1) Ideas of what film is about and what it means to you personally
I am going to approach this film as a light-hearted comedy. The film is about a Santa clause training course, not an academy. I think this changes a lot in the way certain characters would act. a group of santa wannabes are on a course and are trained up and eventually all have to compete to win a contract. So in my mind, the story is about mental and physical strength, competition, survival of the fittest or fattest as the case may be. I believe personally that I can make the audience feel for these characters, with some good direction skills and acting.
2) Scene and life needs of all the characters. Sometimes referred to as the spines and transformations. (To be alone – To resolve to live with others are examples of Spine and Transformation for one character.
Liam – an angrily enthusiastic team leader type. He feeds on training santas, teasing and toying with their minds. His needs are the santas, he requires thrives on them
Santas – They are dull boring people who have no real job prospects, so they have resorted to being santas, they need some sort of income and that is all they are thinking about. Liam whips them into shape and they become interested and enthusiastic about their future career.
3) Each scenes facts, images and the questions it raises
Opening scene – The santas chase a man in a suit. Energy, panic, struggle. Slow motion images of the santas fighting each other away so they alone can reach this man. Why are they chasing him?
Scene 2 – Four men and two women, in a office room and Liam enters starts talking to the group, asking questions and telling them the answers. Close ups of people’s faces, low shots when facing liam and high shots when facing people, showing that Liam is authoritative and intimidating. Why must they compete against each other?
Scene 3 – It is the same setting as scene 2. It appears that they have been there for some time, the people now seem more interested in what they are doing, but they are still intimidated by Liam. Liam confronts one of the men. Close ups of Liam and man, again use of towering shots and low shots. Sweat and nerves of the man to be shown. Why must they be so good at this job, why is the pressure too much.
Scene 4 - People are changing into Santa costumes and preparing to leave the training room. Montage of close ups when they are dressing (boots being pulled on etc). Emotions running wild as the group are ready to set off into the big wild world. Still the question about competition?
Final Scene - Back to the chase of the opening scene, the slow motion, the panic, the competition. Liam waves a contract at them and taunts them. The answer to the question is revealed.
4) What the scene is about, its emotional event and how the scene fits the story graph of the script
This story is about the emotional journey that six people take upon themselves to become the best, the number one Santa Clause in the world. The transformation they take from any average joe who just wants a job to feed his/herself, to the passion and commitment for a job which they never new they had these feelings for. It excites them and they want to learn to be the best.
5) Possible character objectives, and imaginative back story adjustments
Liam’s objective in this story is to create a Santa worthy of his contract. He has six to work with but only one will have the talent and potential to become the best. He knows he will find one, but he doesn’t know which person it will be. So he pushes them all to their pull potential with passive/aggressive techniques. Outside work Liam’s life is not as ideal as he thinks. He has a wife and kids, a large house and a fancy car, but he does not listen to his wife’s needs and does not care about what his children want, as his only frame of mind is work. All he wants to think or hear about is finding the one out of the bunch who will make it big.
6) The beats of the scene, its characterisation and action verbs ideas of how you might work on that beat
Scene 2 beat – when Liam enters, all are talking and then they snap into nervous attention when he enters. Action verbs Interrogate, lecture, test, warn, encourage.
Scene 3 beat – When Liam interrupts the man, the mood changes, as he has pin pointed one out of the group, the nervousness and fear of the man as Liam intimidates him reminds the group to keep their guard up. Action verbs belittle, accuse, pressure, apologize (man1)
Scene 3 beat 2 – When Cowboy stands gives comic relief Action verbs realize
Scene 3 beat 3 – the calm encouraging talk that Liam gives to the man in private. Action verbs encourage, comfort
Scene 4 beat – Liam snaps in with “no group hugs” line, grabs the attention of the Santa’s and reminds them again to stay alert. Action verbs shock, realization
Scene 5 beat – When Liam shows the contract. This tells us the point of the training and competition and turns the Santa’s completely against each other. Action verbs tease, taunt
7) The scenes reality and environment
The reality in this story is that the people in the room want this job and Liam is the one to show them how to do it. The environment can help me portray characters feelings. E.g. whether they are comfortable, nervous, anxious etc. I can use the small tight space to give a cramped, hot, and claustrophobic atmosphere. The way the characters move in this environment will also add to what they are feeling. E.g. sidling in between desks in a hot room, wearing Santa outfits wouldn’t exactly give the viewer the idea that these trainee’s are feeling relaxed cool and calm.
8) Research you have done and research you have left to do
I am going to have to make this story relatively Christmassy, I will research Christmas themes. I will try to reveal what Christmas is really like to the audience, I think I could produce questionnaires to get honest opinions of the general public.
I am yet to research casting; I need to find at least two good actors to play the parts of Liam and Man 1. I have researched locations. I will either be filming at a youth centre in my hometown. This centre used to be a school, therefore has lots of rooms resembling office rooms, with ceiling tiles and desks, or I will film at my old college, this also has appropriate looking classrooms and also looks more modern than the other possibility. I am yet to gain permission to either of these places. I have organised a crew and have the equipment needed ready for the shoot.
9) Your plan of what you wish to accomplish
I hope to accomplish a successfully comical short film ultimately, but I also want to tie in the reality of Christmas and show how dull the holidays can be for people working in that area. Also the desperation to get the job at the end, will hopefully display a lot of emotions in my six Santa’s. Overall I would like to accomplish a short that people will enjoy watching and also that I can gain experience in directing from.
10) A blocking diagram (this last one mans you psychologically are prepared to throw away your storyboard)
Training room: (only one camera on set)
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