THE HENLEY COLLEGE

Unit 5 - Proposal

Harry Cowley
5/9/2014





Harry Cowley

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Table of Contents
Initial Ideas .............................................................................................................................................. 2
1) Brainstorm ideas and create a mind map including 2 or more ideas. Analyse each idea within
the mind map. ................................................................................................................................. 2
2) Select an Idea from the two that you have brainstormed and justify your choice. ................... 2
3) Mood Board ................................................................................................................................ 3
Content Outline ...................................................................................................................................... 4
1) Synopsis ...................................................................................................................................... 4
2) Feedback ..................................................................................................................................... 4
Constraints .............................................................................................................................................. 5
1) Costs ............................................................................................................................................ 5
2) Personal Constraints ................................................................................................................... 5
3) Resource Constraints .................................................................................................................. 5
5) Contingency Plans ....................................................................................................................... 6
Target Audience ...................................................................................................................................... 6
1) Identify your target audience .................................................................................................... 6
2) Audience Figures ......................................................................................................................... 7
3) Legal and Ethical Considerations ................................................................................................ 7
Cast and Crew ......................................................................................................................................... 8
1) Roles ............................................................................................................................................ 8
2) Personnel .................................................................................................................................... 8
Market Competition................................................................................................................................ 8
1) Competition ................................................................................................................................ 8
Production Schedule ............................................................................................................................... 9





Harry Cowley

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Initial Ideas
1) Brainstorm ideas and create a mind map including 2 or more ideas. Analyse each idea
within the mind map.












2) Select an Idea from the two that you have brainstormed and justify your choice.

The idea that I have chosen to use for my final production is the story of the post-apocalyptic
survivor shown from a first person perspective. The reason that I have chosen to use this idea for my
short film is firstly because I personally prefer it as an Idea and also because it is a lot more practical.
It is something that I will be able to achieve even if it takes a lot of work to do. My second idea was
not realistic from a students position and budget and therefore I elected to use my other idea. I also
prefer the general style of the post-apocalyptic idea and I have all the equipment needed to film it
successfully including a Go-Pro which is a head-mounted camera and is what I will be using to get
the first person effect. I feel that it will be easier to produce this idea into a full production as I have
the equipment needed. My second Idea would be impossible to create using only the resources that
I have access to.




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3) Mood Board


























Harry Cowley

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Content Outline
1) Synopsis

The production will be the story of a survivor after nuclear fallout all shown from a first person
perspective. The film will start with the main character walking through a forest and will show him
searching for supplies and trying to survive. He will search through an abandoned building and also
attempt to hunt with the bow and arrows that he has. After some time, he will build a fire and fall
asleep next to it at which point the viewers will witness his dream of what happened years before.
The dream will begin in an old house that is clean and still has people living there, possibly the house
of the survivor, the character will walk through the house and up the stairs. He will then enter one of
the rooms but the door leads to a large open field. The sun is shining and all looks happy until a
nuclear explosion happens at the other end of the field showing a large mushroom cloud. The dream
will then show flickers of what the explosion did. The survivor will then wake up from his nightmare
and the fire will have died down to embers. He will then continue on his lonely way through the
wilderness.
2) Feedback

When I got into groups, my peers gave me feedback on my idea so far. They stated that the short
film may become repetitive only using one shot type and that maybe I should change it up. This is
understandable, but the core concept of my short film is that the viewer feels like the survivor and
sees the world from their point of view. With this in mind I have chosen to keep with my original
idea and instead, as a compromise, include enough interesting interactions with the survivor that
the audience does not get bored.
My peers also said that I should film in a different location as well as the wooded area and the field. I
was given the location of an old abandoned hospital which is frequently used for filming by the local
college. I think that this location suits my production perfectly so I am going to take the advice and I
hope to be able to film in this location.
Overall my feedback was very positive with not many criticisms, which is great. There were only a
few suggested adjustments to the filming of the production which I have taken into account.





Harry Cowley

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Constraints
1) Costs

This production will be reasonably expensive to create with most of the money being spent on props
and editing plugins. I will estimate the exact cost at around 100 with 30 going towards the editing
plugins and software and the other 70 going towards props and clothing. This money is already
being spent on the following.
- HUD (Heads Up Display) overlay for After Effects 30 http://www.dropdrop.com/
- Gas Mask 16 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Finnish-Army-Original-Gas-
Mask/dp/B008HEPUIS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1398948365&sr=8-4&keywords=Gas+Mask
- Woollen Fingerless gloves 10 http://www.amazon.co.uk/EDZ-Fingerless-Merino-Wool-
Gloves/dp/B006GCRTYQ/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1398948520&sr=8-2-
fkmr0&keywords=Wool+Gloves+panache
- Combat Trousers 20 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Match-Casual-Trousers-3357-
Regular/dp/B00E77YQRK/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1398948604&sr=8-
8&keywords=combat+trousers
- Combat Jacket 20 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hooded-Hoodie-Military-Combat-
Fleece/dp/B00E9C426S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1398948756&sr=8-
2&keywords=Combat+Jacket
- Combat backpack 10 http://www.amazon.co.uk/MOLLE-Assault-Military-Patrol-
Ruckasck/dp/B0032T8JUO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1398948781&sr=8-
2&keywords=combat+backpack
All money being spent is from my own personal savings.
2) Personal Constraints

The biggest personal constraint is actors age. However my production does not include any actors
other than myself and the entire film is shot from my perspective so there is no risk of the viewers
seeing what I look like.
Camera quality is another personal constraint however the camera that I am using has a very high
quality, footage output and I have the editing software needed to add the right amount of colour
correction to make it look professional.
3) Resource Constraints

Being a student I obviously have limited resources. For example, in a perfect world, I would love to
include mutant dogs into my short film, these dogs would then attack the survivor and he would
have to fight them off. However I do not have access to a 3D animation program and do not have
the skills to be able to create a 3D mutant dog that moves throughout the scene even If I did have
access to an animation studio.
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5) Contingency Plans

These contingency plans are backups if something that I have planned goes wrong.
What is your back up plan if actors dont show up?
I am the only actor in the entire production so there is no risk of me not showing up to the filming
location. However, if I am unable to film on the day that I would like, then I can always return on a
later date as the locations in which I want to film are both close to where I live and are also public
property.
What happens if it rains?
To be perfectly honest, it would really just add to the atmosphere that I am trying to create. I would
prefer that It wasnt raining when I was filming and if I really feel that I want to film when it isnt
raining, the location in which I am filming is very close to where I live so I can always come back
another day.
What will you do if you are unable to build an open fire in the woods?
I have bought a metal fire pit in which I can contain the fire safely. It is very similar to a barbeque
except without the grill and it sits on the ground instead of on legs. This will keep the fire contained
and make sure that it doesnt spread. If necessary, I can surround the outside of the container with
wood to hide the metal and make it look like a real fire.
What is your back up plan if you are unable to film in the field?
The field in which I am filming is public property and therefore there is no risk that I will be unable to
film. However, on the off chance that this does happen, I have access to multiple open fields which
will all suit my needs.
Target Audience
1) Identify your target audience

The target audience for my first person survival short film is mainly male teenagers from between 16
and 19 years old. This is because the short film is going to be quite gritty and dark and is also going
to emulate some video games. With this in mind I felt that the most appropriate target audience
would be the type of people that play video game and watch a lot of dark films hence the chosen TA.
For those with occupations, I believe that the socio economic groups would be C1 - lower middle
class supervisory or clerical, junior managerial, administrative or professional and/or C2 skilled
lower class skilled manual workers. I feel that these economic classes are best suited to my short
film as they will earn enough to own a computer and will most probably frequently visit YouTube.
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This means that if my production was uploaded by Rocket Jump, that it would appear on the home
screen of YouTube.
2) Audience Figures

My video would be uploaded to YouTube and is therefore accessible by anyone in the world. The
production company that I am working in conjunction with have an extremely popular YouTube
channel with almost 7,000,000 subscribers so if my short film was uploaded onto their YouTube
channel it would also be featured on the front page of YouTube, allowing those that have not
subscribed to Rocket Jump to be able to view it anyway.
Using the views of Rocket Jumps most recent uploads, I would estimate my viewing figures to be
within the 12,000,000 mark within a month.
http://www.youtube.com/user/freddiew
3) Legal and Ethical Considerations

My short film will contain no other actors and therefore poses no risk of breaking any ethical
considerations. The video may show some disturbing scenes that might spook or frighten any
younger viewers and for this reason there will also be an age restraint on the YouTube video,
stopping anyone under 16 from being able to watch it. As well as this age restraint, there will also be
informing pictures that will tell the viewers what kind of scenes that this short film will contain. For
example, if the short film included a gun fight, then at the beginning it would state that it includes
mild violence depending on how violent the scene was. In order to create a YouTube account, the
creator must enter his/her age which is then permanently liked to the account. This means that the
ages restriction on my video will automatically stop anyone under the age of 16 to be able to watch
it.
Unfortunately, it is unlikely that the Artist of the song The Heavy would give me the rights to use
their music without them being paid. This could therefore be counted as copy-write infringement.
Content-control software, content filtering software, secure web gateways, censorware, web filtering
software, content-censoring software, and content-blocking software are terms describing software
designed to restrict or control the content a reader is authorised to access, especially when utilised to
restrict material delivered over the Internet via the Web, e-mail, or other means. Content-control
software determines what content will be available or perhaps more often what content will be
blocked.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content-control_software



Harry Cowley

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Cast and Crew
1) Roles

2) Personnel

As I am the only personnel on the film set, there will be no issues with actors not arriving on time or
equipment not showing up. I will be bringing in all equipment myself and have made sure that I have
access to what I need.
The only personnel constraint would be if I was ill, at which point I would just have to adjust the
shooting date to a more preferable day. As I am the only one in the production, this will be simple
and easy.
Market Competition

1) Competition

My competition for this genre will be other films that are set in and around an apocalyptic world.
These include films such as:
The Book of Eli. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1037705/
The Quiet Earth. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089869/
Mad Max. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079501/
Other films that mine must compete against include the following YouTube videos that are all from
the same genre.
Forgotten. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=py3VmwENWgs
Echoes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hcxIOZoFVo
After civilisation. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuvmY-ac6yQ
Role Person
Camera man Harry Cowley
Survivor Harry Cowley
Editing and Sound Harry Cowley
Equipment Harry Cowley
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However, my production will be able to successfully compete with these other short films because it
will be an original idea. The idea to have a first person survival short film has not been used before
and because of this, I believe that my video will be a success. I will need to put a lot of work into the
production of my short film in order to keep in to the professional standards of my competitors. But
I believe that I am capable in doing this.
Production Schedule

Production Schedule
Days of
the
Week
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Weekend
12
th

18
th

Pre-
production
booklet
started
Pre-
production
booklet
continued
Pre-
production
booklet
finished
Filming
started.
18:00
Shots in
woods and
in Field.
Filming
continued
20:00 Get to
woods and set
up camp fire.
22:00 Light
fire and start
filming, should
be dark now.
8:00 Head to abandoned
hospital
Film throughout the day
getting as many shots as
possible. Bring food cans
for props.
Any extra filming can be
completed on Sunday. If
not then Editing started
on Sunday.
19
th

25
th

Editing
Started/con
tinued
Editing
Finished
Upload to
YouTube.