Planning for Evaluation Question

Filming Plan

After getting all the immediate filming equipment we need, we are finally going to be making our idea a reality. On Sunday we will be filming scenes such as the sock trail and the returning home of the family and monday will be remaining house scenes, as well as the rest of the week being the interviews of the Sister, Paul and his dad. Random people will also be filmed for their opinions this weekend.

Script/Finished/Draft

Here is the script for our short film "Confessions of a Sock-a-holic". As said in my earlier post, when acting this mockumentary, improvisation will be allowed because it can add to the passion and realistic drama of the scene. Though it is finished the ending I believe could be improved, so this could be part of the script improvised during filming, however this will act as a directed guideline. In writing this scrip sounds more formal and serious, but when directing, editing and filming we will make sure the style is of a documentary. From previous research of television series', I know that pitch's of just scripts often do not get picked up because they don't fill the gap in the market for the broadcasting company, this is another reason as to why I feel improvisation on the day will emphasise that it is a mockumentary and not a documentary.

“CONFESSIONS OF A SOCK-A-HOLIC”

EXT-PARK-DAY

Documentary crew edge towards young boy walking dog

DOCUMENTARY CREW (QUESTIONING):

Excuse me, have you ever heard of the Sockmonster?

RANDOM YOUNG BOY (THOUGHTFUL):

…I think so, doesn’t he steal our socks?

                                                  CUT TO:

EXT-HOUSE FRONT-DAY

Crew knock on random door

RANDOM PERSON #2 (RAISES EYEBROW):

Can I help you?

DOCUMENTARY CREW:

Quick survey; do you often find you have odd socks?

RANDOM PERSON #2 (GROANS):

Too often to even count

                                           

                                         CUT TO:

EXT-CITY-DAY

DOCUMENTARY CREW (QUESTIONING):

Have you ever heard of the Sockman?

RANDOM PERSON #3 (FROWNS SLIGHTLY):

Who? The Sockman? Never heard of him.

                 

                                               FADE TO:

INT-INTERVIEW ROOM-DAY

‘Paul Smith’/Sockman settles down in the chair and anxiously fidgets. Adjusts attire and eyes flick around the room scanning the unfamiliar setting

INTERVIEWER (QUIETLY):

You ready?

PAUL (UPTIGHT) Clenches hands in lap:

Just get on with it

INTERVIEWER (TAKES DEEP BREATH IN AND OUT AND QUESTIONS):

So Paul, tell us about this enemy of yours, the Sockmonster

                                                   CUT TO:

INT-BEDROOM-DAY

Paul refers to map and further documents referring to the Sockmonster and his movements

PAUL (V.O)(CONTINUED FROM INTERVIEW)(PASSIONATE):

He’s not just my enemy. He is society’s villain. He steals (emphasis) socks. Your socks. He steals your clothes. I mean ok, sure he doesn’t take your t-shirts or your shoes, which are more valuable, but still he takes something you have paid for. Gone. Forever.

Paul pins tags to map, marking where he has been and where to go next. Looks to hand drawn picture of the Sockmonster and screws up piece of paper in anger

INTERVIEWER (V.O)(CRITICAL):

Don’t you think that’s a bit over dramatic? You’re taking it very personally, as well. It seems to me that he is not doing this just to you, so why take it so personally?

Paul gets ready for his next mission. Gets changed into Sockman outfit

                                                     FADE TO:

INT-INTERVIEW ROOM – DAY

PAUL (O.S) (AGITATED):

Over dramatic? Because of that thing, my mother is dead. He purposely left a sock, which my mother slipped on and resulted in her death. You cannot say it’s not personal.

INTERVIEWER(SIGHS):

Do you tend to have an outfit when tracking down this so called Sockmonster.

PAUL:

This is my OnePiece, I always wear this when on duty because it is the closest thing to a full body sock.

                                               

                                                    CUT TO:

Sockman/Paul picking at the door lock and breaks in. Cowboy shot and front shot of Paul walking up the stairs. Enters bedroom and goes to open suspected sock draw. In the meantime knocks over flower vase.

LITTLE BOY (ALARMED):

Mummy! I heard something!

Paul rises and anxiously scans the room

                                                     FADE TO:

EXT-POLICE STATION-DAY

Paul leaves police station after his arrest for breaking and entering. Long shot and pan of him crossing the road.

DOCUMENTARY CREW:

You ok?

PAUL (HUSHED):

Yeah I’m fine. I’m fine.

                                                   CUT TO:

INT-INTERVIEW ROOM-DAY

INTERVIEWER:

What was Paul like as a teenager?

PAUL’S SISTER:

We never really saw eye to eye. He was there…but it was like he wasn’t.

                                                 CUT TO:

Paul pulls the map out of his bag and places it back on the wall. He then takes out the socks he collected and repairs them with socks that he had previously found.

PAUL’S SISTER (V.O):

Ever since our mum died, he’s spent all his time in his room.

                                                CUT TO:

INT-BEDROOM-DAY

Pan of Paul’s room. See posters, voodoo dolls, map and picture of his mum.

                                                    CUT TO:

INT-INTERVIEW ROOM-DAY

Paul’s Dad looks serious sat in the interview chair.  Breathes in deeply and exhales in preparation for the unrepressing of  lies and hurt over his wife’s death

INTERVIEWER:

Why don’t you tell us how your wife really died?

PAUL’S DAD (SIGHING):

I knew you would ask that.

                                                 FADE TO:

INT-HALLWAY-DAY

Paul/Sockman enters another house and climbs the stairs to accomplish another mission.

PAUL’S DAD (V.O) CONTINUED:

You see when Paul was young, he would often…misplace things; whether that be a toy or a piece of clothing

Cowboy shot and front shot of Paul climbing stairs and identifying which room to enter.

PAUL’S DAD (V.O) CONTINUED:

Well one day, his habit meant he left a sock. This sock (STARES OFF INTO SPACE) has been responsible for all the evil and bad things that have happened to my family.

Paul enters bedroom, opens bag and enters sock draw to repair lonesome socks

PAUL’S DAD (V.O) CONTINUED:

I created the Sockmonster. He doesn’t exist. I used him to distract my son from taking the blame. At age ten, what are you more likely to believe? That you left a sock and now your mother is dead or that a Sockmonster left it. Haven’t you found you have odd socks?!

Paul hears noise from down stairs and thinks the home-owner is home. He goes to check and finds that there is a sock trail all down the stairs. Paul begins to hyperventilate/have panic attack

                                               CUT/FADE TO:

INT-INTERVIEW ROOM-DAY

Paul’s dad takes deep breath and shuts his eyes

PAUL’S DAD:

I never knew that his self-induced ostracization would lead to these delusions

CUT/END 

Script Idea

When drafting our script, it occured to me that Mockumentary style productions usually have a spontaneous nature. For example, The Office (http://www.bbc.co.uk/comedy/theoffice/archive.shtml) is 95% scripted, but there is some space for actor improvisation. I feel that this should be similar in our film because it will allow 'in the moment' dialogue, which will add to the mock drama of the scene.

Development Update: Location, Cast and Props

In this video, we discuss what locations, props and cast we are going to use, however some of them are still under question.

Character Profiling for 'Confessions of a Sock-a-holic'

Name: Paul Smith (Pseudonym)  

Age: 20 

Marital Status: Single

Occupation: Works part-time at a book and stationary store (able to get free stationary to plot his adventures)

Residency: Lives with his Dad who believes that his son would be incapable of looking after himself without guidance.

Family Life: Mother died when he was 10 and was mainly brought up by his father and grandparents. He has a younger sister, but they are like strangers due to Paul's self-exclusion from the family.

Close Friends: He believes his own company is more than enough and doesn't enjoy the company of too many people because he finds them interfering.

Brief Synopsis

Paul Smith, is a young Schizoprenic, who has suffered from delusions and hallucinations about the 'Sockmonster' ever since his father told him the scarce fable to cover up the truth over his mother's death. As the documnetary crew follow Paul, it is explained that he has an obsession with re-paring lonesome socks stolen by the sockmonster and with finding this theif once and for all. Paul's dad is keen to tell his side of the story. From his interview we discover that the 'Sockmonster' was a one off story to stop Paul from taking the blame for his mother's death, as it was him who left a sock which she slipped on and died.

Conventions of a Mockumentary

For our short film, we decided on a Mockumentary because it will allow us to cover a somewhat serious situtation within a playful and humourous topic.

Conventions of a Mockumentary:

• Interviews with Characters

These are used to add more depth to the characters and get to know them on a personal basis. On paper this is the documentary side to film, however it is the strength of a script and the plot behind it which gives it a comedic feel.

In our film we will use interviews as the main pieces of dialogue. There will be questioning and the odd piece outside of the interview, but it is the interview which will hold the main segments of information. They will also serve as voice overs during some scenes - this may add to the tension of a particular scene or just to make sure the audience does not loose focus during times of silence and pure movement.

• Voice Over

These are used to compliment the acting on screen. They can either introduce a new scene or express to the audience off-screen or on screen happenings to give them information.

Though a convention of mockumentaries, there is no voice over by narrator. We felt as though the plot was self-explanatory and that voice over should be done by the characters to add an 'evolving story' feel.

• On-Screen Text

Used to identify characters, settings and time.

We decided to limit the use of on-screen text because it can often crowd the screen. We are only going to use it during the interviews to introduce the characters.

• Realism

This is the use of natural lighting and sound.

In our film, we will use natural light, even though some filming will be done during the evening. There will be little dubbing or foley work, except for when a little boy yells, because it is near impossible to get the noise loud enough for the camera to pick it up.

This is our Mock Poster for our film. We this was also a part of brief to be created for our pitch.
In my opinion, this poster, though a mock, gives good denotation to our short film. It is simple, but sums up our film, hopefully in an intriguing way to attract an audience.
There is still room for improvement; for example instead of our names being placed at the top of the poster, we should place our production company name and cast name. A date and new broadcasting company will also be changed to fit in with conventions, which for poster's is vital.
Poster created by Jacob Lucas

Media Pitch

Recently, we have been told to create a pitch including a 90 Second Synopsis, 90 Second speech on Distribution and our mock poster. Here is a written format of pitch:

Synopsis
From young, Paul Smith (currently no name has been decided), was the under the illusion that the Sockmonster had left an odd sock on the top of the stairs, which his mother tripped over, fell and died. In reality, the Sockmonster was a fable created by Paul Smith's father to hide and reconstuct his memeory as to how she really died, which was by Paul Smith leaving his odd sock accidentally.
The short film follows Paul Smith on his mission to catch this Sockmonster. We are situated not only with Paul Smith's of obsession with finding the Sockmonster, but also his compassion reunite lonesome socks with their missing partner - He believes this will not only benefit the owner, but everyone because it will prevent others from plunging to their own death. Paul Smith's legacy leads him to great deal of legal trouble and his back story gains him little sympathy from the police, but they let him go under strict orders to find the truth about this so called Sockmonster. His father also plays a key role in telling the story. He explains to the documentary crew, that his fabrication of the Sockmonster got 'out-of-hand' as Paul Smith got older. His father thought that he had forgotten about the Sockmonster as Paul Smith grew up, when truthfully Paul Smith had created a delusion based upon hallucinations he suffered as an older child and teenagers - symptoms of Schizophrenia.

Distribution
I believe the distribution of our film would fit successfully within the mainstream market. Just like the synergy used in the feature length film 'TED' ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fbo_pQvU7M) of merchandise E.G. the bear TED, and the film; I see out short film using a similar technique - the synergy of the short film and of merchandise such as socks and it could be seasonal for example at Christmas, stockings could be apart of the franchise. It could be argued that the short film would be a success on the independant market because it covers issues of a sensitive nature, however, I think the way the mental health issue (Schizophrenia) is covered is in a mainstream way as it glamourises the disorder by not displaying the harsh reality of living with the disorder.
I also believe the short film would gain the largest attention if it were to be uploaded on the internet where it will gain an audience seeking such material and with the rise of Web 2.0 it is easier than it ever has been to access and share short films. It allows for it to be spread virally through Social Network (Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr), which could be argued as the most important way to share information and art.