PROPOSAL 2018

Initial Idea:

Outline: For my Final Major Project, I am going to be making a short film about Stalking, and the
dangers surrounding social media.

Idea generation:
In my first year Final Major Project, I produced a short drama film based on mental illnesses. I
thought the film that I made was interesting, educational and moving. For my next Final Major
Project, I wanted to do something similar to this.

Drama films often follow storylines that feature controversial real life topics and social issues. When
thinking of a topic for my film, I put this into consideration. I came up with a few issues that I could
portray. Initially, I was going to make a film about Autism, but I thought it would be too similar to the
film I made previously. I then changed my ideas and though about making a film based on
Euthanasia. Again, I decided against this due to it being a very upsetting and sensitive subject. After
a lot of research and discussion, I have finally decided to choose the topic of Stalking and the
dangers surrounding social media.

A big issue on deciding my idea was ensuring the topic I chose allowed me to get appropriate actors.
There were a few things I had to consider when ensuring I had the right actors. Here are the issues I
faced:

 I live about 40 minutes away from college, and with traffic, it can sometimes take me over
an hour each way. This means that travelling can take up a lot of time.

 A lot of my friends near where I live are either working or at school/college during the week.
This means that I cannot film at home Monday to Friday.

 I work at weekends. This means I cannot film at home at the weekends.

 I am on a very low budget so I cannot hire actors from agencies.

This means I will have to film with people from college such as my friends, classmates or the drama
department. This is okay, but it isn’t ideal. Filming with my friends and classmates means taking up
valuable time from their own Final Major Projects. This would be understandably very annoying as I
understand how much pressure they are under. Filming with the drama department may also be
quite a challenge because our timetables will be different and it may be hard to find times when we
are both free.

I have not decided who my actors are going to be yet, but I will plan with them in advance to ensure
that they can plan their work around filming with me, and if they need any help, I can reschedule my
plans to suit them.

As for locations, I can pretty much film anywhere and do not have any set locations decided at
present. However, I want to film a few shots of Hannah leaving New York and sitting on a plane. As
we are going on a college trip to New York in April, I think we will have plenty of time to get this
shot. I will also like to get a clip of the girls meeting each other at the airport, and I feel as though I
could do this easily too. Other than that, it can all be filmed in the UK, either at college, at home, or
around the local area.
 PROPOSAL 2018

Detail: Your idea in as much detail as you can

Characters

CHARACTER AGE ABOUT

Annie Creswell 18 Annie is an outgoing 18-year-
old girl from London. She runs
an online blog and spends a lot
of time online talking to her
internet friends.
Hannah Soliman 18 Hannah is a shy 18-year-old
girl. She is British, but has
spent the last 2 years living in
New York.

My short film is going to be about a girl called Annie Creswell. Annie is 18 and lives near London.
Annie is quite outgoing and runs an online blog. She has a large fan base and has many internet
friends.

One of those friends is called Hannah Soliman. Hannah is 18, just like Annie, but she is very shy.
Hannah is British, but she has spent the past 2 years living in New York.

The two girls are very different, but despite this, they are great friends and they talk to each other
every day. Eventually, the girls agree to meet up. Hannah flies to London and meets Annie. Initially,
things go well and the pair get along. However, Annie finds it quite bizarre how obsessive and
controlling Hannah can be. She gets very funny over certain things, acts jealous, and has drastic
mood swings. This makes Annie very uncomfortable. In a series of strange events, Annie soon learns
that Hannah isn’t the person she thinks she is….

Why my product should be made:

I think my short film should be made because social media and stalking is a major issue in society.
The topic and storyline I have chosen will suit my specialism (Drama) because it is a real life issue, it
is relatable, and it is dramatic. As well as this, it will also teach them something. The film will raise
issues that some people may not be aware of, and it will educate them as to what they should do if
they are in the same situation.

I will be targeting my film towards teenagers and young adults; particularly females. I have chosen
this as my target audience because teenagers and young adults are more active online and on social
media than older people. Although stalking and online grooming can happen to both males and
females, I also feel as though girls are more at risk. However, I will try and make this film suitable
and somewhat relatable to all genders.

I am aware that there are films already made about stalking and the dangers surrounding social
media. My film will not be as good as this because I will be using armature actors, basic equipment
and editing software. I will also not have my own camera crew and I will be on a very tight budget.
However, I feel as though I can make something that will be entertaining and educationally valuable
to my audience. And whilst it will not be up to professional standards, I will try my very best.
 PROPOSAL 2018

My film is going to be made to the guidelines of the Aesthetica Film Festival, in the hope that I can
enter it into the competition. I am going to work very hard to ensure it is up to film festival standards
so I can enter it. I feel as though it would be a great opportunity for me and it would be a great
achievement to show to future employers/universities.

I am passionate about learning, writing and producing short films based on the genre of drama. I
love researching into a topic and turning it into something creative that can educate others. I am
very excited about researching into stalking and the dangers surrounding social media, and I am
excited about producing the final film for this course and putting all my skills together to produce
something really great.