The Assignment
Pitch (50 pts): a 1-2 page abstract/proposal for your idea. Stay with the basic structure for an argument–works also for short film. What sort of short film are you envisioning? What kinds of rhetorical tools? The proposal should include at least 2 sources you will likely consult related to your topic and one or more questions you have at this point and for which you would like some feedback. These sources need to be academic peer reviewed or they need to be from reliable sources like The New Yorker. Internet journals are fine if they come from a reliable source.
This film will be your original idea. Remember you are not actually filming this – you will be designing it using the rhetorical tools of film design from our text book chapters 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9.
This is designed to make you think about what rhetorical tools you would use to convey a mood, a message, an argument, to tell a story, to find meaning in life, to become philosophical.
Late Policy: You will lose 5 points per day after the due date.
The Templet
Logline goes first: The logline is your story distilled into one or two punch-packing sentences. It introduces the film’s core concept, protagonist(s), and the stakes in 25 to 50 words. Unlike the tagline, which is a dramatic, provocative statement, the logline should lean descriptive.
Who you are. This should include how you came up with the idea and give context to why it’s an important story to tell.
The Genre. Describe briefly the genre.
Target Audience: Who are you filming this for?
The Tagline. And by this, we mean a brief summary, not a deep dive. You should introduce characters and talk about the rise and the fall without giving away too much detail.
What is the problem? The central concern or idea.
Existing movie examples. While your masterpiece will, of course, be different, providing existing examples of successful films can quickly illustrate your vision.
A small paragraph detailing the rhetorical tools at your disposal. What do you foresee as your visual focus? Color? Set? Costumes? Prosthetics?
Attach. Two sources that will inform your project.
Example Tagline:
Working Title: ‘A Quiet Place’:
“Imagine a world where dangerous creatures have killed most of the human race, leaving just a small percentage of the population left in hiding, struggling to survive — only these survivors can’t make a single sound because the quietest noise instantly attracts the creatures. My script is called ‘A Quiet Place’ and tells the story about a post-apocalyptic world where a family is forced to live in silence while hiding from monsters with ultra-sensitive hearing. It all builds to the final moment of the wife having to give birth while her family has left her alone. And she has to do it in silence to avoid triggering the creature’s sensitive hearing. And the father has to sacrifice his own life to save his children by drawing the creatures away from them with a scream! It’s ‘War of the Worlds’ meets ‘Hush.’”
Last Completed Projects
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