In my pursuit of learning as much as possible as I can about the art of being a film producer, I have been checking out some interviews online with film producers that have worked with major companies, on mainstream movies. One in particular I felt was especially useful in summing up exactly what a producer's job is, was this interview with Tim Bevan. In it, Tim states that the producer's job is to essentially provide the tools needed for the film's director to do their job; "Ultimately, films are a director’s medium. They have control. It is my job or Eric (Fellner’s) to create the right environment for them to do the best job they can."
This is particularly important to consider when it comes to re-evaluating my own importance as a producer, When working as a team, it is sometimes easy to rely on others, which sometimes leads to slacking- expecting other members to make up the workload. When it comes to my job as a producer however, I have to be spot on with what I do, and always at work to provide the assets necessary for all the other members of the team to do their own respective jobs- otherwise nothing gets done.
I also found this interview with Philippa Boyens, the co-producer of such films as The Hobbit and District 9. In it, she is asked about what kind of challenges she faced as a producer for The Hobbit as opposed to when she acted as a producer for The Lord of The Rings, and whether or not The Hobbit was a more challenging film to produce for. The issues of the producer's job in adapting the writer's screenplay, and how hard the job is are also brought up.
Something I learned from this interview with Phillipa is once again- how important the producer's job is, and how they play a major role in convincing actors to become contributors for the project, as well as having to keep improving and delivering new assets with each film that is made. The importance of working closely with the Director is also stressed- something that I will take into careful consideration during the production of Inoculum.
Thursday, 10 December 2015
Wednesday, 2 December 2015
Pre-Production Unit- Investigating Drama Screenwriters, and the importance of a great quality script.
One major problem I have come across during the scripting process, is that some of my more dramatic moments do not come across as realistic. I have characters delivering monologues which express their emotions, but don't really "tell" the viewer anything new. This creates the impression that my characters are overly dramatic, sometimes to the point that their dialogue becomes quite cheesy and unbelievable.
In response to this grievance, I decided that it would be worth my time investigating some of the more successful drama films of all time, and see how the screenwriters of those films tackled the more delicate scenarios with their characters.
Some questions I wanted to answer through doing this was;
In response to this grievance, I decided that it would be worth my time investigating some of the more successful drama films of all time, and see how the screenwriters of those films tackled the more delicate scenarios with their characters.
Some questions I wanted to answer through doing this was;
- How dramatic should characters be when conveying emotion?
- What kind of language should characters use during such situations?
I hoped from this I would learn to make my characters less "cheesy" when speaking in a dramatic way, and also make them more believable as characters.
I decided to begin my investigation by performing a Google search for "the most successful drama films of all time", and one of the first results was "The Shawshank Redemption." I felt that this would be a fantastic starting point for me to find some screenwriters that I could take some form of inspiration from.
I found that the screenwriter for Shawshank redemption was Frank Darabont, a Hungarian screenplay writer, and with this knowledge, I decided to scour youtube to try and find out if there were any interviews which would give me a deeper insight into his mindset when writing a screenplay, and more importantly, if I could find any information about how to script realistic character dialogue.
I came across this interview, which although doesn't really contain the kind of information I was looking for, it does contain some very useful information on the importance of having a good quality script in order to entice contributors into wanting to take part in the film project.
In the interview, Morgan Freeman explains that he didn't even know which character he was being considered for in the Shawshank Redemption, but because the script was such great quality, he didn't care, and wanted to just be involved in some way.
This is something I feel I should take on board during my process of acting as a producer. I think one thing I should take away from this small investigation is that I should ensure my script is great quality before I begin to look for contributors to my film.
I have learnt that sometimes it is the quality of the script that is the deal-breaker for cast applicants as to whether or not they will ultimately want to be involved. Therefore it would probably be best for me in the future to make sure that I have completed the final draft of the script before beginning to search for cast members.
I found that the screenwriter for Shawshank redemption was Frank Darabont, a Hungarian screenplay writer, and with this knowledge, I decided to scour youtube to try and find out if there were any interviews which would give me a deeper insight into his mindset when writing a screenplay, and more importantly, if I could find any information about how to script realistic character dialogue.
I came across this interview, which although doesn't really contain the kind of information I was looking for, it does contain some very useful information on the importance of having a good quality script in order to entice contributors into wanting to take part in the film project.
In the interview, Morgan Freeman explains that he didn't even know which character he was being considered for in the Shawshank Redemption, but because the script was such great quality, he didn't care, and wanted to just be involved in some way.
This is something I feel I should take on board during my process of acting as a producer. I think one thing I should take away from this small investigation is that I should ensure my script is great quality before I begin to look for contributors to my film.
I have learnt that sometimes it is the quality of the script that is the deal-breaker for cast applicants as to whether or not they will ultimately want to be involved. Therefore it would probably be best for me in the future to make sure that I have completed the final draft of the script before beginning to search for cast members.
Friday, 27 November 2015
PreProduction Unit- Research- Do I Script Shots?
Something I have been investigating a lot recently is the scripting of shots in scripts. I have previously been told that it is not my responsibility to think of particular shots when I am acting as a screenplay writer, and I agree with this statement as it is down to the Director/ Cinematographer (in the case of this project- Charlie) to come up with the kind of shots they think would be best for the film.
However, during my script investigation, where I would look for the scripts of famous movies online, I discovered that there were some scripts where the writers had actually chosen to write about the shots that were being used. For example, the extract here is from the script for the 2004 version of "Dawn of the Dead", written by James Gunn;
Source.
In this segment, James Gunn has decided to script the showing of the Skull X-Ray through the use of a close-up. One can assume that the xray is originally viewed extremely close, making it difficult to know what it is, and the camera pulling back is what reveals it. This therefore makes the kind of shot used an important thing to script, so that the director knows what is happening.
I also came across this website which explains under what circumstances a screenwriter should script a shot.
From this I have learned that scripting shots should only be used when the viewer's attention is being put on something that might not be particularly obvious when using another kind of shot. For example, in my own second draft for "Inoculum", there is a scene where Douglas is sat reading a news article about how birds have been dying in Kent, some dropping from the sky half rotten.
In the scene, I wanted the viewer to see the headline, and I felt that this would be best to be shown through the use of a close-up.
However, during my script investigation, where I would look for the scripts of famous movies online, I discovered that there were some scripts where the writers had actually chosen to write about the shots that were being used. For example, the extract here is from the script for the 2004 version of "Dawn of the Dead", written by James Gunn;
In this segment, James Gunn has decided to script the showing of the Skull X-Ray through the use of a close-up. One can assume that the xray is originally viewed extremely close, making it difficult to know what it is, and the camera pulling back is what reveals it. This therefore makes the kind of shot used an important thing to script, so that the director knows what is happening.
I also came across this website which explains under what circumstances a screenwriter should script a shot.
From this I have learned that scripting shots should only be used when the viewer's attention is being put on something that might not be particularly obvious when using another kind of shot. For example, in my own second draft for "Inoculum", there is a scene where Douglas is sat reading a news article about how birds have been dying in Kent, some dropping from the sky half rotten.
Tuesday, 24 November 2015
PreProduction Unit- Final "Moments"Sheet
In response to me changing my story slightly to make it more understandable, here is the final version of the "moments" sheet which I will be using when creating the final script to remember what happens and in what order.
PreProduction Unit- Visiting Discovery Park Recce
Today I visited the Discovery Park complex in Sandwich which we intend to use as the laboratory location in our film. Finding the place was actual very simple due to my phone having a reliable GPS system, but something I noticed was that the facility was around an hours walk from the train station in Sandwich. For someone like me, this isn't a problem, as I regularly jog and power-walk, but I have to understand from a production and travel point of view that any actors we want to use that arrive at the Sandwich train station will probably not be okay with walking for an hour, and as such will either want a taxi, or one of our production crew to pick them up in a car if possible.
I met with Renata, the public liaison at the Discovery Park, who spent a good hour or so showing me around the facilities. I was very impressed with the overall layout of the laboratory, and I definitely feel that the place suits the kind of atmosphere and layout we want for our film.
The building I was shown around is known as Building 500, and is usually rented out to scientists for perform experiments in, and certain parts are rented out as office space. Renata told me that all the areas shown in the photos above would be available for us to shoot in, should we choose to do so.
A few things I made sure to note while checking the place out are;
I met with Renata, the public liaison at the Discovery Park, who spent a good hour or so showing me around the facilities. I was very impressed with the overall layout of the laboratory, and I definitely feel that the place suits the kind of atmosphere and layout we want for our film.
A few things I made sure to note while checking the place out are;
- There are parking spaces
- There are power outlets available for camera charging
- Some areas look quite bare, and will be in need of some "dressing up".
- In some areas (such as the corridor and forye' areas) there is a lot of echo, which I believe would be very noticeable in recordings. We can either avoid using these particular areas, or see about investigating ways we can reduce the echo in the editing process.
The moment of truth came, and I asked Renata how much the facility would cost for us to use.
She mentioned that major films are usually charged around £1000 for a full days shoot, and £500 for a half day shoot.
Since we are students though, she advised that we just pay what we can.
All in all, I am really excited to be using this facility in our film, however, I have one reservation, This location will barely appear in our film, and as such I need to figure out whether or not it's appearance will be worth the money.
Saturday, 21 November 2015
PreProduction Unit- Location Updates- Doctors Surgery
I have recently been continuing my search for suitable locations for Inoculum. So far, we have confirmed Charlie's house as a location for the Reed family home, Mote Park in Maidstone for the final park scene, and also Production Room 2 at the Maidstone Television Studios, which we intend to use as a backup location if we cannot find somewhere to use as a doctors office.
Speaking of the doctor's office location, I have had made some excellent progress when it comes to finding a legitimate surgery that we can film in- which will save us money on props to "dress up" Production Room 2, and will also add a sense of authenticity to the overall film.
During a conversation with one of the actors that applied for the position of Dr. Hughes, Kevin Stones- we began to discuss potential locations that we would be filming at, and he informed me that he could potentially have several of his own contacts that he could put us in touch with to help us find suitable locations. Kevin suggested that he help us find a Doctor's Surgery and a Laboratory location. This was especially useful to us, as these were the two main locations I was having trouble acquiring, mostly because laboratories are extremely difficult to ascertain the rights to film at due to health and safety reasons, and doctor's surgeries are often difficult to film at due to patient confidentiality, and the fact that doctor's surgeries are almost always in use, and are therefore very difficult to film in, because there are always people around.
Kevin put me in touch with a contact called Dr. Nick, who works at a doctor's practice called "The Whitehouse Surgery" in Cheriton, Folkstone. I spoke with Nick over the phone, and he informed me that he was more than willing to allow us to use a room in his surgery for our filming, as long as the filming took place over a weekend. This is mostly due to the fact that Saturday and Sunday are times where the practice is least busy, and as such we will be allowed to film freely.
He also informed me that there were parking spaces at the surgery, so we would not have to pay extra for parking in a private car park on production day. He told me that he would send photographs of the interior of the surgery via email, and that we could speak more about actual film dates and times when I had visited the area for a recce.
As you can see from the above photograph, I searched for the surgery using Google Maps, and I was very impressed with the exterior. It has a very old-school vibe in terms of being a doctor's surgery, but I can only guess what the inside looks like at this point in time.
Other projects developments include me working on some concept art for the "OmegaPharm" logo.
Myself and Charlie have agreed that our original plan of creating a book for our preproduction package would severely limit our time for creating assets for the book at this point in time, and as such, we have decided that it would be best for us to instead use the assets we have gathered so far and investigate other ways we can submit our package.
At the moment, I believe submitting our ideas in a plain white "OmegaPharm" branded folder with our character profiles, location profiles, script and other assets inside would make for a very official looking package.
UPDATE 24/11/2015:
I have just received an email containing the photographs of the surgeries interior that I discussed earlier in this blog post. Here they are;
As you can see from the above photos, this location is instantly recognisable as a doctors surgery/consultancy room. This to me is a major benefit, as one of my main concerns about the doctor's surgery location was that viewer's wouldn't recognise the location as being a doctor's surgery, and instead would think it was just some kind of office.
The examination bed, all the files and the lighting make it clear that this is a medical room of some sort, and as such, I think this would be a perfect location for the doctor's surgery scene.
One concern I do have is the size of the room. Doctor's surgeries tend to be relatively small (as the nature of doctor's visits usually only include one or two people in the room), and as such, there may not be enough room for Charlie and the rest of the crew to manoeuvre cameras around such a tight space.
My next step will be to visit the location and perform a recce.
Speaking of the doctor's office location, I have had made some excellent progress when it comes to finding a legitimate surgery that we can film in- which will save us money on props to "dress up" Production Room 2, and will also add a sense of authenticity to the overall film.
During a conversation with one of the actors that applied for the position of Dr. Hughes, Kevin Stones- we began to discuss potential locations that we would be filming at, and he informed me that he could potentially have several of his own contacts that he could put us in touch with to help us find suitable locations. Kevin suggested that he help us find a Doctor's Surgery and a Laboratory location. This was especially useful to us, as these were the two main locations I was having trouble acquiring, mostly because laboratories are extremely difficult to ascertain the rights to film at due to health and safety reasons, and doctor's surgeries are often difficult to film at due to patient confidentiality, and the fact that doctor's surgeries are almost always in use, and are therefore very difficult to film in, because there are always people around.
Kevin put me in touch with a contact called Dr. Nick, who works at a doctor's practice called "The Whitehouse Surgery" in Cheriton, Folkstone. I spoke with Nick over the phone, and he informed me that he was more than willing to allow us to use a room in his surgery for our filming, as long as the filming took place over a weekend. This is mostly due to the fact that Saturday and Sunday are times where the practice is least busy, and as such we will be allowed to film freely.
He also informed me that there were parking spaces at the surgery, so we would not have to pay extra for parking in a private car park on production day. He told me that he would send photographs of the interior of the surgery via email, and that we could speak more about actual film dates and times when I had visited the area for a recce.
Other projects developments include me working on some concept art for the "OmegaPharm" logo.
Myself and Charlie have agreed that our original plan of creating a book for our preproduction package would severely limit our time for creating assets for the book at this point in time, and as such, we have decided that it would be best for us to instead use the assets we have gathered so far and investigate other ways we can submit our package.
At the moment, I believe submitting our ideas in a plain white "OmegaPharm" branded folder with our character profiles, location profiles, script and other assets inside would make for a very official looking package.
UPDATE 24/11/2015:
I have just received an email containing the photographs of the surgeries interior that I discussed earlier in this blog post. Here they are;
The examination bed, all the files and the lighting make it clear that this is a medical room of some sort, and as such, I think this would be a perfect location for the doctor's surgery scene.
One concern I do have is the size of the room. Doctor's surgeries tend to be relatively small (as the nature of doctor's visits usually only include one or two people in the room), and as such, there may not be enough room for Charlie and the rest of the crew to manoeuvre cameras around such a tight space.
My next step will be to visit the location and perform a recce.
Pre-Production Unit- Character Synopsis Sheets
In response to the feedback I received from my first draft submission of Inoculum, I have decided to create "character synopsis sheets", documents that will add more depth to the characters in my story. The aim of this is that when scripting these characters actions and dialogue in the future, I will be able to refer to the character synopsis sheets and think about whether or not the situation I am scripting is relevant to the character I have developed.
Is it realistic that my character would say this/ act in this way?
During my researching stage to find out how other writers go about creating their own characters, I came across this website, which provides a "Character Chart"
However, I feel that this chart is a little too in depth, and has categories for some aspects of my character that I feel is irrelevant, such as where my character eats for lunch, or what his/her morning routine is. I have instead decided to create a more simplified version, describing the characters name, occupation, history and personality traits (including a notes section) which I intend to also distribute to out cast so that they can get a better feel for their character that they will be playing.
I believe these character synopsis sheets could use some refining before I am fully happy with them, but I feel that there is a lot more workable information in these sheets than the little notes I have been writing here and there in the past. Creating documents like this is a really big help, and as I mentioned, these are something I can distribute to other people in the cast so they better understand their character- something I wouldn't want to do with a bunch of little sketches and notes on rough paper.
Tuesday, 17 November 2015
PreProduction Unit- Feedback from First Draft of Inoculum.
Today I met with Simon Welsford, who ran through some points he noticed in my script, as well as providing some useful insight into what could be done to better tell the story I was trying to present.
I made notes on my phones in the form of bullet points. My notes are as follows;
I made notes on my phones in the form of bullet points. My notes are as follows;
- More description needed when setting the scene.
- Be more descriptive of characters and settings. More research into how other screenplay writers in the sci-fi/drama genre achieve this. Set the tone when introducing a scene.
- Make sure scene numbers are clear so that they can be easily referred to in conversation/ during shooting.
- Reduce dialogue and attempt to "show" rather than "tell."
- Make a clear definition about who the story is about.
- Show shifts in power throughout.
- Show Abigail and Douglas as having a strong relationship- until Abigail intervenes.
- The change from devastating news to normal family day is unnatural.
I understand all these points that were made particularly the one about showing who the protagonist of the film is. I spent so much time trying to give the characters of Delaney, Douglas and Abigail equal exposure and importance that it became difficult to tell who the main character is, and who the viewer should be rooting for.
It was also suggested that perhaps I could elaborate on Abigail's dead mother. Perhaps Abigail could be living with her until she dies, and then move in with Douglas and Delaney, stirring things up and creating a change in atmosphere immediately.
I will begin my next script draft immediately, and attempt to create much more complex, developed characters.
Thursday, 12 November 2015
PreProduction Unit- Investigating the British Independent Film Festival Submission Dates
As I mentioned in a previous blog post, it was suggested at the halfway presentation that my previous idea of submitting to the 2016 British Independent Film Festival wasn't such a good idea, as we would have to have completed the film by March 2016, which limits our production time dramatically. As a result, I have been checking out when the submission period for the 2017 British Independent Film Festival is, as this would give us a much more workable deadline, as well as allow us to have our full amount of production time.
I contacted the people that run the festival after I found their facebook page, and I messaged them asking them the following;
As a result, I now know the submission period for the festival, and will be able to update any pitches and proposals for my preproduction package accordingly.
I contacted the people that run the festival after I found their facebook page, and I messaged them asking them the following;
PreProduction Unit- Discovering New Screenplay Writing Techniques
After submitting my first script draft, I suddenly began to notice several mistakes and flaws that I hadn't noticed before. (Awful Timing.) These included an inconsistency involving Douglas "recognising" Craig Manning as he runs away from his house after attempting to break in, as well as some situations which seems quite unrealistic upon reading through the script with fresh eyes at a later date, such as why Douglas is so against the laboratory staff test Abigail and potentially save everyones lives.
With this in mind, I decided to take a look at some other screenplays in the sci-fi genre, and find a screenplay writer that I could investigate, to see if they had particular techniques when it comes to storytelling. I instantly remembered one of my favourite Sci-fi movies of all time, "The Thing" (particularly the 1982 remake) and after searching for its listing on IMDB, I found that its screenplay was written by Bill Lancaster, otherwise known as William Henry Lancaster.
Upon searching for more information on Lancaster, I instantly happened upon this article entitled "10 screenwriting lessons you can learn from the Thing."
Some useful points I picked up on that I believe will be particularly useful for me to pay attention to when created my second draft of Inoculum, are these:
1. Only have your characters speak if they have something to say.
This is something I known about for quite a while, and in my first script for Inoculum, I did try my best to cut as much "mundane chit-chat" as possible, and keep my characters lines of dialogue as important as possible. Unfortunately, there were still a few small lines dotted here and there that I believe could be better interpreted by an actors emotion, rather than actually speaking there line.
In this section of my script for example, Abigail's line "what?" and Douglas' line "Amputation?" could perhaps be removed completely. An audience watching the film would have already heard Doctor Hughes speak about amputating Abigail's arm in the previous line, and as such, her asking "what?" doesn't really add anything that the viewer would find interesting, or appreciate. Likewise, Douglas' line "Amputation?" merely re-enforces the fact that the possibility of amputation exists as an option for Abigail, which once again doesn't add much in terms of new information for the viewer to digest.
As such, I feel that a reasonable change would be to remove these lines completely, and have the characters react to the amputation suggestion through their actions and emotions, by having they look very shocked or nervous at the prospect of Abigail having to have her arm removed.
2. "There's Something You Should See."
This idea intrigued me, mainly because it is something I had never considered before, but it makes perfect sense. The idea of withholding information from the viewer is order to build tension is a concept I am familiar with, but one I immediately realized I could have approached better in Inoculum. For example, in this section of my script, it is revealed that the Reed family backyard is filled with hundreds of dead, rotting birds which have mysteriously appeared.
With this in mind, I decided to take a look at some other screenplays in the sci-fi genre, and find a screenplay writer that I could investigate, to see if they had particular techniques when it comes to storytelling. I instantly remembered one of my favourite Sci-fi movies of all time, "The Thing" (particularly the 1982 remake) and after searching for its listing on IMDB, I found that its screenplay was written by Bill Lancaster, otherwise known as William Henry Lancaster.
Upon searching for more information on Lancaster, I instantly happened upon this article entitled "10 screenwriting lessons you can learn from the Thing."
Some useful points I picked up on that I believe will be particularly useful for me to pay attention to when created my second draft of Inoculum, are these:
This is something I known about for quite a while, and in my first script for Inoculum, I did try my best to cut as much "mundane chit-chat" as possible, and keep my characters lines of dialogue as important as possible. Unfortunately, there were still a few small lines dotted here and there that I believe could be better interpreted by an actors emotion, rather than actually speaking there line.
As such, I feel that a reasonable change would be to remove these lines completely, and have the characters react to the amputation suggestion through their actions and emotions, by having they look very shocked or nervous at the prospect of Abigail having to have her arm removed.
This idea intrigued me, mainly because it is something I had never considered before, but it makes perfect sense. The idea of withholding information from the viewer is order to build tension is a concept I am familiar with, but one I immediately realized I could have approached better in Inoculum. For example, in this section of my script, it is revealed that the Reed family backyard is filled with hundreds of dead, rotting birds which have mysteriously appeared.
The idea of hundreds of dead, rotting birds appearing in your back garden in a matter of hours is indeed a shocking one, but I feel that the reveal of what exactly Delaney and Abigail are looking at happens too soon, and the advice given in the article I found backs this up.
The way I have written the script, the viewer is kept in a degree of suspense immediately after Delaney and Abigail spot the thing in their back garden that shocks them. However, in the very next scene, the thing is revealed, and although it is still unpleasant and surprising because it is a bunch of dead birds, I feel that perhaps the reveal happens too soon.
Later in my script, Douglas returns home and cleans up the birds.
The shock value at this point is non-existent, as the birds were revealed several scenes prior. I am considering the possibility that it may be a good idea to hold off the reveal of the birds until Douglas returns home. I could insert a new scene before the reveal where perhaps Abigail or Delaney tell Douglas that something weird has happened in the backyard, and it is at this point that the reveal of the birds will happen.
3. Show Me, Don't Tell Me.
This is again, another concept I am familiar with. I am aware that my script contains a lot of expositional dialogue, showing the way that Abigail's newfound ability to absorb the cells of all living creatures works. This ends up with my screenplay looking more like a wall of dialogue than anything, and I feel that my best bet would be to focus on creating ways that it can be shown Abigail has this ability in a way viewers would be able to understand, without a character straight-up revealing what is happening.
I have already created a few moments which show Abigail is taking cells, and these are:
- When it is shown that the house plants have died overnight.
- When Craig Manning discovers that strange cells have mysteriously appeared in a blood sample taken from Abigail.
- When hundreds of dead, rotting birds appear in the familys back garden.
- When local people (particularly Delaney) begin to get sick and begin to rot.
- When Abigail begins to get better as other get worse.
These moments, although making perfect sense in my head, aren't enough I feel for a viewer without any understanding of Abigail's ability beforehand to understand what is happening. Therefore I feel it is important for me to create some more similar moments that better showcase the idea that perhaps Abigail is stealing people's cells, and remove as much expositional dialogue and explanations of her condition as possible.
4. Lack of Trust= Great Cinema.
This is an idea that is completely new to me, but something I can see working in my film. Later in the film, Delaney grows wary and especially angry that she and so many of the people around her are getting sick, and that Douglas will not allow the scientists at OmegaPharm to perform tests and experiments on his daughter to see if they can stop it from happening. At one point, it is suggested by Delaney that everyone would be better off if Abigail were dead, as they would stop getting sick, and when Douglas returns home and discovers blood on the floor of his home (from when Craig tried to break into the house to kidnap/kill Abigail) he immediately assumes that Delaney has done something to harm Abigail, when in fact it is Delaney that has been injured.
I feel that I could expand upon this level of trust more throughout the film somehow. I will continue to work on this idea throughout the course of my second draft.
I found this article very interesting, and as a result I think it would be useful for me to find articles on similar subjects, perhaps using films other than The Thing as an example. This way I can get a variety of ideas and opinions which I think will only benefit my overall screenplay.
Tuesday, 10 November 2015
PreProduction Unit- The Results of Day 1s Auditions.
Today myself and Charlie had our first set of auditions- which didn't turn out the way we expected.
Firstly, today we were supposed to have four auditions, two for the role of Abigail, and two for the role of Doctor Hughes. Unfortunately, we only managed to audition Kevin Stones, who was applying for the role of Doctor Hughes.
The reasons we could only audition 1/4 people was due to the fact that one of our applicants had a personal family issue that hand to be taken care of, one of our applicants cars broke down, and the last applicant didn't turn up and we haven't heard from them since.
The girl whose car broke down has instead asked if she is able to audition via a video, and we have agreed to this. It is important that we continue to search for alternative actors though so that we have a variety of actors to choose from.
I found that auditioning Kevin Stones was a very useful experience. Kevin had a wealth of knowledge and experience to share, and even knew Geoff Miles, of the Maidstone Television Studios who he had met over the course of his career. We spent a lot of the audition's beginning speaking about Kevin's previous work and interests, which I felt was a good way for us to get to know each other better so that we would be more comfortable working together on the project. We then moved onto the actual audition, and Charlie and I both agreed that Kevin did an excellent job portraying the character of Doctor Hughes. He managed to portray the kind of concerned professional character you would expect of a doctor, and we were very happy with his performance.
Something we were not expecting was how helpful Kevin would be in other areas of our production. Kevin has a wealth of contacts that could be useful to us, and offered to help us gather props and find possible locations (namely the doctors office we require and the laboratory) using his contacts.
kevin has contacts in the medical trade, and has told us there is an opportunity for him to get us access to film in an actual Docto's practice, something that we were previously denied due to confidentiality issues in NHS doctor's offices.
Of course, it would not be too wise to rely solely on Kevin to find our locations, as that is my job as a producer, but it was still reassuring to know that there was another person offering a degree of expertise and knowledge of the area and locations in Kent, an area I am unfamiliar with.
Firstly, today we were supposed to have four auditions, two for the role of Abigail, and two for the role of Doctor Hughes. Unfortunately, we only managed to audition Kevin Stones, who was applying for the role of Doctor Hughes.
The reasons we could only audition 1/4 people was due to the fact that one of our applicants had a personal family issue that hand to be taken care of, one of our applicants cars broke down, and the last applicant didn't turn up and we haven't heard from them since.
The girl whose car broke down has instead asked if she is able to audition via a video, and we have agreed to this. It is important that we continue to search for alternative actors though so that we have a variety of actors to choose from.
I found that auditioning Kevin Stones was a very useful experience. Kevin had a wealth of knowledge and experience to share, and even knew Geoff Miles, of the Maidstone Television Studios who he had met over the course of his career. We spent a lot of the audition's beginning speaking about Kevin's previous work and interests, which I felt was a good way for us to get to know each other better so that we would be more comfortable working together on the project. We then moved onto the actual audition, and Charlie and I both agreed that Kevin did an excellent job portraying the character of Doctor Hughes. He managed to portray the kind of concerned professional character you would expect of a doctor, and we were very happy with his performance.
Something we were not expecting was how helpful Kevin would be in other areas of our production. Kevin has a wealth of contacts that could be useful to us, and offered to help us gather props and find possible locations (namely the doctors office we require and the laboratory) using his contacts.
kevin has contacts in the medical trade, and has told us there is an opportunity for him to get us access to film in an actual Docto's practice, something that we were previously denied due to confidentiality issues in NHS doctor's offices.
Of course, it would not be too wise to rely solely on Kevin to find our locations, as that is my job as a producer, but it was still reassuring to know that there was another person offering a degree of expertise and knowledge of the area and locations in Kent, an area I am unfamiliar with.
PreProduction Unit- Submitting the First Draft of Inoculum's Script
Today I submitted the first draft of my script for Inoculum, which I completed several days ago. The script can be seen here:
Although I am relatively happy with the story that is being told, there are a few initial problems I have with my own script which I feel need addressing. I outlined these in the email I sent that this script was attached to. Some things I feel I need to work on in the 2nd draft of this script is;
Although I am relatively happy with the story that is being told, there are a few initial problems I have with my own script which I feel need addressing. I outlined these in the email I sent that this script was attached to. Some things I feel I need to work on in the 2nd draft of this script is;
- Improving the general layout and format of the script.
- Develop more of a sense of urgency in later scenes (where cracks begin to show in Douglas and Delaney's relationship, and people begin to get ill.)
- Develop Abigail more as a character, either through the adding of more dialogue, or having her show more emotion and react to the situations occurring around her more.
- Try and reduce the amount of flip-flopping from location to location and back again.
- Alter characters dialogue to sound more natural and less expositional.
My main focus with the next script draft will be to make the characters more relatable. One problem I have at the moment is making the characters react to certain news and situations in a realistic, believable way. For example, why doesn't Douglas simply agree to take Abigail back to the OmegaPharm laboratory to be tested on more, and possibly save herself and everyone around her.
These questions I hope I will be able to answer and improve in the next version of this script.
PreProduction Unit- Preparing for Today's Auditions.
Today we were to have several applicants for various roles in Inoculum visiting us at the studios to audition for their roles. However, late last night I received an email from Chris Winters, who applied for the position of Dr. Hughes, stating that due to personal problems, he wouldn't be in the Maidstone area today, and therefore wouldn't be able to attend his audition.
I tried to select areas of the script where each particular character had the most dialogue, and opportunity to showcase their characters. During this process however, I learnt something- Abigail doesn't have much dialogue.
I never noticed during the creation of my initial first draft, but Abigail has little to no dialogue. She makes certain exclamations at various points, but never really adds any in-depth analysis of anything, or contributes to the story in any way, making her less of a character, and more of a plot device.
I feel there are a couple of things I can do to improve the presentation of Abigail as a character. I can either-
I also still have no received any confirmation from Nadia Ford whether or not she would be attending the audition time I had given her today. We will still be attending the Maidstone Television Studios in case she arrives, but if not, we are down one Dr. Hughes and one Abigail Reed audition today. This means the only auditions we will be holding today are for Hannah Webb and Kevin Stones, who are also auditioning for the roles of Abigail Reed and Dr. Hughes respectively.
"Script Segments"
In preparation for the auditions, I have created condensed "script segments"- much smaller versions of a certain part of what I hope will be the final script, which the people auditioning will be reading from for us today.
I sent these scripts via email to our auditioners several days ago, so that they could practice their lines and get a bit of a feel about their character and how their character reacts to the other characters in the story.
I tried to select areas of the script where each particular character had the most dialogue, and opportunity to showcase their characters. During this process however, I learnt something- Abigail doesn't have much dialogue.
I never noticed during the creation of my initial first draft, but Abigail has little to no dialogue. She makes certain exclamations at various points, but never really adds any in-depth analysis of anything, or contributes to the story in any way, making her less of a character, and more of a plot device.
I feel there are a couple of things I can do to improve the presentation of Abigail as a character. I can either-
- Give Abigail more influential lines, which will in turn make her a more important character in the film.
- Keep Abigail's lines the way they are, and focus on having her physical portrayal tell the story, through her emotions and actions rather than dialogue.
I believe either one of these options will benefit my story. I am pushing more towards keeping Abigail as a relatively silent character though, and having her tell the story through her emotions and actions for a couple of reasons. The first being that my script for Inoculum already has a lot of expositional dialogue (which I am working on improving for the second draft of the script), and secondly that I am a firm believer in the idea of "showing- not telling", and so any opportunity for the story to be told without words is something I want to take.
Monday, 9 November 2015
PreProduction Unit- Investigating Possible Locations and Arranging Recees.
I have been trying to accomplish a lot of my responsibilities as producer recently, and this includes scouting out locations or us to use in our film. I have found that it is extremely difficult securing locations on such a small-scale student budget, as many film locations want up-front payment for their facilities and charge an amount of money we cannot afford.
The most difficult location I feel I have been trying to find, is the laboratory set we will be using for several small scenes in our film. The problems I have been having include the fact that although the scenes we want to film in the laboratory are extremely short, the cost of securing a location, as well as the cost to reach the locations have been very expensive compared to the cost of securing and getting to other locations. I feel this isn't very cost effective for us, and so it has taken me quite a while to find somewhere appropriate.
However, I have recently found the Discovery Park in Kent and immediately fell in love with the location. Situated in Sandwich in Kent, I found the locations website to be very informative, with many photographs showcasing the fantastic architecture of the location. I also discovered that the location has been used in the recent film "World War Z" starring Brad Pitt, which to me immediately added a sense of legitimacy when it came to selecting it as a professional film shoot.
The website also features a 3d view tour of the complex, which gave me a better idea of what to expect.
After finding the location, I contacted Renata, who is in charge of mediating the kind of film proposition I have for the company. I was asked what our budget was. At first, this disheartened me, as I felt that as students, they would realize we didn't have too much money to spent on renting a location and immediately tell us no, but to my surprise, Renata told me that payment could be discussed at a later date, and that payments were calculated at a case by case status. I was then invited to perform a recee at the location, which I agreed to.
I would like to visit the location as soon as possible with Charlie to determine whether or not the laboratory has the kind of atmosphere he wants our film to portray, but from what I have seen of the website, and the film World War Z, I feel that the location will definitely suit our needs.
The only potential problems I envision, is the cost of reaching the location. Sandwich, from what I can gather is a relatively remote location, and costs a lot of money to get to if you are taking train, and even when arriving by car. Therefore, I will continue to search for other suitable locations, but at the moment, I am very interested in securing this location for a shoot in January 2016.
The most difficult location I feel I have been trying to find, is the laboratory set we will be using for several small scenes in our film. The problems I have been having include the fact that although the scenes we want to film in the laboratory are extremely short, the cost of securing a location, as well as the cost to reach the locations have been very expensive compared to the cost of securing and getting to other locations. I feel this isn't very cost effective for us, and so it has taken me quite a while to find somewhere appropriate.
However, I have recently found the Discovery Park in Kent and immediately fell in love with the location. Situated in Sandwich in Kent, I found the locations website to be very informative, with many photographs showcasing the fantastic architecture of the location. I also discovered that the location has been used in the recent film "World War Z" starring Brad Pitt, which to me immediately added a sense of legitimacy when it came to selecting it as a professional film shoot.
After finding the location, I contacted Renata, who is in charge of mediating the kind of film proposition I have for the company. I was asked what our budget was. At first, this disheartened me, as I felt that as students, they would realize we didn't have too much money to spent on renting a location and immediately tell us no, but to my surprise, Renata told me that payment could be discussed at a later date, and that payments were calculated at a case by case status. I was then invited to perform a recee at the location, which I agreed to.
I would like to visit the location as soon as possible with Charlie to determine whether or not the laboratory has the kind of atmosphere he wants our film to portray, but from what I have seen of the website, and the film World War Z, I feel that the location will definitely suit our needs.
The only potential problems I envision, is the cost of reaching the location. Sandwich, from what I can gather is a relatively remote location, and costs a lot of money to get to if you are taking train, and even when arriving by car. Therefore, I will continue to search for other suitable locations, but at the moment, I am very interested in securing this location for a shoot in January 2016.
PreProduction Unit- New "Key Moments" and making Inoculum fit the 3 Act structure
As noted in a previous blog post, the 3 act structure is a very important factor in the creation of a story. It is important that tension is created in certain areas of your story, in order to captivate an audience into wanting to watch what happens in the next act. Therefore, I have created a list of new "moments" that form the storytelling aspect of Inoculum.
Since the storyline has been tweaked slightly since I wrote the last set of "moments" last month, I feel it is important to create this new list so that I can show Charlie and other cast and crew members what story we are wanting to tell.
Although I am currently reworking the script we will be using for the film, I feel that this description of the proposed three act structure for Inoculum is a great base template for me to complete the final script we will use by.
I have made sure that at the conclusion of each act, something happens that will keep the viewer intrigued enough to want to watch the next act and find out what is happening. The main deviation my structure has from the commonly recognised three act structure, is the fact that the action in my film doesn't die off completely at the end of the 3rd act, which is something that most films stand by according to what I have investigated.
The reason for this is that my film contains a "cliffhanger" which usually means that when a film ends, the action or tension hasn't died off completely. The cliffhanger in my film is the apparent death of Douglas, which brings up the question as to whether or not he killed Abigail in the previous scene.
This deviation from the 3rd act structure isn't unheard of, but it's definitely something that is experimental to me, and I am interested to see whether or not the moments I have scripted will be as effective on-screen as they are in my head.
Since the storyline has been tweaked slightly since I wrote the last set of "moments" last month, I feel it is important to create this new list so that I can show Charlie and other cast and crew members what story we are wanting to tell.
Although I am currently reworking the script we will be using for the film, I feel that this description of the proposed three act structure for Inoculum is a great base template for me to complete the final script we will use by.
I have made sure that at the conclusion of each act, something happens that will keep the viewer intrigued enough to want to watch the next act and find out what is happening. The main deviation my structure has from the commonly recognised three act structure, is the fact that the action in my film doesn't die off completely at the end of the 3rd act, which is something that most films stand by according to what I have investigated.
The reason for this is that my film contains a "cliffhanger" which usually means that when a film ends, the action or tension hasn't died off completely. The cliffhanger in my film is the apparent death of Douglas, which brings up the question as to whether or not he killed Abigail in the previous scene.
This deviation from the 3rd act structure isn't unheard of, but it's definitely something that is experimental to me, and I am interested to see whether or not the moments I have scripted will be as effective on-screen as they are in my head.
Saturday, 7 November 2015
PreProduction Unit- Investigating more Suitable FIlm Festivals
We recently had our half-point presentation, where we outlined some of the problems we have been having with our project so far. One major problem that was brought up was our choice of film festival we planned to submit our film to at the end of the project.
Originally, we had chosen the British Independent FIlm Festival, and had chosen to submit it to their late deadline of March 15th 2016. It was suggested that we try another film festival however, as the late deadline for this festival is almost a month before we actually finish the course, meaning we would be cutting about a month out of our production to submit it to the festival. Therefore we hav decided to investigate other festivals we could submit to instead.
Interestingly enough, we have recently been given an excel document which lists a lot of film festivals happening in the months after march, and so the beginning of our research has been pretty much completed for us.
I first investigated the Edinburgh Film Festival, but unfortunately, the submission date for this festival was before the original deadline we set ourself with the British Independent Film Festival, meaning we'd have given ourselves even less time.
A similar problem was found with the Tribeca FIlm Festival, in which although the festival takes place in 2016, the deadline for film submissions had already passed or was occurring well before our proposed project deadline.
One possible thing for consideration is that we may be able to submit our film to a festival in the year 2017. Of course, this means that there will be a period of time between us finishing our film and waiting for the 2017 submission dates to begin, but it also means we will have a choice of many festivals to submit to, increasing our viewership rates dramatically.
This experience has taught me that the date that a film festival submission slot begins and ends is a very important thing to consider when creating a film and having film festival as the submission format.
PreProduction Unit- Risk Assessment Forms
As Producer, it is essential that I outlined any possible risks that could hurt members of my team, the public or damage the equipment we will be using early on in the project so we can all make preparations to avoid such things from happening. Therefore, today I have taken it upon myself to complete a Risk Assessment form for the duration of this project.
I still need to have the form signed off by various authority figures, but I feel that I have outlined all the possible risk factors that could occur in the duration of our shoots. This form will be kept on file and any amendments that need to be made (such as when a new risk is found), will be added.
This is the form I completed:
I still need to have the form signed off by various authority figures, but I feel that I have outlined all the possible risk factors that could occur in the duration of our shoots. This form will be kept on file and any amendments that need to be made (such as when a new risk is found), will be added.
Friday, 6 November 2015
PreProduction Unit- Researching Production (Planning for Reshoots)
As producer it is important that I understand the way in which other producers have gone about their productions, and whether or not what they have done has been successful or not. I have been doing this by watching interviews with Producers of short film on the red carpet (as evidenced by a previous blog post) and also reading ebooks that have been published which point out the dos and don'ts of producing.
One ebook I found particularly interesting was the book called Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video by Peter Rea and David Irving. In the book, various methods to a successful production are discussed, and one excellent suggestion is to plan for reshoots, whether or not we are confident we will get the shoot right the first time.
The key point to this suggestion is to basically never be caught out. There have been many times on my own production shoots where I have assumed that the shoot will be so easy to pull of that the need for a reshoot will not necessary, and have therefore not planned a potential reshoot into the schedule.
By following the suggestion noted in this book, I can always plan for reshoots, whether or not they are required. Afterall, if a shoot goes fine and a reshoot isn't required, nobody loses out, and the reshoot day can be used for something else. But if the shoot goes horribly, and I haven't made preparations for a possible reshoot, there is a lot that can go wrong with the production that could have been avoided had I only envisioned the shoot going wrong.
One ebook I found particularly interesting was the book called Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video by Peter Rea and David Irving. In the book, various methods to a successful production are discussed, and one excellent suggestion is to plan for reshoots, whether or not we are confident we will get the shoot right the first time.
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| Page 77 of Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video. |
By following the suggestion noted in this book, I can always plan for reshoots, whether or not they are required. Afterall, if a shoot goes fine and a reshoot isn't required, nobody loses out, and the reshoot day can be used for something else. But if the shoot goes horribly, and I haven't made preparations for a possible reshoot, there is a lot that can go wrong with the production that could have been avoided had I only envisioned the shoot going wrong.
PreProduction Unit- Researching the Psychology behind Delaney and Abigail's relationship.
I have recently decided to spend some more time investigating the actual reasons that Abigail and Delaney may dislike each other. In a previous post, I explained that the reason I wanted the atmosphere to be tense between Abigail and Delaney, was because they were step-daughter and step-mother, and I really enjoyed the awkward dynamic of this relationship, as it somewhat reminds me of a classic fairytale relationship with an "evil stepmother" of course, in this situation, Delaney isn't truly evil.
I began my search once again using the internet, and quickly happened upon this article, entitled "The Real Reason Children and Adults hate their Stepmothers." I found this article very interesting, and found that it explained thoroughly the many reasons why Abigail may dislike Delaney, my favourite of which is "Loyalty Binds." The article explains;
"Many stepkids--and adult stepkids--suspect that liking stepmom would be a betrayal of mom."
This to me gives Abigail a legitimate reason for disliking her new stepmother. Afterall, Abigail's mother- (who she was particularly close to) has passed away, and therefore Abigail feels that she has an obligation to honor her mother's memory- by disobeying and disliking her new stepmother.
I have already begun to show this by having Abigail bring up her mother early in the story when she suggests that she should undergo the experimental vaccine by the research facility because her "mum would have at least wanted her to try."
I believe this further adds to Abigail's character as a "rebellious teen" and she can show her dislike of her stepmother by not doing as she is told,and maybe taking sly verbal shots at Delaney for certain things she does or enjoys. I experiment with this idea early in my script where when the discussion about the family not having enough money to pay for Abigail's private healthcare arises, Abigail suggests that "maybe she should get a job" sarcastically referencing Delaney and the fact she does not have a job.
Another aspect of that article that I feel could be related to Abigail and Delaney is the segment in which the idea of possessiveness and jealousy is discussed. This is a common trait in relationships between step-parents and step-children, and is mostly down to the ways in which step-children often grow to become familiar with having their parent all to themselves, and become agitated and hate-filled when the prospect of the parent having to be shared with someone else arises.
I feel this trait could also be used to describe the way Abigail feels about Delaney in so many words. I am not particularly sure how I will be able to to show this in the script itself, as it isn't something I feel would add to the overall plot, but it's something I definitely see the character of Abigail having as a trait whilst I develop her.
I began my search once again using the internet, and quickly happened upon this article, entitled "The Real Reason Children and Adults hate their Stepmothers." I found this article very interesting, and found that it explained thoroughly the many reasons why Abigail may dislike Delaney, my favourite of which is "Loyalty Binds." The article explains;
"Many stepkids--and adult stepkids--suspect that liking stepmom would be a betrayal of mom."
This to me gives Abigail a legitimate reason for disliking her new stepmother. Afterall, Abigail's mother- (who she was particularly close to) has passed away, and therefore Abigail feels that she has an obligation to honor her mother's memory- by disobeying and disliking her new stepmother.
I have already begun to show this by having Abigail bring up her mother early in the story when she suggests that she should undergo the experimental vaccine by the research facility because her "mum would have at least wanted her to try."
I believe this further adds to Abigail's character as a "rebellious teen" and she can show her dislike of her stepmother by not doing as she is told,and maybe taking sly verbal shots at Delaney for certain things she does or enjoys. I experiment with this idea early in my script where when the discussion about the family not having enough money to pay for Abigail's private healthcare arises, Abigail suggests that "maybe she should get a job" sarcastically referencing Delaney and the fact she does not have a job.
Another aspect of that article that I feel could be related to Abigail and Delaney is the segment in which the idea of possessiveness and jealousy is discussed. This is a common trait in relationships between step-parents and step-children, and is mostly down to the ways in which step-children often grow to become familiar with having their parent all to themselves, and become agitated and hate-filled when the prospect of the parent having to be shared with someone else arises.
I feel this trait could also be used to describe the way Abigail feels about Delaney in so many words. I am not particularly sure how I will be able to to show this in the script itself, as it isn't something I feel would add to the overall plot, but it's something I definitely see the character of Abigail having as a trait whilst I develop her.
Thursday, 5 November 2015
PreProduction Unit- BBC Film Network- What Makes a Good Short?
Whilst in the process of creating my script for Inoculum, I have decided it would b well worth my time doing some investigation into what exactly goes into making a good "short film." I have noticed that some of my investigations thus far have provided very blanketed pieces of information, that can be related to many different genres of film. I feel that it would be important for me to investigate purely what goes into making a SHORT film good from now on.
I came across this BBC website which outlines how to script a good shortfilm, and although a lot of what was present was also stuff that could be used in regular feature length films, I still feel that there were some useful tips that would help me improve my screenplay writing skills in the shortfilm genre in particular.
Information I found particularly useful was the statement: "Whilst sometimes a repetitive scene can be used for comedy/dramatic effect (Groundhog Day being a classic example of where this can work), if you are not careful it can end up being repetitive and predictable."
Something I have noticed with my own script is that I seem to be hopping from one scene location to another and back an awful lot. This to me suggests some kind of repetition, which as the above statement suggests, can be somewhat of a negative aspect in short film.
Therefore I think it is important for me to see if I can cut down the amount of times I return to a scene by perhaps merging two similar scenes into one, trying to tell the story and disclose the required information in one scene rather than two.
I hope this will decrease the amount of scene-hoping in my film and therefore make it more enjoyable.
Something else I checked out was the "three act" structure of cinema. The 3 act structure is outlined here;
And it is something I have become familiar with through my research. However, something I noticed during the production of my script for Inoculum is that I went completely against this structure with my ending.
In my ending, the most action happening right before the very end. Although my film does follow the 3 act structure in that regard, there doesn't seem to be any "falling action" in my script, as my story ends on somewhat of a cliff-hanger.
I feel that is could be a risky deviation from something that is generally the norm, but I will continue to work in this way to see if it is an effective means of storytelling.
I came across this BBC website which outlines how to script a good shortfilm, and although a lot of what was present was also stuff that could be used in regular feature length films, I still feel that there were some useful tips that would help me improve my screenplay writing skills in the shortfilm genre in particular.
Information I found particularly useful was the statement: "Whilst sometimes a repetitive scene can be used for comedy/dramatic effect (Groundhog Day being a classic example of where this can work), if you are not careful it can end up being repetitive and predictable."
Something I have noticed with my own script is that I seem to be hopping from one scene location to another and back an awful lot. This to me suggests some kind of repetition, which as the above statement suggests, can be somewhat of a negative aspect in short film.
Therefore I think it is important for me to see if I can cut down the amount of times I return to a scene by perhaps merging two similar scenes into one, trying to tell the story and disclose the required information in one scene rather than two.
I hope this will decrease the amount of scene-hoping in my film and therefore make it more enjoyable.
Something else I checked out was the "three act" structure of cinema. The 3 act structure is outlined here;
In my ending, the most action happening right before the very end. Although my film does follow the 3 act structure in that regard, there doesn't seem to be any "falling action" in my script, as my story ends on somewhat of a cliff-hanger.
I feel that is could be a risky deviation from something that is generally the norm, but I will continue to work in this way to see if it is an effective means of storytelling.
PreProduction Unit- Mote Park Test Shoot
Today we went to Mote Park so that Charlie could try out a few of his ideas for shots in the final scene of Inoculum. The results are shown here;
As a Producer, I had to opportunity to evaluate the location and think about its effectiveness as a set for our film. Unfortunately, I found that the area was quite noisy, and there were many dog walkers and their dogs running around the area.
This could have possibly been due to the time of day which we filmed (1pm).
A solution to this problem in the future will be to film at a much earlier time, which was the original intention anyway, as in the scene I have scripted, the park is virtually empty. Therefore I believe around 9am would be the best time to film, as there will be less people around, and still enough light for us to film properly.
As a Producer, I had to opportunity to evaluate the location and think about its effectiveness as a set for our film. Unfortunately, I found that the area was quite noisy, and there were many dog walkers and their dogs running around the area.
This could have possibly been due to the time of day which we filmed (1pm).
A solution to this problem in the future will be to film at a much earlier time, which was the original intention anyway, as in the scene I have scripted, the park is virtually empty. Therefore I believe around 9am would be the best time to film, as there will be less people around, and still enough light for us to film properly.
Tuesday, 3 November 2015
PreProduction Unit- Investigating Scripts 2
I have recently begun turning my pre-writing into a script ready to be handed to successful cast applicants. In order for me to get a better understanding of the layout of scripts and how much, or how little description to add to my script (A problem with writing I have outlined in the past) I have taken it upon myself to analyse some famous scripts by famous screenwriters.
I began my search for material to research with a simple google search. Since my film's genre is going to be Melodrama (a sub-genre of drama) I decided to look at the scripts of films that are considered to be the "greatest drama films of all time."
I came across the script for Citizen Kane by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles. I have always been a fan of the work of Orson Welles, particularly his "War of the World's" radio broadcast, and so I feel that this script would be most useful to me as it would not only only me to better my work, but also take inspiration in my writing from someone I really admire.
The version of the script I read can be found here: http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/citizenkane.html
As you can see, Welles spends a lot of time on his time writing descriptions in his script. Although this adds a lot of description to the overall story and really sets the scene for what the image onscreen will look like, it also gives the director a lot of information to read on the day of the shoot. This could potentially be quite time-consuming on a shoot-day and as a result I feel like something I could learn from Welles script is for me to limit my description a little.
This gives the director more room to experiment and try their own thing, which is a concern Charlie has expressed to me multiple times.
I also noticed that the Citizen Kane script also contains multiple technical instructions regarding the framing and movement of the camera. This is something I have also included in my own script, such as here;
In these two script segments, I have included camera directions, where I feel it would be appropriate. Obviously Charlie will have the final say in his interpretation of how the film will be shot, but I feel that beginning the film with the face of Doctor Hughes, and ending the film with the shot of Douglas' looking straight into the camera would be really effective.
It is for this reason that I will continue writing in the same kind of style I have become accustomed to, but I will still consider Charlie's freedom as a director, and try and write in a way that allows him to really have his own interpretation of my writing.
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Something else I have learned from this investigation, is that Screenwriters have a "different language" to directors, which is reflected in the scripts we write. I wanted to script a POV shot of someone trying to break into the Reed family home, and was unsure how to script this in a way that wouldn't be so heavy on the description of certain shots, or the way the camera moves, as it isn't my job to decide this.
I came across this website; http://gointothestory.blcklst.com/2009/11/question-how-to-handle-pov-shots.html where users discuss the ways in which they handle POV shots in their films, and they use examples from famous film scripts such as The Silence of the Lambs.
I found this to be especially useful, as I realise it is not my job to decide the particular type of camera shots that will be used in the film, but I still want to convey that the best course of action would be to use a POV shot.
The scene itself involved someone attempting to break into the Reed family home, and in my head, for this scene I wanted to show a sense of voyeurism as the person breaking in snoops around the exterior of the house, and I feel that the best way for this to be showcased is through the use of a POV shot. This is of course Charlie's decision though, but on the day I will discuss this with him.
I began my search for material to research with a simple google search. Since my film's genre is going to be Melodrama (a sub-genre of drama) I decided to look at the scripts of films that are considered to be the "greatest drama films of all time."
I came across the script for Citizen Kane by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles. I have always been a fan of the work of Orson Welles, particularly his "War of the World's" radio broadcast, and so I feel that this script would be most useful to me as it would not only only me to better my work, but also take inspiration in my writing from someone I really admire.
The version of the script I read can be found here: http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/citizenkane.html
As you can see, Welles spends a lot of time on his time writing descriptions in his script. Although this adds a lot of description to the overall story and really sets the scene for what the image onscreen will look like, it also gives the director a lot of information to read on the day of the shoot. This could potentially be quite time-consuming on a shoot-day and as a result I feel like something I could learn from Welles script is for me to limit my description a little.
This gives the director more room to experiment and try their own thing, which is a concern Charlie has expressed to me multiple times.
I also noticed that the Citizen Kane script also contains multiple technical instructions regarding the framing and movement of the camera. This is something I have also included in my own script, such as here;
It is for this reason that I will continue writing in the same kind of style I have become accustomed to, but I will still consider Charlie's freedom as a director, and try and write in a way that allows him to really have his own interpretation of my writing.
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Something else I have learned from this investigation, is that Screenwriters have a "different language" to directors, which is reflected in the scripts we write. I wanted to script a POV shot of someone trying to break into the Reed family home, and was unsure how to script this in a way that wouldn't be so heavy on the description of certain shots, or the way the camera moves, as it isn't my job to decide this.
I came across this website; http://gointothestory.blcklst.com/2009/11/question-how-to-handle-pov-shots.html where users discuss the ways in which they handle POV shots in their films, and they use examples from famous film scripts such as The Silence of the Lambs.
I found this to be especially useful, as I realise it is not my job to decide the particular type of camera shots that will be used in the film, but I still want to convey that the best course of action would be to use a POV shot.
The scene itself involved someone attempting to break into the Reed family home, and in my head, for this scene I wanted to show a sense of voyeurism as the person breaking in snoops around the exterior of the house, and I feel that the best way for this to be showcased is through the use of a POV shot. This is of course Charlie's decision though, but on the day I will discuss this with him.
Pre-Production Unit- Casting and Difficulties
Recently we have decided to begin confirming our cast of characters for Inoculum. We have received a number of applicants from our StarNow advertisement and have begun realistically considering which actors would be most suitable for each role, and which we could realistically bring in for production. Things that are important for us to consider when doing this is the amount of experience each actor has, the way in which the characters look and their acting styles and how far away each actor resides so that we could realistically bring them to our film locations affordably.
As mentioned in a previous blog post, we have offered in our advertisement to pay for the travel expenses of each actor, as we cannot offer them a full wage. This will take up an amount of our budget for this film (which we have yet to fully organise) and as such the cost of bringing each actor in for each shoot will probably be a deciding factor when it comes to choosing which would be best for us.
As you can see from this list of applicants on the Starnow advertisement, we have at least 2 applicants for each role, but unfortunately, there have been no applications for Delaney at the moment. My job at this point will be to carry on posting the project idea to various websites so that we have more of a chance of recruiting an actress to play Delaney.
It is also essential that I carefully consider the pros and cons of the current applicants so that I can add to our shortlist and arrange for a meeting with these actors and actresses before the submission date of our Preproduction package.
As mentioned in a previous blog post, we have offered in our advertisement to pay for the travel expenses of each actor, as we cannot offer them a full wage. This will take up an amount of our budget for this film (which we have yet to fully organise) and as such the cost of bringing each actor in for each shoot will probably be a deciding factor when it comes to choosing which would be best for us.
As you can see from this list of applicants on the Starnow advertisement, we have at least 2 applicants for each role, but unfortunately, there have been no applications for Delaney at the moment. My job at this point will be to carry on posting the project idea to various websites so that we have more of a chance of recruiting an actress to play Delaney.
It is also essential that I carefully consider the pros and cons of the current applicants so that I can add to our shortlist and arrange for a meeting with these actors and actresses before the submission date of our Preproduction package.
Monday, 2 November 2015
PreProduction Unit- Calling Applicants for Auditions!
In our calendar organizer, we have set aside a few days in the coming week to call some actors and actresses into Maidstone Television Studios so we can see if they are suitable for the roles they have applied for. Originally, we had quite a few applications for auditions that we didn't think were suitable, either because they simply didn't look the part to us, or they lived too far away for us to realistically call them in to film at short notice.
However, since then, it has been suggested that we call in as many applicants as possible. Many casters in the past have called in applicants that they originally believed would be perfect for the role they applied for, but turned out to be terrible.
In contrast, casters have also called in applicants believing that they would not be suitable, but have found that they have been perfect for another role. With this in mind, Charlie and I have decided that it would be a valuable experience for us to set aside a few days for auditions so that we can get a good amount of people to choose from, and increase the possibility of us finding applicants that are perfect for the roles.
Listed below are the roles that we have received application for at the moment. We do expect to receive more eventually.
The first role we received applications for was for the role of Doctor Hughes.
KEVIN STONES (61) From Kent
The first applicant was Kevin Stones. An ex-detective, Kevin has been involved in many television programs in the past as a contributor, and has recently had a speaking role in a film called "Guru Guru", which was filmed in India.
He has also taken part in the production of several pantomimes. Although this style of acting isn't what we are wanting for our dramatic film, I still feel we should call him in for an audition to see what he can bring to the table.
Kevin's association with television and being on television indicates that he would be more than comfortable in front of a camera, and the fact he is local to Kent means that we would be able to bring him in for filming at a low cost, and hopefully at relatively short
Chris is another applicant with extensive experience in both television and film. Whilst browsing his Starnow profile after reading his application, I found that he has mostly been used to working as an extra, with few speaking roles, but the films he has been involved with for extra work are extremely high production, films, such as the new Star Wars film which has yet to be released where he takes on the role of a Storm Trooper and Communications General.
It is also worth noting that Chris has a number of recommendations on his Starnow profile page, and a large amount of comments praising his work and calling him a professional.
I believe he would be excellent in the role of Doctor Hughes.
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We have also received a number of applications for the role of Abigail Reed, which are listed below.
NADIA FORD (18) From Kent
Nadia is 18 years old and lives in Kent. From her profile, I can see that she looks particularly young, which is something we were definitely looking for in someone to play the role of Abigail.
The only foreseeable problem I with us selecting Nadia for this role is that she is originally from Australia, and therefore may have a noticeable accent. Since the film is set in Kent, it will be important for her accent to match that of her "parents". However, we will not know if this is a problem or not until we audition her.
HANNAH WEBB (20) From Kent
Hannah is one of the last applicants to apply for the position of Abigail, but messaged me immediately after I asked if she would be available for an audition. From her messages, I gather that she is very keen to get started on this project, and even asked me if there was anything she could do beforehand to prepare for her audition.
These are all good signs that she is motivated and would be a very suitable placement for her role. She also looks younger than her listed age, which is what we were going for with Abigail who is supposed to be a teenager.
She has previous experience in unpaid roles, and has several recommendations from other Starnow users for hr acting and modelling work.
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We also received applications for the role of Delaney, however, these were received through the website; castingcallingpro, not starnow.
Amy is an experienced actor with several years experience in acting, having attended. I watched her show reel on Castingcall pro, and was very impressed with her acting ability, and she certainly looks as if she could pull off the character I have developed for Delaney.
The only two problems I envision with having Amy play the role of Delaney, is the location where she is based, and the fact she is only 28. Having watched her showreel, I have seen that Amy looks relatively young, which although adds a sense of her not being Abigail's real mother, could take away from the idea of her being Douglas' partner if we are to cast an older person for his role.
Jordan is someone who looks closer to the image of Delaney I had in my head when I thought of the character. Much like Amy, I see that her location could prove to a hindrance if we are to invite her in for shoots at short notice, and could prove to be quite expensive for us (as we have listed on the advertisement that we will pay for travel expenses and provide a lunch.)
I still feel it would be interesting to audition Jordan and see what she can provide in terms of character.
Thea is another actress with a wealth of experience. From her castingcallpro profile, I noticed that she is listed as being able to pull off many different accents, and has experience in a variety of different media, including radio and theatre. Thea has been acting since 1990, and although I feel that she would do an excellent job as Delaney, she once again suffers from the location problem that Amy and Jordan have.
Hiring Thea could prove to be expensive for us, as Delaney is a pivotal character in our film, and thus appears quite a bit, meaning we would have to call her in for multiple shoots.
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Below are the applications we have received for the role of Douglas Reed. These were collected from multiple website cast postings.
Steven Mortimer has been involved in a lot of theatre productions, and has also appeared in several music videos in his career. He has also done voiceover work. He has also been involved in a lot of student productions in the past which I believe would be beneficial for us, as he would have experience working with people of our calibre.
Much like Steven Mortimer, Darren Hammock has experience working in theatre productions, but from looking at his castingcallpro profile, I saw that he has also had some experience working on television programs with the BBC and ITV. Another attractive aspect about Darren is that he is local to the Kent area, which means we would be able to reduce the costs of bringing actors to our shoots by choosing him over actors from London and locations further out.
Michael is one of our applicants that I feel has the most diverse range in his acting experiences. He has provided work in voiceover, as well as performed as part of theatre, appeared in television series and has also previously appeared in short films.
One possible downside is the fact that Michael is from London. A character such as Douglas is one that we will require multiple shoots with, and as such we may not be financially able to keep bringing Michael in for shoots- depending on how much travel expenses ar for him.
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