Mood Board

I created a mood board for initial ideas relating to costume, location and props. This was so I had a representation of what my film would look like after considering all of my research so far. This will allow me to finalise the look and mise-en-scene of my short film.

Music list

The type of music I will be including once again comes from the conclusion from my music/sound questionnaire. Taking the results into consideration, I will use music that incorporates guitars, percussions and keyboard. This suggests rock music is going to be more suitable for my genre of short film.

From this collected information, I have decided to use music of a local band called Outrageous Flesh, who have agreed to use their music and would therefore like to thank them for this. I shall also be using a piece of music composed by myself and a friend, which was written specifically for my A2 Media Production. This piece of music also falls under the rock genre.

Sound list

Due to the majority of my short film production being filmed outside, there will be both diegetic and non-diegetic sounds within the final production.

The sounds have been taken from my own research, where i created a questionnaire based on music and sound.

Below are the sounds that i will include in my short film production


The reason birds is within the non-diegetic column is because the way I plan to use this sound, is by recording the sound seperate to filming and putting it in during the editing process.

Music/Sound Results- Conclusion

In conclusion I have found out that the music in my film needs to contain some slow aspects aswell as some upbeat aspects, to help portray both the beach location and the sufring lifestyle.

Also I have came to the conclusion that the natural sounds that i need to try and include are: the sea and waves, the wind, and birds. This was derived from my analysis of the natural sounds associated with the beach and surfing.

From my questionnaire I have also established that I need to include music with my credits.

Finally I have come to the conclusion that the instruments in the music need to be those of a rock band variety, this means I need to include guitars, percussions, and keyboards.

Music/Sound Results- Do you think credits need musical accompaniment?

Below is the result of question 6 in my Music/Sound questionnaie.

Music/Sound Results- Surfing questions

I aksed three questions that were specifically relating to surfing. I aksed these questions because I wanted to make sure the music, sounds and instruments I used within my production portrayed the surfing lifestyle and the audience could relate to this.

The first question on the beach I asked was 'What music do you associate with surfing?'. 80% of my sample answered this question with fast/upbeat. The other 20% of my overall sample stated that they associate both upbeat and calm music with surfing.
The second question I asked relating to the beach was 'What natural sounds do you associate with surfing?'. Below is a table of my responses.
The final question I asked relating to the beach was 'What instruments do you associate with surfing?'. Again the responses I recieved are below

Music/Sound Results- Beach questions

I aksed three questions that were specifically relating to a beach location. I aksed these questions because I wanted to make sure the music, sounds and instruments I used within my production portrayed the beach location and the audience could relate to this.

The first question on the beach I asked was 'What music do you associate with the beach?'. 80% of my sample answered this question with slow. From this 80%, 33% also mentioned that the music associated with the beach should be either calm or relaxing.

13% of my overall sample, disagreed and believed the music associated with the beach should be upbeat. 7% of my sample associated both slow and fast tempo music with the beach.

The second question I asked relating to the beach was 'What natural sounds do you associate with the beach?'. Below is a table of my responses.

The final question I asked relating to the beach was 'What instruments do you associate with the beach?'. Again the responses I recieved are below

Music/Sound Results- Do you think a short film needs music?

Below is the pie chart showing the result of the first question on my Music/Sound questionnaire.

Music/Sound Questionnaire

At this point of my planning I started to think about the types of music and sounds that would accompany my short film. Therefore, it was necessary to construct a questionnaire in order to gain research about what types of music to use within my short film, but, that would also fit the subject and location.

Photographic storyboard

Below is my photographic storyboard. This include all the information from the sketched storyboard, but the pictures are photographic representations of the action in the shot.

Sketched Storyboard

Below is my sketched storyboard. this includes information for my production including shot type, action, length of shot, dialogue and any other relevant information for each shot. This is phase one of my production development as I will also need to produce a photographic storyboard too.

Shooting Script

The second document I created to help me shoot my short film was the shooting script. This included the number of shots, a description of the exact shot and any audio and dialogue going on in that shot.

Shot list

Before filming my production there were a few documents that I needed to create to make filming my short film easier. Below is the first of these documents being the shot list.

Chosen film name

The film name of which I have chosen is 'The Perfect Wave'. This is for many reasons, the first being that it suited the plot compared to the other ideas that I had. Secondly the name rolls of the tongue easy, so this could be used easily in a television or radio link. Finally the name 'The Perfect Wave' in my opinion sticks in your mind over the others.

Film name ideas

At this point of my planning I thought it was sensible to think about and decide apon a name for my film. All of my ideas include a reference to either surfing, the sea, or the beach. Below is the diagram of my possible ideas.

Plot- Final Draft

Due to feedback I recieved on my first draft, I put more detail into the final draft of my plot, the changes include; different location, interviewing people to give myself more filming opportunities, more creative editing, particularly with the interviews and including photographs/animations during the credits. My final draft of my plot can be seen below.

Setting the scene-Zoom into a map showing Fistral beach on it then fades to show the sign for Fistral beach, with the main character walking past, cuts to character walking down onto the beach walks past camera and across the beach the with the camera following. While this is happening I introduce myself and explain my ambition while the camera is following me down to the beach.

When on the beach i put the board down on the sand and the films titles fades onto the board, then it cuts to the character waxing the board and explaining why it is used and the best way to apply it. Once done I will attach the board leash and head into the water and the music starts in the background after the camera then fades in and out between a set of interviews (which will include creative editing to make the interviews more appealing to the audience) and action shots, after the final interview it shows me catching the wave, standing up and wiping out, and then it cuts to a small set of interviews (which will be in different locations) on how not to wipe out. After this I will come back to shore and talk about how I caught the wave but ended up wiping out meaning my ambition still isn’t fulfilled and then walk off. This fades to black and credits roll with action/photographs going on over one half over the screen.

Plot- First Draft

Setting the scene- show the sign for Fistral beach then do a pan of the actual beach
Introduction- Introduce myself and explain my ambition while the camera is following me down to the beach.

When on the beach put board down and then get out board wax and explain why it is used and best way to apply it to the board.
Once done I will head into the water and the music starts in the background after time I will begin to do a voice explaining why I surf and a little bit about surfing in Cornwall this is all happening while I am surfing. When I get the perfect wave I am going to wipe out.

After time I will come back to shore and talk about how I caught the wave but ended up wiping out meaning my ambition still isn’t fulfilled.

Stereotype research

For my short film production I had decided, I wanted to break away from the norm of what people perceive a surfer to look like. Therefore, I asked 8 people of a range of ages including teenagers to adults what they imagined when they thought about a surfer. The findings below will help me plan my Mise-en-scene and will tell me how to challenge the stereotype. This could shock the audience because they could be expecting the stereotypical surfer.

Questionnaire Results- Conclusion

From my questionnaire I have found out that 100% of my questionnaire sample would watch a short film. This means I would have an audience for my short film production.

In terms of the subject I will be basing my production on, 92% of my sample would watch a short film based on surfing. This again confirms that I would have an audience for my production.

The majority of my sample (68%) stated that they believed that a short film should consist of both live action and animation. Due to this response I will therefore try to incorporate live action and animation. This would also mean I would have a larger audience.

Questionnaire results- Do you prefer short films to include...

This is the result for the final question on my questionnaire.

Questionnaire results- Would you watch a short film about surfing?

This is the result of question 4 of my questionnaire.

Questionnaire results- Would you watch a short film?

This is the result for question 3 on my questionnaire.

Questionnaire results- Gender/Age

Here are the results for the first two questions on my questionnaire.

What Gender are you?


What age are you?