Leanne Stone
Year1 FMP
planning
my complete storyline
The camera pans in from the door, presenting a carer (Sam) and a young teenager (Sarah) having a chat at night. Sarah is watching a movie in bed whilst Sam sits on the edge talking to her. Sarah talks about how she is struggling with lockdown measures and Sam suggests she takes herself on a walk the next day. They say goodnight and Sam leaves to go downstairs and continue work on a college project.
She see's a glowing light flash past the window, and goes to investigate. When looking outside she see's a glowing ball on the grass, she reaches forward and grabs the ball. A flash of the ball covers the screen and Sam gets a flash forward to Sarah on a walk. She see's someone approaching Sarah about to harm her. This is a quick vision, which soon after Sam wakes up on the patio in the garden, it is morning and the energy ball is gone but she remembers everything.
Sam then turns around to see a text from Sarah saying she is on a walk. Therefore she panics and goes to grab her phone and leave. However upon picking up her phone finds she has an electric current running through her and a glowing blue stone imbedded into her arm. After discovering she has force lightning, she declares where she is going and starts to run. Her stone glows blue and a portal appears which transports her to the location of her sister. She has a powerful landing from the sky and starts to see the same scenes she saw in the visions.
Following a fight response Sam uses her force lightning against the attacker in which they use a red lightning back. Sam then see's a red stone in the attacker and ducks from their lightning striking the stone. They fall to the ground. Sarah appears flustered and confused. As we hear a siren go off, Sarah reveals a red stone imbedded in her arm. The sirens get louder and a black screen falls with a neon sign reading 'Sixth Sense'.
location
At this point I was stuck between 3 places to film. I had to choose between a quieter area which would be easier to film in with less people or somewhere that may be a little better but with a busier environment. I wanted to know fully the areas I could film in and therefore after going to the quiet area found somewhere which I thought would be perfect for filming. Below are some shots I took before filming there. It had the concrete which I wanted to create a better superhero landing and the hills where I wanted to create some practical effects in the surrounding area, when the superhero landing takes place. I think this will be a good place for filming my FMP.
Finding props for energy
The next step was to make sure I actually had what I needed to film now. This way if I need anything it will be sure to be in my possession by the time filming comes around. My main worry was how I would portray the energy as I already had a phone which I would use for the text to come through on. Below is what I have decided on.
Due to the energy ball experiment going well, I decided I would do the arm glow in a similar fashion. Therefore I ordered this blue tinted obsidian stone which with SFX will be able to be put into my actors arm. I don't think I will need a red tint as I can edit this in post production and it therefore saves money. This stone is quite flat so therefore will be easy to put in when my friend does the special effects with makeup.
For the energy ball, I decided to use the glass ball I used when practicing the effect. At first I was unsure whether or not this would be practical but it gave good depth to my effect when I used it for practice, it also gives me better help for tracking and gives a backdrop for the energy ball.
logistic thinking about filming
The next step was to start getting an idea on how long I would need people to film and what I would need. This was vital in making sure I knew exactly what I needed to do and tell people and also what I needed to do planning wise. These thoughts were very messy in my head so I made a big mind-map, splitting up my scenes to account for everything I need to think about in each one. This was very useful as it is something I can come back and refer to when I feel a little lost about what else needs to be done or checking what I need for each scene.
scripting my film
The next step for me was to figure out the dialogue between the characters and further build on the visual story in my film. I felt creating my script was the way to go with this as it would give me a better idea on the visuals and dialogue of my characters. I started by trying to find a template which I loaded and this gave a general layout for my script. This was useful as I could see the layout in front of me and adapt it for the amount of scenes I had. Once I understood the process of scriptwriting, it was easy to write and give a good description of what was happening as writing comes naturally to me. Below is a copy of the final script.
The final steps were to print off four copies and hand them out to each of my actors. This would mean they could look at this over the week before filming to get to grips with what they need to do. They said this was useful to them as ant outstanding questions they could ask and have the answer to, and anything I may have not thought properly about they were able to talk to me about. Overall, I was very happy with the result of my script. I came into this process hardly knowing how a script was laid out or how it truly presented the story, however using this template greatly helped find the groundwork for my writing process and once I understood how to write scene descriptions and how to write notes by the dialogue for each character, I managed to really enjoy writing my script and get it done rather quickly with what I feel was quite a professional touch to my film. The main concern that came from my actors was the costuming as this is not something I have properly thought about, therefore my next piece of planning will be costume design and planning, I will also have to get in touch with the actors to see what they have, and how they can help out here.
costuming
After thinking about the best way to approach this, I decided I would split each of the three characters into their own sections. From my secondary research I remembering from the Star Wars book through the years, seeing how some of the concept art for costume ideas worked. I feel if I collect reference pictures, create my own ideal clothing sketch and then talk to my actors about the closest outfit we can get to what I have drawn, then this will be a good workflow and help not only me but my actors to also understand what the need to be bringing.
Gemma
Gemma is the carer that is looking after Max, however she has a more sibling like relationship with her due to all the time spent in lockdown. She is a young adult of the age of 20, approaching 21 and has taken up this part-time carer position aside from her Uni studies. She enjoys music but is mostly focused on her studies. For her carer roll she generally dresses quite comfy. Ideally in leggings and a shirt with a jumper, to show the smart casual look. To the right are some reference pictures of young carers in the real world to help inspire me.
From the reference pictures I gathered that young carers tend wear quite casual outing clothing, they work long hours so therefore also want to be comfy while maintaining that professional appeal. One thing I was thinking about doing was having my characters hair tied up however these photos don't show that, I still want to explore this as I think it will be more practical and get in the way less when filming and also give a more professional, worn out effect. I'm going do some idea sketches and then see what we come up with, and what we can use with what she has in her wardrobe.
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To the right is a picture I drew of my ideal clothing this character would wear. I was quite unsure of how to costume this character so this was a quick attempt from what I had seen with the reference research photos. I think when I take this to the actor and see what clothes we have to work with, it will fall into place better as I can actually visualise it. The converse and the ripped jeans are to show that the character is of a younger age. The lanyard, bun and V-neck vest is to give a smarter more professional feel. And upon review I think instead of hoodie, they show have a cardigan, however I will have to see what looks best when calling. I am not too sure how well this will look when trying on. However I am a little happier now I have some idea where to go with this. I now need to talk to my actor.
The outfit we eventually decided for Gemma was:
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Black Converse
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Blue ripped jeans
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Black vest
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Flannel
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Hair down
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2 rings
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Septum
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Small winged make-up
Max
Max is a teenager of 15, she has a learning difficulty which is why she has a carer there if she needs help with anything and making sure she is getting a significant amount of sleep while her parents are working long hours due to covid. She has grown a strong attachment to Gemma. At night she is wearing joggers and a comfy shirt. During the day she will ideally be in jeans and a shirt with a blue denim jacket. White trainers and rips in the knees. To the right is some teenage reference pictures.
The reference photos above made me think about how instead of making my character have completely comfy clothes, I could a belt or an extra accessory, to help show how my character has gotten up and got ready like a normal day. I think teenagers care more about their appearance and therefore it will create a more realistic front. Below is the idea I came up with for the night and day outfits for this character.
For the night scene I wanted to create a comfy atmosphere, as Max would be at home and it would be approaching bedtime. I think joggers and this slouchy shirt would be good creating the before bed vibe. I also think having the hair tied up adds to this, it should be somewhat of a messy ponytail to show how she's been working for a while. The other details I like are the glasses to show she's working and the necklace which is just an added detail as many teenagers have sentimental necklaces they wear around a lot.
The night outfit we eventually decided on for Max was:
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Hair up
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Fake glasses (If owned)
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Grey joggers
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Necklace
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Oversized print shirt
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White socks
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To the right is the design costume for what I want Max to be wearing during the day when she is on her walk. I thought that around this age, teens are developing their style. The typical younger teenager seems to go with the blue jeans and vest shirt for when it is warm therefore I want to see if I can pull this off. The denim jacket is also an addition to fit the storyline I am aiming for when covering the stone. I also have the additional bling and the sentimental necklace.
The day outfit decided for Max:
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Blue mum jeans
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Necklace
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Belt (gold buckle)
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DM's, black
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Black button-up shirt
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Watch
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One ring
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Hoop earrings
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Earphones
Figure
The figure is a very mysterious character that we don't know much about. They dress in all black and due to the red stone, has a violent instinct. They have black jeans and big boots on. A black shirt and a bikers jacket. They have black hair and a mask covering half of their face, the eyes dressed in sharp winged eyeliner to give an intimidating look.
I was very certain on the look I wanted this particular character to have, therefore the reference photos weren't as useful to me as the past characters reference photos were. However this reference photo did make me think about accessories. I want now to include rings on my character to give a different perspective edge, I could get some more interesting shots of the hands before the force lightning. I'm going to do a quick sketch of what I imagine the outfit to look like.
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The sketch is just a small update to what I already had in mind for this character, it is all black so therefore just the details of each piece of clothing that comes together to create the intimidated look. This includes the rings, belt and chains. The only thing left to do with this character is actually see what choices we have to work with and how we can portray the intimidating look.
The figures costume decision:
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Biker jacket
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Black jeans
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Black shirt
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Black boots
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Black mask
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Jean chain
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Rings
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Chain necklace
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Winged eyeliner
storyboard
The next step for me was to actually visually present my story shot by shot (to the right is the blank template I will use) This is because I work best knowing exactly what I want and need. These would only be very quick drawings with little to no detail depending on what I need to understand what is going on. This is because I would like to just know what I am doing and have the shots there in front of me so that on the day of filming I can go on knowing exactly what I am expecting from myself. Even if these pictures are hard to understand for others, I know what I expect out of them. I will also put short descriptions if I come back to these a little confused. However I do not feel I have given myself enough time to make a detailed storyboard, this is not as much of an issue as I don't feel detail is something I need in shot choices. I work very much from on the day knowing what looks good in front of me. Below is the storyboard I made. It came 111 shots overall. This is a lot considering my last film was around 30. However I think it's a challenge and I will learn a lot. I also changed a lot when doing my storyboard in the actual film which theoretically makes it easier, however that will be on the problem solving tabs.
Evaluation of my storyboard:
Overall, this storyboard has become a lot longer than I had first thought. It took a long time as I wanted to actually think about the best next shot choice, and I also had to do some logistical thinking about the locations and what I would actually be able to pull off. It is not a masterpiece of drawings yet very rough sketched just so I can look at it and know what angle and what is happening within the each scene. The storyboard for me is just a visual breakdown of what is going on in the script. Although I would have liked to have more detail in this script I felt doing so would've been a waste of time as for one I don't exactly know what sets will look like and I also work quite well when everything is actually in front of me, I can make decision's there and then. Overall, I think this storyboard isn't as detailed as it could be due to time and purpose however it serves the help it is supposed to for me. I will be able to take this on set and know what I am expecting to come off with. The next step for me is putting this into a quick animatic so I kow how long to hold each shot for.
Animatic
After doing my storyboard, I felt happy that I had the visions in my head down on paper in some form. I had a very clear visual picture of what I wanted to do in my head. It was suggested to me, to make this clearer that I create an animatic, this will give me to general time my film will last for and also allow me to see how long I would show each shot for. This was very useful, and gave me a good idea of shots I would want to add in and how long for. This was also useful to see how the dialogue would fit into my recording. I want to now create a few different angles when my characters are speaking each line, therefore I have a lot of options and can change perspective, keeping the scene and film interesting and different. Overall, although as basic as it seems, I was happy with this. It will really help in highlighting the key sounds and major important shots.
shotlist
The next step was to think a little deeper about each individual shot, therefore I made a shot list stating the action that was happening in the shot, the characters I would need, the shot type and any extra notes to think about when recording for that scene. This way, if I had any doubts about what I was doing when actually recording on set, the shot list would prove as something to look at to job my memory or remind me of what is needed for that particular shot. I think this shot list had all the information it actually needed. It also helped me to make some deeper analysis about each of the shots and scenes which would help me to create a better vision of what I want to do. Overall I do think this will be useful when filming.
audiolist
Thinking about audio within my film is a big part to making this work. I have some very unusual sounds when looking at the energy field and the lightning I am using. I want to find unique sounds however I also needed to focus on the sounds that matter as well. Making an audio list means when filming I can take note of what I need and if I need to grab that sound when recording. The audio list just helped me know what I needed for each shot. These are the main sounds which I will be mainly recording in foley. There may be some sounds which I cannot seem to get right with foley and will therefore try layering and using some sound effects. This audio list will prove useful when editing as well, as I may try and do audio earlier on in the process so I have a better feel for my film.
I feel this planning is enough to help me record and I feel with my experimental research I know thoroughly what I am doing. My only concerns are that I haven't filmed something like this before, and actually filming and producing this will be more challenging then I think. As useful as these plans will be, I need to focus a lot when I am actually filming to see what I can do to make this work. I may come back here if I need to plan anything else for audio, as I feel I may find difficulty in knowing how to record the foley. The only other point fo interest that had to change when planning was what I was actually going to film on. I had trouble with my camera and therefore had made a decision to use my phone, after comparing the video quality. More about this can be found in the problem solving section where I wrote about how I tackled this issue. I am only going to use the camera when recording the flash-forwards as this allows for me to use the lens which has the blacked out corners around.