The big pitch

Morning on the script - we are making great progress.

Sophie was waylaid all morning as her pal was involved in a car crash.

Afternoon we all pitched our projects to the DPs, Editors and Production Designers. Real range of stories, from sharp idea to verbose delivery.





“She Cried Alive” – DP, Prod Design & Editors

Team Introduction:
Producer – Sophie Watts
Script – Adam Benic
Director – Martin Stitt

Genre:
Drama – a modern ‘day beauty and the beast’ exploring the idea of ‘is beauty internal or external’

I am not going to tell you the whole plot, scene by scene. What I will outline is the essence as that is what we need your three disciplines to understand and help bring alive.

Synopsis:
Abby Hunter (30s) is a lawyer, and a good one. Cool, detached and successful. In a male dominated environment she plays by their rules and wins. But underneath this bravado, she hides a scar, one, which she closes off through her work. That is until one night out, drinking with the guys from the office, she meets Steve a doctor. Like Abby he works hard, but when off duty he doesn’t want to be reminded of work. She is smitten but the scar she bares, hidden from daily view, stop her dead. But Steve doesn’t give up easily.

He finally wins her confidence. In the climax of the film Abby opens up allowing her tough façade to be vulnerable, revealing the scars from the mastectomy. It’s the moment of choice for Steve. He looks on at the scars….they remind him of work and he leaves Abby alone once again.

This is a story, which aims to touch an audience. For the men – would you stay or leave. For the women – could you be so vulnerable or would you hide or get plastic surgery?

Comparable films: 21 Grams, Crash and Lost in Translation

Hooks:
DP & Production Design – Location Shoot. Four key locations: Strip Club, Office, Two Flats (Abby and Steve’s) and one side location, a hospital corridor. Time critical. Real challenge to achieve the stories requirements within the allocated production schedule.

We are looking for a strong DP, who can pre-plan meticulously, this is critical so that when we are on set he or she will be confident, creative and effective within a tight schedule.

We are looking for a Production Design who can sculpt existing locations to enhance the story and support the character’s needs. Multiple locations will proving taxing.

Visual influences are Edward Hopper and Donald Judd.

Framing wise - think symmetry versus asymmetry.

There is colour outside her life but not in it.

Musical influences:

Stone Roses – I want to be adored (start of film)
Beck – Broken Drum (end of film)
Jeff Buckley – Mojo Pin (end of film)

Editing – An emotional narrative. Told through the cut. The script is sparse on dialogue with the core of the story being told through action and looks. We are looking for an editor mature enough to read the emotional flow of a narrative and spot, in a performance, the critical moments and thoughts.

In summary this is an ambitious story, which we feel will stretch individuals who have industry or strong college experience.