Craig: It's done!

We did it! Yesterday, in the freezing cold, after finding a suitable area to film, and waiting for Martyn to get by the traffic, we all arrived at our location, filming went smoothly, apart from a few hiccups in the costume drama bit. The temperature was below freezing and there was a slight mist about, but it didn’t matter, everyone who was acting were brilliant, from the second we started filming to the time we stopped, we had spent just under an hour filming. Editing should not be a problem, there are very few shots to merge together and only music and credits will have to be added, we can do this once we get into the editing booth once we return to school in the new year.

Becky: We did it!

Today we filmed our short film, it went great. Even though it was freezing cold, no one gave up; we all stayed focussed and got the job done.

I am so pleased and thankful that all the actors/actresses turned up and did a superb job, their acting was brilliant and I believe that after the editing is completed we will have a decent and interesting short film.

I can not wait to see the finished product.

Leonie - After Filming

Well today was the big day and I must say I was awfully proud and excited about how it went today. Despite having little practice, we managed to get the costume drama in three shots and the improvisation in one. It was 0.5 degrees below and we had a brilliant location with no modern day litter bins or park benches. The only problem was the sound, which we got sorted and the passersby never bothered us. The acting was to the best of our ability and we had to improvise on my costume to make a shawl to keep me warm. It took us only an hour or so to find the exact location, rehearse and film it in its entirety. Craig filmed whilst Martyn and Becky also took place in the production.
Tomorrow I am taking the costumes back but it’s so sad to see it all over! I cannot say how proud I am that we managed to get this sorted out so quick and efficiently. Pictures will be up soon!

Craig: "Oh no, we're filming tomorrow!"

Well… Tomorrow is the big day, our shot at filming this, we have everything prepared and I have been keeping a close eye on the weather forecasts, and, it seems great! No rain, no snow, no ice, little wind… Just plain, British weather, cloud ‘n’ cold! We have absolutely everything prepared, and have decided where and when to meet… We hope for no failures and the actors to be sublime. The whole group will be there tomorrow, and we will have a great time filming, if it doesn’t go wrong of course…

Martyn: Props

Due to some technical error with my computer this was the soonest this post could have been posted as this was the first chance I could have gotten the file to one of my group members to post on my behalf, Craig was kind enough to do it for me and I thank him for it.

For this project we have been considering the use of props, mostly being in the costume department, however I have been looking into some props which could be used in the costume drama section of the film, we have all decided to keep it to a minimal, so as to keep it in line with the script the whole group shall be looking for some period looking books and with a remarkable amount of luck the perfect book was found by Leonie in the first shop she looked in, these are images of the book.

Craig: We are ready!

After being harshly ill for the past week, I have missed out on the final details of what we are going to do. We now have all of the equipment, have tested it to check whether it works and it does, we have come to conclusions regarding actors, props and settings which are vital for the filming stage of the production process, and we are now putting the flesh onto the bone of what we have prepared for! Our plan A is highly stable and our backup plan will work well also. Leonie has ordered the costumes which sorts out the costumes and Martyn is taking charge of the props. Becky has also been preparing to edit immediately as soon as we return to school in the spring term in the New Year. One unexpected aspect which may occur could be snow, which we have been getting considerable amounts of over the past couple of days, and could remain here for a couple of weeks, this could benefit us when it comes to the improvisation sections of the film. I feel we are now ahead of schedule by a couple of days now and even if our preferred date for filming does not go ahead, our backup date will still be before we plan to start editing. The group is working incredibly well, and we know that we will all be there for the filming session(s) as we can rely on one another, the group ethics have been excellent so far and will continue to be as we head straight for the filming after Christmas.

Leonie - Ordering the Costumes

Just got back from ordering the costumes! Travelling to the other side of town has been slightly dangerous as the icy roads and accidents due to the snow has put a standstill to everywhere. The weather wasn't that bad today so I decided to make my way to Incognito (the Fancy Dress shop).

Upon our arrival, as I took our other costumed Actor, we found the costumes swiftly. A few of the items we needed were going to be hired out but we have ordered them for the 28th. We managed to get: the purple dress, the waistcoat, overcoat, ruffled shirt, trousers and boots ordered to be picked up on the Wednesday 23rd. As it is an A Level project, the owner of the place gave us a brilliant deal of renting the costumes for free! I was overwhelmed and so thankful that we managed to get it all free as it is a low budget film.

I have contacted our two improvising characters (Director and Producer) and given them the areas they need to cover during the improvisation so hopefully with a bit of practise they will be fine with it. The learning of the lines for the costume drama is going really well but very hard as it will be all in one take! So wish us all the luck in pulling this off just after Christmas!

Leonie - Lights, Camera, Action!

Today we were given the cameras, which was very exciting! We have in total two cameras and two tripods, which are all up and ready to go. The final discussions have taken place and we have decided that the following characters are:
Grace - Leonie Sturman
Lord Thayne - Stephen Harrington
Producer -Trina Abbott
Director - David Green

We have also decided on the final filming dates! We will be filming first on December 28th 2009. As there will be improvisation and there may be many takes, as well as our actors may have other arrangements during the day and the weather may be unpredictable we have decided to set a back up date of the 2nd of January 2010. The costumes will need to be ordered as soon as possible and I am hoping to get down there ASAP! They will be pre-ordered and we can collect them on the day.
The time has almost come!

Leonie - Script and other decisions

Everything has changed! It is rather exciting but daunting at the same time. As scriptwriter, it isn’t right to script an improvisation…it is unheard of! So, we have decided to only keep the scripted part for the costume drama as it will add to the effect of it. However, as we are narrowing it down to the other two characters just arguing and no one else coming in, we are giving that bit the improvisation. I have thought of different pointers to give the two characters during their improvisation. As I need this conversation to take certain topics on board but still be improvisation, I shall provide these characters with areas that are vital to be discussed. This will require a lot of practice, but not too much so it loses the feel of improvisation, on both of their parts.

This means our character list has decreased dramatically and I will give an update soon on exactly who is playing who! I have a rough outline but first I need to confirm it with everyone. I met with two potential actors yesterday for the part and as they are a marriage couple, I think they would be good candidates for taking up the improvisation roles.

On Friday, as our ideas changed, so did our potential storyboard. Below is an image of the storyboard in rough and less shots than we are planning. Our film is being recorded as a documentary so the camera shots will be purely spontaneous with the improvisation. Ours is so small because of that reason and the fact that the costume drama is being shot in one unedited piece to give it a raw look. We acted the scenes out in rough along with potential camera angles and where the camera will be at times. This really helped us get a grip on what was going to happen.

This week a lot of decisions will have to be made but I have all the confidence in my group in making the right decisions. There have been a lot of changes but I feel now we have a risk and I hope it all goes to plan! (Below complete script)

Becky: Group Meeting.

Fortunately I was well enough to attend sixthform today; my group were very kind and updated me on everything I had missed; I really appreciated this.

Today in our group meeting we decided that our current short film idea could be improved as it was rather predictable and similar to some existing short films. We want to make our short film unique by taking our existing idea take to the next level.

We decided that in our original idea too much was happening at once and  too many people would be on set at certain times. So firstly we reduced the amount of people, so the concentrations of the viewers are drawn to the main characters and the dialogue. 

As a group we acted out the ideas we had already had with the existing script. We realised that a major problem may occure if every conversation is scripted as it may sound rehearsed and not believable. However some coversations must be scripted otherwise they will not work; this will be done by Leonie, also she will find interesting topics for the actors to discuss about in the unscripted sections. We want it to feel as realistic as possible. This resulted into a possible idea that certain conversations in our film could be improvised to give that realistic feel that we aim to create. There will be topics for the actors to stick too, but instead of a script being memorised word by word, they can use these topics and work with their partner to make it into a realistic conversation. The only problem with this is that naturally people can become blank and can not think of what to say next, to overcome this, there will be a run-through of their conversations, so they roughly know what the other is going to say.

When we acted the conversations again, we improvised certain parts instead of reading from the script which noticeably portrayed more emotion and it felt more realistic and believable.

By using improvisation we believe that our short film will differ from others and will become a unique and distinctive short film.

Leonie - Group Meeting

Today we had another group meeting! We were all eager to get our ideas together and revise what we had and what we didn’t have. Taking this opportunity to sort out the odds and ends of the production, as we want to film during the Christmas Period, we soon got our ideas together. Sadly, Becky was off ill and has been a few days so we proceeded to hold the meeting and tell her what we came up with after.

As groups, we were given a large planning sheet to help us separate the areas we need to look at. First of all we decided on the final Actors and Characters, as we couldn’t decide on the main woman ‘Grace’ and what was happening with the Directors. As it stands now, we filled in most of our Actors and Actresses:
Lord Thayne – Stephen Harrington
Grace – Leonie (Me)
Director One – Dave Green
Producer – Trina Abbott
Director Two – Jamie Clarke
Cameraman One – Ian Amos
Director Three – Darrill Lawrence
Makeup artist One – Sara Rudge
Makeup artist Two – Rebecca Stringer
Cameraman Two – Luke Keeble
Intern – Craig Woollard

In theory, we have all our cast members but we will need extras to fill in for ‘behind the scenes’. Grace has been filled in by me because of my past drama skills and it was easier for the group especially in learning the script. We have put the location as Chantry Park as it is across town but we will aim to shoot during the day as to lessen any disruptions, which would probably occur later on!

(Planning sheets above)

Next we have to finalise the date, as we will need to film all in one go, which will certainly be a challenge! The script is nearing completion and I will be writing more tonight so we are up to speed. It has been delayed because of a mix up on characters and changes made to the plotline. Other than that, everything is up to date and I am generally pleased with the group. We are all pleased at how much we have gotten sorted already, and all eager to film!

Leonie - Costume Hunting Part Two

Just got back from Incognito the local Fancy Dress shop and I managed to get the main actor to come so the sizes can be as accurate as possible. There was a large range of costumes available however as it is very near to the Christmas period, there are a lot of fancy dress parties going on. So there were many costumes that the place had that on hire and were ready to go out. Luckily, we managed to get hold of a few items that people had pre-ordered ready for pick up!

This is the product of our main character with the first outfit we found minus the jeans as there were no suitable trousers. The jacket is perfect as is the waistcoat, although we may look at another jacket nearer the time as the manager said there were more coming in soon. We also spotted the riding boots, perfect for the character shown below. The shirt was more Tudor but we found another one, shown below.

The shirt and boots were exactly what we were looking for. Next of course came the dresses for the young lady. I am the correct size of the actress we are hoping to have (albeit she couldn't make it for tonight) so I had the task of trying them on and seeing if it suited the period we are looking into.

The first dress was purple and plain, exactly what we are looking for. I don't know if I like this one as much as the one in the other costume shop, but when the group see's the pictures tomorrow we will swiftly decide.I tried on one other that would be seen in the Victorian times but the dress was slightly too large and too Victorian and not suitable for our character (shown below).

So, to conclude, I think we have the male sorted out apart from the trousers, which we will need to get as soon as possible. With the female's dress, we have a couple of good options. The prices will probably range from about £5-£30 but we will not know for definite until we know for sure on what we want to hire on the day. However, I think that the costume hunting went rather good tonight and I hope that we will decide on something soon. As I have said before, we will have to go back nearer the time so we can hire and see what else they have.

Side note: Producer/Director scene on script is coming together but my mind is more focused on lengthening the beginning scene. I will update on my progress again soon! Also, I will need to look into hairstyles soon, as they are parts of the costume as well...

Becky: Research into Special Effects.

Special effects are traditionally divided into two categories, optical effects and mechanical effects. With the increasing amount of digital film-making, it is easier to recognize the distinct difference between special effects and visual effects. Visual effects refer to the actual digital post production (raw footage) where as special effects refer to the mechanical effect and change to the film e.g. combining each individual shots together to make a scene which flows and works in sync together.

Since the 1990s, computer generated imagery (CGI) had evolved and improved special effects technologies. CGI gives film-makers greater control and allows many effects to be accomplished more safely and convincingly.

 The most common use of CGI has been to create photographically realistic images of fantasy creations. Images could be created in a computer using the techniques of animated cartoons or model animation which results in films such as ‘Toy Story’ and ‘Chicken run’.

In 1993, computer input devices were used to create the realistic dinosaurs in the famous film directed by Steven Spielberg's, Jurassic Park.

 Special effects (SFX) are used to enhance normal visual effects. Also they are often ‘invisible’; the audiences are unaware that what they are seeing is a special effect. This makes what they are watching e.g. film, feel more realistic, these effects are often used in historical movies, as most commonly the architecture and other surroundings of the chosen era is no longer around this present day. As well as this, special effects are commonly used in space programs/films as the surroundings and situations in them can not be created successfully and realistically in a natural way.

(www.cinemateca.org/movies/special_effects.htm)

 Here are some special effects that are used today:

• Zoom in/out,

• Animation,

• Pace change,

• Inserting specific objects such as animals into the background,

• Create locations,

• Cuts, fading and dissolving,

• Sound adjustments,

• Change in Backgrounds,

• 3D Image Fonts,

• 3D effects e.g. shooting star,

• Overdubbing sounds and picture-in-picture effects,

• Gamma functions (change curves and brightness of objects),

• Create soundtracks and sounds,

• Add additional sounds and songs.

The version I will be using (Magix Movie Edit Pro 11) includes the majority of these special effects. I will be using these special effects to transform the raw data into complex footage.

Leonie - Music/Soundtracks

Back again to give the details of what songs I have found over this week! I decided the best place to find music was YouTube, so I scoured the website for mostly soundtracks from movies set in the Regency period. As I have already looked a Pride and Prejudice, I had a head start with looking at the soundtrack and I stand by my liking of the ‘Liz on Top of the World’ soundtrack. However, I also think that the song ‘Your hands are Cold’ in the movie is highly suitable for the first bit as I have drafted out the first bit of the script, I reckon it could fit in with the opening.



Next I took a look at Becoming Jane, a movie recently released based on Jane Austen. There were a couple that stood out here.





I feel that the beginning of the second one could be used if the second draft of the Costume Drama part could be seen as lighthearted, which is very possible. The argument they have at the start could be seen as slightly funny but if put into the real context of being a realistic costume drama, I think the music would have to be serious.

Even though Atonement is set in the 1930's, the soundtrack could possibly suit the Costume Drama also. I looked into few of the videos of the soundtrack and found one that stood out for the tone I wanted to set for the first opening scene.



These are the few videos I narrowed the selection down to. I tried to track down other movie soundtracks, preferably a modern take but nothing seemed to fit the style of our script at all. I did think of trying to get hold of possible music for the other scenes but for what we are thinking of doing, it would not suit to have an underlying soundtrack. There is a lot of dialogue in the other scenes and music would only distract. However, if we do feel we need some sort of music for the background, albeit something that is soft, then we will try and find something.
If we do, then the soundtracks will need no voices supporting it, soley orchestral, just like the opening Drama.

I must admit, I enjoyed listening to the different soundtracks and placing them to the script piece I have drafted. This next week I am hopefully getting access to a Costume Shop I know of, that I know have a wide range of costumes. We will see!

Becky: Editing Software research.

 To get a better understanding of what can be achieved by using editing software’s such as Magix Movie Edit Pro 11, I will research about some of the affective techniques that are available in this version. Also I have been allowed access to the Magix information website, where people are able to upload photos, videos and music. People with existing profiles, are aloud to comment on media that has been posted, they offer help and advice as well as their opinion. 

To transform raw data into complex footage, I will be using Magix Movie Edit Pro version 11 as it has amazing cuts, special effects, 3D transitions, exciting animated menus and has good overdubbing quality.  I specifically prefer this version to others as it is relatively simple and has different stages for different abilities e.g. beginners can practice on the story maker wizard and build up their skills from there.

Here are some features of this version: 

·          MAGIX Smart design for easy and intuitive use, 

·          DVD menus with realistic 3D image fonts and new animations, 

·         Innovative DVD menu, 

·          Transition effects, 

·         Flawless video mix effects with Alpha Channel keying, 

·         Clean-Up Wizard removes unnecessary files, 

·          Upload free photo and video files onto the Internet, 

·         Overdubbing sounds and picture-in-picture effects for impressive videos, 

·         Virtual original soundtrack normalization for impressive sound; adds powerful sound even from the quietest camera recordings, 

·          Add DVD menus with 3D image fonts, backgrounds and new animations, 

·         3D effects - flying hearts, etc.

www.graphic-design.com/DTG/Reviews/movie_edit.html 

By going on the Magix website (www.magix.info/uk/media/overview) I was able to watch existing short films such as ‘The House’ which is a good example of how special effects and good interlocking techniques can produce a short film that flows smoothly. As well as this there are many posts by more experienced editing members who offer advice and help to others. This website allows members to ask questions to others about editing and similar subjects. Also similar to YouTube, their work can be posted and viewed by other members, this allows them to gain other peoples opinions and advice as they can leave comments.

Craig: Locations

I was assigned to look into potential locations for our film. The location is going to be incredibly important, especially for the costume drama part of the film, there will have to be nothing that will give away the fact it is filmed as if it is part of the 21st century, so no noise from cars or anything is going to be vital. In addition to this, we are going to want an area which could be mistaken for Regency period, and on top of that, a lack of people, otherwise the whole thing will look silly.


As soon as we developed the idea of a film within a film and the main body was going to be a Regency period costume drama, one popular location around our town immediately sprung to mind, Christchurch Mansion. It has the Regency-style location and everything, the problems with it however will be other people and the vehicles, especially as it is very close to the town centre. As I do not have my own picture of this building myself I took this one off of http://www.eastsuffolklinewalks.co.uk/images/christchurch_mansion.png
Our next potential location is outside a house in Chantry Park, it resembles very much exactly what a period drama will have in the garden and the actual building itself, as the pictures below show, and the one issue will be we may have to get permission to film there, it is a very good location, perhaps better than Christchurch Mansion, but this will have to be discussed in future group meetings.

After searching around the whole of the local area, I did not search too far, as it seems as if we will have a huge cast, it will be difficult to get everyone in one place, and will have to be an appropriate day on top of this. I discovered the final potential location near the Chantry Park one, and confusingly enough it is in Chantry Park itself, literally not far away from the second location, but don’t get the two confused, they have very different qualities.

This location is just outside of the huge garden in the second location, and it is simply a pathway, a really old-style (possibly regency) bench, and a tree, and that’s it, possibly the most simplistic location possible, and as that park is in the middle of nowhere, there shouldn’t be any other people there (hopefully). The pictures below are some I took one morning recently, as well as the other Chantry Park ones. This location out of the three is my personal favourite, but this is to be discussed within the group in the near future.

Leonie - Costume Hunting

Yesterday, we finally got onto the exciting part of picking out and trying to find costumes! I must admit, I wasn’t sure if we would get anything but we ended up finding a few items and even buying a couple of things.


The first picture is of a possible dress that a family member thought would be of use. However, I feel it is not the right look for the costume drama, perhaps a bit too fancy and Victorian or modern like. Our actress is also my size and the dress was too long and big.

The second dress below is from a fancy dress hire in our local town at the Salvation Army. It resembles a fancy frock from the Regency period, which is what we are aiming for as our main female is of a high class background. This dress I feel is a true contender for our character.

The image below is of the jacket we purchased whilst on our trip and I must say was a bargain for what it was! It is a tailored coat with the correct length. The gold buttons have a crest upon them, just like family crests around that time. Wide shoulders made by the shoulder pads are also brilliant to have, and ended up being the correct size for our actor playing the leading man.

Overall, I am going to look into getting or making ruffles and getting a white shirt for our Lord in the Costume Drama. Also, what will be very hard is getting knee high boots for our actor to wear. We still have a costume shop to visit, hopefully with our actor and actress in hand so the sizes are perfect. This, we will visit as a group, so it will be more of a group decision. Then we can move onto Crew and Directors. The Directors and Producer will be costumed by us but so far no ideas on the Crew Members. However, I am very happy that we found some items on our trip! It doesn’t feel that far away we will be filming now.

Craig: 'Shopping'

Despite Becky being ill still and Martyn having other commitments, myself and Leonie went up to our town’s shopping centre to start some searching for our shopping for our production, this will be on a budget, so we are trying to keep costs down as much as possible, despite this, we went on a search for props and costumes.


We already had a shopping list of what we need for the project, so we started searching for anything on that list. We need a jacket for the lead male, which will have to suit our actor perfectly and be able to show what period exactly the drama is in. We also need a very old book, leather cover and everything, which is one of the major props for the Regency part of the film. We spent most of the morning looking for the perfect dress for the lead female, and there were so many different ‘interesting’ items we were close to giving up before finding something different, something that could have been around back in that period. Myself and Leonie also came to the conclusion the budget will come out of our own funds, a quarter each, which is fair. Detail will be gone into on Leonie’s section on costume and Martyn’s section on props. We did not buy anything yet as the other two members were not with us, as it is a group effort and everybody should and will have their say, however we found a couple items of intrest, which will be discussed at the next group meeting

Leonie - Group Meeting

Okay, well we all had a busy week this week, so we finally sat down for a group meeting today. Becky was off ill so she has been filled in to what is happening and what we have decided. There are still areas we need to figure out and find such as: settings, costumes, Props, Sound and Special Effects. As Craig has brilliant ideas on possible locations, we appointed him of that area, Martyn wanted to look at props and find props we might need, Becky as she is the Editor will be doing Special Effects and I will cover Costumes and Sound as I’ve already looked into those areas a bit.

(Group Meeting and Notes)

So, we have been planning for a couple of weeks to go into town and find any possible costumes. Becky and Martyn will not be going because of personal issues and other duties so Craig as the Director and I looking into costumes will be going up tomorrow to look into getting or hiring some.
Finally we have made a rough outline of who will be playing who so we know what costumes sizes we need:
Lord Thayne: Dave Green

Grace: Tara Rudge

Producer: Trina Abbott
Director One: Darrill Lawrence
Director Two: Jamie Clarke
Director Three: Stephen Harrington
Cameraman One: Ian Amos
Makeup Artists: Sara Woollard (more still pending)
Backstage Crew: (Still pending)


For Costumes we will probably need:
Ruffled shirt
Waistcoat
Long Overcoat
Knee-high boots
Tight fitting trousers
Dress
Shawl
Ankle Boots


For Props we will probably need:
Cane (for the male)
Cameras

Sound Microphone

Book

Makeup

Chairs

Vehicles

Also, I have written up a rough first draft of the costume drama part of the script that is the hardest part to script. I feel that it is very effective and sounds like it belongs in that period, so I am happy that has turned out well! A problem I have encountered when writing the script is that the Producer and Director One are arguing whilst the two actors talk about something different. So for that scene, two scripts will have to be made. Other than that, the script and our group are doing great! Cannot wait to get started!

Martyn - Storyboard sketch

Today I decided that we may need a brief outline of how our film may turn out so I sketched a few story boards in order for the rest of the group to see where I thought it may go and what they thought and how they would change it, just to get a better perspective on the entire project and to iron out any doubts we may have now before it is too late.

 What I am going to do is walk through each scene on here and to give a little outline to how I think it could go…

Scene One is the costume drama portion of the production (I have outlined why it was chosen in my last post), it basically shows a scene between a couple walking through a field with a horse, possibly just about to go riding or possibly coming back from riding we haven’t decided yet, and talking about a subject which shall be elaborated in the script, just as the speech is about to reach the end there shall be a call for “cut!”, that is when it goes to Scene Two..

Where the image switches to that of another camera, one filming the current filming process, this is where the costume drama actors break out of their respective characters and begin to use their regional accents, while the director is giving them instructions on how they can do better on the next take, he then moves to the cameraman in Scene Three…

Where he starts arguing about the inadequacy of his filming or how he’s not catching the light correctly or just generally complaining, whatever it shall be we finally decide on it will essentially be a problem with the filming the director is arguing about, which then opens the way for another call for “cut!” which leads to Scene Four…

Which will show behind the second camera another camera filming the whole situation which leads to scene Five…

Which shows another director coming from behind that camera moving towards the first group to congratulate them and to show them directions of ho to do it better the next time then there is Scene Six…

Which shows the image on the camera screen of another camera and there is a final call for “cut!” just before the ending credits….

Martyn - Audience pleasures and expectations of a Costume Drama

Audiences get many different pleasures from different genres of film, such as in an action sequence and audience would mostly take pleasure from the linear structure of script and the visual effects, for a costume drama and audience would be looking towards historical accuracy for their viewing pleasure, such as correct language, accents and locations as well as the feeling of fluidity and naturalistic movement of the camera.

An audience for a costume drama would look for specifics in their viewing, for example, an actor who is portrayed as a rich, middle classed business owner, should not have thick regional accents and dialects and should be dressed in period dress, i.e. top hats, tailored coats and suits not workman’s clothes.

For our film we are really dead-set on using the Costume drama as one of the main scenes within the production and we wanted to give the project as a whole a different feeling to it so we came up with the idea of there being a film, within a film, within a film, now the costume drama section would be the first layer, and there would be two other layers both involving some form of crew interaction from behind the camera.

Leonie - Pride and Prejudice

Right, after the group meeting I have been thinking more about the period drama, as that will be the beginning. I might have hold of a dress already for the female main character (if we do decide on having one, which I think we will) but the group will decide when I get it. I just watched Pride and Prejudice, listening to the music and really checking out all the aspects of a period drama.

With their costumes I found that the women wore plain dresses that were either white (especially at balls or parties) or Earth colours such as browns and greys. They wore hats in the summer, carried dainty pouches or purses with shawls over their shoulders if the weather desired it. Women, especially young women, liked to collect and make ribbons of all colours, wearing them most of the time interwoven in simple hairstyles. Both sexes wore boots, men over their trousers and women under their dresses. Men dressed in entirely dark colours, the only light colours being their ruffled white shirts under their waistcoat. If they were outside, or even indoors they tended to wear overcoats, the longer ones during the winter. Sideburns and longish hair seemed to be appropriate on guys so that could possibly be made with a wig if our guy has short hair.


The houses were stately, surrounded by fields, something that would be hard to find in Ipswich so I think we would settle for fields or forests as they were a common theme and place for the characters to be in Pride and Prejudice. A lot of farmyard animals were all over the place such as pigs, horses, sheep etc. There were many festivities like balls and parties for women and men alike to attend and socialise or find their partner or patriotic events such as watching the soldiers march through town.

Music was all string or piano for background music, reflecting the nature of the scene in which it is placed. However, I’ve already posted a video of the best song on the soundtrack in my post before and talked about it, so I won’t go into that.

Now, language is the main area I am concerned about. Watching Pride and Prejudice, I quickly discovered that even though a man and woman are married, the mother of the girls still called her husband by Mr Bennett. All females tended to call the men by their surnames (Mr Darcy) but men were allowed to call females by their title and first name (Miss Elizabeth). They spoke formally with everyone, a little more informally with their siblings but respected their parental figures also.

I feel after watching this, I am more than ready to write the costume drama part, but first we will need to sort out what will exactly be happening and what we want to get out of it. So, we need to find a range of locations, possible props, costumes, music and any special effects before I can really get cracking on with things! I know I’ve said this before but…now I really can’t wait to get things on the roll so we can plan the script and I can start writing!

Becky:  Research into previous and existing short films Directors, Actors and Editors.

I used the internet to collect information about the significance of short films to people’s careers; often triumphant short films can launch a successful career in the filming industry. Here are some people who have either made a career out of making short films, or started off their career by doing this, which lead them on to create films for the mainstream film industry.

George Lucas

George Walton Lucas, Jr. (born 14 May, 1944) is an American film producer, screenwriter and director.

 He went to the University of Southern California (1966), where he created his first short film ‘Speacocke’ also known as ‘A Man In His Car’.

 www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-cvJq3m7pw (link to his first short film).

In 1967-68 he won first prize at the National Student Film Festival with the short film ‘Electronic Labyrinth’. Shortly after, he was awarded a scholarship by the Warner Brothers to observe the making of ‘Finian`s Rainbow’ which was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. This gave him experience and knowledge that benefit him in his journey to success.

In 1999 he produced the short film ‘George Lucas In Love’ which was an independent short film. It was passed around Hollywood Offices as a filmmakers ‘calling card’. This got him noticed in the filming industry as it showed potential; it was only a hint of what he was able to do.

 He is best known for being the creator of the impressive and well known sci-fi film ‘Star Wars’ and the joint creator of the adventures character, Indiana Jones. 

(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Lucas)

Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford Coppola (born in 7 April, 1939) is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is a graduate from Hofstra University where he studied theatre.

He started his professional career by writing screen plays as well as making low-budget films both short and mainstream films, with Roger Cornman; an American Producer and director of low budget movies. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Coppola)

Steven Allan Spielberg. 

Steven Spielberg (born in 18 December 1946) is an American film director, screen writer and film producer.

Spielberg was interested at filming since a young age; at the age of 14 he won an award for a 40-minute war movie (short film) he called ‘Escape to Nowhere’.

(www.entertainment.howstuffworks.com/14-films-directed-by-steven-spielberg)

In 1968 he was an intern and guest of the Universal Studios; this is where he made his first short film ‘Amblin’ which lasts 24 minuets. Shorty after he became the youngest director ever to be signed for a long-term deal with a major Hollywood studio (universal); this was the beginning of his career as a professional director.

(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven­_Spielberg)

 He is well known for his touching films addressing issues such as the holocaust, Slavery, war and terrorism. As well as this he directed successful films such as Jurassic Park, E.T. and Jaws.

Laura Dern

Laura Dern was born on 10 February 1967 into a successful moviemaking family; her father, Bruce Dern is an Academy Award is nominated American film actor who often plays the villainous and unstable characters in many films such as the ‘Silent Running’. Her mother is Dianne Ladd who is an American Actress, film director and producer.

After her successful role in ‘Adrian Lyne’s Foxes’ (1980) along side Jodie Foster, she stared in several short films such as ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains (1982) and the ‘Teachers (1984).

(www.imdb.com/name/nm0000368/bio)

In 1994 Laura Dern was the director in the short special (short film) ‘The Gift’ which was 30 minuets long.

David Lynch

David Keith Lynch (born 20 January, 1946) is an American filmmaker and visual artist. Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, for The Elephant Man (1980), Blue Velvet (1986) and Mulholland Drive (2001).

In 1966 he attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) and created a series of complex mosaics in geometric shapes which he called ‘Industrial Symphonies’. As well as this he had began working in film and created some short films.  His first short film was ‘Six Men Getting Sick’ (1966) which lasted 60 seconds (1 minuet).

In 1968 he combined animation and live action to produce the 4 minuet short film called ‘The Alphabet’ which related to the expression of childhood and aging.

In 1970 Lynch drifted way from fine arts and turned his attention to film. Soon after he produced a 30 minuet short film ‘The Grandmother’ which displayed many elements that later on became his trademarks including unsettling sound and surrealistic imagery and a focus on unconscious desires instead of traditional narrative; this made him stand out in the filming industry as his ideas were different and unique.

(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lynch#Early_career_and_short_films)

David Cronenberg

David Paul Cronenberg (born 15 Mach 1943) is a Canadian filmmaker, screen writer and occasional actor. He graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in Literature after switching from the science department. He uses an unusual style of filmmaking which explores people’s fears of bodily transformation and infection; this is commonly known as Body horror. Shivers (1975) and Rabid (1977) are two of many of his unique type of films.

In 1966 Cronenberg written, shot, edited and directed the 7 minuets short film ‘Transfer’. A year later (1967) he directed another short film ‘From the Drain’ whilst he was in film school.

(www.imdb.com/name/nm0000343/bio)

Christopher Nolan.

Christopher Nolan (Born in London on the 30^th July in 1970) is a director, writer and editor. He was educated at Haileybury College and later studied English literature at University College London while filming several short films in the college film society such as ‘Tarantula’ (1989) and ‘Larceny’ which was shown during Cambridge Film Festival in 1996. A year later he written and produced another short film called ‘Doodlebug’ starring Jeremy Theobald.

He is best known for producing and written the famous mainstream films ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008), ‘Batman Begins’ (2005) and ‘Insomnia’ (2002). (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Nolan­_Short_films).