Preliminary Task

As part of our coursework we had to complete a preliminary task. Our task was to film a short extract whereby someone walks through a door and sits down to converse with another person. We used this as an opportunity to practise filming and editing and also had a chance to practise and familiarise ourselves with the 180 degree rule. We included various camera angles and movement like close ups on the door handle, an arc of the character walking through, and a shot reverse shot of the actual conversation. We edited the clips together using iMovie and made sure that the continuity of the extract was as accurate as possible. We were pleased with the way that we had filmed and edited the footage and can use the skills and practise from this task to ensure that our own opening is to the same, or preferably higher quality.

Our shooting schedule

We then had to decide when were going to film the different parts of the opening. We had to ensure that we took the factor of continuity into account with the changing lighting. We had to plan it properly so that the lighting did not suddenly change or jump. We planned to film walking into the train station and train station scene first and then the school scene on a separate day at an earlier time to show the progression of lighting throughout the day in the opening to create verisimilitude.

Storyboarding our opening

After making the script, we began taking photos to make a storyboard for us to follow when filming. We had to think carefully about each camera angle. trying to involve as many shots and camera movement as we could to create verisimilitude and create interest, but also wanted each shot and movement to be meaningful and serve a purpose.

Scripting our film

As we began to script our opening we considered what words would be powerful to express the character Emma in her voice over. We chose to keep it simple and ask the audience a question to get them actively involved and make them think so that they can begin to relate and connect on a personal level with Emma. To begin with, we had planned to show Emma first through a reflection of the window. However, as we began to plan and take photos for our storyboard, we realised that it may not always be possible to get a reflection. It was too risky to just hope that there would be a reflection on the day of filming and so we changed our script so that the audience see Emma through the classroom window and then arc around through the window and into the classroom to show the room from Emma's perspective. This is our finished script...

The characters in our film

We thought carefully about which characters we wanted in include in our film, what they were like, what they would look like, their relationship to the protagonist and their roles in the film. We created character profiles for the characters which were going to be in the opening so that we could decide specifically what they were going to look like/wear for our opening.

Protagonist and "Princess": (IN OPENING)

Hero and Helper: (IN OPENING)



Villian:
Steve Turner
Steve is a bad tempered individual who resorted to alcoholism when his wife, Emma's mother passed away. Steve attempted to raise Emma but was ignorant to her needs and feelings. He is a bad mannered and rude individual with a poor relationship with Emma.

Dispatcher:
Tiff Lawson
Tiff is a student at Emma's school who is extremely similar to Emma (this shows to the audience that there will always be others in a similar situation and that you can never tell who is actually suffering from the outside). They both share the same therapist (Jo) who brings them together and they begin to share experiences. Tiff (alongside Harry) persuades Emma to make changes with her step father. Tiff is quiet, polite and tends to draw back from social situations.

Helper/Donor:
Emma and Tiff's counsellor Jo
Jo is a therapist who deals with troubled teenagers. She has a calm and inviting personality which allows Emma to open up to her on a deep level. She is middle-aged and a typical "aunt figure" to everyone. 

The narrative to our entire film

1: EQUILIBRIUM: An outcast female, called Emma, is troubled. She gets by at school with her head down and little friends. Her home is broken due to the death of her mother and her strained and broken relationship with her step-father.

2: DISRUPTION: Emma, on her way home from school, finds herself sat next to a young boy named Harry who takes an interest in her and what she is reading. The two characters begin conversing for hours until they realise that they have missed the last train. Harry offers to walk Emma home, but Emma only allows him to walk her half of the way home. The two characters do not exchange any form of contact (eg phone number) and do not see each other for weeks, although Harry is always playing on Emma's mind.

3: RECOGNITION: They finally see each other at a concert and go for another walk home. Harry finds out that Emma's step-father is an alcoholic when he overhears an argument between Emma and her father from outside her house. Emma is visited by her counsellor (Jo) and they discuss Harry and her step-father.

4: ATTEMPT TO REPAIR DISRUPTION: Harry tries to convince Emma to stand up to her alcoholic step-father, Emma retaliates and tries to argue with Harry for getting involved but Harry begins to open up about being an orphan and his values of love and life creating a deeper connection between the two. Emma confronts her step-father and they learn the truth about one another.

5: NEW EQUILIBRIUM: Emma and her step-father's relationship begins to improve and Harry is introduced to him. Her step-father approves of their relationship and begins to tackle his own issues. Emma also starts to tackle her own anxieties.

Our final film opening idea

Our final idea for our teen romance drama film is to have a female protagonist who is outcast and alone. She is troubled, but the audience are unaware why exactly. The opening begins in this character's (Emma) school as she sits alone in a classroom at the end of the lesson. As she begins to leave the classroom she is overwhelmed by the amount of people in the corridor, these people are also acting as if she is not there. They are crashing into her as she slowly walks through the school. A voice-over will be used throughout this, introducing herself to the audience. She puts in her earphones and the song which she is playing becomes the non-diegetic soundtrack for the opening as she begins to walk to the train station to get home. We will use a montage of her journey using different camera shots and movement. The character then sits next to a young boy (Harry), but the audience do not see the full side of him, only his arm. The girl begins to read her book 'Oliver Twist'. The young boy quotes the book (whilst still being hidden from view of the audience) and Emma is surprised but excited that somebody has finally taken notice of her.

My initial ideas for our opening

Our group decided to split off individually and think about what we wanted for our opening. We considered specific elements, like possible camera movements, and also considered more general things like the actual storyline. I created a mindmap to express my ideas. I looked back through my research findings to ensure that my ideas aligned with those of a conventional teen romance drama. I also looked at our audience research, in particular their interests, so that I could involve elements of these interests so that not only would it be more interesting for the audience, but also it would make these characters more relatable for the audience which is important. An example from my ideas of this is using a stock setting of a concert to reflect the interest of music that was displayed by the teens who had filled out our questionnaire.

Our group were then able to come together and discuss our individual ideas. We believed that this was a better idea rather than just trying to come up with one idea between all of is. This is because we can pick out the best of each idea, which would all consist of unique ideas that we could find the best of to create the best possible film.