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!
