R+P Post 15: Our planned filming location and set design

Locations:

   1) Ela's House, Chingford

   2) The Latymer School, Haselbury Road, Lower Edmonton, N9 (on the English Corridor).

Both of our locations were chosen primarily on the environment they represented to the audience. For example, Location 2 (The Latymer School) was the obvious choice for us, due to the fact that it is easily accessible and has the correct connotations (of a sixth-form school). In addition, this choice meant that dressing the set was not an issue; as it was already exactly what we needed. Furthermore, the hallway is narrow and there are several classrooms off of it, which will make it appear packed (when all the characters are in it), whilst still giving us the freedom of space for the characters to gather in groups. Therefore, the set was perfect for the 40 second tracking sequence.

The decision to use Ela's house was not as simple. This is because all three of us have rooms with girly connotations (which is not right for a teenage boys room). As a result, we decided to choose the room with the most neutral wall colour (white) and then dress the rest of the set with stereotypically masculine props, such as a basketball. Our decisions were inspired by Tony Stonem's bedroom in 'Skins UK'. This was because, although it was a boys room, the colours were all very neutral and plain, but through the use of props (e.g. dumbbells) it
still had connotations of a teenage boys room.

When designing both sets we drew out a rough map of the spaces. This was in order to roughly determine what space will need to be cleared and redressed and the most effect way to do so.

R+P Post 14: Our Production Schedule (shoot and edit)

Shoot Schedule

    Shoot Locations
        Location 1: Ela's House, Chingford.
        Location 2: The Latymer School, Lower Edmonton.

    Dates
        Test shoots: -Wednesday 4th February 4.30pm - 6.30pm (Location 1)
                            -Saturday 7th February 10.30am - 3pm (Location 2)

        Choreography and Actor Rehearsal: -Thursday 12th February 4pm - 5pm (Location 2)

        Main Shoots: -Saturday 21st February 9am - 2pm(Location 1)
                              -Thursday 26th February 4pm - 6.30pm (Location 2)

        Back-up Shoots: -Tuesday 3rd March 4pm - 6.30pm (Location 2)



Edit Schedule
For the rough edit we decided that we would not make a formal edit schedule, this was primarily due to the short time frame we want it to be finished (2 days). Instead of this, we decided that it would be more efficient and effective to designate 2 hours each day where we would independently work on the project. This worked very well for us as we met our personal target and finished the edit early. However, despite our success, we have decided that for the main editing weeks we will produce a schedule where we will all set session where we will work on the project, during school time. This decision was made as a group just to ensure that everyone could work on the project equally and avoid getting behind schedule. This is what it looks like:

R+P Post 13: Our Shoot-Board

As our test shoot drew closer, we decided to create a shoot-board that we could use when filming. The document had a picture and a description of each shot that we would need to film on the shoot, this ensured that no shot was forgotten or filmed incorrectly (e.g. wrong framing, wrong angle). Also, we organized our shots by the actors that would be needed and the settings that were being used; this meant we could film in the fastest and most effective way, instead of following the sequence order and having to move back and forth on every shot.  In addition, we included a timed schedule which dictated the maximum amount of time we could spend on each frame, so that we would not run out of time on the day. The end product was this:

As you see we have also left space to write the takes for each shot. This is be very useful when editing as we can see the which files are which and also save time by knowing which take should be used in the sequence. This storyboard proved to be a great time saver and excellent organizer. This is because we were able to keep to the timings and therefore, it was easier to concentrate on the quality of the shot and fully utilize our actors.

R+P Post 12: Our Animatic

We decided to follow our storyboarding stage with an animatic. "An animatic is a series of still images edited together and displayed in sequence with a rough dialogue and soundtrack added." The reasons for our choice was that it would give us an even better idea of how the scenes will flow from one to another and to highlight the effects of motion, titles and effects. Furthermore, it allowed us to test whether the sound and images were working effectively together and whether any sound bite or shot would need its length to be changed; in order for their timings to fit with each others. Finally, it allowed us to experiment with different soundtracks to see which worked best. Here is the final product.

R+P Post 11: Our Storyboard

Initially, just to start the pre-production process, we decided to create a timeline using 4 pieces of lined paper and post-it notes. This picture on the right shows the first 30 seconds. This was very effective and enabled us to formulate our ideas into a structure that would fit into a 2 minute slot. It also gave us a rough idea of when dialogue was going to be needed.

After we had done this, we decided that it was necessary to create a storyboard. We also decided it would be a good idea to create it on A3 sugar paper with post-it notes to give us a lot of space and the freedom to move things around. Firstly, this was to help us visualize our shot and ideas and spot any camera work errors. Indeed, we did notice a few breaks of the 30 degree rule and the 180 degree rule and therefore made adjustments immediately. Secondly, it also enabled us to check we were using a variety of shots, framings and movements of the camera, as the different framings were color coded (yellow: close up, green: mid shot, pink: long shot), to ensure that our opening would be dynamic and interesting.

The Final Storyboard:

R+P Post 10: Reflections so far/looking ahead

Overall, we are all feeling very positive about the project so far. We have a lot of good qualities to our project and have managed to overcome a few minor setbacks. Also, we have done a lot of research into and have referenced other opening sequences (and even looked at lists of the best ones). This therefore means that we understand the content needed and purpose of a good opening sequence which is key when producing and editing your own, putting us in good stead for the rest of the project. Furthermore, we have managed the work well as a group and everyone has a designated section of the work which they are in charge of. This enables us to work alongside each other with ease and equally share the workload in the most effective way. We have also begun thinking about costumes, props and the number of actors we will need for each clique. I thinking that our project is promising and looking ahead, i think we are in a good position to do well.

R+P Post 9: Our script

Script:
(SFX alarm clock ringing)
Mum: Arthur get up you are going to be late for your first day!
Arthur: [Groans]
(SFX alarm clock stops)
(Music track begins)
Arthur: Bye mum!
Mum: Good luck!
Arthur: [leaves house]
(Music stops)
(SFX school door opening)
(New music starts)
(SFX school background noise)
[Chattering groups as Arthur walks down the corridor]
(SFX classroom door opens)
Headmaster: Hello, you must be the new boy, take a seat.

As you can see in the script above, we have decided to use a minimal amount of dialogue. It is quite common to do this in opening sequences due to the fact that it helps the audience to concentrate on the representations, settings and characters that aid the development of the story; a lot of dialogue on top of everything else can divert attention away from key progressions in the plot. Two examples where they have used this are 'Daddy Day Care' and 'Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'. Despite the fact that, in the latter of the two, all the characters are dancing, they still only use dialogue on occasion and he only says small phrases and sentences that aid the storytelling. 'Daddy Day Care' is a good example of this being used during a morning routine.

R+P Post 8: Our opening sequence idea

In order to create a seamless opening sequence we decided to make a few lists of what representations we wanted to show etc. Here are those lists:

Settings Needed:                    

-Home -Boys bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, hallway and front door.                      

-School -School entrance, school corridor, classrooms, teacher's room.                                

 Characters that should be introduced:

-Arthur (the focus)               -The Athletes   

-Mother        -The Chavs       -The Hipsters
-The Geeks   -Teacher           -The Emos

After doing this we started to ask ourselves question in order to raise any problems. After having found question that we weren't sure of the answer to we decided it would be useful to refer to other similar films and use their methods as inspiration to solve our problems.

How will the audience know that it is his first day?
We had a look at the Mean Girls intro to see how they introduced that it was Katy's first day.
After reflecting on their choices we decided this:

-Props
       -> Arthur will be holding a map of the school as he navigates the school corridors.

-Dialogue
      ->His Mum will wish him "Good luck on your first day"

      ->The Teacher will then anchor this by saying "Hello, are you the new boy"?

How should we introduce the different groups without it taking along time and becoming boring?

After watching the school scene in '21 Jump Street'    we decided that having all the characters segregated into their different groups in the same area for Arthur to walk through would be effective and funny to watch.

We continued to do research and the came across the hallway scene in 'She's the Man' and immediately we decided that we could do the scene in a one-shot track that dipped in and out of different conversations between groups. Despite the challenging nature of a one shot we felt it would make out opening even more immersive for the audience and help them to sympathize with Arthur, our main character.

What will be shown in the morning routine section of the opening sequence?
After creating a spider diagram of ideas for actions in the opening sequence, we decided that there would be too many to fit inside the time frame that we had designated for that section. Instead of cutting back on the number of shots or the length of shots we decided to do some research into other opening routines, one of which was the opening for '127 hours'. Although the genre and theme of the film is completely different we were intrigued by the use of split screens and felt that would be extremely useful to solve our problem.



Titles:

We looked at a large number of different opening credits from all different genres, however we decided to create ours as a combination between 'Perks of Being a Wallflower' and 'Juno'. We adapted the order of what was written from 'Perks of Being a Wallflower' (Distributor, Production Company, Main Actors, Title) and then merged this with the title movement and placement (in the shots) that you see in the 'Juno' opening.

R+P Post 7: Our film's title and plot outline

Title: 

The Climb [subject to change]

Synopsis: 

As Arthur embarks on his first day at sixth-form, he only hopes that he will be at the height of popularity. However, after an eventful and disorientating first day, he is left under-appreciated and unpopular. The film follows him through the ups and downs of his attempted social climb, but he finds himself realizing that popularity comes at a price and that he has lost his true friends along the way. This narrative structure will allow us to explore Levi Strauss' theory of Binary Opposites  and apply it to the sixth-form society and social set-up whilst exploring the conflict between 'popular' and 'unpopular'.

Beginning:
Arthur leaves his house on the first day of school confident and excited that he will be popular and fit it easily. - This represents the initial equilibrium in Todorov's theory.
However, when he gets to school he is hit by the reality that he is not popular and no-one is interested in being his friend, even the geeks. - This represents the disruption in Todorov's theory as his primary aim, to be a 'popular kid', has not been met.

Middle:
The main section of the film is taken up with the setbacks, challenges and successes of his climb through the social hierarchy of the sixth-form. -This is a continuation of the disruption to equilibrium.

End:
Despite having reached the height of popularity Arthur still feels something is missing and that popularity is not as important and enjoyable as it may seem. As a result of this he gives it all away, regains his identity and reunites with his initial true friends. He sees people for more than their social cliques. -A new equilibrium is set (Todorov's theory).

References:
Our plot line has a lot of crossovers and similarities with other films of the same genre such as 'Mean Girls', 'Superbad', '21 Jump Street' and 'The Breakfast Club', however it still remains unique. We gained a lot inspiration from 'Mean Girls'; primarily from the hierarchy and the segregation between the different social groups, but also for the way in which Katy loses her identity (Arthur will do the same). Secondly, we developed our ideas for Arthurs social climb from 'Superbad' where they tried to throw a huge party in order to gain friends. We also used '21 Jump Street' and 'The Breakfast Club' to help us understand and learn about the different ways we could depict and develop the different groups and stereotypes and then transform them into complex characters that outgrow their labels.
Certain scenes in all of these films also gave us ideas
for ways to show people conforming to peer-pressure.

R+P Post 6: Our chosen genre and how we plan to connote this

Genre: Teen Comedy
Sub-genre: Coming-of-age/British film

In order to effectively connote our genre we decided to research other films in the same category, such as, 'Easy A' and 'The Breakfast Club' in order to gain inspiration and information on how to do so. Also, we decided read up on the conventions of Teen Comedy. This is because we felt it would be helpful to completely understand the genre in as much detail as possible, before deciding upon our plan.

In the typical structure, we usually will meet the character during or after a particularly memorable moment. In our film, this moment will be his first day of school which he is experiencing in the opening sequence. Secondly, the main character will usually search to become more socially popular,  especially in a school based film and therefore it is the main plot-line of our film.

To enable us to highlight and project this theme and structure, we will need to set up various enigmas and emphasize certain representations. Firstly, we will utilize and advertise the easily recognizable and stereotypical british school corridor, in which our opening is set. By doing this the audience will rapidly register the school setting and therefore the teen genre. Furthermore, the young actors (16-18) and their typical school teen stylings will further anchor this genre for the audience. 

In order to connote our comedy genre we will punctate the opening sequence with funny, teen dialect and attitude that will be recognizable and relatable to our audience. By doing this, the TA will understand the humorous nature of the film whilst simultaneously becoming more connected to the characters and more immersed in our film. In addition, we will use different aids, such as a light-hearted and upbeat soundtrack for our opening, to connote our comedy genre more clearly.

Lastly, the sub-genre of our film, coming-of-age, will be denoted through the themes and storyline of the film.  This will be enough to effectively connote this sub-genre because our main character matures as the film goes on, which is the plot line for nearly all coming-of-age films. Arthur (our main character) will start of as the weird new boy at school that only desires to be popular; the film will follow his rise to popularity, until he realizes he is better of with the outsiders that helped him in the beginning; he matures and realizes people are much more than their group status. This storyline is quite similar to that of 'The Breakfast Club'; they do not fit in to their respective cliques, but as they begin to interact with each other, the 5 students realize they are all much more than their initial representations and all become friends, despite endangering their social standing. In both of these plot-lines people must grow up and mature whilst simultaneously dealing with teenage problems, such as relationships and school work.

R+P Post 5: How we plan to attract/address our target audience

Our film intends to reach as large a target audience as possible, therefore meaning we must attract as many different audiences as possible. In order to do so, it is necessary to create and highlight several unique selling points of our production. This is to advertise that the film would satisfy the uses and gratification that different groups want from film; whether its for diversion, personal identity or even personal relationships.

Firstly, we will film our opening in a real school, on a corridor that will immediately connote to the audience the sixth-form school setting and atmosphere. The large majority of our primary audience (aged: 15-24) will have or will be experiencing modern school life in the UK; or at least will understand the scenario. Consequently, this setting will address our audience and will make them automatically relate to our film and therefore relate to our main character. Furthermore, if the audience can relate, they will become increasingly interested in the opening and therefore will be more likely to watch the whole film.

An example of the clear difference between cliques

In addition, we plan to dress our characters as typical british stereotypes, however, in order for them to be distinctive from one another we will exaggerate the different styles so that they will quickly and effectively represent their respective cliques (whether they are a chav, an athlete or a geek). By doing this, the audience will feel a sense of affinity with both our main characters and those in the different cliques depending on the audiences interests.

Thirdly, the theme of a teenager trying to fit in at school is a universally recognised and relatable storyline that has been used as a stem formula for many of successful films. For example, Mean Girls, She's the Man, Perks of Being a Wallflower and 21 Jump Street. By using this set-up and conforming to Todorov's narrative theory (of equilibrium, disruption and then a new equilibrium that is set by the end of the film) we will be able to create a recognizable, easily watching and enjoyable film which will be familiar to the audience; despite having a lot of unique selling point.
Lastly, the fact the it has been set in a British school, with british accents and the diverse british culture will automatically attract a large British audience, due to the americanized nature of most other school teenage films; such as Mean Girls and Superbad.