Short Film Idea and Plan (Post 4)

Narrative

Plot 

• Opens with a phone call, Friend 1 got off work and wants to meet at a park, the other agrees, both of the interior of their houses are shown, Friend 2 is warned. 
• Friend 1 is at the park (that is in an estate) waiting, the Friend 2 arrives and they make some small talk and decide to go on a walk further into the estate.
• On their walk Friend 1 starts complaining about his work, how the CEO does nothing but reaps the most benefits, Friend 2 tells him to just quit his job and this starts an argument - Friend 1 lives - this argument is a commentary of the state of the working class how capitalism is unethical.
• The argument ends with Friend 1 running up ahead, further into the estate.. Friend 2 catches up and they go to argue again but they are ambushed by a mugger with a knife.
• The 2 plead for the mugger to just leave them but it doesn't work, then Friend 2 pushes Friend 1 at the mugger however Friend 1 is pushed into the knife and Friend 2 just runs away looks back and see's the mugger frantically searching and finding nothing and then continues to run.
• This is a commentary on both how the working class don't have true freedom and free choice under capitalism as well as the fact that the rich will use the poor to make themselves better off, symbolised by Friend 2 sacrificing Friend 1.

Micro Elements

Mise-En-Scene

• Setting - Bedrooms (scene 1), Park (scene 2), Estate (scenes 3 and 4) - naturalistic locations that aren't very flashy, they're more plain, this adds the the realism
• Lighting - Use natural lighting - bedroom lights for indoor scene and the sun for outdoor scenes - this will add to the realism of the start of the film which will strengthen the message the film is trying to get across.
• Costume - make the clothing look working class for Friend 1 and make Friend 2 look a little better off to reflect the ignorance of his friends struggle and strengthen the allegory of the ignorance of the upper classes and bourgeois.
• Character Expression and Movement - 2 characters - both supposed to be fairly young - Friend 1 should be more angry or have more angst while Friend 2 has to be more relaxed and condescending to further show the class divide and the ignorance of the bourgeois towards the proletariat.

Cinematography

• Primarily comprised of medium shots, however I currently plan to use close ups, tracking shots and long shots, these will be used to increase the realism of the film by putting more focus onto the dialogue instead of the aesthetics, this engages the audience more with the message than the spectacle.

Editing

• Use a variety of different edits however don't over edit and make the action to confusing and overcut, this makes the film more focused on realism and being naturalistic, this would engage the audience more with the message than the aesthetic.

Sound

• Use the sound picked up when filming - diegetic sound throughout the short film
• This will be done to further the realism and out more focus on the message.

Macro Elements

Narrative

• Linear Narrative - no flashbacks, completely chronological narrative.
• Allegory - The film is an allegory to how for the working class, there is no free choice under capitalism and how the upper classes will sacrifice the poor for their betterment.
• Ellipsis - break between the argument and when Friend 2 catches back up.
• Restricted Narrative Viewpoint - The film will be from the characters point of view and the audience will have the same information from them as they get it.
• Claude Levi-Strauss' Binary Opposites - wealth/poverty - there is a clear wealth divide between the 2 main character to exemplify the ignorance of the wealthier classes to the working class.
• Todorov's Theory of Narrative Equilibrium - equilibrium being the friends meeting up, the disruption being the argument between the friends, the recognition will be the ambush of the mugger, the repair will be friend 2 sacrificing friend 1 to get out, the new equilibrium will be friend 2 escaping.

Genre

• The genre of the short film will be drama, the seriousness and realism of the drama allows the message of the film to be more easy to understand.

Representation

• The two character of the film will be shown to be a representation of class, Friend 1 being of the working class and coming off as a bit more rough and shown to be living a bit worse to the more upper class Friend 2, who will be more relaxed and shown to be more privileged and ignorant of Friend 1's problems, representing how the upper classes can be ignorant of the difficulty of being working class.

Audience

• The film won't aim towards a specific audience but the primary purpose is to educate an audience through the allegory presented by the short film.