THE VOICEOVER SCRIPT

Using the music from Garageband and my recording equipment at home, I wrote a script for the voiceover and recorded it. It is shown below:

Home, a place everyone should feel safe

everyone can run to

Not for me

But I guess I'm just troubled

Sometimes I don't even recognise myself

Sometimes the lights go off, and nothing I do or say can bring them back

The darkness becomes me

You think you've found yourself in something that shields the pain,

something that your sorrows can drown in

Have you ever been so lost that not even you can find yourself

Trapped inside a mind that doesn't belong

inside a body that isn't yours to keep

Falling with each step forward

feel numb with each step back

I sometimes forget the person I was, the person I'm designed to be

Aching souls wander around me and I know they see me for what I am,

one of them

But still I run back to these people

Run back to the things that make me weak, make me sick

But anything is better than being alone

Anything is better than the life I had

Even if now I'm just a pawn in their game,

a piece of the puzzle that no one needs

Trying to break the chains, claw down the walls

but nothing, nothing breaks them down

Strangers after strangers, they don't even know my name

My story, why I'm fallen

It's hard feeling loved

when there is no embrace, no words spoken

I see it in these people

They love me, even if its just for a second

even if they buy my affection, it feels like the reward is mine to gain

Paralysed by fear of being alone

Addicted to things that snatch away my halo

Sinking deeper into the arms of the devil himself

Thinking nobody will ever find me, ever want me

No one will be my saviour and allow the light to come through the cracks of my beating heart

Someone once told me even the fallen can be saved. I'm not sure I believe them

I've heard it all

you're nothing

you're broken

it stays with me like a lost soul

　

MUSIC FOR THE CREDITS

To make the film seem more professional, I came up with the idea for writing and recording a song to play over the end credits. After the guitar track was finished and recorded, I added lyrics to it and then recorded my voice on my home recording software. The song is titled 'Fall' and was written especially for the short film.

CHANGE OF PLAN & WHY WE CALLED OUR FILM SAVIOUR

After beginning to shoot our short film we started to think of new ideas and new ways that it could end. Along with this, we decided to remove some scenes that we were previously going to include e.g. the flashback of the mother giving Madison the necklace. The idea for the 'Group Help' scene to conclude the film also was dropped as we thought a more effective way to do it was that the flashbacks were all a dream/nightmare and she wakes up at the end, shocked (but still married to the paramedic who saved her). This is to show that yes, it was a nightmare, but a true one and something that happened to her. At the opening sequence, we have decided to involve a car crash also, as this is what leads into the flashbacks, she has been given a 'second chance' in life and the final scene shows her recovering, with the help of her husband who has saved her once before hence the name 'Saviour'.

On the other hand, the name 'Saviour' was also chosen as it is designed to reveal that only you can save yourself and help can only be given if you are willing to receive it. Therfore, the storyline can be interpreted two ways. Did Madison help herself or would she have failed without the help of Brendan, the paramedic and her future husband?

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

We presented a pitch for our short film to our media class and asked them if they would mind answering some questions. We wanted to keep it simple whilst getting a lot of information back so we only asked 5 questions but all of which can be answered in a lot of detail and are fairly broad. The questions were;

"What do you think of the overall concept of our short film?"

 

"Is this storyline easy to understand? Why?"

 

"Is there anything that you would change about our short film ideas? Why/What?"

 

"What do you think of the short film title? Why?"

 

"Do you think our chosen locations would be appropriate? Why?"

 

 Thankfully, all of the feedback we received was positive and encouraged us to go ahead with all of the ideas we came up with. Our main concern was that the storyline may be confusing and take a while to understand (and we only have a few minutes in the short film) but everyone seemed to interpret it the way we hoped and it seemed to be effective. After looking through all of the feedback and discussing it, we took some pictures as examples of some of the answers. They are shown below;

 



 



CAST LIST

After initially planning to use other people as the main actors in our short film, we have now decided to use Chloe as it will be a lot easier and convenient for when we have lessons. Along with this, I am doing the voiceover for the character as I thought it would make me a larger part of the short film rather than just behind the scenes. Below are the names of the people featuring in our film:

MADISON

Chloe Ward

 

BRENDAN

Adam Pluck

VOICE OF MADISON
Bethany D'Inverno

 MAN
Adam Pluck


 

 

 

 



MOODBOARD

Using Adobe PhotoShop and various images off of the Internet, I created a moodboard showing the basis of the main character and the two sides to her that are shown in the short film. The images show clothes that Madison (the main character) wears along with items that may be associated with her.

ANCILLARY TASK: MOVIE POSTER TEXT

I changed my mind since the post about inspiration for my movie poster; I decided it would be better without a billing block as I wanted a simple, minimalistic yet effective image to be portrayed. I started off with a font from dafont.com that is free to use and I thought fit the genre of my movie perfectly. I narrowed it down to the 2 below:

 

Will & Grace

 

             

                    



PiratesBay

 

                    

 

 

I decided to choose Will & Grace because I believe it portrays the genre of the film better, as PiratesBay may give the impression it is gory or a horror due to the eroded look of the text. Along with this, I decided I might increase the size of the letter V or I in order to draw people to the title. I also wanted to not just have the text coloured white, but with an off white pattern which resulted in me having to take a photograph of something with the right texture so I could overlay the text and transform it to fit the letters. The image is below.

SHOOTING TIMES

As we want our shots to be dark at evening or night, we will be doing most of our filming outside of lesson and focusing on our other tasks, such as updating our blogs and beginning ancillary tasks, inside of lesson. We have decided to stay back after college some days and shoot from around 4, as it begins to get dark at this time, and also on weekends as some of the cast is only available on these days. Overall, our estimated shooting times will be weekdays from 4 and weekends from a similar time.

LOOKING FOR LOCATIONS

The main locations we want for our film are alleyways and areas that appear run down and maybe unused. We went to search for possible locations we could use to film different scenes in the film and took photographs to illustrate how we would shoot it and where it would be shot. Although we took these pictures in the day time, the ideal for our film would be for these locations to be shot at night time in order to give the right effect to the film. The photographs we have taken so far are below:

Along with this, some of the angles and shot types we are using are:

• High angle
• Low angle
• Panning
• Shot-reverse-shot 
• Close ups
• Extreme close ups
• Establishing Long shot
• Mid-shot
• Tracking 

ANCILLARY TASK: MOVIE POSTER RESEARCH

I have started to look into movie poster ideas for when I am unable to film or edit. I have a clear image in my mind of what the movie poster for 'Saviour' should look like and what message it should portray. I have found some with a similar layout or style to what I am hoping to create.

As shown from the images above, it is clear that I want the main character to be the only focus of the 'Saviour' movie poster. Along with this, I would like my poster to be very minimalistic and preferably black and white, with maybe a hint of colour or effect. I have already begun to do the billing block for the poster as I believe this will make it look realistic and professional, along with adding a bit extra.

INSPIRATION

Although the initial idea for the film was our own, along the way we found videos that have inspired us and helped to further the storyline of our film.

One of these videos was Lana Del Rey's music video for 'Ride' which has a similar format to a short film. The voiceover for Ride helped us to elaborate our idea of a series of flashbacks with a voiceover above rather than dialogue throughout.



Along with this, Barnardos adverts such as the two below had an influence over how we handle the movie. Despite tackling very serious issues and emotions, the adverts do not show anything and it is all an audience perception. This is how we wanted to handle aspects such as an overdose.

RISK ASSESSMENT

Safety is a massive aspect which you must take in to consideration when creating a film. Without assessing the level of safety of some items, peoples lives could be put at risk and that should be the least of your worries when creating a film.

 Wires 

 Creating a film means that you will be using cameras, technical lighting, extension leads etc. which all have wires attached to them. These wires could easily be tripped over and could potentially cause damage to the victim. The best way to avoid tripping over them is to make sure that they are securely fastened to the floor, by something as simple as tape. By doing this, you are saving yourself from potentially having to pay somebody a lot of money if they decide to make a claim.

 Technical Lighting

 The lamps and other lighting that we use sometimes get incredibly hot. The idea that we had was to turn them off when we are not using them to ensure that nobody gets burnt if they mistakenly touch one of the lamp heads. By turning the lamps off when they aren't in use, not only prevents people from burning themselves, but it also ensures that the lamps aren't going to overheat and potentially smash the lightbulbs which could also lead to further problems regarding safety.

 Reduced Visibility 

 We wanted to add some effects with different lighting. Throughout some of our scenes, we want to have dimmed lighting to add a mood to our scene. However, because of the lighting being dimmed, this means that our actors visibility will be reduced, which could potentially become an issue of safety. To prevent any accidents happening whilst the visibility is reduced, we must ensure that there are no objects placed in the acting area, so that there are no possibilites of anybody tripping over and injuring themselves.

INTRODUCTION TO OUR SHORT FILM

I decided to create a document showing all aspects of the film in one place. Along with this, I created a PowerPoint to show the summary of the short film and other things such as our production name and the genre of the film. Below are the images of the document for 'Saviour'. I wanted to do it in the style of a script in a typewriter font in order to make it look more professional.


Below is the PowerPoint we're using for our pitch to give a basic indication of the movie.

INTRO

More PowerPoint presentations from Bethany

STORYBOARD

 I wanted to do a detailed storyboard as the images in my head of the whole storyline should be portrayed correctly in order to create the correct, desired scenes when shooting.

SCENES

Below are the scene descriptions for our short film. We may decide to add more, or alter, these scenes but it gives a rough idea of how we want our film to look and the characters/actors we may need.

Scenes

Opening Credits - Alleyway

Location: Alleyway

Character(s): Madison

Length: 30-45 seconds approx.

CU: Boots walking into alleyway from around a corner.

ECU: Eyes.

CU: Putting headphones on and pulling hood up. Music begins to play.

CU: Putting cigarette into mouth and lighting it. Blows smoke out.

ELS w/ HA: Madison walking into the distance of the alleyway.

Credits playing throughout. Fading from each side.

Production name appears in typewriter style with flashing cursor.

First Scene – Argument w/ Father

Location: Bathroom/Bedroom

Character(s): Madison, Owen

Length: 30-60 seconds approx.

Music still playing.

MS: Shows steamed mirror. M splashing face (out of camera shot). Lifts head up and wipes mirror. Camera on mirror and shows M.

P: Pans left as M walks into room and sits on bed.

MS: M sat on bed crossed legged. Headphones on. Hears door, takes one part of headphone off and looks up.

LS: O stood in the door with a beer can in hand. Camera tracks O as he walks over shouting at M. Throws beer can on floor and walks out. Tear on M's face. Reaches down her top and gets necklace.

CU: Necklace.

Voice over starts.

Second Scene – Mother Flashback

Location: Living room

Character(s): Madison, Owen, Serena

Length: 10-20 seconds approx.

LS: Shows living room and scene. M's birthday and everyone looks happy, including O. S gives M a box.

MS: M opening box to show necklace. Hugs S.

Third Scene - “Now what have I become?” Friends and Drugs

Location: Alleyway and street corner

Character(s): Madison, Drug Dealer, 4 extras 'friends'

Length: 20 seconds approx.

LS: M, friends and man stood close together. Him looking around suspiciously. Friends all talking seperately.

MS: M and man centre shot and shows exchange of hands. M looks up at him. He nods.

Fourth Scene – Arrested

Location: Street

Character(s): Madison, Police Officer, Onlookers

Length: 10 seconds approx.

MS: Police officer putting handcuffs on M and her resisting.

Fifth Scene – Alleyway Stumble

Location: Alleyway

Character(s): Madison

Length: 5-10 seconds approx.

LS: Shows back of M stumbling down a dark alleyway.

CU: Face looking tired/depressed.

Sixth Scene – 3-5 Cars

Location: Road and path

Character(s): Madison

Length: 2-5 seconds each approx.

LS: M walking up and down road and cars come. Looks through passenger window. Fades to next car. Indicate she has done it lots of times.

Seventh Scene – Married Man

Location: Road, path and doorway.

Character(s): Madison, Man

Length: 60 seconds approx.

MS: Car window and man leans to open door.

CU: Wedding ring on hand.

MS: M gets in car. Looks down. Drives off.

LS: Building they are going to.

Cuts to a doorway.

MS: Man opens the door and goes in. M follows. Door shuts behind them.

Eighth Scene – Overdose

Location: Motel type room

Character(s): Madison, Brendan (paramedic)

Length: 60-90 seconds approx.

CU: Money on bedside table. (Hear door slam – man leaving).

MS: Pans at a high angle to M in corner of room with head in her knees. Shows hand reach down next to her.

CU/MS: M looking at bottle of pills and blinks and tear comes out.

MS: Pours pills onto hand and puts hand to mouth but hesitates. Then does it.

Screen goes black after. Makes audience think film has ended.

5-10 second blank.

Ambulance sirens.

POV: Eyelids opening and closing. Sees blurred man standing over her. Moving vision like she is being pushed on a hospital bed. Paramedic talking to someone above. Vision becomes clear. Shows man “You're going to be fine.” Hear machines.

Concluding Scene – Group Help Meeting

Location: Hall

Character(s): Madison, Brendan, 5-7 extras

Length: 20 seconds approx.

P: Pans from left to show the people sat on chairs listening to M talking.

MS: Shows B put his hand on M leg/hand and smiles.

MS: M in centre sat on chair and says final line.

Credits.

COSTUME & PROPS

A large aspect of a realistic, believable movie is the props and costume used. This is a vital feature of a film as it can convey genre, mood, character profiles and location. In order to be prepared for our film, I generated a list of things that will be needed in order to carry out the scenes and make it believable, however this list may expand, or contract, depending on how the development of the movie goes. This list is a part of a document I have created that shows all the information of the film including scenes and music necessary but I have seperated it for this blog post.

Props

Cigarette

Headphones

Beer can

Diary

Necklace w/ box

Birthday Party items e.g. balloons, presents

Small plastic bag w/ talc

Handcuffs

5 cars

Wedding ring

Money

Bottle w/ paracetamol and tic tacs

Bed/table w/ wheels

Chairs

Costume

Police Uniform

Paramedic Uniform or Dark Green shirt w/ badge

Long white T-Shirt

Black military boots

Black jeans/ skirt and tights

Black hooded jacket

Black shoulder bag

Other outfits for different scenes

I'M HERE

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY

'The Birthday Party' was a title given to a task which involved partaking in a photo shoot using the theme of a birthday party using a genre of our choice. I chose comedy as it seemed the most fitting genre for a party, a time of happiness and fun.

As preparation for this task, I gathered props together, along with my group, to create a realistic looking party. We followed the theme of pink as we had originally intended for it to be a little girls party but we later changed our mind. This is because we believed that a boy would be more fitting, as we wanted to tackle issues of difference and people who may be seen as that but embrace it and make light out of the situation.

The props we used were; a table cloth, balloons, plates and cutlery, cupcakes, candles, bowls, confetti and birthday cards. I created a plan of how the table would look when we had set it up;























For our pictures, we wanted to try lots of different angles and shot types to create a wide range of photographs to see which ones would portray the theme of comedy the best. We used a lot of lighting to create a bright atmosphere that was best suited for the genre of our choice and also portrayed the happiness that the boy was supposed to feel in the image. We also angled a side light onto the face of the boy to convey a better use of emotion.

Below are the final images from the shoot. We edited them to create white background as this seemed brighter and more fitting.

 

 

NARRATIVE

THE OUTSIDER

I had to create three separate story lines based on one basic idea to show how different genres can change how a story can be perceived.

GENRE

RESEARCH FOR ANCILLARY TASKS

The Prezi below shows my research into the short film posters of 'George Lucas In Love', 'I'm Here' and 'Across The Hall'.

INTRODUCTION & WHAT MAKES A GOOD SHORT FILM?

The task for second year of Media Studies is to create a short film along with a group of people. I have started this blog to show the development and process of making this short film along with showcasing my research and ancillary tasks. This blog will include a variety of multi-media to show my progress including Prezi and Glogster.

Below is a Prezi I have made showing questions such as what makes a good film and who are the audience for short films along with research into two short films and my opinions of them.