boys.' In the song the issues that she gets across is how a girl who is seen as more of a tomboy starts acting more like a girl in order to be taken seriously by those around her. When I was listening to it, it made me think about the society we live in where girls are under pressure to appear perfect at all times by sticking to percieved female conventions. I thought this would be a good basis for my film, as I feel I'd be able to show the themes in a visually exciting way which would be interesting for my target audience to watch and would hopefully stick in their minds. Using the lyrics of the song, it is a good stimulus for me to use as an inital starting point for my story.

My protagonist is desperate about wanting to be an individual as she doesn't like the way how everyone appears to be the same. Yet, she is conflicted about who she wants to be and who society wants her to be. This creates conflict with not only the people around her, but with herself as she's confused about who she is. One of the key conventions of a short film is a catalyst and if I want that, I need to show an argument between her and another person. I decided that a step-sister, who is very different from her would be a good character for this situation. After the argument she feels the need to change, because she feels that it's the only way that'll she'll be taken seriously. On reflection she realises that she doesn't need to and finds acceptance with her original identity.

Breif outline of synopsis:

• Comes home - had a bad day at college.
• Does usual routine and goes up to room.
• Later goes back downstairs to get a glass of water - step-sister is there applying make-up.
• Have a heated argument about their identities
• Results in the protagonist wanting to shock her sister.
• Throws clothes out of wardrobe.
• Changes - putting make-up on in a clown like style.
• Shows step-sister, who's shocked.
• Protagonist is upset with herself.
• Has a conflicted argument about who she is and who she wants to be. One side is her, the other is how she thinks society wants her to be.
• She then finds acceptance with herself

With the conflicted argument, I want it to be clear that one side is who she isat the moment. The other side is her consciene who is trying to convince her to conform to what's expected. Through this I am showing the audience visually that little voice in the back of all our minds, that tries to convince us to take a different route. With this scene I am hopefully playing with the audeince's expectations so the scene will stay in their minds after seeing the film. The impact that I wanted t create was a tense and emotionally filled one, as she's talking directly to the audience about her true feeling. It will hopefuly make the audience think about the themes and issues that the film covers and how it affects individuals in today's society.

When editing my film and putting it together I am going to interrupt the scenes with snippets of flashbacks. Through this more depth will be given to the protagonist, allowing the audience to understand her more. By having the scenes interrupted by the different flashbacks, it will hopefully make the film stand out and stay in the audience's mind. To make the film more realistic I am going to have the majority of the shots seen through the protagonist's eyes, which will mean that the camera will be handheld. It then creates the sense that the audience is with her and that they're experiencing her emotions at the same time. This then creates a small relationship between the audience and the protagonist, as the audience may be able to relate to her and the situation that she's in.

I want the music to play quite an important part in the film by having it played throughout the entire piece, helping with the mood and atmosphere that I want to create in the scenes. I plan to use instrumental music as this is a common convention for a short film. The lighting will help as I will be using a reflector to create a shadow on her face and this may add more depth to the protagonist without her even realising it. The conflicted argument will be filmed in the present, but to help with the progression of the story and show that these feelings have built over time, flashbacks from the past will be shown. This shows that I am using two different time periods. Though the narrative may be clear, short films tend to challenge Todorov's theory. I thought that it may be intersting to stick to Todorov's theory for my narrative because, then I would be challenging one of the short film conventions. This would show that I am trying to be different , which short films try to do. I think that it brings a pleasant ending to the film when she's found acceptance with herself.

When the protaognist decides to change and starts putting the make-up on, I was thinking of reducing the speed of the film through the editing. By doing this it would show that this is a huge moment for her, as she is conforming to what she has hated for so long. Also when she's in her room, (after the row with her step-sister it.) I would show a shot of her sitting on the bed all upset and then edit to a shot of her being angry, such as throwing her duvet on the floor. This would show the audience all her mixed up feelings, allowing them to understand her even more. To show a clear difference between the two sides of the argument, one side of her face is going to be left natural. This side willl represent herself, the side that she's used to. The other side will be painted with face paint creating this other side, almost like a caricature, that is trying to convincve her to change. This would be something that the audience wouldn't expect to see, which would make it visually exciting for them.