short film planning stage 1

1. PRODUCTION
MANAGEMENT
STAGE 1
IDEA GENERATION
& RESEARCH
ELLIOT MILLER
YOU SHOULD USE THIS TO STRUCTURE YOUR STAG 1
RESPONSE. ADD SLIDES WHERE NECESSARY AND
ILLUSTRATIONS. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS CLICK ON THE
BOX UNDER THE QUESTION/INFO!

2. INITIAL IDEAS

3. YOUR IDEA
Explain why you have chosen your particular idea, this could be for a
specific reason or a combination of reasons, all specific to you. Provide as
much detail as possible
i have chosen to create my short film idea because I believe it represents a
message and refers to current issues in our modern culture. I feel that technology
has brought about an age of so many possibilities, it has brought us closer
together as a planet by allowing anyone to communicate with each other around
world instantly with mobile phones and social media sites. However I also feel that
this has made us close off from one another, people are afraid to communicate
face to face anymore as to avoid any ‘embarrassment’. Social media sites
proclaim to make us more sociable where in fact they are doing the opposite, we
close our selves off from people around us to instead connect with each other
online and feel that this is an issue that is effecting the young more then anyone. I
have decided to create a short film which reflects these issues, by displaying a
narrative that focuses on a young male who is one of the few people who isn’t
obsessed with their phone, in a world where everyone is always looking down at
their phones, there is going to be a love interest involved which portrays the
problems of phones when trying to meet a partner and also a love interest that is
found when the main characters looks up and not on his phone.

4. PRIMARY TARGET
AUDIENCE RESEARCH
You MUST conduct a questionnaire/survey/interview or a combination of all
three. Summarise this and add in any other primary research you feel is
appropriate
I conducted a survey including questions that id like to ask people with relevance to the making of
my short film. I asked a number of basic questions such as age and gender so I could get a good
understanding of the type of audience answering my questions, as well as seeing the difference in
answers (if there was any) due to their range of age and gender. Unfortunately all the people who
answered my survey were all the same age and only one of which was female so I didn’t give me
an diverse range of findings. However from the questions I did ask concerning my the creation of
my film, I received good constructive feedback. For instance I asked if people enjoy films that
express a message as that is the basis of my idea and I received 100% for yes. Same again for
another question I asked, concerning whether they would like to see a film with a love interest.
Again the feedback was mostly positive, stating the majority wouldn’t mind to see that featured in
my film and a short amount strongly agreeing.

5. SECONDARY TARGET
AUDIENCE RESEARCH
Research viewing figures, sales figures, demographic and
psychographic info. Look up article, features or stories related to
your potential audience
Look Up – spoken word film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7dLU6fk9QY
60,878,454 views, 564k likes.
This spoken word film expresses the same basis that I am going for in
my short film, it touches on issues to do with mobile phones and
technology and its effect on our lives and culture. As it focuses on
issues featuring mobile phones then the demographic for this will mainly
focus on younger audiences, mostly teens and young adults who are
active members of the social media and mobile phone industry.
Conducting research into smartphone ownership I found an
article from Statista that shows in 2017 96% of 16-24 years in
the UK owned a smartphone device. This helps me to work out a
demographic for my short film as it will touch on issues with
smart phones. this information shows me that an older
audiences such as 50+ will not have as much interest for my
short as those who are under the age of 30 as these ages have
the highest rate of ownership of a smartphone.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/271851/smartphone-
owners-in-the-united-kingdom-uk-by-age/

6. IDENTIFY TARGET AUDIENCE
For this you should summarise your primary and secondary research, through this you
should then be able to produce an audience outline that you intend to target. For this you
could also produce an audience profile.
Through gathering research in both primary and secondary forms the data and information I have
gained has helped me to determine what kind of audience I will be targeting for my short film. For the
primary research I created a quick survey on survey monkey that listed numerous questions with
relevance to my short, questions such as ‘would you like to see a love interest in a short’ and then
also basic questions such as age and gender which helped me to get a better understanding of the
demographic that answered my survey.
The secondary research helped me to take insight into already existing products similar to my own, I
found a spoken word short film on YouTube which display similar themes as to my own, touching on
points about the smartphone culture and how it has effected us. This research also gave me insight
into what kind of reaction this type of content gets, the video its self has seen over 60 million views
and has a very high ratio of likes to dislikes. This tells me that the video was well received and the
concept of my short already has a large following. I also conducted research into an online article
which featured the data of smartphone ownership in the UK. The data helped to show me the age
ranges of popularity with smart phones in the UK, for example 96% of people aged 16-24 own a
smartphone. This data helped me to determine the target audience for my short as it tells me that a
short that features a plot around smartphone usage will be better received with an audience of 16-24
year olds.
Target audience
Age – 16-24
gender neutral however there main character will be male so this could attract a more male audience
due to have relatable traits.
The main focus of my target audience will be smartphone users so this relates to a large audience as
smartphone are one of the biggest sellers in technology as to date so my short will cover a large
audience coverage.

7. AUDIENCE APPROPRIATE
CONTENT
Given your idea generation and your audience research, what sort of content
would you define as the appropriate. Consider issues of taste, certification
[BBFC might be a good starting point for this], etc. Look at what you’d like
to include and what you are allowed to include.
The idea I want to visually portray does not included any content deemed
inappropriate for younger viewers, for instance my film will not include any
violence or offensive language, there is very little dialogue used so there will
be no need to included this kind of language or behaviour. My film will not
include any content of a sexual nature however it will touch upon aspects of
romance i.e. finding someone to love but this is touched upon lightly and
will not feature any direct contact. As my target audience is 16- 24 year olds
due to the messages portrayed in my short film which feature smart phone
usage that this age connects to the highest ownership of smart phones in
the UK, then I will be making my film a PG due to the lack of inappropriate
content featured in my short, also with research into BBFC PG guidelines it
states that a film rated PG should not unsettle a child aged around eight and
older, I believe that my short film does not feature any content that would
unsettle a child of this age or older however I feel that the message
portrayed may confuse or not resonate as strongly as it would a 16 year old
or older, that is why I have a target audience of a larger age.

8. PRODUCTION
TECHNIQUES RESEARCH
Research potential production techniques you might want to
use or feel would be most appropriate.
You should watch films/tv shows/music videos that are of a
similar genre/style/audience as what you want to make.
You should collect clips/still images/how to guides/etc that
might help you. When watching scenes from films, etc you
could also ask potential target audience what they think.
You will need to add extra slides!
With each technique you should assess whether you can use
it or how you might employ or why you may want to
disregard it completely

9. PRODUCTION
TECHNIQUES RESEARCH
For the opening scene to set up my short film I am planning on presenting my main characters
morning routine before he gets to the bus stop by taking inspiration from Guy Ritchie's style of
editing, the quick cut. I feel that this will best set up the scene while also being time efficient. I plan to
quickly cut between the basic elements of waking up in the morning, the alarm clock, the turning on of
the shower, brushing of teeth, buttering the toast, pouring a glass of juice and grabbing keys before
closing the door. I plan to show all these aspects in a few quick shots to then hastily set up the next
scene. An example of this idea already being in use is from the film Snatch, a scene that consists of
Cousin Avi travelling from New York to London, the travel sequence takes up only 6 seconds of film
time and is done in a total of 7 shots consisting of the phone slamming down, N.Y.C taxi door closing,
Avi taking a sleeping pill while seated on the plane, plane flying over head, passport stamp, London
taxi light turning on and finally Doug greeting Avi as he sees him.

10. AVAILABLE RESOURCE AND MATERIALS (AUDIT)
List all resources and materials you might need, list where you might access/obtain them and any cost/time
implications related to their use
Resources/materials Accessing/obtaining Cost/time implications
Technical All the equipment I will need in
production of my product can be
obtained through the hire out page of
York college.
All the equipment hired is free of charge
and I have the choice of hiring any time I
want as long they aren’t already in use.
personnel I will need to ask my friends and family
to help participate in the production of
my short.
Asking my friends and family to help will
be free of charge but one problem could
be reliability and time keeping.
locations The locations I have already planned to
use will take place in Ripon where I
leave so they are easily accessible.
As it the area I am filming is where I live
then there is no costs for me to get there
and it will save me time on travel, the
problems I may face are with my crew
and cast getting to my location as they
don’t all live in Ripon.
props The majority of the props I will be
needing be obtained from my own
persona belongings e.g. mobile phone,
clothes, name badge. I will be choosing
the outfits for my characters to be
wearing so for the main character I will
either supply the clothes for the actor or
just ask them to bring a specific outfit
from their own wardrobe.
As my props will be supplied from my
own belongings then there will be no
cost or time implications involved in the
process of obtaining such items, if need
be I can always purchase props through
the internet.
transport As I have decided to film all my locations
in my own city then transport will be an
issue, the bus stop near my house is
only a five minute walk, the actors I will
need are either my family or friends who
live in the same area as me so there will
No costs involved as I have chosen to
use a film location close to my house.
The only travel involved in the filming
process of my short film is obtaining and
returning the equipment from college, as
I will need to travel to York from Ripon

11. CONSTRAINTS ON PRODUCTION
Time
Time can be a possible constraint on my production, if I am not efficient with the time I have been given to complete my short
film then possibilities can arise that hinder me from finishing a complete product. It is important that I use my time wisely and
don’t waste it or I could end up with an unfinished product. It is also important that I don’t rush my work because then that can
lead to a finished product that isn't up to the standards of quality that I am hoping to create.
Personnel
The cast and crew I will be using for my project will need to be professional and well guided by me, it is important for the
production of project that my actors are of good standard as to ensure good footage and believable scenes. My crew need to be
dedicated and know what they are doing as to ensure no no/little mistakes are made which could hinder the production of my
short film. As I will obviously not be using professionally hired actors and crew members due to the costs of hiring I will need to
find entrusting friends and family that I believe can do the job effectively as to ensure I get the highest grade possible with my
project.
Cost
There will be little costs needed in the making of my short as I will not be needing to hire equipment because I can hire out what
I need from college free of charge. My actors and crew member will not hired, instead they will help for a favour. The most of
costs will be travel if needed, petrol money for example.
Technical
The technical constraints will consists of equipment mostly, as I am not creating a Hollywood blockbuster then I do not have a
multi million dollar budget to pay for the highest grade equipment, instead I will be using basic filming equipment such as a
Canon DSLR camera, a simple Libec tripod, possibly a steadicam and a microphone.
Location
The location for my short film mostly takes place at a bus stop and inside a home so this means that I do have to worry about
expensive sets needing making, exotic countries to film in or even the use of a green screen for CGI. I chose my idea because I
knew I could easily film it with the locations I have around me, for instance I have a bus stop 5 minute walk from my house as
well a home to film in for the scenes that take place inside.
Organisational
The organising of my project all comes down to me, I will be organising and directing every aspect of the production and pre
production of my project, so it is important that Ii am confident in what it is I need to do and how I will go about doing it. It is also
important that I give clear instructions to my cast and crew to minimize any confusion .

12. PRODUCTION
MANAGEMENT
CONSIDERATIONS
Think about how you intend to manage your project, considering all that you have
assembled in this file. Are there areas that will need more work than others? How do you
intend to go about getting your production made?
In order to have a complete and well made product I will need to complete three main
stages or creation pre-planning, production and post production. The first stage involves
my planning of the creation of my product. In order to have a strong idea and confidence in
exactly what it is I want to create then it is vital that I have a well detailed plan of action, this
has involved PowerPoint evidence planning, one of which includes my initial planning,
research and idea development i.e. mood boards, mind maps as well as primary and
secondary audience research. The proposal stage which involves my proposal of what it is I
am going to create once I know my idea I can then create evidence of how I am going to
create it, this involves filming locations, resources, crew and cast requirements, budget and
schedule. I also must use the ideas and planning I have created in these two stages to then
create a pitch I will have to perform to my group and tutors. I feel that it is important to
spend as much time needed on the planning stage as it is vital that I have strong idea of
exactly what it is I am going to create and exactly how I am going to go about doing, this in
turn will make the other two stage a smoother process. The filming stage will come next
after planning, this involves me getting my cast and crew together for a few days to shoot
and finish all the aspects of filming I need. As long as my planning process is up to
standards then this process should run smoothly without any errors, however this is
usually not the case so I have given my self more time for this stage in order to plan for
mishaps and mistakes. The last stage will involve me editing my now shot footage together
to make the story. I will be using Adobe software such as Premiere Pro to conduct the post
production of my short film. I plan on using little to no visual effects in my work so the most
I will be doing is cutting and altering clips together to form an understandable narrative as
well as colour corrections to the footage to ensure a professional looking end product.

13. MODIFICATIONS AND
REVISED FINAL IDEA
Have you had to alter your idea based on the research you have performed? Have you
had to modify your idea due to your pitch/proposal? Or any other reasons? Track it here
and justify what you have decided to alter
I originally had the idea to base my short films story around a dystopian future that
features a world without communication, only through text messages that were
controlled in the eye could people speak to one another. I wanted to express the same
message as I do in my now current idea, the message of our loss of communication
with one another as a society due to the advancements of smart phones and social
media sites. However after doing research and further developing on this first idea I
realised that I would face a number of issues with the production of this film. To
effectively display the ideas and the message I wanted I would have needed to put a
large amount of time into the editing process of my short, as I would be needing to
present this future world with the technology that exists in it then I would have needed
to create a large amount of visual effects for it to look right. I realised this would put a
lot of pressure on my time keeping and would most definitely result in me running out
of time or not having a final piece up to the professional standards I initially had hoped.
For my now current idea I have made a few subtle changes to the narrative to either
further drive the story or in result of not having enough resources to effectively portray
my message. For instance initially I wanted to strongly portray societies obsession with
its technology i.e. smart phones. To portray this I visualised having a number of extras
walking past glued to their phones, I quickly realised this would be a problem as I did
not have enough people I could use to star as extras in my film so to alter this I decided
to minimalize the number of extras I could use, still portraying the same message but
just on a smaller scale.