2. PRODUCT OVERVIEWFor my FMP, I am going to make a short film based on the theme of homosexuality and the struggles of
coming out. It will be based around the two main characters who are two kids in high school who are both
very different people. One is a bit of a loner who doesn't have many friends, struggles with mental health
and is looked down upon by most kids in his school. He has come out to his parents and people know that
he is gay which leads to some bullying now and again. The other main character is one of the more popular
boys in school, he plays football and has very masculine and homophobic friends. He has never questioned
his sexuality as everyone around him is very masculine and homophobic, this includes all of his friends and
his family. This is all until the boys accidently become friends when waiting for the bus. After this, they start
to notice each other more and start to hang out with each other. The start to become closer and closer
however, they only hang out together out of school times as the popular boy doesn't’t want to ruin his
reputation. As their friendship progresses, problems begin to occur especially for the popular boy. Both
boys start to question whether if it is just friendship which is drawing them so close together. This is a
problem for the loner boy as he doesn't’t want to ruin their friendship be expressing his feeling to what he
thinks is a very heterosexual person. Adding to that, this is a problem for the popular boy as he doesn't’t
want to be gay, it will ruin his reputation, he feel she will lose his friend's and also his dad is extremely
homophobic meaning he thinks he will disappoint his parents. They both try to hide their feelings however,
as they continue to be around each other their feelings for each other only develop. After a long time
weighing his options, the loner boy finally comes to the conclusion that he needs to tell his friends how he
feels it it is killing him to keep it secret anymore. When he bumps into his popular mate, he finally tells him
how he feels however, he picked the wrong time as the rest of the popular group just walk round the corner
as he expresses himself. Instantly, the start to bully the loner boy and taking the mick out of him. To
maintain his reputation, the popular boy joins in. The loner boy leaves in despair and goes to back a very
4. LOVE, SIMON-CONCEPT
I chose Love, Simon as one of my researched products as it includes some
similar themes to my product most recognizably the idea of coming out as
homosexual and the struggles which come with it. The film is able to portray
this theme very effectively through the use of clever writing and incredibly
effective acting. Nick Robinson doesn't’t overplay the character making his
performance painfully real. He does very well to not portray as if his character
is craving attention from the audience, Robinsons seems as if he only wants
us as the audience to try and relate to his situation. This is extremely effective
as gives the film a very grounded and real feel allowing the audience to
believe his story more. As well as that, I feel that this way of acting will in fact
increase the emotion that the film conveys as its believability will really allow
the audience to relate to and understand the character significantly more.
Because of this, I need to include some of the techniques that Robinson
includes in his performance as it creates an overall much more emotive and
realistic atmosphere.
This film is also a very successful teen-drama which fits the genre of my film
perfectly. Because of this, I can pick up different films techniques to see how
this can film can be portrayed effectively. The film heavily concentrates on its
characters. This is because it wants the audience to be able to connect with
theme and feel as if they build a relationship with them. This is effective as it
5. LOVE, SIMON-AESTHETIC
Love, simon includes quite a bright aesthetic through the majority of the
film. This is clever as it represents the positivity of coming out as gay and
how we should not change our view on people if they come out as
homosexual. This colour scheme works well with Love, Simon as it is mainly a
positive film therefore its positive colour scheme foreshadows the tone of
the film effectively. Despite this, I much prefer the darker shots which are
included in the film. These are normally filmed whilst the characters are
inside. I overall prefer these as although I don’t want to convey a negative
message, I would much prefer to have a darker aesthetic in my product. This
would be to match the mental health and the struggle of both of my
characters. My film also ends on a very negative tone therefore the colour
scheme of the product would foreshadow the rest of the film.
Love, Simon includes a range of different music throughout its duration.
However, a common theme is that all of the music included is very emotive.
For example, the song Wild Heart by Bleachers is very positive and seems to
create a significant sense of inspiration. This is very effective for the film as
this is played in the final shots creating a very positive tone for the end of
the film. This ending may inspire some of the audience who are struggling to
come out to face their fear and open up to the world as it shows how happy
6. THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER-
CONCEPTThe perks of being a wallflower is very similar to my product in some ways.
The film includes a sub plot about two boys wo are secretly gay together,
both are from completely different social groups. This idea heavily links to the
most dominant theme of my product therefore I can collect different features
and techniques which Perks of being a being wallflower include. For example,
the way the director Stephen Chbosky shoots this film is so unique and
different. This creates a very authentic feel and allows the product to stand
out from other films in the same genre. The film creates a very relatable feel, I
think it manages to convey this emotion as it doesn't feel like a big Hollywood
film. Although there clearly was a fairly sized budget, the way Chbosky shoots
the film creates a very real and pure feel giving the audience a completely
different experience of film. Because of its real and relatable tone, I feel the
film allows the audience to get significantly more indulged in the product.
The actors also give good performances, they manage to portray high school
students very effectively especially Ezra Miller’s character Patrick . Miller’s
performance allows me to collect different ideas and techniques which works
incredibly effectively to portray the struggles of dating someone in secret.
Logan Lermans character Charlie also allows me to see how to portray a loner
character well. He conveys that child like image which allows the audience to
7. THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER-
AESTHETICThe perks of being a wallflower includes a very unique aesthetic, its colour scheme
conveys an almost rustic theme. This creates a very old fashioned look which I find
incredibly interesting. Even though the film was made in 2012, I feel the director
wanted it to seem vintage, this is because the films vintage tone is not only
conveyed in the aesthetic of the film but also in what the characters are wearing.
This gives the product a completely unique and authentic feel which make sit
stand out from other films in same genre. I want try and include a similar idea in
my product as although I don’t want it seem vintage, I want to try and make my
product authentic and completely different than others in its genre.
The product is clearly quite a dark theme. This is cleverly done to portray the dark
ideas displayed throughout the film. This includes the themes of depression,
secrecy and hurt. Despite this, this film does include also some slightly more
vibrant shots. These suggest connotations of happiness and love which relates to
the friendship between Charlie and his friends. The overall colour scheme is dark
which definitely the aesthetic I want to include in my final product. This is because
I want the films colour theme to symbolize the tone of the film and since my film
is based on the conflict of coming out and mental health issues I feel the need to
create very negative atmosphere through the use od dark lighting and
desaturated colours.
8. THIS IS ENGLAND-CONCEPTI chose This is England as one of my existing products to research as although the
theme of homosexuality isn't relevant in this series, the director Shane meadows
manages to capture the development of growing up so effectively. He does this
by directing in such a way that portrays a very pure tone for the series. Over the
film and the 3 series, us as the audience managed to build up such a relationship
to every single character. The way Meadows builds up his characters throughout
the whole journey is incredible, this is very important for a product as it forces the
audience to care for the characters therefore when events do happen good or
bad, us as the audience care deeply. Overall, this creates a much more immersive
film experience.
I feel This is England works so well because of its relatability. Throughout its film
and television series so many different realistic problems occur which allows the
audience to really relate to the characters. This also allows the audience to create
a much better relationship with each other characters.
The way that Meadows shoots This is England creates a very realistic tone. This is
achieved by using a lot of hand held shots. This almost creates the image of that
us as the audience are there with the characters. I feel like this another aspect of
the series which makes it so relatable and the product is loved by so many. In my
opinion, this technique is incredibly effective which I definitely want to incorporate
9. THIS IS ENGLAND-AESTHETIC
One of the key aspects I love about This is England is colour scheme
especially in the 90s series. The product includes the quite dark and
desaturated aesthetic which I love. The editors have clearly colour
corrected the product to convey the events which occur on screen. This
symbolizes Kelly's downfall with drugs in the series and also the death of
Combo in the very last episode. I feel this technique works perfectly for
the tone of the product therefore I definitely need to include a similar
technique in my final product.
Although the events which occur in This is England is different than in my
product, I feel as if both products do share some similar themes like the
idea of struggle with mental health and the development through life.
Because of this, in my final product I think I will use a similar colour
scheme to This is England as I feel it works very effectively for its purpose.
As well as that I love how this specific aesthetic looks meaning I will be
more passionate about my project.
12. SECONDARY RESEARCH-GENDERSFrom the two demographics I have collected on the left, there
are few films which fit into the same genre as my product. This
includes The Danish girl. Firstly, this is similar to my product as it
is a drama based film whilst including a very strong apparent
love story. Also, The Danish Girl links to my product heavily, this
is because it fits in to the LGBT genre meaning that it should
definitely have a similar audience to my product. From the data,
I can see that this specific film has a much stronger female
audience. I feel this is because of the theme of gender in the
film which stereotypically men might not be as interested in as
woman. This is because stereotypically men are much more
homophobic and close minded than women. Nevertheless, it is
still a drama love story therefore this does give me a clearer idea
of my audience.
As well as that, the data I have collected includes the girl on the
train which is a very drama based product. It also includes quite
a dark theme similar to my product. Again, this products
attracted more females than males. This is giving me a much
clearer of which gender I should target my product at. The film
Eddie the Eagle is also a drama however it is a bit more light-
hearted. This product is also more popular for females however,
13. SECONDARY RESEARCH-HOMOSEXUALITYI decided to research different gay demographics as I felt that I
would be able to pick up different ideas from already existing data.
The three different sets of data which I collected are the statistics of
the LGBT community think that being LGBT is a negative thing. I felt
this was an important piece of data to collect as this idea heavily
relates to one of my main characters in my product. I was interested
to see how many who have come out as homosexual hate
themselves for it. I felt this was important to research as it I now
know I can use this as a question to ask in primary research to try
hear people in the LGBT communities on the idea.
As well as that, I also collected data about when men and woman
came out and when they found out. I felt like this was an important
as want to know what age I can target my product for. I feel it is
important for the audience to be able to relate to my product
therefore finding out what age people came out is crucial to
complete this task. I decided to research the different of data
between if gay people had to their parents about heir sexuality and if
so which parents they have told. From my data, I can see that people
who want to come out are more comfortable coming out to their
mothers than their fathers. In my opinion, I think is because
stereotypically older men normally have very closed minded views
