BeCreative

SHORT FILM
‘ONE STEP BEHIND YOU’
ALEXIA EZARU JOSEPH RUFFELL
 CONTENTS:

 PROPOSAL
 PRODUCTION SCHEDULE
 SHOOTING SCRIPT
 STORYBOARDS
 SOUND TABLE
 ACTORS AUDITION
 EMAIL CONFIRMATIONS
 LOCATION RECEES
 CREW LIST
 PROPS LIST
 EQUIPMENT HIRE FORM
 CONTINGENCY PLAN
 ‘One Step Behind You’

For our final idea we decided to combine the first and the last options we
came up with. The first idea is about the main character getting
kidnapped and held hostage by the secondary character, meanwhile in
the third idea we discussed about the female lead being stalked by
someone who couldn't get over the fact that he got rejected by her.
Our main plot will be about Character A who is in a long term relationship
with her fiancée and the person she had rejected in the past, Character
B. The short film will start with Character A being tied up in a warehouse by
Character B. While she’s waking up we will show flashbacks from when she
was running away from the stalker (walking down the street, unconscious
of the fact that Character B is getting closer and closer to her. We will use
a variety of angles ((e.g. close-ups on her face so that the audience will
see her facial expression much clearly and understand how she feels))
and perspectives. We'll use different types of sound effects and music to
create a dramatic yet intense atmosphere for the entire period. The next
scene will happen at the kidnapper's house, Character A being tied up.
She would wake up in an unknown environment and tries to break free.
Character A will try to be quiet while trying to figure out a way of escaping
(this bit will be mainly from her point of view and third person). Character
won’t be anywhere near her at the beginning, so will focus more on the
female character. Later on we will show Character B walking around the
warehouse trying to find her after realising she escaped. We will use
intense background music to keep the audience on the edge, since I
want to make them believe that the outcome is unpredictable. Character
B will catch her and drag her back in the room she was previously in. She’ll
grab something from the floor and knock him out with it. The ending scene
will show her running outside the warehouse and through the woods.

We decided to create this production based on the survey’s results we got

when asking our target audience about the plot they’ll like to see in our
short film. We liked this idea the most even before sending our survey out,
and since our target audience liked it we were really glad. At the
beginning I thought about making something based on the drama
genre, but since I’ve done something like that already I considered trying
something new a thriller. One of the most important things in thriller genre
is building up the atmosphere properly so the audience will keep
engaged and understand the action much better.

28th of November 2019

Our target audience is between 25 to 40 years old.

Based on my research I found out that my target audience prefers

comedy the most (91% females and 90% males). Since everyone has a
different sense of humour and find different stuff funny I considered it will
be harder to please everyone and make them enjoy the short film. The
second most popular genre was drama (89% females and 80% males) and
because one of my previous productions was based on the drama genre I
wanted to try out something different as thriller (83% females and 84%
males). And based on the survey I’ve done previously I found out that my
target audience is interested in thriller because it keeps them on the edge
of their seat, builds suspense and tension. It keeps them engage
throughout the film.

Based on that research I plan to produce a short film that will make my
target audience engaged the entire time, building suspense at the right
moments. Since the main idea of my short film is to have Character A
escape from the warehouse, she’ll have to be extremely careful and
caution of Character B who’s trying to catch her back. The location I
would like to use would be one of the most important things that would set
the mood of the short film.
Our production will be aired most probably on YouTube since that’s the
platform I previously used for my last short films and music video. YouTube
is a free platform that allows everyone publish their content, not matter
what it is as long is appropriate. We took in consideration other platforms
as Vimeo, since most of the short films I analysed were taken from there.
Based on the research I did for my target audience I found out that
YouTube is more frequented by a much younger audience (from children
to young adults). The millennials prefer platforms as Vimeo over YouTube
because the quality is much higher and usually the people who take part
in different film festivals post their productions there. So you already have
some expectations set when you look for short films on Vimeo.
INT. WAREHOUSE – DAY

FOCUS ON ELLA’s hands, which are

tied up with a zip tie. She is
wrapped up in duct tape around a
chair, her belongings being on
the floor, as she’s still
unconscious. Her mouth is
covered with tape and her hands
are tied up with a zip tie.

CLOSE UP on her profile, where

we can see the wound that’s
situated below her bone cheek.

She frowns and slowly wakes up

having flashbacks about what
happened before she got
kidnapped. FOCUS on her eyes, as
she opens them in shock and
gasps, overwhelmed by everything
that happened to her.

Panicked, ELLA starts looking

around and the CAMERA FILMS FROM
HER POINT OF VIEW, showing the
places she’s staring at. She
breathes heavily until she
starts understanding the
situation, she’s in and tries to
calm herself down.

She frowns because of the sudden

pain in her cheek (FOCUS ON her
wound) then she looks down at
her hands trying to figure out
how to get rid of the tie.
She leans forwards undoing her
shoelaces and wraps them around
the zip tie. ELLA ties the
shoelaces together and starts
moving her legs in a back and
forth motion until the zip tie
breaks.

Takes the tape away from her

mouth and struggles to take the
rest of off her. ELLA looks
around the room until she spots
her bag and stops for a moment
realising that something in her
bag might help her escape. Then
she starts jumping with the
chair towards it, and grabs it
with her feet, bringing it
closer to her.

CLOSE UP on her hands as she

agitatedly begins searching for
something sharp in her bag.
Takes the makeup purse out and
finds the eyebrow shaver. CLOSE
UP on her hands and shaver, as
she’s trying to break the duct
tape.

ELLA struggles at the beginning,

but after a few moments she
takes the tape of off her and
breaks free. She then gathers
all her stuff and walks towards
the door which is blocked my old
chairs and desks. She’s moving
them away as much as she can, so
that she’ll be able to get out
of the room.

FROM HER POINT OF VIEW, she

looks to her right and then to
her left. She then walks towards
the main exist and struggles to
open the door. She sighs in
frustrations and turns around,
looking at the other end of the
hallway. ELLA starts walking
slowly.

She walks carefully along the

narrow hallway, panic building
up slowly because of her
claustrophobia. ELLA gulps when
noticing that the room is
getting bigger, uncertain of
what is behind the wall.

She starts breathing heavily in

panic.

Her back slides down the wall,

as she’s looking through her bag
for her pocket mirror. She uses
it to check what is in the room
before walking in it.

She frowns in confusion since

the place is empty and there is
no trace of someone else being
there with her. She spots
another door and starts running
towards it. ELLA is forcing the
door, struggling to open it. She
cries out in frustration.

She goes inside the room on her

left, looking around for
something that could help her
open the door. Then she rushes
to the one next room and finds
nothing.

CLOSE UP ON HER PROFILE she’s

looking downwards thinking about
something that could be helpful.
She rushes to her bag and takes
out a few hair pins. She drops
some on the floor by mistake and
rushes back to the door trying
to unlock it.
PARALLEL EDITING showing the
kidnapper walking up the stairs
and back to her struggling to
unlock the door. FOCUS on him
taking the keys out and
unlocking the door. FOCUS BACK
on her. ELLA stops moving when
she hears noises from the other
door.

She becomes agitated and looks

around for a place to hide. She
sees the big hole in the wall,
and hesitantly gets in there.

CAMERA FOCUSES ON HIM. He walks

in and hears a sound in the
distance. He stops moving, as
he’s figuring out where the
sound came from.

He leaves the key behind and

places his bag on the floor. He
walks to the room she initially
was tied up in.

CAMERA SHOWING HIS POINT OF VIEW

of the room

He stars rushing towards the

other rooms and checks the other
exist. He looks inside the room
by the door, and when he turns
his head around, he sees a hair
pin on the floor. He picks the
hair pin up and looks around to
see if there are more of them.

He sees another one by the room

she’s hiding in and walks slowly
towards it.

FOCUS ON HER FROM INSIDE THE

HOLE, she’s trembling, tears
rolling down her cheeks, her
hands are covering her mouth.
She closes her eyes trying to
calm down. ELLA peaks her head
out the hole to check where the
man went. She sighs in relief.

She returns in the initial

place, only to see the man being
inches away from her.

She screams uncontrollably,

punches the man in the face and
gets out of there. FOCUS on the
man’s face as he gets out, his
glasses being broken.

CAMERA FOLLOWS her as she runs

to the exit, the man is right
behind her. Before he can come
any closer, she grabs the
furniture, making it fall over
him.

The man is on the floor, beneath

some of the desks and chairs.

ELLA is sitting on the floor

looking at the man in shock.
She’s ready to stand up and run,
but he grabs her hair.

She starts screaming again,

trying to make him let go but
he’s too strong. She notices a
pair of scissors in his open
bag, her phone being there as
well. ELLA grabs both of them
and uses the scissor to cut the
hair he’s holding onto.

She calls the police, leaving

him behind.

END.
 Punch

Door creak

Keys

Door opening

Door closing

Chair scraping along

the floor

Thud
Duct Tape

Zip

Lighting Information:
The location we want to use is situated
in the college’s attic. It got a window in
almost every room, which means
they’re pretty bright, except for the
narrow hallway, which is dark
compared to the rest of the rooms.
Sound Information:
The location will be quiet since there
aren’t many students and people using
that area, and even if they are I don’t
think they’ll be loud enough to disturb
our filming.
Power Information
When we checked out the place I
haven’t really payed attention to see if
there are any plugs in case our
cameras run out of battery. Or in case
Type of room/area: Attic
Location Address:
Deanfield Ave, Henley-
on-Thames
Sat Nav details (Post
code):
RG9 1UH
Nearest Train Station:
Henley Train Station
Nearest Bus stop:
Market Place Stop E
Solutions:
I don’t think we’ll need any other kind
of lighting since the way the rooms
already are is good enough. And I think
the lighting creates a good atmosphere
that fits well with our genre.
Solutions:
In case there are going to be many
people, we’ll have to figure out a time
when that area isn’t used that much or
at all, so we can film everything quietly.
Solutions:
We should go and check if there are
any plugs and if there are make sure
they work. Our cameras should be fully
we’re going to use other kind of
equipment.
Hazards
The attic hasn’t been used in a few
years, so there are loads of unused
desks and chairs thrown in one room,
meanwhile the others have small things
all over the floor.
Back-up Location
Lighting Information:
Since the building is abandoned and
some bits of it are also ruined, there
would be places surrounded by
darkness and others that would have
bright enough because of the natural
lighting.
Sound Information:
charged so we won’t have any
problems when filming.
Solutions:
Watch where we’re walking so that no
one will trip and hurt themselves.
Type of room/area:
Location Address:
Twyford Abbey Road,
London
Sat Nav details (Post
code): NW10 7HJ
Nearest Train Station:
Park Royal ZONE 3
Nearest Bus stop:
Iveagh Avenue (Stop C)
Solutions:
When it comes to lighting we will have
to use the rooms inside the building that
have enough light. Some scenes are
supposed to happen outside and
because it will be day time we won’t
need any kind of equipment to
brighten up the place.
Solutions:
The Twyford Abbey is situated in a
location that is pretty much isolated
from society. It is indeed in the middle of
a neighbourhood, but the mansion is
surrounded by trees and there is a
massive fence surrounding the entire
place.
Power Information:
Because the mansion has been
abandoned for a long time, I’m
convinced that the plugs won’t work,
neither the light bulbs.
Hazards:
The only hazardous thing that comes
into my mind is the fact that the
mansion has been abandoned for a
long time and some parts of the
building is ruined as some of the walls
and ceilings have fallen down.
Person
ALEXIA EZARU CAMERA
DIRECTOR
JOSEPH RUFFELL CAMERA
DIRECTOR
ELLA PHILLIPS ACTRESS
The only things we might hear would be
the animals living in the area and the
car passing by in the distance (because
they will be far away from the mansion
there are small chances to hear them)
But we won’t be able to do anything
about them.
Solutions:
Because we won’t be able to use the
plugs we’ll have to have our cameras
charged, and come at day time so we
won’t film in the darkness.
Solutions:
To avoid putting anyone in danger we’ll
have to avoid the areas that seem
weak and look like would fall in any
moment.
Role Dates Needed
21ST OCT 2019
21ST OCT 2019
21ST OCT 2019
DYLAN COTES ACTOR 21ST OCT 2019

Item Item Description Who uses it When it is used

Shape eyebrows HER First scene

Wear it on your head HER Last scene

Cutting things HER Last scene

Keeps your makeup HER First scene,

products
Hallways
scene

Caring small stuff HER First scene

around
HIM Last scene
Looking at yourself HER Hallways
scene

Calling and texting HER Last scene

Holding things together HER First scene

Keeps your hair in place HER Trying to

unlock the
HIM
door scene

Un/locking the door HER Last scene

HIM

Holding things together HER First scene

Helps you see much HIM All scenes
clear
In case our main actors are not available to film on the planned date,
we’ll have to come up with new dates and times that would suit their
schedule. If they won’t be available at all, we’ll have to use our back-up
actors instead. We’re pretty confident when it comes to filming in our main
location since it’s within the college, but if Joe and I don’t get permission
anymore, we’ll have to call and see if we’re allowed to film in our second
choice because the place is located in London and it’s a private
property.