2. CONCEPT, PRACTICALITY EVALUATION + AREAS OF
OFFENSE
Concept:
The overview of my final concept is as follows; a dog is wanting to go outside and play but finds that
the door is locked and that everyone is ignoring him. He then comes up with the idea to use his walking
lead to move the door handle so that he can open the door that way. He succeeds, and is just about to
go outside when he realizes that it is raining outside.
Strengths: I think that a main strength of this concept is that it does not require a lot of planning (e.g., I won’t have to plan out certain days for when actors are free, look
for actors) or arrangement (e.g., since I will have no actors it means that I won’t have to go through the trouble of having to find/hire actors or create timetables that both
myself and my actors would have to follow). I think that another strength is that the overall project is easy to produce, both written and production. This is because I will
have only main actor it will be a lot easy to film (since they’re also a dog) and that the concept fits in with what a dog normally does and/or wants to do on a daily basis so I
don’t think this is something that I will have difficulty with. I think that everything practical in the film is pretty much also a strength since I don’t think that there is anything
that I will find difficult to film.
Weaknesses: I don’t think that there are currently any weaknesses of my story concept or the practicality of my idea. I think this because my overall idea is rather simplistic
and what will needed to be shot in order to create this would also be simple to do (this is my opinion based on what my idea is, depending on if I end up altering my
concept I think that for now there really isn’t weakness to my concept or the production process that will follow). As I mentioned previously, my overall idea is pretty
simplistic so I don’t think that the production process will be anymore difficult to produce. This is why I don’t think that there are any weaknesses in terms of practicality or
cinematic content. However I think that the story could be more developed but I don’t think that it’s something that I should prioritize. The only issue that I could think of
when it comes to the filming process of my short film is that if my main actor, my dog, doesn’t cooperate in the way that I would want (e.g., if I would need my dog to sit
still during a particular scene, he may not be able to do that and keep moving meaning that I wouldn’t be able to film properly).
Potential Areas of Offense: I don’t think that there are any aspects of my film concept that could be considered offensive. This is because I don’t think that my
concept includes anything that could be/what someone would find offensive (because the film is based around a dog as a main character and that overall plot of
the short film isn’t dramatic or anything horror based, there isn’t anything within the plot line that could stop someone from watching it).
3. For my short film there will only be one location in which I will be filming; my house. This is because the overall plot of my short film relies on being shot inside of my
house (e.g., my dog being able to look out of a window into a garden, having other members of my household be present during the filming).
However with my filming there could be some issues. These include (but aren’t limited to);
Issues:
1. There could be a circumstance where one of my household members needs to use a specific location because of their work (one of my main locations in my
house is the kitchen, however during the weekday there are some people in my household who work in the kitchen and often take calls which would mean that I
would only be able to shoot during the weekend).
2. There could be an issue with the equipment that I will be borrowing from college, e.g., the camera may not be functioning correctly or I may have accidently
forgotten to take an SD card, meaning that I wouldn’t be able to save any of the footage I would’ve recorded at home.
3. My main actor, my dog, may not be able to film properly. E.g., my dog is prone to not behave properly and can’t sit for too long, this could mean that when it
comes to filming he may not behave which would then mean that I would lose filming time trying to make him sit or behave.
Solutions:
1. If one of my household members needs to use the kitchen in order to work during a weekday then it would mean that I would just have to either film at the
weekend or film on a day where no one will need to use the kitchen (the second option isn’t a solid idea since I’m never sure when someone will either be out of
the house or will need to use the kitchen which means that the safest option is for me to film at the weekend).
2. In order to avoid this issue I should check beforehand at college to make sure that I have all of the equipment that I will need. This would mean that I would save
a lot of time rather than having to go into college on a day when I could be filming instead.
3. I can also avoid this by making sure that I have something that can distract my dog (e.g., having treats) in order to make him behave properly. I can also ask
another member of my household to see if they can help to make my dog remain still.
FILMING LOCATIONS + ISSUES
4. Who will be appearing in my short film?
For my short film I only have one actor, my dog. This is because the entirety of the plotline for my film is based around my dog so there isn’t much
need for other actors. However I think that there are parts of my film where I could include other members of my household as actors, e.g., there
is a scene in the film where my dog is trying to gain the attention of the members of the household so that he can go outside however they are
ignoring him because they’re busy doing work.
Will there be any stunts in my short film? And if so then what will be included and how?
I don’t think that there will be any stunts in my short film since I don’t think that the overall plot of my film could help to create any stunts (e.g.,
since the entire premise of my film is for my dog to want to go outside I don’t think that there is, at any point, where I could include a scene for
stunts. I also think that it wouldn’t make sense to suddenly include stunt scenes in my film). I think that if I had to think of a stunt that my dog
could perform during my film, I think that there could be a scene where my dog could jump from one place to another in an over-the-top scene
with the intent of creating comedy. However I think that this sort of scene could take far too long to film and I don’t think that it would work well
with the other parts of my film.
ACTORS + STUNTS
5. CONTENT + DEVELOPMENT TO CONCEPT (IF ANY)
What do I like about my project? (concept, locations etc…)
I like that my project is something that I’m able to film from at home, rather than having to go out and film in public. I don’t think that the concept
of my project is original but I think that it somewhat unique compared to the original I had taken inspiration from. I think that I have been able to
come up with an idea that I can enjoy filming and seeing other people enjoy watching what I have made, especially since the brief is so restrictive
on what we can make/what we can do. Since it is a short film it means that it will be fast paced and easy to film, which I think would be a lot easier
since in the past I have had trouble with filming significantly long pieces of work.
What do I think can be improved for my project?
There isn’t much that I think can be improved in my concept and/or how I will make/film it. I think this because my idea fits well with the brief that
we had been given and because it is a short film I think that my concept makes sense to seem simplistic and short. However I think that I could’ve
brainstormed more to see if I could add any extra scenes that could make my film appear more interesting. Because it is such a simplistic plot I
think that there could’ve been more to add however since I’m so far ahead with my concept I don’t think that I have the time to back and add
things.
Developments:
There have been no new develops made since the start of this task. I think because of how far ahead I am now with my project, there isn’t
anything that I want to include since I think that it would be a waste of time and I don’t think that it would be beneficial in the long run, e.g., I may
like a new scene idea that I had come up with however I may end up spending too much time trying to film scenes which I may not even like in the
end and scrap them from the final product.