Split screen test

For one of my scenes within the day dream sequence of my short film I aim to create the illusion of a split screen editing effect. The main character and his love interest are either side of the split supposedly in two separate locations. They proceed to do things in unison, such as take a sip of a drink. A third person then comes in and physically picks up the partition revealing it is just a trick of forced perspective. I need this shot to look like two separate shots placed next to each other during editing. But in reality it is one shot with a physical partition within the scene.

For the partition I have decided to use a piece of pipe. After a lengthy search in B&Q I found some guttering that would more than do the job, and at £3.99 it was within my budget. It was quite a challenge to get the pipe to stand upright when filming but weighing down the bottom with a full two litre bottle works fine. For less that five pounds I'd say it looks rather good.

I had to make the two sides of the split screen look sufficiently different to fool the audience into thinking it is actually two different locations. To achieve this I need to dress the two sides of the set in contrast to each other. To do this I used a blanket with the corner folded over. The blanket should spill over to the other side of the partition but this way it looks like two separate locations. In order to make this more effective I will add more props to each side, of course I will also have my actors (the main character and his love interest) on either side.

I am so pleased with how this test has worked out. I was not sure how this would look on screen but I am more than happy with the effect created. The next shot I need to test is the spinning scene where in the female character vomits on the main character.

Producing the animatic

Now I have finished the story board I can produce the animatic. I have taken photographs of each shot then uploaded them into iMovie. After going through each clip, changing the duration and any camera movement I needed to add the voice over. The main character is the only character with dialogue in my film so this was straight forward. I got my leading actor, Jacob, to say his lines as I recorded them on Garage Band. After importing the voice over onto iMovie I had to trim each clip and place it over the correct shots.

Trimming audio in iMovie. 

I still need to add music to my animatic before it is finished. It will be a rough idea of what I wan't the music to be as it isn't finished yet and won't be until after filming.

My animatic is in the process of it's creation.

Actors

I haven't given any of my characters names, this was a concious decision rather than laziness. None of the characters are referred to by their names within the narrative. This is because all of the characters are strangers to each other. I like that is doesn't matter what their names are, it connotes that the situation featured could happen to anyone.

Jacob Barrel
Jacob will be playing the main character in my short film. I have chosen Jacob as my main actor for several reasons. Firstly he has the exact look I am aiming for in my character: sweet, likeable and generally a nice person. Jacob takes media at A2 and studied it last year and for GCSE so he understands what goes in to making a film. He is a very talented film maker and will be able to understand what I am trying to achieve when shooting. We have done some practices of the types of things he would need to do (i.e. fall over, certain facial expressions) and he can do them all brilliantly. On top of this, due to his media experience I know he won't let me down with filming as he understands the importance of this project. In the past I have had actors drop out at the last minute or plain forgot we had scheduled to film. His costume will consist of a checked shirt over a character t-shirt, showing he is both smart but casual.

Olivia Lewis
Olivia is playing the female love interest of Jacobs character. This is a big role, it relies solely on acting as no dialogue is used to help convey meaning. When I created this character I imagined Olivia portraying her and was overjoyed when she expressed interest in the project. Her image is perfect for the role, not typical she is beautifully unique. Her slightly ginger hair and long eyelashes will entice Jacobs character. Olivia is a very talented actress, studying drama at A level and GCSE means she has experience in the field. I watched her AS performance and was quite frankly blown away by her acting ability. She also studied media at GCSE and AS so, like Jacob, she understands the film making process and the importance of commitment to the film. I will pretty much leave the costume up to Olivia, I have explained the character to her and trust her completely. He usual style isn't at all far off what I want the character to dress like anyway.

Harry Boulter
Harry has a wide portfolio of past acting experience. I have seen him perform in several shows including Twelfth Night, his AS drama performance piece and a comedy murder mystery play. He has also starred in a short video I made in the past along with Olivia. He is a very talented actor and it's a shame his character has so little screen time. However I am sure he will make the part of the other male character his own. Him and Olivia have a good relationship on screen, this is important as they interact for such a short time on screen but it needs to look and feel like they are really getting along. Again Harry looks like the character I want to portray, similar to Jacob he looks like an everyday person. I have yet to decide on this characters costume. I want him to look similar to Jacobs character, so maybe a patterned shirt. It's important that the character appear similar, this highlights that Jacobs character had a chance with her, he was just to slow.

The Script

I have written the script for my short film. The whole document is here:
Script


I used a program called Celtx to write my script. I used it last year in my AS project and found it really helpful, especially with the layout. The only downside is exporting the file as it is not a widely used format I can't access it on other computers that don't have the software.  The script shows the shot type, transition, action and dialogue I will give this to my actors before I start filming so they have a good idea of what they have to do and say in each shot, of course I will instruct them in more detail when filming.

My script may change later. I am giving a certain amount of creative licence to my actors. This way the dialogue and scenes will look more natural. If the dialogue doesn't work or doesn't sound right during recording I will change it.

Music tests

I have been thinking about the type of music I am going to use for my short film. After taking the audience research questionnaires into consideration I have decided to only use music during the daydream segment of my film.

I want the soundtrack to be light and uplifting and after listening to lots of music for inspiration I stumbled across this on my iPod: Mr Blue Sky by the Electric Light Orchestra

In particular the start of the song before the lyrics kick in. I really like the upbeat rhythm and repetitive simplicity of the tune. I'm not going to include any lyrics to my music as this will prove too bigger task for me. This track, I can shut my eyes with it on in the background and imagine exactly how I want my film to be. It fits so well, it's a real shame I can't use it. I need to create something inspired by it. I plan to keep my music simple and I'll hopefully be able to create a score fitting to the visuals.

To do this I will be using Garage Band as I lack the ability to play any instruments myself. There is still a long while until the music needs to be ready but I have been doing some tests on the software and I'm pretty pleased with what I've produced.

Here is a piece of Heart and Soul by Frank Loesser I recreated using the Garage Band app. It took me a while but I am pleased with how it sounds:

I have started creating a track for my film, here is what I have so far.

It is by no means finished yet, just me playing on the software to familiarise myself with it. I think my music being composed on Garage Band is definitely a possibility. In the past I have just used pre-set tunes on Garage Band but using the instrument features is proving  a lot more pleasing to the ear.

Story Boarding - Shots 76-91

My story board is finished! The final section of my story board is set back in the coffee shop, it ends my narrative and rather unconventionally introduces a new character. Usually characters that disrupt the story are built up and, as antagonists have more of a background. However I feel the background of this character isn't important. If there is any message in my film it is don't waste time, the point is that this random fellow has beaten the protagonist to the post because he was day dreaming. There is no struggle, no battle, just a realistic occurrence.

The remaining shots show what happens when he returns from the day dream.

The first shot mirrors the shot that transitioned into the day dream sequence, but now in reverse. The camera pans downwards as his eyes do the same. This symbolises the action returning from his imagination back into reality. He then proceeds to walk over to her, all the time the non diegetic voice over (his thoughts) is talking about their perfect relationship and how it amazing it will be.

Just as he approaches where she is sitting the second male character comes in and perches on her table, presumably flirting with her. The protagonist can't believe his eyes. A medium long shot from between the two shows the protagonists reaction, he exits to the left of the shot. He exits the coffee shop kicking a cup on the ground saying that he never really liked her anyway.

The last piece of dialogue could be taken in one of two ways. It's kind of a comment on the frivolity of his daydream and how it was just that: a daydream. It could also be interpreted as him kidding himself and trying to convince himself that he wasn't and isn't in love with her. I like the first interpretation more but it is down to the audiences personal interpretations.

What's next?
I need to now write the script. This will be given to my actors to prepare themselves for the roles and as a rough instruction to what they have to do. This will also be how I decide on the dialogue as I have not yet finalised my ideas.

Some more questionnaire results

I previously stated my target audience for my short film consists of 16-25 year old and yet the only audience research I have conducted is from people aged 17-19. I need to ask the higher aged members to see what they think and ensure they belong in my target audience and I can appeal to them with my short film. Thus I have distributed a similar questionnaire to more people to ensure I cover all ages in my target audience. Most of the questions were answered with similar results.

The main question I need the feedback for to establish if my target audience needs changing is this:

What are your initial thoughts? Does this appeal to you?
People of a higher age were more split in their opinions. Comments ranged form really positive to incredibly negative. But as I stated in my earlier questionnaire post this is too sort out the people that are interested from those who aren't and maybe identify types of people and remove them from my target audience.

I had some really good comments :
"Yes, I love the twist at the end"
"Sounds like a cute story idea."
and
"It's a great idea debunking the ideal of living in an imaginary pie in the sky world portrayed in most movies and living in the present."

Equally some comments were less than encouraging:
"It really doesn't, it seems boring and I don't like the spoof idea."
"No."

Still, the majority of responses were positive. From this I can draw that, as more of my younger target audience were positive, the people with lower ages are more likely to enjoy my film. However, many of these responses were still positive, meaning that it does appeal to older people but those that like films of similar genres. I think this is a reasonable response and so will not be changing the age bracket.