Concept

 Film Title

"ADDICTED"

The team at Sensational Studios have worked closely together, drafting all possible ideas for the title of our film. The intention we had for our title was to encapsulate the core ideas, emotions and concepts of our film in no more than a couple of words. The title we finally came up with, being "Addicted". The dictionary definition of addicted states "exhibiting a compulsive, chronic, physiological or psychological need for a habit forming substance, behaviour or activity." It also means "the inability to stop using a substance or engaging in behaviour even though it is causing physical or psychological harm." The term addiction does not just refer to substance abuse, but repetitive negative behaviour, or obsessive major focus on or exclusion of other activities. To be addicted, allows oneself to become accustomed to the ways and habits that do not conform with moral standard. This is the essence of our film; how poor decisions, unhealthy habits and bad judgement can turn your life around for the worse.

Target Audience:

Our target audience is aimed towards the young adult age group, around 16-24 years (mature audiences). This is because of the themes and ideas conveyed, and how the characters are portrayed. A more mature and intelligible audience will be able to understand, process, learn from and take away the main message of the film while enjoying it at the same time, whereas a younger audience may be more susceptible to exposure and may be minimally affected due to mature themes and concepts. 

Characters and Plot:

Our film will consist of only 2 characters, a protagonist and an antagonist. Aaron, the protagonist, has had a rough upbringing, like a lot of young men his age. His dad died in a gang rivalry when he was young, leaving him and his mom in an unfortunate situation with no income and no food or water, leaving it upto him to provide for himself, his mother and pay the rent. However, he does not cope with all the stress of being the sole provider for him and his mom, and resorts to other ways of "coping". On the other hand, there is Von, the antagonist. Von is adopted, and has been apart of a white foster family that have been nothing short of loving to towards him. However, being a young black man who was put up for adoption, he has always felt like an outsider, and has rebelled against his foster family. He made his way as a drug lord, and has an extremely short temper when he doesn't get what he wants, which is seen when Aaron is buying drugs from Von and can only pay half the amount, so he breaks into his house. We are bringing representation as well as class and status into the mix through the stereotype of young black men engaging in criminal activity (particularly the drug industry) as a means of making a living and paving the way for their futures. 

Setting and Time:

We will be shooting "Addicted" in Browns Bay, at the Browns Bay Shops. Our shoot will be done during the night to keep that tension and eerie tone. Browns Bay has lots of foot paths with surrounding forestry which is exactly the setting that we are looking for in our film. There are also a lot of street lights which give us an element of lighting that is pre-existing and effective in creating suspense and tension. Having experience under our belt from PT1, we can be confident in knowing what to plan for, approximately how long things will take, and any potential mishaps we may encounter. Sensational Studios plan to meet as a group during our term break in the second week. Weekends are not an option for us as we have other commitments. Our talent will also be completely free in this second week so it caters to everyone.

Props and Costumes:

Our props will be quite minimal yet effective. We will have fake money for the exchange, which will be printed out and cut by the team. We will also have a bags of icing sugar, simulating the illegal substances. 

As for the costumes, we will be using the UK roadman look, inspired by "Top Boy". This consist of puffer jackets, tech fleeces, tracksuits, coats, hoodies and headwear. We have chosen to go with this as it will create verisimilitude in our film as well as raising awareness as the drug industry has unfortunately become an increasing danger in parts of the UK and worldwide.