Final Evaluation and Outcome.

For my final project I wanted to create a short drama film with the theme of domestic abuse. I chose to explore this theme because I wanted to raise awareness for the subject and wanted to be creative with my original idea, which was a woman running down an alleyway to get away from something. I futher developed my idea into a narrative about a woman running away from her former life with an abusive partner, as the abuse has effected her mental health and means she suffers from flashbacks and becomes disoriented which is why she is running. 

At the beginning of the project I wrote a proposal, which I have mostly stuck to throughout the project. In the first section, proposal states that the Foundation course has helped me to develop new skills and expand my knowledge of media. This has continued throughout my fmp as I have experimented with different styles of filming, used different equipment and experimented with new editing techniques.

 The second section, which is the project concept states that for my primary research I would be contacting local organisations who work with domestic abuse victims for interviews which I have managed to do, I have gone further than this by attending group sessions with women who have survived abusive relationships and learning about the recovery process with them. This research has helped me to better understand the subject of domestic abuse and the victims of it, talking to some of the women in the groups was an eye – opening experience that allowed me to understand what my main character could be thinking and feeling throughout my film. It is unfortunate that I was not able to arrange these meetings until after I had filmed, as conducting interviews would have been more helpful to me at the beginning of the project.

I have also worked towards my proposal with my secondary research, as I have analysed a number of films and TV clips with the theme of domestic abuse and taken inspiration from them for my own film. In my proposal I mentioned that I would be looking into other forms of creativity that dealt with the subject of abuse such as books, photography and fine art pieces. Although I did analyse two books on the subject I later decided that looking at photography and art work wasn’t relevant to the work I was doing and decided against analysing it. Analysing a variety of media (films, TV clips and books) helped me develop ideas for camera angles and shot types, character types, dialogue and location settings. 

I also decided to look into the psychology of domestic abuse, to futher my understanding of the subject and to get an idea of what my characters should act like. This research has helped me with my character development as I was able to pick out ways they should act such as body langue, facial expressions and movements to use in my film.  

Part of my project was pre – production which includes my shot lists, storyboards, tutorials and equipment choices. Experimenting with different equipment and refreshing my memory on how to use it helped me to choose equipment that would be right for my project, for example the GoPro Hero4 would have been perfect for tracking (running) shots if I had been able to use it. Creating a more detailed shot list meant that I knew exactly what type of shots I wanted to get whilst filming, allowing the process to run smoothly. 

I have created a poster for my short film, to be displayed near my exhibition space as this will promote my film to those in the exhibition and encourage people to watch it. I chose to use a still image from my film for the poster as it gives the audience an idea of what it is about without revealing too much, I chose the name ‘attrition’ for my film because of the meaning: “the process of reducing something’s strength or effectiveness through sustained attack or pressure.” This is usually used in terms of buildings or objects however I have chosen to apply a personal meaning to it as it relates to the theme of my film, which is domestic abuse, and shows that through the abuse the female character has lost strength and confidence. I like the name of my film as it is short and to the point, although I would have liked to have thought of it sooner as this means I will have to create a fourth draft of my original proposal to include it. I have advertised where and when my film will be showing as media will be using a different room to the main exhibition.

The final outcome of my project was a short, 3 minute film about domestic abuse, the effect it can have on a persons mental state and the consequences of this. My original goal was to have a 5 – 10 minute film, however I am happy with the length as it still gets the story and meaning across. If I were to do this project again I would expand my time limit so that I could futher develop my ideas and include more scenes. 

Although I am happy with my final outcome I am disappointed that my film doesn’t look how I imagined it would at the beginning of the project. This is partly because of my technical skills, something I need to improve on and expand futher in future. In retrospect I should have used a larger variety of camera angles and shot types as this would have given me more options to choose from during post production. 

To conclude, I am pleased with how the project has gone despite some problems and feel happy with my final outcome, even though it is not what I originally envisioned. 
 

Outcome: 

https://youtu.be/wyk7IHLjUWs

Filming (Day 1.)

My first day of filming was on Saturday the 15th of April, the call time for all crew was 13:00pm at the filming location. Originally my crew was going to be myself and three other media students, however two couldn’t make it due to their work schedules so it was just myself and Emma Newell, who is my assistant camera operator for this project. The call time for the main cast, Niamh Mahoney and Chris Short, was 14:00pm as this gave Emma and I time to set up and go over the shot list for each scene.

I set the camera up for the first scene, a flashback to the couple arriving home from a meal with friends where an argument happens and the audience sees an act of physical violence. I used the boom mic for audio, which Emma opperated and decided not to use the dedo lights as there was enough natural light coming in through a window.

Once my actors arrived I went through the narrative with them again and then explained what I wanted them to do in the first scene. Although their movements and camera shots have been scripted I decided to let them improvise the majority of the dialogue as it would be more natural to them.

The first two shots, which show the couple entering the house and sitting down to talk about their afternoon went well as they were well framed and the dialogue between the characters sounded natural.

The next shot, which was a mid shot, shows Niamh attempting to walk away from the argument they are having and then a close up of Chris grabbing her arm is shown. This is where the flashback will cut off and it will imply that an act of physical violence has happened afterwards as Niamh’s broken arm is shown in the next two scenes, although this was an issue at first I am glad that I could include it in the narrative and Niamh used long sleeves to cover it in the first scene. The only issue with the shot is the lighting, as they are standing in front of a large window which lets in a lot of natural light and this made the shot look too exposed. I did multiple takes of each shot and adjusted the camera settings to try and dim the light.

I decided to film the third flashback scene next, which shows the couple arguing in the kitchen and the woman goes to hit the man with a mug, showing the audience that she is no longer willing to take the abuse. I did this next because I wanted to experiment with different shots and knew it would take longer to do, whereas the second flashback scene I knew exactly what I wanted to do and could wrap up quickly.

Originally I wanted to position the actors in front of the sink, however the large window behind it again let in lots of natural light, making the shot overexposed and the face of the actor very shadowed and dark. Instead I moved them forward to stand infront of the countertop and used one of the dedo lights to act as an overhead light, although the this looks like a spotlight in the pictures it looked natural on camera. I stood both characters side – on, to prevent blocking, a term used when the shorter person cannot be seen behind a taller person and used mostly wide and mid shots as Chris is quite tall and didn’t always fit on screen. This scene had to be shot multiple times, as the dialogue didn’t sound right and Chris had a hard time with getting into character. The shot where Niamh swings a mug towards Chris was clumsy and awkward at first, however after a few takes I got a couple that I could use in the film.

The second flashback scene, which I shot last, shows Niamh’s character putting on makeup to cover a bruise, she then recieves abusive text message from the boyfriend character which shows the audience that the abuse is emotional as well as physical. The bruise was made with makeup and a stippling sponge by Emma, I am very pleased with how it looked. As the bathroom light was yellow I decided to use a dedo light which acted as a natural white light. I positioned the camera to the left of Niamh so that it would not appear in the mirror over the sink.

The first shot, a close up of Niamh looking into the mirror and touching the bruise is well lit and well framed and conveys the characters emotions. For the shot where Niamh is looking at the abusive text messages I used a close up / over the shoulder shot, which I thought had turned out well. Unfortunately when I looked back at this scene later I realised that the messages were not in focus and that I had only done one take. I am disappointed that i hadn’t noticed or rectified this before however I am going to look into different ways of showing text messages on screen if I cannot refilm the scene.

Despite the issue with the phone shot, this is my favourite scene from the three flashbacks because of how it is framed and lit and how it looks dark and gritty.

At the end of the day I recorded a video log of how I thought the day had gone and what I would change if I were to reshoot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9f4LueTtxc

 

Prop Making – Second Attempt.

As my first attempt at prop making hadn’t gone as well as I had wanted I decided to try and make another ‘brick’, using the same materials but a different method. Instead of layering the polystyrene I chose to glue the edges together to create a hollow rectangle, which I stuffed with newspaper to add some weight. This gave the brick a bigger width, similar to a real brick. Compared to my first attempt, this one looked more realistic in terms of size. 

For the colour and texture of my prop, I looked at a real brick fragment which was brought in by another student. The real brick was rough around the edges and had a red / brown colour with orange undertones. To recreate this on my prop I rounded the corners off and I then mixed red, yellow, white and brown paint to create a light brown / orange colour that was very similar to the colour of the real brick. Although the edges of my prop look rough, I sanded them down to ensure the health and safety of my actor. To achieve a similar texture I used a paint brush and sponge to stipple the paint onto the brick. 

Once I had painted it, I added touches of green paint, again using the stippling technique. This gave the brick a mouldy look, which the real brick had as it was old. 

I am pleased with the outcome of my second attempt at prop making and I am happy to use this prop in my short film. 



Primary Research – Location Reccé.

Indoor Location. 

Originally I was going to use my own house as my indoor location however I felt that it didn’t represent a young couples home and decided to look elsewhere. I spoke to my cousin, who is around the age of my character and lives with her boyfriend about filming in her house in Darwen. They agreed and I later conducted a location reccé by looking at where I could set the equipment up, where I could place my actors and crew and how any health and safety matters could be prevented or dealt with. The address of my indoor location is  10* Sudell Road, Darwen BB* *** (I will not include the full address for safety reasons as this is a public website.) The location is easily accessible by car and bus and directions can be found on Google Maps. I will mainly be filming in the living room area. 

The living room appears to be small, which could be a problem with a lot of people in one room (cast and crew.) However once the settee in the centre of the room is moved back (which I have permission to do) the space becomes more open, leaving room to move around with equipment. 

The large window provides natural lighting, however I can also adjust the lighting using the dedo kit. There are multiple plug sockets for equipment and there are no wires or loose carpeting etc that will be hazardous. The couple have a pet dog, however he will be removed from the room or house whilst I am filming. 

Outdoor Location.

For my outdoor location, the place where the main narrative is set, I knew I wanted to film in an almost deserted street in Blackburn however I couldn’t remember the exact name or location of it. I contacted Aaron Dunleavy, ex FAD student and filmmaker via Facebook messenger to ask as he has made one of his short films there in the past. My next step will be contacting the Blackburn and Darwen council to get permission to film there. 

He replied with the unfortunate news that the street I wanted to film on is in the process of being demolished which may mean I won’t be able to film there. He suggested speaking to the council, and told me the street was part of Griffin Bank Top. I decided to find a different location as I wasn’t sure when the street in Griffin was going to be demolished. 

I found my second ideal outdoor location when helping another media student with her project. The student lives on King’s Road in MillHill, Blackburn and shot some scenes in a series of alleyways behind her house.

One in particular is ideal for my film as it is long and wide, giving my actor time and space to run through as well as space for me to film a wide shot from the side or run alongside / behind them. The alleyway also has a pile of old bricks towards one end of the street which is ideal as the prop for my film is a fake brick and will look in place. 

The problems I may have with this location include the ground, which is made of cobbles and may make it difficult to run over as it could be a trip hazard. To make sure this won’t happen I will make sure my actor runs slowly and I will remind her to be careful. Another problem I may have is litter in the alleyway, which could obstruct my actor from running however this can be solved by clearing the litter to the side walls. The final problem I may have is the weather as I am filming outside and cannot get the equipment wet, especially not the GoPro. 

On the day of filming I had to change my (outdoor) location due to my actress having travelling issues. I changed my location from an alley on Kings Road, Blackburn to an alley on Knowles Street, Rishton. I conducted a quick location reccé before setting up to film and found that the alley was clean with minor obstructions, which I moved to ensure my actors and crew didn’t fall. The uneven cobbles were an issue as I found it hard to run on them however Niamh, my actress, had no issue with this. 

Unit 7 – Project Idea / Unit 5 and 6 Follow Up.

Unit 5.

For Unit 5, a brief where we had to create a piece of work based on or inspired by something from the Victoria and Albert Museum, I achieved a pass grade. I worked with another student to create a short documentary about the youth revolution of the late 60’s and early 70’s, this was inspired by the exhibition: You Say You Want A Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966-1970. I am glad I achieved a pass for this unit as it was marked as a pass / fail. For my final project (Unit 7) I am aiming to achieve a distinction but would be happy with a merit grade. 

Unit 6.

For Unit 6, I documented the preparations I was making in order to progress to university. This included the courses I had chosen to apply for and why, my personal statement, documentation of any interviews and open / applicant days I attended and my offers from the university’s. I received a pass for this unit as it was marked on a pass / fail basis. I applied for the BA Hons course Media Production: Film and Television at York St John University, BA Hons Film Production at Salford University, BA Hons Film Production at the University of Worcester, BA Hons Film Production at UCLAN and BA Hons Filmmaking at Leeds Beckett University. 

I received an unconditional offer for York St John University, which I later accepted as my firm choice and will be attending in September 2017. I recieved conditional offers from the University of Salford and the University of Worcester. I also received an unconditional offer from Leeds Beckett, and recieved no offer from UCLAN as I had made my firm choice before they got back to me. 

Unit 7.

My idea for Unit 7 is a short film. I have chosen to make a short film as it is what I enjoy doing and what I would like to persue a career in in future. My short film will be a drama, as it my favourite genre. I currently have two ideas for a narrative: the first is about a group of teenagers who camp on private land and face consequences when they have an altercation with the land owner. The second idea is about a victim of domestic violence and how this has effected their mental health. I am currently planning the details of both narratives as I am unsure which I would prefer to do.