Most independant or short films tend to follow either a documentary style, be more social realist or a entertain. Our group felt it would be best and to create a social realism. Most social realists films tend to concern controversial issues such as:

drugs,
guns,
knifes,
gangs,
crime rings,
prostitution,
street crime,
murder,
sex,
injustice,
suicide,
anti social behaviour,
dysfunctional families and social relationships,
gangsters,

among other things. The above are the most recurring things in these types of films.

In our film we decided to base it on a postsecret we had seen. It was quite similar to this one:





We want to use the postcards to show feelings that can't be sufficiently shown in film. This is quite an original idea and makes you feel more connected to the character as the postcards are very private. They contain secrets which are very close to the character and allowing the audience to see them makes the audience feel as if they know the character more in depth.

Plan One:

Girl is in love with someone but is being treated badly in this relationship. However she still stays with him and is very much in love. She drink in excess and takes drugs. To earn money for the drugs she sells her body. She feels bad for doing this as she feels as if she is cheating on her boyfriend. At the end she takes drugs and goes into drug induced haze. She has a dream whilst in haze and lets go of a red balloon. The balloon has a postcard attached to it.

Problems:
The audience are unsure whether she has overdosed or just mentally let go of her bad relationship - sometimes a cliffhanger ending is good because the audience can imagine it ended in the way they wanted - but would this work out good or bad?

5 minutes is quite a short time to show that the relationship is bad and everything else she goes through, how could we effectively show that and make the audience connect with her in that short time?

The plan is for postcards to be left at different points to show her feelings towards the current situation - how?

we need 3 separate situations that the main character feels bad about - what?





Plan Two:





The main character has a relationship with a drug-dealer. Before the point of the film he has fed her drug addiction. To earn the drugs from her boyfriend maybe he pimps her? Maybe when she has taken loads of drugs, she is beaten up really badly and nearly dies. This could give her the courage to leave her boyfriend and give up drugs.





Problems:


How do the audience know he's a drug dealer?


How to realistically show her being beaten up and injuries?


Again the time is short but how can you appropriately fill it?


Is the storyline to simple to keep the audience's attention?


Dialogue?


How to make it memorable?








Plan Three:


The main character comes from quite a dysfunctional household. There is no present father and her mother appears to be an alcoholic. The daughter is following in her mother's footsteps although her mother is advising her not to. The daughter encounters general problems e.g can't get a job, her school work isn't very good etc. She goes home and her mum has passed out on the sofa. She goes through her mum's drawers and find some drugs and takes them. She then passes out and it ends.



Problems:



Who would play the mother?



How to show the mother has a problem?



Which drug can we effectively show?



How to fill out the time so the film isn't too rushed or doesn't drag on?



What dialogue? Or would it be more effective in silence?