Shooting Schedule

The shooting schedule that will be vital on the days of shooting!

Call Sheet

The call sheet was handed out to all the cast and crew so each member of the entire production could be easily reached by phone. The call sheet also includes when each cast member would be needed during the two shooting days and when they would be finished.

Health & Hazards Talk

The following are notes from a Health & Hazards talk from our school. This helped us request and organize the locations of shooting at the school.

• We must be considerate of the rest of the school, classes are still going on!

• Last year a teacher took a camera from one of the filming groups to check just how careful they were being with the equipment. - We need to watch over it 24/7
• Keep an eye on the bell- Pack up 10 minutes before and start filming 1o minutes after the bell
• After school, it takes a while for everyone to clear out and for the halls to be quiet. We must wait until most everyone leaves in order to start shooting. -This applies to us because we are filming our classroom scene after school!
• Also be aware that after school clubs & other events are happening- therefore still be aware of theft and safety of equipment is still an issue.

Director Masterclass

My teacher ran a masterclass on directing for all the directors in our class. Here are the notes that I took down:

• Communicate with the cast and crew clearly
• Rehearsals are very important- it is vital for the director to create a relationship with the cast
• Be descriptive-"This is what I want you to say, and this is how I want you to act"
  
• Help the cast understand how a film is made
• Explain shooting schedule & story boarding
• Talk about character's profile, interests & background
• Let the cast be aware that there will be lots of standing around
• Inform the cast of health & safety issues
• Keep all cast between shooting in the Media Classroom to stay organized
  
• Take several takes of a shot- even if it seems okay, Leave 5 seconds before and after the tape rolls to make it easier to edit
• Pay attention to continuity!
• Start at action, stop at cut
• Tell the extras to act natural- even if their role doesn't seem dominant
• Be very clear in speech
• Shooting schedule and Storyboard on set
• Direct everyone.
  
• Only look at the camera screen while filming! Not the action in front of the camera

Photo Storyboard

Rehearsals

Our rehearsals went fairly well. I explained to the cast the process of making a film. I walked them through the shooting schedule and explained the purpose of it. I also showed them our storyboard and explained how each shot is planned out- as well as how we will shoot an entire scene from one angle and hen run through it exactly the same form a different angle.
This is a clip from one our rehearsals of me directing the cast for one of the opening sequences.

I have a couple more videos from the rehearsals but they are too large to upload! I will try to find some way to upload them because they are quiet useful.

Final Storyboard

Monster Final Script

We see a shot of three girls hurrying to class (this is noted by the empty halls in the school and the fact that they are carrying books rushing) Right before Lilly goes into her classroom:

Lilly: Bye guys I’ll meet you after school. Same place as always!

Lilly walks into the classroom. Everyone looks at her and the teacher immediately tells her to sit down.

Ms. Harper: (Teacher gets up from her desk where she was busy doing something on the computer) Good morning class! I thought today we would do a fun writing activity.

Class: Awe (whiny, not waning to do it)- Lilly is seen and she does not participate in the whining.

Ms Harper: Now, now kids I mentioned it would be fun, so there is no need to panic. I want you to write about what you are most afraid of. It can be fictional or non-fictional. (A cut to a kid raising his arm, very eagerly) Wait Mathew let me finish then I’ll help you.

I am leaving that for you to decide. Say for example, if I were to write about my worst fear I would write about giant spiders attacking my house! (laughs) Anyway, get started now and you have until the end of the lesson, if you don’t finish it’s homework! (Sounds of the class whining again)

(The focus will start to go towards Lily. Due to an over the shoulder shot, we can start to see what she is writing. Her first written words are “I don’t have many things I’m scared of. There are actually many things I enjoy. (In the midst of that sentence the narration starts and there is a slow fade to three girls playing the park on swings, they are laughing and playing but the voice over covers up the sound from the park) There is a fade back to the classroom of Lilly writing.

Lilly(V.O. narration):” I’m not scared of spiders. I’m not even scared of ghosts. The only thing that frightens me in this world is a monster. (There is fade to Lilly walking along a fence and dragging the stick along the metal bars.)
The monster I know isn’t like any other monster. He doesn’t live in my closet or under my bed. He doesn’t only come out at night. I don’t really understand because I love him; He says he loves me. We still have fun too. (Fade to Lilly sitting on the ground in the park with her knees to her chest and her eyes covered with her hands. She uncovers her eyes and looks around, but there is no one there)
But playing hide and seek isn’t the same as before. Because these days, if I lose the game, I lose sleep that night too. I know everything will be okay and the fear will go away. (Fade to Lilly laying on the grass with a flower in her hand. She is laying on her back looking up at the flower as well as the sky. There will also be a POV shot of the sky at this point)
Besides, the monster only comes out when the bottle is out. (A fade of Lilly at the park watching an alcohol bottle float by in the pond. )
(We are now back in the classroom scene.)
But I’d still like to know why does he treat me so? I’ll never be mad but I know there should be love & comfort at home.”

As she finishes writing the essay. She puts down her pen and looks up. She is looking straight at the camera when she shuts her eyes. We then have sudden scenes of the film running backwards in about 5-10 seconds as there is a anticipating sound playing. We then have a mirage type scene where We are zooming into Lilly yet tracking backwards at the same time to create a "different world" feel. We cut to a black sillhouette shadow of a man raising his hand and then we hear Lilly saying "Daddy, No"(-The last scene will be very discrete and dark, the man will not be fully shown therefore we will not see his face, yet everything comes together at this point as it is clear who the monster really is.)

Costume & Props

Costumes
Lilly
-Black Blazer
-Red and Yellow Tie
-Black Shoes
-White Shirt
-Red Bag

Zoe
-Black Blazer
-Red and Yellow Tie
-Black Shoes
-White Shirt
-Red Bag

Emily
-Black Blazer
-Red and Yellow Tie
-Black Shoes
-White Shirt
-Red Bag

Ms. Harper
- White shirt
- Long skirt
- Heels
- Long Cardigan

The Father
- Black Top
- Black trousers
- Black shoes

Props
- Monster Masks
- Red Note Book
- Spider
- Bottles
- Flower
- Stick

Auditions

Today we held cast auditions for the characters in Monster. We had a great turn out and nearly everyone who promised to come showed up! We told all the cast about rehearsals, filming times, what would be needed of each character etc.
The following is a short segment from the auditions:

Here are the three candidates for Lilly's Character;
Grace



















Audition:



Taylor



















Audition:

Anabeth





















As a group we discussed who would be best for the part. They all did pretty well in the audition, even though it was a cold read. However we decided to choose Taylor to play the part of Lilly. This is due to her having great acting/dancing experience, as well as her sweet voice & look. Her voice is very important due to most of the film being a monologue. She also looks the youngest out of the three girls. Grace and Anabeth will play her friends.

The following is a contract that we asked all the cast main & extras to sign:

Filming Permit Not Needed

As I still have not received an email back from Geoff Smith, I called him on the phone number that was listed on the city website. I told him everything and the problems of us maybe needing a permit. He said due to this being such a small scale project we do not need a permit. However, we must not interfere with the public and make sure there are no hazards that the public could be injured on. (Such as cables etc.) He said he would still read his email (he has been away from his office on location) and get back to me in writing as well. As soon as I receive the email I will post it on here.

EDIT:
Here is the letter I received back from Geoff Smith;

Hello.

Thank you for your enquiry.

The general rule is that you can film in any public space as long as it does not cause obstruction or nuisance etc. Filming in the public domain does not require a formal permission.

Of course you must have the permission of any of those taking part to be filmed.

As I am guessing that your crew is small and will not involve large equipment or vehicles I can’t see any issues with your enquiry.

Good luck with your filming.

Location Recce

The following is the location recce PowerPoint we have created concerning problems and health safety issues of our locations. (Pictures included!)

Problem (?)

We have recently been noted by our teacher that we may need a filming permit to film in the park because it is a public place! This can cause some major problems for us because some very important scenes in the film take place in the park...the field behind our school is merely but a substitute..

So I researched about who to contact regarding this matter. I looked on the main Barking & Dagenham Borough website and found some useful information about filming in these two boroughs. It had some great locations where film makers are welcome to come and use with the proper planning. However I did not see anything about permits. So I emailed the main person whose name was always used as if there were any more questions/concerns about filming in Barking & Dagenham. I sent Geoff Smith this nice little email:

Dear Geoff Smith,


I am a student at Barking Abbey School in Barking. I am currently doing my A2 Coursework for Media Studies. For the coursework we are instructed to create a 5 minute film. However some of our shots are needed to be filmed off the school grounds in a nearby park- Mayesbrook Park. I was wondering if we would need a filming permit from the city council for such a small project. We would only need to use the location for about 6 hours.

If you could get back to me as soon as possible I would really appreciate it.

Klaudija Alasauskaite


So far I have not gotten a reply back from him. However, fingers crossed everything will be okay!

Cast

Acquiring cast for an unpaid school production about an abused girl is not so easy! However we have learned from our years of junk food eating that most anything will be done if you can lure some people in with a piece of chocolate or a packet of crisps.(Or so we hope)

Anyway, here is how we went about. We wrote a letter concerning the cast that we need for our film. This included character descriptions, times needed etc. Then we handed out copies of the letter to the drama teachers at our school.(We figured they would have a good eye for young starlets on the rise) One teacher got back to us with a pretty hefty list of name. So far we have met with 3 girls and have told them to come along for an audition tomorrow during lunch time. This is also the case for other that we haven't met but we know would be interested in being in the film from other teachers or students.

So tomorrow is our cast auditions. We only need to really audition the main girl because she actually has to show acting ability and good speech because almost the entire film is narration! We asked others to come along even if they would like to be an extra because we would like to inform them of the rehearsal/meeting/shooting days. We will also be handing out our actor contracts. (Because we know how reliable 13 year olds can be.)

We've got sweets and crisps ready so hope all goes well!





The following is the letter we are giving to all the kids tomorrow regarding rehearsals and times needed for each character;


Dear _____________,



As you know we are shooting a short film based on young girl called Lilly who suffers from domestic violence. In doing so we must have full trust in our cast who must be reliable and willing to turn up for rehearsals.

Rehearsal Times

Thursday 8th October - Lunchtime – Lilly, Teacher and Friends rehearsal
Friday 9th October- Lunchtime – Full Cast Rehearsal
Monday 11th October – Lunchtime – Full Cast Rehearsal
(Meet in the media block for all rehearsals)

Important Dates
Lilly’s character needed
2 Days of filming
13th and 14th October 2009

Lilly’s friends needed
Couple hours of filming either on Wednesday 14th or Thursday 15th

Teacher & Extras needed
Couple hours of filming either on Wednesday 14th or Thursday 15th

Storyboard!

Probably one of the more time consuming parts of pre-production. And definitely not one of the artistic assignments. (As you can tell by our stick figures!) But this is a great basis for our film and has all the shots that we are planning to use so far. After the storyboard we can start filling our our shooting schedule for the film day.

.

Monster Script Draft 2

We see a shot of three girls hurrying to class (this is noted by the empty halls in the school and the fact that they are carrying books rushing) Right before Lilly goes into her classroom:

Lilly: Bye guys I’ll meet you after school. Same place as always!

Lilly walks into the classroom. Everyone looks at her and the teacher immediately tells her to sit down.

Ms. Harper: (Teacher gets up from her desk where she was busy doing something on the computer) Good morning class! I thought today we would do a fun writing activity.

Class: Awe (whiny, not waning to do it)- Lilly is seen and she does not participate in the whining.

Ms Harper: Now, now kids I mentioned it would be fun, so there is no need to panic. I want you to write about what you are most afraid of. It can be fictional or non-fictional. (A cut to a kid raising his arm, very eagerly) Wait Mathew let me finish then I’ll help you.

I am leaving that for you to decide. Say for example, if I were to write about my worst fear I would write about giant spiders attacking my house! (laughs) Anyway, get started now and you have until the end of the lesson, if you don’t finish it’s homework! (Sounds of the class whining again)

(The focus will start to go towards Lily. Due to an over the shoulder shot, we can start to see what she is writing. Her first written words are “I don’t have many things I’m scared of. There are actually many things I enjoy. (In the midst of that sentence the narration starts and there is a slow fade to three girls playing the park on swings, they are laughing and playing but the voice over covers up the sound from the park) There is a fade back to the classroom of Lilly writing.

Lilly(V.O. narration):” I’m not scared of spiders. I’m not even scared of ghosts. The only thing that frightens me in this world is a monster. (There is fade to Lilly walking along a fence and dragging the stick along the metal bars.)
The monster I know isn’t like any other monster. He doesn’t live in my closet or under my bed. He doesn’t only come out at night. I don’t really understand because I love him; He says he loves me. We still have fun too. (Fade to Lilly sitting on the ground in the park with her knees to her chest and her eyes covered with her hands. She uncovers her eyes and looks around, but there is no one there)
But playing hide and seek isn’t the same as before. Because these days, if I lose the game, I lose sleep that night too. I know everything will be okay and the fear will go away. (Fade to Lilly laying on the grass with a flower in her hand. She is laying on her back looking up at the flower as well as the sky. There will also be a POV shot of the sky at this point)
Besides, the monster only comes out when the bottle is out. (A fade of Lilly at the park watching an alcohol bottle float by in the pond. )
(We are now back in the classroom scene.)
But I’d still like to know why does he treat me so? I’ll never be mad but I still know there should be comfort at home, not pain from your dad.”

As she finishes writing the essay. She puts down her pen and looks up. She is looking straight at the camera when she shuts her eyes. We then have sudden scenes of the film running backwards in about 5-10 seconds as there is a anticipating sound playing. This leads to a shot of Lilly sitting in her room (with the camera looking in from outside the bedroom door) All of a sudden we see a man walk into the door and suddenly slam the door. (-The last scene will be very discrete and dark, the man will not be fully shown therefore we will not see his face, yet everything comes together at this point as it is clear who the monster really is.)

Final Character's Profile for Monster

Name: Lilly

Nickname: Lils

Age: 11 - 13

Role in the plot: Main character

Biography: An unloved child deprived of affection from a needy mother who is dependent on an abusive partner, has had a hard start to her life. After her parents split and her older brother left, Lilly has been forced to grow up all by herself.

Height: Small

Weight: Light

Eyes: Brown.

Hair: Brunette, wavy.

Complexion: fair complexion
Face Type: Skinny faced
Body Type: Slouchy.

Clothing style: Casual such a teens and t-shirts other than a dirty looking uniform that is creased for school.

Speaking Style: Dreamy, doesn’t talk a lot however when she does makes sense unlike her mates.

Likes: Being alone, school, the park, her small circle of friends, escaping when she is not at home, her room, her bed, fairy tales, films, writing.

Dislikes: Home, ignorant mother, her split life (school and home)

Fears: Her father. The monster.

General Demeanour: Lonely. Quite, smart and depressed.

Ambition: escape from her abusive fathers grasp and live out a normal teenager’s life.


Occupation: Student

Strengths: She is mature and a good listener.

Weaknesses: Can be scared to voice her opinion.

Hobbies: Going to the park, going to after school clubs.




Name: Emily

Nickname: Ems

Age: 11 – 13

Role in the plot : Best mate

Biography: From the start of life Emily had the up hand being born into a rather wealthy family. She is an only child who finds comfort in her friends and is cared for tremendously by her loving, generous parents. He lives in a massive house in an expensive area a little further away from school than the other characters. Her father is a writer and mother is artist who have inspired her massively as she wants to be a fashion designer.

Height: Small

Weight: Fairly Light

Eyes: Blue or Green

Hair: Blonde, wavy

Complexion: fair complexion
Face Type: round faced, baby faced.
Body Type: Skinny Character who seems fragile.

Clothing style: Posh, she could wear clothes such as blouses skirts and tights, wears full uniform to school.

Speaking Style: Proper English however speaks at a fast pace and is very enthusiastic.

Likes: Her friends, fairytales, life, art, make believe and school.

Dislikes: Boys and boring subjects such as history as she much more enjoys creative subjects such as art.

General Demeanour: Bubbly, warming, chatty, immature, girly.

Ambition: To be a fashion designer.

Occupation: Student
Strengths: Full of enthusiasm.

Weaknesses: Can be easily lead.

Hobbies: Drawing, talking, reading non fiction texts.






Name: Zoe

Nickname: Zo

Age: 11 – 13

Role in the plot: Friend

Biography: Zoe is a distressed character seeking more out of life than her mum wants her to. She lives in an average sized house and is not particularly rich or poor. She lives with her mum who is a nursery nurse and her older brother who are always fighting. She confides in music and is bored by her mother wanting her to achieve. She is rebellious, out spoken and does not adhere to the rules.

Height: Just above average for a girl of her age. She is taller than Emily and Lilly.

Weight: Average weight for a girl her age.

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Black or Dark Brown, long and straight.

Complexion: Extremely pale.
Face Type: Slim bone structure
Body Type: bony and her posture is slouched.

Clothing style: In an average day this child would wear jeans and her favourite band top for example my chemical romance with converse. To school she wears uniform although tries to custom it to her own style making it look scruffy.

Speaking Style: She talks depressingly and seems to suck the life out of the conversation, she seems not bothered and laid back.

Likes: Isolation, music, the colour black, hanging out with her small group of friends, dark make up.

Dislikes: School, the colour pink, dodgy boy bands, her brother and girly stuff.

General Demeanour: Laid back, depressed.

Ambition: Something to do with music doesn’t really care about a stable career.
Occupation: Truanting student.

Strengths: Out spoken

Weaknesses: Her image and is not accepted by everyone.

Hobbies: Listening to music, sketching.