La leggenda del Rinoceronte Rosa

COMPANY: Civica Scuola di Cinema

CLIENT: Hypothetical investor (training)

TASK: Production and layout

SOFTWARES: Adobe Illustrator, PowerPoint

SECTOR: Film production

The final exam of my film production course at Civica Scuola di Cinema Luchino Visconti involved writing a "dossier" that detailed every aspect of a short film, aimed at convincing a potential client to purchase it. The dossier was accompanied by a final presentation in front of the school's director, professors, and students.The team consisted of four students from the production course and four from the screenwriting course. The screenplay we analyzed was The Legend of the Pink Rhinoceros. The final presentation was delivered by one of the writers and myself, as the spokesperson for the production team.

This project was an important and challenging learning experience for me. The case study had several “obstacles,” and we aimed to keep the budget reasonable without any unnecessary expenditures.

We discussed various creative and production issues, including the length of the story, the target audience for the short film, the possibility of adapting it to a different format, distribution strategies, creating a realistic business plan, the style of the animated sequences, the original soundtrack, location choices, and a hypothetical crew and casting list.

Throughout, we kept in mind the overall "fairy tale" atmosphere the author wanted to convey. This is why, as a professional graphic designer, I styled the dossier like a children's book. Even the page detailing the budget was softened with a floral graphic design.

I learned that the key to explaining a film to investors is ensuring you convey the emotions of the script effectively. You can pitch the most unusual creative idea, but if you're coherent and can convince them that you can solve any challenges with facts (without exaggeration or deceit), the goal is to make them visualize how amazing the project could be and show them you can make it succeed together.

It’s like handing them a magic wand and turning a dream into reality. That’s the irresistible power of cinema and storytelling.

I’m used to giving speeches, having done weekly project presentations during my degree in product design. After several years of acting courses, I feel confident in standing in front of an audience, and in this case, it was also an enjoyable experience.