Film Classification

 

 After looking at the criteria posted on the BBFI website, we felt that the classification of 12 fits our film.  Here is the criteria below....... I have highlighted in red the criteria which we felt fitted our film.

"....the material is suitable, in general, only for those aged 12 and over. Works...may upset children under 12 or contain material which many parents will find unsuitable for them.
The ‘12A’ category exists only for cinema films.  No one younger than 12 may see a ‘12A’ film in a cinema unless accompanied by an adult, and films classified ‘12A’ are not recommended for a child below 12.  An adult may take a younger child if, in their judgement, the film is suitable for that particular child. 
The ‘12’ category exists only for video works. No one younger than 12 may rent or buy a ‘12’ rated video work."

Discriminatory language or behaviour must not be endorsed by the work as a whole.  Aggressive discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable unless clearly condemned.
Any misuse of drugs must be infrequent and should not be glamourised or give instructional detail.
Horror - Moderate physical and psychological threat may be permitted, provided disturbing sequences are not frequent or sustained.
Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied, or appear pain or harm free.  Easily accessible weapons should not be glamourised.
Moderate language is allowed.  The use of strong language (for example, fuck) must be infrequent.
Nuditiy is allowed, but in a sexual context must be brief and discreet.
Sexual activity may be brief and discreetly portrayed.  Sex references should not go beyond what is suitable for young teenagers.  Frequent crude references are unlikely to be acceptable.
Mature themes are acceptable, but their treatment must be suitable for young teenagers.
Moderate violence is allowed, but should not dwell on detail.  There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood, but occasional gory moments may be permitted if justified by the context.  Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and discreetly indicated, and must have a strong contextual justification.

Cast

Richards - Simon Oxley

Brett Mallard - Heath Woodward

Sarah Mallard - Nicola Stewart

Prop List

Collection of photoframes with photos of Brett, Sarah and Richards at different stages of their life - Photo frames are on set (need to take actors on a photo shoot to collect images)

Briefcase and a Newspaper for Richards (can use the same case for Brett)

Pot of Pills

Kettle/Coffee/Tea spoon/Tea cups - In Location already

2 kitchen chairs/One Table/Arm Chair - In location already 

Casting Calls/Auditions

We want to create a realistic adaptation of The Story of an Hour.  After talking to our tutor, we felt that some of the characters needed adapting.

We felt that all of our characters needed to be older.  In the story, Sarah is in her late 20s.  We felt that to make a realistic impact on the audience, we needed to convey that Sarah had been suffering for years.  We therefore decided to set the playing age at 30-40.  Jess' dad offered to play the part of either Richards or Brett.

This left us with 2 more parts to fill.  Obviously, no actors/actresses in our school were old enough to fit the playing age.  Because I am involved in amateur productions, I decided to advertise the roles on facebook, and on a local blog website dedicated to casting calls.

Directors from Genre

Andrea Arnold:
She is a British filmmaker, former actress, who made her debut in 2006 with Red Road.  She favours filming in a 4:3 ratio.

Known Titles:
Wasp (2003) - Short
Milk (1998) - Short
Red Road (2006) - Feature Film
Fish Tank (2009) - Feature Film

Awards:
2004 - Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film - Wasp
2007 - BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer in Directing - Red Road
2009 - British Independent Film Award for Best Director of a British Independent Film - Fish Tank
2010 - BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film - Fish Tank

I especially like the way Arnold uses light in her work.  She often uses natural flares.

(Fish Tank)

I like how the light covers the character, and acts as a shield between the audience and the scene.  It "blinds the audience", and creates a second of unknown.  I want to use a shot like this for when Brett comes home.  I want to create a sense of mystery for the audience as the door opens, and they see a flare, followed by a silhouette.  I think it will be more effective if the camera shots are as basic as possible, so that Sarah's vision, which we will create in the editing stage, will have more of a contrast and therefore, a bigger impact on our audience.  

Developing Skills from AS Year

Within our AS year, Jess and I found that much of our films were filmed on tripods and tracking.  We wanted to try filming with only a handheld camera.   We also wanted to try filming with a mobile phone, to see what effect this would have on our audience.

Below is the end product.  The story follows a young girl, who has a unstable relationship with her mother.  She is alone and isolated from society, and has only herself for entertainment.  She takes a trip to the arcade to have some fun, and then goes back home to meet her high tempered mother waiting for her return.

8mm iPhone App

We found an app called '8mm'.  This is a film app which allows users to film in different effects.  The effect we used was 'Noir'.

Research on Genre/Adaptations

Genre:
Dramas are serious, plot-driven films that portray realistic characters, settings, events and stories involving intense character development and interaction.  They do not usually focus on special-effects, comedy or action sequences.

Film adaptations: 
A film adaptation is transformation of written texts into the form of a film.  Novels are frequently used in film adaptations.  They usually try to appeal to a existing commercial target audience. 

Most recent film adaptations would be...
The Harry Potter series - Originally a series of novels written by British author, J.K. Rowling - first film released in 2001
The Twilight Saga - Originally a series of novels written by American author Stephenie Meyer - first film released in 2008
The Time Traveller's Wife - Originally a novel written by American author Audrey Niffenegger - released as a film in 2009
The Adventure of TinTin - Originally a comic book created by Belgian artist Georges Remi - released as a film in 2011
Wuthering Heights - Originally a novel written by English author Emily Bronte - most famous adaption was in 1939.
Water For Elephants - Originally a historical novel written by Sara Gruen released as a film in 2011

New Moon

New Moon:

New Moon is the second film within the Twilight Saga, which are adaptations of the book series written by Stephanie Meyer.
There is a particular selection of chapters that skip over 4 months within the book.  We watched New Moon to see how the director decided to portray this movement in time. 



We liked how smoothly the camera movements were, and how the change in time was suggested through nature, and the different seasons.  The slow movement suggests a long period of waiting and thought.  We also liked how the use of desaturated colours suggested the characters mood.

Target Audience/Questionaire

After researching films within our genre, we felt that teenagers, young adults and middle aged women would be our perfect target audience. 
Many adaptations, such as Pride and Prejudice, are used within A Level and Degree coursework and study.  Kate Chopin's work would fall under this category.  We will therefore aim at this target audience.

We created a questionaire, and interviewed people within our target audience.  Here are the interviews below....

How old are you?

What is your favourite film genre?

How often do you watch films?

Why do you watch films?

We are producing an adaptation of Kate Chopin's 'The Story of an Hour'. We will know ask you a series of questions based on this.

How close to the original novel/text do film adaptations need to be?

Do you use film adaptations within your studies at school/uni/work? If so, do you find them a useful tool?

Character Development

Sarah Mallard:
Sarah Mallard is a fragile, insecure woman, who is abused by her husband Brett.  It has been 19 years since Sarah was been able to enjoy her life.  She is desperate for an escape, and she see's her husbands death as just that. 
Initially, Sarah did love Brett.  She was hopelessly in love with him when she married him at 17, and from that moment, she became his slave.  Because of the characters weakness, Sarah failed to stand up for herself, and so was submissive to Brett's strong demands.  Because of this life-long struggle, and hard-work, Sarah's appearance is haggard, and drained. 
When she is told the news of Brett's death, naturally the character does feel some heartbreak, however, after some thought, she begins to realise that she is free.  She now has no one there to tell her what to do, or to stop her from enjoying herself. 
From the characters severe heart disorder, when she finds out that Brett is alive, she suffers from a heart attack 'from the joys that kill'.

Richards:
From his costume, we know that Richards is in a well paid, office job.  His suitcase implies his high position within the company he works for.  He is a genuinly nice, family man.  He lives within his detached house, with his wife and 2 children.  He has known Brett since university, where they both studied Business, and met Sarah on a double date one New Years Eve.  Richards doesn't understand why Sarah is always depressed, but accepts who she is.  He has become so used to how down she is, that when she is excited and happy at the end, he doesn't understand.

We feel that the audience are represented by Richards.  His emotions are the emotions that we want our audience to feel.  We will therefore need the audience to connect with Richards from the beginning of the film.

Brett Mallard:
Brett lives for his work, which is all consuming, and he regrettably forgets his love for his wife.  He turns to alcohol for comfort, and leaves Sarah alone at home most evenings whilst he is out drinking with his friends in the local bar.  He comes home, violently drunk, and takes the rest of his anger out on Sarah.  He is controlling and manipulative, and makes Sarah's life very difficult.

Location Ideas

We wanted to create an idealic, family home environment for our film.  We want to confuse our audience about why Sarah is depressed about her life. 

We knew that we wanted the scene between Richards and Sarah to be in a kitchen.  We therefore needed enough space for Richards to sit down at a table, and Sarah to move around, making tea.  When Sarah leaves the kitchen, she leaves to go to her bedroom.  The chair by the window was a key moment within the original story, so we wanted to keep this element within our film.  We also wanted to film a shot with Sarah looking out of the window and looking at the birds in the tree, creating a symbol of freedom. 

We didn't feel that our houses fitted this specification.  Jess suggested her aunty's house. 

Jess went around and took a  few shots of the location, and a few still shots of various close ups and long shots we are planning to use in the final piece.

This shot is the most important shot of the film.  This is the moment that Brett comes home, and shocks Sarah into a heart attack.  We will need to work on the darkness of the shadow on the characters face, so that it is a mysterious figure.  We will need to make more light behind the character and less light in front to achieve this.

Sarah opens the door to find Richards outside.

I really like the lighting in this shot, the light comes from under the cupboards, keeping the character looking slightly dull but we can see what she is doing with her hands. 

Sarah Walking upstairs after talking to Richards, and being informed of Brett's death.

Angle 2

There was a choice of three rooms for the bedroom scene. Each room has a chair by the window but decorated differently. I like the simplicity and neutrality of this room. I want to keep the lighting to a minimum and use as much natural light as possible, throughout every sequence.  The only articifial light will be when Sarah is having a heart attack, and this will be done within Jess' editing role. 

Sarah looking outside - longing for freedom.

The lighting in this room is perfect, there is no orange glow, everything is simple and easy to see. 

 There is a shot of a a bird in a tree that Sarah stares at for a while. This is particularly important as it shows her want of freedom. The three different rooms offer different views of trees. I decided to show the view from this window as there was a bird sat in the tree. 

Angle 1

I liked the barred windows.  This shows the characters captivity

Sarah longing for freedom

Shot of door - sound of Richards calling through door

This is the second room, it would need a little clearing up, but the view from the window is slightly different. The colours of the room are darker than the last, and personally i prefer the simplicity of the last.

Surrounding environment - trees, naturalistic - English heritage

Artificial light has been used here to light this shot. There is a slight orange glow, so we would have to experiment with the lighting. The stairs are in perfect distance from the front door and the kitchen. 

At the beginning of the film the camera pans across a sideboard with pictures and other items on it. There is a sideboard just to the right of the door that we can use. 

Costume Ideas

Sarah Mallard

We wanted to dress Sarah in a costume that represents her personality.
An over sized plain cardigan allows Sarah to almost hide behind it. The bagginess hides her figure, she is quite insecure and isn't happy with her relationship. This has an impact on her sense of style, she isn't keen to give much away. Teaming this up with a simple plain white top and a pair of boot cut jeans. Again, the jeans are baggy and don't complement her figure. She lacks confidence and her clothing supports this. I think make up wise- she should have little to none. Sarah is a tired, run down, unhappy character. Hairstyles need to be simplistic, a loose pony tail or loose waves in the hair. I don't think she needs anything extravagant, i don't want it to look as though she has made too much of an effort.

Richards

I always imagined Richards as a well presented character. He has a sense of success about his character and this is obvious due to his costume. Although he has this sense of style, when he appears at Sarah's door he appears distressed and this could be shown through him having his top button undone and his tie loose. The lock on his briefcase will be used to show his awkwardness as he begins to play and pick at it.

Brett Mallard

Brett and Richards both work in an office environment.  Therefore, their clothes will be similar.  We wanted Brett to look like a dominating character.  Instead of a colourful tie, we put Brett in a dull, black/grey tie. 

Other Roles in Production

Jess has taken all of the post production roles.  She will be editing the footage, creating and adding a soundtrack, and adding any effects to the film.


Role of an editor:


Filming editing is the process of selecting shots, arranging and modifying them in order to clarify and refine their form and content.  The editor works closely with the director to maintain the image and vision that the cinematographer has tried to capture.


Film editing is part of the creative post production process of filmmaking. It involves slecting shots and combining them into sequences, and ultimately creating a finished motion picture. Editing is the art to story making, it is the ony art that is unique to cinema, althought there are close similarities to the editing process in other art forms such as; poetry or novel writing. Film editing is often referred to as the ''invisibe art'' because although it is well practiced, the viewer can become so engaged that he or she is not even aware of the editor's work. 
The job of an editor isn't simply to mechanically put pieces of a film together. A film editor must creatively work with the layers of images, story, dialogue, music, pacing, as well as the actors performances to effectively ''re-imagine' and even rewrite the film to craft a cihesive whole. Editors usually play a damatic role in the making of a film.

My Role within the Production

I have taken on the role of cinematographer and directing within our production.

Role of a cinematographer:

The cinematographer is responsible for the technical aspects of the images (lighting, lens choices, composition, exposure, filtration, film selection), but works with the director to ensure that the artistic aesthetics are supporting the director's vision of the story being told.  They are often called directors of photography.

Role of director:

A film director is the person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking.  They control the films artistic and dramatic aspects, while guiding the technical crew and actors.