Shooting schedule

DAY 1 // FEB 05 // 9:00AM // TRAIN STATION
On this day, I will be filming everything at the train station. We will arrive there for 9AM, as to maximise our time to see the express trains (the ones that pass through the station without stopping at a great speed), and therefore get the shots that we wanted. It also means we have as much time as we can get to play around with the lighting and shadows, and we also have time to reshoot anything that doesn't go well. Also, filming the bulk of it on the first day will mean I can begin the editing process in the evening, and maximising the time I will have after I finish filming to edit everything properly.

DAY 2 // FEB 06 // 11:AM // INSIDE A HOUSE AND ON A ROAD
This day will be the day in which I film any short filler shots e.g. the kettle, the indicator and the driving shots. I am also planning on doing any Foley sound (if I discover I need any during filming), and simply re-recording ambient sounds and other sound effects. Starting early will again mean I have plenty of time to film everything in good daylight, and re-shoot things if necessary.

Both of these filming days have so far been fairly easy to organise - all I will have to do closer to the time is check the weather and make sure it's right for what I want to film, as I have already secured my actors and collected together my props and costume. Writing this schedule will prove very helpful as I will know what I need to film on what day, and what I need to do if things don't go as planned.

Storyboard

I only did a very rough storyboard planning out the general order and a few specific shots that I want to include. This is because I don't really find that I can map out the shots in enough detail when they are being drawn, as a new picture would be required for every single change in angle, no matter how slight. However, alongside the storyboard, I also wrote a shot list - I feel this will be very helpful as it won't be too much paper to take on set with me, and I can go into a lot more textual detail. I will still use my storyboard whilst filming as I think some shots are easier to visualise through drawing, but since I have a lot of cuts it wouldn't be time efficient to draw out all of them (especially the short, easy to describe ones), and it would be incredibly difficult to take them and use them on set.

Characters and Casting

NAME: Charlie Taylor

AGE: 36

PROFESSION: Financial adviser

LIKES: His dog, hiking, going out for meals

DISLIKES: Watching TV, his job

HISTORY: Parents got divorced when he was very young, and so he grew up with just his mum. After completing his A-Levels, he went to university to study finance. He has had a few long term girlfriends, but nothing too serious.

PERSONALITY TRAITS: Very quiet and reserved, likes to keep himself to himself

FRIENDSHIP GROUPS: Has a few close friends from college, but apart from them and his colleagues from work, he doesn't really see anyone else

THREE DESCRIBING WORDS: Quiet, conscientious, reserved

I decided to cast Andrew as my main character for a few reasons. Firstly, he is around the right age and so no makeup or drastic clothing changes would be needed to give the character the right feel. He's also comfortable on camera, and is good at keeping neutral facial expressions, and so it will probably be easy to get the emotion right in minimal takes. He is also available very often, and he lives near the locations that I want to use, and so it won't be difficult to arrange filming days and if anything needs redoing it won't be hard to organise that either. The costume that I want won't be difficult to organise, as they too need to be very plain. I am planning on getting him to wear plain dark trousers and a white shirt, and maybe a coat over the top - however, as long as it gives a smart-casual vibe it doesn't really matter too much. These too will hopefully help reflect the repetitiveness and boringness of the character's day to day life. They won't be difficult to get hold of as I'm sure he will have them in his wardrobe already, but if he doesn't it will be very easy to source any of these items from charity shops or borrowing them from someone etc.

Final Script Evaluation and Changes

After completing all my other tasks, such as casting and location research, I have found my final script to be pretty much completely spot on in terms of everything I am going to need to make it happen. Since a lot of my things are very generic and easy to obtain/visit, e.g. a road or a train station, there wasn't really anything that needed changing as there are so many different ways I can access these things. I also managed to secure a very good voice over artist to do my narration, and so I didn't have to change any of that either - I simply recorded myself saying the parts in the pace that I wanted, and then sent it to him along with the script.

I think I have definitely included enough detail in my script to make it very easy for myself whilst filming - I made sure to write in every time I wanted a change of setting, or a different angle, or a cut to happen. This will help me hugely on set - if I have a copy of the script with me, I can very easily check back over it if needed and know for sure what the original plan is in terms of angles etc. It will also make post a lot easier, as in editing I can use the cuts I have written into my script as a reference point, and so not only will I immediately know what order to put everything in, I will know how long roughly each shot should last, and where it should actually end. Also, once I create a shot list according to my storyboards and script, it hopefully won't take me long to get everything organised on the day, maximising my time for reshoots and camera positioning.

Casting

These are the people I am considering for my character. I chose them because they both fit the general criteria, and I feel they could easily match the mood and feeling of both the entire opening and the main character. They are also both relatively comfortable on camera, and whilst neither have any acting experience, they both seem very willing to learn.

Andrew

Jordan

I think, out of the two people I have been considering, Andrew would be more suitable for the role as he is closer to the age I was thinking. It wouldn't be too difficult to use makeup and clothing to make Jordan appear the right age, however this could be a problem if we had to film over two days. It would also use makeup skills that I don't have, so I'd have to find someone to do it for me for a low cost or free.

I didn't think it was very necessary to do an audition as such, as there isn't any dialogue, and if it goes as planned, there aren't any close ups or shots that require specific facial expressions. Since it is meant to reflect the boring and the ordinary, all they need to do is be able to keep a normal, relaxed expression throughout filming. However, I did run through the script with both of them just to check they were happy with everything, and they both seemed very happy to give it a shot if needed.

Based on your idea so far...

Ideally, taking into account the genre and target audience of my film, it would mainly be consumed online and in the cinema. Since the cinema is accessible for all ages, it would allow for my entire target audience (mainly teenagers/middle aged people) to attend, and maybe even people outside of that. I would also like my film to be consumed online, as I think it's another easy way to spread the film as wide as possible in terms of age range and also numbers of people. Almost everyone has internet access at this point in time, so it wouldn't be expensive or difficult for them to watch it online, and it also means they can watch it from the comfort of their own home, likely again expanding the number of people who would consume it.

Final locations

I'm going to be using Wymondham train station because it's very near to my house, meaning it's easy for me (and my actor) to get there, and we can visit it as many times as we like. It's also a lot smaller than other train stations, such as the one in Norwich, and so will be less busy/we will have less interuptions. This is the only station close by that fits with my plot - it would be no use me trying to use Norwich station, as trains don't pass through it, they stop to pick people up. This, therefore, wouldn't fit with my plot because I need a train passing through at quite a fast speed when the character bends down to pick up the shoes. Finally, Wymondham station is better than Norwich as you need to buy a ticket somewhere to actually have access to where the trains are, which could become very expensive very quickly, whereas Wymondham it's free entry. There are only a few other locations I am going to be hopefully using, but they don't need to be anything specific - they are my kitchen, and any road.

Script first draft

This is the first draft of my script. Once I have done all my official casting, found all my props and made final desicions regarding the location, I will be able to adjust this accordingly.

FADE IN:

BLACK SCREEN

NARRATOR
You turn left,

CUT TO:

EXT. CAR – DAYTIME
The camera is looking at the windscreen from the outside; the character turns the wheel to the left.

NARRATOR
Then right,

CUT TO:

EXT. CAR – DAYTIME
The camera is looking at the windscreen from the outside; the character turns the wheel to the right.

NARRATOR
Then left again.

CUT TO:

EXT. CAR – DAYTIME
The camera is looking at the windscreen from the outside; the character turns the wheel to the left.

NARRATOR
Coffee, after coffee, after coffee

CUT TO:

INT. KITCHEN – EARLY MORNING
Hip-hop montage style cuts showing close-ups of making coffee.

CUT TO:

INT. KITCHEN – EARLY MORNING
Over each word (next piece of narration) a different action is shown – pushing down the top of the coffee machine, pouring the coffee, empty cup being put on the table.

NARRATOR
Black [pause] no milk [pause] no sugar

CUT TO:

INT. CAR BOOT – DAYTIME
The camera is in the (shut) boot of the car, looking diagonal (mostly upward).

NARRATOR
Open,

CUT TO:

INT. CAR BOOT – DAYTIME

The boot opens and the character becomes visible.

NARRATOR
Shut,

CUT TO:

INT. CAR BOOT – DAYTIME

The boot is open and the camera is looking out at the character, he shuts the boot, submerging the camera in darkness.

NARRATOR
Open.

CUT TO:

INT. CAR BOOT – DAYTIME

The boot opens and the character reaches inside and picks up his coat and newspaper.

CUT TO:

EXT. OUTSIDE THE TRAIN STATION – DAYTIME

The character walks toward the entrance to the train station, and puts on his coat while doing so.

EXT. IN THE TRAIN STATION, ON A BENCH – DAYTIME

NARRATOR
And then, you wait. 

CUT TO:

Shots of the character sitting on a bench, looking around absent-mindedly.

NARRATOR
And that’s basically my life.

CUT TO:

Character notices a pair of shoes across the station; looks up, tilts head slightly.

CUT TO:

A pair of black shoes sit neatly on a bench over on the opposite platform.

CUT TO:

Character looks down at his own shoes, then back up again at the shoes on the platform.

CUT TO:

A shot of the shoes on the bench, this time from slightly further away. The character walks up to the shoes, and just before touching them, a train hurtles past. Once it has passed, we see the character has disappeared, and so have the shoes.

NARRATOR
They say, ‘you never really know someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes’.

CUT TO:

EXT. SHOT OF THE STAIRS LEADING OVER THE TRACKS – DAYTIME

NARRATOR
I don’t know who ‘they’ is, but now, I know that quote can sometimes be quite true.

 A tilting shot; the camera moves up as the character walks into shot, places the shoes down, and proceeds to walk up the stairs and towards the exit.

[PRODUCTION SEQUENCE AND CREDITS APPEAR]

Prop list

There are only a few action props I will need whilst filming. Since I want the film opening to be set in a normal place, with normal characters, I don't want there to be too many really exciting props or action props to take away from what is happening within the scene. So, my prop list only contains a few everyday items, which are:

- Black shoes
- A newspaper
- A car
- A kettle
- A train
- Coffee

I chose these props, as most of them are used to tell or enhance the story. I wanted to make them as average/boring as possible, to reflect the character's backstory.

I also wanted the character to be dressed as plainly as possible - looking like they are on their way to work. However, I wanted a pair of shoes that are bright, and don't match the main characters outfit, to put across the idea that before he changes shoes, he doesn't feel completely himself, or comfortable in his own skin. Therefore, the clothing items I decided on are as listed below.


- A white collar shirt
- A jumper (dark coloured)
- Blue/black (plain) jeans OR black trousers
- Trainers (any colour other than black)
- A jacket/coat (dark coloured)

Based on my first draft...

The preliminary task was a big learning curve for me in terms of how to successfully edit and film something. From really simple things like changing from shot to shot (e.g. if there's a character walking through a door, and they are being filmed walking through from both the back and the front, they shouldn't stop walking straight after opening the door, as when you try to edit both the clips together it's obvious they paused), to continuity - if they have their hair one way in one shot, it should be that way throughout unless they change it in the shot itself. I also learnt a lot about recording dialogue and sound. Since the preliminary was done before actually doing any research into sound and dialogue, I hadn't realised the problems I would face with the quality. I also didn't know anything about recording ambient sound, and so it sounded a bit jumpy in the end. Camera angles were the final thing I developed my knowledge on in my coursework - we stuck with quite basic angles and shot types, and so overall it isn't very interesting. In my actual coursework I have several ideas on how to change angles from quite ordinary to a lot more intriguing. Finally, during our preliminary, we only did each shot once (when it went right). This turned out to be a quite bad idea, as there were often subtle mistakes that are hard to see on a camera screen, that we noticed during editing, but by then it was too late to go back and film again. Therefore, when making my coursework I am definitely going to do each shot at least twice, so I have plenty to choose from during editing.

Overall, the preliminary taught me a lot about the whole filmmaking process. Since it was my first time ever filming, I didn't really know what I was doing, but after doing that task I had a better understanding on how much effort actually goes into making a piece of film, even if it is only two minutes of it.

Character Profile

NAME: Charlie Taylor

AGE: 42

PROFESSION: Financial adviser

LIKES: His dog, hiking, going out for meals

DISLIKES: Watching TV, his job

HISTORY: Parents got divorced when he was very young, and so he grew up with just his mum. After completing his A-Levels, he went to university to study finance. He has had a few long term girlfriends, but nothing too serious.

PERSONALITY TRAITS: Very quiet and reserved, likes to keep himself to himself

FRIENDSHIP GROUPS: Has a few close friends from college, but apart from them and his colleagues from work, he doesn't really see anyone else

THREE DESCRIBING WORDS: Quiet, conscientious, reserved

Plot Synopsis

My film opening will begin with some shots of the main character sitting on a bench at the train station. There will be a few cuts to other parts in his life - e.g., driving to work and making coffee. He is reading a newspaper, and flicking through the pages without really concentrating on the content. He looks up from his newspaper, and looking around at the empty station, he sees a pair of black shoes on the other side of the platform. They look brand new and unworn. He puts his newspaper down on the bench, and crosses the platform to the other side. As he bends down to pick up the shoes, a train goes past, and once it has gone, the man has disappeared. We then see the man walking toward the exit of the train station, wearing the shoes, and placing his trainers down on the floor in place of the black shoes.

If I was to make the whole film, the plot would develop to tell the story of how finding the shoes have, although they match his outfit and he may feel more comfortable in them than the other ones he is wearing, made his life a lot worse. Bad things start happening to him, until he discovers that something about the shoes that he found is affecting him - (he then eventually find out who they belonged to, as referenced in a voice-over quote I am planning at the start, and finds out about their bad backstory), and the bulk of the story would be about his trying to get rid of them.

I would definitely make it into a non-linear story, as I think they are a lot more interesting. Most of my favourite films, such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) and Adaptation (2002), are non-linear, and that's part of the reason they are so great - they can withhold the most important part of the film until the end in the most unique and beautiful way, or choose to piece the story together at a certain rate, and so it not only gives the filmmakers a lot more control, but it makes the audience think about what's happening. Also, something I really like about a lot of non-linear films is the fact that you understand them retrospectively - you aren't necessarily allowed to understand a lot of what's gone on until the end, and every time you watch them you understand something new (e.g. in Eternal Sunshine - tiny details, like the small dots on the side of Joel's head in the scene where he is in his car, you either don't notice/hardly notice them until you watch it a second time, where you realise that it is him coming back from the clinic).

Already, in my opening, I have planned to have a few non-linear parts - the parts where he is driving, the shots of the coffee and the shots of him opening the boot will be non-linear, as they happen at an ambiguous time outside the main storyline. This adds in the possibility for a much greater amount of shots to be present, making it a lot more fun to watch.

Audience research feedback

In my audience research, I tried to ask a mixture of younger people and older people on the media products they consumed, how they consume them and what sort of things they enjoy.

From the research, I learnt that my target audience tend to watch films at the cinema. This would help me hugely in terms of both showing and advertising and promoting my film, as I now know that a lot of people in my target audience's age range enjoy going to the cinema, and so both advertising in the cinema and showing my film in the cinema would be a good idea. I also found out that people like film openings that are very fast paced and action-filled, whilst still being introduced to the setting and main characters so they can get to know them a bit. I have already planned to introduce my main character and the setting straight away, so I don't think I need to change anything about my plot in regard to the things I have found out in my video.

My Plan So Far

The idea that I have chosen to do is focus 2, idea 1. The basic idea of this is finding something normal in a normal place, but the object's nature and the location don't match up. With this, I have thought about using a pair of shoes, and potentially something with it like a briefcase. I wanted to have these in a train station, for a number of reasons - it's a normal location, a lot of people visit it, and I already have a few ideas of different shots I could do incorporating features of a station. It's also an interesting place for someone to leave something like a pair of shoes and a briefcase, as it's not very likely that they would have taken off their shoes while waiting for a train and forgotten them when their train comes.

I am working on my own for my film opening, as I think it makes things quite a bit easier. It allows me to create a piece of work that is entirely my own - I don't have to compromise on any ideas that my group may not agree on. It also allows me to work on my own schedule - I would only have to arrange filming around when my actor(s) are free, not when the actor(s) and my group are. Also, working on my own allows me to improve skills in all areas of making a piece of film - when working in a group, one person tends to film, someone else does the editing, someone does the casting and planning etc., meaning that not everyone gets a chance to practice everything. However, working on my own allows me to do this, as there's nobody else to do it for me. Finally, working on my own meant I had to do all the research on my own - I think this is a good thing, as if you split the research, it's really just a case of copy and pasting half the work onto your blog, whilst working on your own means you have to do it all and therefore probably have a deeper understanding of everything. However, there are drawbacks to working on my own. The main one is the sheer quantity of work I have to/will have to do by myself, as I have nobody to split it with - although overall, I think it's a good thing in terms of understanding, it's a bad thing in terms of the fact that I might struggle to meet deadlines while concentrating on my other subjects. The only other drawback I think could really affect my work is the fact that if I struggle with anything, be it coming up with ideas, or having problems during the actual filming process, I will have nobody to help me. However, I don't think this is too big of a problem, as I will have the person I cast as my main character, and potentially a few people I bring along to film with me.

I think, based around my initial ideas for the plot and where it could potentially lead, I am going to create it in the style of a drama film. I think it'd work best in this style, as it's based around a situation that could happen in real life, and doesn't have any elements of action, romance, or sci-fi etc. I also like the fact that it's a drama opening because it's a genre I know quite well - I have watched a lot of films in this genre, and so along with my research, I have a reasonably good idea of the conventions of a drama film.

My narrative will be mostly linear, but I am thinking of including a few cuts to other things of an ambiguous time, to show off a bit more about my character and also to break up the structure into something more interesting. However, I'm going to keep these short and unspecific in terms of what time they are at, since they are purely used to convey information about the character, and not about the plot.

In my film opening, I am only looking to use one character. This is mainly because I think it would fit better with the plot, and it would make it a lot more effective as the main character is meant to come across as boring and lonely. However, it is also partly because of ease/effectiveness in terms of the quality of filming - if I had two characters, it would be a bit strange not to include some sort of dialogue between them, but having it at the train station would mean there's a lot of background noise, which would make the quality of it bad. Also, I think it would be a lot harder to find two characters of that age (so they look connected in some way), who I can co-ordinate to film at the same time/same place.


If I end up sticking to my plan, I am going to be using a train station, Norwich Road, and Long Stratton Road. I have decided to use these roads as they are long, relatively plain and straight, and they are often not hugely busy. All of these things are important as they are things which won't distract the audience, and they are also kind of reflective of the character's personality/life. I might also include a coffee shop or a kitchen of some sorts, just to include for a few seconds.

I know that I will definitely not use dialogue, due to the reasons that I have included in my dialogue research section. Also, as said above, I know that I don't want to use more than one character, due to dialogue, casting, availability and plot reasons. However, I am definitely going to either record a soundtrack myself, or use an already made one over the top. This is because, especially due to the lack of dialogue, I need something to fill the silence, as if there is nothing it'll probably be quite boring. I know that the soundtrack I am going to use won't be fast or very upbeat, as I want something that will emphasize the mood of both the character and the scene. Also, for this reason, I don't want to break the fourth wall, because I don't think it will carry on the mood I want to portray. However, I think I want to have a little bit of narration, but it really depends on if I can get the right person - if they don't have the right voice, it probably will take away more than it adds.

There are quite a few shots and angles that I have in mind, although when it comes round to filming, if they don't fit in with what I am doing, or if they look wrong in the editing process I don't mind leaving them out. This means I will have to be quite careful to film the same part from a number of different angles/distances, so if something ends up not looking great, I can redo it.

Idea Development

After brainstorming ideas for my coursework, I evaluated all of them, listing the pros and cons. Pictures of these are below.

This was incredibly helpful in deciding in which direction to go in terms of plot for my final piece of coursework, as when I got to the evaluation stage for each one, I had an accurate idea of how successful my outcome could potentially be and what challenges I could face. Doing this really helped me think more deeply into each idea, and so I didn't really have to think too specifically about which one I wanted to use, as I really decided in the process of making these lists.

Coursework Planning - Initial Ideas

After spending a while doing some research on many aspects of film/film openings, I decided to start coming up with ideas for my coursework. To begin the process of thinking of a plot, I decided to mind map everything that I like in a film opening - colours, angles, editing techniques, shot types etc. I decided that I would then try and come up with a plot that could incorporate these things effectively, as I would then be able to include and focus on things I feel are my strengths. This is the mind map which fully entails all of these things:

(click here for an enlargeable version of this image)

After mind mapping my favourite techniques, shots and colours, I then tried to focus on a few of the locations I had at my disposal that fit in with these. I did this step next because I thought that knowing where I could film would eliminate a lot of ideas which I couldn't create - but it would also allow me to think of non-conventional plots to contrast the locations. Below is a picture of the mind map I created, including reasons why I thought those locations would fit in with my filming preferences.

(click here for an enlargeable version of this image)

It was around this point I came up with a few focuses I thought could develop into potentially interesting story lines. The first focus I thought of was the idea of breaking the norms of everyday life - since all my locations are features of everyday life, it would be easy to incorporate all of them into it. The colour scheme, editing technique and camera angles/shots that I like would also fit well with this - since they aren't what you see in typical, everyday films, having jump cuts, darker colours and non-conventional angles fit well with the theme. The locations symbolise the ordinary, and the way it's filmed and the plot both would symbolise breaking that norm. From this first focus, I came up with a few plot ideas. The first one I thought of was someone on their way to work, but half way through their journey, they decide to call in sick and go somewhere else. I thought this would be a good film opening, as if you introduce the character at the very start as being boring and overly ordinary, and end it with them beginning to stray off that path, it leads to a lot of questions - like, what are they going to do that day? or, why did they decide to do it? The second idea I had involving this concept was someone who is different in society - either, they are different from the start, or they begin to discover their differences. I thought this would be really interesting to do in terms of colour, as I could potentially plan it so everyone is dressed in dull, monotonous colours (as is the background/location), while the main character is either already dressed in bright clothing, or throughout the opening they begin to be. Finally, my third idea was a bit different to that of my others. I thought of doing a romance-type opening, with two characters, with contrasting personalities. I thought this could be vert interesting as it could be shot from both character's POV's - one bright, one dull, but at the end of the opening, when they meet, the dull POV could see something in colour for the first time. It would be very interesting to experiment with symbolism within this, as it could be a metaphor for a type of mental illness. It would also be interesting to experiment with shot speeds, and cut lengths, as they could easily be seen to reflect the character's state of mind. The mind map below shows these ideas, with other small variations.

(click here for an enlargeable version of this image)

The second focus I came up with was the concept of finding something somewhere where it's out of place. I thought this was a very interesting concept to look into, as again, it can very easily incorporate the tediousness of everyday locations, as well as the abnormality of the out of place object. When coming up with potential plots for this, I decided to take two routes - the first being, finding an ordinary item in an ordinary place, but the location and the item don't match up - e.g. a bed in the middle of a field, or clothes hanging from trees in a forest. I thought this would make for a very engaging film opening, especially if you end the opening with the character(s) finding the object - it leads to a lot of questions, like, where did the object come from? who's is it, and why did they put it/leave it in such an obscure place? - meaning they'd be eager to watch the entire film to find out the answers. The second way I could develop a plot from this was an obscure item in a normal place. This could be anything from finding an object which looks like it's from the future, to finding an object that looked like it was created a very long time ago. I thought this would potentially be interesting as unknown objects that look like they are from very different time periods could develop into an intriguing story line as to how the object came to be there. The mind map below details these ideas, plus a few more I came up with.

(click here for an enlargeable version of this image)