Mood board
Storyline (3 act structure)
Act 1 - Introduction
3 lads who are close friends, decide to go on a night out to their hometown where they haven't lived for a few years due to university. During this time Britain is facing an extreme recession and people from small towns have moved towards the city in search for jobs. Therefore many small towns have become ghost-like. This could be explained within the opening scenes through news/radio style reports.
The 4 characters were familiar with the recession but did not know the town where they grew up was in a severe state. People have moved away and most business's are shut down and the town is beginning to look old and broken (collapsed buildings etc). As they arrive at the town by train (Stalybridge) they can see the state the town is in. The opening scenes could be the view of stalybridge from the train station. The 3 characters then go to explore their hometown in search of an open bar,after failing they decide to take advantage of the town being empty and attempt to visit their childhood homes.
Act 2 - Confrontation
The character's make their way towards there childhood estate through old alleyways and shortcuts. These could be shown through eerie shots with dark lighting etc. They find themselves at an old area where they used to hang out. Now abandoned they decide to explore it, suddenly one of the characters explores somewhere off camera and a noise is heard (glass smashing etc) in panic the other 3 characters go in search for the missing lad. After being unsuccessful they panic and return to the centre of Stalybridge in search of help. But nobody can be found.
Act 3 - Resolution
While the other 2 characters are franticly trying to use a phonebox to ring the police, the narrative keeps cutting to a scene of a canal at night (looking eerie with very little lighting,showing water slowly moving) These canal scenes do not show any action but the sound of something heavy being thrown in takes place. This supplies the viewer with questions and suggestions that something has happened/or will happen to the character relating to the canal (e.g he could of jumped in, could of been thrown in alive or dead) the other characters then attempt to leave the phonebox realizing the door is jammed or locked. They start screaming and banging the door but are trapped inside. I had an idea of muting the sound of them screaming and banging to provide an eerie sense that they are isolated. The video ends here leaving loads of questions for the viewers and it ends on a cliffhanger (open ending)
Character Bios
Rob - This character is portrayed as the leader of the group. The other lads look up to him and listen to what he says. Since they were kids he has been this character. Always been respected by his friends and is a role model towards his peers. The rest of the group expect Rob to make wise decisions and look after his gang of friends.
Josh - This character has also been a close friend to each character since they were kids. But was known to be like Rob's right hand man in a sense. But as the characters grew older Josh slightly grew apart due to problems at home and was known to leave nights out early in a bad mood. This character is reluctant to explain his problems in detail to his peers and therefore is slightly mysterious and a troubled character in general. But decides to have a night out with his friends as told in the storyboard. This is to try and rekindle his relationship with his friends.
Adam - This character is like the joker of the group. He is always trying to have a laugh and go out on wild nights out with his friends. He is known to get his friends into bad situations with his mouth or actions but relies on his friends to defend him. His peers realise he is a 'loose cannon' but still enjoy his company and entertainment. All characters are aged 19.
Research Diary
Research about the recession -
A recession is a general slowdown in economic activity. This is due to a lack of income in the government. Less people are spending. In 2008, employment in the UK rose to 8.4%. The highest yet since 1995. Inflation also increased by 6.3%, taking the average household prices up aswell. During the 'great recession' from 2008-2009, the British economy shrank a total of 7.1%. UK food inflation prices were higher than prices in Japan,France,Netherlands,Italy,Germany and more. The household income had decreased by 3.5% so salary rises struggled to keep up with the rate of inflation. According to The Bank of England,households had lost an average of £552 within 12 months. This lead to the biggest expenditure being travel. People were using their cars less and either resorting to cheap public transport, or walking. If people were using cars they would turn off their air conditioning to save money. Moving onto food, people were taking packed lunches to work to save money oppose to buying takeaway food. Housing,fuel and heating costs also had to be saved. By turning off the tap while brushing your teeth etc. This had a big effect on single parent families with children. Small time independent business' were either forced to relocate to a cheaper area or close down. Leaving small towns in a bad state.
A recession is a general slowdown in economic activity. This is due to a lack of income in the government. Less people are spending. In 2008, employment in the UK rose to 8.4%. The highest yet since 1995. Inflation also increased by 6.3%, taking the average household prices up aswell. During the 'great recession' from 2008-2009, the British economy shrank a total of 7.1%. UK food inflation prices were higher than prices in Japan,France,Netherlands,Italy,Germany and more. The household income had decreased by 3.5% so salary rises struggled to keep up with the rate of inflation. According to The Bank of England,households had lost an average of £552 within 12 months. This lead to the biggest expenditure being travel. People were using their cars less and either resorting to cheap public transport, or walking. If people were using cars they would turn off their air conditioning to save money. Moving onto food, people were taking packed lunches to work to save money oppose to buying takeaway food. Housing,fuel and heating costs also had to be saved. By turning off the tap while brushing your teeth etc. This had a big effect on single parent families with children. Small time independent business' were either forced to relocate to a cheaper area or close down. Leaving small towns in a bad state.
Treatment
The story is about a dark torn town facing the struggle of the recession, including mystery and questions for the viewer. A story of 3 young lads seeking an exiting night out in their hometown but stumble across the devoured state of their town. Upon arriving at the town they are faced with a dark eerie setting. They come across where they used to live and decide to explore there old hang out spots. Josh (one of main characters) decides to go on further away from his 2 friends to explore somewhere off screen (a personal location where he used to go to calm down and think) meanwhile the other 2 characters are reminiscing on the days they lived in Stalybridge and suddenly hear a sound. The lads in shock then realize Josh has disappeared. They go in search for him exploring every possible place they can think and are unsuccessful. Each place the characters go in search for Josh is eerie,dark and with little lighting to create a tense atmosphere. Finally the lads realize Josh had gone missing, he wasnt in their old neighbourhood and even his personal hangout. The characters, now anxious and in a panic state return to Stalybridge in search of Josh. They come across an old phonebox and attempt to ring the police. Rob is the one trying to use the phone franticly as Adam is stood with his hands against the phonebox as he is out of breath (indicates they have been running) The scene then cuts to a dark canal scene (focusing on the water) This scene indicates that it is now getting darker and later at night. Shots cutting back and forth to the phonebox scene and the canal create a tense moment and questions for the viewer. Upon the last cut to the canal scene, a heavy object is heard being thrown into the canal. Although is not shown on camera, therefore suggesting this may be related to Josh. The most probable answer viewers can think of is Josh has some tragic relation to this canal scene. Although this question is never answered, Josh's body has been thrown into the canal off camera. How josh has died is never revealed. As the story ends on a cliffhanger. Then cutting back to the phonebox scene. After Rob&Adam can not get through to the police then go to open the phonebox door. Then stumble upon the fact the phonebox door is jammed. No matter how hard the characters push and kick the door it will not open. Almost as if it has been locked. This then unravels more suspicious questions for the viewer. This final phonebox scene has no audio, both characters are screaming and trying to escape the audio but no sound is present. This then creates a sense of isolation and fear. The scene then ends to black and ends on a cliffhanger. Leaving the viewers wondering what happens next and what happens to each character. The reason for these situations and problems within my short are due to the town being riddled with criminals who decided to stay in Stalybridge through the recession. Although non of this is shown in my short film to create unanswered questions and an open ending. Hopefully by doing this the viewers are intrigued to find out what happens next.
Step outline
X Rob,Adam,Josh. Leaving Stalybridge station. Talking about what they are going to get up to on their night out.
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