Influences 2 and message of the film.

Influences 1

Proposal

Poker short film proposal

Title: TBC

1. PROPOSAL

This short film will be dealing with Poker and how the human mind works under pressure. There it will be 4 to 7 character sitting at a poker table, the background will be black or white, to allow us focusing on the players. The only parts in which the audience would be withdrawn from the table will be when the characters try to guess the personality -and therefore their cards- of the rest, which will be represented by several -funny- shots.

2. INITIAL PLAN

The main scene at the Poker table will be shot at a university’s room, as long I get the permission to do so. The only problem about shooting at the university is that I would like to have people smoking in the film and this is probably not allowed. I am watching quite a lot of Poker videos and tips on Youtube to get as much information as possible. Besides, I am attending to a live Poker tournament so that I learn how the action develops throughout the whole game. The proper use of the camera and lighting will be a must, so I am studying the book Cinematography.

The most challenging aspect of the project would be to build a consistent story that will keep audience entertained and intrigued by the end of the film. Also, I will need to rehearse a few days before shooting in order to get perfect knowledge of camera movements along the room, dolly positions, and lighting situation. The coordination of the crew members should be perfect. I chose this topic because I know about Poker and I think the story has a great creative potential.

I bought a Poker table which will be used for the film and I am planning to build a dolly with rails. The player’s cards will be displayed on the screen, for which I contacted a graphic designer who will create the animations for me. In terms of sound I also contacted a sound designer who will create the music and some sound effects for the film.

I want to finish the script by Christmas so that I can start shooting at the end of January-beginning of February. This will allow me to have at least one extra month for editing or re-shooting in case anything goes wrong.

3. INITIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY

Although the inspiration for this film comes mostly from my own experience, as I said I am attending a live Poker tournament in London, held by www.ThePokerTree.com. The book Cinematography by Blain Brown (Focal Press, 2002) is serving me as a very useful reference and it is giving me ideas for different kind of shots that I would like to include in the film. The idea of displaying the player’s cards on screen came from Youtube videos of the most important tournaments around the world. An example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC1N3iIX9MY