Idea development

SYNOPSIS

Over the past 20 years, electronic dance music has slowly become a mainstream success for the youth. The film follows an aspiring musician named "Gus" who becomes an overnight success. A few days later, Gus receives an email from a music producer stating they will give Gus a contract deal if he produces another impressive song.

BREAKDOWN

PRIMARY RESEARCH

 

SECONDARY RESEARCH

·     We Are Your Friends (2015) had a budget of $6,000,000 and the opening weekend was $1,700,000. Almost 33% return in first 2 days.

·     Film was criticized 

·     Hated by the EDM industry due to its lack of accuracy

·     Criticized for its drug use and presentation of woman

·     Gazzo and several other industry professionals

·     Metacritic 46/100

·     Rotten Tomato 41%

·     IMDb 6.1/10

·     Empire 3/5

·      

REQUIREMENTS OF PRODUCTION

·     Duration: 5 – 10 minutes

·     Budget: £200

·     Format: Short film

·     Genre: Music, Drama

·     Shooting style: Documentary

Idea Development 

Ideas: 

EDM inspired short film / documentary 

Thriller / Drama short film 

Science Fiction / Thriller short film 

EDM short film: about the struggles of reaching your dreams in a saturated and unforgiving industry. It follows an artist who is given the chance to impress some producers after posting a song that went viral. 

Thriller / Drama short film: Officer Lewis is one arrest from Detective. One day on his back from work, he witnesses a drug deal leading to a series of escalated events. Lewis chases the Dealer into a warehouse garage, ending with both characters getting their morals rechecked. 

Science Fiction / Thriller short film: Kevin is a student who is indirectly known for his website “Ricky’s Riddles”. Famous for the format of the website, Kevin also lives a normal live separate to what is known online. Every month Kevin posts a riddle that is classified as “super hard” and they barely get solved, until one month someone creates a riddle under the same classification but directly to Kevin and not his alter ego, Ricky. Kevin is given 2 hours to solve the mystery and the disappearance of his mother.  

SWOT ANALYSIS: 

 

 

 

Justification for final idea: 

My first idea was the Sci-Fi story, and I was hooked on the idea for a couple of month’s but after writing plans for the characters, I realized it may be too ambitious. So instead I came up with a second idea that was toned down but still had an obvious story to follow and that was the Thriller with the drug dealer and detective. When I shared this idea with others I got good feedback, but there was always a side to me that lacked the motivation to follow the project through and even after I planned the story and the characters motives I felt like it wasn’t a project I’d personally find enjoyable nor find myself watching.  

Eventually, I ended up trying to think of something I’d enjoy making, that wasn’t too hard and had somewhat of a story. I didn’t care if it was cliché, nor predictable I just wanted to make a film that was good and entertaining. A film that wasn’t too challenging but I would still gain a lot from. And from all these I came up with the EDM film, following a young artist at their attempt with fame. To me this had everything, easy locations, easy cinematography, a pacing I understand and characters that were simple but relatable because they were normal. A story that was clear and easy to follow. It’s a perfect combination between what I’m comfortable with whilst giving me the flexibility to learn and understand things further. 

PREVIOUS PLAN FOR THE THRILLER: 

Synopsis: 

A detective is grieving the recent loss of a family member/friend, but when he witnesses a drug deal go wrong, can the detective keep the Dealer cornered until back up arrives? 

Story elements (no more then 2 clichés); 

* Main character is a Detective that who is grieving from the recent departure of a family member/friend (not his Partner). The protagonist in the film. 

* Antagonist is a drug dealer who is struggling with finances. He is seen murdering a younger girl. The antagonist then tries to escape into a warehouse. 

* The younger girl. A minor role in the film, one of the few potential roles. Is seen engaging in a drug deal with the Dealer but after being accused of stealing money, the dealer freaks causing the girl to try and escape and eventually dead. 

* The warehouse is a dark mechanic garage, with lots of open space and a couple of closed areas. 

PLAN FOR SCI-FI 

Synopsis:  

A Guy returns home one night finding that his mother has been taken and the only way of finding her is playing a game of clues whilst the rest of the world watches the story unravel. 

Arch 1:  

Character development:  

You learn about the character, what he’s like, personality, etc.  

NOTES: 

Don’t learn his name until the caller says it. 

Arch 2:  

Story development: 

The main character learns of the sudden twist, investigates into the problem. 

NOTES: 

Gets a message from close friend about the situation 

Calls from secret service advising him what to do 

Eventually the caller rings explaining the rules and how the later events will happen. 

Arch 3: 

Story climax: 

The clues begin flooding in, and the guy has to solve them and find his mother in a certain amount of time. 

NOTES: 

This is when you learn about the Internet stream to millions of watchers. 

Arch 4: 

Story conclusion: 

Turns out the clues lead to a camera, in the middle of the woods. The mother isn’t found and instead a rope is found next to the tree with a chair.  

The character has a decision, suicide or risk putting both his and his mother’s life in hope that the world will donate a sum of £150 million in exchange. 

Alternative ending: 

Turns out the clues lead to a camera, in the middle of the woods. The mother isn’t found and instead a note is left on the table with one sentence to be read. Once the world has been said, the character is all of a sudden struck by a beam of light, the character begins to rise and the camera cuts off. 

 Legal & Ethical issues

In terms of my EDM short film there isn't any existing issues with legal or ethical issues. Its a film entirely based around music and the two characters. Everything beyond that is irrelevant, therefore there will be no comments on race, gender, height, age or any explicit language for that matter. 

With legal issues, I have proof of a EDM distributor allowing me to use certain songs. This allows me to use the copyright songs as I have permission to use it. This is because I said I am using it for a non-commerical and educational purposes. Every logo in the short will be covered. For example, if we use a MacBook Pro, the Apple logo will be covered or digitally removed in post as we don't have permission to use their logo. This will be the same with all logos, whether its on T-Shirts or on displays of art located on walls. They will be digitally altered or simply removed from the scene or hidden from the camera. With  clothes, we will use clothing that has no branding such as basic tops from Topman, ASOS or River Island where its just a coloured Tee.

Example of basic tee from Topman with no logo. 

(the back logo will be hidden by the actor's neck)

Example of a tee from Topman with a logo.

Proof of concept

Viability:

With budget, I have between £200 - 400 to spend. This will completely go towards food, travel and other essential things, such as props, costumes, location permits, song rights and the building of my dolly. All the equipment I will be using, I already own therefore the money has already been spent and will come free. That includes a camera, lenses, ND filter, follow focus, tripod, Steadicam, shoulder rig. This allows me to have a wider amount of money for travelling, meaning an actor's location isn't a problem.

In terms of logistics, its fairly simple. The short has a cast of 2 people, and the entirety of the crew is me as a Director, DP and Camera operator, a sound recorder, a runner and a couple of others for creative input.