Themenight Productions
Proposal
Prepared by Rhys Painter
Synopsis
Themenight productions will produce a four to five minute comedy film called 'Laughter' this is about, Varsh Lautner(20)
a well-known Comedian who is a target for two agitated teenager's revenge. Varsh has become a comedian due to her past, with having no remaining family in the picture. This has lead to her looking at life in a different perspective and this leads her to choosing the path of a Comedian. It all started when Varsh, being the comedian she is decided to throw a wet substance at a couple of teenagers, Rhys Mikaelson(17) and Kay Mac(18) who were recently suspended from school. The teens suspect the wet substance to have come from her property as the window was open and they could see something dripping from the window sill. So they hang around, hoping to see the culprit. Finally Varsh emerges, on her way to the comedy show, unaware that the teens are now following her. As Varsh gets ready backstage, Rhys and Kay manage to find a way on set and have plans to make a joke of the comedian by disrupting the show. When chaos starts the audience think it is all part of the show and cheer on but Varsh is not amused. At this point the audience are laughing heavily as Varsh starts to get agitated.
The conflict between Varsh and the teenagers reaches its climax at the finale of the show when Kay has a great idea as she notices some food backstage. The best ending to a show for a comedian, a pie to the face. As this commenced Rhys pulled the curtains, before making a run to the exit along with Kay. Varsh left humiliated as the laughter of the audience pierces through the closed curtains. This then results in her hiding in her dresser room left in tears until everyone has left.
The following day Varsh takes a look at CCTV cameras and contact's the police explaining what had happened, but when getting in contact with the police there was no action taken as Rhys and Kay had already been to the station telling them what they had done and the reason behind it. They were both given fifty hours of community service. However, Varsh wasn't as lucky as her reputation wasn't to just be stand up comedy, her audience loved the show
but the question she was facing now was, how will she be able to go on as they seemed to love her downfall. Will this result in Varsh's audience expecting these troublemakers to make a regular appearance? Varsh clueless to the terror which may arise, will she attempt to hire the misfit troublemakers for the benefit of her show?
These questions are left for the audience to decide as the film ends with a final shot of Rhys and Kay smirking in a Close-Up, before the credits appear.
Target Audience (Research)
The target audience for 'Laughter' would mostly appeal to would be teenagers to younger adults particularly in the age category of 15-25 year old's. Based on independent research undertaken of the industry, films with similar content have been given the age rating of 15. The reason behind this would be that teenagers within the lower ages wouldn't maybe understand the jokes within the short film. Showing further reasoning behind Themenight productions choosing to target their short film to the younger generation would be as they would find it more amusing to watch rather than older generations, such as people in their 40's.
Through conducting a questionnaire, it was revealed that 100% of the target audience questioned stated that they would watch the comedy genre short film. 80% of candidates also outlined the importance of seeing relatable characters onscreen, for example their age and interests, which is what ‘Laughter’ offers them.
Resources
Laughter will be filmed using a Canon EOS C300 Mark II Cameras because this is one of the many cameras which offers a high definition images, which will enhance the
cinematic look of the film. Due to the size of the camera it will be very easy to carry when moving around the set fluent. Relating to characters and props this will allow a much more closer interaction with less hassle. A number of tripods 'Manfrotto 057 Carbon fibre tripod kit with ball head Q5' will be used to then be able to stabilise master shots to come back to. During the post-production stage of the film, MacBook's will be essential for iMovie as well as AVID. AVID is one of the most used editing software and iMovie with its user-friendly interface. Using this software will allow top quality editing options to add an extra edge of professionalism to the film. Other equipment includes a Telescope boom pole and an Arri 5 piece lighting kit.
A hall located within The Beacon School will be rented for the production of 'Laughter'. Themenight productions believe this will be the perfect location as it offers the environment of a comedian as their habitat is a stage. With vast floor levels to set up tripods around the room. Also for scenes with high action for example when 'Kay and Rhys make a run for the exit' this would be easily handled as a huge amount of space is provided.
The three main props which 'Laughter' require are a microphone, wet substance (wet tissues) and an empty pie tin filled with whipped cream. The only required prop which will be gathered elsewhere is the microphone this will be required from Truesound productions who supply electronic equipment props such as microphones, TV/ Laptops and computers to all production companies. Other props which they offer non electric related are a vast amount of fake food props. The props in which this company offer are high quality and are real to add a real sense of believability within the film. The empty tin can be brought from a store along with whipped cream and towel's to then soak before the scene it is required within.
Personnel requirements
Themenight productions have chosen to use a skeleton crew which will consist of 5 peers. The roles the 5 peers will be taking are; Production assistant, Lighting operator, DOP (Director of Photography), Sound recordist and Cinematographer. Themenight believe these 5 roles are the most important to reaching the success of the Comedy short film 'Laughter'. The reason behind a Production assistant was to be able to keep everything organised within the set. For having a lighting operator this is again with organisation but also coordinating with the rest of the crew to ensure lighting is perfect and with DOP this is essential as the DOP will be the leading the crew, Sound Recordist to analyse all sound involved and ensuring actors voices are heard etc. Lastly, Themenight felt that having an cinematographer over a make up artist would be better as the theme for the short film is comedy revenge and no bloody or violent scenes are involved. Cinematographer will be working with the DOP to be the chiefs over the camera crews working on the film set.
As for cast three peers will be used Varshini, Kundai and Rhys. Kundai and Rhys will be taking the role of the two agitated teenagers and Varshini will take the role of the tormented Comedian. When the teens had gone to the station this will not be shown on camera so no additional cast members will need to be involved and as for when Varsh contacts the police using her phone, this will not be heard so also no voice actor will be required but by Varsh's facial expressions and through the conversation it is understandable of what is going on. This allows three people to be the main cast within 'Laughter'.
Budget
Due to Themenight productions having a £0 to £500 budget, Themenight productions are being provided with a huge majority of the equipment from a sister company known as 'Scope productions'. This will be free of charge and will help with accommodating the low budget.
When conducting market research Themenight was able to find a short film which recently came out in 2015 known as A Reasonable Request, this short film had the duration of 9 minutes and was working with nearly to no budget. With this information we as the production company were able to see how they did it with such limited resources and equipment offered to them. This allowed Themenight productions to thoroughly search between the lines with helping with saving the small budget which we are left with and what important issues we can instead put it towards.
