It’s Personal – Proposal
Learning to Roll – A Short Film
I would like to make a short film about learning to play role-playing games (i.e. Dungeons and Dragons). The film will focus on the imagination (or lack thereof) of the characters as they attempt to teach their friend to play DnD. I plan on shooting this film in an interesting manner. When focusing in on players who are experienced at DnD the set will be in the woods, while when the film is focusing on the inexperienced player the players will be seen sitting around a card table in a basement. I plan on shooting entirely on location allowing me to direct in a style that I am more familiar with.
Production Support:
- Vixia
- Access to the MML
Visual and Creative Research:
- Dragonslayer – Film, 1981.
- I plan on using this film to look at the ways that they deal with magic and how they shoot the characters themselves.
- Conan the Barbarian – Film, 1982.
- More visual research. I plan on specifically watching “the battle of the mounds” sequence and take a critical look at how they film a fight in a fantasy film.
- The Eternal Champion Cycle – Novels, 1960s – Today. By Michael Moorcock.
- I plan on looking through these novels for character archetypes in which the people playing DnD can take elements from. These classic novels, along with The Lord of the Rings, were some of the main inspirations behind Dungeons and Dragons.
Help From the Class:
- An Editor (or at least someone who can help me edit)
- A Currently Unknown number of Actors
- Producer (Not needed, however, I find that I work better with a producer breathing down my neck)
My Timeline:
- Script to Be Completed by Week 4
- Begin Shooting Week 6
- Editing