New plans, New ideas, and the hunt for a new Abe

In our session with Chris, the group received some surprising feedback, from the original two minute piece. We had got a pre moderated score of 70%, a 1st. This has both given the team a large confidence boost, and the need to push forward with the momentum. However, it has also added pressure to deliver on the five to ten minute piece.

The five to ten minute part of the project, will be a whole new lever of film making, when compared to the two minute. For starters, we have to grip the audience for longer, which in itself sets a whole new challenge. The two minute was short and sweet, and involved just: one character, one setting, one location. The five to ten minute piece, is planned to include two characters, which have to form an acting relationship with each other.  This will mean that the selection, and getting the actors to know each other, will be curtail to how the film comes out on screen.

We are also trying to incorporate our third character as the phone, to which Abe talks to into, with the character Duncan observing. Our third character essentiality has to be an intimate object that has it's own personality. A classic example of this, is the way Peter Jackson makes 'The One Ring' a character in 'The Lord Of The Rings' trilogy. This fact is greatly emphasised in the 'Appendices' DVD's that come with the extended editions. When speaking of what they did to it, they basically used the soundscape, and soundtrack to create the rings emotional spectrum as the films progressed.

 The Link I am sharing below discuses the sound scales of 'The Fellowship'. They talk about the ring from 7:49-8:56

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0IdrkBtW4E

Tn this second link they walkabout how they used the musical soundtrack to give the ring a certain presence within the film. The speak of it from 8:42-9:44

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSNcrx3Cd1k

They also use a lot of editing thechniques and shots that bring the ring into sharp focus, and make it a dark presence within the film. This itself is obvious in the film itself. The still image above with the ring centre and a couple of images below demonstrate its power and also it's effect on people. This gives the intimate object it's own life in a sense.

Boromir seduced by the ring

The way we will shoot this presence of the phone, will be crucial to pulling it off in the treatment, which states all three characters must interact. We are as of yet unsure as to weather we will be filming this scene in a car or cafe; as the car Laurence originally had sorted, has now become unavailable. I threw out that maybe they are meeting in a cafe, which Laurence has really latched onto.
To make the phone more pronounced, I pre visualise Abe hanging up the phone and placing it on the table roughly, yet we will emphasise the thud toad to its impact. with Duncan in the background looking at this phone. Again I revert back to 'Lord Of The Rings' for inspiration.
In the link below their is a scene from 'The Fellowship', where Bilbo has to let the ring go. This ring has consumed him for sixty years (based on Tolkein's timeline), and when he releases it the ring falls and lands hard, yet does not bounce like you would expect from a ring. The scene acts as an inciting incident, as this act is effectively passing the ring on to Frodo, who becomes the ring bearer that begins the journey to Mordor. The thud of the ring emphasises both its presence and the significance of Bilbo letting it go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3mSkxPQ_K4

I got my initial idea for the cafe, as I have previously filmed in a Cafe for a previous project called 'The Grass Isn't Always Greener', and I also saw this film about two workmates recently at Aesthetica in York, called 'Woodwoo'  which starts in a cafe. I cannot find an online version of the film, so I will describe what goes on in this scene. One of the characters keeps trying to make conversation, whilst the other is more focused on eating his food and only nods in response to his co worker. If we can take that general atmosphere and make it more awkward, I believe that the cafe could work as a scene. As the file is to big to post on here I will show two screen shots of 'The Grass Isn't Always Greener' to give a sense of the cafe setting we filmed in.

Side shot of the setting

Having spoken at length about the phone and possible location change, I believe it is worth mentioning the upcoming plan. We intend to have the whole film finished by next sunday. This gives us eleven days to finish. The intention is to film on Wednesday, however if we do go for this cafe, we will have to shoot over two days, to make things more practical for the actors. Me and Laurence will be going to the cafe this Saturday to try and negotiate filming their. With me having filmed their previously, and Laurence being very solid behind his vision and what he wants, I believe we can secure this location. 

A more import an issue is Abe. We have casted our Duncan, with Callum Reid giving a decent audition and looking the part that Laurence visualised. I have updated details of the project, and posted again on the 'Actors UK' Facebook page (see screen shot below).  

Casting Call on Actors UK page

Since the post I have received two Males interested in the role. The first male contacted me on Star Now, his name is Matthew Squires (41).

Star Now Profile- http://www.starnow.co.uk/profile/ProfileDetail.aspx?m_id=3104500&application_id=15662309

On his profile he posted a video, in which he does a brief character representation for our project, which I felt showed enthusiasm for the project, and shows his idea for the character.

The other response, came from a man named Phillip Birmingham, I do not know his full age but from the three video examples he sent to me, it is safe to say he is aged between 48-56. He acknowledged that he was a little older than the asking age, but I played down his worries, as our original Abe was in his early fifty's. below are the three links to films he's been in. One of the videos, is his audition for a role in one of the other two films. This gave great insight into how a film goes from script, to a reading, to what is finally seen on screen. The links given below will ahead light on what I am talking about.

Audition Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asme_g2D08k 

Final Film

https://vimeo.com/97422678

He also played a role in this slightly cheesy horror flick called 'Shelter'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxcG2pSj3k4

Both of these actors show great interest. Phillip has been in contact more and seems the more experienced, however Matthew has shown more interaction with the role.

Here are the two actors:

Phillip Birmingham

Matthew Squires

The overall plan now is to secure the Cafe location, and I am considering asking them both to come for auditions on Monday so we can choose and also get the prop photo needed for the final piece.

Audition Video - Callum Reid

Below is Callum Reid's successful audition for the role of Duncan.

Audition Video Chris Simpson

Below is the audition video for Chris Simpson trying for the role of Duncan.

Audition Video- Declan Smith

Below is the audition video for Declan Smith going for the role of Duncan.

Declan Smith Audition

Updates on Facebook Group.

The following screen shots are my updates on our Facebook group, for the ten minute Drama.

Schedule announce meant to group 

Arriving at auditions, and checking on script progress

Two auditions

Final Audition 

Bad news about mike

Casting for 5-10 minute piece, Auditions, Set Backs

With the two minute film completed, it was time to start considering the longer piece, which for us is a sequel to the two minutes. The treatment has been handed in, which goes into great detail about the breakdown of the film, and how we plan to use visuals and sound to enforce the piece.

For this piece, I seem to have invertedly accepted the role of producer, as I offered to find some actors for the piece due to the fact that (as I have stated previously), I am part of the website 'Star Now' and a few Facebook groups as well as saving the details of actors I have worked with previously.

I posted the following advert on various Facebook groups to pitch the idea...

ACTING CALL (SHEFFIELD/NON PAID)

Hey guys

I am a student at Sheffield Hallam University, and we are looking for two male actors (NON PAID).

The short is about two individuals who work for a niche cleaning company, that clears crime scenes after forensics have finished. Their is a vetran cleaner, and a rookie who is on his first day. The veteran has committed a murder prior to this short, and has arranged with an undisclosed third party (that has removed the body), to go clean up the crime scene before anybody discovers the murder.

The Character profiles are

ABE: aged 34-40, intimidating, a veteran in his job, who is very prejudiced, with a rude personality, yet demonstrates a keen love for his job. He is very precise and meticulous when carrying out his work.

DECLAN: aged 22-27, shy, determined to impress, has issues with confidence, however has a kind personality. Is ill equipped for the job, however ttys to connect and lean with Abe.

We aim to film in the later parts of next week and the week after (26th November-6th December). The filming will be based in Sheffield, so Actors who live in and around the area will be preferred.

You will receive a quicktime version of the film upon compleation for showreels, and a link to the film on Vimeo and Youtube.

If anybody is interested in taking this roll (or you know of any actors who may be interested), either PM me on here or e-mail: prentice_joshua@yahoo.co.uk with the following

Facial Profile (mandatory)
Any links to previous work (optional but preferred)

A full treatment will be provided to those who are interested.

Thank You.

I posted that message on groups such as
-The South Yorkshire Filmmakers Network
-Northern Filmmakers UK
-Actors UK

I also posted the idea on star now

http://www.starnow.co.uk/Casting-Calls/Actors-wanted/Short-film/two_male_actors_required_for_student_film_based_in_sheffield_non_paid.htm

I received rave reply's for the character Duncan from a few actors including: Chris Simpson, Callum Reid, Gregg Ibbotson, and Declan Smith. Declan had seen the advert on the northern filmmakers network, and Gregg, Callum and Chris I contacted direct with the offer.

We only received one reply for the role of Abe from one Mike Slater. He was aged mid fifty's so a bit out of Laurence's pitched idea for the character, (which Mike acknowledged) and we chose to raise his age, as it would fit this character more. 

With demand for actors in place, I sent them all a copy of the treatment and on Friday 21st I put together a schedule. I based this around Mike's submitted availability, as he was going to be playing Abe. A screen shot of the image of the schedule can be seen below. 

First schedule

It was frustrating trying to get everything audience, as Laurence couldn't deliver a script to the rest of the group until Sunday evening, which left a lot of strain on my part. However, the actors were quite lenient. I asked each actor what time would suit them best for the role, to which only Callum and Chris managed to get back to me. I sent along with the script, a timetable for the auditions on sunday night. Being without my own computer at home, meaning I would have to commute a thirty minute walk from home to addsettes, in order to get access to my email. 

On Monday 25th November, I arrived on time for the actors, and looked at my emails, to which I discovered that gregg had to miss the auditions due to a job interview. This was ok, however it was sad to find out that Mike had needed to pull out at the last minute due to major roadworks taking place on his route to Sheffield. This unfortunate circumstance has caused filming to be pushed back at least a week. I am now currently searching for his replacement in the role. 

On a positive not, we had three actors come in for the auditions, who all pulled out the stops to impress. Unfortunately only Me and Kieran could be present at the interview, as the director Laurence had a house inspection, Bryony had not checked the schedule, and Marcus was AWOL. I recorded the auditions on a macintosh film camera, and posted them on the group. This allowed Laurence to look at them and choose who he wanted for the role. Laurence chose Callum in the end, and I proceeded to tell him the good news. 

Between now and next week is the process of trying to find another Abe. I will include more detail in the following posts. 

Presentation and Foley recording.

On Wednesday 12th November, it was time for each group to showcase their two minute shorts. A total of seven films were shown. It turns out we were not the only ones going with fear as our main emotion.

Between our rushes and this presentation I went out and recorded different Foley sounds including The duvet, the light, footsteps, and several sounds to create static including the fuzz from an old school TV, pressing a knife against a plate and the rattling of thumb tacks. Kieran merged these and made a decent static sound for the phone. And removing a couple of shots that were not relevant to the story progression to  make space for more tension. As a result we got an improved version. We had some technical difficulty's with one export so we had to play an earlier edit, but their were only one or two differences between them. The feedback was generally positive as people liked the idea of not knowing what's coming up the stairs at the end, and how the piece builds up through out the piece. We were basically told to polish the piece off.

Me and Kieran met at the end and discussed ways to improve. I was asked to grab a few more sounds (door handle and extra duvet) which I carried out, and also improvised a few extras just in case, whereas Kieran will be grading all the clips to make it look nicer on camera, particularly the darkest parts where the protagonist is just a silhouette. I have delivered the sounds today and Kieran says he will have the edit completed by this evening, as he will have no time afterwards.

We are still waiting on Lawrence to complete the script and treatment for the 10 minute piece. As soon as that comes in I have a few actors I can contact direct, and I am part of a few groups of Facebook, which can be used for networking and finding actors such as 'Actors UK' and 'Northern Filmmakers'. With nobody really set as the out and out producer, I believe we are all going to be executives to the piece, and I will gladly take on actor hunting.

Rushes and Feedback 5/11/14

With our project edited in a rough cut put togeather by our own Kieran Woodhall, it was time to present our rush to Chris Cooke. My concerns were of the sound levels which at times (especially the rain) drowned out the more important points.

Chris, gave mostly positive feedback, saying that reshooting it was not needed as he felt we have done well. However he came up with ideas on how to play with the sound, particularly the  moment where our character picks up the phone a second time, but doesn't put it to her ear, as the lights have gone out. He suggested we have a sound, to give away that the fuses have deliberately been blown to enforce the danger on the phone by having a sound heard from the phone that only the audience can hear. Our feedback basically was to use the sound to tell the rest of the story, as the visuals do a good enough job, however it only tells 40% of the story, as sound is key to represent fear.

Immediately after the feedback, I met with Kieran briefly to inform him that I will be getting some sound equipment out and begin making foley sounds according to a list Chris pointed out.

His main advice was to restructure so more is added to the visuals story wise (we criticised a shot near the start for being in the wrong place narrative wise), and build up the sound by stripping the drone and putting it in last so as to control the levels of sound accurately. Over the next couple of days I will be foleying different sounds to give to Kieran, and I have offered to help with the sound edit so he isn't carrying the entire post production process by himself.