Research for short film

• First Idea.

Vladimir lives in Romania. He is a vampire. At night, everyone hides in their houses in the darkness, escaping the predator. Vladimir hunts for his prey - some foolish human that decided to stay out late. It's just after midnight when Vladimir finds a human girl called Lauren. She's drunk and stumbling; an easy prey. Vladimir approaches her in his seductive voice, telling her everything will be okay and Vladimir will help her. Lauren falls for him. Vladimir takes her to the deserted place in Romania, where no one lives anymore. The empty houses are trashed and neglected. Lauren finds this weird and begins to panic. Vladimir hushes her, soothing her of her fears. But... something happens - Lauren is the reincarnation of his dead wife, Alyssa.
Would Vladimir kill her or fall for her?

• Second Idea.

Evanescence - the act or state of vanishing from sight. A group of teenagers notice that some people from college are vanishing from sight - one minute they're there, the next they're not. Just vanished infront of their eyes. What's happening?

• Third Idea.

The fear of the unknown (relates to first and second idea). Mythical creatures exist, and everyone fears them.

• The Idea I Am Outlining.

The streets were dark in Romania. The lights were dim and the houses submerged in darkness and quietness. Everything seemed quiet, maybe too quiet. Even the night animals were keeping silent, as if they knew a predator was on the prowl. Smart animals. Smart humans for going to bed early. But no point to Vladimir, the vampire who roamed Romania at night, searching for his next victim.

It was almost midnight when Vladimir set foot outside his house in the near forest of Romania. It was neither dawn nor dusk - just darkness that seemed never-ending. As Vladimir paced his way at human speed through the blackened streets, he flared his nostrils, scenting for that all-too familiar sweet smell of blood. It was everywhere and nowhere. No breeze made it hard to hunt, but Vladimir had experience; he knew where to find the faintest of scents here. He was in the midst of teaching Mitchell how to do it.

Finally, after a few seconds to smelling the air, a close scent came to him. It was very close, too close for comfort. This human should be in their house in the dark, escaping the predator that was take its life soon. Vladimir rounded a street corner to find a young-looking girl in her teens, looking rather confused and scared. She seemed lost to Vladimir. Shrugging, Vladimir smirked at the thought that she wouldn't confused or scared for much longer - just dead.

Vladimir could see the girl become more frightened with every step he took towards her. She was clearly drunk, or getting there. He could smell the vile alcohol on her, and her blood would surely taste of it. Her heels echoed too loudly in the streets. The other humans in their houses would know what fate would capture this girl tonight. They knew this girl would be found the next morning, drained of blood, teeth marks in her neck, her eyes open and vacant, her body white and stone cold. Lifeless. Humans were just food to vampires...

Still, Vladimir continued to approach the girl. She could never outrun him - she was drunk, she would stumble, Vladimir was sober, a silent runner, a silent killer. As he kept approaching the teenage girl, he did was he normally did to female victims - act as the hero, not the villain.

Making his voice soft and welcoming, almost seductive, he spoke at long last. "Stop running. Please. I'm not going to hurt you. You can trust me. Let's get you somewhere safe."





She nearly fell to her feet in front of him. As she stumbled, her hair flicked forward, sending her scent straight into his mouth and nostrils. She smelled so sweet, sweeter than anything. But he remained composed. He even placed his hand under her elbow to help her stand up straight. "Don't be sorry for stumbling," he whispered, his face inches away from hers. "You can't help it."

With her staring, Vladimir knew she'd noticed his red eyes, but she wouldn't know what that meant. She would be hypnotised by them, if anything. All vampires lured prey in with their eyes, smell, voice. "So, what do you say we get you off these cold streets?"

Vladimir's hand stayed under the girl's elbow for balance. Well, he was posing as the hero, wasn't he? Wasn't that what hero's did? "I'm Vladimir," he introduced.

A smirk had reappeared on Vladimir's lips. The girl - Lauren - was crushing her body to his in some strange attempt. Vladimir found this weird - shouldn't she be searching for warmth, not coldness? But still, in her drunken state, she was desperate for the cold.

"Lauren," Vladimir whispered, "we really should get you somewhere else, some place where it's warm." At the instant, Lauren's neck became exposed, too exposed for her own good. Vladimir could see her pulse throbbing beneath the skin, he could hear her accelerated heartbeat. If he listened close, her heart sounded like fluttering wings; it sounded wonderful to him.

With a jolt, Vladimir backed away a little, putting space between the two. Her face was hidden, but his was not. All emotions were flickering across his face and he couldn't stop them. Would Lauren be too drunk to notice, or would she finally see through his disguise? Taking a deep breath, he composed his face once more.

"You can't be out here, looking vulnerable. It's dangerous, Lauren." His words became tinted with ice.

Vladimir nodded to her, taking her arm. "I'll get you somewhere else, Lauren." Now that Lauren had gotten her heels off, Vladimir could pull her away to somewhere less public and more private. Her blood was still calling to him. She just smelled so sweet. Vladimir's mouth watered at the thought of her sweet blood sliding down his throat. The thought was so strong that his grip became a steel cage around her arm.

Finally, Vladimir arrived to the neglected part of Romania. All the houses were run-down, but the evidence of their once-brilliant beauty was clear. Most of the windows were smashed in by either weather or vandals. The doors were forever locked. Vladimir had seen inside the houses - there was nothing in them, just years of dust piled up. But, now, that dust was covered in dead bodies. Victims.

With one last pull, Vladimir pushed himself and Lauren inside one of the houses. No bodies were evident in this house, not yet. "Here, get warm." He kept his voice a whisper, trying not to scare the fragile human too soon, as he offered her a thick blanket. Vladimir narrowed his eyes, searching for that place on her throat where his teeth would sink in...Yes, there it was. Right there, just under the edge of her jaw. His mouth watered more. His muscles coiled, ready to spring.

Vladimir kept his darkening red eyes on her. The fear and confusion had started to settle back onto her features. Good. She should be scared. This predator standing in front of her would take her pointless life soon. But, watching Lauren, Vladimir couldn't help but feel something flick the back of his mind; Lauren looked familiar. Too familiar. She looked like his deceased wife.

"Lauren," Vladimir said, his voice now at a normal tone. His voice echoed loudly throughout the building. "You can't go home. You can never go home." He leaned in, as if to kiss her, but his lips skimmed her neck. Again, Vladimir flared his nostrils, getting that sweet smell of blood. It was tinged with alcohol, but Vladimir didn't care - he just wanted blood.

Vladimir closed his eyes, his lashes like butterfly wings on his cheeks. After what felt like 10 years, he skimmed his teeth along her throat. "Why do you look so familiar?" he asked, his tone, instead of going cold as ice as before, went so soft that it sounded genuinely seductive.

(I was viewing Vladimir like Jared Leto. Lauren like Venessa Hudgens)

• Research

Vladimir the vampire is my own story, creating meerly out my own mind. I should research it by researching the mythology of vampires. There are many types of vampires - ones that burn in the sunlight, ones that sparkle, ones that just blow up. In mine, Vladimir sparkles, but I have many ideas about how he reacts to sunlight; either he slowly burns, or the sunlight makes him weak (he becomes truely bloodthirsty and kills whatever is in sight).

• Primary research

For my primary research, I will ask family members and friends what they think a typical vampire would do in the sun. I could write out a questionnaire and ask people on the street what they think.

• Secondary research

For my secondary research, I'll read books based on vampires (I have read a lot already) and get an author's view of the typical vampire. I'll also delve deep into that old mythical state of vampires, like where Dracula began and how the vampire legend came to be.