This document provides details for a short film with the working title "Vanishing Balloons". It describes the main characters, including David, a serial killer who preys on children, and a young girl at the park with her mother. It outlines casting ideas and inspirations, conventions that will be used including crime and psychological elements. The storyline involves David kidnapping the girl at the park while her mother is distracted on her phone, with flashbacks to earlier killings. Locations, mise-en-scene needs, and costume details are also noted to realize the film.

1. Working Title: Vanishing Balloons

2. Characters
• David James- David is the protagonist of the film. He is a twisted
human who preys on little children and the hopeless. An apparently
normal man with a sickening past time. Growing thoughts make
him increasingly experimental in an increasing catalogue of crimes
against people.
• Little girl- an innocent young girl around the age of 5 with not a care
in the world who is just enjoying her day at the park and her new
pink balloon.
• The mother- The mother of the little girl who has not got enough
time to properly watch her child as she chats away on her phone
and ignores her daughter.
• Background characters are just other parents and children at the
park.

3. Casting
• My Niece
• Steve Brush
• My Sister

4. Inspirations
• Monster- I live the fact that in monster the
protagonist is the serial killer and we get to
understand her as a person and what drives
her as well as the complications along her
journey
• Red Dragon and Silence of the Lambs- In these
I like the psychological side of the serial killers
and the fact that they are twisted in deeper
ways that just the way they look.

5. Conventions Used
• Sub Genre-
• One of the conventions of thrillers is that there is usually crime at
the center of the plot like murder. This is the case with my movie.
• I will also use theatre of the mind which can also be much more
compelling to the spectator as what we see in your heads can often
be much worse than can be portrayed on screen.
• The protagonist in thrillers are normally ones with flaws and often
question the audience whether they are good, in my case the main
character is the killer and follows this convention.
• In some ways I will come away from the conventions as it wont use
a lot of quick cuts but rather longer takes to create and build
tension within the scene.
• I will also come away from the conventions as I will be using higher
key lighting rather than the low key lighting usually thought of in
thrillers.

6. Storyline
• The story begins by the spectator witnessing one of
David's kidnappings through a very restricted narrative.
After the title there would be a flash back to 5 years
before as to when he first took a child and killed it. After
the flash back we see him a years later and who was
once scrappy, become almost obsessive over his methods
on capturing and killing children. Throughout the film we
follow him through some of his murders and kidnappings
to his eventual demise and capture by the police. It
would be narrated as to make the audience still feel
some kind of connection with this twisted being and
make the spectator question their morals along the way.

7. Introduction
• The intro begins with an establishing shot of the park playground
with few kids playing as it’s a cold day. We then see and hear a
woman speaking on the phone as her child plays with her balloon
skipping about innocently. As the child skips over to her mother
asking to play with her, her mother just shouts in rage as she is
trying to speak on the phone. As she screams at her child the kid
begins to slowly walk away leaving her mother to speak on the
phone. She wonders off from her mum and ends up out of her sight
as she gets carried away with her balloon. In the distance she's sees
a man who also has a balloon. The shady looking man with the
balloon holds out his balloon as if to offer the child. Out of her
innocence and naivety she is easily persuaded and runs over to grab
a hold of It as he kneels down and begins to whisper in her ear.
With all this going on the mother is still on her phone. He then
takes the little girls hand and walks around the corner of the gate.
To which the balloons are seen floating away.

8. Sample Titles

9. Locations
• The main location I will be using is
Streatham Vale park as it isn't
usually too busy so will be sure to
not attract to much attention. It is
also easily accessible as its around
the corner from my house.
• Another location I will be using is
the small forest around the corner
from my street as it looks very
creepy and when I was younger
there was always mystery around
it.

10. Mise en Scene
• I will need two balloons, 1 for the
little girl and one for the
Protagonist. I will use a pink
balloon for the girl and a black
balloon for David, This also shows
the polar opposites and contrast
between good and evil.
• I will need a phone for the
mother what she is talking on
whilst shouting at her child.

11. Costume
• School Uniform-This is to show the innocence
of the little girl and the polar opposites of the
protagonist wearing dark clothes and her
wearing a school uniform.
• Casual Clothes for both the protagonist and
the mother. This is to show the normality he
tries to give of on people rather than looking
like a psycho.