Short film proposal

Unloved

Director: Samuel Todd.Camera: Jackson Smith.Sound: Lisa Hall.Editor: Melissa Bates.In life I believe that if a person decides to bring

a child into the world then they should stand by that child. As well as fulfilling the child's basic needs they should create a relationship with them and make them feel safe and secure in their family home.

Working hypothesis and interpretation

My film will show this in action by showing examples of how a child may not be treated in the correct way and what peoplewho see it can happen can do instead of not getting involved which is usually the case.

The main conflict is between the mother and the child and how the child wishes for the mothers attention and does everything to impress her but she's not interested and takes her frustration with her failing relationship out on the child.

Ultimately I want the audience to feel as if there is something that can be done regarding child abuse and that but most of allsorrow for the child.And understand that even though it may not be very obvious that child abuse ishappening in certain families it may be obvious in other ways rather than physical abuse but neglect as well.

TopicMy short film is about a mother, in a failing relationship, who neglects and abuses her child due to the frustration that she gets from her aggressive partner (who is not the child's father) who also abuses the child. The biggest issue in the film is that the child thinks that what is happening is normal behaviour from any mother and that everything he gets he deserves, this is why he never speaks up about it and continues to try and get attention from his mum and impress her as she is all that he has. While trying to show his mum that he loves her she just gets annoyed with his constant efforts and the mother turns to violence.

This sequence is a very important part of the film as it leads to the child’s death whereas if the neighbour hadn’t of stepped down it would of saved the child life. The facts that the audience must gather from this is that they can make a difference and if they believe something is not right then the right thing to do is call the police or social services because it could save a child's life.

The key, representative imagery that I want to capture is that after the child dies the neighbour feels guilt for not helping and the hunch that the neighbour had was correct all along. Not all families are what they appear and anything can happen behind closed doors.

Action Sequences

The activity is abuse and neglect, it will be set in what looks like a normal family home. The story will be from an outsider's perspective and the hints that the outsider gets that the family isn’t as happy as it seems. The expected structure of events will entail the neighbour who realizes all is not okay, she then attempts to step in to protect the child but after the intimidation from the step father (who makes it very apparent that he doesn’t appreciate her concerns) she begins to back down due to fear of the man.

Main characterscharacter Relationship to

childWhere do they come into the role?

What role do they play?

ben n/a throughout victim

lisa mother throughout abuser

derek Step father throughout abuser

Pc jamison policeman Towards the end outsider

Sally neighbour Towards the end outsider

conflict Ben wants his mothers love and attention and Lisa (his mother) wants the attention of her boyfriend and is not interested in her sons wellbeing.The principles that ben stand for is that parents should dhow their children as much love and attention as possible and should look after them in the best possible way they can. The mother stands for the fact that no parent should choose their partner over their child due to the effect that it has on the child.Lisa’s principles are not a key subject in the film as she continues to choose her boyfriend over her son. The film puts the principle that the mother should stand by her son rather than her boyfriend in opposition of the fact that her opinion is her sons wellbeing is not her concern.

The boy cries out for his mothers attention as he is perfectly entitled to do so. Showing your child love and attention is a motherly duty that she should fulfil. However the step father steps in and punishes him for not doing as he’s told which isn’t right takes drives a wedge in between the mother and son and there relationship as he is not giving the child the opportunity to bond with his mum; not that she's interested anyway.

From the mother watching the confrontation is could then develop that his mother realises how controlling the boyfriend is and that she’s not happy with the way in which he treats ben as she slowly starts to feel remorse and guilt for the way that he had been treated.

Audience Biases

Biases (may be positive or negative)A biased opinion that the audience may have about the mother is that she is loving and caring and looks after her children in the best possible way that she can. They may also automatically think that the mother is a bad mother but it may also be a possibility that she is in a bad relationship and is being forced to neglect her child. Due to the fact that the family lives in a council area the audience may also assume that they are a rough family as they are not a high class.

One of the main things that the audience need to understand is the fact that this upbringing that Ben has is all that he has ever known and with his young brain not being fully developed yet he doesn’t necessarily know right from wrong yet. He totally thinks that the way he gets treated by his mother and step father is completely normal in family life.

During the course of the short film I will show how the life that the child lives has an impact on him as he gets older and on his social and love life in the future. The abuse that he endured had a major impact on him and the person he later became.

StructureWhen structuring my film I will be using linear and flashbacks to show his life from very early from when the abuse started when his mother got with his step dad and how this part of his life and the decision that his mother made to stay with him had a huge impact on how things progressed. The climatic sequence will be when the neighbour tried to intervene as she suspected something wasn’t right and got scared off by the intimidating step dad.

The climatic part is where the neighbour has to choose weather to back down because she’s scared or do what she thinks is right and save the little boy. The falling action after this sequence will be how ben has to suffer due to the fact that the neighbour didn’t do anything to help.

Form and styleThere are special

considerations in this project when filming. This is that ben is the victim so the camera needs to be looking down on him to emphasise his vulnerability, this is called a high angle and the camera looking up at the parents to show the power they have, this is called a low angle. The flashbacks will be intercut into the film when it is relevant to the story.

resolution

I envisage my film to end very suddenly with the death of the young boy and emphasis of the guilt that the neighbour has that she didn’t intervene and help ben when she knew that he was in danger. Ending the film this way will encourage people to help helpless victims in the future and it will leave the shocking story in the viewers minds. The ending is important as it will have a very influential impact on what the film stands for.

Budget Costs:Camera hire/ one day:£76.50 hireacamera.com

Cast: peopleperhour.com

Actor no.1 – £25/hour.

Actor no.2 - £7/hour.

Actor no.3 - £15/hour.

Actor no.4 - £25/ hour.

Policeman outfit hire:

LogisticsThe location that I require will be easy to attain due to the fact that the home is owned by a member of the crew and is feasible. Make up will be used in able to make the abuse more realistic. There will also be a schedule so that the crew know when they will be needed. Burger bar that could be driven on set for the crew to be able to eat in their breaks.