UAL Awarding Body

Creative Production

Production Team:
Title of Production: To Be Decided
British Urban Film Festival

The reason I chose this festival is because the submission deadline is the 31st of December
this year and our college submission date for this project is the 14th of December which
means I will be able to submit my film on time if I do choose to enter. This festival in
particular also celebrates diversity which I think is very cool. It does cost £77 but for students
it’s £72.
In the rules for this festival it states that feature length films must be no less than 44 minutes
and no more than 120, and short films must be no less than 3 minutes and no more than 44.
All music, spoken word, dance and moving image videos must be no less than 3 minutes. The
festival also operates on a no waiver policy.
Everything accepted into the 2023 British Urban Film Festival will be entered in the
competition for a BUFF award. All British short films that are accepted are eligible to be
entered into the 2024 BAFTA film awards, BUFF is a section qualifying festival before you
can enter your film into BAFTA. There is also a variety of other film competitions that your
film can be eligible for (dependent on terms and conditions) if it is accepted into the British
Urban Film Festival.

Outline of Final Idea

For my final idea I have decided to make a film noir about two detectives
trying to solve a murder case but have unknowingly teamed up with the
murderer.
The storyline will focus around Detective Shepard and their sidekick, Spike when the two get
an anonymous call alerting them of a murder and they are asked to investigate the crime
scene. But when they get to the scene there is another detective already stood there, Detective
Jones. They agree to work together to solve the case.
As they find the evidence a lot of it obviously points to a police chief by the name of Holly
Robinson. Though no one seems to be able to find a motive for her to have killed her top
detective. However, everywhere they find evidence pointing to Holly, evidence of Jones
having something to do with the murder is also uncovered.
Spike picks up on how suspicious Jones seems to be quickly but Detective Shepard won’t
listen to them, completely under the impression that Jones is merely a detective trying to
solve the case with them.
More and more evidence piles up, and Shepard wants to arrest Holly Robinson, but then, she
reveals an alibi. She was the one who alerted Shepard and Spike of the crime from her office,
and based on the distance between the crime scene and the office, as well as the time of the
call and the murder, it would be physically impossible for her to have been the killer.
Shepard and Spike decide to do some investigating behind Jones’s back and it is soon
revealed that Jones and Holly have a history. Jones used to be an assistant detective but he
had always wanted to be a detective himself. Holly denied him the position so he killed the
detective he used to work with, and believed that if he got Holly arrested he could convince
the new chief of police to give him a promotion for solving the murder.

Target Audience

The target audience for my film is 18+ Niche.

Films are given a rating by the BBFC which stands for the British Board of
Film Classification. There are certain factors that the BBFC use to determine
what makes a film for more mature audiences. A lot of it depends on what
topics are presented and what way the topics are presented in. For example, if
a film or tv show contains the topic of suicide, the rating will depend on how
the topic is presented. It also relies on the tones and overall impact of the
work, if a film or tv show is darker and more unsettling, the rating will be affected.
As for the age rating for my film, it will be 18+ which means my rage of things I can include
is quite broad for this film in particular, but it also means I have to look into specific things
that people who watch 18+ films enjoy. After doing some research on my target audience I
have concluded that my film will likely include some horror elements and some darker
themes. Especially as it is a murder mystery film so obviously one of the heavy topics
handled will be murder and I will have to handle that topic with caution as I don’t want it to
come across as glorifying murder.

Legal and Ethical Issues

Overall, my production shouldn’t include too many legal or ethical issues. However, I will
still keep an open eye to ta few things that may cause issues for my viewers. These include:
 - One of the main themes of my productions is murder as it is literally
centred around solving a murder so I have to be cautious that I don’t
end up accidentally making it seem like a good thing.

- Luckily, my target audience is 18+ so if there is any blood or anything

it is ok for my target audience. However, I will still make sure it isn’t
too gory for other reasons.

- I have to make sure I don’t include any specific brands or anything in the background
of shots or on clothing as to avoid facing any legal issues.

- Also, for the sake of avoiding legal issues, I have to steer clear of any copyrighted
music when editing my film.

- I should make sure everyone working on my film with me is treated fairly and kindly.

Production Schedule

Week 1 – Start of the project, idea generation and context for my film

Week 2 – Research into my target audience, use primary and secondary research to get more
accurate information on the target audience

Week 3 – Research the codes and conventions of the genre of my film

Week 4 – October half term, do some extra research at home

Week 5 – Begin the planning of my production, including script writing and
starting on a storyboard

Week 6 – Further planning for the production, make sure casts and locations
are confirmed for the filming dates

Week 7 – Pitching the idea and beginning to film and edit

Week 8 – Filming and editing

Week 9 – Finish off the editing and have the first full viewing of the production

Week 10 – Complete corrections and start the evaluation of the project

Week 11 – Final production submission