The Seed to a Soon-to-be Plant

     Hey guys! I've spent the last two days outlining some basic things for my project such as characters, the period of time this film will be taking place in, and other additional things to consider. 
     As for characters, I would like to include 4 total: the main character who is the woman in the relationship being abused, a gay male friend, the woman in the relationship who is the abuser, and an old friend of the main character who is in town to catch up with her. I don't yet have names for them, but I have a good idea of who I will be casting as these characters. I did my planning for the characters loosely in one of my journals since I brainstorm better on paper. Here is a picture of my rough work: 

     My handwriting may not be suitable for all readers, therefore I want to quickly brief over the more important aspects of the characters I plan to show in the first 2 minutes of my short film. 

     The main character is a woman in college who is stuck in an abusive relationship. I want her to be quiet and not very outspoken. Her insecurities lead her to blame herself for the s**t she receives from her significant other. 

     I want the gay male character to also be in college who believes in the "it was just a cat fight" mentality and pressures the main character to remain silent in hopes of preserving the image of the LGBTQ+ community. He will be helping the main character cover up her bruises and cuts with make up. I imagine filming him from the neck down, never showing his face in the frames he's included in. I want to use the same technique some cartoons use when showing parental figures in their shows because I want him to reflect a patronizing figure who has a negative influence on the victim. Ideally, this character represents a greater being: the shadowing idea that one must not address queer issues so that the reputation of the queer community isn't tainted. 

     The abuser is also a woman in college. However, I don't necessarily want her to show up physically in the film. I want to portray her through overbearing phone calls and texts. I want the focus to remain on the victim and the effects the abuser has on the victim. 

     The old friend catching up character is vibrant, lively, and a great listener. I envision this character trying to be funny with the main character and joking about a "hickey" the main character has, only to find out it's a bruise instead. The tone would shift as they become concerned with the situation their friend is stuck in. 

     As for the time I want my film's story to take place within, I would like it to be in the present time: March 2018 during college spring break. I figured that considering the fact it's Spring Break, the couple would be in separate places visiting their families in their respective homes, and it would contribute to the abuser's overly protective attitude while they're not together. 

     I'm going to continue expanding on these characters and I would like to begin drawing a storyboard as well as writing a script for the film. Otherwise, that's all for today folks!