MAJOR PROJECT: COLLABORATION

After the challenges of Pre production last term with writing and re-writing the script over and over again, the next challenge awaiting is the actual production. The difficult thing is to know where to start. There are certain elements I have had to think about as primary producer of the project.

First of all is a script breakdown which had to be done to cover all the aspects of the production I need to think about and source prior to shooting. This includes costumes, props, location, crew, cast, production design.

In the pre production phase I had already set out looking for locations, as well as putting together shortlists of actors for the roles I would be casting. However the script has been changing organically throughout the past couple of months and this has meant going from 5 to 3 on-screen cast members.

COLLABORATORS

CAST

To get to grips with casting the first thing to do was to research the role in films and television. Firstly to get an insight I watched the Hollywood Reporter's roundtable with 5 industry casting directors. Juliet Taylor acclaimed casting director on Taxi Driver, The Exorcist and Schindler's List, Ellen Lewis (Goodfellas, Forrest Gump and The Departed), Patricia DiCerto (many of Woody Allen's recent films), Laura Rosenthal (Chicago and Carol), Jennifer Euston (Known for her television work on Orange is the new black and Girls).

They talk of balancing the right and the left side of the brain, meaning their creative and practical sides. They have to work within budgets even if that means casting someone over the other due to certain parameters restricting them. They talk of the documentary 'Casting By' (Tom Donahue) which sheds a spotlight on the world of casting in films and how people haven't necessarily recognised the people who work in the casting profession.

As shown by the trailer above casting directors don't get anywhere near enough credit, despite people like Marion Dougherty discovering talent such as Dustin Hoffman, Glenn Close and Robert De Niro.

Casting Director as a title was not really recognised until Dougherty's later career. I have not done the role justice on Backbone however it is a role I could have used for help, as this was a particular struggle on Backbone.

COMPOSER 

I was quite lucky to find a composer via an email from UCA about a young composer looking for projects to work on. I researched his work and was really interested in what I saw. I contacted him and we were able to meet to discuss the project in depth along with a rough draft of the film. 

Unfortunately he ended up being overly busy at work and so couldn't put as much attention as I would have liked into the production. So as a result I would consider the music to be one of the weakest aspects of the film overall. 

However the whole experience of working with a composer was eye opening. What I learned was that he wanted to find out in depth the themes and feeling of the story. His question actually made me think a lot deeper into my film and I would say it helped me when I arrived on set. 

We came up with one word for the story: HUMANITY

SOUND RECORDIST AND MIXER

After careful consideration and the experience of working on Plamen Dimitrov's film with a freelance sound recordist, I decided that I would go down the same path and spend a considerable amount of my budget on his services. 

http://www.mjssound.co.uk/

Matt was a huge professional help and as a result the film sound so much better than it would have done with someone inexperienced doing the role. 

Matt on sound - Backbone

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Michael Hoad (2016 graduate) was a huge help on my production, without him we may well have needed plenty more extra shooting days. His ability with the camera pulling focus himself was exceptional. He has really given that film an edge with some really striking imagery working together. Not only was his camera work brilliant, but he is very professional, organised and very practical finding ever more ingenious ways for me to see the shot via the monitor, as well as shielding me from rain. 

An absolute pleasure to work with. His suggestion when we did test shoots back in early March was that we use primarily a 50mm lens which gives Backbone its great detail and quality on the final product. 

Without a good DoP a director can struggle, so having Mike there made my job working with the actors much more achievable.   

MAJOR PROJECT: THE STORY

Throughout the pre-production and now leading up to production I have been working on the story trying to make it effective and relatable.

I have watched many varying different short films for inspiration from drama to comedy I have tried to cover many different areas to figure out where my film will land and what the feeling will be.

One of the earliest short films I watched was 'Borrowed Time' (2015).

Borrowed Time from Borrowed Time on Vimeo.

This film was very powerful in its storytelling. It portrays an ageing man returning to the scene of the worst moment in his life. It is a very sad film with high drama and tension at points, but also moments of contemplation. There were definitely moments I could pick from this that I could relate to the story I want to tell when I come to production.

Another short film I watched more recently is 'SATURDAY' (2016), which depicts the day of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 when 96 Liverpool football fans lost their lives during a football match. The story focuses on a young boy back in Liverpool playing football with his friends only to come home to discover the horror of loss as his older brother is one of those 96. This again evokes emotions, however this time on a much more relatable real level, as the event in question really did happen.

SATURDAY from jessica levick on Vimeo.

As a loyal Liverpool supporter I myself found this incredibly moving. So this is where the relation  of the film can effect the viewer more. So having watched this I knew that my film had to be in some way relatable to audiences. This is why I decided ultimately to remove the key moment of my original script where someone dies having been run over by the large force of the lorry. The story of a man facing a terminal illness as well as two stowaways in the back of his lorry seems more real and relatable.

SETTING THE TONE

As well as watching short films I felt it was appropriate to watch feature films as well to get a sense of tone and feeling that I could potentially portray in my film Backbone (working title). 

A major influence for me on the story is 'Locke' (2013). The 90 minute film is set almost entirely in a car as the titular character drives along the motorway talking to various people as his life collapses around him. There are many things to relate to my character in that he is a traveller on the road, he does most of his talking with people on the phone rather than face to face. This means that my actor will have to be very strong in his performance as we will be with him throughout most of the film. 

Screen-cap from 'Locke' (2013)

The above picture is largely the only thing we see throughout the film. The tone of my film will aim to be similar in many ways to this. However the goal is not to copy this film, my character Rick is very different and will be faced with a different challenge in the back of his lorry. 

Often the story of a film can be strong, but the tone and feeling created doesn't necessarily work or vice versa. I watched 'Jackie' (2017) recently which is a film that creates a feeling and tone through its music and visuals that is dreamlike, contemplative and grief stricken. The story focusses on Jackie Kennedy shortly after the assassination of her husband the president JFK. 

This clip from the film takes place upon the Kennedy's arrival into Texas. The score by Mica Levi combined with the sound design creates a sense of melancholia as well as impending tragedy as we focus primarily on Jackie ignoring the President. As the first lady you get the feeling that this is her world when in crowds like this, JFK greets the masses whilst she stands in the wings watching the action. This feeling is replicated throughout the film even after the assassination, she remains in a state of shock and in a way in a dream away from the reality surrounding her. Often the sound will cut away completely leaving just the score and her performance to convey the emotion.

This is the power of what the tone a feel can used in the right way. So my goal is to take inspiration from this and the other examples above and replicate them to an extent to further my films story and character ark.

MAJOR PROJECT: PRACTICAL PRODUCING

A lot of what I have had to do throughout the couple of months leading up to production has been on the practical side. I have had to take up the role of main producer with my two co-producers doing all they can to help whilst also working on their own projects. My producer Plamen has taken on the role as more of a story development assistant, even taking on a script editing role to help give me another set of eyes on the story. The other producer Lawrence has taken on a more practical producer role helping with casting for my voice characters. He has already got me in touch with the 'Quirky Kidz' acting agency.

My role has been to source props and costumes. However the most tasking part of this part has been the acquiring of a lorry for my character's to act in and around, essentially a main location in itself. The way I have gone about this is by trying to get my location set in stone and then trying to find lorry hire companies in and around this to make it convenient.

Working as a producer proved to be my biggest challenge of the project, as this is the role that I have found myself to be least suited to. Using the website ‘lynda.com’ I was able to come to an understanding of what my role as producer is. By the time I did this research I already found that I was undertaking the producer role, as the producer is involved from start to finish of the project well before and after the director has done their work. The roles of a producer include: 

• Starting the project
• Shepherding the script creation
• Getting funding  

Original budget for Backbone

• Managing pre-production, production and post-production

Call sheet for Day 1 on Backbone

• supervising marketing/distribution
• Ensuring the film is successful

This is how it is listed on lynda.com and I discovered throughout that these were and still are my roles as producer. Being producer was a role that didn’t suit me completely as an example of the difficulties I had with this role was my main actor pulling out a week before production. If I had done this role more effectively I would have had my cast confirmed well in advance having time to meet them and go over the important elements of the story. 

Although myself and my two co-producers are called as such this is not always the case. There is the producer, executive producer, associate producer and line producer all have varying different roles depending on the film they working on. In television the executive producer is generally the show-runner and therefore the highest on the credits list, however on a film it is different.

On my film Backbone I seem to be an all round producer encompassing all of these different types. For example the line producer generally works on aspects of the production like the budget, however as demonstrated above I have done that as well as develop the story, buy props, and cast the majority of the film.

Despite all the different aspects of this difficult job I have enjoyed my attempt at doing this, however it is not a role I will actively seek to do in the future.

MAJOR PROJECT: DRAMA CONVENTIONS

KEY WORD: CONFLICT 




As my film Backbone will be firmly rooted in the drama genre it is vital to research the conventions of the drama to understand it and make an effective film within the genre. In the book 'Directing: film techniques and aesthetics' Michael Rabiger veteran director of 35 films talks of conflict and how this is a key term in drama films. There are certain different forms of conflict which he lists below.

• Person versus person (external conflict) 

Throughout 12 Angry Men (1957) dir. Sidney Lumet the 12 jurors are in conflict with each other about whether a young man is guilty of murder or not.

• Person versus environment or social institution (external conflict)

An excellent example of this is in 127 hours (2011) dir. Danny Boyle. True story of Aron Ralston who got trapped in a canyon for 127 hours, faces a dilemma about his own survival.

James Franco in 127 hours (2011)

• Person versus a task they are compelled to undertake (internal and external conflict)

In Martin Scorceses' latest film 'Silence' (2017) two Portuguese priests go on a mission to Japan to free a Christian man who tried to spread God's word in Japan. However the Japanese do not accept this foreign religion as the two priests will discover in a fight to keep their faith and survive.  

• Person versus themselves, as in someone with conflicting traits or beliefs (internal conflict)

An example of this kind of conflict is in 'In Bruges' (2008) dir. Martin Mcdonagh. Colin Farrell's character kneels in a park and puts a gun to his head as he feels that he can't live on in the knowledge he killed a young boy by mistake.

My main character experiences these conflicts above to certain degrees. He has a decision to make that could have ramifications if something goes wrong. He is also facing potential terminal illness. 

Although primarily a drama the story also has its elements of suspense/thriller as the fear of the unknown takes over for both the lorry driver Rick and the two brothers inside the lorry who don't know what to expect on the other side. 

MAJOR PROJECT: CRITICAL REFLECTION

What Worked

The development of the script was an incredibly valuable process, and through multiple tutorials I was able to take my very rough original draft and produce another 5. They have all added something to the story idea making tutorials one of the most valuable elements. Feedback in general was big for me throughout the term from tutors, but slo guest lecturers and peers. During several meetings with Lawrence Sedgwick and Plamen Dimitrov I was able to bounce ideas around to aid the story in moving forward.  

What didn't work

Putting together a complete and thorough package. Having focussed too much on only script work and developing the story I failed to pay enough attention to producing a full package. Which immediately puts me on the back foot if I go onto shoot next February. I wasn't able to secure a location or my main prop an articulated lorry. I was also not able to put together a cast which I would put down to indecision and not being sure on the actors on Casting Call Pro and their showreels. Another thing I would say is that despite doing a website due to the extra it would give me to deliver the package I did not find it a very good method to present and would have in reflection preffered to do a book or at least an E-book to print.  

What did I learn

That putting together the package was essential to be able to fully visualise my idea and to treat it like a professional piece of work. I would have divided my time and scheduled if I went back now to the beginning of the term. In reflection I would say I spent too much time trying to nail down which idea I wanted to pursue and write a full script for. Also doing character bios and looking into their backstories was something I didn't do early enough, that is something I would have done earlier to help develop the script further quicker and also make it easier to write.    

What could I develop
Scheduling is something I have always struggled with but looking forward, it is probably the most important to help me in the future especially if I go forward and film the project. 

Link for my package website:
http://backbonefilm.weebly.com

MAJOR PROJECT: DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

Backbone

What is a Director's statement?

Passion:

As somebody who lived abroad for much of their life, coming back to Britain was daunting. Despite being British myself I was brought up in Latvia living permanently there until I was 12 years old. Especially when I first arrived I found the people very different to those in Latvia. Even hearing everyone around me speak English was a slightly foreign thing to me. A lot of my life so far has been moving schools I studied at 6 in total which made for a lot of new experiences coming in as an outsider. 

I also speak Latvian fluently which I think gives a different perspective on things, being able to communicate in another language altogether. Essentially this is where I looked for ideas for my story COMMUNICATION was the word I thought of. I desperately wanted to experiment with the use of different forms of communication in my film. So I came up with several variations on the theme which included people who couldn't speak in the same language trying to communicate as well as versions of a translator being involved. 

I eventually landed on this story because of a radio call in I heard which involved a man calling in distraught about his decision to vote leave in the UK EU vote in JUNE 2016. The passion from this man about his decision and how that will effect his 13 year old son as well as his life in general moved me profoundly. So I knew I had to use this as a starting point and work in other elements around him including a pair of immigrant brothers.

Inspiration

• LBC (Leading Britain's Conversations) Radio call in between host James O'Brien and caller Richard. The call in happened on the 13th October some time after the 28th of June Referendum date. Richards sincerity and regret about his decision to vote leave caused an outpouring of emotions from him.
• 'Locke' (Directed by Steven Knight) (2013) Tom Hardy plays a man whose life collapses because of a one time mistake. He has to try and resolve the issue as his life collapses during a succession of phone calls made whilst driving along the motorway.

Tom Hardy in 'Locke' (2013)

• Denis Villeneuve's films 'Prisoners' (2013), 'Sicario' (2015) and 'Arrival' (2016). For the way he depicts suspense in with his direction keeping them human and grounded even Arrival which involves an Alien arrival to earth.
• 'Utopia' Channel 4 (2013-14) (created by Dennis Kelly)     

Genre

The film is a DRAMA. It will cover some pretty harrowing topics in straight up way. Dealing with death, the current immigration crisis, family loss and regret.

Cinematography

Lighting

Three separate sections of the film that will have different styles of lighting to represent where they are. 

• LORRY CABIN INTERIOR - Lighting dark blues, greys taking inspiration from the films of David Fincher, but not going as dark as 'Fight Club' (1999) instead aiming more for the interior lighting from 'Gone Girl' (2014) also a Fincher film. 

• Exteriors natural lighting using a reflector to light people faces. 
• Inside the lorry TRAILER will be lit with very little, using spotlights only in these scenes. This will show the darkness and claustrophobia of the TRAILER and how difficult a situation this is for the two brothers, travelling for days in these conditions. Chiaroscuro painting a big inspiration for this style of lighting, Chiaroscuro being light to dark paintings exactly the kind of look I am searching for for the scene taking place inside the LORRY TRAILER.

Painting by Joseph Wright of Derby 'An experiment on a bird in the air pump' 1768

Editing and Camera Dynamics

The Editing style of Backbone will be slow paced compared to the quick cuts of action films. There will be moments that will require holding shots longer on the emotion of the main character RICK as his feelings change throughout. 

The story begins with a bang in a person being run over, but from then on it will focus primarily on RICK and his performance. However towards the end I would like the editing to increase in pace as more characters get involved and especially when the authority figure of the police arrive on the scene. This will immediately add tension and a need to increase the cuts to show how each character is reacting to the Mexican standoff moment at the end of Backbone. 

This clip from Channel 4's 'Utopia' (2013-14) has a nice pace of editing, there is some tension but it held back to allow for the conversations to take place comfortably without any need to rush or take things too slowly. 

The film will take place in primarily one location so won't need many trumped up exotic editing techniques as the story will progress in real time throughout. 

In terms of dynamics of the camera, it will change as a story I would like to use the tripod for the beginning as well as track & dolly but as things begin to take a twist I will shoot some of the last moment with handheld camera (Fig Rig).

   

MAJOR PROJECT: OUTPUT/AUDIENCE

Audience

Types of audience

Research into audience by Jeremy Tunstall of the City, University of London.

He puts audiences into groups, depending on watching habits how people watch films, television and media in general.

ENGAGEMENT

• PRIMARY AUDIENCE - (close attention) cinema and books 
• SECONDARY AUDIENCE - (media relegated to the background) Radio, some TV, music
• TERTIARY AUDIENCE - (although medium is present, no conscious monitoring takes place) pictures 

The aim of my film is to fall into the PRIMARY category as I would like it to warrant undivided attention due the subject matter I wish to portray. It is not like sitcom you could have in the background and most definitely no anything like a photograph in terms of ENGAGEMENT. 

BBFC

The British board of film classification

Originated in 1912 this independent, non-governmental body has been classifying films in the cinema for over 100 years and also video/DVD since 1984 and the introduction of the video recordings act.

• U - suitable for all
• PG - Parental guidance
• 12A - cinema release suitable for 12 years and over
• 12 - Video release suitable for 12 years and over
• 15 - suitable only for 15 years and over
• 18 - suitable only for adults 

This is the standard format that is recognised throughout cinema releases and home video/DVD. 

For Backbone I would look at the 15 rating for my film. 

As outlined in the BBFC guidelines of 2014 my film suits the 15 rating well. Because it contains: 

• It contains some strong language however in moderation (only 4-5 times swear words used throughout).
• It contains graphic bloody imagery, but not violence itself.
• There is also some threat involved, but again in moderation.

All of these points lead me to confirm at this stage that my film should be given a 15 rating if it were to be released today. 

Films I would relate Backbone to that are also 15 ratings:

End of Watch (2012) (Dir. David Ayer)

This film was given its 15 certificate for: contains strong language, violence and sex references.

There is some very graphic imagery and language in this film, I would say this goes into the upper echelons of what a 15 certificate can be. 

Backbone will not be this graphic or heavy in terms of language. Seeing this might suggest my film would belong in the 12A bracket, it is definitely somewhere in this area. 

Output

As a short film drama I would be aiming to screen at various short films restricting myself to Europe. To begin with, however this is what film festivals can do that is what they are there for to gain attention and growing respect for a film. 

Take Quentin Tarantino for example who begun his feature film career with Reservoir dogs which gained a standing and now a cult status due to its showing at the Sundance film festival in 1992. This caused the film to be recognised and subsequently shown on screens in the USA and the rest of the world grossing well over its original budget 1.2 million dollars. 

 I would like to aim my film at three different film festivals that would normally show this kind of film. 

Firstly Tallinn Black nights film festival is a fairly small festival in Estonia. It is only 20 years old so is building a standing in the field of the film festival. But this would be an ideal kind of festival to screen my film at. 

And example of a film that was shown there is 'Hunger' (2008) (Dir. Steve McQueen). This harrowing tale of the Irish Hunger strikes in 1981 Ireland starred Michel Fassbender and garnered huge indie acclaim launching the career of McQueen who went on to direct 2013's Oscars best picture 12 Years a Slave. 

Another option aimed at just short films is the London short film festival. With 1500 UK and international submissions per year this fledgling festival is the perfect national film festival to aim for my film to be shown at. 

Then there are options like the Watersprite international student film festival based in Cambridge and specifically catering to students. This would most likely be one of the first points of call for a student film like Backbone. 

As a totally outside the box hypothetical option a world famous European festival Berlinale film festival. The famous festival with 60 plus years under its belt has hosted such films as multiple Oscar winner 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' (2014) (Dir. Wes Anderson).

Format

As well as the planned screening of the film in the Hazlitt Theatre in Maidstone it will be put online. 

YOUTUBE 

World renowned website Youtube is a great place to put the film for distribution, for more people to see it. As a free and accessible website Youtube can be watched all over the world and if specific people need watch the film then it is easily accessed and will be there indefinitely. 

VIMEO

Secondary platform similar to Youtube, Vimeo is a website which allows for very high quality video to be shown. It is less well known worldwide as Youtube, but it is very good for showing off short films. The site has a staff pick, and short of the week channel which scour around to find the best new short films uploaded to Vimeo. This could potentially be a really interesting route to screen the film rather than taking it to film festivals.