DIRECTIONS UNIT: Richard Curtis

Director

Richard Curtis:

Richard Curtis was born in Wellington, New Zealand on 8th November 1956 (making him 60 years old). He is a screenwriter, director and film & tv producer. Curtis studied English Language and Literature at Christ Church, Oxford where he achieved a first class honours. He often works alongside Bill Nighy and Rowan Atkinson.

Curtis was awarded an MBE in 1994 before being rewarded with a CBE in 2000 in the Queen's Millennium Honors List for his services to TV and Film Comedy and for his services to Comic Relief (which he founded alongside Lenny Henry).

Main Directing Credits:

- Love Actually (2001)
- The Boat That Rocked (2009)
- About Time (2013)

His other well known works include:
- Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) for which he was the writer and co executive producer
- Notting Hill (1999) for which he was the writer and producer
- Bridget Jones' Diary (2003) for which he was the writer
- Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) for which he was the writer
- Mr Bean's Holiday (2007) for which he was the executive producer
- War Horse (2011) for which he was the writer

Richard Curtis' Directing Style:

Since the majority of Curtis' films are of the romantic comedy genre, most of the shots he uses in his films reflect this. Many of the scenes are shot with a shallow depth of field creating a sharp image in the foreground and a blurred image in the background. This blur creates a romantic atmosphere which helps to convey the romance within the scenes.

Examples:




About Time (2013)

Love Actually (2001)












Curtis also has the tendency of creating and using eccentric characters. Although the creation of these characters lies in the writing process, Curtis directs these scenes is such a way to enhance their eccentric natures. For example: Rowan Atkinson's character in Love Actually is an eccentric sales consultant who takes his time gift wrapping Alan Rickman's character's present. The long pauses on the shots of his character contrasts to the short snappy shots of Alan Rickman's character who is becoming increasingly frustrated at the gift wrapping process.

The Original Scenes I Will Adapt:

The scenes I have chosen to adapt for my piece are these two scenes which focus around the characters Mark and Juliet.

The first scene: 
(Juliet calls round to Mark's flat in hope of finding a picture of her in her wedding dress from the footage he shot at the wedding, only to find out that he is in love with her).

I chose this scene as the majority of it has no dialogue, instead most of the story is shown through the characters emotions/ reactions as she realises all the footage of the wedding is of her. This is mainly shown through close up shots and medium shots that switch between the characters as the wedding footage is being played. Most of the shots have a shallow depth of field which helps to give the scene a slightly romantic feel as Mark's true feelings towards Juliet are revealed.

The second scene:
(Mark calls round to Juliet's flat which she shares with her husband and confesses his thoughts and feelings to her with a series of A3 cards).

I chose this scene as again the majority of it has no dialogue, instead the story is all told through action. This is arguably the most iconic scene of the film which is another reason I chose it as I liked the challenge of putting my own directing style onto such a well known and loved scene. Curtis also chose a shallow depth of field for this scene as it again helps to create a romantic atmosphere.

CONTEXTUAL STUDIES: Critical Review

Peep Show (2003-2015)

Peep Show is a British sitcom created by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain. In 2010 it became Channel 4’s longest running comedy, running from 2003 - 2015. The story revolves around Mark and Jez, two flatmates who’s lives are riddled with chaos and comical twists as they aim to continue with their everyday activities. 

The first thing that intrigued me about Peep Show was the unique camera work involved. The show completely breaks the fourth wall and uses mainly POV shots to convey the narrative. This use of POV shots helps to create an ‘intimate’ [1] and personal feel as the audience are placed in the shoes of the characters and are therefore engrossed in the action / activities of the characters. Furthermore, due to this method of filming, there is hardly ever any context or exposition. The audience are placed within the action and then left to watch the characters develop in the situations they are put in. This helps to create a much more immediate feel as the audience and the characters are experiencing the action together at the same time. 

The camera work helps to create a realistic and authentic experience for the audience, the mise-en-scene adds to this sense of realism. Mark and Jez’s flat is dimly lit with low key lighting, creating naturalistic shadows on the characters. This helps to create the effect of lamps and homely lighting, demonstrating to the audience what sort of environment these characters live in. 

The setting of a small flat in Croydon and the surrounding area helps to convey a sense of the characters’ wealth (or lack of) and shows a “real, affordable London… where people live relatively normal lives” [2]. This helps the sitcom to be more relatable with Channel 4’s 18 - 30 year old age demographic who are likely to live in similar conditions. Due to the sitcom being relatable, according to Blumler and Katz’s Uses and Gratifications model, the audience is able to use the show as a form of escapism as they can easily get lost in the action the sitcom has engrossed them in. The props and costume also helps to convey the sense of realism within this sitcom. The characters usually wear t-shirts or jumpers that are similar to those that can be found on the high-street, showing them as normal, realistic people. Their costumes are also used to show their personalities. Jez can often be seen wearing t-shirts with rather juvenile designs which reflects his immaturity, whilst Mark can be seen in a suit and tie, showing him as businessman / aspiring businessman. 

The unique POV camera work is complimented by the unique sound design of the sitcom. As well as there being the diegetic sound of the dialogue between the characters, non diegetic voiceover is used to convey their inner thoughts. As well as helping to convey the intimate feel created by the camera work, this technique has proved to be “a goldmine of comedy, because you never normally hear what someone’s thinking as well as what they’re saying” [1]. The comedy comes from their inner thoughts contrasting with what the characters are saying in their dialogue and the fact that the audience is aware of this contrast but the characters are not. For example, in Series 1 Episode 6 Mark is asking Jez whether he wants to come with him and Sophie on a holiday whilst his inner thoughts are saying “please say no”. [3] 

The editing involved within this sitcom is very simplistic, adding to the natural, authentic feel of the show. The pace of the editing is consistent with the action occurring on screen. When there is just a conversation occurring between Mark and Jez, the editing is slow paced. However, in the Rainbow Rhythms scene of Series 2 Episode 1, the editing is faster paced due to the increased level of activity of the characters.

In conclusion, Peep Show is able to create an element of realism through the camerawork, sound design, mise-en-scene and editing. This realism helps to engross the audience within the action and therefore allows the show to have greater comic effect.

Bibliography

[1] The Telegraph (2009) David Mitchell and Robert Webb on Peep Show: interview [online] Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/6173383/David-Mitchell-and-Robert-Webb-on-Peep-Show-interview.html [Accessed on: 06/12/2016]

[2] Inside Croydon (2015) How Croydon was the perfect comedy fit for Peep Show [online] Available at: https://insidecroydon.com/2015/12/16/how-croydon-was-the-perfect-comedy-fit-for-peep-show/ [Accessed on: 06/12/2016]

[3] Peep Show (2003) Available at: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/peep-show/on-demand/33196-001 [Accessed on: 06/12/2016]

STORY-TELLING UNIT: Project Evaluation

The Production Process

When the brief was first introduced to us, I found the whole thing quite daunting. I had no idea how I was even going to come up with an idea, let alone a 10 page screenplay, a 2 minute trailer and a whole load of research around the topic of screenwriting. The story-telling workshops were extremely helpful in terms of producing ideas. I ended up finding my idea from a newspaper article about a man searching for the person who talked him down from a suicide attempt. Obviously I couldn't just copy this story, so I decided to take inspiration from it and develop a story of my own. My initial ideas and developed ideas for my story can be found on my blog.

Once I had my idea, I then had to go about creating a 25 word pitch. 25 words seemed way to little for conveying the whole idea for a story, but after the story-telling workshops I found it a lot easier trying to convey the idea for my story concisely. The next thing for me to do was to create my characters. I already had a couple of characters in mind. I decided my character John would be the main character of my story. He would be a young, 24 year old man with a beard and slightly 'scruffy' clothes. My other character (Kyle) would be almost the opposite of John, a clean shaved, sharply dressed 22 year old man. I wanted the two characters to be opposites as I wanted Kyle to represent what John aspires to be. My 25 word pitch and character ideas can be found on my blog.

The next thing to do was to start the script. This is where I ran into some difficulty. I kept writing a page or 2 and then becoming completely stuck. I decided I needed to talk to Simon about it and ask him why I seemed to be getting nowhere with my script. The feedback I received was that I didn't know my characters well enough, I didn't know their past and I didn't know what they wanted to achieve. Following this feedback, I decided to completely work out my characters (even if some things would not be used in the story). Once I had discovered who my characters were and what their personal goals were, it became a lot more straight forward writing the script.

I then received some feedback from Steve about my script. I needed to add more structure to the script by adding more scenes, I needed to make some parts of the script less clumsy and I needed to work on some scenes with interaction between my characters. All the feedback really helped me to make my script stronger. When I gave in my first draft of my script, I had doubts as to whether it was any good at all, therefore, the feedback really helped as it showed I had the bones of a good story but just needed to work on a few bits to make the screenplay work as a whole. For my second draft, I decided to implement all of Steve's advice and see what this did to my script. Unfortunately, with all of his advice, my screenplay became too long. Therefore I had to cut out some of the original material and a small section that Steve advised I included - this became my third draft. I still wasn't entirely happy with my script as I had left out a vital moment that Steve thought would work really well in my script. I therefore went about cutting small irrelevant parts out of my script (that, looking back on it, really didn't need to be there in the first place) in order to fit in the scene in the doctor's office. My first, second, third and final draft can be found on my blog.

I actually decided to shoot my trailer before completely correcting my script. But before I could start filming, there were multiple things I had to sort out before the shoot. I had to find my actors and locations, fill out risk assessments, apply for film permits and come up with a shot list and shooting schedule. The shot list and shooting schedule really enabled my shoot to be quick and efficient as all the actors knew where they had to be, what they had to be doing and when. I did encounter some problems in filming, but all of these issues were easily resolved. A detailed account of how my shoot went can be found here.

After my shoot was over, I decided to get straight on with creating a rough cut for my trailer. I imported the footage and roughly cut it together into a sequence. I then showed this rough cut to Simon and Mike who both gave me their individual feedback. I agreed with all their feedback and began implementing it straight away. Once I had applied all their feedback and tweaked a few extra things I came up with a fine cut for my piece. It still wasn't perfect but it was a lot closer to being finished. The only things left to do were add a production logo and adjust the titles. Once this was done I had my final trailer. The rough cut, fine cut and final trailer can all be found on my blog.

What worked?

- The idea worked really well when coming to write the script. Although I did hit a few hurdles initially, once I had worked out who my characters were in detail, writing the script became a lot more simple.

- My organisation before the shoot was very good. My detailed shot list combined with my shooting schedule ensured that all actors knew where and when they were needed and what they were doing. I also had good contact with both the actors and we were able to constantly correspond to make sure the filming days still suited everyone's personal schedules. I also sorted out the film permits a couple of weeks before my shoot which allowed time for if there were any difficulties. This good organisation lead to a very efficient shoot day (I ended up only needed one out of my two days).

- I think the editing of my trailer works really well. I especially think the overlapped footage works well to convey the sense of confusion that my character is feeling. The fades to black follow the conventions of a normal film trailer, they work really well in my trailer because they help to build tension whilst also maintaining a sense of mystery and enigma.

- The previous editing workshops really came in handy when it came to edit my final trailer. I knew exactly what I was doing from the moment I started editing.

- I think the location of the pier worked really well and I was very fortunate with the weather. It was quite windy making the water look more dramatic. This helps add to the mood and tone of the trailer.

- The acting of my actors worked really well. Jason was able to convey a confused / distracted / panicked look very accurately -this enabled the audience to easily understand my character's emotion. Alex was excellent at portraying a believable character. His acting looked natural which helps to audience to feel at ease with the trailer.


What didn't work?


- I think the sound in my trailer could have been recorded slightly better. Due to difficulty getting to the studios to pick up the equipment, I ended up using my own camera equipment. However, my microphone was not as good quality as the microphones used in the studios meaning that I did experience a couple of sound issues. Although the majority of these sound issues could be fixed in post production, I feel like the editing affected the quality of the sounds. Therefore, in future I will use the studio's equipment.

- There was one bit of my footage which I really wish I filmed differently. When my character John is looking out over the pier, it may not be clear that his intention is to jump - leading to a bit of confusion when Kyle says "John, don't". Mike Rymer suggested I could use a 'trick shot' and get my character John to step up on a box (not seen in shot) to make it look like he is climbing the railings. However, I didn't have time to re-film so had to make do with the footage I had. To try and convey his desire to jump over the edge, I decided to use a POV shot of the camera changing angle to look down into the water.

- I actually ended up getting so much footage that some parts that I really liked had to be left out. In future I could add timings to be shot list so that I know roughly how much time each clip will take up in the trailer so that I don't end up having to cut out material that I really like. Having said that, I'm glad I got more coverage than I needed as I was able to use shots that I wasn't initially planning to use.

- I feel like my script could have been stronger. Even after implementing Steve's advice, I'm still not completely happy with my script. I feel that one of my big 'moments' (John going to jump off the pier) is resolved too quickly, yet I didn't know how to make the moment last longer without it becoming repetitive or boring.

- Although I did a lot of research into screenwriting, screenwriters, short films and TV dramas, I feel like I should have done more into mental health, especially schizophrenia. I found it hard to write the character in a believable way knowing only a few facts about schizophrenia which I learnt from A-level Psychology and from the newspaper article I used as source material.

What did I learn?

- Sound is very important to a piece of footage. Poor quality sound really does affect the quality of the whole trailer. Luckily, I was able to resolve my sound issues, however, it would have been better to use a proper rode directional microphone with a wind protector / dead wombat in order to get better quality sound.

- I learnt a lot about directing. I had to direct my actors and tell them exactly what I wanted to do. My direction was good as my actors performed exactly how I wanted them to. I had no experience about directing before the project, so I definitely learnt a lot about the role.

What could I develop?

- In future I will do more research into the actual content of my project rather than just research around the project. I will look for real life accounts from people in order to make my stories more realistic and to be able to work out how my characters would really react to certain situations.

- I will get my script checked more in order to make the screenplay stronger. I only obatined initial feedback from Simon and then another lot of feedback from Steve once my first draft was completed. In future, I will get the second and third drafts checked as well instead of relying on my own judgement. This will make my screenplay stronger and therefore my story telling and final trailer would also be stronger as a result.

Conclusion:

Overall I am very happy with how this project went, especially since it is my first project on the course. I think my trailer really captures a sense of my story well even with the weaknesses in my script.

STORY-TELLING UNIT: Final Cut

After producing a rough cut and a fine cut, I finally reached a final cut of my trailer. During the editing process it always seemed like I would never see the end, there was always something to work on, but now I have finished the trailer and I am really pleased with the outcome.

Here's the final piece:

STORY-TELLING UNIT: Final Script

After 3 drafts, I finally reached a script that I was happy with. I was actually quite happy with my 3rd draft, however it was too long. In this final version I cut out any action / dialogue which added nothing to the story. Soon enough I reduced the script to 10 pages long.

Here's a summary of my finished screenplay:
- John and mum have conversation face to face
- Kyle distracts John from working at home
- John goes to work
- Kyle distracts John at his office
- John runs into Kyle on the way home from work - they argue.
- Kyle distracts John at home again
- John becomes agitated and heads to the pier
- Kyle talks John down from committing suicide
- They both go to the doctors (reveal that Kyle isn't real)
-  Join John 2 months after intensive treatment, Kyle is gone

Here's a copy of the full screenplay:

Overall I am mostly happy with my screenplay. There are a few things I would change but it was not possible with the page limit. I feel that my idea may have been more suited to a feature length film screenplay rather than a short film screenplay as there were many more things I wanted to do with the storyline.

STORY-TELLING UNIT: Second Cut / Fine Cut

After getting feedback from Simon and Mike, I decided to have another go at editing my trailer. I really liked the feedback I received as it has definitely made my trailer stronger. After implementing their feedback this is what I came up with:

The only thing I have left to do is insert a production logo on the first black screen and change the titles slightly both at the beginning and end. I also decided to adjust some of the stabilisation.

STORY-TELLING UNIT: Soft Trailer

As preparation for filming our trailers / first 2 minutes of our screenplays, Simon set us the task of creating a trailer for a short film we watched as a group; Soft. Here's what I did:

I decided to do the trailer mainly to music with a few of the sounds from the actual short film left in. I decided to do this because this is a common convention that I have observed in many contemporary film trailers. This enables the mood of the piece to be set, then the sound from the actual film allows the audience to gain an insight to the storyline.

As well as creating this trailer for Soft, I wanted to do some research into other trailers in order to gain an understanding of what mine should be like.

The Great Gatsby:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OULhlaX6JY4

This trailer uses a mixture of songs from the soundtrack and pieces of dialogue from the movie. The songs help to set the time period of the piece as the 1920s. All the clips are quite short to prevent the storyline from being given away, yet enough of the narrative is shown to evoke interest within the audience. Dialogue from the film such as "Who is this Gatsby?" and "Gatsby? What Gatsby?" are used in order to create a sense of mystery and enigma which again captures the attention and interest of the audience.

The Grand Budapest Hotel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgGXL5lJ-6g

Like the trailer for The Great Gatsby, this trailer also uses a mixture of background music and dialogue. The trailer includes some voice over in order to reveal a little part of the narrative, the trailer then becomes more focused on the action within the film and a few sections of dialogue between characters. Towards the end of the trailer, fast paced editing is used in order to create excitement in the audience. This fast editing also prevents much information being given away which adds a sense of enigma and wonder. After watching the trailer you are still left to wonder what they complete storyline is.

What is important in a trailer?
- enigma (keep the audience interested and excited to see the actual film)
- a sense of mood (whether this is through music or dialogue, the audience should be able to tell what genre the film is)
- excitement / a twist (their should be something that makes the audience want to watch the actual film, if the trailer leaves the film being predictable the audience won't bother seeing the film - however, if the trailer involves a twist, the audience will want to see the film to see how it is resolved).

STORY-TELLING UNIT: Script - The Third Draft

Although my second draft was a massive improvement on my first draft, there was still a long way to go.

In my second draft, I decided against Kyle being a part of the doctor's scene, instead I just had him sat next to John. However, I reconsidered this decisions as having Kyle participate in this scene would make for a much more interesting scene.

In this scene Kyle tells the doctor about some of John's symptoms. (Although, as Kyle exists only in John's head, the doctor wouldn't be able to hear this). I  therefore thought John's list of symptoms was a very important prop in this scene. He still hands the doctor a list of what he is experiencing, therefore enabling the doctor to make a diagnosis.

Kyle telling the doctor some of the symptoms helps to show how Kyle overpowers John and takes control over him. This helps to make the reveal that Kyle is a hallucination much more dramatic. It also makes the audience realise why Kyle behaves the way he does throughout the drama.

The idea of the reveal occurring when the doctor turns away then turns back to just John sitting there alone was actually Steve's idea. I really liked this idea as the audience really wouldn't expect the reveal to happen in this way, making this a memorable moment:

Adapting this scene has made me like my screenplay a lot more, however, with these additions the screenplay now comes to 12 pages. I now need to go about cutting some of the scenes down in order for the screenplay to fit into 10 pages.

STORY-TELLING UNIT: Rough Cut and Feedback with Simon Welsford and Mike Rymer

Having finished my shoot a day early, I decided to get straight into editing.

This is the first rough cut of my footage. I decided to get it checked despite knowing I still needed to edit my sound, change the order of a few clips and stabilise some of the footage.

I got quite a positive response from both Simon and Mike.

Simon's Feedback:

- Adjust the audio levels.
- Add a shot of John inside the house when Kyle knocks on the door. This shows that John is deliberately ignoring him (otherwise the audience may assume John was not at home).

I raised a couple of doubts I had with Simon such as the overlapped footage. I was worried that it may look a little messy, however Simon thought it worked. Therefore, I decided to leave it in but change it slightly as it obviously produced my intended effect of showing John's state of confusion.

Mike's Feedback:

- Fill the long black screen between the camera rising up above the laptop and John talking on the phone.
- Make the ringtone quieter to match the rest of the audio.
- At the end, to someone who doesn't know the story, it doesn't look like John is going to jump. Add a clip that tells them that he is going to jump.
- When Kyle says "John, don't" -  have him say "John" from the first angle (behind the 2 actors), and don't when the camera is facing both actors.

Here's my 1st rough cut:

STORY-TELLING UNIT: Research - British TV Drama - Glue (2014)

Glue (2014) written by Jack Thorne.

Synopsis:

- "When the body of a local teenage boy is found under the wheels of a tractor in the quiet (and fictional) village of Overton, the lives of his friends are thrown into the spotlight and suddenly come under more scrutiny than they can handle." [1]

Glue is a 2014 British Crime Drama that focuses on finding the killer of a local teenage boy, Cal.

The writer of the series Jack Thorne described the series as "Broadchurch meets Skins" and revealed that aspects of the storyline were based on his own teenage experiences in Berkshire.

Review:

Storyline:

I thought the storyline for Glue was very creative. There was the main narrative (finding Cal's murderer) but there were also side stories as well such as Rob being blackmailed, personal conflicts and tension between the local community and the Romany community.

Each episode ended up on some sort of cliffhanger, making the audience want to watch the next episode. The multi-narrative structure really enabled the writers to keep throwing in plot twists that were compelling and still believable.
e.g. episode 5 ended with the reveal that James could have a motive for killing Cal - however, this was simply revealed through the plans of selling a race horse called Blackout - the reveal was believable and therefore made the story more realistic and interesting for the audience.
Cliffhangers are a great tool for creating suspense and keeping an audience interested - I will therefore try to work a cliffhanger into my trailer in order to create suspense and enigma, making the audience interested and excited about the piece.

The different narratives also enabled the main narrative to be dragged out without becoming boring. The side stories meant the audience's attention could be focused on these whilst occasionally diverting their attention back to the main story. This enabled the series to stay constantly fresh and exciting for the audience. This also prevented the story from becoming too predictable. If each episode focused on the main narrative, too much information would subsequently be given away, meaning the storyline may become predictable and boring for the audience.

I also liked the way that Cal's character was used as a sort of hallucination of James'. This allowed the character to reveal to both the audience and the character James information that the other characters didn't know. This made the storyline much more exciting as the audience had access to information that some of the characters didn't know - this left the audience to wonder how and when the other characters would find out this information.
e.g. it is revealed that James and Cal actually had a romance. This was unknown to the other characters, leaving the audience to speculate about when the other characters would find out.
This narrative technique is very useful as it makes the audience eager to keep watching in order to find out how all this information they know is revealed to the characters.

The use of a hallucination within this drama was of great interest to me as my short film revolves around the character John and his hallucination Kyle. I liked the way that they still kept the hallucination / character's actions realistic yet still added clues that he wasn't real.
e.g. in one scene in the woods, Cal is there one minute and gone the next. He is gone quicker than a person can run, suggesting to the audience that he wasn't there in the first place.
I aim to use a similar technique in the scene in the doctor's office in my short film. The doctor will turn away from John and Kyle to grab a couple of leaflets, when the doctor turns back it will just be John sitting there.

Characters:

Rob - Rob is conveyed as a bit of a 'bad boy'. He doesn't stay faithful to his girlfriend Tina and ends up paying the price for it by being blackmailed by an anonymous person.

James - James is quite a quiet character throughout the series, yet he is one of the most important. He had a secret romance with Cal (Eli's younger brother) before he Cal was murdered. James ends up getting arrested on suspicion of murdering Cal.

Cal - Cal is the teenage boy who is found dead in the first episode. The main plot revolves around finding his murderer.

 Ruth - Ruth is a half Romany policewoman who has to decide between protecting the travelling community and aiding the police investigation.

Tina - Tina is unconventional and unpredictable. She is Rob's girlfriend, however, upon discovering his cheating decides to pursue a relationship with Eli.

Eli - Eli is Cal's brother. His dad is in jail and his mother is dead, leaving Cal being his only real family. Once Cal is murdered, he has no one.








The main thing I liked about Glue was the way they attempted to produce more realistic characters rather than the typical usual teen clichés. None of the characters fit the typical stereotypes of teen dramas, there is no 'popular one' or 'nerdy one'. All the characters are unique and complex, making them something the audience can relate to more. The more relatable the characters, the more likely the audience is to sympathise with them and keep watching to see what happens to the characters that they have become attached to.

The writer of the series, Thorne, believes that Glue is the 'first British drama to place an accurate representation of Britain's Romany community on screen'. I really liked Glue's representation of the Romany culture as it shows them as having much more of a wholesome / community attitude than other programmes have previously shown. It challenges the representations of traveller life conveyed in programmes such as My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding by trying to show a more realistic perspective. The actress who plays the half Romany policewoman revealed that they learnt about the Romany culture to be able to work out how the characters would react to the situations they are put in during the drama series. [2]

Mise en scene, camera work and editing

Everything about Glue is strong; the characters, the storyline, and the mise en scene, camerawork and editing do not disappoint. It is very clear that the quality and originality of the way the series was shot was of great importance. This is even evident in the trailer:

https://vimeo.com/106974358

- The use of the colour red helps to connote the danger within the series.
(e.g. the red flares, the red flames, the red blood dripping)

- The use of low key lighting helps to create a sense of mystery which is what the storyline revolves around.
(e.g. the shadows cast on Tina's face & the shadows on Ruth's face at the end)

Conclusion

Overall, I think Glue was a very strong British drama series as it was unique, original and compelling. The multi-narrative structure enabled the writers to keep the series interesting and the audience entertained. The strength and realistic nature of the characters kept the story interesting as it shows how normal people react to surreal situations. The series is also supported by what I found in my additional research around screenwriting. The writers took unique characters and unusual storylines and told them in a conventional way - this made for a great drama series.

Bibliography:
[1] Attitude, 2014. TV Pick Of The Week: Channel 4's 'Glue' [online] Available at: < http://attitude.co.uk/tv-pick-of-the-week-e4s-glue/ > [Accessed on: 22/11/2016]
[2] The Independent, 2014. Glue: E4 drama exposes 'rotting despair' of English countryside [online] Available at: <http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/new-e4-drama-glue-exposes-rotting-despair-of-english-countryside-9732854.html> [Accessed on: 22/11/2016]

STORY-TELLING UNIT: Script - The Second Draft

Following the feedback given by Steve, I started the second draft of my script.

I decided to just put in all his advice and see what this transformed my screenplay into. One of the main things Steve wanted me to change was adding more scenes and making more time pass. My original draft had just 7 scenes, my current draft now has 14 scenes.

Steve wanted me to change the phone call scene between John and his mum. This scene was clumsy and revealed too much information that wasn't really necessary. Steve also wanted me to introduce John as a character before plunging straight into the action. I therefore decided to kill to birds with one stone. I changed my screenplay to open on a conversation between John and his mum in person. This scene subtly reveals that John has the tendency to get overloaded at work and that he also thinks of himself as being a very important part of his work.

Here's the beginning before Steve's feedback:

Here's the beginning after Steve's feedback:

Steve also suggested I added more interaction between the two main characters. I therefore decided to add this scene where Kyle is now disrupting John at his place of work rather than just casually at home. I feel that this scene really helps to add depth to the characters and their friendship. It shows that Kyle has really crossed a line by coming to John's work:

Steve also felt that I got rid of Kyle too early and that Kyle should actually be a part of the doctor's office scene. Therefore, I introduced Kyle into the scene but left him as a silent character as he is only a hallucination of John's.

STORY-TELLING UNIT: Research - Screenwriting

Before making more adjustments to my script, I decided to conduct more research into the art of screenwriting.

I ended up stumbling upon this fascinating interview with director Peter Hanson. The interview was about his documentary called Tales From the Script (2009) which includes interviews with screenwriters. 

In the interview Hanson discusses whether he considers himself more of a screenwriter than a filmmaker. He revealed that he regards himself as a filmmaker rather than a screenwriter. He also reveals in the interview that he believes we are going back to the days where the concept holds more prevalence than the stars in the film. There was a period of time where star power was what attracted and audience to a movie, however, Hanson believes this is no longer the case. The audience is far more interested in the concept / storyline rather than the stars playing the characters. This shows that screenwriting is still massively important as this is how the story is conveyed (and if the audience is now more interested in the concept rather than the stars, the quality of the screenwriting is more important than ever).

Hanson reveals that unique and unusual concepts often make for better screenplays. He suggests that the best advice for aspiring screenwriters is "demonstrate to people how you can be unusual" and "find a way to deliver what is unusual about you in a conventional format". [1]

He provides an example:

"If you want to write a really satiric story, write it in a conventional fashion because what you have now told the person reading that screenplay is that you can take really difficult material and you can present it in such a way that anyone can understand it and that anyone can grasp what is exciting about it" [1]

I found his advice very useful as I am always trying to find unique ways to tell the story rather than coming up with a unique story and telling it in a conventional way. This advice should make adapting my screenplay a whole lot more straightforward.

I would really recommend checking out the interview:

[1] Youtube, 2012. The Art of Screenwriting [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WpFXG1wRwc> [Accessed on: 19/11/2016]

STORY-TELLING UNIT: Shooting 'Distracted'

Even though I had done a tonne of preparation for the shoot, I came face to face with a huge problem the evening before my shoot. I couldn't get to the studios to pick up all the camera equipment. Fortunately, I have a lot of my own camera equipment (DSLR camera, soft box fluorescent lights, tripods and microphones). As soon as I recognised that there would be a problem getting to the studios, I contacted Simon asking if it was alright for me to use my own equipment for the shoot.

Here's the email:

Once I had the all clear to use my own camera equipment, I was all ready to start my shoot in the morning.

Shoot day

09:00 - I began setting up the camera equipment, lights and microphone so that all was ready by the time my actors arrived.

09:30 - I picked up Jason from the station and took him to the first location, my house.

10:00 - We got to shooting straight away. After filming a couple of clips and checking them, I realised the sound wasn't as sharp and clear as I wanted it to be. I decided to change the location of the microphone and move it close to the source of the sound, this seemed to resolved the sound issues.

10:40 - Even with the sound issues, we managed to stay on time with the schedule. Alex arrived at the first location ready to shoot his first scene. His first scene actually took place just outside my house and again I experienced some sound problems. The wind interfered with the microphone. To resolve this issue we decided to film the scene again but with me holding the microphone closer to Alex and closer to the door he was knocking on. I then used this sound over the original video footage to resolve the issue.

11:00 - These sound issues set us back slightly, however, the next scene was very quick to film, bringing us almost back on time with the schedule.

12:00 - The rest of the shoot went really well, any sound that was slightly off was re-recorded to be combined with the footage when it came to editing. We were done at the first location by 12:00.

13:30 - We arrived at the second location slightly later than planned but got to shooting straight away in order to catch up with the schedule. I decided to firstly record the sound of the water so that I could use this as a consistent sound track for the clips in this location. I then knew I didn't have to worry about the sound for most of the video clips, only the ones with dialogue between the characters.

14:00 - In order to capture the dialogue of my character Kyle, I used a clip mic. This still picked up some background noise but this could be easily corrected when editing. 

14:10 - We ended up finishing the shoot really early as I captured all the footage I needed. The shoot ended up going really well with any issues being easily resolved whilst on shoot. The only issues that had to be resolved in editing were the colours and the slight background noise in the last piece of dialogue - but neither of these seem too challenging.

Overall the shoot was a success, I ended up only needing one day out of my two shoot days meaning I can now use this time to start the rough cut of my edit!

STORY-TELLING UNIT: Research - Screenwriter - Kay Mellor

Having written a couple of my favourite TV dramas such as The Syndicate and In The Club, I decided to do a bit of research into the works of Kay Mellor.

Biography:

- Kay Mellor was born on 11th May 1951 in Leeds, England.

- She studied at Brenton Hall College which is now part of University of Leeds.

- In 2009 she received an OBE for her services to drama.

- In 2015 Kay Mellor was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Writing Award at the Writer's Guild Awards.

- Kay Mellor's writing career started in the 1980's when she worked on Coronation Street and Brookside.


Kay Mellor's Key Work:

The Syndicate (Series 3)

In The Club (Series 1)

- Kay Mellor has created many incredible stories for a variety of TV shows but I decided to focus my research into my two favourite shows by her; The Syndicate and In The Club.

- In an interview for the BBC, Kay Mellor revealed that for the second series of The Syndicate, she had the option to either carry on the cast of the first series and show their lives one year on from winning the lottery or starting over with a new cast. She chose to start over with a new cast winning the lottery in order to capture the moment where they win and follow their lives as they make plans / decisions with the money. This way of starting over with a new cast allowed Mellor to explore the different ways people react to coming into large amounts of money. 

- Mellor's inspiration for The Syndicate was actually the times we are living in, "where people are desperate and holding on to the dream of winning the lottery as the only solution available". [1] Mellor then took this inspiration and conducted some research into the lives of real life lottery winner. She noticed how sometimes their lives weren't made better by their win, their new wealth actually made their lives more complicated and put strains on relationships. 
(In a similar way to Mellor, I took inspiration from real life for my short film. I found a newspaper article about a man contemplating ending his life following a diagnosis of schizophrenia. I then took inspiration from this real life story to create a fictional dramatic piece about a schizophrenic man and his disruptive hallucination / alter ego.)

- Mellor received a great amount of feedback on her first series of the syndicate, especially about her character Bob who suffered with cancer. Bob's story resonated with so many people, making the story have a bigger impact on the audience and therefore making the show the success it was. 
(By making storylines relatable, Mellor was able to attract a bigger audience. This suggests the  great significance of having relatable characters on the reception of the drama. This has inspired my short film because the more relatable I make my main character John, the more interested and captivated my audience will be within the story.)

- Mellor's inspiration for In The Club came from her own early pregnancy at age 15. However, she admits that maternity has changed over the years since she had her children so she had to conduct a lot of research into the subject all over again (they even had a team of midwives on the show to give advice).
(This again shows the importance of gaining inspiration from real life. Stories can be found anywhere, and with extensive research and development they can be transformed into an enthralling drama series or short film).

- Something which is notable in all of Kay Mellor's work is her use of realistic characters. This shows that story lines do not need to be extravagant to capture the audience's attention. Due to the captivating characters and storylines Mellor produced, The Syndicate was re-comissioned for a third series and In The Club for a second series. A new Kay Mellor drama series called Love, Lies and Records has been commissioned for BBC One, putting a hold on In The Club and The Syndicate. 

I can't wait to see the characters and storylines Mellor has created for her new series, I'm also very excited to see if she will write any more series of In The Club and The Syndicate!


Bibliography:
[1] BBC Media Centre, 2012. Interview with Kay Mellor [online] Available at: <http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/syndicate/mellor> [Accessed on: 17/11/2016]

STORY-TELLING UNIT: Research - Screenwriter - Julian Fellowes

As a fan of Downton Abbey, researching the screenwriter of the series interested me greatly.

Biography:

- Julian Fellowes was born on 17th August 1949 in Cairo, Egypt.

- After being educated in multiple private schools and studying English Literature at Magdalene College Cambridge, Fellowes began acting in small TV roles. His success as an actor slowly grew, leading him to star in British TV shows like Monarch in the Glen, The Aristocrats and Heartbeat.

- After 30 years of being a somewhat successful actor and having 12 screenplays rejected, Fellowes found great success with his screenwriting for Gosford Park. He has won several awards for his writing, including:
- New York Film Critics Circle award for Best Screenplay for Gosford Park in 2001
- Academy Award for Best Writing (Screenplay written directly for the screen) for Gosford Park in 2002
- Writers Guild of America award for Best Screenplay for Gosford Park in 2002
- ShoWest award for Screenwriter of the Year in 2002
- Broadcasting Press Guild Awards writer's award for Downton Abbey in 2011
- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special for Downton Abbey in 2011.

Julian Fellowes' Key Work:

- Fellowes' most notable works are Gosford Park and Downton Abbey. As a writer of both film and television screenplays, Fellowes has been able to compare the difference in the writing process. Fellowes revealed that when filming starts for a series of Downton, there would be roughly 4 scripts ready to use and maybe a 5th that needs some reworking, meaning that the rest are produced under time pressure. However, the shoot for a film doesn't start until everyone is content with the script, meaning less pressure for him as the writer.

- Downton Abbey has a multi-strand narrative with many different stories all occurring at once. This makes for a constantly appealing and intriguing show as there are many plot twists to keep the audience interested. This interested me and inspired my project as it has made me realise the importance of having more than just 1 event occurring in the narrative.
(e.g. my short film would be very tedious if my character John constantly gave into Kyle's calls and visits. I created a couple of intertwined storylines instead - 1 about John's stress at work and another about his mental health. Both storylines compliment each other and help to create a more interesting narrative.)

- Fellowes is a big believer in discipline, you should not wait until you're in the mood to write, instead you should just sit down and write, things can be corrected / rewritten later. He also believes in understanding the characters before attempting to write the script - "You've got to sit down and think 'today I am going to do the beginning of Mrs Patmore's plot". [1] Once the character's individual lives and plots are worked out, they can then be put into the script and the narrative can commence. This shows that even the best screenwriters still follow the basic rules of screenwriting.
(When starting out writing my screenplay, I had great difficulty figuring out which way my narrative was going to go. This was because I hadn't fully worked out who my characters were. Once I had worked out each of my character's individual plots and who they were as people, I was then able to write my screenplay much more easily.)

- I also enjoyed Fellowes' development of the characters throughout the six series. My personal favourite character development was that of Thomas Barrow, the villainous, conniving footman who eventually transforms into a genuine and pleasant character whom the audience sympathise with.
(This character development has inspired my work as it shows the importance of plot development / plot twists to the interest / enjoyability of a drama. Therefore, in my drama, my character John goes from being an uptight, stressed, emotionally fragile character who ignores calls from his mother and cancels plans with friends, into a relaxed, calm and stable character who willingly calls his mother and socialises with friends).

Julian Fellowes' incredible screenwriting and storytelling made Downton Abbey the success it was, I can't wait to see the stories he tells next!

Bibliography: 
[1] How Did They Do It? 2013 Interview:Julian Fellowes: Actor, Writer [online] Available at: <https://howdidtheydoit.net/creative/lord-julian-fellowes-actor-screenwriter-novelist/> [Accessed on: 14/11/2016]

STORY-TELLING UNIT: Preparation for the shoot (Shot List and Filming Schedule)

Shot List:

Before filming my 2 minute trailer, I prepared a shot list so that filming would be as efficient as possible. The shot list detailed all the shots I wanted to get for my trailer, I wanted to make sure I had enough coverage, even if a fair bit of the footage didn't end up getting used. Once the shots were filmed I was able to tick them off one by one until all the footage I needed was captured.

Here is my shot list for my shoot:

On set I had this shot list to hand as well as a copy of the script. As my shot list was so detailed, this was used a lot more than the script as it saved time (instead of having to flick through the script to find directions for the characters.) The script was used for the sections of dialogue, but apart from that the shot list was the main tool for both myself and the actors.

Filming Schedule:

As well as having a shot list, I decided to create a filming schedule. This was to ensure we were spending the appropriate amount of time on each section of the shoot. 

Here is my schedule for the shoot:

Although the schedule was only very vague, when paired with the shot list it helped to make the filming process very efficient as the actors knew exactly when they were needed and what they had to do, and I knew exactly who I was filming, what they were doing and what time they were doing it.

I gave both of my actors a copy of the script, shot list and filming schedule so they knew exactly what to expect on the day of filming. 

STORY-TELLING UNIT: Preparation for the shoot (Risk Assessments and Film Permits)

Once I had found my actors and locations for the shoot, I then went about filling in the risk assessments and gaining film permits for my locations.

Risk Assessments:

In order to use the kit from UCA, I needed to fill out 2 risk assessment forms (1 for each location). The risk assessments had to include any potential hazards and ways of minimising the risk of this hazard damaging the equipment. Once the risk assessments had been filled out, they were handed to Simon to be checked and signed.

Here are the copies of my risk assessments:

Sun Pier shoot:

My House shoot:

Film permits:

Once I'd filled out my risk assessments, I then went about contacting the Kent Film Office about film permits. To do this I had to fill out an online application for student filming. 

This is the information I had to provide:

I then received a couple of emails from Hannah at the film office requesting some further information and to have a look at my risk assessments. Once these further questions had been answered and the risk assessments had been looked over by them, I was granted film permits for the 2 days of my shoot:

Once these were sorted I just had to go about preparing my shot list for the shoot to ensure total efficiency when the shoot day came around.