The Initial Ideas (5-Min Film)

 When approached with a task to make a five minute film with no context, no hints for a plot with people you've only just met, it was a welcome challenge to try new skills and produce something we as a team are proud of. The first debate considered the conflict between factual and documentary based such as a day in the life video or a fictional approach. After a several hours of discussing our ideas we finally began with a horror/psychological thriller. This way, it will enable us to get creative across a wide variety of techniques within acting, editing, script writing and filming. We took inspiration from similar movies in a relatable genre such as Paranormal Activity, The Lighthouse and Escape Room. We even viewed several short films typically 4-10 minutes long to help inspire our ideas when finally the penny dropped. 

We found ourselves developing our plots to our ideas and were stuck with two. Option 1 would consist of a group of lads finding a dead body in the woods little did they know that one of the 'friends' was the killer themselves or Option 2 which was a 1st person YouTube style vlog of hide and seek where the friends find a body in the woods during their game. We found Option 1 more technical and challenging to work with in order to produce as high quality piece of film. The plot took on some twists and turns and we finally have our grand idea. 

The opening scene follows four boys walking towards a deep, dark woods. At this point, the audience begins to assume they are friends daring themselves to enter. The two taller, more confident boys seem particularly friendly and welcoming to the other two clearly less popular friends who remain very close, reserved and unsure throughout the film. The incentive becomes clear as the two popular boys rumour that they found a dead body in the woods and that the two losers should join them in the hunt to find it. In the two unpopular boys' eyes, this is their big chance the be associated with the cool kids and become famous locally. They take the gamble. The two older boys start acting strangely almost supernatural with their movements and big wide eyes prompting the two boys to keep searching for the body. The build-up is intense as the shadows get darker and the woods get quieter. Suddenly, the two older boys attack the other two killing one of them and knocking the other one out in an attempt to murder both. The movie falls silent. The last scene is a blurry image on the floor with distant sirens and lights in the background, what that leads to is unclear as the credits begin, whilst the audience questions what happens next in this horrific timeline of events.