 |
| An actual duck! |
 |
| Emma looking very happy a the start of Shooting |
 |
| Waiting for Taxis to stop passing us so we could continue shooting |
 |
| The bad weather beginning to take it's toll |
Sunday, 29 April 2012
Perfect Weather for Ducks
So it was our first day of shooting today, the weather was terrible though and around an hour into filming it was decided to postpone until early next week when the weather's expected to be slightly better. Im worried that it's going to leave me less time to edit but hopefully the better weather will mean better rushes. fingers crossed.
Monday, 23 April 2012
Pathways Final Treatment
This is the final Treatment which Emma has written:
There's not a great deal within this treatment that specifically relates to my role, however there's obviously going to be a few subtle flashbacks and plenty of cutaways. Ill have to focus on making sure the cuts arent jarring and get the right cutaways for each shot.
Treatment
Pathways is a one character driven story based around one a middle aged man named Gary who through his captivating life stories which he’s telling us we learn his true predicament and how he arrived there. He’s walking and talking to camera about his life and past events with comical value to them. His only companion is his dog called Ben who follows him wherever he goes. He’s an upbeat kind of guy with a sense of humour as he laughs at his own comical stories. The music you will hear during this will be acoustic guitar track of happy major chords strumming away. He uses humour to cover up his back story which is quite dark and sad. As the story develops the slow revelation of his situation unfolds and the music will change in suitability of the mood. We will also include flashbacks to visualise his memories he’s coming out with. There is also going to be an audio flashback when hes referring to a family holiday at a beach. The sound will relate to the holiday, so we will hear laughter and beach noises as he describes his memory to us.
Pathways is a one character driven story based around one a middle aged man named Gary who through his captivating life stories which he’s telling us we learn his true predicament and how he arrived there. He’s walking and talking to camera about his life and past events with comical value to them. His only companion is his dog called Ben who follows him wherever he goes. He’s an upbeat kind of guy with a sense of humour as he laughs at his own comical stories. The music you will hear during this will be acoustic guitar track of happy major chords strumming away. He uses humour to cover up his back story which is quite dark and sad. As the story develops the slow revelation of his situation unfolds and the music will change in suitability of the mood. We will also include flashbacks to visualise his memories he’s coming out with. There is also going to be an audio flashback when hes referring to a family holiday at a beach. The sound will relate to the holiday, so we will hear laughter and beach noises as he describes his memory to us.
Narrative
Development
It opens
with a black screen with the main character Gary talking over it. This line
hints towards his gambling addiction but does not spell it out. Then we see him
walk into focus and smile at the camera (the voice over is still playing when he
walks into shot.) From here we see him talking to camera about his and talks
about staying positive through rough times. This is establishing the main
character further and started to build on his story of being homeless, but again
not spelling it out. By him saying he is positive it hints to the fact that he
has something negative in his life he is trying to stay positive about. Then he
goes on to talk of his family memories, hobbies he’s into and he also mentions
his friend Ben. By this time he hasn’t mentioned straight up his gambling
addiction, but we see gambling tickets in his bag. From this he goes on to talk
about his baby brother and how he would want to be there for him (suggesting
he’s not at the moment). He then goes onto to say he’s not close to his family
anymore, and mentions when he started to gamble. Then this reveal has truly come
in and he starts to talk about how this addiction has affected his life,
especially in terms of his family. This leads to a flashback of his mother
handing over money as he leaves the house for good. But we end with Gary seeming
happy, as he says everyone needs someone to look out for them, he reveals his
friend Ben is a dog.
Audience-Intended audience 16-45 Working
class as most could relate to his stories as they are from all stages of his
life and he comes from a working class background.
Purpose-Intended purpose: showing stories of
homeless guys that you pass in the street everyday. Homeless people do seem to
go unnoticed by society as you walk past them on the street and pay them no
attention. We want to make awareness that these are humans with stories just
like yourself. We want to keep the fact that he is homeless withheld until the
very end. People do not need to know of his predicament to get to know the
character.
Style-Shot like Sign language, + Barry +_
about a girl. We knew from early on we wanted a character talking to camera like
a kind of diary. Shooting style would include lots of close ups, depth of field,
shallow focus, cut aways, subtle flashbacks.
Sound-
The soundtrack being upbeat and happy acoustic guitar track, very
much like that in the sign language piece. In the audio flashback we are going
to be using broken glass noises, beach noises and voice overs to convey the
memory. We also need clothing ruffles, shoe shuffles, and various other Foley
sounds to add depth and realism to the piece
There's not a great deal within this treatment that specifically relates to my role, however there's obviously going to be a few subtle flashbacks and plenty of cutaways. Ill have to focus on making sure the cuts arent jarring and get the right cutaways for each shot.
Sunday, 22 April 2012
Pathways initial Script
Emma, Clarice and Connor have got an intial draft for our short drama, we've focussed on getting on a character that is in mid 30s but i think if problems occur with getting hold of actors of that age, we could make a few small changes and develop it for a younger character. Looking at it from an editing point of view it seems pretty simple, however i think it could still develop a little more
Screenplay
EXT.
A man of around 35 is sat on a bench in the street of an
urban city. He has short brown hair, unshaven however not
untidy. He is from a working class background.
GARY
(Laughing as though someone
has asked him something)
Yeah, I’d defiantly say it’s got
way out of hand.
(Laughs)
You’d have thought i would have
realised by now.
(Pauses)
The one that has always been there
for me is Ben, don’t no what I’d do
without him to be honest.
Even before everything happened
we’d go for jogs together, you
gotta keep healthy, however then on
way back stop of at the pub for a
sneaky pint, gotta balance it out.
(Pauses)
CUTS TO BLACK
EXT.
Gary is walking along side the camera, he comes across as a
happy go lucky type, however has something deep that
troubles him.
GARY
You have to laugh at your own
mistakes, it’s what gets you
through life, other wise you’d just
worry about the smallest things.
(Pauses)
I remember this one time when i was
a kid, i was an only child at
still, and my mother was a stay at
home mum, my dad worked with the
police.
NEED IDEAS
All i heard was my mum shouting
from the kitchen
(Puts on a feminine voice)
Gary what you doing now, i swear
you’ll be the death of me one day,
always up to something, silly boy.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 2.
GARY
We used to be quite close, went on
holidays together, usually the
cheap one out of the paper.
(Laughs)
My dad was always a tight git.
(Pauses)
However he always wanted us to have
a good time and make the most of
the holidays we went on.
Gary looks down, looks as though he is looking for something
which is out of shot. He shows the camera a photo from a
past holiday with his parents.
GARY
This is from before my brother was
born, after he came along it all
changed.
(Pauses and seems to drift of
in his own world after a while
a smile comes on his face and
he starts to laugh, Audio
sounds of beach, such as
children and waves)
This was one of the best holidays i
went on as a child, we was staying
in one of the smallest caravans iv
ever seen, it must have been the
first full day we was there, it was
proper pissin’ it down. I was sat
probably moaning, my mum was laid
on the make shift bed trying to
ignore me as she had an headache,
think that was my doing. My dad
had, had enough and packed us all
into the car, we had only walked to
the car and we was drenched.
(Pauses)
I have no idea why he thought it
would be a good idea, but he drove
us to the beach, me and my mum
looked at each other, we thought
he’d gone mad.......he had stripped
down to his boxes and was of
running down the beach in the
pouring rain, mental!
The crazy fuck went for a swim in
torrential rain, apparently it was
to cheer us up, i just think he
went a bit mad stuck in a small
caravan with me and mum.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 3.
Turns out the whether for the rest
of the holiday was hot and sunny,
however my dad developed a cold
over night, so for the rest of the
holiday we had him moaning about
having ’Man Flu’.
EXT.
Gay is sat back in on the bench, looks more dishearten than
before, more serious and looking at a dogeared picture.
GARY
This is a picture of my kids, I
don’t get to see them much any
more, i guess it’s for the best
really.
(Pauses)
My boy, I’d like to think, is a
chip of the block.
(Smiles to himself)
He sees the good in everything, and
a little accident prone just like
his old man.
I would love for one day, to take
my kids on holiday, but for now
that won’t be happening.
EXT.
Gary is walking down the same street as before. Looks as
though he is pushing something, can’t see what it is.
GARY
It all started when my brother was
born, my parents where more
bothered about pleasing the baby.
(Says this in a sarcastic way
and rolls eyes)
I’d started hanging round with an
older crowd, bad idea to be honest.
Looking back now, at the time i
knew it was wrong, but i didn’t
like to admit it. They would all go
to the dogs, or the footie and
would always place bets, i felt
like I’d have to join in....It just
got out of control, every time I’d
win it was the best feeling ever,
like a thrill, a kind of high.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 4.
(Pauses)
My parents didn’t notice i was out
most of the time. I knew my dad was
disappointed in me, and i knew he
was aware i had started gambling. I
just couldn’t help it, I kept it
under control.
(pauses)
I’d met my beautiful wife, had to
kids and was planning on having the
third.
(Pauses, blank expression on
his face)
We lost the child. I couldn’t cope.
It just got out of hand, Tess had
it hard not only did she have to go
through the miscarriage but i
wasn’t there for her, I’d be out at
all hours, i lost all our money
near enough. That’s when she’d had
enough. She kicked me out. That was
the worst day of my life, i could
she the kids in the upstairs window
while she thew my clothes out. She
had found all the mail I had hid
saying I’d missed a payment. I was
stupid.....
(Goes quiet, into his own
world)
EXT.
Gary is sat, leaning against a wall. He is sat on the floor
but we are unaware of this.
GARY
So now im out on the streets, my
mum and dad are to disappointed in
me to help me out, not that I’d
take anything from them, its my own
fault.
He goes to take out a watch out of his pocket, however with
it he pull some scratch cards out with it.
GARY
Oops, you weren’t meant to see
that. Every now and then people
will leave me money, and I just
want to try and get back on my
feet....I just have a feeling that
this time it will happen. I did
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 5.
GARY (cont’d)
once win the pound back (laughs), i
guess that doesn’t count though.
It’s not all bad though, Ben is
still around keeping me company,hes
always around and has been through
everything.
When i got thrown out, he was there
to pick up the pieces. Bless him im
sure he gets fed up with me
sometimes.
It gets pretty lonely on the
streets, everyone needs someone
there for them no matter who it is.
TWO-SHOT: GARY AND HIS DOG, BEN.
Don’t we ben lad!
He feeds the dog a biscuit and ruffles his head. He gets up
and walks off with the dog lead in one hand and pushing a
trolley.
FADES OUT:
Screenplay
EXT.
A man of around 35 is sat on a bench in the street of an
urban city. He has short brown hair, unshaven however not
untidy. He is from a working class background.
GARY
(Laughing as though someone
has asked him something)
Yeah, I’d defiantly say it’s got
way out of hand.
(Laughs)
You’d have thought i would have
realised by now.
(Pauses)
The one that has always been there
for me is Ben, don’t no what I’d do
without him to be honest.
Even before everything happened
we’d go for jogs together, you
gotta keep healthy, however then on
way back stop of at the pub for a
sneaky pint, gotta balance it out.
(Pauses)
CUTS TO BLACK
EXT.
Gary is walking along side the camera, he comes across as a
happy go lucky type, however has something deep that
troubles him.
GARY
You have to laugh at your own
mistakes, it’s what gets you
through life, other wise you’d just
worry about the smallest things.
(Pauses)
I remember this one time when i was
a kid, i was an only child at
still, and my mother was a stay at
home mum, my dad worked with the
police.
NEED IDEAS
All i heard was my mum shouting
from the kitchen
(Puts on a feminine voice)
Gary what you doing now, i swear
you’ll be the death of me one day,
always up to something, silly boy.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 2.
GARY
We used to be quite close, went on
holidays together, usually the
cheap one out of the paper.
(Laughs)
My dad was always a tight git.
(Pauses)
However he always wanted us to have
a good time and make the most of
the holidays we went on.
Gary looks down, looks as though he is looking for something
which is out of shot. He shows the camera a photo from a
past holiday with his parents.
GARY
This is from before my brother was
born, after he came along it all
changed.
(Pauses and seems to drift of
in his own world after a while
a smile comes on his face and
he starts to laugh, Audio
sounds of beach, such as
children and waves)
This was one of the best holidays i
went on as a child, we was staying
in one of the smallest caravans iv
ever seen, it must have been the
first full day we was there, it was
proper pissin’ it down. I was sat
probably moaning, my mum was laid
on the make shift bed trying to
ignore me as she had an headache,
think that was my doing. My dad
had, had enough and packed us all
into the car, we had only walked to
the car and we was drenched.
(Pauses)
I have no idea why he thought it
would be a good idea, but he drove
us to the beach, me and my mum
looked at each other, we thought
he’d gone mad.......he had stripped
down to his boxes and was of
running down the beach in the
pouring rain, mental!
The crazy fuck went for a swim in
torrential rain, apparently it was
to cheer us up, i just think he
went a bit mad stuck in a small
caravan with me and mum.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 3.
Turns out the whether for the rest
of the holiday was hot and sunny,
however my dad developed a cold
over night, so for the rest of the
holiday we had him moaning about
having ’Man Flu’.
EXT.
Gay is sat back in on the bench, looks more dishearten than
before, more serious and looking at a dogeared picture.
GARY
This is a picture of my kids, I
don’t get to see them much any
more, i guess it’s for the best
really.
(Pauses)
My boy, I’d like to think, is a
chip of the block.
(Smiles to himself)
He sees the good in everything, and
a little accident prone just like
his old man.
I would love for one day, to take
my kids on holiday, but for now
that won’t be happening.
EXT.
Gary is walking down the same street as before. Looks as
though he is pushing something, can’t see what it is.
GARY
It all started when my brother was
born, my parents where more
bothered about pleasing the baby.
(Says this in a sarcastic way
and rolls eyes)
I’d started hanging round with an
older crowd, bad idea to be honest.
Looking back now, at the time i
knew it was wrong, but i didn’t
like to admit it. They would all go
to the dogs, or the footie and
would always place bets, i felt
like I’d have to join in....It just
got out of control, every time I’d
win it was the best feeling ever,
like a thrill, a kind of high.
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 4.
(Pauses)
My parents didn’t notice i was out
most of the time. I knew my dad was
disappointed in me, and i knew he
was aware i had started gambling. I
just couldn’t help it, I kept it
under control.
(pauses)
I’d met my beautiful wife, had to
kids and was planning on having the
third.
(Pauses, blank expression on
his face)
We lost the child. I couldn’t cope.
It just got out of hand, Tess had
it hard not only did she have to go
through the miscarriage but i
wasn’t there for her, I’d be out at
all hours, i lost all our money
near enough. That’s when she’d had
enough. She kicked me out. That was
the worst day of my life, i could
she the kids in the upstairs window
while she thew my clothes out. She
had found all the mail I had hid
saying I’d missed a payment. I was
stupid.....
(Goes quiet, into his own
world)
EXT.
Gary is sat, leaning against a wall. He is sat on the floor
but we are unaware of this.
GARY
So now im out on the streets, my
mum and dad are to disappointed in
me to help me out, not that I’d
take anything from them, its my own
fault.
He goes to take out a watch out of his pocket, however with
it he pull some scratch cards out with it.
GARY
Oops, you weren’t meant to see
that. Every now and then people
will leave me money, and I just
want to try and get back on my
feet....I just have a feeling that
this time it will happen. I did
(MORE)
(CONTINUED)
CONTINUED: 5.
GARY (cont’d)
once win the pound back (laughs), i
guess that doesn’t count though.
It’s not all bad though, Ben is
still around keeping me company,hes
always around and has been through
everything.
When i got thrown out, he was there
to pick up the pieces. Bless him im
sure he gets fed up with me
sometimes.
It gets pretty lonely on the
streets, everyone needs someone
there for them no matter who it is.
TWO-SHOT: GARY AND HIS DOG, BEN.
Don’t we ben lad!
He feeds the dog a biscuit and ruffles his head. He gets up
and walks off with the dog lead in one hand and pushing a
trolley.
FADES OUT:
Friday, 20 April 2012
Stuff from yesterdays group meeting
Here are a few of our groups ideas for character backstory and possible script plots that we decided yesterday:
-Introducing Character
“oh i used to work at.... they used to call me....”
Or the gambling hint to open it “yeh its got really out of hand”
Then onto stuff about himself
then to ben
“bens always tagged along” “Used to go drinking quite often with the lads, ben used to join too” “used to be quite fit, went jogging, Ben would come along”
-Family
He then starts to introduce his family. He maybe gets out a something from his trolley (which we don’t see) and it reminds me of the beach holiday (which he has a photo of) here is the audio flashback of the beach
He mentions hes not too close to his family anymore but he says it in a light hearted manner. Shows us pictures of his kids, mentions his son is a bit clumsy like himself, chip off the old block. Its from here that he mentions his mother used to say ”ahh gary what you broken this time”
Talks about a story of a football match in his childhood, and how he managed to break 3 windows in his granddads greenhouse with a football.
-brief mention of the trains+ how he collects things he finds on his journey
Mentions his football cap here and how he kept it because it reminded him of the football matches his dad used to take him to see. Although he isn’t a fan of the team on the hat, it is that team his dad supported.
-Gambling + other interests
He mentions he used to be really into betting on horses( / any gambling you can think of) but now hes abit short on the dosh,
He also likes to keep up to date with current affairs, stems back to when he was small watching his dad read the Sunday newspaper at the table. He brings out this old crinkled newspaper. (another possibility is he is standing outside a tv shop watching the news through the window on the new tellies)
Keen football watcher and player, loves a good kick about.
He mentions he liked to fish when he was really younger, but as he approached teen years his interest in this declined, much to his father’s disappointment,
-Goes to show us a pic of him with a fish he caught but as he does so a heap of scratch cards fall out of his pocket he laughs it off, “you weren’t meant to see them “
Shows us the picture still. Then he goes on to talk of his parents and how they got abit concerned when they saw the scratch cards too. Stopped his allowance, didn’t like him spending his money. But he tells us it was his hard earned cash. “well most of it was “ laughs
Talks of how his decisions on whatto spend money on have got him into some trouble in the past. Nothing he cant handle though.
Pause here
He would quite like to see his kids though.
Pause again.
“its hard you know, when you know where they are, but you cant let them see us like this.”
“i suppose i could of spent a little less time at the races, or games, more time at home”
“...and then theres the money...”
-Flashback of the letters flying through the door.
“but hey, I have won £300 on one race so its not all bad ey!” laughs it all off.
“funny story, thats the weekend i got kicked out, the one weekend i win, and the wife kicks me out, its ridiculous really when you think of it” laughs it off again
-Flashback of him standing in the garden getting covered in clothes and his junk thats being chucked out of the window by his wife(we never see)
“just wish the kids hadn’t seen, ya know?”
Pause
-Back to ben, “but its not all bad, theres always ben to talk to, hes always here for me, good old ben,
Revelation that bens a dog. Pats him on the head and walks off, with his trolley and dog.
-Introducing Character
“oh i used to work at.... they used to call me....”
Or the gambling hint to open it “yeh its got really out of hand”
Then onto stuff about himself
then to ben
“bens always tagged along” “Used to go drinking quite often with the lads, ben used to join too” “used to be quite fit, went jogging, Ben would come along”
-Family
He then starts to introduce his family. He maybe gets out a something from his trolley (which we don’t see) and it reminds me of the beach holiday (which he has a photo of) here is the audio flashback of the beach
He mentions hes not too close to his family anymore but he says it in a light hearted manner. Shows us pictures of his kids, mentions his son is a bit clumsy like himself, chip off the old block. Its from here that he mentions his mother used to say ”ahh gary what you broken this time”
Talks about a story of a football match in his childhood, and how he managed to break 3 windows in his granddads greenhouse with a football.
-brief mention of the trains+ how he collects things he finds on his journey
Mentions his football cap here and how he kept it because it reminded him of the football matches his dad used to take him to see. Although he isn’t a fan of the team on the hat, it is that team his dad supported.
-Gambling + other interests
He mentions he used to be really into betting on horses( / any gambling you can think of) but now hes abit short on the dosh,
He also likes to keep up to date with current affairs, stems back to when he was small watching his dad read the Sunday newspaper at the table. He brings out this old crinkled newspaper. (another possibility is he is standing outside a tv shop watching the news through the window on the new tellies)
Keen football watcher and player, loves a good kick about.
He mentions he liked to fish when he was really younger, but as he approached teen years his interest in this declined, much to his father’s disappointment,
-Goes to show us a pic of him with a fish he caught but as he does so a heap of scratch cards fall out of his pocket he laughs it off, “you weren’t meant to see them “
Shows us the picture still. Then he goes on to talk of his parents and how they got abit concerned when they saw the scratch cards too. Stopped his allowance, didn’t like him spending his money. But he tells us it was his hard earned cash. “well most of it was “ laughs
Talks of how his decisions on whatto spend money on have got him into some trouble in the past. Nothing he cant handle though.
Pause here
He would quite like to see his kids though.
Pause again.
“its hard you know, when you know where they are, but you cant let them see us like this.”
“i suppose i could of spent a little less time at the races, or games, more time at home”
“...and then theres the money...”
-Flashback of the letters flying through the door.
“but hey, I have won £300 on one race so its not all bad ey!” laughs it all off.
“funny story, thats the weekend i got kicked out, the one weekend i win, and the wife kicks me out, its ridiculous really when you think of it” laughs it off again
-Flashback of him standing in the garden getting covered in clothes and his junk thats being chucked out of the window by his wife(we never see)
“just wish the kids hadn’t seen, ya know?”
Pause
-Back to ben, “but its not all bad, theres always ben to talk to, hes always here for me, good old ben,
Revelation that bens a dog. Pats him on the head and walks off, with his trolley and dog.
Thursday, 19 April 2012
Drama - Initial tutorials
We had quit epositive feedback from Debbie during tutorials, sheparticularly liked the fact that our idea was fairly simple, which is a good for a short 5minute film.
Debbie suggested drawing out a timeline, so we can see the structure of the piece.We also will need to be aware of pace and movement within the piece.
We were warned not to use too many flashbacks, as too much within a 5 minute film can distort the films perspective.
Our 3 structure narrative:
-Gambling and his old life with his family
-Him being kicked out of his family home
-Becoming homeless, the reveal that he is homeless
Debbie suggested drawing out a timeline, so we can see the structure of the piece.We also will need to be aware of pace and movement within the piece.
We were warned not to use too many flashbacks, as too much within a 5 minute film can distort the films perspective.
Our 3 structure narrative:
-Gambling and his old life with his family
-Him being kicked out of his family home
-Becoming homeless, the reveal that he is homeless
Pathways Schedule
Clarice and Emma have made a Schedule:
Week
starting 26th March
starting 26th March
- 29th - Got given the brief.
- 30th - Created a Facebook group.
- 30th - Researched into existing short dramas.
- 31st - Researched in existing short dramas.
Week
starting 2nd April
starting 2nd April
- 2nd - Sorted out roles.
- 3rd - Decided on an overall set up of the narrative.
- 4th - Started coming up with different ideas.
- 5th - Started mind mapping different ideas.
Week starting 9th
- Chose 3 ideas to work with.
- Spoke about what style everyone thought would work best.
- Focused on ideas to develop
Week Starting 16th
- 17th - Group meeting to decide on final idea.
- 18th - Sorted out the treatment, character backstory and what needed to be done by who.
- 19th - Pitch idea. Group meeting on storyboards and script. Book equipment.
Week starting 23rd
- Filming from the 23rd till the 30th.
Week starting 30th
- Edit image and audio from the 30th till the 9th.
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