Daisy
Campbell
My story revolves around a fairly simple story, a birthday party that nobody has turned up to. It stars a minimal cast of one actor and is only really in one simple location of my house. So there will be no problems with casting or getting permission to use a locations. The have faith that this film will be enjoyable for all ages and nationalities because it will have no dialogue and will be very relatable because the wide majority of people have had a birthday party.
The storyline follows a young girl who seemingly lives by herself, celebrate her birthday. The first few shots will be shots will be cantered angles of an empty house, explaining to the audience that the girl is totally alone. As well as the crooked angle foreshadowing the strange and unusual events yet to happen. The next shot will be a shot of her alarm clock going off with the alarm message ‘Happy Birthday!’ She gets out of bed and looks at her calendar with the days crossed out with a big circle round her birthday.
We have a montage of her blowing up balloons by herself. Writing a card to herself and opening it as if she had no idea who wrote it. We see her struggle to hang up a birthday banner and even have a party tea with stuffed toy animals with birthday hats. Popping party poppers, this will embellish the fact that she is all alone. And help the audience sympathise with her.
I will use a slow zoom towards her as she is about to blow out the candles. I will also take audio of my family humming happy birthday and overlay it onto the video. Which will externalise the girl’s internal madness. Just as she is about to blow out her candle on her lone cupcake (a metaphor for herself) we hear a long and loud knock on the front door.
The girl looks shocked and confused and goes towards the door. As she walks cautiously towards the front door the knocking gets louder and more frantic. I would really like to use a long shot (or a oner) as the girl walks down the hall to further explore her fear and tension. As she opens the door we cut to a shot from the outside of the house and several cantered shots of the mysterious box. It’s massive. She brings the box inside. She reads the small card on top and opens the top of the box. A bright light shines on her, she smiles in awe. She climbs inside the box and closes the lid.
I want the character of the girl to have wild hair, over the top makeup and a dishevelled prom/wedding/bridesmaid dress. Preferably a bright youthful colour like pink of white. I want the other character to be dressed in a simple black t-shirt and leggings, and eyeliner to juxtapose the playful costume of the protagonist.
Short Film Treatment
When I reviewed the research I had undertaken I looked at all the components that made an effective short film, and I wanted to incorporate them into my own short film. I found the most memorable short films were minimalistic. A small cast, a singular location and a plot twist or memorable moment at the end. I used these components to try and produce an effective short film.
I wanted my story to more or less follow Todrov’s basic narrative theory. I wanted there to be an equilibrium – a regular day in modern British life. The rupture - nobody arrives to a birthday party. The dis-equilibrium - the protagonist continues to celebrate her birthday alone, followed by the second rupture - the birthday girl receives a mysterious package from an anonymous sender - and finally the new equilibrium- the protagonist disappears just as the first guest shows up.
Following my first point I wanted to comply with one of the main reasons short films are so successful and memorable, their small cast. Thankfully, my story only revolves around two people (three, but the sender of the box is left ambiguous) the two characters (portrayed by Rosie and Poppy Campbell) both juxtapose one another. One is younger, the other older, one is short, the other is tall, one is fair the other is tan. The protagonist has blonde hair, the supporting actress has dark hair. They are different in every way. They also lack names, which quickly establishes to the audience that they are not particularly important. The lack of identity is crucial in creating a successful and effective short film.
Furthermore, I want to use simple camera shots such as over the shoulder, and the tracking shot. But as the film progresses and the plot becomes more fantastic and abstract the camera angles should become more creative. I want to use long takes, cantered angles and utilize the blur to focus effect on the digital camera that I will use.
I wanted the location, costume and makeup to also reflect the minimalistic ideals that were so highly recommended to me in the research for my film. The protagonist wears basic clothing to reflect her pessimistic look at life, however later in the film she dons a bright pink regular cone hat that synonymous with birthday parties. The other character wears dark clothing and heavy boots, this reflects their unwillingness to conform to society, or attend the protagonist’s birthday on time. The location should also be minimalist, set in only a few rooms in one house. However, the house has to bursting with character: rubbish, books, newspapers, plates, cups, bags and clothing should be scattered around the house. This should create the unsettling undertones of the clutter inside the protagonists mind; a nod to underlying mental health issues.