Teaser Poster

Our teaser poster is something we wish to capture an audience's attention visually. We have achieved this by putting the photograph in greyscale, cutting out the background, and placing the photograph on a black background.

By changing the colour of John's eye we add a layer of mystery to the picture, as well as something that stands out to draw attention. Changing the eye colour to red transcends a feeling of power that couldn't be produced effectively if the eye colour wasn't edited. 

We decided to have the Film title along on the side of the poster running parallel with John's face. We tried having it horizontal but it made the text look cramped. Having the title vertical makes the poster look almost streamlined, and again is something different that isn't usually done. The release date features in the bottom right hand corner. We did consider adding the production company name, but again we thought this would make the poster look cramped. I believe teaser posters look best when they are as simple as possible; only releasing subtle hints to the audience about the nature of the film.   

Taking steps to gather potential actors

We have the actors to play John, Neville, and one of the council members, but we need three more actors between the ages of 30 and 60 to play the other council members. We need two men and one women. We wanted to find actors who were enthusiastic about acting, could do a job, and are of the right age and look for our characters. We have contacted an amateur acting group in Wymondham called Wymondham Players who perform productions in Wymondham. http://www.wymondhamplayers.org.uk/



I firstly called the group then exchanged email addresses to discuss the details in further detail.

Hi Alan, Patrick here. We spoke on the phone earlier about the possibility of using 3 of your actors for our A2 short film piece. Ideally we would like two men and one woman to play the parts. We're shooting Sunday 11th November at Tacolneston village hall. Flexibility could be a possibility, but that date is best for us and our other actors. Let us know whether you can help us.

Kind regards, Patrick and Jack

Alan's response to my email was encouraging as he seems keen to know as much about the production as possible. We exchanged a few more emails, and have talked a few times on the phone to better explain exactly what we want from each actor.

Hello Patrick

I assume you mean December!

As it’s a Sunday, I think we need to know the time commitment for the day – are we looking at an hour, two, four…?

And what time of the day please?

Are there scripts available in advance, and what about dress requirements?

Any more information you can let us have would be helpful.

Thanks

Alan Carpenter

Wymondham Players

Concept drawings - Gathering visual ideas

We have used concept drawings as a way to visualise the ideas we've gathered about the characters so far. They work really as they allow Jack and I to sit down, discuss and come up with how we want the characters to act, and most importantly how we want them to look.

The picture to the right is a simple silhouette. Oil pastel on black paper. This picture is of a particular shot that Jack and I have discussed and wish to include in our short film. The shot is of John, and displays him standing in front a window with the light shining behind him, creating a silhouette. This silhouette highlights his superhero-like pose (Large, broad, athletic). In doing this we aim to push the audience towards thinking that John is the Superhero/Vigilante the authorities are looking for.

When developing our ideas about how we wish to present Neville in our short film we had to consider what we want to the audience to think. Neville should be the last person the audience suspect to be the Vigilante, and therefore shouldn't have the stereotypical look of a superhero. Neville is a slim build; athletic, but not broad and muscular. We want Neville to be a figure of authority, so we decided to depict him as a businessman. He's strong minded and knows how to present himself. He gains respect from colleagues and fellow council members who recognise him as a professional who takes his job seriously. To convey some of Neville's personality into his costume I have drawn Neville in a suit with glasses and a briefcase. The tailored suit and smart shirt say a bit about his financial situation, and that he likes to look his best and professional whenever he's working. His glasses are a cover for his secret identity and his hair is neat and stylish.





This is the first drawing I did of John and clearly shows his broad muscular physique. He is seen in this drawing wearing a workman's overall. He works as a grounds and maintenance officer for the council, and is responsible for looking after council property, and in particular, the parish hall.


The drawings below are of two shots we had in our heads about the position of the council and Neville within the parish hall. They clearly show Neville as the head of the council and the voice of authority among  the council.

Finished Script

FADE IN;

INT. BEDROOM – DAY

Early morning. Curtains are closed. Lights are on. John is sitting on the computer, finishing a blog post. His room is plastered with superhero posters, newspaper articles and fan mail.

                        

He walks over to closet, grabs clothes, and dresses. Picks up action figure, plays with it, and places it back down on the table. Picks up the car keys next to it, and exits the room, shutting the door behind him. Lingers on action figure.

INT. COUNCIL HALL – DAY

Neville is the head of the town council. He stands at the head of a council table. He addresses his fellow town council members as they enter the room and take their seats. He waits until everyone has sat down, before taking his own seat.

NEVILLE

Welcome fellow council members

Neville queries local issues with council members, Each member has a meaningless and irrelevant issue and speak simultaneously, the volume in the room increases, and a ruckus occurs.

NEVILLE

So, does anyone have any prominent issues to discuss with the council today?

CM 1 (female)

I’ve got a few significant matters that I’d like to bring to the councils attention. Firstly, Mrs Stevenson on church lane insists on more oatmeal-baked cookies being made for the upcoming bake sale…

CM2 (male)

…I think there are more pressing matters to be discussed than home baked goods

CM3

Yeah, like housing development…there has been a rising number in unauthorised building activity, and this is against the law, and must be addressed. If I had to apply for planning permission for my conservatory, when the hell should people get away with building extensions on to the side of the house with absolutely no approval from the council!

CM4

No no no! The obvious issue is illegal parking. Am I the ONLY person in this town that is taking notice of this preposterous lack of respect for local authority?!

CM5

Housing development?! Illegal parking?! Are you serious? *laughs* Youth deviance!! Something all of us would agree is a problem at the moment, Mr Fletcher had his shop windowed smashed by yobs, houses all along Regent street have been vandalised or burgled. It’s all down to parenting! I can tell you that right now!

Silent Neville reaches under the table into his briefcase, pulls out a recent issue of the local newspaper, and throws it down the centre of the table. The council falls silent. Lingers on newspaper headline.

INT. BEDROOM – DAY

Lingers on the same newspaper issue that features in the council hall. Transition from newspaper to action figure on the opposite side of the room. Action figure twitches…

INT. COUNCIL HALL – DAY – CONTINUED

Council members are discussing prominent issue of superhero vigilante scandal.

CM1 (female)

I’ve heard he’s a government experiment that went wrong… very wrong.

CM4

Yeah.. That’s exactly what it is, he’s a government experiment.. *under his breath* stupid cow..

CM3

My mother used to say that if you poke a cow, and stroke a sheep twice in the same week, strange things be occurring.

Just sayin..

The rest of the council stare at CM3. Perplexed looks on their faces.

Neville as head of authority brings the council to order, to bring reasonable explanations to the council’s attention.

Neville

Enough of this pointless squabbling. We need to consider what we actually know before we make sweeping assumptions and wild theories. He’s obviously a youth who’s been reading a little too many comic books, and the thought of bringing his comics to life has resulted in these outlandish events.

John enters the council with mop or broom in hand. Dressed in an overall. He begins to sweep/mop as the council continues their discussion in the background.

INT. BEDROOM – DAY

Action figure replicates the movement of character 1 in the council hall. Action turns head towards corner of the room..

INT. COUNCIL HALL – DAY

John turns his head to face council in a movement that matches that of the action figure. Council continue to discuss specific details of supernatural events occurring in the town.

Focuses on John from behind, as he imitates a superhero like pose (chest pushed out, fists on hips). He appears as a silhouette against the backlight.

INT. BEDROOM – DAY

Superhero figure is in a flying pose. OR in a single arm gun show pose (arm up, and tensed, hand rotating from front to back).

INT. COUNCIL HALL – DAY

Council talking about the description of the vigilante/superhero. Neville describes a person that sounds very similar to what John looks like and a detailed profile of the vigilante’s height, statue, build, hair and facial features are put forward.

Neville

Police reports estimate him to be around 5ft 9” with Dark hair. From analysis of his crimes, police have also gathered that he is both fast and strong, and suggest he must have a large athletic build. 

Council fall silent yet again, and draw their attention towards John, as he continues to sweep. John becomes aware of the silence, stops sweeping, and looks up at his audience in a confused manner. Focus draws back to each council member as they each in turn convince themselves of the stupidity in their assumption.

CM3

He looks like a sheep stroker to me..

CM4

Nah forget that..

CM1

Can’t be.

CM2

Well I’ve got a 6’o clock doctor’s appointment. I hate to leave at this moment of supreme enlightenment, as we seem so close!

This causes the meeting to adjourn, with each member peeling away for other commitments, leaving John and Neville alone in the room.

John finishes his shift, and undoes his top button on his overall slightly revealing a suspicious looking garment beneath. He says farewell to Neville..

John

I’ll see you next Tuesday

..and heads for the door turning his back to Neville. Neville picks up on the unusual garment as he’s walking away and questions John on it.

Neville

What’s that beneath your overall..?

An awkward silence follows.. *sound effects – dramatic piano note.* John replies confidently.

John

Oh this? It’s my costume for tonight. Got a party straight after work. Going as the vigilante. I’m a huge fan.

Neville

Quite short for a superhero aren’t you? What are you? 5ft 9”?

John

Something like that..

John leaves, attention is brought back to Neville (facing the audience), who is packing his papers back into his briefcase, sat at the end of the table, closes his briefcase, slowly looks up, eyes flash red, and our superhero is revealed…

Rough Script

As a way of accumulating our thoughts and ideas on our short film together, we have written a rough script. The script does not contain any dialogue at the moment. It allows me to properly visualise what the story will be like, and is important because it enables us to think about the characters more, and therefore who to cast.

FADE IN;

INT. BEDROOM – DAY

Early morning. Curtains are closed. Lights are on. Character 1 is sitting on the computer, finishing a blog post. His room is plastered with superhero posters, newspaper articles and fan mail.

He walks over to closet, grabs clothes, and dresses. Picks up action figure, plays with it, and places it back down on the table. Picks up the car keys next to it, and exits the room, shutting the door behind him. Lingers on action figure.

INT. COUNCIL HALL – DAY

Neville is the head of the town council. He stands at the head of a council table. He addresses his fellow town council members as they enter the room and take their seats. He waits until everyone has sat down, before taking his own seat.

Neville queries local issues with council members, Each member has a meaningless and irrelevant issue and speak simultaneously, the volume in the room increases, and a ruckus occurs.

Silent Neville reaches under the table into his briefcase, pulls out a recent issue of the local newspaper, and throws it down the centre of the table. The council falls silent. Lingers on newspaper headline.

INT. BEDROOM – DAY

Lingers on the same newspaper issue that features in the council hall. Transition from newspaper to action figure on the opposite side of the room. Action figure twitches…

INT. COUNCIL HALL – DAY – CONTINUED

Council members are discussing prominent issue of superhero vigilante scandal. Neville as head of authority brings the council to order, to bring reasonable explanations to the council’s attention.

Character 1 enters the council with mop or broom in hand. Dressed in an overall. He begins to sweep/mop as the council continues their discussion in the background.

INT. BEDROOM – DAY

Action figure replicates the movement of character 1 in the council hall. Action turns head towards corner of the room..

INT. COUNCIL HALL – DAY

Character one turns his head to face council in a movement that matches that of the action figure. Council continue to discuss specific details of supernatural events occurring in the town.

Focuses on character 1 from behind, as he imitates a superhero like pose (chest pushed out, fists on hips). He appears as a silhouette against the backlight.

INT. BEDROOM – DAY

Superhero figure is in a flying pose. OR in a single arm gun show pose (arm up, and tensed, hand rotating from front to back).

INT. COUNCIL HALL – DAY

Council talking about the description of the vigilante/superhero. Neville describes a person that sounds very similar to what character 1 looks like and a detailed profile of the vigilante’s height, statue, build, hair and facial features are put forward

Council fall silent yet again, and draw their attention towards character 1, as he continues to sweep. Character 1 becomes aware of the silence, stops sweeping, and looks up at his audience in a confused manner. Focus draws back to each council member as they each in turn convince themselves of the stupidity in their assumption.

One of the council members breaks the silence by declaring he is late for his 12 o’clock doctor’s appointment (open to another excuse to leave, etc) and this causes the meeting to adjourn, with each member peeling away for other commitments, leaving character 1 and Neville alone in the room.

Character one finishes his shift, and undoes his top button on his overall slightly revealing a suspicious looking garment beneath his overall. He says farewell to Neville, and heads for the door turning his back to Neville. Neville picks up on the unusual garment as he’s walking away and questions Character 1 on it. An awkward silence follows.. *sound effects – dramatic piano note.* Character 1 replies confidently that it’s a fancy dress costume, and he’ll be going as the vigilante. He’s a massive fan. Neville replies with a witty phrase.

Character 1 leaves, attention is brought back to Neville (facing the audience), who is packing his papers back into his briefcase, sat at the end of the table, closes his briefcase, slowly looks up, eyes flash red, and our superhero is revealed…