VIDEO PROJECT PROPOSAL FOR COMS 185
TITLE: Hawk Hudson’s Headstone
THEME OR PREMISE : Two old west graverobbers are startled to hear a grave bell ringing in the midnight cemetery, and being short on time, must either choose to leave it ringing and make off with their loot without being seen, or dig up whoever might still be alive deep under the ground.
OBJECTIVES : I want to create a really compelling and engaging narrative filled with tension and drama that thrills the viewer over the course of the ten minute run time. I believe this project, while slightly ambitious, has the chance to be very special, due to it being a period piece with an interesting setting. I just really want to make this awesome and spooky with great performances from the actors so that you are really drawn into their situation.
SYNOPSIS OR TREATMENT: Back in the old days, determining someone’s actual death wasn’t quite the exact science it is today. It wasn’t unheard of for someone to be pronouced dead, only to come back to life hours, or in some cases, days later. Modern medicine sometimes call this the Lazarus phenonmenon, but it has in fact occurred throughout the course of history and led to many instances of premature burial. To remedy this problem, several devices were developed, including that of a safety-coffin, where a string running from the inside of the coffin leads to the above ground or outside the coffin, where it is attached to a bell. Theoretically, if someone woke up trapped in their own grave, they could pull the string, ring the bell, and hopefully alert those above ground to dig up and rescue them.
Our film starts out in a graveyard late at night, with a close up on one of these bells, positioned just above the cold ground, next to a headstone. Tension starts to form on the string, and it moves ever so slightly, but not enough to ring the bell. Could someone be alive under the ground? We rack focus to two grave robbers, illuminated by a torch, and they are sneaking around the cemetery, looking to quickly dig up a grave and escape into the night without being caught.
They are startled, however, when that bell finally rings!
Both men argue about what to do. One wants to hurry and finish their work so that they can get out as fast as possible. The other can only imagine the fear of being buried alive, and pleads to save whoever might be buried. Eventually, they decide to dig up the grave with the ringing bell. They open the coffin to find a gaunt, sallow-skinned man and he begs for water. He is grateful for his rescue, but there is something not quite right about him. He speaks mysteriously and every word he utters hints at danger and trouble. He finally reveals himself to be an outlaw and even theorizes how he could escape the graveyard with no witnesses to his reanimation. The world would still think him dead. Tension boils to a point when he fires a gun on one of the men, and other tries to escape. He too is killed and the film ends with the outlaw walking away from the two filled

graves, who we assume contain each of our two recently deceased graverobbbers.
STYLE AND GENRE: I originally wanted to film a short western story, because most student films don’t typically deal with period pieces or this type of story.
After playing with it, it became more a spooky thriller, almost like some old ghost story you once heard. It still fits into the western time period, however, because this type of story wouldn’t really be plausible in a modern setting, with the safety coffin and all.
TARGET AUDIENCE: Men and women ages 13 and up.
LENGTH OF VIDEO: Roughly 10 minutes.
PLAUSIBILITY STATEMENT: This is actually a very feasible project, especially with a small budget. I wasn’t originally planning to have it take place at night, but now that it does, it limits what I have to show the audience. There is essentially only one scene, and I plan on actually building the graveyard set, which won’t be too big of a hassle because building and painting things is strength of mine. I love designing sets and costumes. Plus, Halloween stores are starting to pop up all over. The timing couldn’t be better. I also own a Canon 7D, which is a really nice
DSLR camera capable of achieving the cinematic look with lenses I either own or have access too. Also, I have my own dolly and other neat rigs. I have worked on my share of short films and I have a little bit of experience filming at night, but I expect to learn a lot on this shoot about lighting and coloring it make it look exactly how I want.
What I’m realy excited for, however, is creating the music for this film.
Being a musician, I love making music and appreciate how it can enhance the feeling of a film. That will be a fun part of the process. I also have a friend that is really into film make up, and would love for the opportunity to work on a film like this which will require some really believeable and awesome looking make up.
Ultimately, I think I have a really great story that I really want to tell, and there are a lot things going for this project that make it a feasible endeavor. I really can’t wait to get started and turn into something really cool.
ESTIMATED SCHEDULE:
Group selection will be on the 18 th of September, so by then, if this gets picked up, we will know how many people will be in the group and exaclty what we have to work with. I would like to only film for one or two nights. I think that’s all it’s going to take, but I’d like to be done with filming by the end of October, or maybe earlier, which gives us about one and a half months for post. That means that we need to have the script broken down and our location locked down by the beginning of October, so that we can start assembling props and wardrobe.
Casting should take place towards the end of September, after the script is finalized and our characters are fully fleshed out.