1. Introduction and Proposed Project
Introduction
My primary project is a collaboration with filmmaker/director April Araki – she is currently working on a short film which I will be contributing original music for. Although I don’t have experience working with directors in the past, I have studied film music for the last few years, and I believe my experience with my own music and my engineering work with other artists has prepared me to branch out into film composition.
Proposed Project
April described the project as “a structuralist short film exploring language in film in poetic non-fiction video”. It will explore the use of written text on screen, and its power to shape viewers’ emotional responses – this may be done through the use of contradicting text and dialogue, filming of written text, and filming of the writing, editing and projection of the script. The total duration of the film will be between 5 and 10 minutes, though April has stressed that it is still in the pre-production phase, meaning the details of the project are still subject to change. Her original estimate for when the film will enter the post-production phase was December/January.
Goals
The main goal for this project is to create a very high quality art film, which could become part of a portfolio both for April as director and for myself as composer. The intention for the film is to submit it to Norwich Film Festival, which will be open to submissions between the 12th of January and the 21st of June 2026. This would be a good opportunity to gain experience, exposure and potentially further connections for future projects.
Creatively this project should also push me a lot to explore new artistic avenues in the context of experimental film. This will simultaneously strengthen my creative identity and my technical/professional ability.
Personnel – Direct/Indirect
My primary collaborator is April Araki, a 2nd year film student at Norwich University of the Arts. Her directorial style is influenced by Peter Greenaway, Michael Snow and Hollis Frampton, as well as many others. Her previous short film, for which I was credited as a sound engineer, explored abstract story-telling with striking costume and set design alongside experimental improvised music. Generally speaking, she is a very experimental artist, with interests spanning visual art, sound art, poetry and more.
2. Methodology and Rationale
Methodology and Rationale
One key starting point for our methodology is the theory of (post-)structuralism in film, which explores the power of signs/symbols through adherence to/deviation from established conventions, with a focus the “workings of human perception” (Doughty, R. and Etherington-Wright, C., 2018). In April’s project overview, she specifically mentioned that she wants to explore the use of written text on screen, and its power to shape viewers’ emotional responses – this may be done through the use of contradicting text and dialogue, filming of written text and filming of the writing, editing and projection of the script. This draws from structuralist concepts such as Derrida’s “différance” (1967), which states that meanings of words are defined by their differences to other words – he argues that meaning is never static, but rather continually changing in accordance with changing contexts. This idea is echoed in the works of Roland Barthes (1968), who stresses that “a text consists of multiple writings, issuing from several cultures and entering into dialogue with each other, into parody, into contestation” – this multiplicity is exactly the point we will be attempting to illustrate. For the music, I will be attempting to add another layer of meaning which can be used as another source of ‘meaning’ which can either contradict or support the text on-screen – this will heavily depend on the results of the pre-production phase.
3. Market Analysis
Market Analysis
Broadly speaking, our project is intended to be art, rather than a commercial product. However, there is still a clear external goal of submitting the film to Norwich Film Festival, which describes itself as “an exciting place to discover new talent”. Our film would qualify for “East Anglian Student Short Film” category, as well as several other broader categories in the festival.
There is no identifiable theme that unites all of the films that were selected for the 2025 program, but one clear connection is that they are all unique and boundary pushing – this is also emphasised by the festival’s goal to support “films of all budgets” and “to promote the high standards of the art of cinema, visual art and cinematography for the benefit of the public”.
Market/Target Audience
Our project is highly experimental, so the intended audience is consequently limited to artists and lovers of art and film. There is no commercial goal, but the intended audience demands a very high level of quality and ambition. Our inspirations and influences are good examples of the standard we are aiming for, and the previous selections at Norwich Film Festival also serve as clear benchmarks for quality.
4. Costs and Budgeting
Hypothetical Budget
There is currently no budget for the film, so all equipment must be sourced through our respective universities or through personal means. However, if this were a funded project in development post-graduation, we would likely need to factor in recording studio fees, session musician rates, equipment costs (microphones, cameras), our own time, transport costs, etc – I’ve created a rough budget for the music below, based on the cheapest local recording studio rates in Leeds, and data from the Musician’s Union website (2025):
Potential Funding
I have looked into potential funding sources including from First Flights fund for short films with female directors (up to £10,000), Genera Films fund for short films (up to £5000), and many other funding opportunities were highlighted in articles on spotlight.com (O’Neill, C., 2025), bfi.org.uk (2025) and cinecircle.co.uk (Siwek, Z. B., 2023) – I am currently working towards completing a detailed budget with April, though this depends greatly on the results of the pre-production phase.
5. Inspiration and Influences
Inspiration and Influences
Key references for the film include Peter Greenaway’s H is for House, Michael Snow’s So Is This, and Hollis Frampton’s Poetic Justice. Each of these explores unconventional uses of on-screen text, though they also have little to no music.
My general musical influences include Scott Walker, Björk, Esperanza Spalding, Flume, and others spanning experimental rock, pop, jazz, electronic music and free improvisation. In the realm of film music, I am influenced by the scores for Poor Things (composed by Jerskin Fendrix), Everything, Everywhere, All At Once (composed by Son Lux), Akira (composed by Geinoh Yamashirogumi) and The Garden (composed by Simon Fisher-Turner. For this film I believe Scott Walker’s later works, including Epizootics! (see below), and The Garden are particularly relevant, due to their extreme experimental and abstract/surreal compositional styles.
6. Contingency/Risk Assessment
Risk Assessment
One clear risk is that the project will be of low quality, due to the high level of understanding, experimentation and artistic awareness that it demands. The topics of structuralism, visual poetry and film music in general are all relatively new to me, so in order to mitigate this risk I need to devote substantial amounts of time to properly researching these areas until I am confident I can contribute effectively. Furthermore, I will set aside some time to try re-scoring similar short films – one good option could be a scene from Peter Greenaway’s film Drowning By Numbers:
Another risk is that the project will lose momentum or will never be finished, since there is no budget. I believe this is a very small risk, since I have worked with April before and have been in regular contact about the film since we agreed to work together again. I will also continue to push for clearer deadlines from her, as well as helping to prepare for funding applications in the near future.
Contingency Plans
I have just begun collaborating on a second short film project as composer, this time with students from Leeds Beckett. After meeting at the Film Mixer event at Leeds School of Arts, we began communicating via email and I have been sent the current details of the film, including a draft of the script, key influences and basic ideas for the musical elements as well. This project seems very interesting and very stable, as their are more than 10 individuals working on it, and I know it’s part of their coursework as well, so there should be no issues with motivation.
7. Potential for Development
Potential for Development
This project will push me to deepen my understanding of film, experimental art, structuralism and a variety of other interesting topics that could all be beneficial for finding future work opportunities. It will also serve as my first real collaboration in film, which I can hopefully use as the start of my professional portfolio in this field.
This project also offers me the opportunity to practice managing a project, communicating effectively, creating realistic plans and working to real-world deadlines – these skills are all invaluable as a freelancer regardless of what area the work is in.
8. Evaluation Viability
Evaluation Viability
In response to my presentation feedback, I:
- incorporated a hypothetical composer’s fee and recording costs in the budgeting section, as I agreed with feedback that leaving the budget section completely empty showed very little consideration for how this experience could translate into work in the future.
- added screenshots of my messages with April to provide evidence that we are communicating effectively.
- added the plan to re-score a clip from Drowning By Numbers, as this is a very clear and practical way to prepare myself for the job.
9. Bibliography
Barthes, R. (1968) Death of the Author. Available at https://web.archive.org/web/20200419132326/http://www.ubu.com/aspen/aspen5and6/threeEssays.html#barthes [Accessed 4/12/25]
BFI (2025) BFI NETWORK England short film funding. Available online at https://www.bfi.org.uk/get-funding-support/bfi-network/bfi-network-england-short-film-funding [Accessed 4/12/25]
Derrida, J. (1967) Of Grammatology. Baltimore, MD and London: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Doughty, Ruth, and Etherington-Wright, C. (2018) Understanding Film Theory. Dublin:Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Musician’s Union (2025) Media Commissions. Available online at https://musiciansunion.org.uk/working-performing/composing-and-songwriting/commissioned-work/media-commissions [Accessed 4/12/25]
Musician’s Union (2025) Recording Agreements, Rates of Pay and Consent Forms. Available online at https://musiciansunion.org.uk/working-performing/recording-and-broadcasting/recording-agreements-rates-of-pay-and-consent-forms [Accessed 4/12/25]
O’Neill, C. (2025) How to Find Funding for Your Short Film. Available online at https://www.spotlight.com/news-and-advice/making-work/budgeting-and-finding-funding-for-short-films-uk/ [Accessed 4/12/25]
Siwek, Z. B. (2023) 100 UK Short Film Grants. Available online at https://www.cinecircle.co.uk/post/100-uk-short-film-grants [Accessed 4/12/25]
