Two Finalised Short Story Ideas
WORKING TITLE: EMDR
RUNNING TIME: 10 minutes
GENRE: Psychological Thriller/ Horror
TARGET AUDIENCE: Youth audience (15-21)
LOGLINE: 'You can't escape your thoughts'
SUGGESTED CAST:
Grace Miller - a brunette, year 12 drama student with TV acting experience
The Therapist - a mid 20s/30 year old, female drama teacher
The Kidnapper - a middle aged, male drama teacher
ORDER OF EVENTS:
-Grace Miller introduced to therapist and EMDR begins to take her back in time and identify her kidnapper.
-The flashback takes place to a dark street from first person perspective of the girl when a man comes up behind her and grabs her.
-Her vision begins to fade and she snaps out of the therapy as her therapist comforts her but explains the importance of doing this so the EMDR continues.
-This flashback is in a small room. She looks down and touches her face and there is blood covering her hands.
-Footsteps grow louder as the visuals grow more abstract and the camera leaves the first person perspective as if she is having an out of body experience.
-A man enters the room and when she finally manages to focus on his face, she notices a scar down the side of his left cheek.
-He starts to move closer to her and as she screams, her vision fades out once again.
-Instead of being sat in the therapists office as expected, she is seen in the same small room with tally marks covering the walls. She never went to therapy. She never escaped the room.
PLOT POINTS:
-Grace Miller is sat in a comfy, black chair in a therapist's office with fear wiped across her face. The therapist appears and explains the importance of the therapy and she begins EDMR.
-There's a transition into a dark street with the camera from the perspective of Grace. Breathing and footsteps grow in volume behind her until a man's hand covers the bottom portion of the screen as he covers her mouth. She screams and struggles as the visuals begin to fade to black.
-She snaps out of it and is screaming in the therapists chair as the therapist comforts her and explains how important it is that she does this to identify her kidnapper.
-The EMDR continues and the flashback takes place in a small room . Her vision grows abstract as the man's footsteps grow closer and louder. The camera pans from Graces perspective to third person as if she's having an out of body experience.
-The door but she struggles to focus on her face and the blur of her tears and fear takes over. As she concentrates, a scar is revealed down the side of his face.
-He moves closer and closer until her vision fades again.
-As she wakes, she isn't save in therapy as expected but still in the room. She never escaped her kidnapper. She never went to therapy.
CHARACTER PROFILE:
Grace Miller: The victim and main character in the short film is named Grace and should be slight girl with brunette hair and blue eyes. She is innocent but overwhelmed in fear and anxiety causing an instant emotional response from the viewer. The character has two costumes with one getting g progressively dirtier as she remains trapped and kidnapped in the small room. The other costume will be worn during Grace's time in the therapist's office and will be casual and comfy, perhaps skinny jeans and a hoodie.
The Therapist: The therapist should be a woman in her late twenties/early thirties that appears smiley and approachable. She should look trustworthy so the viewer believes Grace is in safe hands. The role of this character is to explain the reasoning behind the importance of the EMDR therapy, to identify Grace's kidnapper, to clarify this for viewer. The therapist will wear a smart outfit to ensure she looks presentable and reliable in her field of work.
The Kidnapper: The kidnapper should be a middle aged man. As well as the terrifying context that the audience meets the kidnapper, his appearance should be instantly worthy of the viewers' fear. He should have greying hair with piercing eyes and a shocking scar down the side of his cheek. His face won't be seen for longer than a few seconds but the rest of his body will so his costume is important. He will wear worn out jeans with an old, dirty t-shirt to give an unkempt feel to his character from the outset.
DETAILED STORY: A girl is introduced to the short film with fear wiped across her face, sat in a comfy looking black chair. A female can be heard talking in the background but remains faceless unless she sits opposite her and introduces herself. She explains how important it is that she does this but how she can back out at any point. See begins the EMDR by moving her fingers and flashing lights appear across the screen as they move across her face.A flashbacks is transitioned into on a dark evening and the angle is focused completely from the girls perspective. A male voice can he heard and grows in volume and a hand suddenly cover the bottom portion of the screen. As the girl looks she screams louder and louder the visuals fade to a blackout. As she returns to the black chair she is comforted by the therapist and as she begins to slow her breathing she tells her what she saw. She praises her and explains how this is the only way to identify her kidnapper.The EMDR continues and she wakes up in a small room. The film grows silent and the only think that can be heard is the heavy sound of her breathing. She looks looks down and wipes her face by wiping her hand across the camera then looks down again at her now bloody hands. Footsteps can be heard in the background and they grow in volume as the scene grows more abstract until the door opens. The camera perspective changes to third person as if the girl is experiencing an out of body experience. The camera pans from the mans feet to his face which at first is hard to make due to the lack of focus. The concentration can be seen on her face as she tries to make out his face and briefly, a large scar down his face is revealed. He moves closer and closer until the girls vision begins to fade out and she returns to therapy. Except she doesn't. See wakes up in the same room with chalk tallying numbers covering the wall. The film finishes with a close up on the girls face looking helpless and terrified. She was never safe in therapy. She never escaped the room.
WORKING TITLE: STICKS AND STONES
GENRE: Psychological Thriller
TARGET AUDIENCE: Youth audience (15-21)
LOGLINE: 'Words will never hurt me'
SUGGESTED CAST:
Tyler - a dark haired, male, year 12 drama student
Dad - a middle aged, male drama teacher
Girl - a brunette, year 12 drama student with TV acting experience
ORDER OF EVENTS:
-A boy is walking home through the woods when he is suddenly overwhelmed with an eerie feeling as whispering voices urge him to 'kill her'.
-He picks up a pocket knife he is lead to and confronts the girl in the woods.
-His nervous Father is seen at home on the phone to the police, raising concern about his schizophrenic son who is missing.
-The boy is about to kill the girl when sirens interrupt the voices in his head and it is revealed that there is no girl and he is holding a stick .
PLOT POINTS:
-Tyler is walking home in the woods when he begins to hear voices whispering in his ears. As the voices grow in volume, his vision begins to morph and eerie things begin to happen around him.
-He starts to run but the voices grow louder and clear, urging him to ' kill her'. Tyler picks up a pocket knife he is lead to by the voice, hidden under the leafs, below a tree and moves towards a girl who is walking in the woods.
-In a another location, at home, Tyler's Dad can be seen nervously rising the police to raise his concerns about his schizophrenic son who never returned home.
-Tyler is seen holding the pocket knife towards the girl as he grabs her neck. The perspective switches between Tyler's and the girl's, who can't hear the voices and is screaming for help.
-As he is about to stab the girl, sirens and blue and red lights flood the screen causing the voices to instantly stop. There ids a close top of Tyler looking terrified.
-When the camera returns to a wide angle shot, the girl has vanished and Tyler is holding a stick.
CHARACTER PROFILE:
Tyler: Tyler should be a teenage boy who looks able and confident to allow for a unexpected reveal of his schizophrenia. Although he has a violent outburst which should cause the viewer fear, he should have an innocent persona to although the audience to have sympathy for him. He carries the story as he continues to listen to the voices around him despite his fear and confusion. He should have dark hair and wear casual clothes such as jeans and a hoodie.
Dad: Tyler's sad should be a middle aged man with a trust worthy and caring persona. The smart costume he will wear will help to identify him as a reliable source. This character helps to build tension in the story story due to his sense of urgency. Furthermore, he reveals his song is schizophrenic which takes the story in a different direction so is an important part of the short film.
Girl: This character is the nameless victim of the attack. She helps to villainies Tyler which creates a greater contrast to when the viewer learns of his Schizophrenia. She should be innocent and beautiful to create an emotional response when Tyler tries to kill her. Her costume should be casual, jeans and a crop top.
DETAILED STORY: A boy is walking in the woods and quickly tension builds as voices whisper quietly in the background and he feels and sees unexplainable things happening. As he begins to run, all the eerie surroundings grow in volume and pace. Signs keep appearing urging him to 'kill him' and as he picks up a knife he finds laying beneath a tree. From here, there is a transition to a worried Dad on the phone to the police explaining the lengthened disappearance of his schizophrenic son. As the viewer begins to question if anything the boy has seen is real, a shot of the boy holding a knife up to his friend switches between the perspective of the boy and the victim who can't hear the voices. As he's about to kill her, all voices mute as blue and red lights blood the screen and sirens ringing throughout. When the camera returns from to the boy, the knife is replaced by a stick and the girl isn't there.
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