One Room

COVID-19 has prevented us from creating not only our second-year films but also potentially our graduate projects. Wanting to go into the film industry, to leave university without any portfolio work would not bode well. One Room is an attempt to create two quality and entertaining films to showcase our skills and time at university. It is also an opportunity for you, the viewer, to be engaged by two imaginative films that stemmed from isolation themes.

As you can tell from our trailer without funding we cannot create the elaborate sets, costumes, and special effects needed for a larger project.  As we ease out of lockdown we aim to produce two bigger scale films with a greater crew and cast. With your support, it will elevate the film to a level where slick visuals and engaging stories can be created.  

Each film isn't centered around lockdown, but rather builds from the themes and complications arising from it.  

Is This What You Wanted? follows a ghost and student both hindered by their respective prisons. He attempts to reveal his love in order to alleviate his love interests demons. This film was molded from isolation's 'prison-like qualities. The original story was developed after reading Jean-Paul Satre's No Exit and Strindberg's, The Ghost Sonata both of which convey the afterlife in interesting and imaginative ways. Further influenced by films such as Ghost (1990) and A Ghost Story (2017) the film will attempt to depict relationships occurring between the real and the fantasy. The defunct character of the Ghost is actually a fly-on-the-wall representation of mental health and the often inability friends have to help those suffering from it.

The second film, Three's A Crowd, depicts two young adults 'trapped' in the basement. Stemmed from isolation's claustrophobic feel as well as delving into themes of mental fragility, this film explores the relevant topic of consent in an everchanging setting. Influenced by the playwright Harold Pinter, Three's A Crowd is a 'comedy of menace' exploring dark isolation elements like overthinking coupled with social media in an offbeat comedy. Influenced by films like Buried (2010) and Cube (1997) we aim to develop the previous film's prison-like camera work to manipulating the room as a literal representation of the emotions of the female character.

To achieve our intended visual themes of the film, we aim to put together a set that carries a strong presence of color and texture. Three out of the four walls have been carefully curated to be moveable in order to to create a TV sitcom set layout. This will allow our crew to develop intricate camera angles and visual themes from almost every 'wall'.

Furthermore, the one-room set has to be transformed from a university bedroom to a basement in a matter of days. This ambitious set build is key to both our films creating a vivid backdrop for our individual stories.

Are You Really Here?:

Three's A Crowd:

Most of our budget will go towards the creation of our TV sitcom-esq set. Not only do we aim to create two polished and unique rooms, but they also have to be designed in such a way the flats are able to move both between and during shots. This is to develop both film's isolation themes not only in narrative and camerawork but also set design. 

Although the soundtrack of the film is entirely original created by members of the crew, there are two songs central to each film's themes and narrative. One song's lyrics are the exact idea spark for Is This What You Wanted? and therefore to give you the full vision of the film, achieving song rights is a part of our budget.

As you might imagine Special Effects, Makeup, and Costume are the final larger contributor to our budget as we depict two films with multiple characters one of which is living in a different spiritual realm!