CAPA 375

1.1 Describe different types of film production and the purpose and requirements of each

production Role Tree

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Genre Presentation

(1.2) Working independently, you will need to display your comprehension of analysing a screenplay to determine the overarching themes and narrative structure for a film.

The fictional story is set to make it look like it could be real. Mara is planned to be a short horror film set to be released at film festivals. The length is aimed to be between 3 and 5 minutes in length. Our script shows the story and character development throughout. The script has no dialogue and is entirely descriptive to add an eerie feel to the film. We choose to have no dialogue within the film because of the theme Alone. We did debate having some dialogue of her talking to herself however we didn't add anything into the script as we feel having just sound effects and music would work better. For example at the beginning of the short film while filming in the art room the shot opens on Mara tapping her paintbrush on a glass to get some of the water off. This shows that there is not much noise in the room as you can hear precise details. For example in the script where it says “but the tap is already on. Mara walks over to it confused.” She can hear the tap as it turns on as the room is silent with no background or white nose. When she gets up and out of her seat and you can hear the footsteps walking slowly it builds suspense as the person watching the film doesn't know who or what turned on the tap. This shows the build up of tension as part of the three act structure. The major climax of the film is where she enters the bathroom as the tension has hulit up a lot and the audience is on edge to work out what's going on next. When “A light appears from behind a bathroom stall. She fling the door open only to find nothing there. That's when the other doors begin slamming.” We take a pause at this point as it shows some violence and it suddenly stops so the suspense is built as the audience knows something is there however it's not seen. After some heavy breathing it continues and she tries to make her escape. We chose for her to stay put and show to the audience that she is in shock and can't run away as she doesnt know what's happening and before she does run away she is being controlled again. We show the theme of being alone throughout the entire narrative with her being the only visible character until the end of the film where we see the ghost very briefly for the first time. For example “Fade to black and then jump scare on ghost's face.” This line is the final part of the script and shows what the tension had been building to and is the end of the climax of the film. We feel that we show the location of the film clearly using the costume as well as different settings within the location. For example “We see Mara speed walking out of the bathroom and into the corridor” and “now settled in the library.” This shows that we are showing the locations deliberately to show she is in a school.

Final Script

(1.3) Individually write a report that describes how you are going to develop one of your characters over the length of your ‘Horror Film’.

Mara the main character within “Mara'' has a slow build up of character development throughout the short film. We are planning to use costume and makeup to display Mara's personality and her style of clothing and her passion for art. We used a school uniform with a short sleeve shirt slightly rolled up and a school skirt with tights which had a small rip in them and wearing trainers and a school tie which is slightly undone. She has a red and black bag and a rainbow badge on her shirt Her makeup is bold and bright and she breaks the dress code often. She is a anti social person with only a small group of friends but they are really close. She is passionate for her art work and normally stays often after school hours to finish it as she doesn't have access to the supplies at home. She is a middle class person who lives in central England and goes to a public school however is out a a classy public school. She likes alternative metal music and got too many gigs and enjoys nights out and is out often on weeknights.

She is shown as a confident character to start with who isn't shocked by the tap and just gets on with her day. Later on during the scene we see her confidence drop in levels when “here is a radio by the sink and we hear a static hum of the tune 'run rabbit' The room feels too still and too quiet. She pauses halfway to the desk, considering her options.” This shows that she is spooked by the radio as the tension slowly builds. She loses confidence in the scene when she decides to leave the room and go work in the library instead. She is worried about something as she leaves and questions herself as “She pops her head back in just to check the tap is off before she leaves. We see her close the door behind her and hear her walking down the corridor.” This shows that there is an unresolved mystery and Mara is losing confidence within herself. We start the film with a lot of close up shots of Mara and her walking around and getting on with what's she doing however as the film moves on the wider the shot gets as we see more and more detail as she loses confidence. The final scene is shot wide to show everything going on and how she loses control. Overall the characters central conflict is that she is alone working in the school doing work however she realises something is up so she moves and realises it is following her and she can't escape. Her conflict is that wherever she moves to do work it is following her and she doesn't know what it is. Mara never talks in the film, only opening her mouth for heavy breathing and gasps. “She breaks into a run towards the door now panting and gasping.” This is a message we wanted to convey that she isnt talking to herself or anyone else as she is alone and just a normal person.