Story Telling: Contextual Research [Short Film Review: Boogaloo and Graham]

 Boogaloo and Graham (2014, Dir: Michael Lennox) is an Irish film written by Ronan Blaney about two young brothers who are bestowed a pair of chicks by their father. Set in Belfast during the time of ‘the troubles’, the film beautifully contrasts a loving story of two brothers learning responsibility and independence with an uneasy and violent backdrop. I wanted to look at this film because I found the relationship of the two brothers both humorous and touching; the film won the Best Short Film BAFTA award for 2015.

 One of the major, obvious themes of this film is the bond the two brothers share. I specifically wanted to look at this because I want the relationship of Jack and Will to resemble the relationship of two brothers. This is because of the relationship I have with my brother and how I think that has affected the relationships I have made at university, myself. One key way the relationship between brothers Malachy (Aaron Lynch) and Jamesy (Riley Hamilton) is written so convincingly is in the way they argue. When the two brothers argue about whose chicken smells worst or the correct way to break out of a house it’s not a serious argument, instead a petty squabble that usually only arises between two people as close as brothers. This is easily incorporated into my script by having Jack and Will debating something serious to them, that when viewed by an external audience may seem benign such as who rolls the better spliff.

 Boogaloo and Graham is very much a film of two moods. The main story of the brothers is comedic and heart-warming whereas the setting of war-torn Ireland presents a bleak world that these small children are growing up in. One of the film’s more comedic moments that is within itself underscored by the threat of possible later upset is then contrasted (and the threats overshadowed) by the film’s most pinnacle, shocking moment where the two young boys fall very close to an experience with death. This reminded me of what Steve Coombes told us about writing villains: “If you want to make your monster seem relatable, put a bigger monster next door.” In this case the monster is the idea of the chickens being taken away and when the two boys run away to try and solve this, the bigger monster points a gun at them. I will use this idea to better emphasise the university as a villainous ideal of my piece.

Story Telling: Contextual Research [Short Film Review: The Karmen Line]

 ‘The Karmen Line’ (2015, Dir: Oscar Sharpe) was probably the most different of the three short movies that I have watched to researched my own screenplay but it has been one of the most fruitful ones. ‘The Karmen Line’ was written by female screenwriter, Dawn King and tells the touching the touching story of Sarah (Olivia Coleman), a mother and wife who begins slowly lifting off the ground from a fixed point, unable to get down. The film gained international acclaim - being shown at more than 18 film festivals, and being nominated for a BAFTA.

 I always think that the first line of non-conventional dialogue (EG. ‘Hi’ etc) in any production is one of the most important. The first line of ‘The Karmen Line’ is between Sarah and her daughter: “No to pineapple, then?”. The line comes as Sarah looks through her daughter’s school bag, examining her lunchbox and a graded mock exam from school and I believe the interaction provides audiences with an abundance of information about the relationship between the characters. This one small piece of dialogue also gives indications and hints to a lot about the character’s personalities, for example Sarah’s invasion of privacy. This then gives more of an unspoken importance later on when Sarah begins floating through her daughter’s bedroom.

 One of the most interesting things I picked up that King did very effectively was show the relationship of the characters through their actions. This is like what Steve Coombes mentioned in one of our lectures: using what we see rather than what we hear to establish an understanding of characters. For example, the opening sequence shows Sarah dancing and humming as she does house work and her daughter comes home from school. The pair say nothing immediately but Sarah has already prepared her dinner, giving a sense of routine. She also makes a mug of hot Ribena, a drink that says more about the mother daughter relationship than an average cup of tea. I think it is small considerations like this that make the relationships in The Karmen Line so realistic and believable. In my script re-writes I plan to focus on this idea of two characters establishing their primary relationship through a comfortable, wordless routine. I think this would be most effectively shown by starting my script in an earlier place, showing the characters walking up to and sitting on a bench and using their non-verbal communication and script directions to establish their relationship to the audience.

 A key aspect of The Karmen line I found especially effective was the lack of visual indicators of time jumps. As time progresses throughout the story, King uses a variety of methods to indicate this but sometimes makes no indicator at all, instead using Sarah’s progress upwards to show time’s progression – a very story specific method that eliminates the need for disinteresting text inserts. I could reflect this in my script through a variety of ways, for example showing early on that Will has rolled a set amount of joints for his day and then using the tin to highlight key movements in time. 

Story Telling: Production Notes [Pre-Production Paperwork]

CALL SHEET:

RISK ASSESSMENT:

Story Telling: Production Notes [Shot/location research.]

 In order to best prepare for shooting and to start thinking practically about shots I visited my proposed filming location on the Medway riverside. I brought my two actors along in order to take some photographs and try to build up a mental image of how my shots will look, ready for when I begin storyboarding.

 The aim of this shot was to be able to include both characters in frame with the university looking down on them from the background. Unfortunately, I don't think this shot conveys the importance of the university building as it is nowhere near prominent enough in the shot. I also think shooting from lower may help give the university the visual importance it needs.

 Whilst I prefer the framing of the characters in this shot, I still do not think the university building is as imposing as I would like it to be. Perhaps by coming closer, into a mid-shot and bringing the university into the top-left of the shot I might be able to achieve this.

 

 I am very happy with this shot - especially the framing and lighting. This is identical to how I want my one-shots of Will to look in my production.
 However, this shot has made me aware that whilst I don't think I'll need any major lighting, I will need a key light to give the actor's eyes some life on screen.

 This was by far my favourite two-shot I got. The naturalistic lighting is how I imagine it for my production and the framing captures both characters nicely in the frame.









---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Two hours later I repeated this exercise specifically focusing on how to frame the university in shot.

 Whilst I really like how this shot looks, I think the fact that Will's eye line looks over the top of the building means that the University does not appear important enough within the shot.









 By raising the university to be in line with Will's eye line in this shot I think it sets it up nicely to appear to look down on the scene.

Story Telling: Production Notes [RECCE]

 I returned to Jackson's field today closer to my actual planned shooting time to double check the lighting. As feared the tree remains to be in a shadowed area despite the earlier time. This means that to ensure the actors are well lit, the background becomes very washed out. I am considering still using this location and combining the washed out background with the tree setting to convey that the characters sit in the tree to be disconnected from regular life.

                     

 However, should I not follow this idea I decided to try and find a suitable replacement location. I ended up finding a bench near to halls that is also overlooked by the university. I think this could be a powerful feature as the university would be a constant onlooker in the background, appearing inevitable as the characters plan to avoid it.

Story Telling: Development [Inspiration & writing notes]

 My main source of inspiration for 'The Other Side' came from my friends. The characters of Will and Jack are also very closely based on my friends of the same name.
 I was particular during writing to try and capture realistic dialogue for the two characters and also based this on my friends. I paid close attention to small phrases and specific pieces of slang each friend used and tried to apply it to my script where appropriate. 
 The ending that appears in my draft script was not the original ending - the original ending involving Will and Jack tricking Will's lecturer and escaping. However, I felt this ending did not seem natural enough to the plot or pacing of the script and decided for something less dramatic and unnecessary.

Story Telling: Devlopment [Production Blog Update and Location Recce]

Pre-Production has begun. My shoot is planned for Wednesday 16th November, the cast is aware of the date but I must quickly decide on my crew. The cast is being given the first draft of the script to begin going through later today.

I went up to Jackson's field earlier today to get an idea of how easy filming would be. One major concern is of lighting - the tree is in a heavily shaded area. However, I did not perform my recce at the same time that I plan to be shooting so I shall return tomorrow so see if this is still a problem. If it is then I shall alternative filming locations.