I have decided to construct a few mini fact files about the actress and actor who were the central throughout my film, demonstrating the fundamental reasons of why I chose them particular to play the key characters. :
Hannah. 27 years old
Jenny Harper. 26 years old
Why Chosen = I chose to use Hannah firstly because she lives and works within the business sector in London, in turn she has first hand experience of the demands of city life, the hectic rush hour, the tired feet from the heels. My actresses understood how my protagonist character lives life in a motion, how life in London is so fast paced it can just pass you by without noticing the small details of the city culture. Practically as well to use an actress that live in London means that there is no cost for transport to the city, and off course a flat to borrow! I also felt that Hannah had the acting skills in order to portray to the audience the journey the character goes on, through different shoes she discovers not only about a different strand of society within London but also about herself and how life should not revolve around work and money, but around happiness
Edward. 24 years old
Liam Wood. 28 years old
Why Chosen = I chose to incorporate a character that throughout the film brings the audience to ask questions and adds in turn a level of mystery. Who is he? Does he know the Jenny? Are they in relationship or merely strangers? Is he the one leaving the shoes, if so why? This character is one that opens Jenny's eyes to the culture of London, to happiness that is brought with life. I chose Edward to play the character of Liam because I felt he portrays a very open nature, also because he is actually in a relationship with my other actress Hannah I felt that there would already be a feeling of a connection felt on camera. For practical reasons as well I chose Edward because he lives in London there is no cost on transport, which is very important for my £0.00 budget!
When creating a film it is essential to have gained the correct permission. A release form is needed for anyone who is either interviewed within a documentary or speaks on camera. Therefore this meant that I needed to gain consent from my actress Hannah and my my actor Edward but would not need to gain consent from the general public as they are not focussed on within the film, however if I was using a sensitive location (example = a hospital) I would need to gain consent from those who were identifiable within the film. Although this is not appliable to me as both my characters are above 18, if I was using anyone under 16 I would also need to gain consent from their parents. When I handed out the release forms, I went through the true nature of the film to ensure that the consent I gained was fully informed and that they were not misled, I also handed out a copy of the term and conditions which I found from a source on the internet explaining about what they are signing up to and their rights ect. I have photographed evidence of the full consent form I handed out, two close up shots of the actor and actresses signiture and a photograph of the term and conditions.
In order to create memorable and intriguing characters , and most importantly believable characters, I must ensure that as the writer I know my characters inside-out, back-to-front, that I know every high and low of their life, their habits, morals and little quirks. Therefore I have taken on board the template of questions I created early on in the year in order to allow me to construct a biography of my key characters, allowing me to understand why my character behaves in a particular manor, why they wear a particular garment and why they react towards another in a certain way. In order to create my biography I decided to use publisher and create a mind map, I could of created a straight for word processed sheet of answers however it order to make it visually more interesting and ensure I use a range of computer soft wares I thought publisher was the way forward, above is an image of one of of the four bigraphies I created, hope this gives you a little taster into the mind of my characters, what makes them tick and what makes them flip!
I am a young ambassador for a national charity, and as a media conduct I have been given an insight into the world of media production, from the highs to the lows I have been able to unravel a few of the hidden secrets behind film production. Last year I was lucky to be involved (my five minutes of fame I say) in the production of a documentary from this I learnt valuable skills of even within a professional documentary there was many takes in order to ensure that enough footage is gathered, to the best standard. I was also able to see the professional equipment involved, and how each person within the crew played a crucial part within the process. This experience taught me that although we are creating a film on a much smaller scale (with a much smaller budget), the basic elements involved within any film of any length are the same and therefore they have to all be delivered to a high standard, in order to reduce the effect of the film looking amateur. This year I was asked to be involved in a filming course called the 'BBC Voices', in order to gain more experience so that more interactive marketing could be employed to the charity. So on Tuesday 13th November, I headed down to the BBC studios which is situated at the Forum in Norwich to have a fun filled day of learning the ins and out of filming. Although the technical elements we covered were the ones that I had learnt and in turn used within my AS production (and off course now for my A2 production), it was helpful to be able to learn that even the professionals still have to apply the basic techniques. We were in the morning given the challenge of creating a short two minute film about Norwich with the only rule being that we were banned from using the zoom which was brilliant for me as it made me really explore the use of different shots and angles which is turn I can apply to me A2 short film,. Along with my colleague we decided to focus on the hidden streets of Norwich, therefore exploring the older aspect of Norwich which can at times be taken for granted, we were given an hour to complete our filming and after some lunch were back in the studio in order to edit out films. We were using windows media as our software for editing, so although this was a more basic software compared to premier pro, it was interesting to see how an effective film can be created from just a basic cut, demonstrating to me how important the variety of angles and shots are in the creation of a film, as even with a basic cut if the elements are interesting than the film will also engage the audience. Once we had all finished editing, we took a trip around the BBC studio, being allowed to see the broadcasting room as well as the radio studio, whilst our films were put together so when we returned we could do a "showing" of all our films, which was great to see all the hard work everyone had put in and the variety of elements of Norwich that people focused on from the market to the playhouse to the back streets. Below is the short film we created, watch and enjoy and then if your feeling inspired take your own exploration around the back lanes of Norwich and discover the secrets of Norwich yourself!
Media studies is always in the back of the mind, even on a girlie weekend to London I managed to squeeze in a bit more research into my short film, this time it involved grabbing my camera and having a go at being a photographer just for the day! I have chosen London as my central location for my film, because many see the city as just a mass of people, rather than as individuals, therefore I felt that by creating a film set in London that focuses on one individual would be contrasting to the whole idea of city life. I also wanted to explore the world of London within my film, therefore have chosen locations that are well known to many, but also a few of the hidden depths of London. Within this post I have inserted the images of my four chosen locations which I plan to film at (well in theory anyway as long as all comes together!)
FIRST LOCATION : LONDON FLAT
I have planned for my first part of my film to be set within a flat locations, within London. I have chosen to use my actresses flat for this, firstly because of its central location it is near mile end tube station which is in zone two, therefore has an inner city feel. Secondly because of it location it is also close to two of my other chosen locations (I plan to use mile end tube station and the green area within tredger square) as both are roughly 5 minute walk from Hannah's flat. Thirdly because by being my actresses flat, it means that she will feel more comfortable in front the camera, it will portray a more realistic home feeling and overall if just only that she knows where the bran flakes are in the cupboard!
SECOND LOCATION : MILE END TUBE STATION
The second part of my film I plan to film at mile end tube station, this is located 5 minutes from my first location therefore will not mean that too much time is wasted between travelling to locations. I have chosen this tube station as well as because it is zone two of London and located on the central line, it is a vital station for many business workers, although within the week day in rush hour it is an extremely busy station connecting many houses to the very centre of London, on weekends it is much quieter and therefore on my planned filming day which will be a Saturday, I will not have too many of the public getting in the way of my key shots that I want to focus on my protagonist character.
THIRD LOCATION : TREDEGAR SQUARE
This again is a location that is close both to my first and second location, however the main reason that I chose tredegar square is because of its natural beauty. Originally I had thought about using Hyde park, however this would mean that alot of time would be spent travelling between locations, secondly I thought of maybe using Victoria Park which is only about 10 minutes from Hannah's flat, however visually it is although bigger I don't feel as pretty as the location I chose, and I feel that especially as the images show when covered in snow it has a magical feel (and after all it was used for the film 'Oliver' so it must be a film makers Paradise!)
FOURTH LOCATION : WESTMINSTER BRIDGE
My final chosen location is Westminster Bridge, this was chosen mostly because of how iconic it is. I have decided that I shall focus the camera to the older part of London view, looking at houses of Parliament and big Ben as again this is a view that people travel from all over the world to see. My only issue is that it is going to be very busy with the general public, however I have decided to go on a Sunday early morning to film this part as this seems more wise then tackling it on a Saturday afternoon. I chose this bridge also because of its low wall height, therefore it shall be easier when filming to get my character as well as the iconic sights into the shot.
I have created a mood board of images and photographs which helped inspire my film idea. This involves the three pairs of shoes of which are going to be key objects within my short film, the locations of which are of great importance, the feel of the busy streets on London and an example of a business woman in London and overall a capture of my many thoughts in a few photographs :
The process of storyboarding can be very time-consuming and itricate. It was first developed at the Walt Disney Studio during the early 1930's, and was the first completed storyboards were created for the 1933 Disney short 'Three Little Pigs'. Disney however creditied animator Webb Smith with creating the idea of drawing scenes on seperate sheets of paper and pinning them up on a bulletin board to tell a story in sequence, thus creating the first storyboard. The second studio in early 1935 to switch from "story skecthes" to storyboard was Walter Lantz Productions, and by 1938 all studios were using storyboards. In 1939 'Gone with the wind' was one of the first live action films to be completely storyboarded. Storyboards are now an essential part of the creation progress. Within film espeically a storyboard, is seen as a large blueprint of the film which is produced beforehand to help film directors, cinematographers and TV commerical advertisisng clients to visualize the scenes and find any potional problems before they occure. Within a storyboard movment is indicated through the use of arrows. A stoaryboard provides a visual layout of events as they are to be seen trhough the camera lens. In the process, most technical details can be efficently described either in picture or additional text. The directors Joel and Ethan Coen, use storyboard extensively before taking a pitch to their funders, stating that it helps them to get the support they require as it allows them to show exactly where the money will be used. Alfred Hitchcock's films are also strongly believed to have been extensively storyboarded to the finest detail. Akira Kurosawa was known, particularly in his later years, for the extensive detail in his stoaryboarding, for example for Ran he storyboarded every shot and are regarded as fine works of art in themselves. However in contrast other directors storyboard only certain scenes and some none at all. Animation directors are usually required to storyboard, as it is sometimes used in place of writing a script. As I am planning on little or no dialogue for my short film, my storyboard will be an essential way of communicating what shots I plan to use, the camera movements, the transistion ect.
I have now began the development of my storyboard, within my storyboard I have included an image of what I want the layout to be for my shot (I say sorry now for my awful drawing), the angle that I will use, the camera movement that I have indicatied through arrows, the characters involved and sound that will be used during the shot
Initially we created pitches for the idea that we planned to focus on and carry through. The following week we have the "big screening", whereby we presented our pitches to the rest of our media class; and after a few giggles, and embarrassment of seeing yourself on the "big screen". I personally found the feedback very helpful, in helping me conclude that in fact my short film did need an aspect of structure. The only issue that arose with gaining audience research from our media class, is that we were receiving research from the age range, with the same educational background and of the same culture when in fact our short films are targeted towards a range of ages, education backgrounds and cultures. Therefore I was really interested for my main audience research, to similar as I did for my AS research explore the big wide world and gain some perspectives on my idea, this in turn allowed me to gain feedback from a range of ages, genders and occupational backgrounds to find out what different characters would be attracted to my film. I decided that instead of creating a straight forward video of the camera positioned directly at my potential audience member, I would create my own spin on the radio 4 media show, therefore I have created an radio interview style of the discussion of short films. I put forward five main questions in order to gain an insight :
1. How would you define a short film?
2. What criteria do you think a short film should take?
3. Are there any specific element you think a short film should include?
4. Do you like this potential idea put forward for a short film?
5. Is there anything you would add?
These five questions not only give me an idea of their views towards my short film idea, but also what they feel a short film is and for them what the crucial elements are to include within my piece to ensure that it comes across as a short film.
When reanalysing my AS project, the one element which I feel let me down was the lack of variety of shots, I focused alot of the actual plot and meaning behind my film, and therefore feel that I did not concentrate enough on the technical element. Therefore this time I have not only thought about the meaning but also put in a lot of research and planning into the variety of shots and angles in which to incorporate into my short film (so fingers crossed I have nailed it on the head this time!). Tonight has been my kind of research, an hour to sit down and watch white chapel and its all for my A-level as this is one programme of which I feel is so effective because of the variety of shots and angles they incorporate. As an audience member I am constantly hooked and drawn into each and every detail, with even a simple routine of going into the bathroom keeping the excellence of technical elements this programme has really inspired me and taught me how effective and necessary shots, angles and movement in in the creation of a film.
Although I have always been focused on the concept of revolving my film around the object of shoes, I have found it challenging to develop a fixed structure for my film and therefore found it hard to become passionate about my idea as I have not been able to "picture" how my film will come together. I therefore decided to look back at my research I conducted for my AS piece to look at how I over came the dilemma of which genre of to follow for my opening, this I overcame by brainstorming both ideas looking at the positive and negatives and coming up with an opening that Incorporated both genres. I therefore decided to do a similar thing for my A2 piece, and have finally come up with an idea (which I promise is my final, final idea!) that incorporates structure, the object of shoes, different peoples lives, a protagonist character and the big city into one! Below I have created a summary of potential elements that I shall incorporate within my short film : Genre: Short Film Film Type: Silent Film Title: Moments Music: Original piece composed by my friend Alex Reed Summary of the opening: A fictional drama, following the journey of one women as she seeks to find the truth behind different pairs of shoes. From sky scrapper heels of the business world, to vintage brogues of a city park, through the use of sound and imagery it addresses the question as to whether we really can judge a character by its shoes and whether we are all culprits of living our life in the same pair of shoes rather than exploring the world and culture in which we live in, whether we are victims of living out lives for the week rather than living our lives for the moments Potential shots, angles and editing that shall be used:
+ Birds eye view
+ Close up and extreme close up shots
+ Long shots
+ Medium Shots
+ Two shots
+ Shot reverse shots
+ Cross-cutting Characters:
+ Main protagonist character : Jenny Harper
+ Secondary characters : Liam Wood
+ Minor characters : The general public Locations:
+ Flat in central London
+ Tredgar Square
+ Westminster bridge
+ Mile end tube station Props:
+ High heels
+ Vintage pumps
+ Ballerina Pumps
+ Spoon, Bowl and Cereal
+ Mobile Phone
+ Signs and Labels
Below is the video that I have created explaning my development of my inital idea for my short film
The Script
Alice : As I have blogged in an earlier post during this half term I have been doing some practice filming, in order to gain an understanding of whether my film concept will actually work in practice as well as theory. I have been worrying a bit over the fact that due to the lack of structure, I have been finding it hard to picture how my film will go together and also how I will storyboard and script it. After doing my filming I decided that in order to ensure that my idea did not become over complicated, and that I focused enough on the technical skill involved in media, I needed to develop a more simplistic structured idea. After carrying out my research into other professional films that focus on the concept of shoes, I was confident that I could create an idea that still had the main focus of shoes but was a more structured film, that rather than focusing on a number of characters had one main protagonist character. My idea therefore has taken the path of focusing on the main character Jenny. The basic plot is that Jenny is a 26 year old woman who works and lives in the heart of London, in a city whereby you have to think big to be big, Jenny melts into the busy background rush hour life of London. She is an average girl living an average life, her black shoes reflect her ambitions to follow the crowd, to watch life as it ticks by nothing bad but nothing exciting happening. However when she is woke at 7am to her alarm radio blasting out, and her mind racing to think about the cocktail do the night before, she thinks today will just be another day in the average life of Jenny, she thinks that after tackling the trains of rush hour, living through one very dull meeting and drinking a countless number of skinny lattes she will unlock the door tonight, have a quiet night in, go to bed and the routine will all start again the next day, however today will be different. The day starts just as any other, dressed in a grey business dress, stripped shirt and opaque black tights Jenny stands at the window gazing out the chilly December morning facing her whilst she eats her breakfast always the same two weetabix a dash of semi-skimmed milk topped with a banana. The routine feeling so similar she at times feels like a robot living through the motions of life. However as she opens her wardrobe to go and put on her pair of black heels, not to high for practicality but the height given her the little bit of inside confidence her eyes are drawn towards the pair of bright red shoes, stood looking sassy in the middle of her shoe rack. How they got there she has no idea, why they are there she has no idea, who's shoes they are she has no idea, all she knows is she has the feeling that today she should live the life in someone else's shoes. As she leaves the house she feels as if the sun is shinning on her, in a city where people are so absorbed in their own lives she feels as if she is on her own bubble of happiness - today she knows is going to be a good day. On her usual train, where usually she sits there thinking about how quickly she can get to Starbucks to crave her caffeine withdrawal before facing the office, she looks around and notices others, the rush to apply make-up, the sipping of coffee, the rustling of the morning newspaper and across from her the man coffee cup in hand, staring at her as there eye meets blood rushes to Jenny's cheeks, she focuses down to her book - a romance novel how appropriate she thinks. When she looks up again the train in pulling in the station the man stands and she thinks well one can dream, he pushes a coffee paper coaster towards her with a number scribbled on, well she thinks shes liking the life in this pair of shoes. As she walks towards work, the feeling of stress that is usually present on her shoulders feels as it it has been lifted, she orders her latte skinny with a touch of gingerbread, why not feel the excitement of Christmas on such a day as today! As she crosses Trafalgar square she sees a penny shinning on the floor; to make a wish on such a day it must come true she thinks "I wish I could live the life of these shoes forever". A day at work, which usually would fill her with the feeling of boredom, is a life changing day as she receives a promotion in five years of being at the company she finally feels she is not just the ghost in the corner. Unlocking the house, she thinks I wish life could always be live in another's shoes, with her favourite film on TV and a bar of chocolate, she snuggles down for a cosy winter evening. When the 7am goes, she wakes up with a start her feet rushing to the wardrobe, her eyes scanning over the shoes, and there just lays her plain black shoes - well she thinks its back to live the life of Jenny again, as she drift back to start the day to day life. For my film, I am going to ensure I use a range of shots and angles, to ensure that the audiences attention is always captured. I am going to on the 10th November go to London with my camera to take photos of a variety of possible locations, as another factor behind my idea is the use of a completely different location compared to my AS piece. I personally feel that with a bit more structure, my film will hopefully turn out more successfully as I feel that there is less of a possibility of the audience getting confused. I am still favouring only using sound rather than dialogue this will be in the form of both diegetic and non-diegetic sound.
Genre itself comes from a french term meaning 'kind' or 'sort', the oxford dictionary defines genre as 'a style or category of art, music or literature' whilst as within film genre is defined as 'the similarity in the narrative elements from which films are constructed'. There is a variety of categories within film, from drama to horror, from romance to film noir, therefore it it is a term that provides a vast amount of variety. Within film drama is seen as the largest genre as it includes a large spectrum of films, and most films can be stated to include some dramatic elements. Harris et al defined drama as a genre as "a story in dramatic form, typically emphasizing conflict in key characters and written to be performed by actors"A film under the genre of drama depends mostly on in-depth character development, interaction and highly emotional themes, they also aim to ensure that the audience are also able to experience what other characters are also feeling. As a type of film, it aims to challenge over simplistic generalisation but bringing a more personal and complex level to film. The types of films show how a character copes with their problems, challenges and issues that arise within the plot, and therefore allow to an extent for the viewer to identify with the characters.
HISTORY OF DRAMATIC FILM GENRE
1894-1950
From the silent era (1894-1929) to the 1950's Drama's were seen as a tool to teach the audience, for example 'The Grapes of Wrath' which was released in 1940 whereby the plot followed a poor Midwest family who is forced off their land, they travel to California suffering the misfortunes of the homeless in the Great depression, Orson Wells stated that this was not a biography of William Hearst but was a composite of many people from that era (see the above trailor of the film)
1950's
Within the 1950's there was a surge in well-known dramatic actors, within Glenn Ford, James Dean, Bette David and Marilyn Monroe being four very notable dramatic actors. Dramatic films focused on character relationships and development. For example 'All About Eve' (1950) focused on the relationship women had with men, and films like '12 Angry Men' (1957) and 'Anatomy of a Murder' (1959) showcased the inner workings of a courtroom (see the above trailor of the film 'All About Eve')
1960's
Within the 1960's there was a political drive for film dramas especially focusing on the war such as 'Judgement at Nurember' (1961) where an American court in occupied Germany tries four Nazi judges for war crimes and 'The Manchurian Candidate' (1962) whereby a former Korean War POW is brainwashed by communists into becoming an political assassin, however another prisoner may just know how to save him. Within the 1960's sport dramas also became an inspiration, such as 'The Hustler' (1961) where an up and coming pool player plays a long-time champion in a single high-stakes match (see the above trailor of the film 'Judgement at Nurember')
1970's
It was during the 1970's that more modern dramatic directors produced their first films. Such as 'Martin Scorsese directed 'Taxi Drive' (1976), 'Mean Streets' (1973) and the musical drama 'New York, New York; (1977). Within 1976 Sylvest Stallone also created one of the most successful sport drama franchises 'Rocky' (1976), whereby a small time boxer gets a once in a lifetime chance to fight the heavyweight champ in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect. War films were also produced, giving the most realistic adaptation of the war seen in film at the time for example 'Patton' (1970), 'Tora!Tora!Tora!' (1970) and 'Apocalypse Now' (1979) all show the trials and hardships of war and still today are considered classic war films (see the above trailor of the film 'Rocky')
1980's
Within the 1980's dramatic film but emphasis on highly emotional films. 'Do the Right Thing' (1989) and 'The Colour Purple' (1985) were full character studies of African American culture and history. Drama with a science fiction edge was also a theme within the 1980;s, with Steven Spielberg directing 'ET. The Extra-Terrestiral' (1982) and Ridley Scott directing 'Blade Runner' (1982) (see the above trailor of the film 'The Colour Purple')
1990's
Within the 1990's Drama was put into epic proportion when films such as 'Schindler's List' (1993) and 'The Shawshank Redemption' (1994 which had strong themes of hope were released. Dramas also took a turn with thrillers with, 'Fight Club' (1999), 'American Beauty' (1999) and 'Leon' (1994). There was also a focus on the AIDS epidemic and discrimination within 'Philadephia' (1993). Comedy-drama was also a feature within the 1990's with films such as 'Jerry Maguire' (1996) and 'Barton Fink' (1991) (see the above trailor of the film 'Jerry Maguire')
2000's
Within present day, Dramatic films showcase all themes of life. A major source of dramatic films is history, biographies such as 'Ray' (2004) and 'Walk the Line' (2005) and informative films on the lives of people in history. Within history the Gulf War has also been an inspiration for dramatic films such as 'Black Hawk Down' (2001) and 'Jarhead' (2005) (see the above trailor of the film 'Walk the Line')
So during half term as I had planned to I took some footage of my baby niece are her mum. This would in turn create part of the story of in a mothers shoes, as well as in a baby's shoes. The main reason for me doing some basic filming, was so that before I got to far involved with the storyboards and scripts I wanted to make sure that the lack of structure would not be an issue in creating a five minute short. I took some basic footage, of Eliza exploring the house and some taken on Halloween night showing the close contact between mother and child, I also took some close up shots of different shoes, contrasting the sizes between adult and child Wellingtons, work shoes and leisure.
Before I had done this practice footage I had been having some concern about the fact that I was struggling to see how with such a lack of structure the different clips would all come together, to not only create a full I've minutes of footage but also to create five minutes were the audience's attention was always captured. After doing this practice filming, I was still feeling a bit mixed about my idea, I was really interested in keeping the basic idea of in a person's shoes however I was still struggling with seeing how all the footage would come together as one, therefore I decided to go back to the drawing board so to speak and still focusing on my idea of shoes create a more fictional story, that is based on one central character and the day she has in another persons shoes.
Why Chosen = I chose to use Hannah firstly because she lives and works within the business sector in London, in turn she has first hand experience of the demands of city life, the hectic rush hour, the tired feet from the heels. My actresses understood how my protagonist character lives life in a motion, how life in London is so fast paced it can just pass you by without noticing the small details of the city culture. Practically as well to use an actress that live in London means that there is no cost for transport to the city, and off course a flat to borrow! I also felt that Hannah had the acting skills in order to portray to the audience the journey the character goes on, through different shoes she discovers not only about a different strand of society within London but also about herself and how life should not revolve around work and money, but around happiness 
Why Chosen = I chose to incorporate a character that throughout the film brings the audience to ask questions and adds in turn a level of mystery. Who is he? Does he know the Jenny? Are they in relationship or merely strangers? Is he the one leaving the shoes, if so why? This character is one that opens Jenny's eyes to the culture of London, to happiness that is brought with life. I chose Edward to play the character of Liam because I felt he portrays a very open nature, also because he is actually in a relationship with my other actress Hannah I felt that there would already be a feeling of a connection felt on camera. For practical reasons as well I chose Edward because he lives in London there is no cost on transport, which is very important for my £0.00 budget! 
