Over the past couple of weeks Rosie and I have produced two sperate film treatments and started a first draft of out screenplay. As well as this we have made a survey which we are going to publish in the next couple of days.
My film treatment is shown below. However after looking at each others we decided to combine the two as we couldn't decided whose was better, our screenplay is based off of our combined ideas.
Wednesday 30 June 2010
30th June 2010 - treatment
We decided to call the film 'fragment of the soul' as Charlie ends up being a part of Lucy's heart.
Treatment
Lucy Roberts' life has always been happy, and this is why it comes as such a shock when she is thrown out of her shared house with the best friend Roxanne. Alone, upset and in desperate need of a comforting arm around her shoulders, she finds what she needs in the most unlikely person; a complete stranger that seems intent on getting to know her. Trust is easy exchanged and the two become close, but once the matter between her and Roxanne is resolved, will he stick around? Does he even need to stick around?
Scene 1:
Lucy is sitting at the desk, revising yet another draft of her dissertation for her History degree. She looks up to the calendar. A POV shot shows that she has crossed off most of the days in May, she has put a thick, red circle around the day that the semester at university ends and she can go on the holiday that she and Roxanne have planned for ages.
Suddenly, Roxanne enters angrily, disrupting the peace, Lucy's phone in her hand. She begins to shout at Lucy, telling her that it's not safe to give people she meets on the Internet her phone number; they might not be who they say they are, and there's no knowing what they will do to her. Lucy, disgusted by the fact that her best friend stole her phone to spy on what was none of her business, begins to shout back at Roxanne, telling her leave her possessions alone and to not butt in where she is not wanted. Realising that the words came too quickly out of her mouth, there is nothing she can do as she watches Roxanne's anger rising even further. She is grabbed by the arm and pulled out of the house, down the stairs and out of the front door while Roxanna challenges her to live without her protection and their friendship. Lucy tries to free herself from Roxanne's grip, but she too strong, and before she knows it, she is out of the house and the door is slammed shut.
Lucy looks back at the house she has just been kicked out of before sighing, burying her hands in her pockets and walking away.
Scene 2:
Lucy is sitting on a park bench, unaware of the people around her enjoying the nice weather. She is looking at her shoes while tears fall down her face, landing on her jeans. She doesn't move to wipe the moisture away.
The scene shifts to a young man walking down a path not too far away from Lucy, spinning a full 360°, implying that is looking for someone or something. He walks past Lucy before double-taking at her, stopping dead and turning on his heel to face her. The camera shifts to a view from behind the bench as the young man sits down next to Lucy. He asks her is she is ok, to which she replies that she is fine. He remarks that she doesn't look like she is ok, and gently and patiently encourages Lucy to tell him what is wrong. She is reluctant at first as she doesn't know him at all, so he jokingly offers a hand in a handshake and introduces himself as Charlie before commenting that she would feel better if he told her what was the matter. Lucy gives him and tells him in her own words what has made her so upset. Charlie does not interrupt and listens intently to Lucy. She feels slightly embarrassed as she has just poured her heart out to a stranger and asks Charlie why is he is so interested, to which is replies with a nonchalant shrug and claims that he "doesn't like to see a pretty girl cry". He offers his hand again and asks if Lucy would like to join him for an ice cream. Feeling that she can trust Charlie, she accepts without having to be persuaded. The two walk hand-in-hand down the path and away from the camera.
Scene three:
Lucy and Charlie are standing by an ice cream van laughing and with ice creams in their hands. A short montage follows which shows them around various sites around the park, at the dinosaur exhibit, the children's play area, near the lake, etc. Lucy looks happy to be in Charlie's company and Charlie in hers.
The pair are walking down a path hand-in-hand when Lucy's phone goes off, signifying that she has received a text message. She stops in order to retrieve her phone from her pocket. Charlie realises that she has stopped when he feels a tug on his hand. He turns to see Lucy reading a message on her phone and approaches her to find that the text is an apology from Roxanne, telling her that she was only trying to protect her and she wanted her to come home so they could make up properly. Charlie smiles before saying that this means goodbye. Lucy's smile fades into a confused expression and she asks Charlie what he means. He explains that he is not needed anymore, that she is happy. Lucy hurriedly tells him that she still needs him and that she doesn't want him to go. Charlie raises a hand to stop her talking before resting his hands on her shoulders and tells her that he will always be in her heart and her mind, as that was where he came from. He explains that he was created by Lucy to aid her in her need of comfort, but now that the matter was resolved, he was no longer needed. Charlie hugs her intensely before turning to walk away, slowly beginning to fade. Lucy shouts his name, but this is futile as he continues to fade until he is completely gone. The camera hovers at the empty path before switching to Lucy, who looks lost and upset.
She lifts a hand to her chest and places it over her heart. She repeats the last thing that Charlie said to her before he disappeared: "I will always be with you". The smile returns to her face as she turns to walk in the direction of home, a slight spring her stop as she knows that she will never be alone again.
Treatment
Lucy Roberts' life has always been happy, and this is why it comes as such a shock when she is thrown out of her shared house with the best friend Roxanne. Alone, upset and in desperate need of a comforting arm around her shoulders, she finds what she needs in the most unlikely person; a complete stranger that seems intent on getting to know her. Trust is easy exchanged and the two become close, but once the matter between her and Roxanne is resolved, will he stick around? Does he even need to stick around?
Scene 1:
Lucy is sitting at the desk, revising yet another draft of her dissertation for her History degree. She looks up to the calendar. A POV shot shows that she has crossed off most of the days in May, she has put a thick, red circle around the day that the semester at university ends and she can go on the holiday that she and Roxanne have planned for ages.
Suddenly, Roxanne enters angrily, disrupting the peace, Lucy's phone in her hand. She begins to shout at Lucy, telling her that it's not safe to give people she meets on the Internet her phone number; they might not be who they say they are, and there's no knowing what they will do to her. Lucy, disgusted by the fact that her best friend stole her phone to spy on what was none of her business, begins to shout back at Roxanne, telling her leave her possessions alone and to not butt in where she is not wanted. Realising that the words came too quickly out of her mouth, there is nothing she can do as she watches Roxanne's anger rising even further. She is grabbed by the arm and pulled out of the house, down the stairs and out of the front door while Roxanna challenges her to live without her protection and their friendship. Lucy tries to free herself from Roxanne's grip, but she too strong, and before she knows it, she is out of the house and the door is slammed shut.
Lucy looks back at the house she has just been kicked out of before sighing, burying her hands in her pockets and walking away.
Scene 2:
Lucy is sitting on a park bench, unaware of the people around her enjoying the nice weather. She is looking at her shoes while tears fall down her face, landing on her jeans. She doesn't move to wipe the moisture away.
The scene shifts to a young man walking down a path not too far away from Lucy, spinning a full 360°, implying that is looking for someone or something. He walks past Lucy before double-taking at her, stopping dead and turning on his heel to face her. The camera shifts to a view from behind the bench as the young man sits down next to Lucy. He asks her is she is ok, to which she replies that she is fine. He remarks that she doesn't look like she is ok, and gently and patiently encourages Lucy to tell him what is wrong. She is reluctant at first as she doesn't know him at all, so he jokingly offers a hand in a handshake and introduces himself as Charlie before commenting that she would feel better if he told her what was the matter. Lucy gives him and tells him in her own words what has made her so upset. Charlie does not interrupt and listens intently to Lucy. She feels slightly embarrassed as she has just poured her heart out to a stranger and asks Charlie why is he is so interested, to which is replies with a nonchalant shrug and claims that he "doesn't like to see a pretty girl cry". He offers his hand again and asks if Lucy would like to join him for an ice cream. Feeling that she can trust Charlie, she accepts without having to be persuaded. The two walk hand-in-hand down the path and away from the camera.
Scene three:
Lucy and Charlie are standing by an ice cream van laughing and with ice creams in their hands. A short montage follows which shows them around various sites around the park, at the dinosaur exhibit, the children's play area, near the lake, etc. Lucy looks happy to be in Charlie's company and Charlie in hers.
The pair are walking down a path hand-in-hand when Lucy's phone goes off, signifying that she has received a text message. She stops in order to retrieve her phone from her pocket. Charlie realises that she has stopped when he feels a tug on his hand. He turns to see Lucy reading a message on her phone and approaches her to find that the text is an apology from Roxanne, telling her that she was only trying to protect her and she wanted her to come home so they could make up properly. Charlie smiles before saying that this means goodbye. Lucy's smile fades into a confused expression and she asks Charlie what he means. He explains that he is not needed anymore, that she is happy. Lucy hurriedly tells him that she still needs him and that she doesn't want him to go. Charlie raises a hand to stop her talking before resting his hands on her shoulders and tells her that he will always be in her heart and her mind, as that was where he came from. He explains that he was created by Lucy to aid her in her need of comfort, but now that the matter was resolved, he was no longer needed. Charlie hugs her intensely before turning to walk away, slowly beginning to fade. Lucy shouts his name, but this is futile as he continues to fade until he is completely gone. The camera hovers at the empty path before switching to Lucy, who looks lost and upset.
She lifts a hand to her chest and places it over her heart. She repeats the last thing that Charlie said to her before he disappeared: "I will always be with you". The smile returns to her face as she turns to walk in the direction of home, a slight spring her stop as she knows that she will never be alone again.
30th June 2010 - Locations
When considering locations we wanted to make sure that they would be easy to access and easy to film in which is why, when looking for a park, we will have to make sure it is a big park to ensure that we don't get in the way of other people.
Interior - Lucy's bedroom
A typical teenage girl's shared bedroom. Posters of idols and photos are stuck to the pale green walls. Makeup, clothes and university dissertations and essays are littered over the desk and the floor. The bed is unmade and looks like the owner has only just left it. Photo frames of the two girls are dotted around the room, showing their close relationship.
Exterior - House
A typical suburban house. Faded peach pebble-dashed walls, an empty driveway (signifying that the girls cannot drive and thus implying that Lucy has to walk), a wooden door and 4 windows at the front. The driveway and front garden is a little messy and unkept, with a few bits of litter in the flowerbeds, signifying that the girls are not too bothered about the aesthetics of the house.
Exterior - Park
Various sections of Crystal Palace Park will be used:
- Main conversation between Lucy and Charlie - a park bench. Tall trees are visible from the back of the shot, moving in the breeze, and grass lines the foreground.
- Montage - Dinosaur exhibit. Surrounded my tall trees and near a lake, the sunshine reflecting off the surface.
- Children's play area. Grass surrounding. Brightly-coloured play apparatuses are visible, reflecting the happiness Lucy feels with Charlie.
Interior - Lucy's bedroom
A typical teenage girl's shared bedroom. Posters of idols and photos are stuck to the pale green walls. Makeup, clothes and university dissertations and essays are littered over the desk and the floor. The bed is unmade and looks like the owner has only just left it. Photo frames of the two girls are dotted around the room, showing their close relationship.
Exterior - House
A typical suburban house. Faded peach pebble-dashed walls, an empty driveway (signifying that the girls cannot drive and thus implying that Lucy has to walk), a wooden door and 4 windows at the front. The driveway and front garden is a little messy and unkept, with a few bits of litter in the flowerbeds, signifying that the girls are not too bothered about the aesthetics of the house.
Exterior - Park
Various sections of Crystal Palace Park will be used:
- Main conversation between Lucy and Charlie - a park bench. Tall trees are visible from the back of the shot, moving in the breeze, and grass lines the foreground.
- Montage - Dinosaur exhibit. Surrounded my tall trees and near a lake, the sunshine reflecting off the surface.
- Children's play area. Grass surrounding. Brightly-coloured play apparatuses are visible, reflecting the happiness Lucy feels with Charlie.
30th June 2010 - Character bios
The character bios are shown below. We only have 3 characters as it would be hard to make a short film involving more.
Roxanne Smith
19 year old Roxanne Smith is 5ft.4" and has straight, light brown hair that comes down to the middle of her back, medium skin and blue eyes. She is a hot-headed but caring and passionate person. She sometimes lets her emotions get the best of her and often jumps to the wrong conclusion too quickly without considering the facts, hurting those she holds dear in the process. Due to a misunderstanding, Roxanne throws her friend, Lucy, out of their shared home, leaving Lucy alone, upset and unsure of her friendship status with Roxanne, whom she has known for a long time and cherishes their friendship.
Lucy Roberts
19 year old Lucy Roberts 5ft6" with shoulder-length dark brown, wavy hair, a fair complexion and green eyes, reflecting her innocence. She is a very sensitive yet secretive young woman, but she is known for her sharp tongue and talent of being spiteful when provoked. She is also known for her vivid imagination often lets of her mind wander of its own accord, dreaming up scenarios and situations in her head. After an argument with Roxanne, her friend of many years, she finds comfort from an unlikely source; a seemingly complete stranger. Will this stranger be able to make her open her heart?
Charlie Lewis
Charlie Lewis is 5ft11" with shaggy light brown hair, hazel eyes and a mischievous smile, reflecting his playful sense of humour and optimism. He is a handsome, kind-hearted and charming 20 year-old with a selfless personality. He is exactly what Lucy Roberts needs after the fight, and seems perfect in everyway; almost too perfect to be true. The audience then discover that he is indeed too good to be true, as he is actually a figment of Lucy's imagination that is made in her need of comfort.
Roxanne Smith
19 year old Roxanne Smith is 5ft.4" and has straight, light brown hair that comes down to the middle of her back, medium skin and blue eyes. She is a hot-headed but caring and passionate person. She sometimes lets her emotions get the best of her and often jumps to the wrong conclusion too quickly without considering the facts, hurting those she holds dear in the process. Due to a misunderstanding, Roxanne throws her friend, Lucy, out of their shared home, leaving Lucy alone, upset and unsure of her friendship status with Roxanne, whom she has known for a long time and cherishes their friendship.
Lucy Roberts
19 year old Lucy Roberts 5ft6" with shoulder-length dark brown, wavy hair, a fair complexion and green eyes, reflecting her innocence. She is a very sensitive yet secretive young woman, but she is known for her sharp tongue and talent of being spiteful when provoked. She is also known for her vivid imagination often lets of her mind wander of its own accord, dreaming up scenarios and situations in her head. After an argument with Roxanne, her friend of many years, she finds comfort from an unlikely source; a seemingly complete stranger. Will this stranger be able to make her open her heart?
Charlie Lewis
Charlie Lewis is 5ft11" with shaggy light brown hair, hazel eyes and a mischievous smile, reflecting his playful sense of humour and optimism. He is a handsome, kind-hearted and charming 20 year-old with a selfless personality. He is exactly what Lucy Roberts needs after the fight, and seems perfect in everyway; almost too perfect to be true. The audience then discover that he is indeed too good to be true, as he is actually a figment of Lucy's imagination that is made in her need of comfort.
Wednesday 16 June 2010
Day two - 16/06/2010
Toady we began researching into several different short romance films in order to see if any similarities arise in any aspects of them such as lighting, camera angles, locations etc. Some of the films we looked at are shown below:
Film one: A Hopeless Romantic
A Hopeless Romantic was the first film we looked at. We noticed that this film was mostly set outdoors and was all set during a sunny day, in high key light, which we also realised were common place in most romantic films or even TV shows as well as close up on the characters faces to show the emotion they feel which is relevent to romance.Rosie and I both liked the idea of a voice over being used instead of dialog as we felt that it helped us understand the character better as we could hear his thoughts and we also felt that it was more interesting that a normal convosation would have been. We also noticed that both the titles and music was simplistic, this being so they didn't distract you from what was being said in the voice over. We also noticed that the film had a comedic vibe to it which we wanted much less of which was one of the reasons we decided that a voice over wouldn't be a good idea for our film as we felt that the audience would need to hear from both characters instead of just one and felt that more jokes would be used if a character thoughts was used, as well as this we don't want much of a comedic air to our film as our film is Romance with a hint of mysterious sci-fi.
Film two: Paper or Plastic
This film futher supports why we don't want to use a voice over in our film. As although we do want our film to have a couple of funny lines the voice over seems to be used in romantic comedies instead of what we are aiming to achieve, which is romance-scifi. However this film does show, like A Hopeless Romantic did, that outside locations are a good option when it comes to romance, that high key lighting should be used and that close ups on characters faces are common practice as they show the emotion the characters are feeling. However the title sequence in this film is much longer than the one in A Hopeless Romatic with numerous shots of objects that relate to the character being used. Also, after seeing two films, we noticed that gentle music is used, mostly using acoustic guitars.
Film three: Transit
Unlike the two other films this film is set completely around the subway system meaning that the light is low key instead of high key. Also no music is used, instead all of the sound is diegetic to ensure that you can hear the subway. However this film is similar to the others in terms of close ups of the face being used.
From watching these films we were able to decided that the majority of our film will take place outside in high key lighting, which will mostly be achieved by a sunny day. However we also decided that we were not going to use a voice other as we now know that these are used when the film is aiming to be more comedic, which we are not intending to do.
Now we are going to brainstorm ideas on locations and plots and begin a story board and first draft of the script which we hope to have completed by next week so we can progress to the next stage.
Film one: A Hopeless Romantic
A Hopeless Romantic was the first film we looked at. We noticed that this film was mostly set outdoors and was all set during a sunny day, in high key light, which we also realised were common place in most romantic films or even TV shows as well as close up on the characters faces to show the emotion they feel which is relevent to romance.Rosie and I both liked the idea of a voice over being used instead of dialog as we felt that it helped us understand the character better as we could hear his thoughts and we also felt that it was more interesting that a normal convosation would have been. We also noticed that both the titles and music was simplistic, this being so they didn't distract you from what was being said in the voice over. We also noticed that the film had a comedic vibe to it which we wanted much less of which was one of the reasons we decided that a voice over wouldn't be a good idea for our film as we felt that the audience would need to hear from both characters instead of just one and felt that more jokes would be used if a character thoughts was used, as well as this we don't want much of a comedic air to our film as our film is Romance with a hint of mysterious sci-fi.
Film two: Paper or Plastic
This film futher supports why we don't want to use a voice over in our film. As although we do want our film to have a couple of funny lines the voice over seems to be used in romantic comedies instead of what we are aiming to achieve, which is romance-scifi. However this film does show, like A Hopeless Romantic did, that outside locations are a good option when it comes to romance, that high key lighting should be used and that close ups on characters faces are common practice as they show the emotion the characters are feeling. However the title sequence in this film is much longer than the one in A Hopeless Romatic with numerous shots of objects that relate to the character being used. Also, after seeing two films, we noticed that gentle music is used, mostly using acoustic guitars.
Film three: Transit
Unlike the two other films this film is set completely around the subway system meaning that the light is low key instead of high key. Also no music is used, instead all of the sound is diegetic to ensure that you can hear the subway. However this film is similar to the others in terms of close ups of the face being used.
From watching these films we were able to decided that the majority of our film will take place outside in high key lighting, which will mostly be achieved by a sunny day. However we also decided that we were not going to use a voice other as we now know that these are used when the film is aiming to be more comedic, which we are not intending to do.
Now we are going to brainstorm ideas on locations and plots and begin a story board and first draft of the script which we hope to have completed by next week so we can progress to the next stage.
Tuesday 15 June 2010
Day One - 15/06/2010
For my A2 coursework, I have decided to make a short film as it looked the most interesting out of the breifs I was given and have me a lot of options and a wide range of ideas to choose from.
Also, deciding that it would be much easier to work in a group compared to working alone i chose to work with Rosie. I chose Rosie because I trust her to be reliable and know that she is full of ideas, many of which i agree with wholeheartedly. Also i know from past experience that she is a hard and dedicated worker meaning tjhat together we will work quickly and effectively.
Together we decided that we wanted to make a short film with a romantic vibe and both knew that we would have to find a range of short films under the same genre to see what camera angles, lighting and locations are used as well as to see if there are any similarities in scripts. We decided to do this as we could follow there successful ideas in order to make our film suitable for the genre we wanted to use.
Also, deciding that it would be much easier to work in a group compared to working alone i chose to work with Rosie. I chose Rosie because I trust her to be reliable and know that she is full of ideas, many of which i agree with wholeheartedly. Also i know from past experience that she is a hard and dedicated worker meaning tjhat together we will work quickly and effectively.
Together we decided that we wanted to make a short film with a romantic vibe and both knew that we would have to find a range of short films under the same genre to see what camera angles, lighting and locations are used as well as to see if there are any similarities in scripts. We decided to do this as we could follow there successful ideas in order to make our film suitable for the genre we wanted to use.
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