Initial pitch

1.INTRODUCTION

a)Theme: Fortun3 is a psichological film on Poker. The message that I will try to send to the audience is that "What's happening within us will create what happens outside of us"

b)Synopsis: There will be 3 or 4 people playing Poker at an unknown place for the audience. The story will be focused on 1 player. This player at the beginning thinks that Poker depends on luck and by the end of the film he will realise it depends on him. This realisation will happen because he will be taken away from the game, within his mind, realising here that whatever he changes in his mind will change the game.

c)Aesthetics: I want my film to be a psichological film containing bits of surrealism to represent the moments in which we are within the character's mind.

d)Audience: The target audience would be 18+, I reckon that the key message would not be understood by someone younger than that. I would be sending the film to film festivals and exhibitions.

2.CONTEXT

a)Relation to my previous work: My last short film, "Forever Together" was also dealing with psichological matters. It seems that I am very influenced by my surroundings and that is why I usually go for this kind of themes.

b)Relation to a wider context: Poker is well famous nowadays, maybe this way I get the people to watch the film and get the message of it. I find particularly interesting to make a film on Poker, but not about Poker. There is too much already of cliched films on Poker as I have previously shown in this blog.

3.RESEARCH

At the moment my reasearch is primarily based on Youtube videos and a documentary from which I took the message that my film will contain. Youtube films on Poker are been useful for me in order to create something different, something that will not be "one more film about Poker". The documentary I am talking about is "What the Bleep do we Know"(William Arntz, Betsy Chasse and Mark Vicente, 2004, USA)It talks about spirituality and emotions and I found quite interesting to work on that phrase that served me as the message for my short film.

4.PREPRODUCTION

I will be shooting the main scene of the poker table at the studio at Middlesex university, they have black curtains to place behind in order to create that dark background that I want to achieve for the film.

5.METHODOLOGY

a)Techniques and resources: I am going to build a dolly to create smooth camera movements and the important dolly in and out of the character that will take us to another place (his mind).
I will use Casting Call Pro website (www.uk.castingcallpro.com) to get the actors needed as I did last year for my last short film.
I will need to practice with the lighting and dolly in the studio some days before filming to achieve what I want.
I could be using a DoF Adapter (Modo35) with my Canon HG20 and a Rode Videomic for the film, if this is not possible the university cameras and a separated boom mic will be used.
I contacted a 3D animator to create the beginning and ending titles(and anything else required).
I also contacted a sound designer to create for me the sound effects and perhaps the music as well.

b)Schedule: I am planning to have the script written by the end of Christmas so that I have time to find and cast the actors in January. The shooting is planned for February, that would leave me a month for post production issues, editing, creating the soundtrack, adding the 3D material and so on.