Main Task - Shooting Journal - Production

When we finally reached the shoot day, we knew we were going to have problems when it came to the tracking shot due to the size of the room, and also the available space to move inside the room. We came to the shoot day equipped with a steady cam which all of our group were very new to using. However, after several attempts with the steady cam, we decided to scrap the use of it, and make the most of what we had around us at the shoot location.
Fortunately, we managed to find a small skateboard that gave us the possibility of placing the tripod on top of the skateboard, as we didn't have the budget to create a track for a camera dolly to travel along on, so our easiest, and only alternative was to place it on household object with wheels; the skateboard.
This was very much a balancing act, and involved us watching the camera very carefully to ensure of no damage to the camera. As a group, we were concerned that using this method to record the tracking shot would cause it to be out of focus, and very wobbly. However, when we watched back the footage of the tracking shot, we realised that it was pretty smooth, all things considered.

Another problem we encountered was the severe lack of space we had on location due to 5 members of cast and crew being on set at all times, along with all of the camera equipment, as well as a large desk which played an important part of our set.  Although it was a struggle, and involved being people quite cramped into small spaces in an attempt to film, we managed to get there in the end, even if we were a bit tired, having moved out of the way of other people all day!

Main Task - Props Research

Although we had a location that was a genuine teenage boys bedroom, we wanted to choose carefully the props that would go in the room to make Peter's personality clear.
From researching about the book, we were aware that the story was set in a small American town, so we wanted to make that clear to the audience. In order to do this, we chose to place some half eaten American sweets, including Hersey's chocolate, on his desk, alongside a can of Monster. We also chose to have an old bowl of cereal on the desk to show how he is very secluded, yet still a typical teenager, because teenagers seem to hate the idea of tidying up.
Also, due to the fact the entire novel is based around a shooting in a school, we wanted to start to plant clues and hints to the synopsis of the film by including a pin board which featured a selection of
newspaper articles about shooting, particularly those that have happened in schools in America, to reinforce to the audience the country in which the film is set.

Props:

• DVD’s (Star Trek, Superman, Doctor Who, X-Men etc.)
• Bin (which is overflowing)
• Laptop
• Laptop Mouse
• Chair
• Desk
• Metal Frame Bed
• Pot of Pencils
• Desk Lamp
• Dirty Socks
• Bowl of old, uneaten cereal
• Monster Energy Drink
• Books (fiction, non-fiction)
• Superman tin lunch box
• Black dressing gown
• Clock
• American sweet wrappers
• Newspaper cuttings (linked to shootings)
• Glasses
• Death Wish poster

Main Task - Lighting and Colour Research

To fit with the personality of our main character Peter, we wanted to limit the light coming into the room in which we were going to film. To achieve this look, we made sure the blind was blocking out most of the light from the window, and that the only light source in the room was a small desk lamp placed next to the laptop.
Although we wanted the room to be quite black and dark, we also wanted tones of blue, similar to David Fincher, so that we could further communicate to the audience the depressed and lonely world in which Peter lives.

Including the tones of blue whilst filming proved to be quit challenging. However, this wasn't a problem as we were able to change the colour palette of the film in post production using a simple programme on the Mac's called 'Colour'. We chose to increase the levels of blue in most of the shots, and also the levels of red to communicate to the audience Peter's anger. When these two colours were increased together, it gave the overall piece a very purple hue, which I feel fitted with the mood of the opening, and the personality of the character in the scene.

Main Task - Costume Research

Due to the fact that our main character was a 17 year old boy, we wanted to dress him in clothes that a stereotypical teenager would wear. We chose to dress him in a black t-shirt to reinforce the stereotype of teenagers being depressed, and very withdrawn from society. We chose to have Peter wearing trainers, as over the past couple of years, there appears to have been a culture of teens trying to have the newest, coolest trainers, with brands like 'Converse' and 'Nike' being particularly popular. However, we chose to have Peter wearing trainers that are quite old and dirty to demonstrate that he isn't up to the date with the trends, so clearly isn't part of the 'in' crowd.

He is wearing blue skinny jeans, which we chose to show that he is trying to fit in, as these are quite in fashion, however because skinny jeans are the only fashionable thing he is wearing, he still has parts of him that the bullies can pick at.

The clothing we chose is quite similar to the Brechtian style of clothing, which in theatrical pieces is when someone wears a completely, black plain costume. The type of costume is typically used when someone is going to be several different characters and personalities. I feel this perfectly represents the character of Peter, as I feel that throughout the novel he changes personalities, as he goes from the vulnerable little boy, to the rather disturbed teen.

We also chose to have him wearing glasses that were quite large and 'geeky'. We chose to have him wearing these, as in the book it is stated that Peter is bullied all throughout his school life, and stereotypically, a lot of people are bullied for having glasses. We felt like we could imagine him being called 'four eyes', a very typical taunt of a bully. Although in the book, it never states that Peter wears glasses, we thought it would be a good addition to his outfit, as it is something he could easily get bullied for.

Main Task - Location Research

As part of our film opening, we had planned on having the main character Peter writing a letter in his bedroom, so we somehow needed to create a set that looked like a believable 17 year olds bedroom. We definitely wanted to conform to the stereotypes of a teenager, and therefore create a typical setting for a 17 year old boy. Fortunately, one of the members of our team had an older brother, so we therefore had a perfect teenage boy's bedroom to film in. In the room we had chosen for our location, there was a window which had a black coloured blind in front of it, which allowed us to make it appear like it was during the night, rather than mid-day when the shots were going to be done. Also, because this allowed us to block out most of the light in the room, it made Peter look particularly isolated, which is how we planned to communicate his character to the audience.

As part of our storyboard and shot list, we had planned to have a tracking shot of the bedroom, however once we visited the location, we realised it was slightly smaller than we had anticipated, therefore making the tracking shot more difficult, as there wasn't much room to move. Although the room was smaller than we had hoped, we didn't want to get rid of the tracking shot completely, so we thought we would give it a go on shoot day, and see how it went.

We moved the room around quite a bit in order to shoot. We placed a desk under the headphones on the desk, as that was going to be the centre of focus for the opening, so we needed it to be in a place that could easily be filmed, and a place that would give us the most room when attempting the tracking shot. We also placed a bedside table next to the desk, as we knew we had a lot of items to place around the shooting area, so we thought this would be useful to have, rather than making the desk too busy and far too cluttered (even more cluttered than a teenage boy would make it).
We ensured that the bedroom was quite cluttered, as it I thought that teenagers don't seem to enjoy tidying, and would much rather live surrounded by their own mess than tidy up after themselves. We also made sure that the bedroom was quite dark, including making some props such as the duvet cover black and white, as in recent years, there has become a stereotype that teenagers are very depressed and isolated, and we wanted to translate that into Peter's bedroom.

Main Task - Actors Research

For our film opening, we only required one actor, and that person preferably needed to be a teenager, as Peter in the novel is described as being 17 years old. Fortunately for our group, that is the age group that we ourselves fall into, so we had quite a few contacts that could possible fit the role.

When casting the role of Peter, we tried to take inspiration from characters similar to him in other novels. Having read 'Paper Towns' by John Green, I wanted Peter to be quite similar to Quentin in the fact he is trying to get the girl, and he will do anything to do that, however Peter's actions are far more drastic than Quentin's. I also liked the role of Tim Mooney in 'Men, Women and Children', as although he initially seems kind, and innocent, he soon changes into something very different.

We had quite a few actors in mind for the role of Peter, and we initially thought about having an audition process in order to pick the perfect guy. However, we soon decided that would be quite a time consuming process, so we opted to just coming to a decision as a group, simply based on what we already knew about the actors.

We had two actors in the running for the role: Tom and George. We felt that they both had the ability to act vulnerable, yet they still appeared to have a dark side, something that was integral for someone who shoots 10 people in a school. Both of these actors were of the same age as the character of Peter, and we chose to do this, as we thought the actors would find it much easier to relate to, and portray the character if they were of the same age.

As a group, we felt it would be much easier on shoot day if most, if not all of us previously knew of the chosen actor, as we thought that would make the directing much easier. Eventually, we opted for a 17 year old male called Tom Downey, as we felt he fit what we imagined Peter to look like. Although we didn't need our actor to explicitly act, Tom had previously been involved in dramatic pieces, and studied media himself as well, so we thought he would know the kind of things we were looking for when it came to shoot day, in terms of the types of shots we wanted, and where we wanted the focus of the shot to be.

Nineteen Minutes - Film Treatment

Nineteen Minutes - Film Treatment

 

Film Title: Nineteen Minutes
Production Name: MAGC Productions
Film Duration: 2 Minutes
 
Roles:
Director: Chloe Kennedy
Assistant Director: Grace Chambers
Production Manager: Andrea Simpson
Camera Man: Maisie Baker
 
Characters:
Peter Houghton: Tom Downey
 
Costumes:
Peter Houghton
Peter will be wearing wire rimmed glasses, as described in the book. He will wear the typical clothing of a 17 year old boy, a black t-shirt, a pair of jeans and some trainers. His hair will be very neat.
 
Synopsis:Sterling is a small town in New Hampshire, and the home of Lacy Houghton, whose job as a midwife is to bring new life in to the world. But on March 6th, her son Peter did the complete opposite, when he walked into his high school with a gun instead of books, shooting down 10 people. The book travels between the time before and after the shooting occurred, showing the knock on effect that the shooting has on everyone around Peter. As the narrative continues, we begin to realise that despite Lacy’s every efforts, she barely knew her son at all, and we follow the turmoil as Lacy wonders if there was something she could have done to stop Peter. The novel creates many questions in our head, especially, is the victim ever allowed to strike back?

Setting:

We have chosen to set our film in a bedroom location, and then dress the bedroom to fit Peter’s personality, perhaps with posters over the wall, and a computer in the corner on which he will write his letter.

Props:

• DVD’s (Star Trek, Superman, Doctor Who, X-Men etc.)
• Bin (which is overflowing)
• Laptop
• Laptop Mouse
• Chair
• Desk
• Metal Frame Bed
• Pot of Pencils
• Desk Lamp
• Dirty Socks
• Bowl of old, uneaten cereal
• Monster Energy Drink
• Books (fiction, non-fiction)
• Superman tin lunch box
• Black dressing gown
• Clock
• American sweet wrappers
• Newspaper cuttings (linked to shootings)
• Glasses
• Death Wish poster

Writing the Shot List

What is the purpose of a shot list?
The purpose of the shot list is to inform the creators, such as the director and the camera men, as to which shots need to be filmed, and the number in which they will be in the sequence once they are all pieced together again in post production.

We created our shot list once we had finished our storyboard, so we copied the visual information from our storyboards into words, so there was a simple list for us, the creators, to follow during the production process. This was quite a quick and simple process, as all we had to do was copy the information that was communicated through our storyboards.

Our final shot list can be seen below.

Creating the Storyboard

storyboard/ˈstɔːrɪbɔːd/

noun a sequence of drawings, typically with some directions and dialogue, representing the shots planned for a film or television production. What is the purpose of a storyboard? The purpose of a storyboard is to communicate visually the shots that need to be filmed. It also helps to inform the creators of the sequence in which the shots need to pieced together again during post production.

Prior to writing our screenplay, we had to create a storyboard in order to demonstrate visually what our plans for the film opening. We made two storyboards, because as part of our opening, we had planned to do a tracking shot, however we weren't definitely sure if it would be feasible to do it with the equipment that we had access to.
We knew that our film would feature several close up shots of particular objects in the room, as we wanted to communicate objects of importance throughout the opening, without revealing too much of the information too quickly. We also wanted to include some shots of our main character Peter, however we wanted to try and hide his identity for as long as possible, in order to maintain the enigma, and keep the audience guessing.
As part of our storyboard, we visually communicate the shots we wished to have of the typing on the screen of the computer, because our opening consisted of the writing of a letter, as that is what the opening of the book is. we didn't want to type out the whole of the letter, so we just wanted to type out important sentences, such as 'I hope to be dead.'