The film we have produced concerns the threads and links that bind us together in everyday life. Though the journey the film follows is ostensibly an every day occurrence, it is the way in which the story is told that the film holds itself up as a concept piece.
In terms of theme, there are three important aspects to the film that run in parallel that we hope to get across to our audience. The first is the tenuous threads and links that bind people together in every day life, the second is the colour red and the positive aspects of life that can be represented by the colour. We have chosen a shade of red that we feel is very bright and vibrant, partly because of the way it looks on screen, to emphasise the transitions and links between each new character, and partly because it matches the bright and summery mood we want to convey. The third theme works in conjunction with the red. Following tutorial conversations we came to the conclusion that red is very British, as are the locations and props we've used throughout the film, the third theme we want to convey then, is a feeling of "Britishness".
The film begins with our young male protagonist, a man of about nineteen or twenty, getting ready to leave his house in the morning, putting on his clothes and walking outside. As he reaches his garden gate, a woman brushes past him with a red bag, which then becomes the focus using a close up track of the bag as the woman walks. She clears shot and we see a man emerge from a red telephone box behind her and drop his red lighter. The action then drops to floor level and a woman with bright red shoes walks past the lighter to a man who then picks up a big red box, walks to camera and blacks out the lens. The next shot is one of him walking away from camera and sitting on a bench next to our protagonist from the beginning of the film, reading a paper. The protagonist then folds up his paper, stands up and hails a bus. The action fades out and back in again to a shot of him getting off the same bus. This is a point of view shot of a man outside a chip shop putting red ketchup on his chips. The protagonist is then crossed by a cyclist wearing a red jumper who we then follow down the street until he brakes sharply to avoid hitting a runner wearing red shorts and a red Ipod shuffle on his arm. He runs for several second, then looks to his left at a woman in a red dress posting a letter. The letter instantly drops through its receiver's letter box which we view as a point of view. He walks past the envelope on the floor and out of his door, he looks down at his car keys as he walks to his vehicle and looks up as a bright red car speeds past from right to left. The camera is sent into a spin (whip pan) and lands on a no entry sign in a new location. We tilt down to a photographer in a red hat taking pictures of a couple on a bench. A man with a red phone walks in front of shot and we hear the conversation he is having with the man on the other end. The man answering the phone is leaning out of his window in a terrace house in a red jacket. He sees our protagonist approach his door, hangs up his phone and goes to let him in.
Our film is essentially a more conceptual piece than it is continuous in an editing sense. We use each transition and each new character as a way of changing location. These location changes are deliberate and dissimilar enough to look that way. The sound emphasises the urban and suburban noises around our characters as well as using acoustic guitar music to keep the audience interested and to help convey our lighthearted and summery theme.
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Final week of post production
Our second section of filming was completed this weekend which should add some length to the final cut. The sound aspect of the piece is coming along as we've now added some acoustic guitar music to it to emphasise the lighthearted, summery mood we want to convey. Picture editing is all but complete and we now have a title.
Timeline for the final film
1. Opens with a static shot of red wall. Main character walks left to right into the shot. He starts getting ready. Camera pans down to the bed as he sits down. Pan up to him standing and then walking out of the shot. Sound of door slamming.
2. On the stairs, as he walks down he puts his red t-shirt on. Shot from the bottom of the stairs, he walks down into the camera and blacks out.
3. Cut to him outside his house stood still, hesitating or putting on sunglasses etc. Female with red bag walks past lens, with the red bag filling the screen.
4. Keep following the bag with a tracking shot, until the camera stops, she walks out of frame and we see a guy emerging from a telephone box, lighting a cigarette. He drops the lighter on the floor.
5. Cut to floor level shot of the lighter on the pavement. Woman in red shoes walks past, and the camera follows her feet walking down the street.
6. After a few seconds we see a box on the floor. When the feet pass, the camera follows the man picking up the box, back to normal height.
7. Man with box is walking away from the camera and sits beside our main protagonist from the beginning of the film on a bench. Protagonist, who had been reading a newspaper, then gets up and hails a bus. Fade to black.
8. Fade in. Camera follows the main character getting off the bus. Cut to a POV shot from inside a ‘chip shop’ looking at the man get off the bus. It then looks down at his chips and squirts ketchup on them. He leaves the shop.
9 Cyclist crosses protagonist’s path wearing a red jumper.
10. Cyclist stops at red light, and a runner goes across the crossing with a red ipod armband and red shorts.
11. Cut to a tracking shot beside the runner. He looks over at a woman wearing a red dress. The camera follows his line of sight and focuses on her.
12. The woman continues to walk holding a red envelope which she then proceeds to post.
13. Cut to a doormat inside someone’s hallway. The same red envelope has reached its destination and drops on the mat beside a set of keys. POV shot of a male picking up the keys, walking outside and going to unlock his car. As he is about to get in he looks up and sees a red car passing him. The camera follows this and we use an overexposed spin as a transition.
14. Cut to a photographer taking pictures. The camera follows what he is taking pictures of, a couple on a bench.
15. The couple are kissing, the woman has red lipstick on.
16. A man walks past on a red phone. Cuts to the person at the other end of the phone looking out of a terrace house window. We see the main character walk past the window.
17. The character puts the phone down and answers the door to the main character. Fade to black.
2. On the stairs, as he walks down he puts his red t-shirt on. Shot from the bottom of the stairs, he walks down into the camera and blacks out.
3. Cut to him outside his house stood still, hesitating or putting on sunglasses etc. Female with red bag walks past lens, with the red bag filling the screen.
4. Keep following the bag with a tracking shot, until the camera stops, she walks out of frame and we see a guy emerging from a telephone box, lighting a cigarette. He drops the lighter on the floor.
5. Cut to floor level shot of the lighter on the pavement. Woman in red shoes walks past, and the camera follows her feet walking down the street.
6. After a few seconds we see a box on the floor. When the feet pass, the camera follows the man picking up the box, back to normal height.
7. Man with box is walking away from the camera and sits beside our main protagonist from the beginning of the film on a bench. Protagonist, who had been reading a newspaper, then gets up and hails a bus. Fade to black.
8. Fade in. Camera follows the main character getting off the bus. Cut to a POV shot from inside a ‘chip shop’ looking at the man get off the bus. It then looks down at his chips and squirts ketchup on them. He leaves the shop.
9 Cyclist crosses protagonist’s path wearing a red jumper.
10. Cyclist stops at red light, and a runner goes across the crossing with a red ipod armband and red shorts.
11. Cut to a tracking shot beside the runner. He looks over at a woman wearing a red dress. The camera follows his line of sight and focuses on her.
12. The woman continues to walk holding a red envelope which she then proceeds to post.
13. Cut to a doormat inside someone’s hallway. The same red envelope has reached its destination and drops on the mat beside a set of keys. POV shot of a male picking up the keys, walking outside and going to unlock his car. As he is about to get in he looks up and sees a red car passing him. The camera follows this and we use an overexposed spin as a transition.
14. Cut to a photographer taking pictures. The camera follows what he is taking pictures of, a couple on a bench.
15. The couple are kissing, the woman has red lipstick on.
16. A man walks past on a red phone. Cuts to the person at the other end of the phone looking out of a terrace house window. We see the main character walk past the window.
17. The character puts the phone down and answers the door to the main character. Fade to black.
Influences and Inspiration
Visa advert – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6RGyJirL3g. We want our film to flow in the way the protagonist moves in this advert
Rules of Attraction - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6EPa9Fw3Lk. This sequence shows how we want our scenes to fit together. It’s a brilliant example of a split screen shot that’s as clever as we want our transitions to be
Chemical Brothers music video for “Let forever be”, Directed by Michel Gondry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti4ip8zQyrc. Gondry’s use of transitions to make this video flow is another example, though much advanced, of how we want our film to look from character to character.
The Machinist (starring Christian Bale) is an example of the washed out, de-saturated colour correction effect we considered using for all colours except red in our film.
Evol. A short film by Chris Vincze. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/filmnetwork/A10837848
Lord of War, starring Nicholas Cage. The opening sequence of this film, charting the life of a bullet, from manufacture to use is a good example of how we want our "journey" theme to come across. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RgH5eDbCLU
Sound – Janet Cardiff’s “Missing Voice”
Rules of Attraction - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6EPa9Fw3Lk. This sequence shows how we want our scenes to fit together. It’s a brilliant example of a split screen shot that’s as clever as we want our transitions to be
Chemical Brothers music video for “Let forever be”, Directed by Michel Gondry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti4ip8zQyrc. Gondry’s use of transitions to make this video flow is another example, though much advanced, of how we want our film to look from character to character.
The Machinist (starring Christian Bale) is an example of the washed out, de-saturated colour correction effect we considered using for all colours except red in our film.
Evol. A short film by Chris Vincze. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/filmnetwork/A10837848
Lord of War, starring Nicholas Cage. The opening sequence of this film, charting the life of a bullet, from manufacture to use is a good example of how we want our "journey" theme to come across. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RgH5eDbCLU
Sound – Janet Cardiff’s “Missing Voice”
Monday, 4 May 2009
Jeremy's treatment
A foreign student coming into university who has to work twice harder than others: not only the difficulty of being independence, also the language barrier and the culture shocks. He meets James here who helps him through and they gets along well. Eventually they finish their degree and say good bye to each other, they end this with the same way that they meet - shaking hands.
Camera starts with the main character coming out from the train station. Andreas got on a taxi which takes him to the accommodation. It will show his lack of travelling experience and excitement about new places. He gets settled and after unpacking, he goes to bed with a very tired mood. The next day is shown by him switching the light off then cuts the sun set. He walks to university reception and take the student card, also meets his course mate during the process. James is a very loud, outgoing lad while Andreas is the other way round. Although they cannot have a long conversation but due to curiosity, James keeps putting effort to know him more. This is how the friendship builds, also the time when he starts to pick up the language and the culture. James invites him to a flat welcome party that night and they set a place to meet up, that night Andreas attends but lost his way. He rings and asks for help, this is a funny moment for them to understand each other and eventually James finds him. James is wasted that night so Andreas has to look after him. Then there are loads of shots filming them together: going into university, having lunch, playing football, doing work, partying, etc. These will be shown in a fast phased speed, eventually they finish their degree and Andreas has to go back where he comes from. They shake hands and say good bye in front of the reception, same way when they meet each other. A touching music will play with the scene.
I have decided to use a documentary style to present my idea of journey. There is no dialogue in the film but a lot of actors would be needed instead. Expression of loneliness and hopeless feeling at the beginning will be create with a wide angle shot and dark music, then the plot becomes brighter when his life is getting better - this will show by the lighting and the colour of clothes. Close up shots on facial expression, long shots on the main character and the people around him will be used to help the audience understand more about the situation. There will be some humour points to entertain them also to show the main character is new to the environment.
The film is not aimed for a age range of target audience so it is for all age. Hopefully people will remember those old friends they lost contacts with after watching it.
Camera starts with the main character coming out from the train station. Andreas got on a taxi which takes him to the accommodation. It will show his lack of travelling experience and excitement about new places. He gets settled and after unpacking, he goes to bed with a very tired mood. The next day is shown by him switching the light off then cuts the sun set. He walks to university reception and take the student card, also meets his course mate during the process. James is a very loud, outgoing lad while Andreas is the other way round. Although they cannot have a long conversation but due to curiosity, James keeps putting effort to know him more. This is how the friendship builds, also the time when he starts to pick up the language and the culture. James invites him to a flat welcome party that night and they set a place to meet up, that night Andreas attends but lost his way. He rings and asks for help, this is a funny moment for them to understand each other and eventually James finds him. James is wasted that night so Andreas has to look after him. Then there are loads of shots filming them together: going into university, having lunch, playing football, doing work, partying, etc. These will be shown in a fast phased speed, eventually they finish their degree and Andreas has to go back where he comes from. They shake hands and say good bye in front of the reception, same way when they meet each other. A touching music will play with the scene.
I have decided to use a documentary style to present my idea of journey. There is no dialogue in the film but a lot of actors would be needed instead. Expression of loneliness and hopeless feeling at the beginning will be create with a wide angle shot and dark music, then the plot becomes brighter when his life is getting better - this will show by the lighting and the colour of clothes. Close up shots on facial expression, long shots on the main character and the people around him will be used to help the audience understand more about the situation. There will be some humour points to entertain them also to show the main character is new to the environment.
The film is not aimed for a age range of target audience so it is for all age. Hopefully people will remember those old friends they lost contacts with after watching it.
Saturday, 2 May 2009
Friday, 1 May 2009
Post Production and progress update
All but one scene filmed now, which is going to be finished by tomorrow afternoon. The rough cut of the film so far has been done and the sound isn't far behind it. Just got to put in the new sequences on Tuesday, edit it together and sync the finished sound piece in. Oh and the DVD menus. So not much then.
Wednesday, 29 April 2009
Filming
Day 1
Filming for the journey project began on Monday 20th April due to problems with equipment booking before Easter. After having had to wait longer than we expected for our actor on the morning of the 20th we still managed to shoot all the sequences we had hoped to have finished by the end of Monday. Our main protagonist, played by Billy's friend Adam, turned up around 12 and we used Tom's room to shoot some internal shots for the opening sequence of the film. We then went to our next location, a phone box down the road from West Street and used a skateboard for some low tracking shots. Though slightly jolty we got the desired effect from this technique. We then went to a house with a red door that we had previously found and done a recce and test shoot on for the external shots of our protagonist's house. We then went straight to Adam's house and shot internal shots for the end of the film. We shot in this order so that we could have most of Adam's parts in the can by the end of the first filming day and also because of the location of the houses, we ended up going in a circle which we found to be the most time efficient way of doing things.
Day 2
Day 2 was slightly less successful. It took us longer than we had anticipated to film some external panning shots. This was partly due to lack of planning for the particular sequence but also had to do with weather continuity. Relatively speaking we were blessed with consistent weather for all 4 filming days but Tuesday afternoon caused some problems as it became overcast. Nevertheless, we filmed a few tracking shots with one of our female actors and used a bike frame to attach the camera for another low track
Day 3
This was another successful day. For a shot in which we wanted Jeremy cycling, we knew we wanted to see his head and the handlebars from in front. For this shot we attached the camera to a flat surface on the back of a second bicycle, tilted it upward, facing backwards and got Billy to ride in front of Jeremy down a straight road. We did several takes of this but we were really proud of the end result. We then travelled to a road near the boardwalk to do another tracking shot of our actor Tom being a runner. We sat Sarah in a shopping trolley with the camera which was a surprisingly stable and good quality shot in the end.
Day 4
We encountered a few problems on Day 4 but still managed to wrap filming by the afternoon slightly ahead of schedule. Due to one of our actors being late again we set up the camera on location around 12pm and started filming around 1.30pm. This was a difficult sequence to plan as it involved one actor getting off a bus, a pan POV shot and then a well co-ordinated cross over where a cyclist cuts round our actors as he gets off the bus. As we had to rely on the bus for perfect timing this was a difficult shot to get under pressure but we seemed to manage it well in one take.
The last sequence we had to get in the can was some internal shots of Adam and our other actor, Rob on board a bus, though we tried we were denied permission by the driver so we quickly re-wrote the scene and improvised a new scene at a bus stop in its place which we're relatively pleased with.
Notes
Overall, though there were problems with punctuality, I feel that filming went well, especially as we stayed on schedule throughout. I would say that this is down to careful planning of a shot list and filming schedule in accordance with actor availability and convenience of location. It turns out that in post-production we have had some issues with the quality of some of the footage and length of the final film, but we've managed to book out equipment to re-shoot some sequences this weekend (1st-4th May)
Filming for the journey project began on Monday 20th April due to problems with equipment booking before Easter. After having had to wait longer than we expected for our actor on the morning of the 20th we still managed to shoot all the sequences we had hoped to have finished by the end of Monday. Our main protagonist, played by Billy's friend Adam, turned up around 12 and we used Tom's room to shoot some internal shots for the opening sequence of the film. We then went to our next location, a phone box down the road from West Street and used a skateboard for some low tracking shots. Though slightly jolty we got the desired effect from this technique. We then went to a house with a red door that we had previously found and done a recce and test shoot on for the external shots of our protagonist's house. We then went straight to Adam's house and shot internal shots for the end of the film. We shot in this order so that we could have most of Adam's parts in the can by the end of the first filming day and also because of the location of the houses, we ended up going in a circle which we found to be the most time efficient way of doing things.
Day 2
Day 2 was slightly less successful. It took us longer than we had anticipated to film some external panning shots. This was partly due to lack of planning for the particular sequence but also had to do with weather continuity. Relatively speaking we were blessed with consistent weather for all 4 filming days but Tuesday afternoon caused some problems as it became overcast. Nevertheless, we filmed a few tracking shots with one of our female actors and used a bike frame to attach the camera for another low track
Day 3
This was another successful day. For a shot in which we wanted Jeremy cycling, we knew we wanted to see his head and the handlebars from in front. For this shot we attached the camera to a flat surface on the back of a second bicycle, tilted it upward, facing backwards and got Billy to ride in front of Jeremy down a straight road. We did several takes of this but we were really proud of the end result. We then travelled to a road near the boardwalk to do another tracking shot of our actor Tom being a runner. We sat Sarah in a shopping trolley with the camera which was a surprisingly stable and good quality shot in the end.
Day 4
We encountered a few problems on Day 4 but still managed to wrap filming by the afternoon slightly ahead of schedule. Due to one of our actors being late again we set up the camera on location around 12pm and started filming around 1.30pm. This was a difficult sequence to plan as it involved one actor getting off a bus, a pan POV shot and then a well co-ordinated cross over where a cyclist cuts round our actors as he gets off the bus. As we had to rely on the bus for perfect timing this was a difficult shot to get under pressure but we seemed to manage it well in one take.
The last sequence we had to get in the can was some internal shots of Adam and our other actor, Rob on board a bus, though we tried we were denied permission by the driver so we quickly re-wrote the scene and improvised a new scene at a bus stop in its place which we're relatively pleased with.
Notes
Overall, though there were problems with punctuality, I feel that filming went well, especially as we stayed on schedule throughout. I would say that this is down to careful planning of a shot list and filming schedule in accordance with actor availability and convenience of location. It turns out that in post-production we have had some issues with the quality of some of the footage and length of the final film, but we've managed to book out equipment to re-shoot some sequences this weekend (1st-4th May)
Sunday, 22 March 2009
Billys Treatment
Treatment
I am going to produce a short documentary style production expressing the lonely and challenging life of a nomadic male from the prehistoric period.
The narrative will be quite simplistic. A traditional beginning, middle and end with no mixes in the timeline. I hope to find beautiful scenic locations in the peak district that will represent the prehistoric period and be able to show the nomadic man in several varied terrains and what he has to achieve to survive.
The opening will be used to set the scene. I ideally want a large tree sat on a hill blowing violently in the wind so it looks very idyllic. Only nature exists, very peacefully. The winds noise will be heightened and eventually cut to the nomad in his cave sleeping. This shows that men can be peaceful as well as nature and should get the audiences attention focused on the film with the loud wind breeze suddenly cutting to a calm shot. The narrative unfolds as the nomadic man wakes and sets off to find breakfast with slight hesitation with it being a windy day. I’m not completely certain on how I will show the hunting scenes as I do not know the rules and regulations for showing dead animals. However, I will research and look further into this. I would really like some shots at a lake with him catching fish and moving into close-ups of his face to show the relief and joy at catching dinner. There will be some travelling shots with the nomad roaming plains and climbing rocks to get to his water or home. I am also hoping to find a natural pool or a waterfall to show him swimming, drinking, washing and laughing. The small amount of fun in his lonely life.
My style will be very important for the film. There will be an array of different shots but I still want to make sure my style is easily noticed throughout. The wide angle shots will be used as he wanders alone across vast, flat, mundane, rocky plains to express his loneliness. Other shots will be differing throughout, using close ups when his face will give away his feelings and create allow the audience to personalise with the character. Mid-shots when the camera needs to be a little closer such as when he’s fishing or sat around his fire in his cave, eating his catch from the day and also giving me a great opportunity to play with lighting. I think this could be a great asset to my film if used correctly. A blue filter juxtaposed with the wide angle shots on the plain could enhance the feeling of him being alone in life. Using the dark cave a night with the correct lighting could create a very artistic shot, especially with the fire but as I said before I will explore this further in planning and production stages.
Finally the audience I envisage to watch this would be a wide age range. Around 18-50 would be ideal. It should appeal to prehistoric enthusiasts, artists and short film fans. It will be both interesting and stylistic thus having a wide market. I imagine it to be screened in a small independent cinema, over the internet or even at a small documentary or short film festival. I really hope it gets to production as I imagine it will turn out very well.
I am going to produce a short documentary style production expressing the lonely and challenging life of a nomadic male from the prehistoric period.
The narrative will be quite simplistic. A traditional beginning, middle and end with no mixes in the timeline. I hope to find beautiful scenic locations in the peak district that will represent the prehistoric period and be able to show the nomadic man in several varied terrains and what he has to achieve to survive.
The opening will be used to set the scene. I ideally want a large tree sat on a hill blowing violently in the wind so it looks very idyllic. Only nature exists, very peacefully. The winds noise will be heightened and eventually cut to the nomad in his cave sleeping. This shows that men can be peaceful as well as nature and should get the audiences attention focused on the film with the loud wind breeze suddenly cutting to a calm shot. The narrative unfolds as the nomadic man wakes and sets off to find breakfast with slight hesitation with it being a windy day. I’m not completely certain on how I will show the hunting scenes as I do not know the rules and regulations for showing dead animals. However, I will research and look further into this. I would really like some shots at a lake with him catching fish and moving into close-ups of his face to show the relief and joy at catching dinner. There will be some travelling shots with the nomad roaming plains and climbing rocks to get to his water or home. I am also hoping to find a natural pool or a waterfall to show him swimming, drinking, washing and laughing. The small amount of fun in his lonely life.
My style will be very important for the film. There will be an array of different shots but I still want to make sure my style is easily noticed throughout. The wide angle shots will be used as he wanders alone across vast, flat, mundane, rocky plains to express his loneliness. Other shots will be differing throughout, using close ups when his face will give away his feelings and create allow the audience to personalise with the character. Mid-shots when the camera needs to be a little closer such as when he’s fishing or sat around his fire in his cave, eating his catch from the day and also giving me a great opportunity to play with lighting. I think this could be a great asset to my film if used correctly. A blue filter juxtaposed with the wide angle shots on the plain could enhance the feeling of him being alone in life. Using the dark cave a night with the correct lighting could create a very artistic shot, especially with the fire but as I said before I will explore this further in planning and production stages.
Finally the audience I envisage to watch this would be a wide age range. Around 18-50 would be ideal. It should appeal to prehistoric enthusiasts, artists and short film fans. It will be both interesting and stylistic thus having a wide market. I imagine it to be screened in a small independent cinema, over the internet or even at a small documentary or short film festival. I really hope it gets to production as I imagine it will turn out very well.
Recent Group Meetings
As a result of a meeting last week, we, as a group have decided to go away with a list of props and transition devices/plot points and work them into timelines of our own in an attempt to bring ideas from all group members to the table and choose elements from each person's timeline.
Some of these props/plot points are listed below:
- Start - Main character getting ready, leaving his house
- Bumping into/brushing past person in street
- Person with red box obscuring camera
- Following someones line of sight (possibly to a woman in a red dress)
- Person in a red car, loud house music camera moves to red sign.
- Photographer taking pictures of people (possibly wearing red cap, taking pictures of the couple kissing.)
- A cigarette being dropped, and following someone's feet walking past (red trainers)
- Someone lighting a cigarette with a red lighter
Characters/Props
-Main character - male, 20's. Red wall (using a sheet). Red shirt/hoody
- Person being bumped into - Red coat, female.
- Person holding a box - male, red box
- Couple, man and woman, woman wearing red lipstick
- Man leaning on a red post box (smoking a cigarette)
- Person in red car, male, young.
- Person with red phone (either gender)
- Person with red iPod (either gender)
- Male with red football.
- Lady in a red dress
- Lady with a red handbag
- Photographer, male, red Yankee baseball cap.
- Woman with red lighter
- Tom in the chippy with his red tomato ketchup thing (lol)
- People holding hands (male and female) with a red bracelet (or red nail polish might be good, i just thought)
- Red curtains when looking out window.
- Red trainers or stilettos on certain characters.
Possible locations/other notes
- Red bus (65 bus from Sheffield Interchange)
- Post Office
- Fire museum
Some of these props/plot points are listed below:
- Start - Main character getting ready, leaving his house
- Bumping into/brushing past person in street
- Person with red box obscuring camera
- Following someones line of sight (possibly to a woman in a red dress)
- Person in a red car, loud house music camera moves to red sign.
- Photographer taking pictures of people (possibly wearing red cap, taking pictures of the couple kissing.)
- A cigarette being dropped, and following someone's feet walking past (red trainers)
- Someone lighting a cigarette with a red lighter
Characters/Props
-Main character - male, 20's. Red wall (using a sheet). Red shirt/hoody
- Person being bumped into - Red coat, female.
- Person holding a box - male, red box
- Couple, man and woman, woman wearing red lipstick
- Man leaning on a red post box (smoking a cigarette)
- Person in red car, male, young.
- Person with red phone (either gender)
- Person with red iPod (either gender)
- Male with red football.
- Lady in a red dress
- Lady with a red handbag
- Photographer, male, red Yankee baseball cap.
- Woman with red lighter
- Tom in the chippy with his red tomato ketchup thing (lol)
- People holding hands (male and female) with a red bracelet (or red nail polish might be good, i just thought)
- Red curtains when looking out window.
- Red trainers or stilettos on certain characters.
Possible locations/other notes
- Red bus (65 bus from Sheffield Interchange)
- Post Office
- Fire museum
Treatment/Proposal - Harry Rollin
20 year old Will Lloyd has just woken up in a waiting room with no recollection of how he got there. As he waits in the quiet, clinical room, he slowly realises this isn’t a dentist or a doctor he’s waiting for.
The story begins with whispers and echoed voices with no visuals. Suddenly the distant voices disappear and Will Lloyd wakes up with a start. He looks around and finds himself sitting in a large, relatively empty waiting room. All of the walls are white and slightly overexposed to give the illusion of brightness. Will has no recollection of anything before he woke up and after a second or two of taking in his surroundings he shuffles along a chair or two to a man in his sixties reading a magazine. He asks him first where they are, to which the man does not respond. Will looks over the older man’s shoulder and finds him reading an article about life after death. Will asks the man what he is doing in the waiting room to which the man’s reply is, simply, “Waiting”.
A receptionist dressed all in white calls out the older man’s name, his response to which is to put down the magazine, get up and walk the length of the corridor to the left of the receptionist, at the end of which is a door which he proceeds through.
Will continues to sit by himself for several seconds, beginning to hear faint voices and sirens in his head. However, he shakes this off and silence falls again. He gets up and makes his way over to the receptionist. He asks her where he is, to which she tells him he is in God’s waiting room. She can’t tell him how long he’ll be waiting but asks him politely to take a seat. Will looks understandably confused at first and as he experiences a flashback of an accident he begins to look shocked. He remembers that he was in a motorcycle accident. The audience see a flashback of the accident and that Will sustained many injuries. As the action cuts back to Will in the waiting room he raises his hands to where his injuries should have been but feels nothing.
The receptionist calls out Will’s name and tells him God will see him now. Will gets up slowly, still in a state of shock and walks toward the door. The office he finds himself in is a very simple room and nothing like the grandeur either Will or the audience expect. God appears to be a young man on the phone as Will enters. I imagine this scene to be very dialogue-heavy and I want it to be witty, light-hearted and make the audience laugh. The altercation ends in an argument between God and Will about an incident from Will’s childhood. They argue about the morality of Will bullying a child at school to which Will justifies his behaviour by saying he was provoked. God then decides Will is not ready to enter heaven so he sends him back into his body and as the paramedics examine him he wakes up still muttering about the morality of the incident from his childhood.
I would like the film to begin in a sombre way but as it goes on I want it to be a humourous, light hearted way of interpreting life after death. I don’t necessarily think the portrayal of God would be particularly offensive or controversial, I hope that audiences appreciate the humour. I would like to slightly over expose the shots of the waiting room as opposed to the gritty or dull look I would employ for the flashback sequence to signify the difference between the two settings.
I would say that the film and its humour would appeal most to young people of any religion. Religion can be a contentious issue but I think the tone of the film is more to do with light hearted speculation and interpretation than it is poking fun out of any one religion.
20 year old Will Lloyd has just woken up in a waiting room with no recollection of how he got there. As he waits in the quiet, clinical room, he slowly realises this isn’t a dentist or a doctor he’s waiting for.
The story begins with whispers and echoed voices with no visuals. Suddenly the distant voices disappear and Will Lloyd wakes up with a start. He looks around and finds himself sitting in a large, relatively empty waiting room. All of the walls are white and slightly overexposed to give the illusion of brightness. Will has no recollection of anything before he woke up and after a second or two of taking in his surroundings he shuffles along a chair or two to a man in his sixties reading a magazine. He asks him first where they are, to which the man does not respond. Will looks over the older man’s shoulder and finds him reading an article about life after death. Will asks the man what he is doing in the waiting room to which the man’s reply is, simply, “Waiting”.
A receptionist dressed all in white calls out the older man’s name, his response to which is to put down the magazine, get up and walk the length of the corridor to the left of the receptionist, at the end of which is a door which he proceeds through.
Will continues to sit by himself for several seconds, beginning to hear faint voices and sirens in his head. However, he shakes this off and silence falls again. He gets up and makes his way over to the receptionist. He asks her where he is, to which she tells him he is in God’s waiting room. She can’t tell him how long he’ll be waiting but asks him politely to take a seat. Will looks understandably confused at first and as he experiences a flashback of an accident he begins to look shocked. He remembers that he was in a motorcycle accident. The audience see a flashback of the accident and that Will sustained many injuries. As the action cuts back to Will in the waiting room he raises his hands to where his injuries should have been but feels nothing.
The receptionist calls out Will’s name and tells him God will see him now. Will gets up slowly, still in a state of shock and walks toward the door. The office he finds himself in is a very simple room and nothing like the grandeur either Will or the audience expect. God appears to be a young man on the phone as Will enters. I imagine this scene to be very dialogue-heavy and I want it to be witty, light-hearted and make the audience laugh. The altercation ends in an argument between God and Will about an incident from Will’s childhood. They argue about the morality of Will bullying a child at school to which Will justifies his behaviour by saying he was provoked. God then decides Will is not ready to enter heaven so he sends him back into his body and as the paramedics examine him he wakes up still muttering about the morality of the incident from his childhood.
I would like the film to begin in a sombre way but as it goes on I want it to be a humourous, light hearted way of interpreting life after death. I don’t necessarily think the portrayal of God would be particularly offensive or controversial, I hope that audiences appreciate the humour. I would like to slightly over expose the shots of the waiting room as opposed to the gritty or dull look I would employ for the flashback sequence to signify the difference between the two settings.
I would say that the film and its humour would appeal most to young people of any religion. Religion can be a contentious issue but I think the tone of the film is more to do with light hearted speculation and interpretation than it is poking fun out of any one religion.
Saturday, 21 March 2009
Sarah's Treatment
I have decided to take the notion of ‘journey’ to mean the physical and emotional journey that a girl goes through during a teenage pregnancy. The film will consist of the night when the girl gets pregnant, to when she finds out, the descisions she has to make, and through stages of the pregnancy.
The project will begin with our main character, a female around the age of 18, getting ready to go out with her friends. She will be drinking, doing make up and hair. Fast cut edits and popular music may be used here, recorded to sound like it is coming from a stereo. Close up shots of her facial expressions and particular prominent actions such as the bottle of alcohol being picked up will put emphasis on these shots. These shots will only take around twenty seconds, and act as an introduction.
Next, she will leave the house, and go to a club, showing obvious signs of drunkenness. This scene will only last a few seconds, then she will leave with a man, going back to her house. This scene will end with the light being turned out in her room, making it clear to the audience what is about to happen.
The shot will then fade into her waking up and not knowing what to do. She will look panicked, the camera focussing on her facial expressions.
It will then show a text break reading “3 months later”, and open with her sat on the toilet with a positive pregnancy test, crying, and deciding whether to keep her baby. A voice over or a phone conversation could be used here.
The rest of the piece will show the girls development through her pregnancy as she gets more heavily pregnant, and how sometimes she is terrified and sometime she is excited.
It will end with a scene of her going into a hospital in labour, and then a blackout. It may be difficult otherwise to find a newborn baby.
The piece could include flashbacks and jumps in time to show how she was before, and the contrast to how she feels when pregnant. This could be made clear in the editing stages by different colour temperatures.
The mood of the piece will begin with being lively, with bright colours and music, but will then turn to more sombre, with less music, and more sound effects. A voice over could be used to show the characters feelings throughout the piece, as well as conversations with other characters and phone calls.
I believe the audience of this piece could be any age from early teens to late twenties, as it depicts an issue that they can relate with as they hear it on the news, and in the media constantly. The piece could even be used as a warning to teenagers not to get too drunk and have unprotected sex. It could be shown on television late at night, on institutions such as Channel 4, or in schools to promote safe sex.
That was my original treatment I handed in at the pitching session. The group seemed to like some of the ideas in it. I liked the idea but much preferred the idea behind Jamie's which I am very glad got chosen. It has much more potential as a piece, and hopefully will involve some interesting shots for me to try and do.
The project will begin with our main character, a female around the age of 18, getting ready to go out with her friends. She will be drinking, doing make up and hair. Fast cut edits and popular music may be used here, recorded to sound like it is coming from a stereo. Close up shots of her facial expressions and particular prominent actions such as the bottle of alcohol being picked up will put emphasis on these shots. These shots will only take around twenty seconds, and act as an introduction.
Next, she will leave the house, and go to a club, showing obvious signs of drunkenness. This scene will only last a few seconds, then she will leave with a man, going back to her house. This scene will end with the light being turned out in her room, making it clear to the audience what is about to happen.
The shot will then fade into her waking up and not knowing what to do. She will look panicked, the camera focussing on her facial expressions.
It will then show a text break reading “3 months later”, and open with her sat on the toilet with a positive pregnancy test, crying, and deciding whether to keep her baby. A voice over or a phone conversation could be used here.
The rest of the piece will show the girls development through her pregnancy as she gets more heavily pregnant, and how sometimes she is terrified and sometime she is excited.
It will end with a scene of her going into a hospital in labour, and then a blackout. It may be difficult otherwise to find a newborn baby.
The piece could include flashbacks and jumps in time to show how she was before, and the contrast to how she feels when pregnant. This could be made clear in the editing stages by different colour temperatures.
The mood of the piece will begin with being lively, with bright colours and music, but will then turn to more sombre, with less music, and more sound effects. A voice over could be used to show the characters feelings throughout the piece, as well as conversations with other characters and phone calls.
I believe the audience of this piece could be any age from early teens to late twenties, as it depicts an issue that they can relate with as they hear it on the news, and in the media constantly. The piece could even be used as a warning to teenagers not to get too drunk and have unprotected sex. It could be shown on television late at night, on institutions such as Channel 4, or in schools to promote safe sex.
That was my original treatment I handed in at the pitching session. The group seemed to like some of the ideas in it. I liked the idea but much preferred the idea behind Jamie's which I am very glad got chosen. It has much more potential as a piece, and hopefully will involve some interesting shots for me to try and do.
Wednesday, 18 March 2009
Jamie Wallace - Treatment
Treatment: Journey
My ‘Journey’ idea follows a person on their journey to an event, switching from their trip to journeys of other characters they are in contact with throughout the day, ending in a loop back to the destination of the original journey and the character.
The story begins with a guy ‘getting ready’, preparing himself for the event, leaving the house to begin his journey on the bus. As he sits down on the bus next to a random woman, the camera cuts to her and the journey continues following her as she gets off the bus and goes for a coffee. The Camera then follows the waitress to a table with a bill, as 2 friends are leaving, and follows them into a shop. The friends are looking on the shelves as the camera cuts to a guy in the shop, following him as he leaves and goes back to work. As he’s entering the building the camera cuts to his colleague leaving; and heads towards the train station. In a rush they bump into the next person which the journey continues to them going back home, as they look out of the window it continues with someone walking past on the phone, quickly cutting to the person they’re on the phone to. They’re walking towards the bus stop, in which the initial character then gets off at, and the camera follows him on his last bit of journey to the event, which will be the final scene and the end of his journey. The film creates a loop of different people linked together in society and showing everyone else of their different journeys at the same time to show everyone is always on the move, making different journeys, big or small, for different reasons.
The Style of the film will be very fast paced and quickly edited using dissolves and fades as transactions between the scenes. A lot of panning will be used in the shots, as well as close ups of facial expressions; and feet walking to represent moving throughout the journey. My project idea shows that people are always on the move and that people can be linked together in society without knowing. The over all feel of the video is very positive and colourful with a fast beat in the background and dialogue used where needed to add more interest, and to grab the audience’s attention.
There isn’t really a perceived audience for the film; the characters will vary from different ages, gender, ethnicity and social group, to represent the difference in people in today’s society and to show equality. The fast pace of the piece and quick editing could be used well in a music video with lyrics in relation to a ‘journey’ which would attract the audience more, rather than a single journey which wouldn’t have the same effect.
My ‘Journey’ idea follows a person on their journey to an event, switching from their trip to journeys of other characters they are in contact with throughout the day, ending in a loop back to the destination of the original journey and the character.
The story begins with a guy ‘getting ready’, preparing himself for the event, leaving the house to begin his journey on the bus. As he sits down on the bus next to a random woman, the camera cuts to her and the journey continues following her as she gets off the bus and goes for a coffee. The Camera then follows the waitress to a table with a bill, as 2 friends are leaving, and follows them into a shop. The friends are looking on the shelves as the camera cuts to a guy in the shop, following him as he leaves and goes back to work. As he’s entering the building the camera cuts to his colleague leaving; and heads towards the train station. In a rush they bump into the next person which the journey continues to them going back home, as they look out of the window it continues with someone walking past on the phone, quickly cutting to the person they’re on the phone to. They’re walking towards the bus stop, in which the initial character then gets off at, and the camera follows him on his last bit of journey to the event, which will be the final scene and the end of his journey. The film creates a loop of different people linked together in society and showing everyone else of their different journeys at the same time to show everyone is always on the move, making different journeys, big or small, for different reasons.
The Style of the film will be very fast paced and quickly edited using dissolves and fades as transactions between the scenes. A lot of panning will be used in the shots, as well as close ups of facial expressions; and feet walking to represent moving throughout the journey. My project idea shows that people are always on the move and that people can be linked together in society without knowing. The over all feel of the video is very positive and colourful with a fast beat in the background and dialogue used where needed to add more interest, and to grab the audience’s attention.
There isn’t really a perceived audience for the film; the characters will vary from different ages, gender, ethnicity and social group, to represent the difference in people in today’s society and to show equality. The fast pace of the piece and quick editing could be used well in a music video with lyrics in relation to a ‘journey’ which would attract the audience more, rather than a single journey which wouldn’t have the same effect.
Tom Sparks Treatment
Treatment for a journey,
For this project I shall create a piece which follows a character through an inanimate world, which all the sounds are cosmetic and have no life, into a place of vibrant beauty. This film will be as much of a technical journey as it will be a narrative one, as the sounds and shots will gain life progressively throughout.
The character will be joined by the audience on a street; the audience does not know where they have come from. As they walk there will be exaggerated sounds, but no ambience, no signs of life apart from them. They will walk through oppressively dead cold surroundings, which will lead them to a door, as the door opens, ambient sounds flow into the ears of the audience. When this happens the visual will cut to a shot of the main character, which will just show his expression to when he see’s what life can be like, the audience will see his face light up with the prospect of this.
All the shots will be lifeless locked off shots with no movement, until the end when the close up expression shot of the main characters is shown. The mood will be quite cold and lifeless, not necessarily negative, but very scarce. There will still be very loud exaggerated sounds, but these will seem artificial. There will be no ambience, to enhance the surreal and inanimate element of the film. The colours will be warn-out and scarce, almost deteriating, which will mean that the footage will have to slightly over exposed with a cold white balance. This will hopefully result in the mise-en-scene of an inanimate lifeless mood.
This piece will very much be an artist film; therefore the perceived audience would be people who enjoy films such as Svankmajer’s and other slightly abstract films, with style and underlying meanings over the surface narrative. The piece should be projected on a wall in a plain room, with loud sound and clear speakers, as sound is essential to the plot.
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