Direction Unit: My Final Piece

Direction Unit: Deadline Day

Today is deadline day and I am quite calm for a change as I have managed my time well with this project and have not had to do much work to my piece today apart from making sure the credits matched everyone elses. I'm pleased with how my film has come out I've worked really hard on it to make sure it looks professional and interesting. I've used everything I have learnt from previous projects to help me make a piece which I am really happy with. But from doing this project I have also learnt a few things which will help me on future projects and they are:

• To always make sure you have enough coverage
• Make sure the sound is being recorded properly by using a boom mic if the actors are far away
• Make sure you watch your actors carefully to make sure their movements are something you want their characters to be doing 

I also learnt from this project that I do enjoy being the director but it can be quite stressful keeping an eye on everything and there is alot of preparation involved and if you don't do that then you will be very unprepared.

I've finished everything now and I'm ready to upload.

Direction Unit: Editing

I've began to edit my clips so that the scene flows better and will be interesting for the viewer. I've realised that my video is not going to reach 3 minutes I think this is because I cut so much out of my script. I will do the best with the footage I have and make sure next time that my script is the correct length to make the scene the length I want it to be.

Narrative and Genre: Essay Help

This morning Maddie, Dean and I all went to see Rachel Kitchen to get some help with our essays as we were unsure on how to structure them and what exactly we needed to include. She helped us alot with figuring out a structure:

1. Introduction
2. Context - What is narrative tools and genre
3. Example - X Factor, choose a specific episode or character
4. How online transmission could effect the narrative tools and genre
5. Conclusion 

She also said to make sure you use a variety of sources and to try and in bed the quotations in your sentences as well as putting them in to show what someone has said.

We also went and saw Nick in the library who taught us about the online resources the uni has to help us with our essays.

Both Nick and Rachel were a great help and I now have a greater understanding of the question, how to structure my essay and where is best to find my research.

Direction Unit: Beginning My Editing

Today I started editing my shots together using Final Cut Pro. I first sorted all of my shots into separate bins so that they were organised and I could find the shot I was looking for more easily. I then began putting the clips I wanted on the time line as a rough idea of what I wanted and I will go back through and edit them together more thoroughly so that they flow much better together. I also made sure I left a gap at the beginning so that when I have finished editing completely I can insert the "Directors 13" titles as well as my own.

Direction Unit: My Shoot

Today it was my turn to film and I feel it went really well. I was pleased with my actors performances and my crew worked really hard to help me achieve the look I wanted and get all the shots I needed to create my scenes.
A big thank you to everyone who helped me today I really appreciate it.

Direction Unit: Shot List Updated

Shot List for Mistresses

Scene 1

1.    Wide of the whole scene from the doors

2.    Wide of whole scene from the oven

3.    Mid shot Jess – drying hands saying “You see married men...No mess, no fuss.”

4.    2 shot Jess and Katie whole scene – camera follows Katie when she sits down. When Jess says “We’ve been waiting...” she stands up and the camera follows.

5.    Mid shot Trudy

6.    Close Trudy

7.    Mid shot Jess

8.    Close Jess

9.    Mid shot Katie

10. Close Katie

11. 2 shot Jess & Trudy – Jess by the microwave reading letter and Trudy sitting down from Trudy “Fancy” to “It came this morning

12. Mid shot Jess – by the microwave reading letter from Trudy “fancy” to “it came this morning” camera follows Jess

13. Close up of the letter – “So you've scored a million and pulled on the same day”

Scene 2

14. 2 shot of Jess and Trudy – “see ya Trud”

15. Mid shot Trudy – Trudy shuts the door camera pans and follows her into the kitchen

Scene 3

16. Wide of whole scene from the doors

17. Wide of whole scene from the door frame

18. Long of Katie whole scene - Katie reading the letter

19. Over the shoulder of Katie whole scene

20. Mid close of Katie whole scene

21. Close of Katie whole scene

22. Long of Trudy whole scene– Trudy clearing up

23. Over shoulder of Trudy whole scene

24. Mid close of Trudy whole scene

25. Close of Trudy whole scene

Direction Unit: Final Script

1.INT.TRUDY'S KITCHEN-night

TRUDY a TIRED SCRUFFY looking mother and KATIE a SMARTLY dressed doctor walks through the door way into a bright yellow kitchen. JESSICA a TRENDY CASUALLY dressed events planner drys her hands on a tea towel and walks over to the LARGE dining table.

JESSICA

You see married men are a no brainer they're bedroom trained, they're low maintenance and you've got a ready made exit strategy. No mess, no fuss.

Jessica greets Katie with a kiss on the cheek.

Hi

KATIE

Hi

Jessica sits down and picks up a glass of wine from the table. Katie takes off her jacket and sits down.

TRUDY

Jess you don't die if you don't get your leg over

JESSICA

Clearly I would have buried you years ago

KATIE

No fighting

JESSICA

Ok. Katie multiple choice sex, love or kids?

KATIE

What can I only have one? Ummm. Love

Everyone pauses

TRUDY

I think someone asked me out today

KATIE

Really

JESSICA

Has a mouth full of wine and so can't speak but has an excited shocked expression on her face.

TRUDY

He's a new dad at school and we got chatting at the supermarket and he said that we should go for a coffee and I went "errrmmm errrmm"

Jessica

What did he say? Exact words

TRUDY

Do you fancy going for a coffee?

JESSICA

He said fancy?

TRUDY

I think so

JESSICA

If he said that he was asking you out

TRUDY

Oh no maybe he said want

JESSICA

Come on woman, think. We've been waiting 6 years for this. Want? Or fancy?

Stands up and takes an empty bottle of wine and puts it on the side.

TRUDY

Fancy

Jessica picks up a letter, with a cheque for £2,000,000 attached to it, from the side and looks at it quickly.

JESSICA

He was asking you out

She reads it properly. Then looks at Trudy.

TRUDY

Really

JESSICA

Walks back to the table and shows Trudy the letter.

Trud. When did this come?

Jessica passes the letter to Katie. Katie studies it for a while.

TRUDY

It came this morning

JESSICA

So you've scored a million and pulled on the same day

2.INT. TRUDY'S HALL WAY - night

Trudy sees Jessica out the door.

JESSICA

See ya Trud

Trudy walks back to the kitchen.

3.INT. TRUDY'S KITCHEN - night

Katie is standing up still looking at the cheque. Trudy is clearing the table.

KATIE

Why haven't you paid it in yet?

TRUDY

Guilt. I still don't know what happened to Paul. I mean what if he is still out there.

KATIE

... It's been 6 years Trudy let it go for christ sake. I'm sorry

TRUDY

Katie. Is everything alright?

KATIE

I've been having an affair

TRUDY

What?

KATIE

For 2 years. 

TRUDY

Oh my god. Why didn't you tell me?

KATIE

Because he was my patient and because you would have told me to stop.

Direction Unit: Script Breakdown

I have done a script breakdown so that I can make sure I am organised for the shoot.

Setting

- My Kitchen - During the day

Props

- Bottles of wine

- Glasses

- Cutlery

- Plates

- Bread

- Letter with 2,000,000 cheque at the bottom

- Pasta

Costume

- Katie - Smart with Jacket

- Jess - Jeans and casual top

- Trudy - Casual 

Lighting

- Practical

Style

- Natural

Direction Unit: Shot List and Script Feedback

I showed Simon my edited script and shot list today and he gave me some very helpful feedback. He looked through my script and found a few things which I could cut out to make it even shorter as they were not necessary bits of dialog. He also looked at my shot list and showed me how I could simplify it so that it makes my life easier and also allows me to get the best performance out of my actors.

I will take his advice onboard and edit my script again and change my shot list so that I am fully prepared for shooting on Sunday.

Direction Unit: Initial Shot List

This is my initial shot list:

1. Wide – from beginning to Trudy “Jess you don’t die if you don’t get your leg over”
2. Wide – Silence then “ I think someone asked me out today”
3. Wide – from “Trud. When did this come” to end of first scene
4. Mid shot Jess – drying hands saying “You see married men...No mess, no fuss.”
5. 2 shot Jess and Katie – from Sitting down camera follows Katie down to Katie saying “What can I only have one...Love”
6. 2 shot Jess and Katie – from Jess “He said fancy?” to Trudy “fancy” when Jess says “We’ve been waiting...” she stands up and the camera follows.
7. Mid shot Trudy – from Trudy “Jess you don’t die...” to Jess  “Come on women...”
8. Mid shot Jess - from Trudy “Jess you don’t die...” to Jess “Come on women...”
9. Mid shot Katie - from Trudy “Jess you don’t die...” to Jess “Come on women...”
10. Mid close Trudy – From Trudy “really” to “it came this morning”
11. 2 shot Jess & Trudy – Jess by the microwave reading letter and Trudy sitting down from Trudy “Fancy” to “It came this morning
12. Mid shot Jess – by the microwave reading letter from Trudy “fancy” to “it came this morning” camera follows Jess
13. Close up of Katie – From Trudy “it came this morning” to the end of the scene.
14. Close up of the letter – “So you've scored a million and pulled on the same day”
15. 2 shot of Jess and Trudy – “see ya Trud”
16. Mid shot Trudy – Trudy shuts the door camera pans and follows her into the kitchen
17. Mid long of Katie – “Why haven't you paid it in yet?”
18. Mid of Katie – “Why haven't you paid it in yet?”
19. Wide – Trudy clearing up, Katie reading the letter from Katie “why haven’t you paid it in yet?” to “Thousands of people died...”
20. Over the shoulder of Katie – from Trudy “I mean what if he is still out there” to “Katie. Is everything alright?” when this line is said dolly/zoom in on Katie
21. Over shoulder of Trudy – from Trudy “You don't understand what it's like...” to “What”
22. Mid close of Katie – from Katie “I’ve been having an affair” to Trudy “Oh my god”
23. Close of Katie – from “I couldn’t...” to the end of the scene
24. Mid close of Trudy – from Katie “I’ve been having an affair” to Trudy “Oh my god”
25. Close of Trudy – from Trudy “why not” to the end of the scene

Direction Unit: Script Edited

I took on Simon's comments and I have edited my script so that it is shorter and there is 1 less character. Here is the edited script:

1.INT.TRUDY'S KITCHEN-night

TRUDY a TIRED SCRUFFY looking mother and KATIE a SMARTLY dressed doctor walks through the door way into a bright yellow kitchen. JESSICA a TRENDY CASUALLY dressed events planner drys her hands on a tea towel and walks over to the LARGE dining table.

JESSICA

You see married men are a no brainer they're bedroom trained, they're low maintenance and you've got a ready made exit strategy. No mess, no fuss.

Jessica greets Katie with a kiss on the cheek.

Hi

KATIE

Hi

Jessica sits down and picks up a glass of wine from the table. Katie takes off her jacket and sits down.

TRUDY

Jess you don't die if you don't get your leg over

JESSICA

Clearly I would have buried you years ago

KATIE

No fighting

JESSICA

Ok. Katie multiple choice sex, love or kids?

KATIE

What can I only have one? Ummm. Love

Everyone pauses

TRUDY

I think someone asked me out today

KATIE

Really

JESSICA

Has a mouth full of wine and so can't speak but has an excited shocked expression on her face.

TRUDY

He's a new dad at school and we got chatting at the supermarket and he said that we should go for a coffee and I went "errrmmm errrmm"

Jessica

What did he say? Exact words

TRUDY

Do you fancy going for a coffee?

JESSICA

He said fancy?

TRUDY

I think so

JESSICA

If he said that he was asking you out

TRUDY

Oh no maybe he said want

JESSICA

Come on woman, think. We've been waiting 6 years for this. Want? Or fancy?

Stands up and takes an empty bottle of wine and puts it on the side.

TRUDY

Fancy

Jessica picks up a letter, with a cheque for £2,000,000 attached to it, from the side and looks at it quickly.

JESSICA

He was asking you out

She reads it properly. Then looks at Trudy.

TRUDY

Really

JESSICA

Walks back to the table and shows Trudy the letter.

Trud. When did this come?

Jessica passes the letter to Katie. Katie studies it for a while.

TRUDY

It came this morning

JESSICA

So you've scored a million and pulled on the same day

2.INT. TRUDY'S HALL WAY - night

Trudy sees Jessica out of the door.

JESSICA

See ya Trud

Trudy walks back to the kitchen.

3.INT. TRUDY'S KITCHEN - night

Katie is standing up still looking at the cheque. Trudy is clearing the table.

KATIE

Why haven't you paid it in yet?

TRUDY

Guilt. I know everything is screaming at me to move on but I still don't know what happened to Paul. I mean what if he is still out there.

KATIE

Thousands of people died in the towers Trudy where else would he be

TRUDY

You don't understand what it's like not being able to say goodbye to him properly ...

KATIE

... It's been 6 years Trudy let it go for christ sake. I'm sorry

TRUDY

Katie. Is everything alright?

KATIE

I've been having an affair

TRUDY

What?

KATIE

For 2 years. He was married. He was going to leave his wife but he got ill and he died last week. 

TRUDY

Oh my god. Why didn't you tell me?

KATIE

I couldn't. I wanted to loads of times and I know it sounds completely mad but I just couldn't

TRUDY

Why not?

KATIE

Because he was my patient and because you would have told me to stop

Narrative and Genre: X Factor seen as Fictional

When we did our Story of Narrative lecture we talked about X Factor in a fictional way which helped me to understand what narrative plot line the show follows.

Here are the notes on X Factor:

To understand the nature of narrative and plot, lets look at a classic old example and see if you can name the story:

™  It’s story is about a quest to find a mythical person that will bring hope and riches to all those involved.

™  It has a cast of thousands but only five main characters: The protaganist (young, bright but is an ugly duckling waiting to turn into a swan)™  The main character (Young, beautiful, fragile, but with a fierce determination to succeed).

™  The Antagonist (Likes to pretend they are good, but is actually bad, willing to sacrifice anyone who gets in their way)

™  The secondary character (Dependable, supports everyone and everything.)

™  The side-kick (merely there for comic relief and to undermine or support the various characters)

 ™  The setting: contemporary, covering a whole kingdom but with a main single castle.

™  Genre: Fairytale with elements of drama, suspense and fantasy.

™  Tone: Colourfull and lush, with broad epic camera moves and lighting.

™  The classic story known as....?

Though presented as a reality talent show, the X-Factor has all the ingredients of a classic fairytale, using the plot device of “The Quest”

™  The Characters: Protagonist (The Contestants).

™  The Main character (Cheryl Cole)

™  The Antagonist (Simon Cowell)

™  The secondary character (Dannii Minogue)

™  The sidekick/comic relief (Louis Walsh)