Proposal

FMP Proposal

Rationale:

Having had a lifelong passion for film, my ambition has always been to work in the film industry. For my end-of-year final major project, I have decided to create a short film. Although filmmaking consists of collaboration with different departments and many competing ideas, My short film would be more of a solo project, where I would focus on editing, camera work and directorial aspects, including writing and storyboarding. At the end of year one for my FMP, I created a short film and concentrated mainly on editing the footage I had shot to form a short narrative. I would now like to develop and improve the skills I gained on this project further, learning more about editing techniques together with camera work and direction. Making a short film will hopefully be the best way to showcase the skills I have learnt over the past two years and incorporate different skills from each unit.

Initial Ideas:

I have considered three different ideas for the FMP, each one based on a short film concept. I produced storyboards for each initial idea and then analysed the narrative of them to see which one I felt would enable me to showcase the skills I have learnt on the course. Once I was happy with the ideas and storyboards, I then mind-mapped each one to look at the concepts in more detail. This lead to the conclusion that the main resources I would need were a camera, a tripod, foley sound equipment, locations, costumes and editing software. Actors would be needed to perform the piece. Here are the three initial concepts for my year two FMP.

Concept 1. A lone woman on the streets of London

The first idea is based on a character who has received a phone call from her partner, who wants to end their relationship. Distraught, she walks the streets of London late that night. On these streets, she sees people in relationships who are happily interacting with each other, compounding the feelings of sadness and loss that she feels. The 2017 short film ‘Summer 17’ directed by Mikey Alfred, was the inspiration for my piece as I admired the film's composition and the director's style, which depicted different characters on a night out in summer. For this project, I would need to do further research into films shot in this time frame, to help inspire me and to work out who my target audience would be. I can create a more in-depth narrative for my short film, by writing a script, storyboard and planning a shot list. I am happy with this concept, as I can show different editing techniques that I have learnt from past projects, storyboarding and scriptwriting skills, whilst also learning different methods of cinematography to enhance the scene.

Concept 2. The drummer who cannot find her way

The second idea is also character driven - it revolves around the frustrations of a fanatical passionate drummer, who, whilst trying to write a piece of music cannot find the right note to complete her composition. The inspiration for this idea was the 2014 film ‘Whiplash’ directed by Damien Chazelle, along with the 2016 film ‘Sing Street’ directed by John Carney. I chose to focus on ‘Whiplash’ due to the methods used in filming the drum scenes - the tension that is achieved as the main character goes to breaking point to impress his teacher, the use of foley sound, recorded and edited together at a fast pace to create the emotional strain. I used ‘Sing Street’ due to the narrative aspects of writing a film where music is central to the plot, informing me as to how music is used in different moments in the narrative along with dialogue to create a story. I will conduct further research into how the 2014 film ‘Whiplash’ was made, by watching behind-the-scenes footage and reading written accounts from the director, which will help me learn new methods of shooting fast pace scenes. I aim to develop this idea by creating a script and storyboard for the film. I believe this idea will be interesting to create as it will showcase my skills both on a practical level and enable me to produce strong narrative content.

Concept 3. The Boxer and her coach

My final idea involves a 17-year-old girl who is having a tough time at school. She is about to sit her exams and decides that taking up boxing could help tackle her anxiety and stress. The concept revolves around the blossoming friendship between her and her boxing coach and how the friendship gives the female protagonist the confidence and strength to escape the town in which she has grown up in. The inspiration for this concept is from the 2004 film ‘Million Dollar Baby’ directed by Clint Eastwood along with the 2015 film ‘Creed’ directed by Ryan Coogler. (‘Creed’ is a spin-off from the Rocky film series created by Sylvester Stallone) Both film plots centre around the young protagonists seeking out a boxing trainer who can help them and follow relationships that develop between the boxer and coach. I found both films inspirational, with the fast pace and intensity of the fight scenes combined with a highly effective emotional narrative. I intend to do further research into the shooting techniques of ‘Million Dollar Baby’ and ‘Creed’ how they were edited and also how the foley sound was recorded, in the hope that it will inform me when creating my own short film. In creating this project, I can write a strong narrative storyline and it will showcase the different skills I have studied in the past two years.

Final Major Project:

For my final major project (FMP), I have decided to pursue the idea of the troubled teenage girl and her developing relationship with her boxing coach that enables her to escape the life she lives and move on from the town that she has grown up in. This story is the most personal to me and the most relevant - I have experienced a lot of what will be portrayed in the film and I myself use boxing as a method to combat stress so this experience will help to strengthen the narrative. It will also help the portrayal of the boxer to be more authentic.

Skills that I have learned in the past two years of study and how I will use them in my FMP

During the past two years of studying for the media level three diploma, I have learned and developed many skills in both practical and written units which I will showcase when creating my short film for my FMP. Below are the skills that I have learnt over the past two years and how I intend to use them in the FMP.

Editing: The BTEC course has improved my editing skills, in particular, last year whilst making a short film for my 1st FMP, I focused on learning new editing techniques including J cut, montage and cut away. I was able to do this by watching YouTube videos on the channel studio binder, then researching tutorials on the software, Primer Pro. I studied industry professionals -academy award-winning editors Thelma Schoonmaker & Walter Murch so that I could then apply their style and techniques to my own project. I also learned how to use the editing software Primer Pro in various other media aspects, such as creating various short films and music videos, which has strengthened my abilities and confidence in using the software and editing at a faster pace. In the music video unit, I was able to lip sync footage and sound, this skill can be applied to my final FMP short film when editing together foley and footage in the post-production stage. With all the techniques that I have learned in editing over the duration of the course, I feel that I will be able to produce a high-standard final edit FMP short film.

Camera Movements and Angles: At the start of year one, we focused on different types of camera movements and angles, which showed us how they can be used to manipulate and create tension for the audience. We focused on learning various shots, for example, extreme long shots, mid shots with a tracking movement, and close-ups. We tried shooting examples of these in order to be able to put these into practice ourselves. I have realised how the composition of a camera frame tells the audience the location, surroundings and mood of the scene. All of the information that I have learned has been applied to my work, including my most recent mini FMP. Camera movements and shot skills are something that I would study more in-depth for my final FMP. In particular, developing an understanding of filming different angles and movements and how they can enhance the narrative of a film. Finally, research directors that I admire and their methods of achieving specific shots. In the film ‘Jaws’ Steven Spielberg uses the dutch angle where the camera is tilted to make the audience feel uncomfortable after a character has seen a shark. Another example of camera movement and angle is the ‘tracking movement’ this is where the camera tracks a subject in a film for instance in the film ‘Atonement’ the shot is used to track the character through the beach in Dunkirk.

Foley Sound: Over the duration of the course, we have learnt how to record a variety of foley sounds including footsteps, keyboard sounds and background noises. We were also taught how to sync sounds with footage that we had to create or add sound to existing footage online or from current films such as a fight scene from “Captain America The Winter Soldier”. I used “The Ghost of Late”- a short film, by editing and changing sounds on the audition software to make the audio fit the video. After learning the basics of foley sound, we had to put them into practice in different units. Foley sound is another skill that will be very useful for my FMP. It creates atmosphere, makes the character's surroundings more realistic, enhancing the effect of a sequence.

Scriptwriting and Storyboards: I have become more adept at writing and creating scripts and storyboards since starting the media course. I have put this newly acquired skill into practice in most of the units when producing short films and music videos. In the first year, there was a key unit that focused on creating a script with a correct layout and narrative structure. We analysed some existing film scripts to learn how they achieved a naturally flowing dialogue. We learned how a storyboard layout can accompany a script to demonstrate the intended shots, where there is dialogue, foley sound and action happening in a scene. Analysing different genres, scripts and storyboards have helped me understand how to develop my own ideas and concepts into written and illustrated form. This will help my work when developing concepts into scripts and storyboards to be ready to film for my FMP.

Theory: I have gained a broad knowledge of aspects of theory from different media theorists such as music video theory from Andrew Goodwin, who believed there are eight different principles commonly seen in music videos, to folklorist Vladimir Propp who believed there are seven types of characters and a choice of 31 structural elements to use as the basis of any narrative, from storybooks to Film and TV. The other theories that I have studied and intend to apply to my FMP are 1. The Narrative storyline theory. The narrative structure theory believes that a film consists of three main stages the beginning, the middle/climax and the end. 2. The Laura Mulvey representation theory. Mulvey believes that mainstream Hollywood films are designed/biased towards the male audience, making the female characters passive in order to satisfy a male desire derived by looking, this is referred to as masculine scopophilia. I will think about and use Mulvey’s representation theory in my FMP short film by making the main protagonist female, with a strong female narrative in order to avoid the issues & pitfalls of Mulvey’s theory. 3. The Tzventan Todorov narrative theory. Tzvetan Todorov believes that any film's narrative has 5 stages; 1. Equilibrium, 2.Disruption of the equilibrium. 3. Recognition of the disruption. 4. An attempt to repair the damage, 5. A new equilibrium. In between each stage, there are points that lead to the main narrative event. As with Todorov's theory, using this structure will ensure my story has a strong narrative and is clear to the audience.

Research: I am interested in making a short film where the main female protagonist is involved in sports. To do this, I needed to learn more about women in sports and how the subject is portrayed in the media. I found different written theories, which I can utilise for my film, including essays by Mary Jo Kane & Heather D. Maxwell titled ‘Expanding the boundaries of sports media research: Using critical theory to explore consumer responses to representations of women's sports’ This makes the points of how important it is to have female representation in the sports media. Another title that I have been reading is by Anneke Smelik -‘And the Mirror Cracked’ Which looks at the feminist cinema and how different forms of narrative can be created by female directors. How women can forge new ideas into the medium of film. This is what I want to consider as I make a film about a female boxer.

Software: I have learned to use many different software apps over the last couple of years, the main software is Primer Pro, an app that specialises in editing. As I have used this in most units, I have become confident in navigating this software, along with visual effect software such as Maya and After Effects. This software enabled me to create and build different effects on the app. I have also learned to use publishing-style software apps such as Photoshop, Indesign and Illustrator, which have taught me how to create and edit images and formal layouts. However, the only software app I will use for this project is Premiere Pro in order to edit the footage together, as the other software apps are not required to use for the short film.

Skills Sheet:

Below is a diagram of all the skills needed to create a short film. Red represents the level of confidence I have with each skill, after studying them for the past two years.

After developing and achieving more skills in editing last year, I want to become more confident and look more in-depth at camera work - angles and movements in the hope of developing more of a long-term understanding. My aim during and after creating my short film is to be able to film high-level standard shots through different angles, movements and camera settings. By developing my skillset, I will also be broadening my knowledge of another aspect of filmmaking.

Role in my project: My role in this will be as a camera operator. A camera operator is someone who is hands-on with the filming equipment, moving and angling cameras to get the right shot. I intend to focus on creating different angles and movements and when it’s appropriate to use them. I have chosen this role because I would like to develop my skills further in order to improve aspects I didn’t do so well in my last FMP along with an interest in how different camera angles and movements can change and manipulate the audiences experience of a scene. The main influences in this role are Janusz Kaminski who works alongside Steven Spielberg shooting films including ‘Schindlers List’ and ‘Saving private Ryan’, who uses a range of movements and angles in both films, from long tracking shots to extreme close-ups. Philippe Carr-Forster who worked on ‘Spiderman’, ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Super 8’ has influenced me because of his groundbreaking camera work especially in ‘Spiderman’ during high action scenes which captured extreme long shots of the action and close up shots of the actors. My final chosen influence is Roger Deakins who worked on films including ‘1917’, ‘Fargo’ and ‘Blade Runner 2043’ . Roger Deakins is renowned for is cinematography as a director of photography or DOP, but also he also operates the camera and sets the main shots. I find the most impressive was the ‘1917’ tracking shot he created, when the protagonist Lance Corporal Schofield stumbles upon a French village’s blazing ruins with a large burning church. I will also create the script and storyboards for the short film, as I came up with the concept idea and can visualise types of camera angles and movements for the different scenes. The final role I will work in is editing, due to feeling more confident after developing this skill in last year's FMP and it will also give me control over the final product.

Practice Test Review: I wanted to practice the skills of camera angles and movements as this is something I want to pursue in my FMP. I did this by setting up different shots like over-the-shoulder shots, close up shots and mid shots with tracking and static elements. When filming the real footage I will change the lighting as I feel the character doesn’t stand out in the frame I will do this by changing the aperture on the camera. These practice tests have given me a broader knowledge of camera skills and is a job role I defiantly want to look at more in-depth in the project.

Proposal:

Intended Product Objective:

The intended product for my year two FMP, is to create a short film. I feel in doing this, I can showcase the different skills I have attained over the last two years. The film will be around seven to twelve minutes long, which will allow for a short narrative and, with the length of the film, will be achievable with the production schedule. The intended product will be based around a girl who is living through a period of being bullied at school which is affecting her life emotionally and affecting her studies as she approaches her A-level exams. By attending boxing classes, she finds escape and relief from the bullying, a friendship develops between her and the coach and she gains in confidence to escape the town she has grown up in, by trying to get a scholarship for a sports university. I want to project a meaningful message to the audience watching, showing that things do get better. Overall I feel my project story and concept have a strong narrative and central message and I will be able to achieve a good short film.

Development Of The Project:

I will develop the short film concept by writing and creating initial storyboards and script ideas. Once I have done this and am happy with the strongest outcome, I will create a final draft script and storyboard to use in the project. By playing around with ideas and creating scripts and storyboards, it will help me further develop the project, as I can work out what type of scenes and shots I need to film before moving on to production. In post-production I can edit all the footage I have shot, to create and develop the final product.

Moodboard:

Here is the mood board for my project this helps me to have an idea of how I want my short film to look:

Themes and Genres:

For the themes and genres in my short film, I want the codes and conventions to portray the sports genre, showcasing platonic friend relationships and growth. I feel these themes and genres best match the narrative. The sub-genre will cover emotional growth because the protagonist encounters different events that strengthen her character there will also be the sub-genre of generational friendship mentors this is because of the friendship between the main protagonists. These genres, sub-genres and themes best match the narrative story I want to create for my FMP.

Stylistic Approach:

I will be influenced by the cinematography of sport genre films. ‘Creed’ and ‘Million Dollar Baby’ in particular. These films use a realistic style which I like, where the colours are naturalistic and give the feeling of everyday life. They also use a fast pace tempo by achieved by their styles of filming and editing. My film will try to match the setting and genre of sports films.

Character Development:

I intend to develop the characters by creating different mind maps of who they are and their backgrounds and history before creating the scripts and storyboards. Doing this it enables me to understand where the characters have come from, to try and make them dimensional, how they will react in certain situations and what their eventual story will be.

The Theory I Will Apply:

The theory I will apply for representation in film is Laura Mulvey's representation theory. (Rachael Sampson, RS, ‘Film Theory 101 – Laura Mulvey: The Male Gaze’ Film Inquiry (Click Here) October 27, 2015. Viewed 25/01/23) Mulvey states that mainstream Hollywood film and TV were the product of a male-dominated and controlled industry, where women are seen and represented as passing objects. By applying this theory, I intend to make my protagonist a female, in order to avoid females being represented as passing objects and so hopefully change in some way female representation in the media.

I will also follow the key narrative theorist Tzvetan Todorov who states that there are five main stages in a film’s narrative. (BBC Bitesize ‘What is narrative?’ BBC Bitesize (Click Here) 2019. Viewed 25/01/23) Beginning with an equilibrium at the start of the film, when we are introduced to the protagonists and their normal lives. The second phase revolves around disruption when the state of equilibrium is disturbed by an event affecting the character's life. The third stage is the recognition of the damage to the equilibrium. The fourth stage sees repair to the damaged equilibrium, and the fifth is equilibrium once more. I thought that this structure would be a good guide to follow when planning and writing the script as it gives me key main stages to follow.

Another representation theory I want to apply is an essay written by Mary Jo Kane and Heather D. Maxwell -‘Expanding the Boundaries of Sports Media Research: Using critical theory to explore consumer responses to representations of women's sports’. (Kane, Maxwell, MK, HM, ‘Media Research: Using Critical Theory to Explore Consumer Responses to Representations of Women’s Sports’ Google Scholar, Click Here, Viewed 25/01/23 ) Their theory argues that women being represented in sports as “operated from the paradigm of positivism” and that having more women represented in sports is a positive change for more incorporation. I intend to use this theory when creating my short film, to try to represent women in the male-dominated field of sport.

Lastly, ‘the mirror cracked’ by A. Smelik, where similarly to Laura Mulvey’s (Smelik, AS, ‘And The Mirror Cracked’, Google Books, Click Here, Viewed 25/01/23), the theory describes that film ‘defines the female character as a structure a code or convention’. The sign ‘women’ represents the ideology meaning that she has for men; in relation to herself, she means nothing’ they are passing objects for the male protagonist. I want to change this in my FMP by having a female protagonist, that she will be a main character in her own right.

Narrative Structure:

When planning and writing the script and storyboard, I will look at a commonly followed film narrative structure of a film having three stages of a beginning, middle and end. By following the structure's three stages, I will have a clear and useful guide for writing my short film. (Bird’s Kid, ‘Short Film Narrative Structure in 40 Seconds’ YouTube, 2015, Viewed 25/01/23)

Target Audience:

The primary audience demographic for my short film should be a broad audience, the biggest target age group will be amongst seventeen to nineteen-year-olds. The events in the story are most relevant to this group as they will experience directly some of the events featured in the narrative. This age group also represents a high proportion of viewers who cinema and streaming platforms which will be critical. The gender of my target audience will be aimed more at a female audience, as the protagonist is a woman. I feel women will find the story more relatable. Women are also more likely to view a drama genre film which is a big factor in my FMP. The film will be marketed towards the middle-class demographic, due to them being the highest audience who view streaming services and cinema. The location of the target audience will be aimed at city and suburban areas, where their population is higher, and where they are more likely to stream content at home and view films at the cinema. Finally, these groups are more likely to have an interest in sports, - specifically boxing, as the film’s subject revolves around this sport.

For the film's secondary target audience, they will also have an interest in sports and can be siblings or friends of the primary audience, with the main secondary audience being the sister, mother and close friends of the initial audience who also have a love boxing and sports. The secondary audience will also be for people who enjoy a strong female lead that has relatable character developments and this is due to the project I am creating having two female leads that have character arks throughout the film. By using family and close friends often they have similar interests which can help with aim of the audience. I feel by incorporating the secondary audience will increase the films viewers and this has been shown in influential films like ‘Creed’ and ‘Rocky’. I feel aiming the secondary audience at the sister, mother and friendship group of the primary audience will match the description of who I am looking for with the secondary.

Even though the film is based around boxing, I intend to use very limited violence in my short film, as it will be important to link the Cultivation Theory. This is where the audience becomes less reactive to violence shown in the production, due to the constant exposure in the film, this can commonly affect how the audience behaves and reacts, so in my short film I am creating I will limit this. Another audience theory I am going to link is the Uses and Gratification theory, when audiences select different types of media that relate to them. I want my target audience, both primary and secondary to have a personal identity with the characters created and be able to relate to the protagonist.

For the film's psychological aspects, values, attributes and lifestyle, I want the target audience to be people who have an interest and lifestyle in sports and more specifically boxing due to the protagonist having an interest in this sport.

I am confident my short film will fit the mainstream audience description, as most of the films that have inspired my piece including ‘Creed’, best match the mainstream description and appeal to a larger target audience. The psychographics of the target audience will be ‘mainstreamers’ because they are the largest group in target audience research, as they seek security and best match the desired target audience I am aiming for. I feel my psychographic and demographic target audience is well-fitted to appeal to my short film, as they have similar target audiences to films that have influenced me including ‘Million Dollar Baby’, ‘Creed’ and ‘Rocky’.

Pen Portrait:

For the pen portrait of my short film, it will be a woman aged eighteen named Faith, who lives in Stratford, East London and is about to study Physical Education at university. Faith, lives with her Mum, Dad and younger brother and has a part-time job helping out at her local gym. She likes to play all types of sports, especially rugby and boxing.She prefers to train than go out with friends and listens to artists like Kendrick Lamar whilst doing this. This pen portrait compares with the description for the target audience.

Resources I Need For The Project:

For the project, I will need the following resources (Desktop documentaries, ‘Video Production Equipment’, (Click Here), viewed 25/01/23). Filming equipment would include a camera, z grip and a tripod. This will allow me to shoot the scenes without shaky and out-of-focus camera shots. For sound, Foley equipment - boom/zoom mic to clearly record different sounds and dialogue that are essential to the film. When shooting is complete I will need the editing software Premiere Pro to assemble and edit the footage and colour-correct the short film to give the final draft a completed look.

Essential props needed for filming will include gym and boxing equipment that fits the description of the scene to give the film authenticity. I will also require locations that best match the descriptions of the setting in the script which will create the right atmosphere. (Mccarthy, PM, ‘What equipment do you need to start boxing’, Fight Camp, (Click Here), 10/12/21, Viewed 25/01/23)

Finally, I will need a cast and crew. The crew needed is a sound manager who will record the foley sounds and dialogue and a cameraman who will film all the shots needed for the production. The cast will be the protagonist, Frankie and her boxing trainer and some smaller supporting characters that appear for a short amount of time in the script. Having all these resources will enable me to complete my short film.

Problems I expect to face

During filming, I expect to face a few problems along the way. The main issue being the boxing gym locations I will be scouting not allowing the public to film with a cast and crew due to privacy. The solution I have come up with if this becomes problematic, is reaching out to private contacts who own their own small gym and will allow me to film. This will only be necessary if public gyms don’t allow me to film on the location . Another problem that I might be a issue when filming is cast and crew being unable to attend filming dates, to over come this I will set a squeal that allows the production dates to be pushed forward or postponed to make sure the cast and crew are able to attend filming. Finally, the last problem that I expect to face is the equipment breaking or having technical issues however to overcome this I will before filming record test shots and foley to see if the resources are working I will also bring back up equipment in case to insure the equipment won’t affect filming.

Influences / Inspiration:

When creating the initial narrative for my short film, I looked at films based on sports drama themes and genres that inspired story ideas for my piece:

Creed: Directed by Ryan Coogler - (Judah, ‘Creed 2015 Training Montage’, YouTube, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NH1A6CLIrY Viewed 25/01/23) ’Creed’ inspired me when thinking about ways to portray the relationship between the protagonist boxer and his coach, ex-champion Rocky Balboa. How they train together showed me how I could create emotional narrative ideas within the training scenes. The film is based around the son of the late former boxer Apollo Creed who lives in the shadow of his Fathers’ legacy and persuades his old opponent and champion boxer Rocky Balboa to mentor and trains him. A friendship develops as they prepare for a title fight. This reaches its height in scenes where Creed and Rocky are in the hospital. Rocky is fighting cancer and undergoing chemotherapy, but still training Creed for his big fight. Both are fighting something and their friendship is strengthened by these events. They have both become a symbol of strength for each other. It helped influence my short film narrative, as I wanted to focus on the friendship between coach and trainee as they help navigate through a difficult time in the protagonist's life.

Technically, the scene and film influenced me with how to visually portray to an audience the relationship whilst training. The camera movements and angles used in ‘Creed’ were long, mid and close-up shots, with some static and tracking elements. The range of shots and motions bring home to the audience the emotions the characters are experiencing during training, especially when Creed is breathing heavily, near to tears over Rocky’s illness, showing closely his body language and facial expressions. This has inspired me to use similar camera techniques in portraying the emotions of the characters within the strong friendship between the mentor and the trainee. The editing techniques used during the scene were quick, fast-paced cutaways when training and then slowed down when it requires more of an emotional understanding, signalling to the audience that they need to pay more attention to this part of the scene. I want to incorporate this technique into my work as it creates the fast pace mood of the training, while also showing the character's feelings in the scenes. I can then control the audience's experience through how I edit together my footage. I further examined the chosen scene’s diegetic/non-diegetic sound. When the characters begin training a non-diegetic sound score begins to play, this technique enhances the emotions the characters are feeling. As the scene plays out it uses the diegetic sound of punch bag noises on top of the sound score, to give the scene a realistic feel, all the while continuing the non-diegetic sound. This sound technique helped me when thinking of ways to enhance the emotions between the two characters. By using music in the background it can signal to the audience the emotion that is about to play out within the scene. The last technical influence is the lighting used in the scene. The clip relies heavily on the use of silhouette lighting of the long shot camera techniques, particularly in the hospital location. It inspired me to think about how to light different training scenes which will make the characters stand out more with the contrast of the silhouettes. All of the above technical elements have helped me think of ways to best create footage and edit together my short film.

Million Dollar Baby: directed by Clint Eastwood - (The Planet Clips, ‘Clint Eastwood reluctantly agrees to train Hilary Swank | Million Dollar Baby Movie Scene’ YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e6JCgo2Bk4 2018, Viewed 25/01/23) The drama and sports genre film ‘Million Dollar Baby’ also inspired me when thinking of ways to portray the emotional relationship between coach and boxer. The plot of ‘Million Dollar Baby’ involves an older retired boxer Frankie who agrees to train a young woman named Maggie, who wants to become a professional boxer. After a while, Frankie reluctantly agrees to become her trainer, through intensive training the friendship blossoms and it is these scenes that I have decided to study in depth. The dialogue and interaction between the two characters as they navigate through hard decisions, the young fighter eager for her chance, the overprotective trainer who argues that she isn’t ready for fighting yet, was of particular interest to me as it is a strong theme in my own project.

‘Million Dollar Baby’ gave me technical ideas on how to present to the audience the mentorship between the boxer and coach. In the chosen scene, the film uses a variety of mid and close-up shots to capture the dialogue between the characters. The shots all remain static, which allows the audience to focus on the emotions the characters are going through. By focusing closely on the characters facial expressions we can see Frankie’s reactions when Maggie is telling him about her tragic life. This inspired me to use similar camera techniques to show the audience the emotions of the characters in my film as their friendship develops. I then looked at the editing technique the film uses. Slow cuts - allow the audience to view the facial expressions and body language being shown by the characters, which allows the audience to understand the developing friendship. Using this technique in my own work, will help when I edit together heavy dialogue between the two characters. After looking at the technical editing side of the scene I was then influenced by the location and setting of the short film. The scene I have studied closely in ‘Million Dollar Baby’ has Frankie and Maggie located in Frankie’s run down boxing gym, this is a setting and location that will be important in my own film as it sets the scene of it being about a boxer who takes her sport seriously. Finally, the last technical element that influenced me was the lighting in the scene as it uses dark silhouettes and shadows to create atmosphere with natural daylight coming in through the windows which highlights part of the protagonist’s face. I found this to be a clever technique which has inspired me to think of dramatic ways to light a scene and yet still be able to read the body language and emotions of my characters. It also has a naturalistic feel which I prefer.

The Fighter: directed by David O. Russell - (Rio 91, ‘Mark Wahlberg The Fighter Workout’, YouTube, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e6JCgo2Bk4 Viewed 25/01/23) The final inspiration for my short film is ‘The Fighter’ which has inspired me on how to add drama to the sequence outside of the boxing gym. The film ‘The Fighter’ centres around the troubled relationship the protagonist Mickey has with his brother Dickey, who is a drug addict. Mickey is training to become a boxer, but these are hampered by events that occur outside of the ring that is beyond his control. The most influential scene for me is when the character Mickey is training alongside his brother Dicky and the interaction and drama between the two that follows while they are training for an upcoming fight.

Different technical elements inspire me here they are used to create more dramatic moments in the scene. The camera techniques used range from mid/long close-up shots, combined with static and tracking movements so that the audience is able to experience all of the emotions that Mickey is feeling while boxing. I would like to incorporate this use of the camera into my own work, to show the range and depth of feeling in both facial expressions and in the body language of the two characters. The slow-cut editing techniques show the emotion the character is feeling, whilst training with his brother - their complicated relationship is demonstrated as the slow cuts give the audience time to see this. This technique is something I intend to use in my film to portray the drama genre elements that affect the character whilst training. The last technical influence I intend to use from the scene is sound. There is a non-diegetic sound of a song by ‘The Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ used to create a slow sad feeling while the character trains. I found this unusual, as it's normally more upbeat and fast-paced music for training. This technique brought a melancholy emotion to the scene which was really fitting for the character's relationship. I found this use of music in creating an atmosphere clever and it has inspired me to think of different ways to bring a similar emotion to my own work. I intend to combine all of the technical elements that I have examined in all three films to inspire me when creating my own short film.

What I Will Research- Primary and Secondary:

Influences/Inspiration: When researching the influences and inspiration for my short film I will rewatch all the films that have inspired my piece and take notes on the technical aspects that might influence my own work. This will give me further ideas on how to develop my film and bring more meaning to the scenes created and the best way to create drama in a sports-themed film. I will also research media products that present the sports theme and drama genre in a film. This will show me how to present and incorporate them in my own work. These secondary research methods will help me understand how to use technical aspects to create emotional atmospheres in my short film.

Ideas and concepts: During the project, I will research materials needed in my FMP to create my short film. I will research cast & crew required, locations that are available to film, timings, filming equipment, props and lastly, investigating if places are safe to film. These are all important aspects required to make the film. I will conduct this research during the pre-production stage of filming by filling out different production forms. This research will give me an idea of what I need before filming and an idea of when I am ready to film.

Action: For the action research, I will look in depth at practical and theoretical elements of making a short film used in the pre-production, production and post-production stages of filming, all of these aspects will be needed to know before filming. I will do this through reading books, viewing a variety of websites and watching tutorials on technical aspects of creating a film. For this, I will research locations, props, equipment needed, ways to budget, narrative structure, script writing, storyboarding, codes and conventions of the sports genre, theories to apply, editing and colour grading. I will focus on ones that are specifically talking about certain elements in camera work operator as this is something I am interested in developing further and will look at types of angles and movements and professional camera work examples. By doing this research into making a short film I will develop more of an understanding needed to make my short film.

Target Audience: For the primary research, I will further research my suggested proposal target audience. This will give me an idea of the correct target audience for the sports and drama themes and genre and show me if I need to make changes. I will do this by creating a questionnaire for the target audience whose age range is between seventeen and nineteen years old. This primary data will give me a final idea of the audience I am aiming at. For the secondary research, I will look more in-depth at the aimed target audience of my short film. I will achieve this by researching existing statistics on websites, which will give me further knowledge on my audience, through quantitive statistics, graphs and charts. This research will increase my knowledge of the ranges and how my film will be viewed by the target audience. Finally, after creating my short film rough draft, I will gather qualitative research from the target audience, their feedback, which will indicate where improvements can be made to the project before re-filming the final deadline. I will do this by interviewing and asking questions to people who fit the main target audience. Overall, I feel this will help improve my work and ensure that the target audience is happy with the project.

Production Schedule:

Here is a production schedule I will be following through my project keeping me on track throughout my year two FMP.

How The Project Will Be Evaluated:

After completing the short film project, I will evaluate the FMP by looking through the different elements completed and reviewing them to see if they were effective. I can then see what went well and what didn’t - what can be done to improve. I will also review the management of the project, the technical elements, any overall management and emotional problems I encountered along the way. By reviewing these questions, I can evaluate and explain my overall progress in the project and how I could improve in the future.

Proposal Bibliography (Harvard Reference)

Thapa, ST, ‘The 10 Best Boxing Movies Of All Time, Ranked (According To IMDb)’, Screen Rant, Click Here, 05/08/21, Viewed 25/01/23

Judah, ‘Creed 2015 Training Montage’, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NH1A6CLIrY 2017, Viewed 25/01/23

The Planet Clips, ‘Clint Eastwood reluctantly agrees to train Hilary Swank | Million Dollar Baby Movie Scene’ YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e6JCgo2Bk4 2018, Viewed 25/01/23

Rio 91, ‘Mark Wahlberg The Fighter Workout’, YouTube, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e6JCgo2Bk4 Viewed 25/01/23

Bird’s Kid, ‘Short Film Narrative Structure in 40 Seconds’ YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZyACElLUyA 2015, Viewed 25/01/23

Halligan, FH, ‘The Art of Movie Storyboards: Visualising the Action of the World's Greatest, MerseaBooks, (Click Here), 2013, viewed 25/01/23

Sideplayer, ‘Conventions of the sports genre’, (Click Here), 2016, viewed 25/01/23

BBC Bitesize ‘What is narrative?’ BBC Bitesize (Click Here) 2019. Viewed 25/01/23

Smelik, AS, ‘And The Mirror Cracked’, Google Books, Click Here, Viewed 25/01/23

Kane, Maxwell, MK, HM, ‘Media Research: Using Critical Theory to Explore Consumer Responses to Representations of Women’s Sports’ Google Scholar, Click Here, Viewed 25/01/23

Rachael Sampson, RS, ‘Film Theory 101 – Laura Mulvey: The Male Gaze’ Film Inquiry (Click Here) October 27, 2015. Viewed 25/01/23

Statista Research Department, ‘Cinema audience distribution in the United Kingdom (UK) as of 2014, by age and gender’, Statista, Click Here,14/04/2014, Viewed 25/01/23

BFI ‘Audiences’ BFI, Click Here, 2019, Viewed 25/01/23

Mccarthy, PM, ‘What equipment do you need to start boxing’, Fight Camp, (Click Here), 10/12/21, Viewed 25/01/23

Halligan, FH, ‘The Art of Movie Storyboards: Visualising the Action of the World's Greatest, MerseaBooks, (Click Here), 2013, viewed 25/01/23

Robert Mckee’s ‘story’ Methuen (Click Here) July 16 1999. Viewed 25/01/23

Desktop documentaries, ‘Video Production Equipment’, (Click Here), viewed 25/01/23

Steaven d. Katz ‘film directing shot by shot’ Michael Wiese (Click Here). July 1 1991. Viewed 25/01/23