Post 4 and 6 - What I Want To Do And Why/Final Pitch (Short Film Plan)

Short Film Plan - The Sound of Trumpets

My ideas always seem to involve death, such as someone taking their own life, killing a parent or the person they are renting a room from. I knew that I wanted to take a dark route, possibly adding a message. This is the idea I have at the moment:

Short Synopsis:

A boy has had a serious argument with his friend. He decides to kill him. The film follows the main character as he struggles to deal with what he has done. 

“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.” - Voltaire 

Detailed Synopsis: 

We open on a black screen. There is a voice over saying, "When I was nineteen, I decided to kill my best friend." We cut to a boy with a knife in his hand. It continues to cut from this sequence to the black screen between the voice-overs. "Some people might call me crazy, and they're probably right." The camera is below looking up. He starts to stab someone that the camera cannot see, blood splattering on his face. He looks furious, in a crazed frenzy. He stops, dropping the knife, beginning to shake. He gets up and the camera follows him. We still do not see who is on the ground. There is a pov shot as he runs away from the scene of the crime. The camera blurs and distorts and there's a layering. 

He arrives back home, slamming the door behind him. He rushes to the bathroom, placing his hands on either side of the sink, looking into the mirror, covered in blood. He holds back sick, bringing a hand to his mouth. He notices the blood all over them in the mirror, frantically washing them in the sink, giving off Lady Macbeth vibes. He starts to sob as the blood seems as if it will never come off. He slowly looks into the mirror, staring at his gruesome reflection. We are still unaware why he killed his friend. I want the audience to focus on him and his struggle, rather than the act itself. 

He picks up a picture frame containing a picture of him and another man. The film brings the picture to life, showing them messing around and taking photos together. It cuts back to him holding the picture and smiling sadly. It then flashes to another scene, a memory of him and his friend. They are arguing; it looks serious. We cut back to him and his face cracks. 

Character is walking down the road outside his house. He comes across his friend's girlfriend. She says that his dad is looking for them and we learn that his dads are fighting again. She asks him if he's see her boyfriend and he lies, saying he hasn't. He feels so guilty that he can't breathe.

We follow him as he struggles to cope with what he has done, drinking and listening to music to try and distract himself. During the music sequence, we cut to him and his friend listening to that same song. The mood shifts from a false happiness to the depths of despair.  He cries himself to sleep. 

He is haunted by his friend, seeing him and speaking to him. It begs the question, is he mad or just so wracked with guilt that he's hallucinating.  He dreams of him, of what he did. A voice echoes out; "If I can't have him, no one can."

In the morning he seems numb, a change of heart possibly? He goes to the phone and dials 999. We hear him speak. He says; "Hello? Yes, I'd like to report a murder." He has decided to give himself up, not able to live with himself. He turns and looks into the camera, cementing the connection with the audience and breaking the fourth wall. It is if he is saying, 'we always have a choice.' He is sorry for what he has done. It is a homage to the 400 blows. The film is about his journey through sporadic mood swings and inner torment. The audience can create their own theories about why he did what he did. It is more about the connection they feel to him. Seeing him at his lowest should create something that a spectator can relate to. 

Sub Textual Backstory:

The audience is unaware of most of this, but some things should be able to be inferred from the dialogue and character expression. Aaron and Leo have been best friends since primary school; Leo talked back to a teacher and Aaron stood up for him, landing them both in time out. They've been inseparable ever since. They went to the same high school, always stayed round each other's houses. Leo was basically a permanent resident at Aaron's house. In their gap year they went to Norway together, only for a few months, but it was the best few months of Aaron's life. He misses it every day. Everything seemed perfect between them, but Aaron has a secret. He's in love with Leo. It's something he's tried to ignore and push down for a long time, but the heart wants what the heart wants. Leo got himself a girlfriend and they've been going steady for almost two years. It eats away at Aaron's insides every time he sees them together. 

In the film we see them argue in a memory of Aaron's. Aaron confronted Leo, finally telling him how he felt, but Leo punched him, his whole world falling apart. He didn't understand where this was coming from, thinking it was all a joke at first. Once he learned that Aaron was deadly serious, he got angry, threatening to tell everyone and fighting him. He does not know if he meant it. It might have been a heat of the moment thing, but Aaron can't take that chance. He is outraged and humiliated. Everything he'd hidden for years finally out in the open, and it was all for nothing. He is so overcome with rage that he decides to kill him. He finds out that Leo has gone for a walk in a local woodland area and decides to follow him (or the argument takes place in the forest). This is where the audience joins the story.

Aaron has a lot of trouble at home. His dad's are close to getting a divorce, and he thinks that they should. They spend most of their time arguing or living in different places because one has kicked the other out. At the time of the murder, one of his dads has been kicked out and is living with a friend, and the other is taking his mind off things in Venice - Aaron's family is quite well off. This means that he is alone for the time of the murder. 

• The Genre of Film and Apply Daniel Chandler's Conventions of Content
• - Drama/horror
• - Focusing more on the character more than the narrative
• - Real life situation with real, believable characters
• - Inner conflict 
• - Realisation at the end  
• - Death and nightmares 
• Todorov
• Equilibrium -  Protagonist has just committed a murder 
• Disruption - He realises what he has done 
• Recognition - He runs away, knowing that if he stays he will be caught 
• Attempts To Repair - He struggles with what he has done, going back and forth from a state
• of utter despair and a frenzied madness, contemplating the idea of calling the police
• New Equilibrium - He calls the police, finally giving in  
• Vladimir Propp's Character Roles and Functions
• Hero - In a sick and twisted way, Aaron is the hero as he reports himself and does the
• right thing in the end
• Villain - Aaron is also the villain, a victim of his own insecurities, killing his best friend and
• lying about it
• Princess - Leo is the one in need of saving, but doesn't get saved
• Princess' father - Alex tells the hero to go and find the princess
• Helper/Sidekick - The memory and vision of Leo, helps Aaron do the right thing
• Claude Levi-Strauss' Binary Opposites
• - Love/hate (Aaron and Leo change from closeness to hatred)
• - Wealth/poverty (Aaron is from quite a wealthy family whereas Leo struggles)
• - Young/old (Aaron struggles with his parents' arguments)
• Applying Blulmer and Katz' Uses and Gratifications Theory
• - I want the audience to be able to empathise with the protagonist and find 
• some personal identification in the struggle
• - There is a minor educative feel in terms of mental illness as his father's struggle with
• bipolar disorder is briefly touched on
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• Characters and Subsequently Performance/Expression and Movement
• Aaron:
• - Protagonist
• - Driven by emotion
• - Kills his best friend
• - Struggles with guilt
• - Lives alone temporarily
• - Full of angst
• - Walks with a bad posture
• - Always looks anguished with something on his mind
• - Cannot be alone or he will spiral
• - Is going to Plymouth University to study dentistry
• - Secretly gay
• - Very emotionally unstable because of his dads' situation
• - Character goes through a range of emotions (anger, sorrow, hysteria) 
• Leo:
• - Victim
• - Aaron's best friend
• - Cheerful and positive
• - Is going to Plymouth with Aaron but to train as an optician
• David:
• - Aaron's dad
• - Has bipolar disorder
• - Has a steady job which brings in lots of money for the family
• - Is Aaron's biggest influence and role model
• Paul:
• - Aaron's biological father
• - Struggles with his husband's disorder and cannot cope
• - Has a steady job but isn't as well paid as David's
• - Wants his son to become a doctor
• Alex:
• - Leo's girlfriend
• - Has been dating Leo for almost two years
• - Studies accounting at Surrey University
• - Has trust issues
• - Worries easily

• Settings
• - A forest
• - A house 
• Lighting Techniques
• - Dull and gloomy
• - Natural light 
• - Darkness to reflect how he is feeling  
• Sound Techniques
• - Diegetic sound
• - Score underneath
• - Using a song from my brother to avoid copyright
• Editing and Cinematography Techniques 
• - Pov shot 
• - Lots of close ups to show emotion 
• - Camera never leaves protagonist as we are following his story
• - Break the fourth wall and looks into the camera at the end, a homage to the 400 
• blows, and solidifying the connection with the audience
• - Montages and jump cuts   
• - Possible drone shot when he's running
• - J-cut for music sequence
• Props
• - Knife
• - Phone
• - Alcohol
• - A picture frame
• Hair and Make-up
• - Fake blood splatter
• - Blood over hands
• - Makeup to make someone pale and dead
• Costume
• - Dark hoodie and jeans to match the mood
• - Light hoodie and jeans for happy scenes
• Research You Have Done Into Existing Short Films
• - 'Slap' has a very similar feel to how I want my film to, hopefully making a similar
• connection to the protagonist that an audience makes with the main character in slap 
• - 'The Ellington Kid' has a similar story line and dramatic feel but with a comedic element 
• - 'Echo' has a similar tone and mood of protagonist
• Any Inspiration You've Taken From Existing Products
• - 'Benjamin' by Simon Amstell. 
• - I want to take inspiration from the naturalistic style of editing and cinematography.
•  Here is the trailer:
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• - I also want the story and struggle that the character of Benjamin goes through
• to be similar to the one that the protagonist in my film goes through. 
• - I also take inspiration from 'Let it be' by Bertie Gilbert, as it has a serious tone, 
• whilst still seeming light. Here is the trailer, and below it, the whole film.
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• - I take a lot of inspiration from Bertie Gilbert as a filmmaker, as his films are always very 
• imaginative and original, portraying real people in unlikely scenarios. He has another film 
• names 'Blue Sushi' which is about a transgender man in a band and his struggle with 
• accepting himself. There is a very powerful scene at the beginning where he is cutting his
• hair, but the scene is put in reverse
• - The film 'Island' has a dark vibe and the realism is something that I want to replicate.  
• It doesn't have a lot of dialogue, focusing more on the main character Nikki, us as an 
• audience not completely knowing what is going on or where the film is leading
• Anything You Desperately Want to Avoid
• - Creating something cliché that is boring 
• - I don't want the film to be too slow paced 
• -  I worry that I will get too caught up in writing a good acting role, that I'll forget to 
• focus on the mark scheme 
• - I don't want the audience to hate the character or feel disconnected  
• - I worry that I have planned too much and it won't fit into five minutes