SHORT FILM PROPOSAL

By Varshini Yogaeswaran

Target Audience ProfileWhat is the age range of potential views?As my chosen area of abuse is domestic violence against women there will probably an age range of 16 and onwards. There really isn’t a precise age range for domestic violence it can happen to anyone. The age rating for my short film is 15.  ABC1:Based on my chosen area of abuse I believe that there really isn’t a particular class it points towards to. However, if I had to be concise and relying on my research it would mainly point towards to the lower middle class and skilled working class; C1 and C2  What gender will the audience be?Majority of them would probably be women as it is mainly focused on them.

My short film is about Domestic Violence against Women, through this film I want to raise awareness and make sure that people fully

understand what Domestic Violence is and to visualise how much

women suffer from this immorality. Through my film, I want to make a

visual statement, that will grasp the eyes of the public and express the pain on behalf of the women who undergo this disturbing process. I

feel that women who are unfortunately undergo this odious condition need to be focused more

in the public eye.

The main characters are: Mike, Veronica and the children. The school

teacher and the policeman are the supporting roles who really brings out the purpose of this short film. Nina’s

class teacher (Miss Adriana Swanepole) involves in this story when she starts to get suspicious

about Nina’s bad school report and as well as Niall’s. This leads to the point

where the policeman (Mr Royce Cruise) is involved due to Nina’s

school teacher.

Abusive father’s name: Mike

Abused mother’s name: Veronica

Boy: Nial

Nina’s School teacher: Miss Adriana Swanepole

Girl: Nina Policeman: Mr Royce Cruise

Mike: He is an example of why many women around the world suffer in their

relationship. He is a controlling, possessive

and manipulative man who abuses his wife for his

pleasure. This character reveals the true picture of

how ruthless and aggressive an abuser can be. This can be a wakeup

call to women to stop themselves from falling for men like Mike. People like

Mike walk around the world wearing a façade;

this is how they lure women into this type of

situation.

ManipulativeControllingPossessive

MIKE!

Veronica: She is a normal housewife who gets brutally

abused by her psychotic husband and like any abused women she is very insecure and timid. However, she has that tiny source of courage

that keeps her going through all this pain. Using a

character like Veronica I want people around the world to realise how awful domestic

violence can be, so then people would actually

visualise the pain and not just hear about it and forget it the

next minute.

Niall and Nina: Children who are in these type of situation are affected in a significant way. This will definitely touch the hearts of the audience. They are struggling to hide what is

happening in their family but soon reveal it to their teacher. This sparks the investigation to the abuse.

Miss Adriana Swanepole: The supporting roles are really the ones that change the story and really bring the film closer

to reality. Miss Adriana Swanepole is a character who

really cares about the well being of the children. When she tries to help Nina (her student) to speak up about

what is happening, she soon discovers the reason behind

her absences and tries to find a way to help them out of their

situation.

Inspirational Female Teacher Characters

Annie Sullivan- The Miracle Worker Louanne Johnson- Dangerous Minds

Miss Honey- Matilda

Ms. Norbury- Mean Girls

Erin Gruwell- Freedom Writers Ms. Rain- Precious

Royce Cruise:: He is the policeman who comes at the end of the story to arrest Mike for the abuse

Mike wants Veronica to fulfil his stereotypical ideas about women. Veronica has a better

understand of how the world works. The initial conflict is started by the man. When Mike tries

to force himself upon Veronica she refuses, which makes him aggressive as a result. This is a fairly common occurrence in relationships but can escalate into conflict if one of them

reacts with anger.

Mike: He is very old school and believes that women should be at home to take care of the man and the children, however in modern society most women go to work and have

very less time to take care of their family. This is what causes the conflict as Veronica strongly disagrees with what he believes.

◦Veronica: She does believe that she has the responsibility to take care of her family, but her definition of how a women should be is very different to Mike’s. This will

definitely cause a dispute between them but my story shows how a dispute can end in a violent result.

Whenever Veronica and Mike have an

argument I will use the technique of flash

forwarding from Veronica’s point of

view; the “confrontation”.

Based on Mike’s actions which eventually gets worse, the vision will get stronger; meaning that the result of the confrontation is intense.

AUDIENCE BIASES

As I am focusing on Domestic Violence against Women, it purely portrays

the man as the abuser. However, in some cases it does happen vice versa.

Unfortunately, we still live in a society where women are still seen as the most vulnerable, powerless and valuable. My story fits into the belief of our society,

meaning that the audience might leave with a one

sided opinion.

WE’RE

It is not from the man’s point of view. It’s mainly based from the women and children point of view

Even though the entire film is depicted through the eyes of a female, there will be a situation of why this had to take place; meaning that there will be a chance for the man to speak up. The

flashback will be the key to this. They are the only proof that tells the audience how and why it started.

There will be flashbacks when Niall and Nina finally

open up about their father’s abuse to their teacher.

Doing this will also help the audience to understand the

origins of the abuse

Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind

Up

The information of how it started will be told from the information that will appear during the flashback. As it explains how everything started, what the children remember and was told by the mother).

From the flashback scene onwards there will be an increasing force of what might happen next and will make the audience eager to know the ending. It

will be clear that the teacher is going to help fix their problem, but what obstacles would she need to face first in order to achieve it?

The upcoming obstacles can make

the audience suspicious of

whether the mother and children will be

safe, what consequences might the teacher face for

helping them? This can relate to

real life and give the audience a vision of how things can be changed just by an

act of kindness.

RESOLUTION

I want my film to end on a good note so it will create a positive energy within the audience. The film is about how one good deed can help

someone; this indirectly points out to the audience. I want people to be aware of what is

going on around them and be more caring about others and be helpful.

No matter how bad the problem is you should be able to help someone; even just by talking to

them and giving them advice. The beginning of the film will already make the audiences mind up

of how they would want the story to end. The answer is not given straight away as it wouldn’t

get the message out to the audience, making the audience anxious is the key to accomplish this.

The ending of the film should not create a one sided judgment as it would demolish the whole purpose of the

movie. I want the ending to be a balanced yet a quite forceful message, so it would imprint in the audience’s mind; preventing them from going out with a one-sided

opinion.

I would be using low and high angles in order to make the victims look vulnerable and frail and the abuser to portray a

monstrous feel towards the audience. The use of make-up will make the characters look more realistic and will naturally make

the audience to imagine the awful images the victims would have gone through, and how an abuser would look like. In addition to this, the lighting also plays a major role while

crafting a movie. Majority of the scenes would be shot in low key lighting to set the atmosphere in motion and within the

audience.

Form and Style

From what I have researched and the things that I think would be essential in order to produce a short film, I would need at least £20,000. Based on:

◦ Selecting the actors (Audition) ◦ Location Inspection◦ Production Schedule◦ Script- locking◦ Casting◦Organizing the props and costumes◦ Shooting Schedule ◦ Crafting a floor Plan◦ Catering