Pathway to audience
My audience is for all horror fans and of course people of the age of the characters. The trio of friends in my film are all in their early twenties and are from the suburbs of Melbourne so I feel this film will be especially relatable to Australians. Although a horror sci-fi film, the world I am looking to create is a relatable one to anyone who grew up in the suburbs from any place in the world. The characters will be good looking, so naturally I’d hope people in their early twenties will have level of intrigue purely based on this. I’d also like them to see the dynamic of the friendship as relatable to the point where they can associate each character to a friend of their own regardless of gender, I feel I can replicate an Australian energy with how they communicate. With the setting of the movie being quite natural and resembling a standard suburb, the viewer could put themselves in the shoes of the characters when it comes to the horrific nature of the storyline and ask themselves how they’d behave. Parents can also relate to the story, after all, they have children of their own and are exposed to how they are with their friends. Its an applicable character model to both adults and children.
With the story happening in Australia, gaining a following through a social media platform like Instagram is very possible. Having friends share the content can have it spread quickly within the suburbs of Melbourne, and then hopefully grow from there. To reach a larger and perhaps professional audience, I would submit my film to the Monster Fest movie festival in Melbourne as well as the Melbourne Short Film Festival at the Sun Theatre. Form here I would hope to receive even the slightest acknowledgement from either festival before uploading to Vimeo, referencing the festivals it’s been shown at.
Reflection
The Proof of Concept Studio has a focus on storytelling. Focusing on a short film allows us to hone in on the factors of our story that are most important. If we can communicate characters and their predicament within a short amount of time, then the long-form will be better for it and not drift too far into uninteresting areas. The proof of concept acts as the nucleus to the long-form.
Personally, I think this short film exercise has helped me start my journey as a filmmaker. A key part of the studio I feel getting an understanding for the industry and the pathways to producing or showcasing our own work. The weekly classes helped me understand what it takes, and the steps to achieve it. When I started off with my short film idea, I wasn’t fully behind it myself. As I continued working on the script and pitch document, I learned to love it. Initially I had a surface level relationship with my own idea, but as we were encouraged to think about cinematic features we’d like to adopt and the world we wanted to create, I began to believe in the work I was producing.
When developing my story further, I think I’d like to have a greater focus on character development. I know how I want my world to look like and the story that occurs within, but the characters will be an important part of driving this. Communicating to the audience on a personal level with my characters is where I think I have some room for improvement.
Despite this concern, I still feel the proof of concept is achieved in my short film. The decision to incorporate the entire story from beginning to end help me do this. And I still allowed for character journeys within the short time frame. The plot device of the pay phone is established, and the baby switch mission is also completed. This culminates in the aftermath of my characters, where they are left to question the world forever, as well as their actions that were forced upon them in order to supposedly save their own lives.
A key challenge for me as mentioned earlier was getting behind my idea and developing an ending. I knew I wanted to include the mysterious pay phone, I just needed to think of my crescendo of the baby switch could be complete. I ultimately opted for having the nurses aware of the baby switch, as if our world had been infiltrated from people of the future who are choosing to alter the past.