PRE-PRODUCTION; FIRST IDEA AND TUTORIAL FEEDBACK

As previously discussed, my group going forward for both the pre-production and production unit is Katie who will be the editor and Laura who will be the director, with myself being the producer and script writer. Over the summer we all met up to start discussing possible ideas that we could move forward with, we wanted to try and get ahead and have begun thinking about the story before we came back. We all went to see the film called Adrift, starring Shailene Woodley.
It tells the true story of a couple who's boat capsized during a hurricane on the Pacific Ocean; the film details the couples struggle sailing along on a half broken boat, delivering a final plot twist that the male star of the film actually died during the hurricane and Woodley's character had been hallucinating him the entire time. This was a plot twist that influenced us all and we really liked the idea of hallucinations. Using this as the beginning of our research we have discussed the option of using a teenage boy who has been hallucinating his dead twin sister. I really like this idea because its got a real sense of drama involved; something I like to create within narratives. We all juggled around a few ideas about this boy who maybe had some mental health issues, he sees a doctor who urges him to speak out about his feelings. The idea we mainly finalised on was that of showing two days running concurrently, the first showing the twins as young kids, and the second showing them as teens going about their day, both days eventually reveal that firstly the twin sister died when she was young, and secondly that the boy was only hallucinating her (implied by her death). This is an idea that I really like because i think it allows us to all have a lot of contribution to the project; there would be a lot of casting and locations involved, as well as editing because of the two different timelines so i think it could work really well.

We went in and spoke to Simon about our initial roles and ideas. We spoke about the idea that we had and explained how we all had a part in coming up with the idea and that was one of the main reasons we wanted to move forward with it. The feedback we got from Simon was as follows:

- What do we want to explore?

- What is our main theme?

- The mechanics of the film at the stage do not matter, we need to focus in on what the sole of our story is about

- who are the twins? why does it have to be twins?

- Strip back to basics

Simon suggests that we need to look at what we want to tell a story about rather than what we want to show to tell a story. Thinking about this it helped me to look at past years work, seeing work that was made meaningful by a specific message that was being conveyed. The nature of storytelling needs to have reasoning, the tutorial helped me to realise we need to find a topic as our starting point and then build a story around it, rather than fitting a topic over a story. A topic that I wanted to explore was trauma, as far as i'm aware i think it would be an interesting topic to look at and would allow for good points of research to begin with, as well as a broad narrative structure.

What's next? Following on from our first tutorial as a group, i would like to get started on researching what we want to tell a story about, i would like to begin with researching trauma. As the script writer I am feeling the pressure to get pen to paper asap, but i know we need to be researching first so that we have a story we are passionate and interested about. 

FIRST TERM BRIEF

- Research is KEY
- Be an independent learner using the advice through tutorials ad peer support
- Draw up a timetable and make sure to spend equal time on dissertation and pre-production units      because they are worth the same amount of credits (main term one focus)
- Slight introduce of the 'transmission' (final degree screening) as well as starting to get CV ready and portfolios/showreels

TERM ONE;
Dissertation (30 credits)
 - 8000 words
- With 3 tutorials prior to draft hand-in; November 27th
- Followed by 1 draft feedback tutorial in final week of term
- FINAL SUBMISSION; January 25th 2019

Year 3 Creative Project
- Selecting what creative skill set we would like to pursue, focusing skills and interests through collaboration

Pre-Production unit (30 credits)
-Individual or small group based
-Two distinct choices
-Largely self-directed
-Tutorial and seminar support throughout
-Submission of Project; December 11th
-Aim of this unit is to produce a details Pre-Production 'package' for an original production, this year there are two distinct choices as to how you fulfil this brief

- high concept piece; large scale idea that is aimed at competing with what is currently on television, a package that communicates an idea to a potential broadcast commissioner

 -major project pre-production; a pre-production package for a project which you will then take into production in your major project unit after christmas, produce a detailed plan for the production including all of the required production elements (pitch, script, budget, schedule, casting, locations, trailer etc) aim of 20 minutes for the final piece that is taken into production]

-In terms of the research involved for both projects, it has to be appropriate research that matches the piece being made, e.g. do not research a multi million pound director if you are making a short film

BOTH units are open to external collaboration in the following areas only
-Cast/Presenters/Actors
-Music
-Production/Costume design
All other roles and jobs must be filled by your fellow classmates or students in year 1 or 2

THIRD YEAR BRIEF

The third year brief enabled us to look forward and plan ahead to our last 3 units that we will be undertaking in the third year. I was glad to be able to know about the units before the summer holiday so that I could think about the units and what I wanted to do for them. In terms of the final major project, there is a lot that has to go into that, but the one thing I'm certain of is that I would like to produce a project as well as at least contribute to the writing of the scripts for the project. Producing is something that I have always enjoyed throughout our previous units and I believe it is what I am best at compared to the other roles.

Our first unit is to choose one of two options, designing a pre-production package for either a high budget programme that would be intended for one of the big broadcasters, or for our major project. At first I thought that the high budget programme option was appealing, it would be the first project that wouldn't be constricted to student budget and regulations. However upon further thought I have decided to go for the major project pre-production. As a producer for the major project the pre-production is a lot of the work that I will have to do anyway so I think that choosing this option for the first unit will allow me to really pay attention to every finer detail of the pre-production and produce a package that I will be able to take forward into the major project later in the year. This option also allows me to collaborate with someone else, in previous projects I have struggled with the visual elements of my work, written work and organisational pieces are what I enjoy more and have a stronger capability for. Therefore with this project it would be good to collaborate with someone like Laura, who will either be the director or the director of photography for our major final project. I think that together we will be able to create an extremely detailed and visual pre-production package that would enable us to take it through to the next project very well and for that reason I have chosen this option to move forward with when we begin again in September.

TRANSITION; PROJECT EVALUATION

Now that it has come to the end of the transition unit, I will critically analyse the project, detailing what went well and what could have been improved. At the start of the unit I was happy to begin and get started, I decided I wanted to pursue being a producer on the project because I had already been a 'VT Producer' on the previous project and I enjoyed that role a lot, I resonate well with a role that is about organisation and preparedness so I wanted to continue that. The only other role I would have liked to pursue would be a writer, I enjoy writing scripts and coming up with new creative ideas, therefore also in this project I was key in choosing the scenes from Riverdale, the Netflix Original Show that we were recreating, as well as drafting a script for it.

Herne Bay Clocktower - Exterior Location Shots

Firstly, I think that we were really successful within our project because of our time keeping. When we started the project at the end of March/beginning of February, I, as the producer, spoke to the group and said that we should set a filming date instantly because it would aid us in the pre-production. We set the preliminary date as the 1st of May, this would then mean that myself and Sonia, would be able to finalise locations and cast a lot easier. It also meant that Sonia and Laura, the director and DoP of the project, could begin work on shot lists and storyboards ready for our filming days. Setting a preliminary deadline of filming, even if it does eventually change, was really good for us in order to be organised and prepared, as the producer I have to make sure I am organised and for me, knowing my dates and deadlines is part of that.

Exterior Shots

My first involvement within the project was creating the script. It was a long process because we ended up changing our scene. First off, we wanted to recreate the opening 2-3 minutes of the very first episode of Riverdale, obviously due to logistical reasons, we had to take parts out that we wouldn't be able to film (for example a police boat sweeping the river). When I began writing the script I felt like we had lost the drama of the scene through what we had cut, it no longer felt like what we intended and was more of a locational shoot. I spoke to the group and told them that I thought we should change the scene in some way, in order to bring in more aspects of drama, so myself, Laura and Katie rematched episode one to find another scene to include. We really liked the scene of main characters Jughead and Archie meeting late night in the diner and talking, it contained a lot of drama because of the topic of their conversation. After choosing that scene, I had an idea of how we could use this scene to combine it with the opening we originally intended to do, thus making it quite different from the original. I rewrote the script in this way and the group really liked it, so we went forward with that. I think it was imperative we changed the scenes in the way that we did otherwise our piece would have really lacked the drama and suspense that I think we did create.

This unit, I think has been the best for team work and everyone pulling together, and I think this shows within the final product. We all worked really well together and although we all had our each individual roles, we all allowed each other to give opinions and help out with other aspects. For example on day 2 of shooting in the diner, we were quite thrown by the lighting as we didn't get a chance to recce it, and some of the shoots the DoP had intended to shoot didn't end up working because of that. Myself and Katie pitched in by suggesting some shots that we thought would work.

Exterior Shots

Something that I have learnt throughout these different units, is too always have a back up plan for in case something or someone drops out or something else changes. As the producer I was in charge of finding the perfect locations for our shoot. Whilst I still think some of the locations for the exterior shots could have been better, I tried my best to find the best locations in the amount of time we had. I applied for permissions to film at two locations, for our exterior shots through the Kent Film Office. I had to send off applications forms and then liaise with the owners of each location to answer any questions they may have about the shoot. About a week before filming, one of locations wouldn't answer the phone, though they emailed to say we could film we hadn't had any more confirmation about dates etc and so we decided it wouldn't be a good idea to film there unless they got in contact. Luckily we had a back up plan in the form of the second location that I had applied for. Having this back up plan already in place really took the stress out the situation, it mean't that the lack of contact we were receiving from our initial location didn't matter.

Whilst filming and editing across the project we had two main issues. Firstly we struggled to create the 'dream like' atmospheric shoots that we intended and pitched. The exterior shots that we used originally, as Simon told us after a tutorial, were boring and there was nothing interesting ab
out them. Knowing this we had to reshoot in order to try and give it the more atmospheric look we wanted. We discussed as a group and decided to head up to Herne Bay to film some shots, we have all been there before and we were sure wed be able to get some interesting shots to look at. The shots that we managed to get from Herne Bay, such as close ups of a Clocktower and a memorial, really lifted our piece and gave it a more 'dream like' feel. Perhaps with more time we could have found some even better locations but I think we did the best we could in the time we had. Secondly, the other issue we had was some sound on day two of filming in the diner. The clip mics that we had were not working and so we had to use a boom pole to record the sound, this mean't that we had some background fuzzy noise in the edit. Katie as the editor did her best to try and remove as much of this as possible.

Website Photos

Something that was different within the Transition unit, was creating a website. With each unit we are used to putting in some research but have never made a website before for it to all be published. I took the lead in creating the website as it is something I have never done before and I wanted to give it a try. I used Wix Website Editor, I began by creating the logo using the headings on the site, I found two different headings that I think went really well with each other. Once everyone had sent over the information to go onto the website, I pasted it onto individual 'Producer', 'Director', 'Editor' and 'Director of Photography' pages. I struggled most with finding the correct background images to fit the pages as i wanted to make the website as professional and visually pleasing as possible. I think if i was to do something like this again i would be more aware of it from the start of the project and perhaps take as many pictures as possible throughout shooting days that could have been part of it.


Overall, I think the transition unit went really well. I enjoyed being a producer and taking up the roles such as location scouting, script writing and editing, creating schedules, call sheets and finally making sure that the script was followed correctly on the days of filming. I felt within this project that  I could apply some of the experiences I had from previous units, such as having back up locations and working better within a team. I would say that I enjoyed this project most and felt a lot more confident about filming and editing something that would be a great final product. Being a producer is still something I really enjoyed, whilst I also really enjoy writing and hope to write my own piece, being a producer is definitely something I would like to pursue and i'm really happy with how everything came out.

Final Cut of Riverdale Recreation;

TRANSITION; FILMING DAY THREE

We had a tutorial with Simon to show him the rough cut of our version of Riverdale, unfortunately due to work commitments i couldn't attend, Katie and Laura went and sent on the follow feedback from simon;

Herne Bay Clocktower

- the stuff in the diner is nicely handled visually, the driving stuff seems very random in terms of the location and what we’re seeing - it’s not the dream like quality from - didn’t understand why we don’t see the characters - we have a character getting out of a car then they disappear - we pitched a dream-like, fluid aspect whereas this is very standard, documentary sequencing - didn’t get a close of jughead/ben, shame about this/off balance - fixing audio, putting in atmospheric sounds or music - visually interesting but the beginning is not what we pitched in terms of visual and tone - could try the idea that we’re going along and things are in slow motion, it doesn’t look thought about enough - try different techniques in the edit - the editing is good - screen writing is uninteresting unless we change it <- could go back to screen capture - diner stuff has a sense of focus and is good

A sense that Laura brought with her for the shoot

With this all in mind, we now had to refilm the opening sequence, we had to find a new location that had more interesting stuff to look at, stuff that we would be able to show rather than just normal driving around. We all suggested a range of different locations, such as Whitstable and Ashford, we ended up choosing Herne Bay due to the sites that are on offer there. Sonia couldn't attend the third day of filming so she created a sheet for us with certain sights within Herne Bay that we could film, such as the Herne Bay clock tower. The day began with Laura filming some shots of the clock tower, after this i suggested we film some extreme close up shots of myself and katies features, such as our hair and feet etc, in order to create more of a sense of the characters that the voice over is talking about. We then walked around the bay and found multiple areas to film that we thought would work well.

Laura managed to get her hands on a few different lenses to use on the camera, this really helped us because it allowed us to get some sleek and sharpe shots that helped us create the mood we wanted too. Whilst we didn'thave a lot of time to plan this, as the tutorial was 7 days before our deadline, we didn't have long to film so a lot of the day was us trying to find stuff that would work, i think that overall it did go well, and being in a different location worked well for us instead of us driving around normal town and filming stuff that wouldn't fit with the 'dream like' sequence we were trying to create.

TRANSITION; FILMING DAY TWO

Day two of filming for our Riverdale Recreation was on Friday May 4th, we were filming with two external actors in The Maidstone Studios diner. The diner was something that we hadn't used or been in before, it wasn't until someone from our course suggested it to us that we looked into it and found it to be a perfect fit for our shoot. It looks like a classic normal american diner which is exactly what we needed, so when we arrived for the day of filming we were extremely happy with what we saw.

At first glance, we thought we may have some issues with lighting, there was a huge main light which would make the room very bright, we didn't want this as the scene is set at nighttime and we were going for a dim look overall. We only had with us on the day the set of LED lights, so we had to find our way around that as best we could. Something that did come in handy however, was that the diner had 2 sets of red fairy lights already hung up, the addition of these with just the LED lights and the bar lights (a few dim lights hanging overhead the bar) meant that we got a dark and red light throughout the shoot, which i really liked. Myself and Sonia went to pick up our actors from the train station, whilst we did that Katie and Laura asked Ferg to help them with the lighting, from his suggestion we placed the lights outside of the diner, shining through the window onto the table our cast was going to be sitting on, this meant that it was light enough for us to film, but not too bright that it came off as happy or daytime.

The actors that we had for the day were really good, it was my first experience using external people for a fiction student project but i think the day went a lot smoother and the footage that came from it is of a lot higher quality because of the actors that we had. For the shot we had our director Sonia, our DoP Laura and myself and Katie who took turns recording sound. I also was going over the script whist we were shooting, making sure we got everything we needed.

Katie began editing instantly, this really helped us because it has given us a lot of time to sort any issues that we have. I had a few ideas such as
- Including a shot of Jughead beginning to type once his milkshake is brought over and the montage begins, i think from a narrative perspective it would make it flow better
- Zooming in on a close up at the end of Jugheads last line; if possible

TRANSTION; FILMING DAY ONE

Day one of our filming for transition project was all about us getting establishing and coverage of location shoots. We were filming all around medway to get some location shots to go over the beginning voiceover, as the producer I got to take a small step back during filming, however I was on hand to make sure that what were filming matched the action that is written into the script. For example, I suggested we got some shots of the car leaving the house location and arriving at the farm location, purely for continuity reasons and to make sure the audience fully understand what is going on (the twin characters driving to a lake).

The day overall I think went really well, the locations that we used including Capstone Country Park as well as country lanes around the Hartlip area were perfect for what we needed to do, the park was quiet with a huge lake which was really good for the amount of coverage we wanted to get, and the country lanes were really confined and gave us the sense of atmosphere that we wanted. The only thing I would have changed if I could was the weather, it was extremely sunny and bright which isn't the tone we were going for, we want a more dull and dark look, so Katie as editor is going to look into that further.

On the day I suggested that we perhaps film some shots with our phones, iPhone 7 plus. We had all seen a film recently called 'Unsane' which is filmed entirely on an iPhones, we wanted to take some inspriation from the film and we all agreed to trial this out with out phones. It may not end up in our final edit as it might not match up with the 4K quality of the Panasonic camera, but for our own research we thought it would be a good idea.

Copy of clip filmed on phone;