Sam: Lights, Camera, Action !

Its time to put all that intense research and planning into practice, as I will now attempt to start filming. However, Something I have learnt from my AS project is that organisation is key. Last year I Spontaneous improvised my filming, and this lead to me not meeting deadlines. On that not I have made a full week filming schedule :

DAY 1- MONDAY 8TH MARCH
• Go to Ipswich shopping centre and ask permission for filming rights in all areas.
• Film the ending, between man 2 and women 2 (after reading about different directors, it seems they all filmed the ending first).
• Film the opening bus station scene for man 1.

DAY 2- TUESDAY 9TH MARCH
• Film rest of men scenes (the drinking scene etc.), with exception of the actual toilet scene.
• Start the filming of the opening town centre scene of women 1.

DAY 3- WEDNESDAY 10TH MARCH
• Film rest of women 1 scenes (beggars scene and cigarette scene), with exception of the actual cash point scene.

DAY 4- THURSDAY 11TH MARCH
• Film toilet and cash point scenes.
• Watch back all scenes.

DAY 5- FRIDAY 12TH MARCH
• Re-do any shots or scenes which are not up to standard.

I must note that this is a general template which I intend to keep towards, but I am well aware things can go wrong and I may have to re-schedule.

Sam: Full Shot list- Part 1

Script

1st shot: Establishing shot of bus station.

2nd shot: Establishing shot of town.

3rd shot: Medium shot of man in the queue sideways.

4th shot: Zoom in on 5 pound note

5th shot: Medium shot of women looking at a stool with five pound note.

6th shot: dominant shot of him looking and walking towards
five pound note.

7th shot: pan of him picking it up

8th shot: Pan of women walking through town looking stressed

9th shot: over the shoulder of him looking at the shop

10th shot: close up of his smiling face

11th shot: tracking shot of him going into shop

12th shot: Long shot of women walking towards beggar
CU Shot of women putting change in beggar’s hat

13th shot: change in his hands

14th shot: CU of him downing drink and needing a wee

15th shot: walking towards inside of tower ramparts

16th shot: long shot of lady walking round the corner

17th shot: medium shot of man smoking a cigarette

18th shot: medium pan shot of man and women walking past eachother

19th shot: Close up of women’s face (pan down)
Close up of cigarette packet being empty (pan up)
Close up of empty purse

20th shot: medium shot of lady looking around and spotting a cash point

21st shot: Close up of cash point.

Sam: Full Shot list- Part 2

22nd shot: long shot two men walking into W.C simultaneously

23rd shot: close up of W.C sign.

24th shot: pan of lady 1 beating lady 2 to the cash point

25th shot: pan of man 1 beating man 2 to the toilet

26th shot: medium shot of lady 2 looking restless

27th shot: over the shoulder shot of lady 1 putting her card into cash point.

28th shot: medium shot of man 2 looking restless

29th shot: medium shot of man 2 looking into a mirror
Pan down to his watch

30th shot: close up of lady 2 watch
Zoom out and show lady 1 walking away and lady 2 walking towards cash point.

31st shot: medium shot of man 1 coming out of toilet and man 2 walking towards toilet.

32nd shot: long shot pan of lady walking up the street towards bus stop.

33rd: long shot pan of man going through shopping centre

34th shot: Long shot pan of lady getting closer to bus stop.

35th shot: long shot of man getting closer to bus stop.

Props and Transport : The Finer Details

After constructing my shot list,I can now pin point the props which will be needed to make my film look that much better. Firstly the most important thing is the five pound note which is found and picked up. Also a drink is needed for when the man comes out from the shop, which leads him to needing the toilet. For both the woman and the man, money change is needed for when the lady gives the money to the beggar and when the man comes out of the shop. Furthermore in regards to the beggar, a money hat will be needed. After this comes the scene where the women discovers she has no ciggarettes, so a ciggarette packet is essential.
In regards to transport , it is really handyu one of my actors can drive, so I can get taken easily to the destintion needed to film my project.

Costumes : What to wear !!!

With the length of time given to make short films,the right costumes helps to get across a characters personality instantly. The message I want to get across is one where the characters look good hearted human beings, whilst not being too extravagant. On this basis I have opted to choose smart casual clothing so the characters look rather normal and not too threatening. However the first two characters will be wearing a bit more than the last two. The reason for this is as the longer the story goes on, the more it reveals itself, so I want the characters to co inside with this.

First man clothing                                                                                                        First woman clothing

Well covered up jacket, meaning none of the

plot is given away.

First woman clothing

                                                         

Again she is well covered up, almost giving a sense of mystery.

Second Man clothing 

                                                                      

Now the clothing is much more lighter and warm. The cardigan could even be undone so his personality looks open and vunerable to a romantic ending!!!

Second woman clothing

A picture could not be taken of this clothing as this is still to be though about. However it will be something on the same wave length of the second man clothing. Maybe something quite cute, like a fluffy coat.

Sam: Actors

I need to consider my target audience when selecting my actors. As my target audience will be for every above the age of 15, I feel I would need young adult actors to attract the younger part of the spectrem. On the other hand they must look mature, if this is not the case it will draw away the adults.

Sam: Possible locations

A decision was made earlier in the project that my film had to be located where there were a lot of people, but also somewhere a broad audience could relate to. After looking into various locations, these seem to be the most suitable places:

A busy indoor shopping mall in the centre of Ipswich?

Ipswich train station on the edge of the town centre?

A peaceful public park in the centre of Ipswich?

                                           A busy Bus Station, bang in the middle of the Town?

The main shopping street in the town?

I feel the shopping centre, bus station and the actual town centre will be the most appropriate for my film. The reason for my choice is because there is guranteed people at both of these places. Also they are all placed right next to eachother, so this will increase the chance of good continuity

Sam: Crunch Time!!!

After checking over and making some minor adjustments to my story board, it is now time to make some very important decisions on the production of my film. I now need to look carefully at possible locations, actors, costumes and props. Furthermore, this should lead me on to making a full shot list and that is where the project really starts to take place.

Sam: Final Ideas on my Storyboard

It has taken me a few days to make my final story board as you can see from my blog, however I now feel the pictures summarise my film very well.

Sam: Initial ideas on storyboard

As you can see I have made a storyboard template. It consists of the proposed narrative based on the film 'spin'. Also the planned dual narrative and romantic ending.
Basically, I have an idea where many different things happen to a man and women which eventually means them meeting in the end.


PICTURE OF TEMPLATE

Sam: Additional research: Film Festivals

“A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality” - Wikipedia .....................

Please note password has been reset - you will be able to blog again after half-term. Have a nice holiday, you have deserved it! Mr Mapp

Sam: Summary of what I am looking to do

I have decided to make a romantic drama short film targeting young adults and above. The film is going to based around the film ‘spin’, where there is an idea that one thing has an effect on another and so on, an almost snowball effect. After looking at the target audience of my film I come to a conclusion I need to have a nice ending for the females, with a subtle and non obvious build up for the males. I feel it is best if it is set in an outside public place, and for the characters to wear between casual and smart casual clothes. I need this setting to be were a lot of people will be placed at one time, and where your common adult can relate to. There are certain expectations I need to meet in this short film:
Shock – Good quality camera work and editing.
Surprise – Well crafted soundtrack.
Realism – Genuine actors and narrative.
Romance- Narrative Driven: A dual narrative, ending with something special.

Sam: Pleasures and expectation for my film

After looking at what my audience have come to expect when watching films, I am now going to discuss some cunning ways to meet these certain pleasures:
• Realism (mainly for males)
• Shock
• Surprise
• Romance (narrative)

Firstly to make this short film realistic, it is relied upon two things in particular. It is going to need a sharp, down to earth narrative and good actors. There is no way my short film is going to be realistic with a cheesy plot and unconvincing actors.
To give me an element of shock in my film, I have got to make my camera work and editing outstanding. I need to use the camera and editing software to keep the audience guessing. For example I will try to cause a bit of confusion by having a quick edit pace. Also by not using too many long shots so the audience do not have much of an inkling what is going on, then I hit them with something special at the end for example.
The touch of surprise can be enhanced by the contribution of the soundtrack. I do not think in this type of film it is necessary to have any speech, just like in ‘spin’. I can make the soundtrack sound very basic and normal at the start so that the audience do not think anything peculiar is going to happen. Then the soundtrack can really come into its own when the surprise in unveiled, by getting faster and louder.
Now getting romance in my film is down to one thing and one thing only, the narrative. Taking into account how the likes of quick edits and so on can really cause shock and surprise, I think it would be brilliant if these quick edits could be going back and forth between two different stories. I will keep you posted on this.

Sam: Target audience for my film

When making any film it is paramount you research into your proposed target audience in depth. I will now need to look at what the best ways are to achieve this.
Firstly the narrative or plot of a short film really has to be spot on if you want it to appeal to a certain audience. Generally speaking, romantic films with happy endings appeal to the female audience. Whereas it seems that clever, subtle and non-obvious narratives interest males. Therefore to target my proposed audience this is something I will definitely keep in mind when scripting and storyboarding my film.
Another way to appeal to an audience is the costume the characters are wearing. As I want this film to attract your common adult, I feel it will be best if it is set in an outside public place, for them to wear between casual and smart casual clothes. This is primarily what your normal adult would wear in a shopping centre for example.
That brings me on nicely to the setting of my film. After watching ‘spin’, I like the thought of having it were a lot of people are going to be at one time. This would make my short film realistic, as this will mean it is more likely things are going to arise and have a knock on effect to people around them. Also it will need to be somewhere any adult can relate to, for example a ballroom dance in a mansion is not going to interest the audience I am looking to target. I will keep you posted on my different Ideas for the setting of my film throughout the project.

Sam: Short film inspiration

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP59tQf_nj
This was definetly the sort of inspiration I needed to make a decision on my narrative. This is going to be the short film im going to base my own film around, but i will also definetly try and put my own touch to it aswell. Whilst looking at some useful information on short films, I will be trying to pull some ideas on a storyboard template.

Sam: Decision on the form and target audience of my film

After some research on narrative structure and pleasure and expectations of films, i think i now am ready to make a decision on the form of my film and which audience i will attempt to target. Personally when talking about this issue to former member of my group, i wasnt too sure about an animated short film. After exploring and enquiring about the level of software we have in our school, I thought it was best we dont no pursue with animation. As said before the other option was a drama peice based around a clever narrative. I am sure this suits me best as I can definetly relate to this more from my AS projects. So I now have to scan the web and other resources to gain some inspiration on the actual narrative or plot of my film. After talking about having a brief target audience in my mind earlier, I can confirm I will be targeting both males and females of a young age and above.

Sam: Pleasures and Expectations of films.

When making a short film it is a well known fact that the audience watching are going to have certain pleasures and expectations. What these exactly are depends on which audience you are trying to target and in what genre. In my head I have an idea of targeting a broad audience in typical drama film. This would realistically mean young adults and above.
One pleasure I think all of this audience expects is an element of shock or surprise. For example, an unexpected end is a good way of doing this. As my film will be targeted for males and females I need to find a nice blend of these two tastes. I think we know, without being too stereotype that women tend to like soppy and really romantic films. Furthermore females seem to show their sympathy a lot more than males, meaning they love to feel sorry for someone, or at least one emotional scene. On the other hand, a significant pleasure men expect, almost an unwritten law is to not have too many tears, and for their to be a good degree of realism in a film. Again another dilemma I face is that females like to know exactly what is going on in a film, whereas men like a touch of mystery.
I feel these are the main pleasures and expectation I will need to think about.
The techniques used to go about meeting these pleasures and expectation will be discussed later.

Sam: Narrative structures in films (Vladmir Propp)

After research about this topic i found that when looking at narrative structure its essential you understand that it  assist in the way the story is told and shown, not the actual story itself. This was the best summary i found of exactly what a narrative structure is:
   "The narrative structure help defines the story. It needs to be structured to help the viewer understand the message contained within, giving the film meaning throughout."
Evidently, every film needs this structure as the fil would have no meaning which therefore disadvantages the viewer from understanding the story.


A writer named 'Tzvetan Todorov' has a rule of five conventional stages in he thinks is used as a template when writing the narrative. These 5 stages are:




"Stage 1- A state of equilibrium is defined.



Stage 2- Disruption to the equilibrium by some action or crisis.



Stage 3- The Character(s) recognition that there has been a disruption, setting goals to resolve problem.



Stage 4- The Character(s) attempt to repair the disruption, obstacles need to be overcome to restore order.



Stage 5- Reinstatment to the equilibrium. Situation is resolved, a conclusion is announced.

He believed there is far more clarity in your film if you stick to these conventional stages. However this stage do not have to be used chronologically. For example you often see the conclusion being announced (stage 5) at the top of the film.


Propp


Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp born on April 17th 1895 was a Russian formalist scholar. Propp extended the Russian Formalist approach to the study of narrative structure. In the Formalist approach, sentence structures in narrative had been broken down into analysable elements, or "morphemes". Propp used this method by analogy to analyse folk tales.
When analysing 100 different films he came up with 7 main character types which are:




1. The villain — struggles against the hero.



2. The donor — prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.



3. The (magical) helper — helps the hero in the quest.



4. The princess and her father — gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero, marries the hero, often sought for during the narrative. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and the father cannot be clearly distinguished.



5. The dispatcher — character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off.



6. The hero or victim/seeker hero — reacts to the donor, weds the princess.



7. [False hero] — takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess.

Hopefully this research on Todorov and Propp will help me make a well structured conventional film.

Sam : Reflection of the project

After hearing about ryans departure earlier in the year, lloyd being a close mate of his, reviewed what his aspirations were in life. After alot of confusion in the past months on whether he went to pursue a job outside school, it was finalised by our teacher that I would be going it alone on the project. Whilst the confusion sent me off track a little bit, I now know i can get on with what ive been wanting to do on my own terms. At first it was a shock , knowing every decision would be my own, but i feel you have got to take it as a positive. I will take lloyds storyboard research into account when making my own. In the coming days im going to look generally at narrarive structure, pleasure and expectations of all short films. Furthermore with my audience research in mind this should lead me to some important decisions on the making of my own film.