Theories

Representation

Louis Althusser (1971) says that individuals in capitalist societies 'internalise' ruling capitalist ideologies, unaware that their lives are being repressed.

I will take this theory and incorporate its idea into my short film. This theory will be presented by the main character in my short film who is in a job that he doesn't enjoy but can't leave as he is being repressed by society's rules which he is subliminally exposed to everyday.

Traditional Marxist theories suggest that owners of the media manipulate the media for their own benefit. Neo Marxist theories suggest that the media is influenced by the people working in the media but this is done subconsciously and not deliberately. Both these idea's are related to the themes behind my short film as it is the media which over time convinces the main character to stay in his job instead of doing something he really enjoys.

Both these theories have helped me to develop the idea of showing quick shots of different types of media convincing the man to stay working for this big corporation.

Narrative

I am going to heavily use Levi Strauss's theory on binary opposites in my short film as I want to emphasize the difference between the real world and the dream world that the main male character experiences. I believe that using the binary opposite theory to contrast both worlds will be very effective and convey the message to the audience that the two worlds are very different.

I am also going to dip into Christopher Volger's idea on creating a character who at the start of the story lives a stable but slightly problematic life. The character in my short film will have a stable life but he is not doing what he really enjoys and therefore his life is problematic. I hope by using these theory the audience will be able to relate to the main character and will be able to understand how he is feeling which will make the experience more intense for the viewer.

Instead of using a linear structure which is seen in most big budget Hollywood films, I am going to use a non-linear structure where the end of the narrative will be shown at the start of the film before returning to the start of the narrative and working to the end again. I believe that this method of structuring narrative will go against the traditional Hollywood linear structure as well as giving me an opportunity to put a small twist into the plot which will involve the ending shown at the start of the film.

Audience

The film I am producing is a short film and therefore I will not be using conventional methods to promote my short film. This is because I do not have the budget to spend on marketing and also because my audience will be a niche audience who are interested in artistic films instead of a typical Hollywood audience.

When delivering my short film to the required audience I will make use of web. 2.0 which involves uploading self made content to the Internet. This will include using social networking sites such as Youtube, Facebook and Twitter to promote my film.

George Gerbner(1986) says that TV and other media 'Cultivate the minds of consumers over a long period of time'. This theory is linked to one of the main themes of my short film where the media has influenced the behavior of the main character.

Genre
For my short film i have decided to use a drama genre as the story is very character driven rather than action driven. Throughout the whole film we focus on 'John' the main character, we go into his head and find out how the influence of the media has affected him.

Drama is also very obvious at the end of Crossing the line where John falls down the stairs and is seriously hurt. The tragedy of this scene fits well into the Drama genre.