The Rascal – short film

Independent project

THE RASCAL - short film

The protagonist: conceited and self-righteous

 

About the concept

The short film revolves around a young thief and aims at providing an insight into the power of habits, their establishing and overcoming.

THE RASCAL visualises the hero’s inner struggle as his perspective shifts from self-centeredness to the realisation that he’s a slave to his own flaws. The story is about change in the life of the protagonist and the tension between the mechanics of his habits and his self-initiated purposeful actions.

The visual and narrative style shall make the short film a memorable and absorbing experience rich in metaphors and visual treats. While we see the plot unfold in the real world, the viewer is confronted with the mesmerising forms of rascal's imagination. They represent the key aspects of his character and in this way visualise why the protagonist struggles the way he does in his thinking and acting.

In this fashion-inspired project inventive looks will make the abstract ideas in hero's mind tangible and appealing to the viewers.

 

The concept: quirky and symbolic

Inspired by contemporary fashion (courtesy of Agata Wolanska)

Inspired by contemporary fashion (courtesy of Agata Wolanska)

 

Story / Synopsis

The bigheaded rascal lingers at a marketplace yielding to his inmost urge: stealing. He considers his actions as justified by his self-righteousness, a delusion which makes him feel good about himself.

The unexpected change in his attitude comes upon meeting a young girl who he's immediately intrigued by. Enchanted by her appearance he follows the beautiful stranger, ending up in a place where his behaviour causes him a huge embarrassment, a precarious incidence that makes him rethink his whole attitude. Unable to win the affection of the intriguing girl the protagonist finds himself torn between love and habit, realising that he's not the king of his life, but a poor slave to his habits.

The rascal is forced to confront his nature in the form of mischievous creations of his mind. Reality and imagination seem to merge, visualising the hero’s attempt to change in his consciousness. The encounter with the girl might hold a key to the solution of his personal struggle.

Influenced by contemporary fashion this independent production is characterised by vivid imagery of inner emotional states, the urban looks of the characters and dreamful mood to achieve a compelling, visual style.

 

Captivated by the stranger

Captivated by the stranger

 

Him and her - an encounter to remember

Him and her - an encounter to remember

 

Plan / Schedule

THE RASCAL is currently in pre-production. The filming will take place on 4 locations during 3 days. The places where the plot unfolds are: vintage market, streets, park and studio. Day 1 is intended for filming at the market and on the street. Day 2 is about the scene in a park. Day 3 is about studio scenes to visualise hero’s inner mind.

The postproduction will take much longer than filming. It is estimated that the whole process from filming to finished postproduction might take three months.

The intention is to shoot in late October and to finish the postproduction around the end of the year (2016). After that we’ll go on a festival circuit in the hope of being selected for screenings to get exposure. After the festival experience is over the short film will end up online for everyone’s enjoyment.

 

Bargaining at vintage market

Bargaining at vintage market

 

Production

The key areas for the production team to cover are:

  • locations: studio and market stalls;
  • cast: protagonist (rascal), girl, seller, female apparition;
  • crew: camera, sound, stylist, make-up, colour-grading and composing;
  • props and clothing;
  • equipment: camera, lenses, tripod, rig system, steady cam, lights;
  • promotion: printing, press releases, social media;
  • other: travel, catering, (audio) mastering, DCP;

 

The cameras that we can use are Sony A7S or Sony FS7. A set of lenses will be required (wide angle, 50mm and tele zoom) and some props will have to be bought or rented. The scope of the production resources can be described as follows:

Allocation of expenses

 

Risks & challenges

The project is work in progress that can take quite a while to complete so that production delays might be unavoidable in some respects. But we do our best to proceed swiftly and smoothly.

The time is the biggest uncertain factor. As this is an independent project we strive to come up with a realistic schedule that we can consider as a guide line on which to build. Please be aware that it takes time for projects like this to complete if we want to make it right and achieve the best quality possible.

 

Support ideas

We thank you for believing in this project and for your willingness to contribute with your skills to make it become a reality.

You can follow the campaign for production updates on Facebook very soon. Spread the word on social media. Declare your enthusiasm. Write a comment. Do whatever it takes to express your excitement.

 

sensual_couple

 

By participating in this project you help us make the world a better place for self-expression. It all starts with great ideas. Thank you so much!

 

Conflicting longings: sensualism and idealism

 

Credits

Writer & Director: Hubert Wolanski

Producers: Oleg Kurbatov and Qiaoling Wang

Special thanks & support: Agata Wolanska