The costume is a very important aspect in our film. As the characters are meant to be at a masquerade ball, it's a scene in which they will be dressed up and covered in masks which will slightly hide them. This is the perfect opportunity for the character Francis to take advantage of, and be able to go extremely overboard with the masquerade idea - and hide himself, pretending to be someone Bethany trusts - Matt.
MALE COSTUME
I have researched into masquerade balls and the male attire side of it to see how Francis would dress, he is definitely going to be wearing a white shirt and tie, however I want to make sure the mask he is wearing will not show who he is.
During the test shoot, Adam (playing Francis) tried on the mask we had got, (which is very over the top and covers the full face) however, it was still possible to tell who he was. This is such an important part of the film which will either be done very well, or very poorly and show who the man behind the mask is. After the test shoot, we got another mask which has a long pointed nose, and covers the head more, however, the bottom of the face is very visible. I had an idea to have Adams face painted white behind the mask, but this would take away the dramatics of when he takes off his mask and reveals himself to Bethany. I decided to look into any accessories that Adam could wear which would hide his identity more. The problem with the first mask was that Adam's hair is very fluffy and thick when he doesn't have it gelled back, and it's clear that it would be Francis. I decided to get a top hat for Adam and see what difference it would make. Surprisingly, it helped a lot and we decided to go back to using the first mask which i'm very happy about as it's very creepy and fits very well with the top hat.
FEMALE COSTUME
The costume for Bethany is going to be a very long ball gown styled dress. She is also going to have a mask, however, she throws it down on the floor at the beginning so we don't actually see her wearing it. I think either a gold or red sparkling dress would fit very well with our actress Amy. I want a dress that is very 'out there' and over the top as she is going to be the main star of the theatre show. Her mask will be red if the dress is red, or silver if the dress is gold.
I have placed out an advertisement for a hair and makeup artist to arrive on set on the theatre filming dates and also the studio filming dates. The main reasons I want someone, is for the bruises and cuts which will be on character Bethany's face from the slap and cuts on her arms from when she is dragged off the stage. There will also be a red mark on her wrists from where the rope has been hurting her wrists.
I also would like to see a very big difference in Bethany's appearance on stage to show how she has changed as a character. I don't want her to wear much makeup at all at first, and have a very 'angelic' look to herself. As the days go by I want her to begin to wear darker clothes, showing how she is changing, and when the theatre show day approaches, obviously she will be dressed up anyway as she's at a ball - however, I want her to be wearing a lot more makeup and her hair done nicely.
Below, I sent the makeup artist a rough and brief idea of the makeup and hair that i'd like done, however this can be changed and she is going to send me feedback on what she can do. The bruise on Bethany's face won't be as bad, but since she is getting slapped quite hard and forceful on the stage I want it to be visible that she is hurt.
An important aspect in our film is the flashback scene, it is set in the 90's with a young girl and a man and women. To build up to the flashback may either be as quick as fading it in, or as unique as creating a fractured time and having the flashback added in randomly. The classic flashback is often shown through a use of fade or dissolve, along with music over the top. However, there are other ways to cut into a flashback which I want to look further into. ''By suddenly presenting the past, flashbacks can abruptly offer new meanings connected to any person, place or object'' (Turim, 1989:17) Turin states an interesting point, as the scene in which the flashback occurs is going to be quite powerful and emotional. It's the turning point in the film where everything almost comes together. The audience find out answers, whilst still trying to put together everything that is happening. Flashbacks can have a powerful effect on films and I don't want our flashback to not give any meaning, I want it to be portrayed in a way which adds to the film and lets us see further into Francis' life and Bethany's. Sid Field states: "Flashbacks are a tool, a device, where the screenwriter provides the reader and audience with visual information that he or she cannot incorporate into the screenplay any other way. The purpose of the flashback is simple: it is a technique that bridges time, place and action to reveal information about the character, or move the story forward.'' Reference: https://www.writersstore.com/the-use-of-flashbacks/ An interesting flashback scene is in the film 'Oldboy'. The man is stood in the lift as some music begins playing. He then almost steps into the flashback as he reaches his hand out to her and then we cut to the flashback where she is in the same scene. The scene then begins jolting from his point of view to what he currently looks like now, in the flashback scene. The music builds up to help lift the message behind the flashback. And then a juxtaposition almost occurs, the music has reached a point of 'happiness' whilst the man shoots himself in the lift.
I looked at a really interesting video which informs filmmakers on the different types of flashback styles there are; some are new to me and very creative ways of showing a flashback. Whereas some are very simplistic as to fade into a flashback which if done right, still has a powerful effect.
Subjective Flashbacks Allow the audience to look into the mind of a character, it looks into a personal memory and represents a subjective 'truth'. Example: In the film Citizen Kane, 1941, a group of men are talking about the life of one of the characters in 5 separate flashbacks. They all have their own personal memory which means it is subjective to them. Objective Flashbacks: Objective When it's clear that the characters mind is not entered, or entering through an object, the flashback is distinguished as Objective. Example: Lost - The Greater Good, 2004. There are men are all talking amongst themselves, but it is not them who are physically telling the story - the director/editor has pushed the flashback in during the scene so that we are watching a completely different timeline. 'For the duration of this flashback, the past, simply becomes the present.' Internal Internal flashbacks are flashbacks which are shown that fit into the timeframe of the movie. So, we will have already seen the scene, however, the audiences' memory is being refreshed. External These flashbacks are scenes which have happened before the plot of the film. This can provide a backstory. Example: Something which could fit this example, is in The Notebook. The old man is reading a story to the old women, which is actually the whole story of the film. Oral Flashback This type of flashback is sound only, no visuals. The character may be doing something in the present on screen, however, we hear noises from the past over the top of the clip. Flashbacks are presented through visual, oral or verbal queues. This could be through someone showing something and it triggering a flashback, or through pulling a face in the present, and it being the same face in the flashback, through music which is a queue that there is going to be a flashback, or through someone saying something. Some other ways are for the character to act as the narrator over the top of the flashback and talk us through what they were up to, instead of allowing the audience to be put into the flashback and letting the person from the flashback tell the story. The voice over bridges the gap between the past and the present. An example of this is in Wild At Heart - the film fades into a flashback, however she is still narrating over the top of it which almost shatters the flashback illusion as we don't hear it for what it is, however, for some films this works and creates a really great effect.
In the video below, from the film 'The Usual Suspect' they use a mixture of narrative and oral queues in the flashback. Whenever the flashback is approaching, the music increases and becomes very creepy and distorted. As well as this, he narrates over the top, which works really effectively in this film as the scene is very creepy and he adds to it with his deep voice and slow paced voice.
Sometimes, the film doesn't use queues in order to make the audience think and work it out for themselves. This could be cutting straight to the flashback and eventually the audience will notice it's a flashback.
An example of this is in the film 'Don't Look Now'. The film often has a lot of random flashs' of flashbacks and they are very jolty and random. This makes the style and time of the film very fractured and distorted. I think this fits really well for this style of film and adds a unique effect to it.
Looking at the first video I watched really helped me see flashbacks in different ways. There's so much room we have to work with and if we film it in the right style and tone, I think we can work with the flashback in different ways to develop it further into the story and create music and visual queues to enable us to cut to the flashback. I also think it's quite interesting in terms of what type of flashback ours is, to me, it feels like a Subjective flashback to both characters, as although it may seem like we are just looking into Bethany's memory - it could also be Francis' too as towards the end he is the one speaking in a more intimate moment with Bethany's mother.
Today I had scheduled a read through for our cast and also it doubled as a test shoot and rehearsal for the cast as we was going to be on location at The Avenue Theatre.
The cast who was able to come along was Amy Floyd as Bethany, Joseph Kane as George, and Adam Jarrell as Francis. I also wanted to do a test shoot to enable Vic to work with the cast and the DOP so he can prepare for the shoot. It will also allow us to see how Lawrence controls the camera at a more detailed approach and allow him to get a more in-depth feel of the look and camera movements we want.
First of all, we all went into the dressing room and we did a read through of any key scenes which anyone was struggling with and so that the actors could feel more comfortable working together. Overall, it went quite well and it enabled me to make any slight changes to the script that needed to be changed to fit better with the actors way of speaking and acting. The read through also went well as the actors could bring up anything that they was struggling with and we could go over the scenes further.
Another key thing I wanted to make sure we do on the day, was do some rehearsals for key scenes between George and Bethany and the important stage scene between Francis and Bethany.
There is going to be a kiss scene between Amy and Joseph, and I want it to look as natural as possible; this worked quite well and i'm glad we went over the scene as the actors was a little awkward at first and didn't kiss properly, which made the scene look really strange. After a little direction from Vic, the two became more comfortable and confident in when to lean closer in together.
Here is a little snippet of the rehearsal from the day.
The second half of the rehearsal was dedicated to Amy and Adam. During the filming days at the theatre, we won't have hours of time to practice and go over the stage scene, which involves some stage combat, so I want to make sure that the two actors are quite confident before hand, which will allow more time on production days to be filming instead of practicing the stage scene over and over.
Amy Floyd has trained in stage combat and had agreed to help bring the scene to life with her knowledge and skills. We ran through the scene with the two, however, when it came to the way the actions were done and the more combat side to it, Amy led on how Adam should hold her arms, and how she will take control when being 'dragged' off stage.
The first half of this was a little daunting, as when acting the scene in real it's hard to know if it's going to look good on the shots, however, we did a lot of run throughs and eventually the actors had choreographed a short 'fight' scene which would work well on the stage. We decided to shoot this as part of our test shoot which also enabled Lawrence to practice with the camera and get more of a feel for the way it would be shot. It was also helpful for Adam to do a few practices with the mask on as when he is actually in the scene, his view will be weakened as the mask will take his peripheral vision away.
Here is a test shoot for the fight scene at the beginning.
The last thing I wanted to get done in the day was a photoshoot for the poster for 'I Pull The Strings' which will be stuck up in the background of the theatre. It was also a good chance for Amy to try on the dress I had go for the final scenes. Unfortunately the dress was quite tight fitting so did not fit, and the sequins also looked quite tacky in the light, which would ruin the style of the scene as Bethany is meant to be dressed up and looking very glamorous.
A lot of ideas was flowing about the different angles we could take and if Amy should be wearing the mask or not, so we have a lot of pictures ready to look at and decide over for the poster.
Finally, we took some photographs of Amy and Joseph together, acting as a couple. This is to be printed for some photo frames in their house, and for on a mug that is smashed.
Overall, the day was a success and i'm glad we had a few rehearsals and run throughs of some scenes which has made myself and Vic more confident about the theatre scenes especially as we do not want to waste any time on the day.
In order to develop my script further and be able to create a psychological film that is believable and rich in character personalities - I have decided to research further into how to write psychological films/books.
I decided to look at the website Writers and Artists and found a really interesting article on writing thrillers.
Here are some of the main points I found that really got me thinking more about the story and how to make Bethany's actions have consequences.
You must lead your readers to anticipate something
You must make your readers understand that the outcome will have powerful consequences.
Make sure the readers care about the characters to whom the consequences may occur. The more the character interests readers, the more they identify with her struggles, the sharper the suspense and will be when she is faced with a menacing situation.
''Suspense depends on much the same qualities as does good writing in general: that is, on vivid characters with whom readers can empathize, on a keen sense of what those characters are aiming for, and on understanding the consequences if they fail to achieve their ends. ''
The tips that I found are really helpful towards not only myself but when Vic is directing the characters. When writing the character Bethany, I tried to make her a sweet, young girl who is innocent and has one real dream in life - to perform on stage. I feel that Bethany is a relatable character as that's all people really want in life, to be happy and secure in what they do. I do want to try make her further relatable to the audience by showing she isn't in the best financial situation and show that she desperately wants to get out of her small home. I feel like I can also push the relationship with herself and her sister further, as not all people feel they are at the same level as their siblings and often have to prove themselves. I think all these problems in Bethany's life will make her much more of a relatable character and the viewers may care more about her as she is seen as the protagonist throughout the film.
However, the tip about making sure the viewers anticipate something definitely needs to be worked on. I need to make sure that something is always happening through the film and that it's building up to the last scene more. I can do this by changing some parts so that the show is mentioned more and that Bethany is really excited for it, if she's so excited for a show the audience must wonder why and expect something big to be happening.
I also found some more tips which are really useful and may help further develop the characters and script.
Feed in necessary information about the characters or their world before a suspenseful moment arrives- and when it does, keep information to a minimum.
Introduce will he/ won't he situations: will the boy from the Indian slums be able to answer the quizmaster's question, or will he fail?
Sprinkle a hint, for readers to pick up, of danger ahead (the shadow at the window, the unlocked door, the blinking answering machine)
Set up two courses of action, where the neglect of either could have dire consequences; then force your character to choose between them. Should she rush to collect her child from pre-school, or make a dash to intercept a killer?
''At the same time, don't over do it. Recognise that suspense depends upon fluctuation in the mood.''
''There's nothing less exciting than non-stop excitement'' Guy Saville
I also decided to research further into some more writing lessons which I found also very useful, I found an article online which gives examples of the technique from feature films. 1) Keep us with the story - no matter what. This is something i've been struggling with as a writer, I get so into the story that when telling it to people not everyone understands, and when I have to explain it, I know that it can't be used as it's obviously not a good idea if it has to be explained. I need to try slow down the pace of some of the ideas in the story and allow my character Bethany to live in a normal world. So far, I have done this by adding in the breakfast scene to show a normal life with herself and George, however, I think I can do this a little more as I've realised some parts in my story are a little complicated and need to be softened out to make more sense. 2) Surprise and challenge the audience from the offset I want to do this by showing the teaser of the film at the beginning and then switching to reality by cutting back to '48 hours earlier' or something similar, which I think will surprise the audience as the film starts very creepy and then goes back to a 'normal world' I also think I can work more with the ending of the film to make Francis look more strange when he is sat in the audience starring at Bethany on stage.
3) Make sure your secondary characters are memorable
I've tried to make sure all the characters in the film have a purpose and all have a different personality. However, I feel the role of the husband, James, isn't as fulfilling as the rest of the characters - which I could change. I will try to make him more active and suspicious in the final audience scenes and have a little more of an impact on the scene or he will basically look like hes been put there as a prop.
Reference: http://www.bang2write.com/2015/03/7-screenwriting-lessons-from-crime-movies.html
BUILDING SUSPENSE
I also decided to watch a video in which screenwriter William C. Martell shares some ideas and tips on screenwriting which I found particularly helpful.
William discusses about how to build suspense instead of just throwing it all in and getting excited. William uses what Hitchcock said as an example
There could be a bomb in a room during a meeting under the table, and you could just show the bomb and surprise the audience and it scares everyone for 5 seconds, or you could show the bomb, allow the viewers to see it and build up the suspense, show two people laughing and talking about something else, and the anticipation is building through the audience as they are waiting for the guys to find the bomb.
I think this is a really interesting point to make, and William says to draw out the suspense, not to rush it. I really want to make sure I do this when developing the script as it will really help to build the tension. William also talks about suspense being built around dramatic irony - the idea that the audience knows something that the characters don't, which draws out the suspense even more as the viewers are curious as they know ahead of time.
William also says that when writing the script you should be writing something that you would want to see - which may seem obvious but it's really important. I'm glad that i'm writing a mystery drama because it's a genre I really like and I am definitely trying to create something which I would want to see. For example, when receiving feedback when I first wrote the script, I tried to make sure that when writing the changes, I always put my own twist on it, even if it was just changing something slightly, if I enjoyed it and made sure that I liked it, I would feel more passionate about what I was writing.
I next watched a video on Suspense and Tension and the women states that suspense and tension is like pulling a huge elastic band out infant of an audience, they are all on edge because they know at any minute it's gonna snap, you pull it out further and everyone is more tense, and then you bring it back in - which relaxes everyone. And finally, you pull it back out twice as far as before - she says that tense and suspension.
Finally, I've decided to look into another article about screenwriting and looking at other techniques to create a great story such as the importance of misdirection, which is important in swaying the viewers into thinking something else.
The Importance of Misdirection
Finally, I've decided to look into misdirection in writing which is important in swaying the viewers into thinking something else.
'A psychological thriller needs diversions to lead the reader off course and obscure the identity of the perpetrator or at least, to create a surprising outcome. The villain often hides in plain sight as an unassuming secondary character or someone close to the protagonist, perhaps her husband, best friend, or even herself'
The article I read mentions the importance of suspects, to introduce secondary characters and give them motive and opportunity. To do this, i've tried to make changes to make Lucy look more suspicious, as we see her in the street giving something to George. Also, I've decided to change her actions towards the end of the script, I will make her look a little more suspicious at the end by putting something into her bag. I've also done the same with her husband James, instead of being sat in the audience, he will walk in through the side door and sit down, shuffling around his tie a little.
The article also discusses about us trusting the protagonist, could they be the one in the wrong? This is important in our film as the ending is quite open, we don't know if Bethany is crazy and has made it all up, or if any other characters was the ones stalking her, or if it was Francis.
New revelations in each scene.
''Each scene should reveal something new to advance the story.''
In the script i've tried to make sure something new is happening in every scene, and that everything in the scene is pushing the story forward in some way. If it's not I will take it out, or see how it is done on set incase it may appear differently.
Don't dwell on clues.
''Don't dwell on clues. Instead treat them lightly, interspersing them with red herrings. In The Good Neighbour, when the neighbours house is on fire, the protagonist tries to call her husband in his hotel room. He doesn't answer. In the first draft, Sarah thinks too much and wonders why he's not answering, drawing attention to her husbands absence. However, in the revised draft she simply calls the hotel and leaves him a message. Even though I, the writer, understand the significance of the telephone call, the protagonist would not dwell on the phone call in this situation''
Make sure characters respond in believable ways.
''Think about how the particular character would believably react in each situation.''
I've tried to shatter George and Bethany's relationship a lot during the film, but gradually. I want Bethany to stop being so trust worthy of George, so gradually, she begins to question his actions. I only do this as he lies to her on the phone when she can clearly see that he is not where he says he is.
''All of these elements – believable events and characters, misdirection, subtle clues, and a story question that remains unanswered until the end – work together to create a compelling novel of psychological suspense that we hope readers won’t be able to put down.''
Production meetings are an important part of the preparation for production and shouldn't be overlooked. They enable everyone to be sure on their roles, and listen to any ideas anyone may have - as well as letting the crew know more about the story so they can have an idea of the tone and style. Vic and I wanted to get together with our crew to make sure everyone know what they was doing so we arranged a meeting at our house. Prior to this, I wanted to do a little research to see if there was anything extra we should be discussing with the crew. I found http://www.masteringfilm.com/how-to-run-an-efficient-feature-film-production-meeting/ which had a full list of helpful advice which I have written below.
Schedule regular production meetings and stick to them. Don’t rely on ad hoc gatherings to keep everyone informed. Events happen too fast and plans change too often for everyone to be kept abreast via casual chats. Keep in constant touch with the key creative staff. Learn to work in a nonlinear fashion. It is a juggling game. The production team needs to work on many things at the same time.
We had been emailing back and forth production schedules, however Mastering Film mentioned that you should be keeping everything formal, therefore this is another reason why we should have meetings, so no one can miss and email or forget to reply to anything.
Production meetings are opportunities to brainstorm ideas and to solve problems. The key to running an effective production meeting is to be organized and to stick to the agenda. Maximize the time you spend with the crew. Respect all points of view, but don’t linger too long on one issue with the whole crew present. Deal with a particularly thorny issue later with only the appropriate crew members. You might have to set up smaller meetings with individual department heads—art, camera, sound, wardrobe, props, hair, and makeup—to deal with specific issues in their respective areas.
Here are some additional suggestions:
Hold the production meeting at the same time and place each week.
Have refreshments available.
Before the meeting, make sure everyone has a copy of the script.
Set a time limit for the meeting.
Publish and hand out a written agenda if possible.
Moderate the meeting, keeping everyone focused on one topic at a time.
Deal with one department at a time.
At the end of the meeting, summarize the points of agreement.
Assign tasks to appropriate crew members.
Set an agenda for the next meeting.
Distribute follow-up notes of decisions made (via email).
Throughout the meeting there was Vic and I, Chris, Patricia and Lawrence. Vic and I made sure to have production schedules printed so the crew knew the initial dates (whilst I was working on call sheets) and we had a few copies of the script printed ready for the crew.
We made sure to follow the suggestions that I researched such as going through each topic one at a time and not getting too confused in what we was talking about. We also went through each persons role along with what additional tasks they may need to do and how they would be working, ie. if the cameraman would be working on a tripod or not, and if the sound technician would be working from a boom all day or not. Patricia's role was also especially crucial to talk about. She would be Vic's assistant on the day, along with helping me out with anything I need. We have runners ready so she shouldn't have to help with too much however she will be doing the clapper board for Vic, along with saying what shot we are on (to enable us to sync the clip and sound together) and making sure everyone is quiet on set. Patricia will also be there to look after the extras on the day we have the ball scene and audience scene as the theatre is quite small and we need someone to be making sure they are quiet when needed, but also available when we need them.
The meeting went really well, we first went through the entire story and let everyone ask questions and know what it was about. They all know the theme and tone and feel confident. Next, we went over everyones roles, everyone was pretty confident, however, Chris is our back up camera man as he is most confident doing camera rather than sound.
Finally, prior to the filming we asked everyone to bring along their schedules for the month we was filming, this would help us to decided if everyone was definitely available for filming. Everyone said they was available however we had a couple of maybes with Lawrence, which needs to be sorted soon!
The next step for our team is to receive more paperwork (call sheets) and make sure everyone is up to date all the time and knows whats going on.
As a low budget independent producer - I will be taking on other roles from different department which means I need to make sure I am fully prepared and organised. Producers have the overall control over the film and must work closely with everyone involved to ensure a great product is created. The producer does not only work before the film in pre production by bringing all the creative people together (cinematographer, director and production designer) they also are on set in production, and in post production work closely with the director and editor.
Producer – Oversees all financial, legal and scheduling of a film production from development through filming to release and marketing. Producers command the primary credit for any theatrical release. I looked on a ''How To Become a Movie Producer Guide'' on TomCruise.com which provided some very helpful research. I have discussed below the research given as well as how it has helped me develop the aspects of our production and what ideas it has given me. The first step, was the find the story, script or idea to turn into the movie - however this part is already been done and it is still being worked on to make sure the script is already for production.
Locating financing to meet the production budget for the film: Another absolutely crucial part of the producer’s job. This is where the financial wizardry of many of today’s producers come into play: you can’t make a movie without the money to pay for all the highly skilled people involved. From buying the screenplay to marketing and advertising the film, it all takes money. In some situations, producers may finance the production themselves or use whatever wealth at their disposal to secure loans for the production.
Budget is something extremely important and something which I want to make sure isn't overlooked. It's definitely true that the advertising and promotion also should be included on the budget. I currently have paid around £90 for the publishing for the website which lasts a year. This ensures that we have more storage on the website, along with the .com domain to make it look more professional. It also lets us have extra help and support if needed along with some additional features on the website. I have begun to also create a budget list which will help me know how much money we are spending, and how much we will have left to pay the actors. It's a very long process as we are still buying the props, however i'm sure it will be done. We did try to receive funding from Indiegogo and Kickstarter however it didn't work too well. Therefore Vic and I are putting in the money ourselves and we are luckily getting help from my dad who will be funding the project too. Our average budget right now is £700 - £1,000 (max) however it may go up depending on prices for a large prop, or could go down depending on location and cast prices.
Finding the creative team to make the movie: For the major producers of a Hollywood movie, this normally means the key players on the production including the director and star actors. The producer often secures financing based on commitments from negotiations with these partners for a film shoot, so pieces of this step may come before the previous. Much of the other creative team are hired either through the director or producers further down the hierarchy of the production.
I've thought a lot about our team for the project, and originally it was going to be Chris Sarmiento on sound and Lawrence Sedgwick as DOP. However, after a few test shots we have decided Chris would be more suitable on camera than sound as that's his strong point, and also Lawrence isn't available for filming every date so Sam Babington will be sound operator, this is much more suitable for everyone. Patricia Dixon will be the production assistant and i'm confident she will do well in this, we've already discussed with her numerous times about what her job will entail and she knows the project and story well. Vic and I are happy with the team and I'm excited to be working along side them.
Managing schedule and expenses during the shoot: Depending on the difficulty of the shoot or the environment, costs can quickly escalate during production. It’s up to the producer to keep the creative team on task and moving forward as quickly as possible in order to keep expenses down. However, producers also have to balance costs with the quality of the finished product. Here lies the source of conflict on many movie shoots – what to keep and what to get rid of and when to just move on.
This Vic and I have discussed any additional costs we may need. I have thought about any costs that may occur incase we have to reshoot. If worse comes to worse we would have to re pay for cast travel expense and also for the location. I will leave some money spare from the budget for this incase we need it.
Keeping post production on schedule and under budget: Just as they manage the schedule and budgets on location, producers stay in partnership with directors, editors and visual effects artists to keep post production running smoothly. While post production isn’t under the same pressures of location filming by nature, it has increasingly become an area of film production where costs skyrocket. Careful planning in pre-production may mitigate costs and time crunch in these latter stages.
A post production schedule was something I hadn't thought about, however it's definitely a tip I shall be getting straight to. In the post production schedule I can include dates which Vic can edit to (discussing with him to make sure its realistic). I could also make weeks for specific things such as sound, colour grading, music, foley. This will help us to be more organised and to push for a quicker edit.
Marketing and promotion of the film: A producer often worked with a studio or distributor on how to best promote and market a film. This includes everything from the posters found in a movie theater lobby to commercials to a film’s website. The producer gives input to all these facets of making sure audiences know about the film and want to go see it.
I will be creating a poster for our film, along with a short trailer to promote our film.
The tips I found are useful in making sure I am doing all the right steps from production to post production. I found the post production tip especially helpful and it will definitely help us to stay on track.
After a long time planning the Major Project, and a lot of changes being made in regards to location, I have decided to update and change the budget and make a more clear plan in what the money is going to be spent on. Previously, I had made a plan, however, hadn't specifically concluded how much would be spent on cast and food. It would be extremely helpful and wise to calculate this now so I can work out further how much money I have to spend and if there is any left over or not enough.
Looking back, it's an extremely rough budget without any proper prices. My main priority was PROPS and LOCATION as this would be taking up most of the budget. However, after doing further researched I have found that I should be taking everything else, even small things, into consideration as it all adds up and will effect the overall amount that we have left over. As it's just myself and Vic in the group the money we put in MUST be spent wisely, we cannot afford to waste anything which is why I want to create an average of the money spent and see how much everything will cost when getting final costs on props and locations.
I watched a lot of videos on how producers budget money carefully, and a speaker on AMC YouTube channel discussed a lot on how producers must carefully think if they can actually create the film after creating the budget. It made me think a lot about creating a very accurate budget so that if I am confident with what we've got, there won't be any little surprises that are charged at the end and make the budget increase.
I began further researching into large and small film budgets to see further information on what is actually the main priority in calculations. When looking at these I found that in the real world, producers focus on the salary on everyone involved and the cost of the equipment and editing as this is such a huge importance - especially if a film is very special effect heavy.
Due to our crew being able to help us out for free and the equipment already being either our own or loaned out from the University - i'm confident in being able to not calculate any money spent on crew and equipment. The composers who we have are working for the experience and are not being paid. However, my main importance to begin calculating now is set design, hair and makeup, cast and props.
A huge part of the money which is spent on props is being spent on a cloth which will act as a backdrop for the theatre stage scene and masquerade ball scene. The cost for this has been worked out at £151.20 including VAT and courier costs due to it being so heavy and having to be carried on a palette.
Another cost which I was able to find for £5 per hour is the auditorium at The Avenue Theatre. After months and months of being told all theatres cost £300 - £500 per day, I began looking further and further out, and finally found The Avenue Theatre in Sittingbourne, which would cost us £90 per day. I originally calculated myself and Vic's train fair being £5 with a railcard, and didn't consider the amount of props we would need. Luckily, we are able to get a lift there in a car with crew and pay for travel which will be around £7 per day.
Another cost which I was quite unfamiliar with was paying for mileage for our actors - as someone who doesn't drive, I just assumed we'd pay for however much petrol they would pay for, however, I began realising this isn't accurate at all and did some research into a mileage calculator. I decided to have a chat with the cast who are driving and agree on how much to pay them per mile which I would then add into the contract and update them on. Doing this really helped to narrow down costs which has helped a lot in the budget. I also researched train times and costs for filming dates and checked with the actors on prices which should be an accurate price. One cast member had pre booked her train as it was discounted at £5 trains so I was able to write an accurate amount for that as well.
Below, I have updated the budget and written an estimate in which I thought we would pay. Luckily, we aren't much over the amount and we should be able to either lower the prices or add a little more money into the budget.
As a producer, I have realised that small things which make a huge different to the visuals - such as set design, can become very expensive and I should of researched more into it further in the pre production stage. I have learnt through doing the budget and managing the money that EVERYTHING must be thoroughly researched.
It definitely helps to look further around areas outside of your comfort zone to get a better and cheaper location which is still a great location to film!
The costume is a very important aspect in our film. As the characters are meant to be at a masquerade ball, it's a scene in which they will be dressed up and covered in masks which will slightly hide them. This is the perfect opportunity for the character Francis to take advantage of, and be able to go extremely overboard with the masquerade idea - and hide himself, pretending to be someone Bethany trusts - Matt.
During the test shoot, Adam (playing Francis) tried on the mask we had got, (which is very over the top and covers the full face) however, it was still possible to tell who he was. This is such an important part of the film which will either be done very well, or very poorly and show who the man behind the mask is. After the test shoot, we got another mask which has a long pointed nose, and covers the head more, however, the bottom of the face is very visible. I had an idea to have Adams face painted white behind the mask, but this would take away the dramatics of when he takes off his mask and reveals himself to Bethany. I decided to look into any accessories that Adam could wear which would hide his identity more. The problem with the first mask was that Adam's hair is very fluffy and thick when he doesn't have it gelled back, and it's clear that it would be Francis. I decided to get a top hat for Adam and see what difference it would make. Surprisingly, it helped a lot and we decided to go back to using the first mask which i'm very happy about as it's very creepy and fits very well with the top hat.
The costume for Bethany is going to be a very long ball gown styled dress. She is also going to have a mask, however, she throws it down on the floor at the beginning so we don't actually see her wearing it. I think either a gold or red sparkling dress would fit very well with our actress Amy. I want a dress that is very 'out there' and over the top as she is going to be the main star of the theatre show. Her mask will be red if the dress is red, or silver if the dress is gold.
