2. Type of Production
My production will be a short 1-2 minute advert with the
intention of warning children, teenagers, and other young adults
on the dangers of trying drugs such as:
- Cannabis
- Cocaine
- Heroin
- LSD
- Methamphetamines
- Bath Salts
- Benzodiazepines
- Crack Cocaine
3. My Pitch:
A girl, 18, is getting ready to go out, touching up her makeup and dancing to cheesy pop music. A
voice calls out to her, who is assumed to be her mother / father, telling her that her friends are
there. She leaves and the camera pans to watch the door close as she leaves.
Scene cuts to later that night, girl happily moves over to the bed dressed in pyjamas, clearly sober
and clear-headed, and she gets into bed, shutting off the light.
This would repeat another time, with different costumes as it is a different weekend. And on the
third time it plays out differently, with the girl receiving a text midway through getting her
makeup ready. She hesitantly makes her way to her dresser and picks out a small plastic bag
containing a white powder.
A moment of hesitation later, her parent calls her, and she stuffs the bag into her pocket, before
rushing out of the door.
Camera still in exactly the same place, only this time the girl is nowhere to be seen. A phone can
be heard ringing, and footsteps from outside the door.
A few seconds later, a woman / man screaming ‘no’ can be heard, and the titlecard comes up,
with the usual warning.
Concept of ad is that it is possible to have fun safely and without drugs, as the one time you try it
may possibly be the last.
4. To start, I researched existing products such based on a similar theme, including the
videos linked in my bibliography. The themes I found worked were as follows:
• Emotional music
• Use of Child Actors / Innocence of Youth (Animals)
• Normal / Cheery settings becoming dark and intense
• Shock / Scare factor
• Putting blame on Audience
I have put together a bibliography of all websites, videos, and
existing products that have inspired my final pitch
Research
5. Finance, Personnel, Contributors, and Time
Kit Rental Cost
Per Day
Days Cost
Blackmagic Pocket
Cinema Camera
£45 1 £45
Mic – NTG2 £15 1 £15
Boom Pole £9 1 £9
Field Recorder £30 1 £30
Tripod £19 1 £19
Lighting – 3 Head
Kit
£35 1 £35
Crew Hire Cost
Per Day
Unit Days Cost
Director £420 1 1 £420
Camera Op £460 1 1 £460
Editor £346.50 1 1 £346.50
Cinematographer £739 1 1 £739
Runner £81 1 1 £81
Sound Engineer £392.51 1 1 £392.51
Actor £75.77 2 1 £151.54
Kit Total - £172 Crew Total - £2,590.54
As you can see, my entire film will be able
to be filmed within a day, as it is the same
setting and locations, only at different
times of the day. So thus a single 12-hour
day would be more than enough.
After which I feel that editing would
take as long as 7 days at most, allowing
for any minor adjustments and tweaks
to be made.
6. Facilities and Locations
My piece is going to be very simplistic, using a
single location at different times of the day,
which will be a teen girl’s bedroom.
As it is someone’s property, we will have to get
explicit permission from whoever’s house we
use, however if all else fails and we don’t get
permission, my own will be good enough.
7. Materials
The only thing we will need will be a small
plastic bag of white powder or pills (probably
white powder) as our main prop, with the rest
being part of the set. Depending on our actor,
we might also need to use makeup and / or hair
tools in the ‘getting ready’ element as she
dances around her room.
8. Codes of Practice
Obviously, we won’t be using real drugs in our
advert, so thus will have to use something such as
salt (or creatine monohydrate: a fitness supplement
that is in white powder form) as a stand-in for the
drugs.
We will also need to possibly alert any neighbours
surrounding said house we use, as they may take
the final scream as a cause to panic. Also, possibly
the authorities to let them know we are going to be
faking the implied drug-taking.