I have made development to my short film project by creating the story for my short film.
Story title – “That One Day”
Plot
Tom Stone is at a counselling session, he talks about how the event affected his life for the last year with the counsellor. He then goes to talk about the incident in more detail as he remembers back to the day it occurred.
Having just graduated college, Todd and Tom are spending their last day together as Todd is moving away a few days later so he can get settled in at his new place before starting university later that year, and wanted to spend as much time as possible with his friends and family. As Todd says that he’ll phone Tom when he gets home before he leaves for the car to go home, Tom begins to walk home as a storm approaches.
Later that night, Tom’s phone doesn’t ring. As Tom turns on the TV to pass time until the phone call comes, a news report appears on the TV, and talks about a car crash that happened and Tom prays that it isn’t Todd since he remembers Todd needed to drive in order to get home. However, it is later revealed that Todd had been involved in the car accident and has passed away. Distraught, Tom breaks down, struggling to come to terms with what he just heard, and falls into a depressive state. With his head in his hands, he begins to remember about the last few hours with Todd, and soon becomes angry, not being able to accept that he will never see his best friend again and soon loses his temper, resulting in him knocking everything off a table in anger.
One year passes since Tom found out about the car accident and Todd’s death. During this time, has been working at his job. Tom shows no interest or motivation to do any of his work. However, when his boss comes in and tells him he needs the work to be finished, but Tom doesn’t care, simply agreeing to do so he doesn’t have to talk to him more and just sits there, sighing.
After Tom thinks about how he doesn’t like the way his life has been for the last year, he decides that he needs to get help. Having considered seeing a counsellor for a while, he makes a phone call as he leaves the office. The next day he attends a counselling session and the counsellor tells him that they will do everything they can to help him him through it and suggests that he come back next week.
Production Portfolio
Schedule
Week 1
Week 1, no official filming will be done since I am planning the scenes. I am going to be starting my filming in the second week. However, I have the necessary opening scene footage of locations filmed and one shot for Scene 3 filmed already prior to this week
During Week 1 on Wednesday I will be doing editing on the current footage I have shot over Easter Break in order to get colour correction and adjustment layers in place for scenes.
Week 2
Work on a script and shot list for the short film. Print them off so I have a hard copy of them as well as a version of them both on the computer.
Find props for the scenes I will be filming, i.e. a plant (not real) for the office scene (scene 4).
Week 3
Tuesday, May 10th 2016 – Filmed Scenes 1 & 5
I have filmed scenes 1 & 5 on May 10th 2016, but the footage is now useless due to the change on 11/05/2016 involving Jack being replaced by Adam as the main character, so since the footage shows Jack as the main character, I am unable to use this footage.
I have done the editing for the footage filmed during the Easter Break in advance. Also, the adjustment layers and the B-Roll footage for the opening scene is already in place.
Week 4
Tuesday, May 17th 2016 – Film the entire Short film
9:00am – 11:00am:
Shoot scenes 1 & 5 together in HR115
Scene 2 – All of Scene 2 can be filmed in one go since the friends hanging out happens all on the same day and the characters will be wearing the same clothing.
12:30pm – 13:15pm
Film Scene 3 in HR116 showing Tom at home.
Film Scene 4 in TA119 showing Tom in his office at work.
14:30pm – 16:30pm
Edit together the footage filmed today to create a draft version of the short film.
Week 5
Make any necessary changes to the editing before the initial submission.
Script
So that I know which scenes contain which lines of dialogue, I have created a script. This script has been sent out to the people I need to help me with the filming of my short film so they know which lines to read for their character, and also which scene they’re in.
Click Here to view the PDF of the Final Major Project Script
Scenes
Scene 1
EXT/INT. Morning. Counsellor’s Office.
(Shots 1, 2 & 3 are EXT + Shots 4 & 5 are INT)
Tom Stone is at a counselling session in the morning. At first, Tom finds it hard to talk about what happened, but after the counsellor assures him that they have plenty of time, he finds it easier to speak and talks about an incident that occurred one year ago and how it has affected his live in the worst way possible for him over the course of the year.
Scene 2
EXT/INT. Afternoon/Early Evening. The Friends Hanging Out Together.
As he explains that he and his friend, Todd, were hanging out on their last day together since Todd was going to be leaving in the next few days before he started university later that year. Tom wasn’t able to attend university that year, so was staying at home until he could attend the following year.
They spend the day together playing football and hanging out at the cafe before they walk down the street. Todd heads home and tells Tom that he will call once he gets home and then walks off to his car. Tom turns around and walks home in the opposite direction.
Scene 3
INT. Night. Later that night at Tom’s House.
Tom is at home and is waiting for the phone call from Todd, but since it has been 3 hours since the two were together, he decides to watch TV instead until the call comes. Once the TV comes on, immediately the live news is on and talks about a car accident that occurred between 8pm and 9:30pm. Tom, remembering that Todd needed to drive to get home, he begins to worry, but not by much and hopes that it isn’t him who was involved. When the news reporter reveals that one of the people involved has been identified as Todd Jones, Tom is shocked and drops his phone. He then turns the TV off after learning this and begins to talk to himself, not being able to come to terms with Todd’s death. As he continues to talk to himself, he soon becomes angry and knocks everything off the table in front of him and then goes to sleep.
As the night goes on, Tom is sleeping on the sofa as he couldn’t be bothered to go to bed. He has a nightmare about seeing Todd in the crash. While tossing and turning, he wakes up and shouts “no!”
Scene 4
INT. Tom Stone’s Office
Tom is at work a year later and is spaced out as his boss talks to him, failing to get through to him until he shouts a third time and slams papers on his desk, which snaps Tom back into reality and then answers. His boss tells him he needs the work done by Friday and then leaves Tom in his office. Tom then sits back in his chair before he picks up his phone and makes a phone call to make an appointment before leaving the office himself.
Scene 5
Back in the counsellor’s office, Tom explains that he is there because of what happened to Todd and how he doesn’t want to live the way he has been living for the last year, he explains that Todd would have wanted him to get help if he was still alive and knew he was suffering. The counsellor then mentions that Tom will get the help he needs and tells him they will schedule another appointment for the same time next week and Tom is thankful for the help he was finally willing to get.
Shot List
Click Here To Download The Shot List For My Final Major Project
NOTE: Some shots weren’t used in the short film due to limited time left to film, but this is the shot list I originally created prior to filming for the Final Major Project.
Equipment
- DSLR 700D Camera
- Tripod
- Rode Shotgun Microphone
- Boom Pole for the Microphone
- 50mm Lens (Original filming: Josh Pye’s – Reshooting footage: Chris Kuta’s)
- 16GB SD Card
Communications
In order to make my short film a success, I need to keep in contact with the people I need to help me so that they aren’t unsure about when I need to film and so that I know when I can film when everyone else is free to help. I have taken screenshots of all the communications I have made regarding this project.
The communication messages are split into sections under the name of each person I contacted, this is so that things are more organised and so it is easier to see the messages sent to one person rather than having all the messages together under one whole section.
Communications with George Foy
Communications with Josh Pye
Communications with Jack Seville
Communications with Adam Ahmed
Since Adam only became part of the cast for my short film just under a week before filming, a majority of the communication with Adam was done verbally rather than through messaging as it was easier to get things sorted in person given how much time was left until I needed to film.
Production Blog / Progress
I have created a blog for the Final Major Project. The purpose of creating this blog is so that the progress throughout so I have a record of the entire project from start to finish so I can see what I did on a certain day, and which day it was.
Click Here for the Final Major Project Blog
Legality
Since I need to include music in my short film in order to help the viewer understand what they’re supposed to be feeling in the scenes, I need to either find music tracks that are free from copyright, or find a track that I like and would want to use, then email the rightful owner of the music track to ask for permission to use the track I want to use in my video.
I listen to a lot of music on NoCopyrightSounds‘ channel and since there are some tracks on their channel that have no lyrics, I can use some sections of those tracks in my short film to help the audience understand what they’re supposed to be feeling during that scene. The music that NoCopyrightSounds produces is completely free to use and is copyright free for all YouTube and Twitch users. However, I don’t intend on making money from the project I have created since it will be placed on unlisted on YouTube and nobody will be able to view it unless they have the link to the video.
By using NoCopyrightSounds provided music, I am free from any legality issues that could get me into trouble under copyright laws since their music is free from copyright infringement. However, while NoCopyrightSounds’ music is free to use, they still have a requirement that allows the use of their music in videos and other media, which requires me to put in the description section of the video:
- The full title of the track. (Stating the music was provided by NCS)
- A link to the track on NoCopyrightSounds YouTube.
- Links to the social network of artists(s) of the track to credit them.
I have taken note of the information that I am required to put into the description of the video once it is uploaded to YouTube. This will allow me to use the music track provided by NoCopyrightSounds in my short film and not worry about having to answer to why I’m using this music track because I have been given permission to use it, just as every other person has as everyone is entitled to use NCS’s music tracks as long as they remember to put the required information in the description of the video.
Health & Safety
Since certain scenes of my short film will be shot outside on a street/next to a road, however, due to Adam and George not doing anything really dangerous in the short film, they will be able to see where they’re walking due to just walking they won’t be on the road for a long period of time. The Health & Safety isn’t a major issue as there isn’t going to be too many scenes that involve anything dangerous within the short film, so I don’t need to plan out Health & Safety for every scene in the ensure short film.
However, since a majority of the scenes in my short film are shot inside, there is a chance that the fire alarm will go off and a fire could happen while we’re in the building and filming. Although, due to everyone involved with the filming being a student at Preston’s College, everyone will know their way around the building and where the fire exits are and how to escape the building safely, so they don’t have to worry about having to look around for them before hand.
Contingency Plan
Since I have asked Jack Seville and George Foy to be the characters (Tom Stone & Todd Jones) in my short film, I need them to be present for when I film since Jack’s character forms the entire story of the film, and George’s character being shown with Jack’s character is important as it shows the friendship between the two characters. This has lead me to create a contingency plan for when I need to film scenes and Jack or George may not turn up on the day of filming.
On April 29th, 2016, in preparation Jack potentially not turning up when I need to film, I have asked Adam Ahmed to be the backup main character if Jack doesn’t turn up and he has agreed to this if Jack doesn’t turn up on days I need to film.
On the same day, in preparation of George Foy potentially not turning up or being unable to play the role of Todd in my short film, I have made the decision that I will take over George’s role in the short film since I will know the script well due to having written it.
Locations
For filming the scenes in my short film, I need to make sure I know which locations I want to use when filming certain scenes. The scenes I have planned in the story will need to have locations that reflect each setting in each scene. I have chosen locations, mostly rooms at Preston’s College, to be used for the scenes in my film as a majority of them reflect the type of environment I need for the scenes.
Either the Astro Pitch or a field at Preston’s College – For the shot where the two are playing football – Scene 2
Outside of Preston’s College on St. Vincent’s Road – For the two shots where the two walk down the street – Scene 2
HR115 for the Counsellors Office – Scene 1 & 5
HR116 for when Tom is at home – Scene 3
TA119 for Tom Stone’s office – Scene 4
Cast & Crew
Since my short film won’t be using a multi camera set up, I will only need one camera, so I have asked Josh Pye to be one of the camera operators for my short film, as well as myself being the camera operator when Josh’s character is talking, and I will also be the director. Since George Foy only appears in one scene, I have asked him if he would be the Boom Microphone Operator for the filming sessions, particularly Scene 1 & Scene 5.
Originally I asked Jack Seville and George Foy to be the two actors for my short film. I had in mind that Jack will portraying the main character Tom Stone and George will be portraying Todd Jones, the friend of Tom Stone who dies in the car crash.
On 11/05/2016 I needed to make an important decision in terms of how I was going to get filming done with the short amount of time I had left. As a result of this, I decided to recast the role of Tom Stone as Jack Seville is no longer in my short film and has been replaced Adam Ahmed. Adam will now be portraying Tom Stone in my short film. However, despite the change in roles for the character of Tom Stone, George Foy still remains portraying Todd Jones.
Joshua Sumner 