Research and planning for my short film

Location - The location within my film will be very simplistic, the majority of the short film will be set in a normal house, with some aspects taking part outside the house. In a short film, it is key to keep the storyline to one location as if you include many different locations you are making the plot to difficult to follow. The fact it is being filmed in a house highlights how it is a simple yet effective storyline.

Props - The props I will be using in my film will be:
Two cars - The two cars in my short film will be used in two different aspects, one will show characters arriving to the location whereas the second car will show one of the characters frantically driving away from the location, thus being a part of the narrative.
Gun - The gun will be used as part of the narrative, the gun highlights how it is an action/thriller film as many films within this genre would feature a gun at some point.

Poker set - The narrative is based around a game of poker so it is obvious that a poker set will be a key prop within my film.





Actors/Actresses - In my short film I will be using three actors, within a short film it is very rare that you'll see more than two or three actors. The actors in my short film will be:
Sister - I used my sister as an actor as she has had previous experience of filming for a short film, also the age of the characters in my film is all around the 20-30 range, and as a result of this my sister fits into the criteria. Also, within my storyline a women character was key as even though she isn't on screen a lot she is a part of the main narrative.
Sisters boyfriend - I chose to use my sisters boyfriend as he has the 'look' which I wanted my main characters to have. The two main characters in my film will be two men, who both have the 'look' I was going for. Tom (my sisters boyfriend) has a beard, wears stretchers and due to being a teacher regularly wears smart clothing, which in a poker game is what we expect.
Alex Haines - Similarly to my sisters boyfriend, Alex has a beard and has slicked back hair in the short film which is typical of a poker film. However, the fact he isn't dressed as 'smartly' as Tom, we can see the slight difference in the two characters.

Costume - The costume in my short film is overall very smart as it is a poker game which is being played for a lot of money, the two men in the film are both wearing suits which signifies how they are in the 'upper class' of society. Even though the women character in my film isn't dressed as 'well' as the two men, it is still clear she is part of the higher end of society due to the costume she is wearing, including a fur coat.

Dialogue - In my short film I have used dialogue however I have used a small amount of dialogue as the main part of my film will be the action as the action highlights the story more than the dialogue. The majority of the dialogue in my film is poker jargon, highlighting how the topic of the narrative is a poker game. The problems I have faced when making my short film is the use of the accent, the accent I was looking for an American 'gangster' accent however the 'brummie' accent gets in the way of this.