3. Synopsis
Eden and Griffin repeatedly
meet on the bench
Over the course of a year, they
develop a friendship
Griffin tells Eden that she’d
moving away
Griffin is sat on the bench
by himself
He places his phone on the bench
next to him, where Griffin is on
facetime
4. Rising Action
As they bond over their love of coffee, Eden brings both himself and
Griffin a flask of it every time they meet on the bench, which are now
planned meetings as the friendship develops. On Griffin’s flask, he
always puts a post-it note with a simple message on it, e.g. Happy
Birthday, Merry Christmas, or Good Luck when she has a job interview.
We decided on this technique of visual storytelling, as we wanted to
avoid the use of dialogue, and therefore needed a way to make the
narrative obvious to the audience, alongside the use of mise-en-scene.
5. Narrative Techniques
We decided to narrow down the narrative techniques that we originally
planned on using, as some of them did not fit with our final film idea.
For example, the use of over-exaggerated sound effects could be
beneficial at certain points in the film, but using them as the main
narrative technique would distract from the narrative, and would not
fit within the genre conventions.
6. Narrative Techniques
We also decided to remove the use of ellipsis, as our final film idea
relies on a chronological timeline. However, we are still using a
narrative technique based on the distortion of time, and have decided
to make our whole short film in the form of a montage, as a collection
of clips taken from specific points over the year of Griffin and Eden’s
friendship. Along with this, our montage clips will not be in a traditional
format, but instead combine longer shots including a greater amount of
action with several face-paced, snappy shots. We believe that this
technique will help us pace our film, and give the audience more
understanding of the tone throughout.
8. Characters
Eden – teenage/young adult boy, befriends Griffin due to their love of
coffee, and brings her a flask every time that they meet
Griffin – teenage/young adult girl, becomes friends Eden after he
shows her kindness and generosity by bringing her coffee
Girlfriend – Griffin’s girlfriend, disrupts the equilibrium and causes
awkwardness between them, but eventually brings the two
protagonists closer together
9. Props/Costumes
We plan on relying heavily on the mise-en-scene to create the seasons
and situations of each shot. Therefore, we will be using a great deal of
props and costumes, most of which we previously own.
12. Props/Costumes
Coffee Flasks – previously owned
Post-it notes – can buy from Poundland
Party hats and decorations – can buy from Poundland/Amazon
Flower petals – can buy from Amazon
Autumn leaves – can buy from Amazon/find under trees
Briefcase – previously owned
Cupcake – can buy from college
Candle – can buy from college
Presents – previously owned
Wrapping paper – can buy from Poundland
iPhone – previously owned
13. Location
Due to the narrative of our film being set on one bench over the course
of a year, we only need one filming location. We decided that it would
be best if the bench was situated in Bridgwater, as it would then be
accessible for the actors and our group during college hours. Since we
plan on filming in short bursts over several days, filming during college
lunch times will be ideal for our group.
14. Contingency Plan
This bench is in an ideal location as it has enough
space around it to film long shots. The tree behind
also provides a desirable aesthetic that would
benefit the autumnal section of our film. However,
due to the leaves around the bottom of the bench,
it would be impractical to film here as our narrative
takes place over the course of a year, and the fallen
leaves would look out of place in summer scenes.
15. Contingency Plan
This bench has enough space around it to film
long and experimental shots. As there are no
trees nearby, it will be suitable to film every
seasonal shot here. However, due to the
children’s playground behind it, it would be
inconvenient to film here as we would be unable
to plan around the childrens’ playtimes, and
wouldn’t be able to include them in the
background of our shots without consent forms.
The estate behind the park also does not fit with
our desired aesthetic for the film.
16. Contingency Plan
This bench is in a prime location as it is in a secluded
area, yet there is also open space around it. However, as
there is a fence closely opposite to the bench, we would
be unable to film long or experimental shots, meaning
that our master shots would have to be mid-close-ups.
This would mean that we wouldn’t be able to tell the full
narrative to the audience.
