Main Task- Similar Products Research

When coming up with the storyline for my film I tried out a few ideas and see how well they translated into script. I watched quite a lot of examples of short films that fit into the thriller genre to see how other people had managed to fit such diverse conventions into such a short space of time. I came across a YouTube channel called 'Futureshorts' which focuses on professionally made short films. I found a film that inspired the plot of 'Compulsion'.

I really liked 'Some Static Started' as the plot was very ominous and mysterious and I liked the twist at the end. I decided to try and fit my original idea of a female assassin into the atmosphere and feel of this short film and found it worked well. I liked the simplicity of what was being shown and how the audience became completely absorbed into what the character was saying. 


After I had got my storyline together I went on to create the main character in more detail. I enjoy creating strong female characters so went on to find existing and similar characters. I found that many characters Angelina Jolie plays in various films set the tone for how I saw the character of 'Farah'. 


When creating my shot list, I felt it was important to use a large variety of different and unique shots to make the film more visually interesting. However, I didn't want to litter the film with a lot of unusual shots as I felt it would distract from what the characters were saying. I chose variations of normal shots (such as wide shots, close ups, mid shots etc) for example; I did many shots from side on angles or altered the framing of the shots to make them look different from the usual shots most commonly used in films. 


When creating my set I wanted the 'hotel room' to look as warm and welcoming as possible as to create a juxtaposition to what was actually happening in the room. My adding small details such as flowers and leaflets it created a more realistic and 'normal' looking hotel. 


When editing my first draft of 'Compulsion' I wanted to keep the pace fairly slow but the atmosphere intense. I did this with the use of reaction shot in the dialogue exchanges as well as using flashbacks and straight cuts. I found it hard to keep the film from dragging on and feeling too slow as the amount of dialogue made it difficult to speed up pace in certain areas.