MAJOR PRODUCTION: PROPS

As the writer and the producer of Unspoken, I wanted to make sure I knew what props were needed and when for each scene. I thought that it would help my scheduling and organisation by knowing what was needed where.

Myself and Laura went shopping to get the props that we needed for the filming. The most important that I knew we needed to get, was items for memorial. The flowers etc we needed to get in plenty of time, this meant we could leave them outside to wilt for a while, as in the film they would have been sitting there for a while so should be starting to wilt and die. Whilst we were deciding what props to buy, I was keeping a written log of the cost of everything, making sure we were keeping in line with allowances and allowing me to update the budget spreadsheet when everything was purchased.

For the flowers, I had the idea of asking a flower shop if they had any flowers that were dying, perhaps these would be discounted and they would work a lot better. Unfortunately, 2 flowers shops had said they didn't have any that were dying as normally they are purchased before they get to this point. Me and Laura instead bought a range of different flowers from the local supermarket. Also for the memorial, we needed to get some teddy bears, which I suggested we went to charity shop for as I thought this is where they would be cheapest. Luckily, a charity shop had a teddy bear for £2 and 50p, which was perfect. Books including the university prospectus and books for Mr Shipman to hold, I already owned so we didn't need to buy these. And finally items such as the letters we could create ourselves rather than paying for, this was something Laura really wanted to do which was great. 

I am really happy that we managed to get the props early as possible, this is a weight lifted and something I can tick off of my list. It means that Laura can continue to focus on the shots and cinematography and I can carry on with organising all of the shoot days. 

MAJOR PRODUCTION: LOCATION RECCES

Location recce's are a very important part of any films production. As much as it is important for the director to plan their shots, blocking and lighting, it is important for me as a producer to make sure everything is ready and in order for the shoot. Also, considering we originally recce'd the locations back in November but are filming in February, so I wanted to make sure all of our locations were as planned and in order.

I decided I need to research location recce's and seek some advice on some of the things that I had to consider. A recce is an essential part of the prep and research process of a producer. Carrying out recce's will arm you with the information that you can use to plan your script and filming schedule. Risk assessments also take place after the recce. Item to look out/consider during a recce:

1) Transport and Parking: Production days tend to be very drawn out, so easy access for the cast and crew is essential to make sure it runs smoothly from start to finish. Therefore, it is very important to make sure that the locations you are filming in have good parking for all production members and cast, it is open for the entire production time and is close to the physical filming location. This means I would need to make sure that if we are using public car parks, I will need to make sure they are open for the entire time we plan to be shooting to make sure it will not lock during filming.

2) Toilets - Your production team will not be able to go far without a toilet being on site. Similar to the parking, it is important to make sure if you are using public toilets they are open for the entire time of the production.

3) Space - this is an aspect that is most important for the director, they need to make sure the chosen location is big enough for the filming and all of the equipment they want to use. As a producer, the space will need to be considered in terms of health and safety regulations, making sure that there is enough room for the amount of cast and crew members that will be there, without the risk of anyone coming to harm.

4) Power - It is important to note in the locations whether there is a power source on site, some of the equipment will require a direct power source or you may need to charge the batteries for the cameras. This is a preparation instance that in the case that the location has no source of power, you need to make sure that the assistants/director have all the cameras etc fully charged with charged spare batteries.

5) Hazards - As a producer, I will be the one completing each risk assessment for each location. When at a location recce, you need to take note of absolutely anything that could be considered as a risk. It will also be very helpful to take photos of any risks or just the location as a whole, because you can use these to help when completing the risk assessment.

In lieu of this research, I thought I would create my own location recce/checklist sheet that I can bring along to each one. This will help me because it is based off my research and will aid me in efficiently knowing everything I need to know at each location, as the producer. In this way I can bring these sheets with me when completing the risk assessments. I made sure to take a few photos of each location, making sure I knew what they looked like and exactly where were filming.

  

Research Links:
https://elementtwentysix.com/6-things-look-location-recce/
https://screenhi.co.uk/production/recce.html

MAJOR PRODUCTION: UNDERSTANDING THE PRODUCER ROLE DURING FILMING

As we were approaching filming, I realised that I needed to improve my understanding on what a producer does during the filming. To recap, I have researched and understood the role of a producer to a T, I have so far completed all of the necessary tasks such as:
-Scheduling
-Budgetting
-Paperwork (such as risk assessments and call sheets)
-Cast and Crew
However, I become slightly apprehensive about the filming days, so I decided to do some more research in order to understand the producer role during filming.

'Think of a Producer as the Manager of a Film Set' - Being a film producer might be the toughest job on a film set, they are the person most responsible if a film fails to make a profit. They represent the film throughout the project from hiring the screenwriter (or being the writer in this case), out of all of the workers on the film they have the longest span of work. During the production, a producer must be in contact communication with the director, any major changes to the story or the budget will have to go through them. Typically, a producer during production will
- Approve new locations
- Approve Script changes as well as any other major decisions
- Make sure the filming stays on schedule and budget
- Visit the set often but be present in the production office looking after the business side of the production - this will help to make sure that the film gets through despite any problems the filming may face

I found a youtube video whereby an industry expert explained what the role of a producer is, from the pre-production right through to the final product. These are my notes from watching the video:

-The producer will hire a writer, having to spend money on the first day
-Show and generate interest to find a Director
-Begin to look for cast: Stars decide the marketing profitability of the film, the bigger the star the bigger the marketing potential
-Arrange scheduling between all integral cast and crew
-The above processes could take months, even years, depending on the production.
-By this point the producer must have a concrete and solid plan for the film
-Be thinking about the budget and financial aspects of the film before starting to film, by this point a producer would normally not have been paid
-Be in constant communication with everyone working on the film, trying to keep good relationships with everyone, especially the director
-The producer is the only person who is completely and utterly responsible for all aspects of the film, they cannot walk away from a project until the investors of a film is paid back, or until the project is completed in its entirety.

Other interesting points I found from other sites:
- There are several sub categories to the producer role
- Sometimes, someone can make a small contribution to production, whether it be helping to bring money in or a creative decision, in order to be names and executive producer
- 'Associate Producer' is the term given to people who you have had to give a producer credit too, for any given reason, but they hadn't had any real contribution to the project
- A line producer supervises other producers, similar to a head of a department, they make sure for the overall/executive producers that everything is running as it should be
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It is interesting to see how the role of a producer differs from production to production. For example, on a low budget film there will be minimal crew so the producer will take more of an office/paperwork role as well as helping make the creative decisions. However on extremely high budget movies, the producer would have many production managers and production assistants that would be taking on the more paperwork type jobs. Some of this research cannot be applied to my work, as this is a low budget film, so I need to adapt the above roles and make sure that they work for our project. As the producer, I will be organising a form/checklist, for me to use on the filming days in order to make sure we capture all the shots/scenes we need to. I will be on hand and communicating well with Laura, director, in order to make sure that we are supporting each other and overcoming any issues together.

Research Links
https://www.amyclarkefilms.com/blog/what-does-the-producer-do
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN6vEoGSzE8

MAJOR PRODUCTION: FILMING PLANS

Back at the start of the project, I created a preliminary filming plan, I put all of the locations and details into one package. Now that we are closer to filming I have updated this document ready to give to all my cast and crew. I thought this would be a helpful document because it lets the cast and crew know well in advance what will be required and when.  I took the research I have previously taken on on call sheets to show what needed to be included on these documents. (Whilst I will be giving the cast their call sheets, I wanted to try and give them as much of this information in a clear document as soon as possible)

- The location addresses
- Scenes required to be filmed on specific days (to help with script/line learning)
- Cast required
- Crew present
- Basic contact information of the main production team
- Estimated Timings

I wanted to create this document and email it over to the cast ASAP because I want to make sure the cast feel as involved and present in the film making process as possible. This will hopefully reduce the potential chances of a cast member dropping out, but also make them feel more involved in the film as a whole. Often can be the case with certain student productions, is that the cast members drop out because they do not have any details or involvement in the films production up until the first filming day. We want to make sure our cast are with us every step of the way and know exactly what is going on.

MAJOR PRODUCTION: SCRIPT CHANGES

'When you’ve finished your first draft put it away in a drawer. Don’t look at it. Don’t look at it. Not once. The aim is to get your imagination out of it back to a neutral place so that you can have a fresh set of eyes.' -https://www.screenwritinggoldmine.com/13-steps-to-your-second-draft/

Over the break, it has been good to leave the script to one side for a while. A lot of the preliminary script research that I undertook, stressed the importance of having a fresh outlook every time you make a change. Regular breaks help to bring a writer out a rut, and bring a fresh view when you look at it next time. When I handed in the script back in December, I always knew that something was missing from specifically the end of the script. I felt as though with Nova, we were missing something and were not utilising her character. Having a break allowed me to think about the different ideas and ways to bring Nova's character back for the end. The ideas I played with were

- Making Marlo go back to the memorial to say one final goodbye
- Making Marlo go back to the park to say goodbye to her
- Have Nova appear outside of Marlo's bedroom, emotionally looking at him to give him her blessing to move on in his life
- Have another argument with Marlo
- Have Marlo find a letter written from Nova as a goodbye

After considering the options, I like the idea of Marlo and Nova having one final goodbye. It made more sense to me that Marlo would go to the park to say his final goodbye, because that is where him and Nova were at their happiest. Thinking about this scene, I knew I would prefer to have little dialogue in the scene, the story should be told through the emotion and facial expression of the characters.

Beginning of New Scene:

I'm really happy with how the script has come along, apart from minor changes in terms of minimises dialogue and extending the action, the new scene is the only major change. For logistical reasons, I changed scene 11 from taking place in a car driving, to taking place in a stationary car/on the side of the road. I knew that as a writer, the point of the scene was to stress to Julie that something may be wrong with Marlo and he perhaps has some issues. However as the producer, I knew that this scene would be logistically hard to film due to both cost and health and safety issues. This in mind, the scene now takes place outside Julie's house at the side of the road, whilst still retaining the original process/story.

MAJOR PRODUCTION: FEEDBACK AND PROJECT PLANS

As we have come back after the Xmas break, ready to put our pre-production work into practice. From the feedback session with Simon, I had the following points to work on -
The Script
- Simon felt that we needed to show Marlo having a stronger breakdown, this is the culmination of the film and we need to make sure the character goes through a full and proper breakdown to emphasise the situation
-We need to have more of a closure with Nova and Marlo, at the moment Marlo goes from a breakdown, to a heart to heart with his mother, to then feeling completely fine, therefore we need something that firstly brings Nova back into the equation but also brings the narrative full circle
-Some of the scenes are slightly dramatic, and this might appear too dramatic when filming

The Production
-The schedule and the storyboard do not match up, there are some shots that perhaps aren't needed (too much coverage) with very little time scheduled to do them
-Extras: We need to make sure that we populate the school with as many extras as possible so that it is authentic as possible
-We haven't casted anyone as the figure yet
-Confirm all locations

As noted, the changes with the scripts are ongoing. I know that some of the scenes need to be toned down, perhaps in some parts I have been too descriptive about the actions that Marlo takes and this should be toned down. In terms of another scene to bring more closure, me and Laura (director) were talking about bringing another scene in where Marlo goes back to the place where Nova died in order to say goodbye. However, after speaking to Simon, I realised that it would be much more suitable if Marlo went to say goodbye to Nova in the place that they had the most fun together, which would be the park. Therefore, I had the idea to write another scene where Marlo goes alone to the park, he sits on the bench reflecting upon what has happened, before looking at his phone and the photos of Nova in order to finally say goodbye and begin to move on. I am really happy with the addition of this scene because I think that it completely brings the story full circle so will be a perfect note to end the film on, before we see Marlo embark on his new life.

In terms of the production elements, I was happy that all of the paperwork I had completed and created, such as the call sheets and budget, were well received. In terms of the budget (explained further in future post), I plan to make changes to adjust a few things, such as decreasing the costume amount and increasing the prop values. I will also create a spending tracker to understand what is being spent and keep track of how much exactly is left over. In terms of the storyboards I know that Laura and Katie are going to be changing some of the shots, decreasing the amount of coverage down to only what is necessary and what adds to the production, in order to keep the schedule as it is. In terms of an actor for the figure, I think it is more important to get someone who has an interesting and intriguing voice, because in terms of being filmed, the figure will only been seen standing there and not making any movements. Therefore the voice is the most important aspect of this character. There are a few people we have in mind for this that we are looking to confirm,

In terms of going forward with this production, I am most at question with the research that I will have to undertake. I am in the process of making sure we have script read through and prep days, as well as the props that we need. I know I will need to research the processes of a producer on filming days, making sure I am doing the correct things and helping the production run as smoothly in any way that I can.