YOUTH
An Independent Film by Johnny Colbert, Lara Dunleavy, Morgan Wills and Kia Tasbihgou
date
SPRING 2009
location
BERKHAMSTED SCHOOL
time
02.00 MINS
Media Studies Coursework As-Level
Synopsis 'The Youth' - Synopsis Based on a true story. In 1998 a group of ill-fated teens were camping in a tyrannized woodland and were never seen again. Lifelong friends Alex Jones, Tom Harris and Nikki Smith were celebrating their last night together before going to university. Alex, 18, has been longing after Nikki, secretly, for years. Nikki, unfortunately is in a long term relationship and Alex has to put on a façade, for the sake of their friendship. Tom, the cynic, is Alex's best friend. When they unwittingly stumble upon another group of teens, Alex feels obliged to protect Nikki, while Tom refuses to submit to the Youth's reign; the Youth that are hunting them down, like lambs to the slaughter. ‘The Youth' are a gang like no other. Where is it set? The film will be set in Ashridge Forest, with some shots inside the media studies department and some in the car on the way to and from Ashridge. What is the mood? Isolation, fear, damning and foreboding for the former stages of the film (for example static shots of dead trees and facial expressions). Characters: Main Characters Alex Jones – 18, male, post-college student, introverted (walking 2-shot with Tom and car shot should show this), valiant and secretly longing for Nikki. Will be played by Morgan Wills. Nikki Smith – 18, female, post-college student, in a relationship and seems vaguely distant in the group (group 3-shot should show this). Will be played by Alex Smith. Tom Harris – 18 also, male, and again, a post-college student. More outgoing than the others (walking with Alex 2-shot, talking) and cynical. Will be played by Kia Tasbihgou. The Youth – Three characters, intimidating, dressed similarly suggesting social or friendship group. Will be played by Johnny Colbert, Tristan Esposito and Roman Kemp.
Mise-en scene: Clothing differences in the students and ‘The Youth’ must show difference in interests and social groups. The woodland setting will hopefully add the feeling of isolation and also of fear. There needs to be no suggestions of outside life, even in sequences in more open areas, for example the car shot. Music: Atmospheric, echoing, mysterious. Will need to have screeching sounds, reminiscent of metal creaking or distorted string instruments, to give tension. It shouldn’t change throughout, as all shots will be of flash-backs, and to have this atmospheric music over a fairly happy group shot and similarly over shots of Nikki running for her life should add to the horror through it’s distance. The shots we plan to use: 1. Shots of still trees 2. Tom Harris interview, media studies (between each different shot throughout) 3. More still trees 4. Car shot – dashboard 5. Car shot – Alex Jones 6. Wide 2-shot, Alex and Tom collecting Nikki 7. Alex, Nikki and Tom walking together, wide 3-shot (straight lines of trees) 8. Over the Shoulder 2-shot of ‘The Youth’, watching A, N and T 9. Continuation of 7 10. Panning wide 3-shot, ‘The Youth’ running towards A, N and T in the distance 11. Nikki running towards and past camera (between lines of trees), chased by 2 members of ‘The Youth’ 12. Shaky running shot chasing Nikki, point of view 13. Overhead POV shot, following Nikki 14. Tom portrait – POV puzzled, looking around frightened – sound effect scaring Tom, wide 1-shot of him quickly turning to quick reaction close-up 15. Member of ‘The Youth’, “I told you not to come here, I’m gonna kill you!” side-on close up 16. Bat swing at camera to instant black-out with impact sound effect 17. Credits When does the title appear? The title should appear at the very beginning. We might not use a default font, and will probably use a font website to download the ideal font to use. It will be in white on a black background, and should fade in and dissolve out, matching the moody atmospheric music and matching the idea of death/loss How is the mise-en-scene constructed to create anticipation and suspense? The best use of the mise-en-scene is the interview. It begins with an official tone, Tom looking dishevelled in a dull and clean environment, and this introduces the film on a foreboding note. It is interspersed between dark shots of dead trees and leaves, mirroring the film’s mood and theme.
Costumes and Props: ‘The Youth’ must all look similar in style and colour, giving them a menacing identity. One of the characters must have a weapon, being the only prop in the film. The best idea is a baseball bat, as being a piece of sports equipment, is easily available to anyone, especially teenage boys. All that A, N and T need to be is dressed fairly normally or vaguely stylishly, setting them apart from ‘The Youth’. Equipment: Camera, Tripod, Boom and Mic, Lighting rigs for interview, Car (?) Filming schedule: Every Saturday for the next few weeks. Structuring will be hard, as we will need 6 actors present at most times.