Project Plan

1) What is your project? What are you aiming to do? Why?
With this project we are aiming to plan, write, film and edit a short film, in order to gain some experience in filmmaking and working with a team.

2) Who are the main audience for your projects?
Young adults and adults.

3) When will your project take place? What is the timescale? Are there any key dates?
The script needed to be finished before the shooting day, which was 30th of November.

4) How are you going to deliver your project? What will it look like? How many sessions?
We will plan and shoot the film, before editing it. The film will be around 2-3 minutes long. This will be planned over around 3 sessions, as well as in our own time through Facebook.

5) What is your main role in the project? What are you responsible for?
My roles are scriptwriting and cinematography. This means I am responsible for the script, and the camera work.

6) Who else is working with you or helping? What are they responsible for?
Will is the director, responsible for the creative vision and the direction of the actors. Bright is the producer, responsible for the location, cast, and making sure everything is done on time. Angela is the editor, responsible for editing together all of the footage, as well as doing the sound design.

7) What resources, equipment or space will you need? Where will you get them?
We will need a camera and two radio microphones, that we will be able to borrow from Daren of the BFI Film Academy. We will need some props, which we will gather together by ourselves. We will need an office building, which has been generously offered by a charity called Element.

8) What support might you need? Who might be able to help you and in what way?
I will probably need support with writing, which will be available from Rebecca Mark-Lawson, a short-film producer and script editor.

9) What will you do if things go wrong? What is your back-up plan?
I have taken precautions to ensure that the things I do don't go wrong. I have written the script on Google Drive, which is in the cloud - this means that no matter what goes wrong with my computer, the script is still safe.

10) How will you know how the project is going well? How will you review your progress?
I will review my scripts, improving each one. I will know how my script is doing by getting feedback from people.

11) How will you keep a record of it?
I will keep a record of every draft of the script.

Arts Award Project Evidence

Arts Organisations

For this section, I will be reviewing the Showroom Workstation in Sheffield, and Creative England.

THE SHOWROOM WORKSTATION

It is the largest independent cinema outside of London. The Showroom Cinema has 4 screens, and often screens a lot of a independent films alongside the more common blockbusters. It also home to Sheffield's BFI Film Academy. The Workstation is a building just off of the cinema that houses a number of different other organisations, including Sheffield Live radio station.

Holds talks on different genres of film, such as Gothic. I went to a talk during the Gothic period at the Showroom, that was all about Jan Svankmajer, and it was really interesting.

CREATIVE ENGLAND

Creative England is an agency that runs in Britain, investing in creative endeavours such as film and theatre. They are on of the biggest film funders in the UK. They also give support with film production, support for gaming companies, and they run low-budget feature-film initiative "iFeatures", along with its short-film counterpart "iShorts".

Creative England does not, however, provide funding to anyone in full-time education.

FUTURE PATHWAYS:

Both of these arts organisations are very important to anyone who is interested in entering the film industry in the North of England.

The Showroom is a very important figure in the Yorkshire film industry, with many film enthusiasts regarding it as one of the only independent cinemas worth going to. This is because it shows independent films, whilst maintaining a high standard of quality. I feel that watching films is one of - if not the most important things in becoming a filmmaker. Learning from the experts is on of the best ways to improve yourself.

There is also a bar, where many film enthusiasts gather to discuss film. And eat cake, because the cake is great. I feel this will be important to me as a filmmaker, as connecting with other film lovers is one of the most integral parts of networking. The Showroom bar is also home to the South Yorkshire Film Network's "Showroom Shorts," where filmmakers can show off their new short films. This could prove to be very important, as it would be a great place to show any short films that I make.

Creative England provides a huge amount of funding to filmmakers in Britain, and I may one day rely on them to fund a project. They also provide resources and advice with creative endeavours, and I need to bear them in mind as I move forward with my career in film. However, at present they are not the most integral thing, as I am unable to attain a grant or any form of funding due to my still being at school.

Arts Award - Writing The Script (Review)

I was very happy with my finished second draft of the script, and I feel that I did well. I managed to stay motivated to carry on working on it for the month and a half or so that it took, and I had the courage to tear out an entire scene and write it again from the ground up. I was happy with it.

I've been trying to get it filmed, and along with another Academy-goer I'm trying to do that. I've also sent it off to one of the producers that we met at the Academy, and he has said that he will give me some feedback when he gets time. I'm really happy with peoples' responses to my script, and people seem to like it.

I did get one review of my first draft, though there did seem to be a difference in creative vision between the two of us with this film.

I did change some bits around, and that resulted in the second draft. I didn't really agree with points 1 and 2 though.

Arts Award - Writing The Script (Week 4 & 5)

This week, I started my second draft, and I took the plunge and tore out Matt's rubbish section. I wasn't happy with it, and it was bugging me. For this, I had to think of a whole new scene. I did a lot of planning for this, and decided that Matt could meet his Auntie and Uncle, and they could almost mirror Matt and Ellie.

I much preferred this new scene, and whilst it took me a long time to plan and write out, I was very happy with the final product. Along with a bit more editing, this was the only thing I did to the second draft.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/12MA-BpOhuc4Av6IeXh8ugKdx_LqHGPiASIEShnsLprU/edit?usp=drive_web

Arts Award - Writing The Script (Week 3)

This was the week that I changed the names, and changed a couple of other elements.

The change of names came about because I decided that Brett and Erin were really rubbish names. They didn't sound believable, and they're quite uncommon. This undermined the natural feeling that I'd attempted to give the rest of the story. Matt and Ellie just came out of the blue - there's no symbolic meaning behind them, they just felt like the names a couple that I could believe in.

I changed the old woman to be quite odd, and a bit more comedic. Originally she was quite a kind and gentle character, but I decided that she could be quite abrasive, and that it would add to the film. I also added a bit more to Matt's section with the waiter, but I still wasn't overly happy with it.

And that was draft 1 finished! I was reasonably pleased with it, but set to work on a second draft.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11DUomogKMmZj51n5EgR2Y4TNlMehLqQb40Z-jfCASKU/edit?usp=drive_web

Arts Award - Writing The Script (Week 2)

Once I had the plot and the characters mapped out, I started to the think about writing it. I wrote a very rough version of the first half, up to the point that Ellie leaves, and then stopped. I went back over, editing the dialogue a lot in order to make it seem as natural as possible - I wanted it to feel believable.

I then wrote Matt's section separately. For this I had the idea of a waiter, who was very confusing. One minute he was very deep and meaningful, and the next he didn't care at all (In my head, this was funny. It didn't turn out so well on the page). I wrote that out, went through and edited that, and then put it below the rest of the script. I then started on Ellie's section, for which I wanted her to be mostly on her own. I decided that it would be fun for her to have to look after a dog, and I wrote in an old woman who would come past, leave her dog with Ellie, and then cross through into Matt's section. I was happy with Ellie's section.

I then put it all together. This wasn't quite the first draft though (They were still called Brett and Erin at this point!). That came just a tad later.

Arts Award - Writing The Script (Week 1)

Starting the script was hard, and finding a good idea was even harder. I had been heavily inspired by some of the other short films created by the others at the BFI Film Academy, mainly one that was very simple. I'd noticed that my script for the Academy was quite convoluted, and a bit overly complicated. I therefore set myself the task of writing something that wasn't very complex, but still interesting.

To begin with, I sat down and brainstormed. I live near a lake, and that was my starting point. Then I built the story around that - I thought that it would be interesting to have a typical breakup scene, but we only catch the end (and aftermath) of it. I had the idea that it could go into splitscreen, and show both sides of the breakup.

Once I had the plot sorted, I moved onto the characters. There would be a man, and  a woman. At first I called them Brett and Erin, but I sort of hated these names, and changed it to Matt and Ellie. Matt would be a bit scruffy, and have the attitude of a teenager who hasn't properly matured. Ellie would be a tidy person, who relied on pop culture to express herself. They got together as teenager, when Matt would have been considered cool, but he didn't grow up.

And that was the basis for my script.

Arts Award - Reviewing Arts Events (The Day of the Doctor)

I am a huge Doctor Who fan. I have posters. I have the box sets. I have a TARDIS dressing gown, a sonic screwdriver, and even a model of Matt Smith in his Who get-up. I love Doctor Who. And I would say that I was excited for the 50th Anniversary special more than anything else that I'd ever seen.

And it did not disappoint.

The Day of the Doctor was a brilliantly written, impressively directed, and very important episode of Doctor Who. The writing was particularly inspired, and balancing so many plot threads so perfectly is no mean feat. The episode started with Clara and the Eleventh Doctor being carried off to the Tower of London in the TARDIS. This was an unnecessary, but ultimately very fun scene, that did make me laugh. The Doctor was shown a painting of his home planet, Gallifrey, being destroyed. Thanks to a very clever plot device in which real places can be locked inside a painting, we get a beautiful 3D effect of the painting that really does stand out.

The Tenth Doctor, meanwhile, is in Elizabethan England, and hanging out with ol' Liz herself. He seems to believe that she is in fact a Zygon, a shapeshifting alien, leading him to hurl a few unpleasant insults her ... She isn't a Zygon. But their horse is! This was a ridiculous introduction for the Tenth Doctor that was really quite good. Although, I was not that big a fan of Gwen Page as Elizabeth, and I think a better actress could have been used. She didn't do a very good job of disguising her Welsh accent. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that she was my least favourite part of the whole thing.

John Hurt as an earlier incarnation of the Doctor was amazing, and he contrasted brilliantly with the younger and more fun-loving 10th and 11th Doctors. A simply astounding actor, he is able to tell you a thousand things with just one look. But I can't not mention the impeccable Matt Smith, who holds his own against his comparitively more experienced co-stars, David Tennant and John Hurt. His portrayal of the character will be remembered for many years to come, and rightfully so - it's one of the best! The 'banter' between Smith and Tennant were joyful to watch, and I laughed out loud a number of times.

This story changed the past and future of the show forever, and it was exciting to watch. It was especially exciting to watch in a room filled with Doctor Who fans, in a building filled with Doctor Who fans, on a planet filled with Doctor Who fans, as we all watched exactly the same episode simultaneously. We all experienced it together, and it was a really great moment, that I will remember for a long time.

Suitable for everyone, this is one of the most amazing events I've ever been a part of. A 10/10.

Arts Award - Reviewing Arts Events (Gravity)

Gravity is a film like no other. I can't say I've seen many films that I could honestly say were completely different from anything I'd seen before. Gravity was an overwhelming experience, and one of my favourite films of 2013. I saw the film in 3D.

I'd heard all of the hype surrounding Gravity, but I for some reason wasn't hyped for it myself. I went to see it on a whim. I went into the cinema with no idea what to expect, having not even seen a trailer for it. I think that may have improved my viewing, not knowing what to expect. Whilst I thought the film was very tense and exciting, I would say that it would be more suited to slightly older teenagers and adults than children, as it was not a very conventional film. I would expect children to get slightly bored. I'd suggest that anyone aged 16+ would be able to enjoy this film.

Anyway, onto the review. We'll start with the cinematography - it's stunning. This is my favourite section of the film. Filled with super extreme long shots to emphasise how alone the main characters are. There are a lot of subtle things I noticed, such as how these establishing shots will be facing towards the Earth in scenes that reflect the characters' humanity, and out into the desolation of space when emphasising their loneliness. The whole first 17 minutes or so is all one continuous shot, and it is beautiful.

The sound is used to great effect too, building up tension by slowly building up the intensity of the music. And then abruptly cutting out, jarring you and reminding you of the unknown nature of space. The sound of breathing is also really significant in this film, as it is used to show when the characters are stressed. When they're stressed the breathing is fast, when they're calm the breathing is slow. It's a simple, yet brilliant little detail that just adds to the film.

The plot is the only slightly weak point in the film, and whilst I would say it's my least favourite part of the film, I don't think that matters. That's not what this film is about. It's supposed to be a very physical experience, and it was. I've never felt so immersed in a film, never so invested in a character. And Sandra Bullock's performance is really damn good.

Overall, a phenomenal film. I'd give it a 9/10.

Arts Challenge - The finished script!

Here is the finished first draft of my script. I'm going to continue working on it, but you can find it right here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oU6ZDGEizZwvp3QItQpziq4VD7oMJQe5JRzZxEBM8uE/edit?usp=sharing

Arts Challenge - Unit 1 A&B

My arts challenge is to write and finish a short film script.

1. What will you need to do to achieve your challenge?
   I will need to do a lot of planning, a fair amount of research, and a lot of work. I'll also have to look at existing films in order to draw inspiration
2. What timescale has been set?
   The timescale that was set was from the 19th of December up until the 3rd of February. I will try and complete a first draft by 11th of January, and a second draft by 3rd of February.
3. What targets will you meet?
   I will attempt to write all 3 sections of the short film script that I have planned.
4. What support will you need and who will provide it?
   I will need feedback on the script, which I will hopefully get from friends and fellow Academy go-ers. I can also watch any films that I need to watch on Netflix, and can find other guidance online.
5. What extra resources will you need?
   All I need are a word processor. I'll be using Google Drive.
6. How will progress be recorded?
   I will share a link to the script, and I may also explain my decisions and the planning stages of my script.
7. How will you get your review from someone else?
   I will send it to another student from the Academy.