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).

Craig: Group Meeting (12/11/09)

Today we had an important group meeting, to evaluate how we have done so far, what we can do to improve how we are working, and the next step, which is to fully develop this idea. We firstly were blunt and pointed out where some of us were slipping up, with one person not being harsh enough towards the group in not getting them to hand in work as soon as possible, and this is what drags two people down as they post blogs later than the other two, slowing up the whole research process. With that being the only exception, the whole group is working incredibly well, and we are all determined to help one another in getting the research done as soon as possible. After further research on the time period we are on about, we came to the conclusion we are not looking at the Victorian era, but we are looking at the Regency period, which is just before then. We are going to look around costume shops in our area as well as down the local theatre to see whether we will be able to borrow costumes from there, and will look around at props and settings as well, once we have seen locations etc. we will take pictures and post them. We have also come to the conclusion we will post things quicker, and increase our general pace of everything, so we can have more time to finalise things before we film, as it will be the detailed things that have to be perfect, especially in the first layer of the film, as that will have to be fully represented as a costume drama before we confuse the audience completely. We will be looking deeply into settings, costumes, props, sound, special effects and actors over the next couple of weeks.

Martyn - Audience research

In order to make this project is a reality I, as well as the rest of the group, need to understand what an audience wants in order to give them what they are looking for and then to give them totally unexpected....so basically when you come down to brass tacks we want to give them a feeling of "what the hell is going on?" but not to leave the audience too confused...
 When considering the different audiences and a way to link certain ideas between the two in a way that would look natural, I should look into the needs of a few genres and who watches them.


Audiences for a Drama Documentary are stereotypically the older generations, mostly middle aged womenand mostly white, because these seem to be the generations most likely to watch this type of film as it appears to be a softer and calmer type of film, whereas a younger generation would go for something much more unexpected.

A Drama is on the same substance as a Drama Documentary only the main difference is that a drama documentary is partially staged whereas a drama is all completely staged, dramas tend to get a larger audience as it tends to have some sort of story-like feel to it. Documentaries probably have the potential to have the largest audience of all as they can literally be about ANYTHING,some may prefer a more nitty-gritty documentary and others may want something less over the top, a documentary can tailor to any veiwer type.

Craig: Inspirational Past Products and Initial Idea

After multiple discussions within the group, an initial idea propped up after we were all blown away by one video, called Spin by Double Edge Films. This took us all away with the idea of what is real and what is not?

We eventually based our first major idea on that thought, and we will now build around that idea on that theory and hope to achieve similar results in a really good product. This idea is very basic and may change considerably by the time we get out and go crazy with the camera. The film constantly tricks the viewer as it doesn’t ever give a clear indication throughout on whether anything at all is real. Now we have an initial idea we can develop this further and then finalise things before we film, which will be relatively soon at the rate everything is developing.

Leonie - Target audience

Today we got together and started to go through areas that are vital to our production. Finally we decided our audience really were people such as film buffs and film festival attendees. This is a very select audience as our film is going to be a different type of subject. As we are combining documentary with costume drama, this would appeal more to people who just like watching short films and have an open mind to what is happening. With teenagers, they would not like the costume drama and middle aged adults would not like the twist of blurring the lines of reality as they would want to see all of the costume drama. So, our audience has to be a specialist audience of film buffs who want to be taken aback and respect the special genres it lies in.


Our narrative is going to be complex as our target audience likes it. As our film idea is deceiving the audience, it needs to be very tight and the narrative structure needs to be perfect. In one of my previous posts I talked about the narrative structures of short films and know I will need to follow those guidelines when writing the script. These film critics would have seen many different films and because our idea is different, we need to make it as complex as possible without losing the theme.

So far, we thought about Christchurch Mansion being a possible location but my main argument about it is that because it is a popular spot and near the entrance of a park, it won’t be easy or remote enough to film. There could be issues such as children messing around or even people walking past in modern day clothing. We decided to look into places such as fields, untouched by modern day buildings and the like as we want an external location. Also, we would want to look into perhaps getting hold of a horse, as they are very common in period dramas and would certain add to the element of verisimilitude.

Costumes, as we are starting with a period drama theme, will have to be perfectly placed in the era we are looking at. Already I have posted about costumes and how they would look for males and females so I won’t go into too much detail here. They will follow the codes of a traditional costume drama and everything, including props will have to be researched to see if they were available in that time to add to the realistic approach.

What will have to be interesting are the camera shots and movements. The first part (costume drama) will be quite slow and boring, but Becky has looked into the camera techniques used in period dramas so that will be handy. That means the second part will be exciting, with exiting camera techniques used to make it really look like a documentary but I guess we will have to research and think more about that too. For the period drama scene I think we are looking into doing one long shot of the piece to make it look more realistic for the documentary or making it look really like a piece of drama they are watching. Edit pace links in with camera shots and this edit pace will be realistic in the sense it will mimic the pace of a documentary.

Music is a key factor in any movie as it sets the tone perfectly. In horrors it is dark and heart racing at the gory scenes or orchestral and still rather dark. I made a horror movie’s opening two minutes so I know how important music is to create tension. However, this year it is completely different, beginning with a costume drama. Immediately what comes to mind is cheesy period music, so that would include instruments with no singing. To get an idea of what sort of music is played I looked into the soundtrack of Pride and Prejudice 2005 and found a fantastic score. The song ‘Liz on Top of the World’ by Jean-Yves Thibaudet is really quite beautiful and something like that would be perfect for a period drama, also the other songs on the soundtrack are perfect for what we are looking for. Putting something in that reflects the music used in that time will add also to the verisimilitude of the whole thing.



Above is the video is Liz on Top of the World - Pride and Prejudice Soundtrack
The title and the posters supporting the film attracts the viewers so both of them are important. As it does start with the drama, we would want to support the claim it is a singular piece of period drama so the title would reflect that. So we would be looking into following the course of Victorian Authors using names such as ‘Oliver Twist’, ‘Emma’ and ‘Jane Eyre’. The posters we have already come up with a few ideas. My idea is having a woman dressed in period clothing surrounded by cameras and Martyn has the thoughts of an eye through a camera lens and the lens reflecting a woman dressed in the period costume.

So, these are great ideas to start with and I’m sure they will progress into something really large and wonderful. As our theme is complex, it is really starting to get intense, trying to get our mind around things and getting clear ideas of what we want but I’m sure we will get there!

Martyn - Research : Locations

I have been asked by the rest of the group with finding possible sets for our production in the local area, preferably not too far away because of transport issues, in which case i have found only two possible places so far which truly fit the bill in the way we imagine it, one of which is directly in Ipswich itself, the Christchurch Mansion, which is a large Elizabethan house turned museum with outer grounds that are just perfect as it is within reach for all members of the team and has the right feel to the area, the other location is a little further out in terms of distance, it is located in the town of Colchester, in a park, the Castle park area itself, by what i've seen it is on the same quality of Christchurch but my only concern is that it is not a guarantee that we can keep the general public from ruining our filming process, i hope that the general public will just see the cameras and chose to move around us when filming.

It is actually more difficult to locate a period accurate Elizabethan house in these modern times, even in a town still soaked with elizabethan design, and even so i am still dubious about ones i do find because we may find that it the locations found there may be little tell-tale signs of modern day technology not intended to be involved at the moment of film, such as security camers or lamposts, but i don't really think it would be a problem if these changes are found as they will be so insignificant anyway...i don't really know what will happen with it...i guess i'm just nit-picking...

Leonie - Screenwriting software

Well, I had a go at making my own script and I must admit, it was fairly easy to navigate myself around. Usually it takes me ages to get to one place on a new programme but Celtx even has its own Wikipedia page to help!

The above is a screenshot of my practice script, where I have a directory of characters for that scene as well as extras that aid me in making details, adding in props and scene directions. With my practice script I even got in some pre-prepared camera shots.

The most important factor I found were the character sheets where their name came up as well as all the descriptions including height, weight, interests, dislikes etc. This would really help in making the character into a real person, and I am already looking forward to creating our characters! In my Master Catalogue I have a host of characters, props and locations ready to be used and easy to access. The script is easy to read when put in a print preview and really looks professional. I have already made a title page, which when compared to a real screenplay looks exactly the same.

I am very pleased and this software will help me a lot when it comes to writing the real thing, which isn’t long off at all!

Craig: Lessons learnt from AS project - Thriller

Last year could have gone considerably smoother, and Becky will agree, as we were eventually stuck in the same group. Initially, there was a lot of moving around as I was dragged in from another group and two members of the group I worked with decided to simply drop the subject, leaving us with only three people and four jobs to do. We eventually came to the conclusion directing duties were to be shared, and I ended up with the job of editor. Time management from our group was really good last year, and it proved pivotal to achieving what we did, as we had to do the filming process more than once (explained later). We planned everything with meetings, held within lessons and free periods, or as and when it suited us best, these went really well as we all came up with some brilliant ideas which were then translated into our product. Our personnel situation was quite a disaster last year as so many people were moved around due to people dropping the subject as it didn’t suit them. One member of the group also only did things as and when they wanted to, and this held us back quite a bit. Props were a luxury as we had a minimal budget, we basically used what we could get our hands on, and the only thing bought specifically for the project was a magazine. Costume usage was poor last time round, this year we need extensive planning and a wider use of costumes if we are going to give the effect and symbols needed for a costume drama. Likewise with costumes, locations were poor, not as bad as costumes, but we need a wider range of locations this time round and need to be more appropriate, we also have to take geographical factors into account when selecting where and when to film. The cameras we used didn’t like us last year and the older cameras we used basically gave up on us every time, we eventually used the brand new cameras and these worked first time round, the only issue we had with them was it picked up a lot of wind effects and sound. We filmed the entire thing a grand total of three times, on three very different cameras!

Craig: Research into actors within period dramas

I am going to look into common traits that actors and actresses that appear in period dramas or costume dramas share. Firstly I will look into actors that has appeared in one film or TV show that has appeared in other films or shows in another or a similar period, and see whether those who star in one of these dramas appears in many. The ones I have chosen are The Tudors, The Virgin Queen and Emma (2009 adaptation). All of these were popular at their time of release.


The Tudors

Jonathan Rhys Meyers – Alexander (Film), The Lion in Winter (TV)
Sam Neill – Merlin (Film), Merlin’s Apprentice (TV), Dean Spanley (Film)
Natalie Dormer – Casanova (Film)

The Virgin Queen

Anne-Marie Duff – The History of Mr. Polly (TV), The Magdalene Sisters (Film)

Emma (2009 adaptation)

Romola Garai – King Lear (TV), Nicholas Nickleby (Film)
Jonny Lee Miller – After Miss Julie (Play), Byron (TV)
Michael Gambon – Amazing Grace (Film), Plunkett & Macleane (Film)

The above shows how main actors and actresses from TV or film in that subject do multiple shows or films, despite some of them being quite young and have a fairly short acting career so far, whereas other actors are considerably older and have been in many different things over their long career. From this, most of the actors and actresses shown have been in at least one film or film specific for television.

On further investigations, male actors within these dramas are usually quite young or old, giving either a wise-type character in the drama, or the butch strongman, the key dominant character is male in most cases i.e. The Tudors, female actresses are made to be shown as usually quite weak and feable, however, occasionally a strong female character will come into the mix and sometimes is the key character into the drama. Getting the right actor or actress to fit common archetypes is pivotal if they are to get everything into place.

Leonie - Narrative Structures

Okay back again for more of my preparation work for my role!


For my job, I really need to understand the very basics like narrative structures, plots, narratology and a few other things. As I’ve said before, I write in my spare time and can see similarities to short stories and films. To begin with, they both have a beginning, middle and end as well as a crisis. Something has to happen in order for the audience to be interested and it needs to almost be immediately addressed. Short films have simple narrative structures compared to feature length films. As we are looking at making our film five minutes or less, we will need to get to the crisis as soon as possible after developing it quickly before ending it with a climax. If the short film were any longer, the narrative structure soon becomes more complex. In feature length films there is often a long while to set up the problem and a midpoint is set to keep the film strong and advance the story more.

In a short film the audience needs to immediately know the characters, locations, the time in which it is set and where the film is heading. However, our production will differ slightly because we are confusing the audience by blurring the lines of realism. The audience needs to get these main points straight away, unlike if you are writing a story and can take up a lot of time setting up everything to the characters to what is going to happen. I think the most important thing about this is that I remember that I need to get all this out in the open and not spend lots of time setting everything up, getting directly to the point. I will need to set up the crisis as soon as possible so I have enough time to draw it out and offer a conclusion.

Every word will count during this process, especially right at the very start as I will have to reveal what I want to reveal, without giving too much away about everything.

The audience’s attention will be drawn in as soon as the crisis or incident starts to occur and will need to be held. Once everything starts to happen, the story can truly move forward and some sort of plan in constructed to deal with this problem. During this process, there will be obstacles to get over that stand in the way of the climax

The main crisis comes along after the action gets moving and the obstacles are overtaken or getting there. This may be a slight problem in ours as ours will be a continuous revealing of a new realism. In short films, the end and resolution usually come quite quickly, depending on the size of the film. However, our film may not have a direct resolution apart from the realisation that everything they see may not be real.
Vladimir Propp is a good example of someone who analysed narrative structures in folk tales in the 1920’s in Russia. He came up with the theory that any narrative had to have:
• False hero
• Hero
• Dispatcher who tells the hero to go somewhere
• Princess who is the main goal for the Hero
• Helper who helps the Hero on his journey
• Donor who provides the Hero with some kind of help
• Villain who is the main conflict to the Hero.

This links in with what Linda.J.Cowgill says in her book Writing Short Films that the narrative goes like:
• The Hero
• Who wants something
• Takes action to get what he wants
• Hero meets with some kind of conflict
• The conflict leads to a climax
• Climax then leads to resolution for the problem

Propp uncovered a sequence in which he thought applied for every single fairytale written. However, there are critics who have seen flaws in his ideas with tone, mood, writing style and many more. In total there are thirty one functions:
• A community/kingdom/family is an ordered state of being.
• A member of one of the three areas leaves to solve this
• A warning is given or rules are applied to the Hero
• The warning or rule is broken
• Villain finds out something about the Hero who has broken the rules
• Villain deceives victim to gain advantage
• Victim unwittingly helps the victim
• A state of disorder occurs
• The Villain harms a member of one of the three groups at the start
• One of the three groups wants something
• The Hero is sent to get what is wanted
• The Hero plans some action against the Villain
• The Hero leaves home
• The Hero is tested and passes the test and is given a gift or helper
• The Hero reacts to the helper (donor)
• The Hero arrives at place where he can fulfil his quest
• There is a conflict between Hero and Villain
• The Hero is branded
• The Villain is overcome
• The state of disorder is settled
• The Hero returns
• The Hero is perused
• The Hero escapes or is rescued
• The Hero returns home only to not be recognised
• A False Hero claims the reward
• A task is set for the Hero
• The task is completed
• The Hero is recognised
• The False Hero or Villain is uncovered
• The False is punished
• The Hero attains the rewards (either the Princess or the Kingdom)

Looking at his thirty one points, I can see many flaws. It may apply to Russian fairytales but modern and some English fairytales don’t really follow this at all. In fact, there aren’t many False Hero’s in English fairytales. It also focuses on males as being the Heroes, a very old view on things as many fairytales can have female leads. However, it is a valid narrative structure for folk tales, and probably those of Russia. It is a prime example that narrative structures do exist and can be common.

(Vladimir Propp)

Archetypes are extremely important in any piece of literature. As we have done in lessons (which I found quite interesting) we have looked into archetypes in women’s magazines, seeing how the mother and the victim were portrayed. Northrop Frye thought that all archetypes can fall into one of four different types of mythos (narratives): Spring Comedy, Summer Romance, Autumn Tragedy or Winter Irony and Satire.

Comedy narratives would follow:
• Present society remains
• Disapproval of society without revolution
• The society is replaced with a happy society full of people
• This new happy society of people resists the change
• A new contemplative and peaceful view is now seen
• Society ceases to exist beyond contemplation

Romance narratives would follow:
• Complete innocence
• Youthful innocence of inexperience
• Completion of an idyllic
• The happy society present resists any changes
• A new contemplative and peaceful view is now seen
• Society ceases to exist beyond contemplation

Tragedy narratives would follow:
• Complete innocence
• Youthful innocence of inexperience
• Completion of an idyllic
• Individual’s faults
• Natural Law
• World of shock and horror

Irony and Satire narratives would follow:
• Present society remains
• The society is under criticism as no changes are occurring
• The society is changed into one of happiness
• Individual’s faults
• Natural Law
• World of shock and horror

(Northrop Frye narratives are off http://edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/dherring/ap/consider/frye/indexfryeov.htm)

The reason comedy comes under Spring, is because Spring is a time of rebirth and when things new start and that is symbolised as the Hero appears. Summer is the height of the year when good things happen, the reason why romance is put under that season as romance usually is born or there is some union between characters. Autumn is tragedy and it is portrayed by the death of plant life as they get ready for winter, so a main character or the protagonist may decease. Satire is placed with Winter as it is seen as a rather dark kind of narrative and Winter is when darkness falls very easily. This sort of narrative symbolises darkness coming into power and death.
Frye thinks there are five different worlds and they are: human, animal, vegetation, mineral and water. Each area symbolises a season and whether it causes tragedy or comedy.
However, I think that different archetypes can combine where a tragedy and a romance can come together or a comedy and a satire. His theories are only outlining them as separate genres but unlike other theorists he knows that some actions can be unconscious so they cannot be studied in terms of archetypes.
It is rather difficult to understand but I think the main thing to really understand are the seasons and how they symbolise each genre.

(Northrop Frye)

Narratology is when you study narrative structures and how they change our views. As everyone knows, a narrative is how a story is told. In short stories, most of the actual story is missed out, just like in most books as people want action. Take I Am Legend the novel by Richard Matheson, it starts in the middle because people don’t want to read about every single detail about how the disease came to pass as there are small flashbacks to summarise it. The book starts in the middle and describes his life a year before the end and how it affects him. In short films it is very common to have a narrator to fill in the general gist of everything quickly.

I think it’s obvious that our group will be looking into verisimilitude as we are playing about with what is real and what isn’t. When a film is very realistic then it is full of verisimilitude, or appears to at least be realistic and this can be show using school uniforms for a school based drama. Also most films use the press to make it appear more realistic and plays on amplification of deviance as people know when an outbreak hits such as Swine Flu then it is highly covered by the news so showing a newspaper that has headlines of an outbreak or event will make the film more realistic.

With short films the plot needs to be very tight and to the point. With feature length films there is a long time to develop the plot but short films need to be organised very well. The plot really needs to hit three vital areas to be proven successful: the arrangement of events leading to the climax and resolution, events in the storyline are related and therefore continue the action plus it develops the story and thirdly there needs to be enough conflicting points in the film to capture and hold the audience’s attention.

The plot is simply a series of actions that lead to each other and finally to the end by building up the three points I just talked about. It’s rather easy but most people get plot confused with a story. A story wants to entertain or inform you, not need to the grand event at the end.

What I find quite amazing is when I write, plot lines just appear and link together almost magically, and that can be very handy. I think the plot we have on our short film outlines our lines straight away, as we know what will shock and confuse. Is the narrative is character based then the conflict will come from them but if it isn’t the conflict will stem from that. So, our plot is closely packed and tight already as we have began to think more about it. As soon as the plot is sorted out, the script can be written to a good standard.


Just like a novel or short story, narrative is everything and it will be designed meticulously until perfected, and this applies to scripting short films too.
- Firstly, an idea needs to be made, something strong that will support a short film. A short film portrays events or issues that feature films do not cover. This general idea will support the entire plot.
 - The second thing you need to decide when designing the narrative is who you want to aim this to. There is no point scripting a piece of World War One drama to a teenager who loves comedy. So the target audience is everything to the genre you select and can be tricky at times. Take our idea for example, a period drama that appears a documentary but is in fact both and blurs the lines of verisimilitude. We thought that we would aim it at middle aged people to begin with but when we really sat down together and thought about it we wanted to aim this at older teenagers early twenties (people in University) as it strives off the shock factor. If it were aimed at middle aged people we would only work on the period drama.
 - Thirdly, the script needs to have a clear outline so we can fill in the needed gaps and see if anything else needs to be included or if there are any problems.
 - Fourthly, characters need to be designed closely so that they resemble true human beings as no one is going to feel for a character that is exactly like a blank canvas. They need to know of their goals, have a background and have unique traits.
 - Lastly, there needs to be some kind of dramatic event that takes place that sets off the drama and leads to the resolution. A story without drama will attract no one and this should include the characters for us to feel some emotion for them.


Side note - We have been getting together as a group and discussing different elements of the production, mostly the storyline and what we want to happen. It's still a bit blurry to what we really want, especially as timing will be everything. Also, the script programme is working well as I have been playing about with learning where things are and how certain things affect the other. The programme Celtx, is fairly easy to use and I will start to practise writing my own scripts soon! Watch this space.