Filming in the New Year

Once we have started college again, I am going to be booking a camera out so that I can do some filming as soon as the exams are over, that way filming will not get in the way of the actors in my films schedules and their revision. In  the mean time, I will be editing what I have of my film, adding any possible effects which will make it look better, and adding music to the scenes which have music in them.

Filming: 17th December 2012

On Monday 17th December 2012, I did some more filming.  I filmed the last 6/7 shots of the film, so there are about 9 shots left to film after christmas. The filming went quite well. Although I had to film the shot quite a few times to get it right, it gave me a chance to change the camera angles, as I found that some of the angles I had chosen wouldn't work, or they didn't allow the characters to fit into the shot.
Overall, the filming went well, and I think it should look better after all the aditing has been done.
The script has been kept fairly similar, though there has been some small changes which had to be made as the script seemed more comical at some points, when it should have been a bit more serious.
After I had made these changes, I re-shot them, and it was easy to see how much better the changed script made one single shot.

Mise-en-scene/props within the film

I have used a variety of props in my film which relate to the storyline. Here are some examples:

Blue and white Silvercross pram: IMAGE

This has been used for scenes where Naomi is taking her baby, Bethany out for a day. I already had this, so I didn't have to borrow it from anyone or buy it. I chose to use this because I think that it shows how much Naomi has grown as a person-the fact that she has bought an elegant, luxurius pram, rather than a cheap one. This shows that she has thought about what is best for her child, instead of just picking any.

Fake Baby:

Obviously this was used so that it looked as though Naomi was holding a real baby. The baby does have breathing sound effects, which I used so that it sounded as though the baby was breathing, again, making it seem as though it is realistic.  I thought that I could use a fake baby, instead of having Naomi hold something like a pillow, as the shape of a pillow wouldn't look at all like a baby, and besisdes, it is much more easier for Jaz to act with a fake baby than it would have been with anything else.

Bottle:

This was used as a minimal prop, just to show that Naomi is looking after her baby properly, and to show that she is taking full responsibility of her.


Dolls clothing:

The clothing for the doll is used earlier in the film and later on in the film. Earlier in the film, it is used to show what Naomi has bought her baby, and later on the baby is seen wearing it. Obviously, the baby had to wear clothing, and the patterns on the clothing shows that the baby is a girl.

Blanket:

The blanket was used as one of the items which Naomi shows Chloe that she has got for her baby. I thought that it would be an appropriate item to use as it would show how protective she is of her baby, before the baby was even born.

Teddy bear:


The teddy bear was another item which Naomi has bought for her baby. It is appropriate and realistic as many people often buy things such as teddy bears for their babies before they are even born.

Alcohol bottles: IMAGE

These were used in the first few shots, which are flashbacks showifn what Naomi was like before she became pregnant. They show that they used to drink alot, and that she wasn't as sensible as she is becomes pregnant. I used a variety of alcoholic bottles, because it didn't look right having just a couple of bottles-I felt that it didn't show how reckless and careless Naomi was before having her baby.

Filming today

Today I am going to be filming some more shots from my film 'Naomi's Choice'. I will get through quite a lot, however there are some scenes that need to be done outside which I can't film until after christmas  because I need the daylight, so I will film these straight after the christmas holidays, so that I can edit them straight away and add them to my film.

Script and Screenplay

SHOT 1:

Location: Kitchen
Medium shot
Naomi is with her friends, Chloe and Ryan sat at the kitchen table, playing cards.



Chloe: ‘Your go’
Naomi: ‘Okay’

Shot 2:Location: Kitchen
MEDIUM SHOT
Naomi, Ryan and Chloe continue playing cards.

Naomi (to Ryan): ‘What are you doing' (laughs)
Ryan (to Naomi): 'Reading this'

Shot 3:Location: Kitchen
MEDIUM SHOT
Ryan and Naomi encourage Naomi to down her drink.

 

Chloe: ‘ Drink, drink drink!’
Ryan: 'Down it!'
Chloe: 'Go on, drink it!'

Shot 4:Location: Bathroom
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
Naomi is sat on the toilet, looking sad.

 

No dialogue

Shot 5:Location: Bathroom
Zoom in
The camera zooms in on Naomi sat on the toilet.

 

No dialogue (faint sobbing)

Shot 6:Location: Bathroom
CLOSE UP
Zoom in to the bin, where part of the preganancy test can be seen.





Shot 7:Location: Outside at college
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
Naomi's walking into college when her friends nOtice and start been mean to her.



Old friends: ‘Ew, wouldn’t dare’ ( laughing)
Ryan (shouting): 'Getting yourself pregnant, you should be ashamed of yourself.'

Shot 8:
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
Naomi and Chloe are sorting through the things she has bought for her baby.



Naomi: ‘So I picked some creams up, and this blanket’
Chloe: ‘A few months ago you’d be showing me alcohol you’d bought!’
Naomi: ‘Haha, I know-well, have to be ‘mature now’

Shot 9:Location: bedroom
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
The camera zooms in to a dress that Naomi is holding up-showing the audience that she is having a baby girl.



 

Naomi: ‘And look, I bought her a dress!’
Chloe: ‘Aaw, that’s nice’




Shot 10:Location: Field
ESATBLISHING SHOT
The camera pans accross the field. Naomi can be seen sat there in the distance.
CLOSE UP




 


Shot 11:Location: Field
CLOSE UP
The camera slowly zooms into Naomi sat in the field, talking to the 'bump'.





Shot 12:Location: Field
CLOSE UP
Naomi is talking to the 'bump'.

 

Naomi: ‘Everything will be okay when you’re here-I love you already’


Shot 13:Location: Driveway
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
Chloe is walking to Naomi's house.




Shot 14:Location: Driveway
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
Naomi answers the door, and begins stepping out of the house.

 



Shot 15:Location: Driveway
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
They greet each other. Whilst Naomi steps out of the door. She is cut off when her waters break.



Chloe: ‘Hey’

 


Shot 16:Location:Driveway
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
Naomi begins answering Chloe back when She is cut off when her waters break.

Chloe: ‘You okay?’

Naomi: ‘Yeah, fine thanks, y-‘ (her waters break)



Shot 17:Location: Driveway
CLOSE UP-OVERHEAD SHOT
Naomi is stood in shock as her water's have just broke.

Naomi: ‘Oh my god-It’s happening Chlo!’

Shot 17:Location: Street
LONG SHOT
Naomi is walking back home after been out with Bethany.


Naomi: ‘Let’s get you inside where it’s warm’

Shot 18:Location: Drieveway/street
MEDIUM SHOT
She see's an 'old friend' and rushes in.




Ryan: ‘YOU'RE DISGUSTING!'


Shot 19 location: Hallway
MEDIUM SHOT, LOW ANGLE
Naomi begins to cry as she is sick of been judged by people.

 


Naomi: 'I'm so sick of being judged' (begins to cry)
Shot 20:Location: Bedroom
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
Naomi is holding Bethany whilst she is laid on her bed.

 

Naomi: ‘Boo!’

Shot 21:Location:Bedroom
MEDIUM SHOT
Chloe gets off the bed.

 

No dialogue




Shot 22:Location: Bedroom
MEDIUM SHOT
Chloe picks her things up.

Chloe: ‘Right, I best be going-see you tomorrow’
Naomi: ‘Okay, c’yah later’

Shot 23:Location: Bedroom
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
Chloe says bye



Chloe: ‘Bye’



Shot 24:Location: Bedroom
MEDIUM-CLOSE UP
Naomi sits up.



No dialogue



 

Shot 25 Location: Bedroom
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
Naomi looks at Bethany.

 

 

Shot 26:Location: Bedroom
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
Naomi begins rocking Bethany, talking to her.


Naomi: ‘You’re my life now Bethany-I’ll always be there for you’

Shot 27:
Location:Bedroom
MEDIUM SHOT
Camera zooms out showing Naomi holding Bethany.


Shot 28:
Location: Bedroom
MEDIUM SHOT
Naomi is holding Bethany

Shot 29:CAMERA FADES TO BLACK

Camera

I'm hoping to book a camera out for sunday if I can get one. If there are none available for this date, then I hope to get one for Monday, and I should get quite a lot of my filming done on this day.

Cast

There are three main characters in my film 'Naomi's Choice'; Naomi, Chloe and Ryan. I had to choose people who not only fitted the role, but also who wanted to help me and people who were commited to being a part of this.
I considered many of my friends for the main role, however, I finally chose Jasmin as she was keen to be a part of my film, and also due to the fact that she fitted the role. Some of the other people that I had considered for the main role weren't keen on the idea of not wearing much make-up for the filming, however, Jasmin was fine witht the idea and so I chose to use Jasmin for the main role.

For the character Chloe, I had considered a few people, however, my friend Amy had offered from the beginning that she would be a part of my film, and I decided to go with her because some of my other friends wouldn't get back to me on whether they were able to film. This is similar with the character Ryan, as I knew I could rely on Zach to take part in this and I knew that he would be commited to helping me out.

(IMAGES)

Costume

Throughout my imagined film 'Naomi's Choice', the characters wear simple, everyday clothing. I chose my characters to have simple clothing as I wanted it to seem as realistic as possible; and having fancier clothing may have caused distraction. There's also the issue of whether the costumes would have worked in the scene, and I have looked at various costume ideas and checked if they would work in the scene.
In the first few shots, Naomi is wearing a grey hoodie-I chose the grey hoodie as it showed that she is most comfortable around her friends. I think it is also realistic as the majority of teenagers go home and chnaged into more comfortable clothing when they have come in from college, even if their best friends are coming around.

 

 

For the section of the film where Naomi's waters break, both Chloe and Naomi are wearing coats. This is to show that it is cold outside, but also to show that they are on their way out when the 'disturbance' occurs.  I chose to do this scene outside, so that they could wear coats as it shows that it isn't Naomi's due date, and as they are heading out, they are not entirely prepared for what has happened.

(IMAGES)

I chose simple clothing for the character, Ryan. He wears black jeans and various t-shirts in the scenes that he is again, again due to the fact that I felt the characters didn't need to be too overly dressed, and also because this is the average clothing that many teenagers are seen in.

Filming

I am planning on doing some more filming later on in the week, perhaps wednesday, and hopefully on Sunday. In this time I should finish my filming. I am also starting to edit my film throughout the week using my study periods.
Study periods:
Monday period 3
Tuesday period 4
Wednesday period 1
Thursday Period 4
Friday period 5

These study periods will be a good time to do the editing, and I should easily get my film editied before christmas. I have 11 study periods, which gives me over 11 hours of frees so I have lots of time to edit my film.
I am aiming to have my film edited by the 20th December, and this deadline should be quite easy to meet with the timing.
Some of the filming may not get completed until very near to the deadline, this is due to the weather, and on modes of transport being available for the actors-for example, I may have to do filming on 19th December and then edit what I have done in that time on the 20th. Although this will be quite last minute, it is the only choice that I have as there are certain circumstances which may delay me which cannot be changed. However, a benefit of having to have my first edit by christmas is that when I come back after the holidays, I will have time to re-shoot anything which may need doing again, and I can edit my film after seeing what it looks like up to that stage.

Problems

I have had a variety of problems which have pushed back my filming schedule. These things include finding days to film which are suitable for the actors; the weather-which has been too bad lately to do any of the outdoor scenes; Illness-I have recenently been ill for almost two weeks, which has delayed me as I was physically unable to do filming ( the time was used to finalize the script, change my animatic, make changes to my storyboard etc ); and also the cameras all being booked-which means that I've had to schedule for another day.
However, I am filming for a couple of hours tomorrow, hopefully for a couple on thursday and all day sunday. The reason for only been able to do a couple of hours is due to how dark it is getting and how early this is happening. The darkness affects the lighting and also means that I can't do my outdoor scenes in the dark, as the camera may not pick this up.

Flashbacks in films and TV shows

I watched the beginning of 'A Brief Encounter' which includes a flashback. There is a dissolve/fade in to the flashback and the story is told by Laura ( it's supposed to all be her thoughts), and it has been cleverly done. The audience can see that what is been shown to them is what she is thinking about, and the actions match exactly what Laura is saying.
The full story comes from the flashback, which gives the audience a lot of history on the characters, and is the main part of the story ( at the present time, she is resting and thinking about everything).

I have also watched the beginning of Sex and The City: The Movie, which includes flashbacks of when all four main characters met. As the main character, Carrie tells the story of how each of the characters met one another, the audience are taken back to those times. The audience know it's a flash back due to the voice over, but also due to the change in costumes. The flashback goes back to the 80's, therefore the costumes are completely differant to the ones used in the present time.

 PAST

 

 PRESENT

I have used both of these films to help me with my flashback scenes in my film 'Naomi's Choice'. I have chosen that I will put a glow on to the flashback scenes when it comes to editing my film, as this will emphasize that those sections are from the past.




In the popular TV show 'How I Met Your Mother', there many flashback scenes. In fact the whole show is a combination of many flashbacks, as the narrator is telling his story about when he was in New York, from te year 2030.

CLIP

Script

‘Naomi’s Choice’ script

Shot 1- Naomi, Chloe and Ryan are sat around the table playing cards, and drinking. Chloe has just taken her turn.

Chloe: ‘Your go’
Naomi: ‘Okay’
   

Shot 2-All three of them are in the living room, drinking, watching tv and talking

Naomi (to Ryan): ‘What are you doing' (laughs)
Ryan (to Naomi): 'Reading this'

Shot 3- Naomi is been encouraged to drink shots.

Chloe: ‘ Drink, drink drink!’
Ryan: 'Down it!'
Chloe: 'Go on, drink it!'

Shot 4-No dialogue

Shot 5- No dialogue (faint sobbing)

Shot 6- Her 'friends' give Naomi mucky looks as she walks by.

Old friends: ‘Ew, wouldn’t dare’ ( laughing)
Ryan (shouting): 'Getting yourself pregnant, you should be ashamed of yourself.'

Shot 7- Naomi is showing Chloe some of the things that she has bought the baby.

Naomi: ‘So I picked some creams up, and this blanket’
Chloe: ‘A few months ago you’d be showing me alcohol you’d bought!’
Naomi: ‘Haha, I know-well, have to be ‘mature now’ ‘

Shot 8-

Naomi: ‘And look, I bought her a dress!’
Chloe: ‘Aaw, that’s nice’

Shot 9- No dialogue

Shot 10-

Naomi: ‘Everything will be okay when you’re here-I love you already’

Shot 11- No dialogue

Shot 12-

Chloe: ‘Hey’

Shot 13- Chloe has gone to Naomi's house as they are about to go out.

Chloe: ‘You okay?’

Naomi: ‘Yeah, fine thanks, y-‘ (her waters break)

Shot 14-

Naomi: ‘Oh my god-It’s happening Chlo!’

Shot 15-No dialogue

Shot 16-

Naomi: ‘Let’s get you inside where it’s warm’

Shot 17- Naomi's old friend Ryan sees her and shouts to her, trying to get her attention.

Old friend: ‘YOU'RE DISGUSTING!'

Shot 18-
Naomi: 'I'm so sick of being judged' (begins to cry)

Shot 18-Naomi is playing with Bethany on the bed.

Naomi: ‘Boo!’

Shot 19: No dialogue

Shot 20- Amy is leaving.

Chloe: ‘Right, I best be going-see you tomorrow’
Naomi: ‘Okay, c’yah later’

 

Shot 21- No dialogue

Shot 22-

Naomi: ‘You’re my life now Bethany-I’ll always be there for you’

Shot 23-No dialogue

Shot 24-No dialogue

Animatic

Here is my animatic for my imagined film 'Naomi's Choice'. I made this using Windows Movie maker, and included the music I am planning to use throughout my film.

Synopsis

Naomi is a seventeen year old girl, living the highlife-Free as she can be. She has the whole world to herself, and she's very popular at her school. She's known as the girl who parties hard, smokes like a chimney, and has a 'whatever' attitude. But all of this changes when she finds herself in a situation-a situation which leads to much contemplation, and a dramatic change to her life style. At first, finding out she's pregnant shocks her, but then, she decides she's going to keep the baby-something only she seems to want. After everybody finds out about this, they want nothign to do with her, except her best friend, Chloe. Chloe stands by her thorughout the pregnancy. Naomi takes on the challenege of being a mother, and dramatically changes her life around-maturing and growing up through the process.

Shooting schedule for next week

28/29th November filming

I will be filming the first 4 shots of my film 'Naomi's Choice' next week. These include only two people, and all filming will take place at my house. There will be two different rooms used in my house: The living room and the kitchen.
These shots will be simple to do and should only need to be done a couple of times each, to make sure that they are good enough.

Props needed:
Glasses x2
cups
Cards
Money
Sweets
Alcohol bottles

Filming

After I have put my animatic up, I plan to book the camera's out for next week. I am aiming to film the first 5 shots next week, as they will be easy to start off with. For shot 6, I need to film at Wyke, and I am planning to do this one lunch-time the following week.

Filming sections of my film 'Naomi's Choice'

For the scene involving Naomi walking around the college with her friends all turning against her; I am going to be filming at Wyke College. I am going to be filming during 5th period on a wednesday so that all of my friends who have agreed to do this will be able to still take part in this. I'm waiting on a few people to tell me if they can do it, but other than that this scene should be simple to film.

People who have agreed:
Jasmin Harboard
Amy Laverick
Zach Glasby
Alix Robinson

Screenplay

SHOT 1:
Location: Kitchen
Medium shot
Naomi is with her friends, Chloe and Ryan sat at the kitchen table, playing cards.

Shot 2:Location: Kitchen
MEDIUM SHOT
Naomi, Ryan and Chloe continue playing cards.

Shot 3:Location: Kitchen
MEDIUM SHOT
Ryand and Naomi encourage Naomi to down her drink.

Shot 4:Location: Bathroom
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
Naomi is sat on the toilet, looking sad.

Shot 5:Location: Bathroom
Zoom in
The camera zooms in on Naomi sat on the toilet.

Shot 6:Location: Bathroom
CLOSE UP
Zoom in to the bin, where part of the preganancy test can be seen.



Shot 7:Location: Outside at college
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
Naomi's walking into college when her friends nOtice and start been mean to her.


Shot 8:
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
Naomi and Chloe are sorting through the things she has bought for her baby.


Shot 9:Location: bedroom
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
The camera zooms in to a dress that Naomi is holding up-showing the audience that she is having a baby girl.
The camera pans accross the field. Naomi can be seen sat there in the distance.

Shot 10:Location: Field
ESATBLISHING SHOT
The camera pans accross the field. Naomi can be seen sat there in the distance.
CLOSE UP
The camera slowly sooms into Naomi sat in the field, talking to the 'bump'.

Shot 11:Location: Field
CLOSE UP
The camera slowly sooms into Naomi sat in the field. talking to the 'bump'.


Shot 12:Location: Field
CLOSE UP
 Naomi is talking to the 'bump'.

Shot 13:Location: Driveway
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
Chloe is walking to Naomi's house.

Shot 14:Location: Driveway
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
Naomi answers the door, and begins stepping out of the house.

Shot 15:Location: Driveway
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
They greet each other. whilst Naomi steps out of the door. She is cut off when her waters break.

Shot 16:Location:Driveway
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
Naomi begins answering Chloe back when She is cut off when her waters break.



Shot 17:Location: Driveway
CLOSE UP-OVERHEAD SHOT
Naomi is stood in shock as her water's have just broke.



Shot 17:Location: Street
LONG SHOT
Naomi is walking back home after been out with Bethany.


MEDIUM SHOT
She see's an 'old friend' and rushes in.


Shot 18:Location: Drieveway/street
MEDIUM SHOT
She see's an 'old friend' and rushes in.

Shot 19 location: Hallway
MEDIUM SHOT, LOW ANGLE
Naomi begins to cry as she is sick of been judged by people.

Shot 20:Location: Bedroom
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
Naomi is holding Bethany whilst she is laid on her bed.
Shot 21:Location:Bedroom
MEDIUM SHOT
Chloe gets off the bed.

MEDIUM SHOT
Amy is leaving.


Shot 22:Location: Bedroom
MEDIUM SHOT
Chloe picks her things up.



Shot 23:Location: Bedroom
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
Chloe says bye


:CLOSE UP
Naomi talks to Bethany.

Shot 24:Location: Bedroom
MEDIUM-CLOSE UP
Naomi sits up.


MEDIUM SHOT
Camera zooms out showing Naomi holding Bethany.

Shot 25 Location:Bedroom
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
Naomi looks as Bethany.

Shot 26:Location: Bedroom
MEDIUM CLOSE UP
Naomi begins rocking Bethany.



Shot 27:
Location:Bedroom
MEDIUM SHOT
Camera zooms out showing Naomi holding Bethany.


Shot 28:
Location: Bedroom
MEDIUM SHOT
Naomi is holding Bethany

Shot 29:CAMERA FADES TO BLACK

Storyboard

Bloopers

Evaluation

As part of our preperation for our creative piece of coursework, we had to work in groups to recreate a scene from The Maltese Falcon. Our main aim as a group was to use the techniques we have learned about whilst making our film, including things such as lighting, Mise-en-scene, performance and cinematopgraphy.
We worked together as a group, which had benefits, but also showed that working in a group is quite difficult also. All four of us took part in the acting and performance part, aiding and helping each other as we progressed. Stevi and myself focused on the camera work and filming, which worked well because there were two other people who were performing whilst we took turns in using the camera. Using the camera was extremely helpful, as it gave me an insight as to what they are like, and has shown me that they are not as difficult to use as I had originally thought they would be.
Before our shooting of the film began, we went through the post-production process, which involved much planning and co-orperation from the full group. Stevi made some story boards, which came in very useful as we were able to look at them, and understand which scene to film and how the camera needed to be angled.  We also chose which locations we were going to use, although when it came to actually filming, the locations were one of our main issues.
After we had planned everything, we began the prodution process. This involved us bringing in costumes, which made the film look much more realistic as the actors created the image of the character in the film. We had some trouble sorting the lighting out whilst we were filming, mainly due to the fact that we had to keep changing our location as rooms were being used. The problem here was that some rooms had sunglight coming from one side, and other rooms had the sun completely blocked out, which meant that we had to keep opening and closing blinds, and dimming the lights at certain parts, which unfortunately can be seen when the film is viewed.
Because we had such a short time period for making the film, we felt as a group that we were pushed to try and get it all completed, and that it wasn't going as well as we thought it would have. Another problem which we had was finding props which matched or were as close match of the props used in the actual film. We eneded up using extra time during our lunch period in order to get more filming done.
Some members of the group also had problems with learning the script in such a short space of time, which lead to many mistakes in the longer pieces of speech throughout the sequence. Our solution to this problem was to have someone hold the script up when the front of their body was not in shot, so that the person who was speaking could glance at it briefly. This seemed to help quite a bit, and helped the process move quicker.

Overall, I think that our remake of The Maltese Falcon went quite well, in terms of working together as a group on something which was quite difficult. However, a downside to our remake is that it was shorter in length than it should have been, and some parts of the sequence were missing. This is something which I will need to work on when it comes to making my own film.
What I have learnt from this task is that the pre-production stage is both helpful and extremely vital. Much planning is needed for a project like this, in order to give yourself time to complete the project.  I have also learned that costume is important, as it helps the audience to define which character is which and can also help to tell the audience a characters story. I have also realised how important lighting is, and that hard work is need to get it right.
If I was to remake the film again, I would definitely make sure that I worked on the lighting more efficiently, and kept double checking that rooms are available. I would also work more outside of lesson time, and make sure that all of the group were there everyday so that we could do something everyday.

Finished re-make of film

Maltese Falcon remake

Cast:
Yasmin Burhan- (cast and editing)
Lucy Cullingworth (cast and editing)
Stevie-Lee Ingham ( cast and camerawork)
Chantelle Norman-Golding ( cast and camera work)

Locations:
Oak 35
Oak 36
Media/film Office

Props:
Cigarettes
Desks
chairs

Clothing:
Suit jacket
coat ( with fur)

Making our group film

Filming Schedule:
Monday 8th October - 5th Period (beginning scenes)
Tuesday 9th October - Lunch time  (main scenes with Miss Wonderly and Spade)
Wednesday 10th October - 3rd Period   (continued from the day before) 
Thursday 11th October - 1st Period (final scenes)
Friday 12th October - 3rd Period  (final scenes


Editing:
Monday 15th October-Editing ( Lucy and Yasmin)

Locations for my short film

For my short film, I will be shooting in various locations, which will help to tell the story and form the narrative. The locatons I have chosen are relevant as they relate to certain aspects of the protagonists life, and will also enable the spectator to understand how things have dramatically changed due to the events and circumstances which have taken place.
The locations which will be used at the beginning of the film will help to show the audience what the protagonists life was like before she became pregnant, and this will further emphasise how she has 'grown-up' in a sense and is no longer seen as a troublesome teenager, but is viewed as a young adult, who has matured.

Locations:

• A field- (Wyke's field)
• A bathroom
• A bedroom
• Street/Drive way
• Possibly some areas of college

                 

• The field which will be used in the film will be used to show the protagonist before the dramatic changes take place. This is where she will be seen with her friends drinking, and partying, which is how she would usually spend her nights. Because the field is a wide, open space, it connotes freedom, which is why I have chosen to shoot some of the film here, because before the protagonist became pregnant, she used to do her own thing; she essentially had the freedom to do what she liked, but now that she has a baby, she is tied between doing things for her baby, looking after it, and she no longer has the freedom to go drinking on a field with her friends.
• The bathroom will be used for a short period of time, as the place which will 'reveal' her secret in one of the flashbacks. Whilst in the bathroom, Naomi will find out that she is pregnant, and I decided that this would be the best place to shoot this scene, as it is realistic and believable, therefore the audience will engage with the character and the narrative more.
• The bedroom will be the main location in the film, as it is where most of the action takes place.  The protagonist spends a lot of time with the baby in the bedroom, which is another way of showing that she has matured. The bedroom is also a smaller location compared to the film, whcih will create the image that the character is somewhat 'trapped' in this place; the environment which is safe for her baby, and is somewhere where she is no longer free to do what she wants to do because she has to do everything for her child. I think that the bedroom will enable the audience to understand the situation which Naomi finds herself in, by the use of this location, and the props which will be used within this location (such as teddy bears, toys etc-all items aimed at babies) due to the fact that it is completely different to the field which she will have been seen on in an earlier flashback; not only in the sense of her loss of freedom, but in her maturing over time, deciding to stay in and be with her child all of the time, confined in a smaller space, just to be close to the most precious things in her life.
• The street will be used in scenes where the protagonist is walking with the baby, pushing the pram along. This will show that when she isn't inside, looking fater her baby; she is taking her baby with her to places, doing sensible things, therefore accepting the challenge of looking after a baby.
• The driveway will only be used for a very short period of time, and this will be when the protagonist is going back home after going out for the day with her baby.
• I may be using some outside areas of wyke in a scene after the protagonist has found out that she is pregnant, and she is very quiet and seems quite shy when she is college, leading one of her bestfriends to become quite suspicious. I think that this will be more realistic, as it allows to audience to see how she has been affected and how she is trying to cope with it in her everyday life (College being the place where she is seen by most people).

Juno

Juno (2007) US
Director: Jason Reitman

Juno is a film about a young girl, who finds herself pregnant after her best friend Bleeker and her have sex in a chair. Juno is only sixteen when this happens, and decides that she doesn't want to have the baby at all. Whilst she is in an abortion clinic, Juno decides that she doesn't want to abort the baby, instead she would rather go ahead with the pregnancy, have the baby and then give it up for adoption. She carries on going to school to carry her education on, and tells her father and step-mother that she wants to give the baby up for adoption. Juno chooses a couple who are looking to adopt a baby-Mark and Vanessa. Everything seems to be going well, and all according to plan, however, one day, Mark tells Vanessa that he's not ready to be a father and leaves her. After everything that has happened, Vanessa thinks that Juno won't allow the adoption to go forward, however, Juno leaves her a note saying 'If you're still in, I'm still in'.
Juno later goes in to labour, giving birth to a boy, whom Vanessa takes home with her. Juno realises that she loves Beeker, and they end up together.


I chose to use Juno as an example of what my film will be about, due to the fact that the main theme of the film, is the same as my short film. Teenage pregnancy is clearly the main theme throughout the film, and the audience see the main character cope with the changes this has made to their lives.
I am using similar themes and ideas for my film, however, I am altering them slightly through the use of mise-en-scene and cinematography. Juno doesn't use flashbacks, however, I am going to use them in my film, as my way of showing the audience how the main characters life has changed since she became pregnant.

 

Throughout the film, Juno is seen wearing typical clothing that a teenage girl wears in order to make the story more realistic. Juno is often seen wearing simple clothing like jeans, or hoodies and jackets, nothing too fancy or unbelievable. This helps to show that she is just a typical teenager, no different to everybody else. The fact that her clothing stays the same, shows that she isn't a girl who tries to fit in, and that she accepts that having a baby will make her fit in less thanh she already does.

A lot of low angled shots have been used, especially when they are focused on things such as Juno holding the pregnancy test, or when Juno holds her baby. These low angled shots show what is the most important thing going on at that time. For example, the low angled shot of Juno holding the pregnancy test in her hand is effective as the audience know that this is a really big moment in her life and that she has to make a life changing decision. This connects the character to the audience.

Evidence of genre conventions in Ferris Bueller's Day Off

In Ferris Bueller's Day Off there are a number of the drama genre conventions within the film. There is a wide use of the codes within the film. One of the main things is the use of a teenager growing up, as seen within the theme of 'Coming-of-Age'. There is also the use of regular, normal locations, such as the scene where the main three characters are in a museum:

Some Drama films with this ongoing theme within them use voice overs, or have scenes were the main character talks directly to the audience, facing the camera. This is another way of helping the audience relate to the character, and is often used by Directors in order to make the audience engage with the character and accpet them for who they are, when other characters may not. It's a very effective technique, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off also includes these. Ferris often updates the audience with his thoughts, so they constantly know what he is planning. The scenes where he talks to the audience enable the audience to hear and see the changes which this one day has made to Ferris, and also show that he's not always the joker that everybody thinks he is.

 

 

Ferris Bueller also has an unpopular character. Ferris's best friend Cameron is somewhat unpopular and is different to the other students at their school. This is another feature of this theme, as the audience also see how that particular character has changed throughtout the film, mostly due to the actions of the main character. In this scene from Ferris, Cameron explains how he is fed up of the way he is constantly treated by his father, and he tells Ferris that he has learned to take a stand and challenge his father, and tell him what he thinks of him. He explains that Ferris has helped him accept and realise that something need to be done, and this has all been done in one single day. This scene is similar to many other films like this, as it directly tells the audience through another character how the protagonist has developed and changed, but also how the protagonist has helped another character grow and 'come-of-age' themselves.



 

 

Images of the Drama genre

Including films with the 'Coming-of-Age' theme

 

In the poster for this film, there are 4 young characters, all male. The title suggests that they stcik by each other no matter what happens between them; something which only one of the characters in my film does.

Nature-They are in a quiet area where no body else is. This suggests that they have their freedom to do this and that they soend their time together in a place where no one else goes to. 
This image clearly shows their bonding. They all have bagpacks which shows thatthey are all going on this journey together as a team.

They are walking on a train track which is dangerous-no body should be there, that's why they are there all alone. This leads the audience to want to know why they have ended up there.

 

Stand By Me (1986) Director: Rob Reiner

The word 'club' within the title suggests that they are together, as a team. The characters are all wearing clothing and fashions of that time, something which teenagers tend to do in these type of films.

The use of the colour green could symbolise jealousy or envy, which could make the audience think that somewhere along the line there will be a twist within the story line.

 

 

The character in the red could be seen as the reballious character. This is due to the fact that he is wearing a red top-connoting danger; or perhaps it could suggest love and a possible roomance between him and another character. He seems to dominate because of the colour of his shirt, and it seems to draw your attention over to him.

Another way that their rebelliousness is shown is through the wau that they are sat on the tables, instead of being seated on the chairs provided for them. They have chosen to disobey the rules, and this tells the audience that they are going to be doing more thngs that they shouldn't.

 

The Breakfast Club (1985) Director: John Hughes

 

'Leisure Rules'-This is effective as it is saying that his parents do not rule him-leisure does. He is obviously a character that will not listen to what other people tell him to do.

The close up of his face is effective because it allows the audience to see a close-up of his smile, which tells the audience that he is up to no good; he is disobeying the rules and he is enjoying it.

 

The red font used on this poster stands out as it is bright and eye catching, but also because it is in red. The use of the color red shows how rebellious he is, and also connotes danger-a hint towards Ferris's danger of being caught skipping school and pretending to be ill.

The clothing is of that time and makes the film much more realistic.

Ferris seems really relaxed, another way of showing that he is different to other teenagers-he likes to take his time to do stuff, where as others tend to rush around and have lots of things going on at the same time.

 

This is an image of where Ferris talks to the audience. He is facing the camera, so that it seems as though he is directing his speech directly to you as a spectator.

The writing is effective, due to the fact that it gives the audience the chance to see what is going on in his mind, and it is also the sort of thing a rebellious teenager would actually do.

The furniture placed in his room is typical of  the furniture a teenager has, and the guitar shos that he has a talent. This tells the audience more about the character, giving him more of a background.

 

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) Director: John Hughes

In this poster, you can tell that the characters are both young. They seems quite free and it looks as though they have an easy life, something which draws the audience in to wanting to see the film.

The characters are obviously rebellious, due to the fact that they are girls and they are wearing football shirts. It is clear from the picture that they both enjoy football, and the title confirms that they are interested in it and play it.

The sky is very effective in the poster because it is almost as though they are touching the sky in order to reach their goals-That's how hard they are working on achieveing their goals.

 

The field used not only shows a wide space for their football games, it connotes their freedom to do what they like.

 Bend It Like Beckham (2002) Director: Gurinder Chadha

 

 

 

 

 

17 Again: Health class

This clip is related to my idea for the short film. At 1:37, the main character Mike (as a 17 year old), begins to explain in his health class that he believes a person should wait for the right moment, when they are in love to have sexual intercourse. His speech is relevant to my film, as the main character in mine becomes pregnant. In this clip, Mike talks about taking the love between a relationship, and making it into a baby:
'It's that first moment when you hold you baby girl, and you didn't know that anything could be so small and so delicate, and you feel that tiny heartbeat and you know that you couldn't love anything more in the whole world, and you hope that you can do right by that little girl...' etc.
This shows the relationship between a parent and a child, and it links to change the audience will see in the main character in my film, once her child is born.

'Coming-of-age' film example 2

Mean Girls (2004)

American

Director: Mark Waters
Starring: Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried and Lizzy Caplan.

Mean Girls is a coming-of-age comedy, about Cady Heron, a girl who has moved to Illinois with her parents. She has just started a new school, and soon becomes friends with a school outcast, Janis. Cady soon learns of 'The plastics' the most popular girls in school, and Janis comes up with a plan to get Regina George back, after the way she treat Janis, by using Cady.  Cady goes along with the plan, learning all about the 'popular lifestyle'. Whilst she hangs around with them, Cady learns that being popular isn't a good thing, and understands that being friends with Janis is much better. The audience see Cady grow up, and watch her transform into who she is meant to be.  The film had a huge opening weekend and achieved much success, making it a favourite even today.  Mean girls even won some nominations and awards, which shows that as a coming-of-age film, it succeeded in attracting attention, and Waters accomplished his task of getting an audience to understand the dramas of teenage life.
Notes on the film:

• Focuses on the struggle to fit in among different people-a common theme among coming-of-age films as this helps to show the audience how much the main character has grown up, changed and matured throughout the film when it comes to the end of the film.

• The main character comes from a completely different part of the world-Waters has therefore prepared the audience for the difference in locations. The audience knows that it will be different, however, Cady doesn't, and is therefore shocked by the people attending her new school.

• Mean Girls had a mostly teenage audience, however adults found it funny. Tina Frey said in an interview that for teenagers 'it's much too close to their real experiences'-This is common in many coming-of-age films, as the director has to make it as realistic as possible, so that it is believable, and so that audience can engage with the characters more.

• Cady, the main character isn't very wealthy, again, often seen in these films.

• Main character is manipulated in to doing things, however, this is the very thing which teaches her about other people.