During early August, I was approached by Al asking if i would like to work as cinematographer on his film.

The film centred around a little girl on a plane wondering whether the world was just a set up, actors, people rehearsing lines etc. I was interested, but when he first approached me, most of the film was animated so i had my doubts as to how much input i could have. I still really liked the idea though.

He told me to focus on the lighting for the plane scenes so i decided to create a moodboard & tests with my redhead. We wanted to test colours so i focused on yellows and blues, as i didn't have many colours for gels myself. 

School Disco

Waiting for the kids to leave the school disco. A few parents start to turn up early & one by one start to chat. It is awkward but friendly, they know each other vaguely, but throughout you can tell a few dislike others. The school disco gets held up by a fight between two kids. The conversation continues, mostly with comical moments and flashes of what is going on inside/they say something and you hear a child shouting what could go with what the adults have just said. Different scenarios need to happen to make it longer. it ends with the adults fighting exactly like the children inside showing that we never leave the playground/childishness no matter how stubborn we are/clever we think we are. 

Would need a village hall/school.
Parents and a few children.

Lighting - light from disco, street light & light from the entrance.
Sound would be good - hearing one side of the story through muffles coming from indoors.

Surprise Party  

People coming together for a good occasion but not really liking the small talk/awkward first/maybe not meetings with people. They all have a common interest (birthday person), but actually being together in each other's personal space & trying to be quiet/in the dark causes tension. People talk nicely throughout you find out all about these people's characters & their possible links with each other. Could possibly do cuts to their lives to make less linear. 

Possible links:

Old school friends - rivalry/trying to look better than the other.
Someone's ex girlfriend + new girlfriend.

People that vaguely think they know each other but throughout there's hints that they are wrong. One calls the other a wrong name. 

Someone finding out a one night stand is there.

Awkward family members - could link with the one night stand.

Panto

A light hearted & heartwarming story of two people brought together under unusual circumstances. Both friendship & love can be explored throughout, the characters share a bond as the film goes on, resulting in a friendly fun film.
They are brought together because they both want to participate in the community panto in their local hall. One could be a budding self rightous actor, in search for any role being given to them. One is a down to earth person just wanting to make people happy in the Christmas season. Maybe wants to make their own children happy & proud. The story could have them as panto horses for extra comical elements, but can also involve other characters, main or extras. Family person could break to their family that they are actually a horse.
The opening could be a dream like sequence showing a massive audience & stage, but in actuality, it's a small village hall. Real stage will still have to have good cinematic elements to it, and hopefully a 'backstage area' but still feel small/cheap. Christmas will be in the film, but not overpowering. It will involve decorations etc.
References to film influences:

Nativity 

Confetti

Love Actually
Extras

3 part structure

1. Meet, introduction for reasons of being there, some connection/tension.
2. Practicing, Getting to do horse, funny exchanges with different cast, getting closer. Could go out together.

3. Production. Fun. Need a reasonable ending, parent connects with his kids, gets what they wanted, & actor realising they should care more about other people? Community & Friendship are the main factors to this film so something involving that. Shouldn't be an obvious ending, because the structure is already quite 'mainstream'. 

At Last:
A story of a gambling obsessed man, who lives his life hoping that he will one day win money on the lottery. One day, while purchasing his tickets as always, he wins a small but big enough sum of money to make an impact.
The film follows him as he lives his long lived dream of having money, and we see how he handles it in 24 hours. It follows the themes of gambling, obsession, greed, but also is reflective of these subjects. A comedy drama.  Influenced by Etta Jame's At Last & Michael Carroll, the man who won the lottery and then spent it all.
I would like the film to be set in an older era, because i feel like it would fit better stylistically,
and would give the film a bigger scope. Before the celebrity days. Lottery started in 1994, so some time in the 90s?

I like the idea of making the film in 24 hours, using images to convey the past obsession (piles of tickets, the need he has to win etc) & it has a good structure. Can leave the viewers hanging at the end, withit building to him having done a lot of what he wanted, with the money he's spending flashing on screen.

First scene will involve at last playing, while slow motion realisation of what has just happened.
Scene 1: a slow fade in as we see an apartment, close up of hundreds of tickets sprawled around, the credits & title going over the top. It slowly pans past the remote, and up to see the hands of a man clutching several tickets. The national lottery is on the CRT tv, the apartment is dark, lightly lit by lamps around the room. The room is old fashioned, almost as if time has stopped. You see the face of the man, sat concentrated on the tv. Close up of numbers as they are read out, focus on each one on the paper as it is called out.
Close up of the man as his eyes tear up a little, concentration advancing. As the last number goes up,
At last slowly starts, and slow motion shots of the man as he realises he has won a sum of money hits him.
The scene unfolds as the song goes on. As the song ends, it cuts to a shot of the man in the shop. Still
wearing the clothes he had on in the house, possibly pyjamas. He is queueing, giggling to himself. People are watching him because he has pyjamas on and is laughing to himself. The man asks for 'next please, hello' the  man passes the ticket to the man & you see his realisation on his face. 'Erm, i'll just be back in a moment'  He picks up the phone, it cuts to the man either having the money or claiming the money (if factual, over 50,000 has to be rung & you have to go somewhere special so)
He goes out & buys unnessasary things, drinks. the usual. A slow path to self destruction.
Needs to have a moment where he has a realisation of what he is doing, when it is too late.



Spend, Spend, Spend

I have been thinking about ideas throughout the summer, but most of them seem to be style over substance. I keep thinking about how much i'd love to have an era to base my idea around, or have a one take music video etc. These are things that i would love to explore, but i need a big and good enough idea on it's own based on characters & a story before i can think about those stylistic elements.

I watched a tv series 'Inside No 9' pretty early into the holidays, each episode based around a situation within a confined space (usually at a location involving the number 9) & each episode gave me a flutter of inspiration. I loved how each story was not only based around something quite ludicrous, but it was very driven by characters in situations within a tight space. It's how the characters react with each other and the situation that has been handed to them that makes it funny & entertaining.

A few of the episodes have given me different inspirations about what i would like to do.

'Sardines' an episode based on a game of sardines mostly based within a cupboard inspired me to think of situations where people are in a situation they have to be in, with people they'd rather not be around. It felt awkward and that awkwardness fed into the comedy and shaped the entire situation.

Another episode 'A Quiet Night In' inspired me to think about situations in which dialogue is either mostly or even fully absent from a story. It is heavily influenced by the silent era, and i liked how Charlie Chaplin's granddaughter was even a star in the episode. I feel like the absense of dialogue can help a comical situation but i think it can also add poignancy and emotion to a scene or film. It can hold such power in how it is used and i would love to be able to use this to my story telling advantage. I think it would also be interesting from a sound design point of view.

Tv shows especially stick in my mind when i think of what i would like to make. I think it helps because they are shorter, sometimes watching films when thinking of short film ideas can make your ideas become too complicated because you're influences are more complex. I am a fan of the simple, something that is relatible and heart warming. Here's a selection of new and old influences of mine from television.

I finished my second year by viewing the work of the third years at the opening night of the graduate show. I wanted to see the selection to make myself have a better understanding of what i could achieve in my third year, but also as a way of viewing the range of work & how some worked and some didn't.

The DFSA highlights for me included the installation with the dancers in G12, as well as the short narrative 'Doug'. It was interesting to sit through each film & it made me realise what i needed to improve on & focus on that maybe the graduates has or hadn't done in their work.

I also visited film production's screening at the Maltings. It was interesting to see the differences in their work to outs, and it helped me to feel more passionate about short narrative filmmaking.