Drama no.1 dad

So, the film is finished! And very happy with the result I am too. I think the whole group is. I think that it fur fills the vision that we had of it.

The process of making this film has been long but also enjoyable. As producer, when we got the final idea down I was keen to start planning as soon as possible, wanting to avoid a last minute shoot.  So I spent a lot of the Easter holidays tracking down actors so that we were able to audition them as soon as we got back to Uni. This meant that we had a lot of rehearsal time as well as plenty of time for the actual shoot.  Also sorting out the location was a slight difficulty. The original plans fell through but luckily we were able to shoot in the Bar where Katie (editor) works. Pre production was all done with in the allotted time and we were more that ready to start shooting.

The shoots, four spread over the week all went very well. The planning I think was integral, every one worked well together, to get the shot lists, story boards, props/costumes and schedules ready so that we could be as organised an efficient on the day as possible. I am very pleased with how well everything went. We got all the shots we needed and we were not panicking or in any mad rushes. We were able to be calm about the production and were able to enjoy it.

The edit also went very well. I was not as involved in this side as it was mainly the job of the editor-obviously- and the director. ‘Too many cooks...’ and all that. I went in a couple of times to see how it was going and to discuss ideas and changes that might need to be made.

So in general the process of this film’s fabrication was smooth and I feel that we have created a film that is entertaining and effective.

Our starting point of the script was a great one. It was a very strong and well written which made the whole process easier. It did almost come alive on the page and it wasn’t hard to visualise what it would become. When I saw the script I was very happy and I think that it contained everything we wanted in terms of story, mood, and theme.

The style of the film is very over stylised. For example the sound effects are very pronounced, which gives this idea of hyper reality. This is present in the dream sequences which help to reinforce that they are fantasy. The idea that things are always more amplified inside your own head is something that I think will resonate with the audience. This is one way in which we have tried to create this mood of tension with in the fantasies and to convey how Jack is feeling. The idea that everything seems amplified or worse inside his head shown by the over stylised way in which we have created the film helps to show how worried he is. The snappy editing also adds to this. It shows Jack’s thought process, each time something happens it is very quick and almost methodical, yet still ‘too much’. This shows the chaotic way in which he is thinking, reinforcing that he is scared of what the outcome is going to be. This style of editing is also comic and comes very much from the conventions that can be seen in the works of Edgar Wright. His films are probably the perfect example of over stylisation and hyper reality. However it always works because he uses them well. They have both a comic effect and an impact on the audience much like we were trying to give to our film.

The tone of the film is overall rather comic. The scenarios that Jack imagines are obviously over the top and the way in which the film is constructed lends its self to that. It is as the fantasies he is getting more and more absurd which it’s self is a comic idea. The scenes in the Gallery are also slightly comic. This is due to the relationship between Jack and George and their reactions to the situations. I think this is important or else I think the film could get a little on the dark side, being dragged down by Jack’s worry. Although this worry is completely justified and what a lot of teens would feel coming out, it’s not something that we wanted to convey in a way that was depressing or dark. I think the scenes in the gallery and the banter between the boys keeps the mood light. Again here the over stylising of things also adds to this.

The comic side of the piece I think is very important. Lucy (director) had a friend compose some music for the piece and personally I think that it really adds to the film. It works as punctuation and also helps to keep the mood light. There are a few musical ques, which I think really help to make the piece more effective and which help the audience to be drawn in. It also flows with the mood of the film ebbing and peaking with the scenarios and action on screen.

The mood of the film does have an ark. It builds as the scenarios get more and more ridiculous, building the comic element. However it then comes back down when Jack realises that he could lose his father. This helps the film to stay grounded in reality with out going too far into the realms of fantasy. It also shows that we do have a point to make with this film. That coming out is a serious issue and is not easy for some people.  However I really like that this film has a very positive out come. I would have been all to easy with this brief to come up with something that was dark and grey and depressing. Unanimously this is something that we agreed we did not want for this particular project. We wanted to do something different and fun.

 I honestly believe that we have achieved this. The film is funny and snappy and it still carries a message and has a strong story behind it. For these reasons I am incredibly happy with the result.

Shoot day 3

Soot day 3

Today we shot the scenes that are set in the Bedroom. Jack being caught dancing and singing in front of the Mirror and Jack being thrown out of home. We did get everything shot, but maybe not in the most efficient way. The time constrictions of today were pretty much non-existant and we did not have all that much to shoot. We planned to start at eleven however due to issues outside of our control we didn’t actually get started until around twelve.

When we got started we got the first thing we had to do was dress the set. Because so little of the room is seen in shot we had to dress accordingly. In order to make the room seem convincingly like a stereotypically gay teenage boy’s room. The only thing in the frame was mike and the reflection in the mirror. We had Lucy’s massive, pink Audrey Hepburn poster. We stuck this up on the wall behind mike so that it reflected in the mirror. We also put up some fairy lights and a really cheesy valentines card. Because there was so little of the room actually in shot the room didn’t need much dressing. I think what we did still gives an effective look to the room.

We shot the part where Jack is doing his Britney impression in the Mirror. This is an important part of the film and we decided to use a tilt up to a reveal of the Dad being stood behind. Also we needed to get several close ups of the Dad’s reactions to this. Tom gave us some great faces to work with.

After this we had to shoot the rather more serious scenes of Jack being thrown out of the house. We started with the set up of the suitcase being filled in a rushed manner. These were pretty simple to shoot. We also had to record some voice work from tom, of angry shouting to put over the scenes where George is imaging that he could be kicked out. While this was being done, to save time Ben and I went out get a couple of Shots of outside of the house.

When we had done this we had to shoot where Jack gets kicked out. We had to get him made up with bruise makeup and fake blood. We also then had to get the shots of the door slamming in Jack’s face and him walking up the street. We decided to do this at several different frame rates so we had the option of using slow motion in the edit.

Overall it was another successful shoot where we got everything we needed and were able to do this in a manner that was not stressed or rushed. I think that this is the best way to work as when there is stress there is the tendency to become forgetful and also for friction to arise between people. This is something I want to avoid as it makes for an atmosphere that is counter productive. So far we have all gotten on well and worked together as a tem in an effective manner. 

pre production

Pre production (30^th March-20^th April)

For the Drama project I have undertaken the role of producer, Therefore a large proportion of my work has been during preproduction. As a group we began panning this project very early, having a production meeting as soon as we were set the brief. This was incredibly productive as by the time we were finished we had a fully formed idea, which was them taken by James and crafted into a script over the Easter holidays. It was definitely to start planning early as if we hadn’t we could have ended up in the horrible situation, that during the Easter holidays we’d be trying to plan and with people being all over the country and working etc, being left with one week for preproduction. To my mind this would have been a nightmare. As we had started early it meant that I could start planning actors and locations over the Easter holidays, giving me more time to sort things out. When I got the script, I felt that it was number one a great piece of work, nut secondly achievable in the timeframe we had. Reading it as a producer, I saw nothing that would cause any massive difficulties> from my point of view it was important that due to various constraints including time and budget the script was doable and would still be a great piece of work. However at the same time it was snappy, interesting and entertaining.

Now we had a script we had to plan to make it reality. The first hurdle was locations. The living room was the biggest problem from my point of view of trying to find one. There was no way we would use any of our living rooms, using the sterile environment of a student kitchen/living area would have ruined the aesthetics of the film. And as far as we were concerted you there is not really a completely effective way of set dressing that disguises it. There is also the unwritten rule of never shooting in student halls. One option we had was to shoot at my godparents’ house in Chesterfield. It is close enough to Sheffield to be a feasible location, and it also had the right ‘look’. The kind of homely feel that we wanted to create with in the film. Unfortunately, we were unable to match up schedules, even though they were more than happy for us to film at their home it would have been too late by the time they were available. Luckily the bar where Katie (editor) works, is allowing us to film there. So with a few minor changes to the script we have managed to overcome this problem. The park scenes have presented no problems thus far. After a location scout we have decided to use Weston Park. It is an incredibly beautiful location, lending itself to the ‘look’ that we are envisioning for the film. Lucy (director), Ben (Cinematographer) and I did a location scout that we could work out where we wanted to film in the park. Also they were planning in terms of setups, shots, blocking etc. This means that on the day we’ll be able to be efficient in our filming. Ben will be able to plan a more effective shortlist and I will therefore be able to create a realistic and more detailed schedule.  In my opinion planning is everything. The bedroom scenes will be shot at Ben’s house, the attic room is plenty big enough, and with set dressing will look convincingly like a teenage boy’s bedroom. So there we have it 3 locations sorted and ready for filming.

I began the process of recruiting actors as soon as I had the script and knew what we were looking for. The first port of call was the casting info on blackboard. I began by emailing all the performing arts students who had registered their interest in being in student films. I received two replies from this. After discussion with the group, and looking at the previous films they had been in we decided to get one of them in for audition. As well as this there are some friends of Katie’s that had shown an interest so we got them in for an audition also. After auditions it was decided to cast Mike and Mark in the roles of Jack and George respectively, as they seemed to fit the roles best. Casting the role of the father was much more of a challenge. After contacting as many am drams, acting society’s theatre groups as I could find in the local area, I had no luck either there was no reply of it was a no. After asking around I was given the information of some online casting agencies. After putting a few ‘adverts’ I received a few replies. At this point we were running out of time, and were auditioning Tom. The actors that had got back to me were unable to fit with our schedule and after the audition Tom was pretty much perfect for the role. After the casting we went into rehearsals, wanting to see how the actors would work together and to let them get used to each other, the script and working with us. It also meant that shooting would go much smoother as people knew what they were doing, and with a limited time for production, this was very important in my view.

               Now we have actors and locations we have to sort out the finer points of planning and scheduling the shoot. Firstly I put together a week by week schedule going by who was available when and when we could use locations, by making different checklists, matching up availabilities, I was easily able to draw up a schedule to email everyone to make sure it fitted in with everyone. To my mind it is paramount to be well planned and organised in advance. The idea of being left in a complete panic an hour before a shoot is supposed to start is not ideal. In fact it is to be avoided to at all costs. Next it was important that I had the shot lists so that I could plan out the day’s shooting. The only slight difficulty with this is until we actually get onto set I’m not entirely sure how long setups will take with lighting and so on. However after the first shoot in Maggie Mays on Monday 23^rd April, I’ll have a better idea of how long it’ll take meaning that further shoots will have a schedule closed to actual set ups times. For now I have taken considered decision as to hoe long things will take from previous shoots and the rehearsals. Effective scheduling is definitely an important factor when working in a film shoot as you have to get everything done. Especially when you have extra constraints of limited actor and location availability.

As a producer I was incredibly Happy with how organised we were as a group and I feel that as we go into production this will pay off.

Edagr Wright and No.1 Dad

Edgar Wright.

From a stylistic point of view, one of the influences for out film is the work of Edgar Wright. In the fantast scenes where Jack is imagining his dad’s reactions we want the snappy hyper realism that is so recognisable in Wright’s work. The over stylised, rhythmic comedy that Wright is famous for is something that we all enjoy.

One sequence we kept referring to was in Shaun where Shaun is planning how they are going t survive and get to the Winchester. In this sequence there is the repetition of the same scenario played out each time with little differences. This is what we are aiming for when we have the fantasy scenes where Jack is imaging how hid Dad will react to his coming out. This is comedic yet very effective. We want to have this quick snappy editing as it will ‘lift’ the piece, the short cuts will grab the audiences attention and make them interested in the film. One thing that maybe a little difficult is making sure the cuts are not too short that they turn into flash cuts. This I think would alienate the audience more that enthuse them. Flash cuts are an effective editing technique but I feel in the context of this film it would not work. I think that there will be some trial and error in the editing process in order to make sure the quick cuts are effective but not too short to a point where they are distracting.

The quick snappy editing is definitely something we want to draw on. It will juxtapose the scenes between Jack and George. These scenes will belong and more relaxed in terms if how they are cut. The shots will be longer and the pace will be a lot slower. In the imagination sequences however, it will be deliberately over stylised in order to heighten the sense that these sequences are not reality. It is the product of an over active imagination. Everything seems amplified inside your head when you are imagining what could go wrong. This is an idea that we ant to convey with in the film.

Elements of sound design are also something that we want to draw on. In Wright’s work he seems to amplify sounds again reinforcing this idea of hyper realism. One example of this is on hot fuzz where Angel takes his coat off the hook. It makes a great swoosh sound that is obviously created through Foley but it gives the scene s a heightened sense of comedic action. He is almost satirising how an action film takes every thing to extremes in order to excite the audience. Although we do not want to be making a film that satirise a particular Genre we do want this idea of over doing things. Again in order to create a sense of the imagination.

So one of our main stylistic influences in Edgar Wright. The sense of hyper Realism in his films is definitely something that we want to draw on for our ‘imagination sequences’.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeJzHSxRq40&feature=related

Final Plans

Righ so our final plan looks like this at the moment.

A sense of Space inside someones head, and within that six individual scenes that are spaces of where the charater had been in their life.

So the character is names Abigail Morwenna Jackson.

The idea is for each scene to be around 30 seconds long, and there will be six to make up the three minutes. Each will be a spoken voice clip but around this will be different sound effects in order to anchor what is being said and create the atmosphere. i am taking charge of writing the first three sections.

The first clip will be from her as a baby.

Alist of facts that would be o a birth certificate, around this will be the sounds associated with a baby, the splashing a water ina bath, the sucking on a bottle, a mother cooing etc.

The second will be from her childhood. The spoken word will be an assignment typical from primary school. 'What I like about school' that kind of thing. around this will be the sounds of school, times tables, school bells, playground rhymes etc.

The third, will be from adolesccence. This will be a diary entry from Abby, where in she'll be smitten with an unnamed boy in her class. This again will be surrounded by several different sounf effects in order to create the sense of space.

Half a script

So here is the first half of the script for the sense of space ptoject, Alli is qriting the other half.


Baby:
Abigail Morwenna Jackson.
Born: 19th December 1960 at three in the afternoon in St Mary’s Hospital. (Baby Crying)
Weight: 7 lbs 12 oz (Sucking on a bottle)
Mother: Jenny Jackson, Bank cleric (mother cooing)
Father: John Jackson, Welder at John Brown’s Shipyard on the
river Clyde. (bangs and crashes)

Childhood:

My school by Abby Jackson aged 9
My school is a big school. It is tall and old. (School bell)There are two
doors because in Victorian times boys and girls had to go in separately. (times tables recited) My
favourite class is English, we write lots of stories, I like to write about horses.
My favourite part of the day is lunchtime, (cutlery scraping on plates) we get to play in the playground,(playground rhymes) and
I like the skipping ropes. My favourite food to have is the chocolate sponge
with custard it is yummy, but the dinner lady is scary. I don’t like the vegetable
we have they are all mushy.

Teenage:

Dear Diary, (scratching of a pen)
He looked at me today. His eyes are so blue and his hair, oh
my god his hair. Any way we were in Maths and he didn’t have a pen, and I
offered him one.(Clicking of a pen) He looked me right in the eyes and smiled!(giggling) Then he touched my
hand! But jeez I was so embarrassed, at break, Caitlin decided to shout across
the canteen that I fancied him, (shouting, 'oi my mate facies you) I could’ve died like seriously she’s a bitch. I
wish the ground had swallowed me up, he even looked over and all his mates
started giggling, (whispers and giggling) like seriously my life is over!