Introverted boss

- lots of negative space/ headroom

-usually at the corner

- i find this framing unique and nice because it makes the subject stand out more.

-i like it when they use dutch angle when it is intense as well as when they make it intentionally shaky during conflicts.

REFERENCE LIST

REFERENCE LIST

MINOR:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/nov/19/young-transgender-suicide-attempts-survey

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/survey-depression-prevalent-among-transgender-people

MAJOR

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6f_pPOhGRVQ&t=2126s

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_Woman_Do_Bong-soon

http://www.healthline.com/health/depression/facts-statistics-infographic#7

http://time.com/4572593/increase-depression-teens-teenage-mental-health/

VISUAL REFERENCE

This is the visual reference for the bus scene. It will have a tint of blue

This is the visual reference for the alley scene. It will be dark and gloomy

more more more research

MORE MORE RESEARCH

According to an article written by Susanna Schrobsdorff, There is an increase in major depression among teens in the US. In the last decade, teens having major depression increased, especially girls. This is why I chose women as the target of crime.

The film explores about depression. Which is a rising problem. Depression rates increase each year. The number of teens who had a MDE or major depressive episode jumped from 8.7% in 2005 to 11.5% in 2014 which is a 37 % increase. (from a study about national trends in depression among young adults that was published in the journal Pediatrics.) But despite the increase, there hasn’t been a corresponding increase in mental health treatment. This results to young adults committing or attempting suicide.   

“There’s a Startling Increase in Major Depression Among Teens in the U.S.”

By: Sussana Schrobsdorff (November 16, 2016)  

Figures: screenshots from the article

I couldn’t decide what gender or age group to use as the targets therefore I researched on who has a higher chance of getting depression. Is it guys or girls? And this article helped me decide which gender(female since more likely to get depression)

INSPIRATION

I had the inspiration from a korean drama I watched  called The Village: Achiara’s Secret, about someone who kills women by making them happy. I usually never watch thriller but this drama caught my attention as it is interesting and exciting and you will never be able to guess who is the murderer. They lead you to one person but at the end prove you wrong. Therefore I researched on how the killer killed the women by making them happy. I researched on the different hormones that make people happy. I never really used it in the film but I still researched to make it seem more believable. The killer added Serotonin,  or also called “happiness hormone” which regulates our mood. An increase in it prevents depression which makes people happy. So the girls will feel happy as they die. To kill them painlessly, Endorphins are added to reduce their sensitivity to pain. Ghrelin is also included to reduce their stress and help them feel more relaxed. The victims therefore feel extreme ecstasy as they die.

I based the mood of the film on something called red and blue pill to represent choosing between embracing the painful truth of reality (red pill) or the blissful ignorance of illusion (blue pill.) In one of the twins room is lit using blue lights which represent her (SARAH) running away from her problem with her twin sister. Whereas the other room is lit using red lights which represents her (SCARLETT) facing her problem of finding the killer of her twin sister. The killer’s house is also lit using blue lights as he chooses to help depressed women in the wrong way.

           

Figure 1: Red and blue pill                                       Figure 2: Red and blue pill riddle

          

Figure 3: visual reference for SCARLETT’s room      Figure 4: visual reference for SARAH’s room

Aside from the red and blue pill, one reason why I chose to light the two rooms differently is to show the difference between the twins. Scarlett who wears mostly red is in the red room and Sarah who wears mostly blue is in the blue room. This will also help in differentiating the twins.

Visual References for location

VISUAL REFERENCES

I wanted it to have this kinds of tree because it looks creepier that way but unfortunately, the first choice of location (woodleigh park didn’t have this kind of tree.

LOCATIONS

Location 1: Woodleigh Park

Location 2: Pulau ubin

This was actually the first choice but since there was not enough time, we decided to go with the Woodleigh Park. But this place had the feel that I wanted.

TREATMENT + LOGLINE

LOGLINE

The younger twin Scarlett wants to find the killer of her older twin sister, Sarah with the help of a man she just met after finding a footage taken before she went missing.

TREATMENT

It’s 2017. Dead bodies of girls has been appearing in this particular park. Sarah,Scarlett’s older twin is one of the victims. Scarlett finds a footage taken in the same location as where dead body of girls keep appearing. She tries to find clues but couldn’t so she goes to the forest and finds the killer there. One of the main character is Scarlett who has an inferiority complex towards her sister. She tries to do the opposite of what her sister does. She is a loving young woman who is afraid to express her opinions and emotions. Even though she is worried of Sarah’s job which is a criminal profiler she doesn’t tell Sarah but deep down inside, she cares for her. She also suffers from depression and gets panic attack quite often. She was at her lowest when she parted ways with Sarah on a bad note. Realises how much she loves Sarah when Sarah is not in her life anymore. She investigates how and why Sarah was murdered. Another Key character is the Killer who has an modus operandi of killing girls by giving them a liquid with a chemical that increases their happiness, killing them smiling plus a chemical that is dangerous to the body. Sarah, who is a minor character is a key role in this film. Even though she is dead and doesn’t appear much. The story revolves around her.

The lighting will be mostly red and blue to represent the “red and blue pill” The camera movement for some will be unstable to show that a cameraman is part of the film. The setting will be in a forest and three rooms. One room with blue lighting, one room with red lighting and one room with dark lighting. The reason why I chose this idea is that I wanted to go try other genres. It won’t have much dialogue since most of the conflicts are inner conflicts.

CASTING CALL

CASTING CALL

MAJOR

MAJORRRRR

INTRODUCTION:

My graduation project for major is a thriller short film about a serial killer who kills young women. Sarah is a loving sister, daughter and friend who is always there to help anyone in need but Scarlett on the other hand, though she is loving as well, she doesn’t know how to show it to other people, in fear of being compared to her sister. Them being twins, was the reason they grew apart. Mostly because of Scarlett’s inferiority complex to her older twin sister. This story is about Scarlett’s journey in finding the killer of her older twin sister, Sarah.

The number of young women body found in a forest has been increasing and there are still no leads regarding this case. Sarah, a 22 year old criminal profiler was found dead at 6am when a passerby went hiking in this forest. It was said by the authorities  investigating the case that Sarah committed suicide as there was no physical trauma observed on the body and traces of antidepressants was found inside her body. The people on scene was also gossiping how Sarah ended her life when she is still so young. Scarlett, Sarah’s younger twin sister wanted to defend her sister but she feels like she doesn’t have the right to talk about her sister because she feels like it is her fault. She finds a footage hidden inside her sister’s bag that was not found by the investigators. In this footage, her sister suddenly went missing as she hears someone screaming. This footage became her fuel to find the killer of her sister with the help of someone who saw her and offered help in the crime scene. With the photos of each victim and research paper she found in Sarah’s room, she deduced that all victims are depressed as the man who offered to help her to record every minute they do as proof of their research.

After Scarlett finds a hand drawn map of the same location, she goes there to find out where the map will lead her. She follows it but this lead her to more danger as the cameraman disappears leaving her all alone in the forest. She panics and looks at the matching locket of her and Sarah. This is when she realises that Sarah doesn’t have a locket. She tries to find the locket but to no avail she couldn’t find it. She looks up and remembers something. With this clue, she finds the locket and inside the locket is an sd card with the clue,of who really the killer is.

PURPOSE:

There is no key message of this shortfilm.One message is based on the red and blue pill. If we don’t take the easy way out, (red pill, red lights was used for Scarlett’s room to represent her trying to find out the killer and not giving up) we will find the answer. Though in this case there was no happy ending since Scarlett died at the end but still she found out who killed her sister (Sarah). Another is when people talk bad about you or someone you love, you must prove them wrong. In this case, there was a scene where Scarlett didn’t defend Sarah and so end up everyone talking bad about her sister. However she did try to prove the people wrong by trying to find who the killer was. Another is also don’t trust other people easily. Scarlett just barely met Sarah’s co-worker (killer) and she trusts him also just because he works with Sarah (which was not really proven to be truth) which led her to a sad ending (though can be considered happy ending since she died while having extreme ecstasy)

TRANSCRIPT FOR MINOR "JASMINE"

Transcript of “JASMINE”
	Any struggles growing up?bullied? How family reacted to you being transgender? Yes I was bullied when I was young. Even before till now, other people are judging me. They would often say “Trans” “Trans” “Trans”, “plague on society”, “You’re not allowed here”, “You don’t deserve any respect” and “You have no dignity” It hurts because I’m not someone who doesn't have any self-respect. They don’t know what I can do. They don’t know me. They don’t know the real me.
	Why you left home? Is it because family never supported you? I left home when I was young because my mom and stepdad were too strict. You won’t be able to do the things you want. They don’t trust you. Even the little things you do, they will still scold you. They want to know everything that you do.
	When the family who took you in all passed away one by one, what did you feel? When the people who took me in were still alive, my life was still okay. There even though there is not much money, I felt happy. I felt the support and love from a family. But sometimes if there is no money, I would throw tantrums at them because they cannot buy what I want. That is something I regret doing.
	Do you think destroying yourself (DEATH) is the answer to your problems?? Lonely - death - problem solved I did thought of ending my life. I tried slitting my wrists when I felt alone as well as  when I never felt any love from my biological family and when they were never proud of my achievements. I was alone in that house and thought that ending my life can end all the sufferings.
	Do you have anything to say to those who took you in who are already in heaven I just want to say to my foster family or biological family that I am sorry because I was not a good child, grandchild and sibling to them. But I promise that I will continue my studies as soon as possible and will be  a better sibling, child and even as a person.

MORE RESEARCH

RESEARCH

“NEARLY HALF OF YOUNG TRANSGENDER PEOPLE HAVE ATTEMPTED SUICIDE - UK SURVEY”

Based from a survey, 48% of trans people under 26 attempted suicide,30% said they did it in the past year and 56% had suicidal thoughts. According to Adult Psychiatry Morbidity Survey, 6% of 16 to 24 year-olds say they attempted suicide. From the report trans youth has higher rate of attempting suicide than other age groups.

This article was also a factor in choosing the topic as it was something I didn’t notice since most trans people I know are always smiling and happy but behind those smiles are wounds that they try to hide

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/nov/19/young-transgender-suicide-attempts-survey

MINOR TOPICS

TOPICS:

About Sex worker

• Why they chose that job
• Are they doing it for their family?for money? To rebel?Do they like it?
• Who are the people who support them
• Why unacceptable
• Taboo

Rags to riches

• How a woman found fortune in trash by buying bottles and newspaper from others and selling it again.

Oldest traditional tattoo artist in the Philippines

• Born 1918
• How she trains her successor
• How she will pass her tattoo skills.

Collaboration with Legacy home orphanage

• Life of the orphans and about their new family and biological family

CHOSEN TOPIC:

Transgender

• Visuals will be played normally but the sequence will start from the ending (ACT 3) so that when it is reverse it will begin from ACT 1, because it will be about how he wants to turn back time to undo the things he did to those who cares for him.
• Show his struggles while growing up

How I decided to choose the topic is based on the availability of the interviewee some will be shot overseas and will be a bit hard to shoot without a crew therefore I decided to choose a topic that can be shot in Singapore. However since the interviewee that I wanted is not in Singapore unfortunately, I decided to do an online interview since I really like the interviewee’s life story.

3 ACT

3 ACT:

This 3 act served as a guideline for editing. Though some were not followed such as the proposed sound effect, the structure of visuals remain the same. This was also useful in planning for the shots needed.

ACT 1 ( ACT 3 IN REVERSE)
VISUAL	AUDIO
HAPPINESS VISUAL: CU of yellow post it with positive message (we love you) CU of the back of the head while looking at a wall of yellow post its with positive messages Someone puts one post-it with negative message on the wall covering positive messages	-wind sfx -wind sfx V/O of person Question: Do you think you deserve to be happy? Any realization?
PERSON ABOUT TO COMMIT SUICIDE VISUAL: POV of person.walking in the rooftop, looks at the sunset then looks down	V/O of person talking about how he is human too, he has feelings like any other person. Do you have anything to say to those who took you in who are already in heaven Why do u think you are not accepted. Did you ever think you are different?
ACT 2
VISUAL	AUDIO
PERSON FEELING LONELY & REGRET VISUAL: CU of Billiard balls going in different direction Cue ball all alone in the middle	V/O of person talking about how he regrets the things he have done Questions: Do you have anything you want to undo in the past? Do you have anything to say to those who took you in who are already in heaven
HE TURNED  HIS BACK TO THE WORLD VISUAL: Timelapse of sunset and sunrise(represent him wasting his time) Night life *intercut Guy puts some post its on the wall (represents him hurting himself)	City night ambience sfx (Person gives up on life because the loneliness is killing him) Questions: What did you feel when your mother told you she gives up on you and that she wants to put you in a government organization (something like an orphanage)? Do you think destroying yourself (DEATH) is the answer to your problems Lonely - death - problem solved *(audio will be in reverse)
WORLD TURNED  ITS BACK ON HIM VISUAL: CU of Guy opening eyes CU of Guy Eyes looks to the right,left,right,left, right,left blah blah blah	What triggered you to leave home? Is it because you never felt the love of your family When the family who took you in all passed away one by one, what did you feel?
Long shot of someone walking in a dark alley Medium long shot of guy walking (side view) Posters on the floor Someone stepping on the posters	**(person talks about his struggles growing up)** Questions: Any struggles growing up bullied? family reaction of you being transgender People laughing sfx People nagging (parents) Person talks about his life
ACT 3
VISUAL	AUDIO
WHAT PEOPLE THINK ABOUT TRANSGENDERS VISUALS: Backview of a guy looking at a wall of post its with negative stuffs written on it (medium long shot) CU of some post its CU of face (guy slowly closes his eyes)(Overlay of heart beat vector and post its on guys face) *(black & white) Intercut car trails with posters  pasted in different places	Heart beat monitor sfx Silence if it is a car trail City night ambience sfx if poster Voices of random people *interview random people about what they think about transgender *Play their voices at once *(audio will be in reverse)