Statement Of Intentions - still a work in progress!

My production aim is to produce a 5-minute live action film about a spy that has to rescue something from an enemy’s base. Instead of using people, though, I will be using dogs. It is aimed at all audiences, ranging from children to adults because everyone can perceive different meanings from it.

The main influences for my production are action films such as 'Mission: Impossible' and the James Bond films, due to the genre and general plot line. Also the film 'Cats & Dogs', because the film treats animals like humans which is similar to what I want to make.

I want to take a few aspects - to do with camera work, sound, editing, lighting and general mise-en-scene – from each of my influences, and include some of my original ideas to create a production that is conventional, but also different, so that it is new and exciting.

Therefore I will be studying Lawrence Guterman (the director of ‘Cats & Dogs’) and the general directors of the ‘James Bond’ films. I want to include the techniques of a fast moving, action packed spy film, as well as the understanding of how to capture a dog on camera best: which camera shots and angles create a more realistic illusion.

Unfortunately my budget is very low, so I cannot copy some of the features that I would like to (such as lip synching the animals mouths so it appears that they are speaking) but I am hoping to make them bark, and then have subtitles underneath so it seems like that they are talking.

I would like to include the suspense. Flickering, short cuts and chilling music……………

Diversity of shot types to keep the audience interested, make it more exciting, and to create a more dramatic atmosphere.

The genre will be based around action, but bringing in adventure and thriller as well. I also want to incorporate other suggestions of genres that the audience will react well to, such as comedy and the idea of suspense. These two are particularly good because I want to make the audience feel contrasting emotions so that the film will have a bigger and better effect and make it more memorable. The comedy aspect is the whole idea of a dog acting as a human, and doing ordinary things that we do everyday.