I’ve decided to start exploring other options for possible pitch ideas, because when I first did the writing exercise I didn’t realise we would be leading this to the pitch and I think I could come up with an idea with far more potential. I’ve always considered myself more as a visual person, as I am always drawn more towards filming something or setting up a shot as opposed to writing a scene with dialogue. Whenever I start to think of ideas, it is not usually a plot, it is different angles of shots and lighting choices as camera movement etc.

In order to come up with a solid concept to pitch, I have been more aware of my everyday life, and things that often reoccur in my life. One thing I have noticed that happens quite a lot is I get calls at all different hours from friends who either ask for help or are completely vague and just ask me to come over ASAP. I get in my car and I imagine all the different possibilities of what I could be walking into. I could rock up to their house, and it is on fire, or I could walk through their front door and hear nothing but screaming, to find them just playing a heated game of “Don’t Panic”. Seriously, this is almost worst case scenario to walk into, like it is the most stressful game I have ever played.

(Warning: Never play this game if you haven’t already)

So I figured this could be a cool opening for a short film, and really the possibilities are never ending. I need to start off with what I want to create visually, because I know the sort of direction I am heading in story wise. I really want to focus on the colour red, as a theme and both through costume and lighting choices. I have quite an idea of how I want to start the film, with red lighting coming through the window behind the subject, with the light source being from a fluorescent sign of either a motel of something, showing she either lives in a motel or next to one in a dodgy sort of area. I’m going to do some tests with some red lights and see if it is believable.

I still need to figure what I want the middle to entail, but I have quite an idea of what I want the ending to be. I was thinking the end can maybe be her parked back outside where she lives, with the shot being through the car with her hands on the steering wheel as she is trying to figure out what just happened. The red fluorescent light from the sign will also need to be tested to see if it doesn’t reflect of car windows. She could start banging her hands on the steering wheel and start screaming, but all of this is silent as she is in the car and the only thing the audience can hear is the buzz from the sign (will need to test how I can achieve this sound).

Whenever I think of what I want to create a film about, I never think of it in a straight line, I am always constantly pieces together as I go, whether I start from the end, middle or beginning. Like at the moment I have the start and end clearly visualised in my head, but the middle I am only figuring out bits and pieces. Only the start and end will have heavy red lighting, I might do some tests with some other colours of lighting and see what sort of mood it brings.

I also want to heavily incorporate what I have learnt from some of the exercises in class. I really enjoyed the classes we spent working with abstract shots and editing them in a sequence, so it is highly likely that I am going to try and include a great deal of abstract shots. I have also never really worked with camera movement (tilting, panning etc.) before this studio, so if I have a scene with minimal subject movement, I could easily work with camera movement to keep the audience engaged.