Film Concept Development Notes

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CT5DIVEA - UNDERWATER FILMING UNIT: CONCEPT

DEVELOPMENT NOTES

18/11/2015

BRIEF:

Unit !"#: http://portsmouthunderwater.tumblr.com/$%n&-In 2'(& M%()* 201+ , '. CT A&.in O)

PITC$ NOTES:

All groups will need to present for 10 .int 3it* 5 .in 4"( 6A.

The pitch should cover the following key points:

7ALL GROUPS TO SUBMIT A 1-PAGE PROPOSAL T$AT COVERS T$E

FOLLOWING POINTS AS SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION - TO BE

SUBMITTED TO CS/BT AT T$E PITC$ SESSION9

1. What is the STOR; - hook / spend two minutes pitching the story

!. What are the key T$EMESyou want to e"plore#

$. What is your working $POT$ESIS "( POSITION as the %lmmaker

&informed by research process'#

(. Who are your PEOPLEor C$ARACTERS) why should we CAREabout

them &social actors/contributors or dramatic characters'#

*. +ow will you REPRESENTyour people &ethical issues - trust, truth,

consent, issues of representation'#

. What is the proposed narrative STRUCTURE;

. What FORM 6 STLE&use of camera/sound/editing' do you intend to

adopt#

. Where is the DRAMA or CONFLICT in your story#


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What you need to focus on is pitching your ideas so the audience can

VISUALISEyour %lm and understand your INTENTION 6 POSITIONas

the %lmmakers....story, story, story

$OW TO START P(i.%(, S"():4ou will need to engage in initial research using programmes/%lms and

other visual sources,e"hibitions or anything else you think will inform your position.

T$E TREATMENT ?2 %# (""%! &").nt@

;. All pro2ects re3uire a treatment that was approved by your tutor.Although the format of treatments will vary from genre to another, t*t(%t.nt (" i t" (nt "( it)* ,"( )"n)t %n&)(it in (i4 ?%("9 2- %# "4 A@.

The treatment is written after the initial proposal stage.


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"( t(%t.nt *"!& in)!& t* 4"!!"3in#:

1. t n"t in *"t-,-*"t &t%i!

The treatment establishes t()t(%! %")i%ti%tt(n, and the signi%cance of sound and image throughyour use of ."ti4.

The treatment is written in t* (nt tn %n& int* )*("n"!"#i)%! "(&( t*%t t* i.%# "n&&including perhaps some spirited 3uotations from the socialactors or script' %n& t*. (nt t*.! in t*H!.9 9t is intended to convey to the reader-perhaps acommissioning editor > something of the e"citement ofwatching the %nal %lm, and is intended to indicate clearly

the i%i!it, "4 t* ("&)ti"n in terms of resources,time, cost etc?.

@emember a treatment is a sales document, and musttherefore be written in an accessible, vivid manner.


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SCRIPT PROFORMA

WorkingTitle:

1. WORING $POT$ESISand INTERPRETATION. What areyourpersuasions about the world you are going to show in your %lm, themain BstatementC that you want to emerge out of the %lmCsargument or dialectic#

Write a hypothesis statement incorporating the following wording:

9 believe that??..Dy %lm will show this by e"ploring??

The main drama or conEict is between??

Fltimately 9 want the audience to feel??

And to understand that?..

!. TOPIC. Write a concise paragraph about:

a. 4our %lmCs subject&person, group, environment, issue, etc.'

b. The necessary background informationthe audience musthave to understand and be interested in the enclosed worldyou intend to present. ;e sure how this information will

emerge.


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$. ACTION SCENES. Write a brief paragraph for each intended scenethat shows an activity. &Action scene/event/incident: one location,one continuous chunk of time, montage to show one topic.'9ncorporate the following:

75GG 1

What the activity is and whatconEict it evidences.

The e"pected structure of

events.

What the scene should

contribute to the whole %lmCs

theme/ subte"t and to the

hypothesis.

What facts the audience must

gather from watching it &ie

what is the function of the

scene'.

What key, emblematic

imagery you hope to capture#

75GG !

What the activity is and what

conEict it evidences.


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events.




hypothesis.




scene'.

What key, emblematic

imagery you hope to capture#

75GG $

What the activity is and what

conEict it evidences.


events.




hypothesis.




scene'.

What key, emblematicimagery you hope to capture#


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(. MAIN C$ARACTERS. Write a brief paragraph about each of yourmain characters. or each include:

a. Who &name, relation to others in %lm etc.'b. Where &where does this person belong in the scheme of

things'c. What &what is this characterCs role, what makes the character

interesting, worthy of special attention and signi%cant# Whatis this character trying to do or to get#'

*. TO-CAMERAINTERVIEWS. or each interview, list: &if re3uired'

a. ame, role in life, metaphoric role in %lmCs structure.b. Dain elements &information' your interview will seek to

establish.

. CONFLICT. What is at issue in this %lm# 5onsider:

a. Who wants what of whom#b. What conEicting principles do the characters each stand for#c. Hoes your %lm put diIerent principles in opposition#d. +ow will we see one force %nally meet with another#

. AUDIENCE EJPECTATIONS. What stereotypes does your e"pectedaudience carry that your %lm must deliberately set out to alter#

a. What alternative views, facts, and ideas do audiences need to

understand#b. What evidence will you show to get the audience to see those

diIerent truths#

. STRUCTURE. Write a brief paragraph on how you intend tostructure your %lm. 5onsider:

a. +ow you will handle the progression of time in your %lm.b. +ow and at what point information important to story

development will appear.c. What you intend as the climactic se3uence and where this

should go.


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d. +ow this relates to other se3uences in terms of the actionrising towards the %lmCs pro2ected BcrisisC or emotional ape"and the falling action after it.

J. FORM AND STLE. Any special considerations in shooting orediting style that might further your %lmCs content. 5onsidernarration, lighting, type and amount of inter-cutting, 2u"taposition ofscenes, parallel storytelling etc.

1=. RESOLUTION. A brief paragraph on how you imagine your %lm willend and what you would like the ending to accomplish for theaudience. 5omparing an intended ending with the %lmCs beginningalso e"poses what it must accomplish as a story to get there. Theending is the last word to the audience and has a disproportionate

inEuence on what the %lm will mean.

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Film Concept Development Notes