Location Scouting (UPDATED)

For my idea for my film opening, they is only two different locations. One is in a house, where they are shots in a girly bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. Preferbly i am looking for one location with all three of these. I then have a series of shots of a house and someone coming out the house and walking down a street.

Firstly i looked at two bedrooms.

These are the two rooms that i am considering using.

Both room are quite similar but overall i have decided to use room number 2 as it shows alot more that signifys that its a girl's room. Though you can't see it from the picture uploaded. I have taken more pictures though that show parts of the room.

From the pictures of the room, you can see that they are many things that anchor that the room belongs to a girl. When i do the main filming i am aiming to make the room more messy by scattering dvds, (provide intertexual links) and spreading around clothes.

This is a screenshot from the opening from the film Nick and Norahs infinite playlist (2008) Peter Sollett. This shows his bedroom, and the mise en scene heavily relates to a big music fan. My character is a geek so the mise en scene will relate to him, such as text books.

Now i am looking for a suitable street, for the two main characters to walk past each other. It needs to be quite open so they is good light, as well as having a house that is available for one of the actors to walk out off.

      I instanly asked both of my actors what thier streets were like to use as a location. The actor of the geek showed me his, which was perfect.

                                                                                

This is the road where i will film. The only problem is the cars. but hopefully they won't be thier when i film. If they are i have a plan to get around it. I can use the actors house as well which is great. So this location is perfect.

A short bit of footage that i took showing this location.



After a change in my narrative, i am now adding another location, this is the geeks bedroom.

I instanly decided to use the boy who is the actor for the geek and his room. Its full of text books, band posters and that. so its perfect. Aswell as having a large range of appropriate mise en scene.

These are the pictures of the locations, including the geeks, kitchen and bathroom.

After a change in my idea i am now using some lockers for the ending of the opening, i took a picture to include in this post to show this location.

They is plenty of space which is light and open which is perfect for the filming.

Resubmission

For my resubmission i am changing the location for the scene at the boys house and at school.


The location for the scene at the boys house is going to be shot at a friends houses, his house is perfect for the filming because they is a floor which has a kitchen, a exterior door, bathroom and a larger bedroom with all the mise en scene i'd want for a geek character.

(Pictures to come)

For the shots set at school, i am changing this to another set of lockers, this is simply because between my last filming and now, the lockers have been moved.

(Pictures to come)

Revised Narrative Outline (UPDATED)

The film will start with two production titles. During this a alarm clock will be going off.
The opening will be a series of clips focusing on Edwin and Anna both getting ready for school. The takes will flick between the two characters to make the audience believe that they are in a relationship, An example of a film which focuses on more then one protagonist is Four weddings and a funeral (1994), this is where all the characters are shown at the start waking up and getting ready.     She will then step out of her house, at the same time Edwin will also step out of his house next door. and he will walk down and see her. On the road will be Anna's boyfriend in a car. She will she him and smile and wave at him. Edwin will then mistaken this for being for him, he will then make a fool of himself. Anna will get into the car and drive off. The opening will finish on a shot of Edwin looking upset. (I am considering changing the ending)

They are two protagonists , Edwin and Anna

REVISED REVISED narrative outline

After some onset problems and general problems i have changed the ending and in my eyes for the better.

Now the ending is based in school, next to some lockers. the boy is putting his books in his locker and the girl comes along, she then sees her boyfriend and she says hello. Like my first idea he mistakes this for being for him and he says hello. The jock pushes him back into the lockers and the boy falls down.
As the girl and jock walk away she looks back at him and the jock says "who are you looking at?" No one replies the girl.

RE SHOOT REVISED NARRATIVE IDEA

After decided to re shoot the whole opening i have changed the idea.

        The start will stay the same with the shots changing back and forth between the geek and the girl getting ready for school. They will then be a few extra shots after this.
The first of the boy running for the bus and dropping his bus pass revealing a title.
The second will be of the girl getting a text which will be a title.

The main new addition is the school scenes, because i don't know how well the idea will work in film i am going to film 3 different variations.

1. The original idea where the boy believes the girl is talking to him but she isn't and then the geek gets knocked into some lockers.
2. A more cheesy idea where the boy and girl meet at their lockers and the girl starts talking to the boy. From the boys point of view the girl is asking him if he wants to do something but it will cut back to the girl who is puzzled because she has just asked him if she can borrow some of his work. Will end with the boy sliding down some lockers.
3. The last idea will be the boy and girl walking around the corner and bumping into each other, with them knocking all their books to the ground. This will lead to awkward conversations and will also end with the boy sliding to the floor.

Revised Initial Idea

         After many changes on my ideas, genres and so on, i have finally rested on the genre that i will stick with until the end of the project. This genre is rom com.

Initial Idea

    A boy named edwin, he is good looking, clever, is doing very well for himself but the one thing he doesn't have which he really wants is a girl.
   Anna has everything, the looks, the grades, the friends and lately the hottest boy in the school.
The film will start with two production titles. During this a alarm clock will be going off.
The first shot will be anna waking up and turning off the alarm clock. She will get up and the opening will be her getting ready. They will different shots of her. waking up. getting dressed, brushing teeth, putting on make up, breakfast, turning on some music (the backing song will then start at this point), putting on shoes.

 At the end of the opening. The two characters will be in school. And anna will smile at her boyfriend (the jock). Edwin will mistaken this as her smiling at him. So he will make a fool of himself and anna will go over to the jock laughing. End of opening. Last shot will be of edwin looking very embarresed.

This introduces a comedy aspect as well as a romance aspect to the story.

I made a second animatic to go with this idea, They is a slight change with the ending of the opening on the animatic then on this post. To found out more about animatics look at one of my previous posts on animatics.



Here is a screenshot of some feedback.

Vodcast 2 - Continued genre research Actors/Directors

This vodcast is my second. It is more research on rom coms, but instead of being about conventions and common codes, this is about the directors and actors.

I seem to say " I mean" a lot. i dont know why so i sorry. Also i don't think i say like at all in this :)

Production Logos.

 I am aiming to create two production logos that will appear before my film.

        I created my first producion logo (though with a cheeky little bit of help from a older brother) on After Effects. The name of the company is Limited Edition Productions. So i thought the clip would be fast and show how very limited it is. I didnt add any music because the music that will play will run into my opening. Though i am now looking for a alternative for this. All credit for the animations goes to James Moreman, the ideas were created by myself.




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This is my second production logo. This is for my distribution company. I wanted something that looks quite messy but looks very effective at the same time. I used the same software as i did for the first one. I recorded some footage of a dj table, and then edited onto the top of it. I have taken a screenshot of the editing process.

 Below is both my production logos put together, as well as the sound added in. Beneath that they is a brief video i put together detailing how i did this.



All the sounds are copyrighted free and are taken from Imovie.

Below is a video showing how i added the sound effects to my movie.

Video Postcast - Rom Com.

- Video podcast (sometimes shortened to vodcast) is a term used for the online delivery of video on demand video clip content via Atom or RSS enclosures. The term is used to distinguish between podcasts which most commonly contain audio files and those referring to the distribution of video where the RSS feed is used as a non-linear TV channel to which consumers can subscribe using a PC, TV, set-top box, media center or mobile multimedia device. Web television series are often distributed as video podcasts.

- Basically, A vodcast is a podcast with video. This video could be images or video relating to whats being talked about.

This Vodcast is me going over all the Rom Coms i could find in my house and discussing thier plot lines and at the end linking them all together and mentioning how they all follow the same trend and patterns.

Genre Research - Rom Coms (Romantic Comedy) + Teen Rom Coms (UPDATED)

 - Romantic comedy films (rom coms) are movies with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as a true love able to surmount most obstacles. Romantic comedy films are a sub-genre of comedy films as well as of romance films and often have elements of screwball comedies and stoner comedies.

Characteristics of the plotlines

1. Boy and girl meet. The two lead roles are a man and woman who, against the odds, stumble across each other's path. They may meet through a blind date, a car accident, a hospital visit, or any number of unlikely scenarios. One or both may have other partners and neither may be looking for love. A third party may introduce them, they may find each other in a group, or they may meet on their own as individuals. The important thing is that they end up face to face or at least in touch somehow.

Example of this part of the plot would be in Knocked Up (2007), when the man and women meet in the bar. at the start of the film.


2. Conflicts ensue. In many films the pair are all wrong for each other. One may be sloppy and the other tidy, Or one may be wealthy while the other is a blue collar worker. They may hold opposing political or social views. Whatever their roles, the two hardly seem destined to meet, so when they do, fireworks erupt, but not initially in the romantic sense. But if they do tumble into a quick romance, it is quickly interrupted by a real or potential obstacle.

In Youth in revolt (2009), The boy and girl are told they can't be together because they are moving away from each other.


3. "The look." Either at their meeting point or during a change in one or the other's character or circumstances, the pair exchange a "look," a lingering, smoldering melding of glances that captivate each other (and the audience) for at least a few seconds. Viewers know, even if the characters in the film do not, that the couple will end up together. That keeps us going through the rest of the film.

In 10 things i hate about you (1999), The main two protagonists exchange a glance at each other while sat together at a party. This "glance" lasts a few seconds and gives us the idea that the two characters will end up together.

4. Confidantes. One or both of the pair have a sidekick in whom they confide their deepest secrets, thus letting the audience in on possible threats and secrets before the other lover knows. Sidekicks allow main characters to share thoughts, feelings, and problems to familiarize viewers with internal conflict and contributing to the building tension.


Going back to the film Youth in revolt. The main character talks to his friend and explains all his secrets around 3/4 of the way through the film.

5. Threats, obstacles, or bad guys. Something or someone will separate the lovers for a time. The audience may fear a permanent break-up for part of the film. Problems range from a past life, secret job, identity switch, or misperceptions based on distrust and suspicion. Parents, children, ex-spouses, and co-workers may take the role of potential or real obstacle for a time.

In Hitch (2005), When Sara (female protagonist) finds out Hitch (male protagonists ) is a date doctor she leaves him. but they later get back together.

http://www.essortment.com/lifestyle/romanticcomedy_szbe.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_comedy_film

Rom Coms tend to receive low critical esteem that typically meets the rom- com in contemporary cinema derives from a number of arenas. First its audience is enduringly presumed to be predominantly female and "chick flicks" in all their incarnation are frequently critically constructed as inherently trite or lightweight. Secondly, romantic fiction generally is thought to be essentially calculating in its execution, cynically manipulating an emotional and sentimental response from the viewer.

- Rom coms can be produced with very high budgets and as well as very small budget's. Therefore can be produced by the big 6, and even by small indie companies.

-  Most of the time rom coms use very well known actors and this can quite often be the cause of the high budget rom coms, Examples are Notthing hill (1999) where out of the 42-million dollar budget 15million was payed for the lead actor Julia Robert's .



A few big directors who produced rom coms are
- Richard Curtis - Bridget jones diary 2001)
- Woody Allen - The purple rose of cario  (1985)
- Judd Apatow - The 40 year old virgin (2005)

For the above information i used two books written on Rom coms,
Falling in love again, Romantic comedy in contemporary cinima written by Stacey Abbott and Deborah
I Love you but ... Romance, Comedy and the Movies written by Cherry Potter.

Settings


The settings for most rom coms are based and set in two very common locations. This being a City, and the other being a school.

School - Rom coms in school are often as a large portion of teen rom coms will be set in them. An example of a rom com set in a school is 10 things i hate about you. Where the majority of the cast are teens. A teen rom com not set in a school is Young in revolt (2009). This is down to it being set during a holiday. Though 1 part of the film is set in a boarding school.

City - Cities are often used as they are quite "romantic" when its dark and a lot of lights are on. Quite often the film opens with a establishing shot of the city. An example of both of these is Moonstuck where the first shot is a nighttime shot of Manhattan with all the lights on. Sometimes the opposite is used and a rom com is set in the countryside. Though like young in revolt it isn't always consistent throughout the film. Runaway bride is set in the countryside for the majority of the film.



Teen Rom Coms 


Teen Rom Com is a sub genre of Rom Com, Simply put it is a Rom Com based on teenagers with teenage themes of girlfriends, Sex, Drugs. It usually follows the same codes and conventions of a normal  rom com, though with a few extra codes and conventions.

•  setting usually being a school (example Mean Girls (2004) directed by Mark Roberts though this isn't always the case with Youth in Revolt being a example where a school isn't always present and in this case it is set during a school holiday.
• Usually the parents are a key figure in the plot line and quite often for comedy benefit. 10 things i hate about you (1999) is a example of this where the dad of the two main leading girls is used as a comedy piece.



M. Cera

• The actors in this particular sub genre usually start staring in teen rom coms while their young before moving up into more adult based film as they grow up. Amanda Seyfried started out in Mean Girls (2004) but has now moved up and staring in more serious romantic dramas such as Dear John and Letters to Juliet both 2010. Michael Cera is a actor who has starred in many teen rom coms with Scott Pilgrim vs. the World 2010  being his latest movie and he is still working within the sub genre.

Audience

Rom coms are perfect at targeting most audiences due to the common conventions. The romantic side of the film appeals to the female audience while the comedy side appeals to the male audience. Also the genre appeals to pink pound.