Film Blog Three

18 – 10 – 10

We began this workshop by each person sharing their log line for the script Choices. I found this was an interesting exercise as it allowed me to see the different ways in which people view the script as a whole.  For example, the plot of the script stood out to me and so my log line was fairly narrative based and quite brief as I did not want to give too much information away. Others however were based more on the themes of the piece, asking questions about good, bad, greed and laziness. Some focused on character, introducing the protagonist, his personality and power.

We then got into our groups and began looking at the script together, focusing on the beats we had each marked. We discovered that we had most of the beats in the same place and we agreed on where to add more beats. We then moved on to talking about what we all thought of the script. We all seemed to agree that the script was ok, but we would make several changes. None of us were very enthusiastic about the ending and so we decided that we would rewrite the ending. We decided this would be something we would think about and consider this week, ready for discussion in our next meeting. Ed then mentioned that he didn’t like the way the split screen and choices were portrayed. Again we all agreed that this needed to be changed. We discussed ways in which this could be done, and decided to rewrite this also. We discussed the idea of playing out one option, and then rewinding back like a video tape and playing out the second. I think this is a great idea and that it could look really effective if we could get the right editing, backwards motion and sound effect of a rewinding tape. Another idea was to play out the options, then simply cut back to reality.

I then asked the group which roles each person was interested in. Some of us already had an idea in mind, while others said they weren’t sure yet and would be happy to do a number of things. I expressed an interest in producing, as I think it would be an interesting experience to be in charge of the organisational aspects of the film and making sure everything runs smoothly. I am a very organised person, confident in leadership and working in groups which I feel are necessary attributes in the role of producer. In anticipation of this I said I would organise a group email where we can discuss our next meeting, contact people via Facebook in order to create a group page and email everyone in anticipation of creating a contact sheet for us each to have.

I also made a list of scenes in the script, noting the scene number, location, characters and a couple of words of description. This I will use later on in production as I think it will be useful to see who we need and where we are in each scene. After editing the list when the script is finalised this will hopefully help us organise the filming on our production weekend.

Halfway through the work shop we moved to another room where we created our blogs. Our blogs will act as our film journals and be assessed later on in the year.

After workshop.

After the workshop I researched different roles and jobs within the film industry.

I did this by researching sites such as Film Making Careers and Media Match

I then compiled a list of job titles and responsibilities each role entails. Although I understand that we will not be working in the same manner as a large scale film production and that we will all be playing several roles, I thought this would be a good way of ensuring that all the important aspects film making are allocated to individuals. This will help me, as producer, see all the things that must be done in the production and make sure they are completed. In the next meeting I will discuss these job roles with the group and hopefully finalise who will be doing which jobs within our film production. Once this has been done I will be more aware of who is doing what, and as producer I can make sure I get in touch with them regarding the specific roles and make sure all jobs are completed.

I then researched specifically into the role of film producer to make sure that I am fully aware of my responsibilities and the sort of things I must do as producer of our film project. I found Prospects to be a useful website regarding the roles of a film producer.

I have also contacted all members of the group via email or Facebook, and have created a contact sheet with our names, email addresses and mobile numbers. I will give a copy to each member of the group in our next meeting. This will hopefully ensure efficient and straight forward communication between all members of the group. I have also created a Facebook group for us so that we can also keep in contact in a friendlier, sociable manner.