Shooting Schedule/Health and Safety Assessment

Below is the shooting schedule for my practical production:

Monday 9th November - Gareth and Erdogan
College theatre/college grounds
4pm - 6pm


Wednesday 11th November - Jodie and Bridie
College theatre
12:45pm - 1:45pm


Friday 13th November - Group filming (for any possible re-shooting if necessary)
College grounds
12:45pm - 1:45pm

Tuesday 26th January - Erdogan (re-shooting)
College Theatre
12:45pm - 1:45pm

Health and Safety Assessment

When I was filming the dance scenes in the theatre, I made sure that all of the cast where wearing appropriate dance kit and footwear to prevent injury. I also made sure that the cast weren't wearing any jewellery whilst they were dancing to prevent items getting caught and causing injury. Before I started filming, I asked the dancers to warm up to prevent any muscle strain. I also checked the theatre floor for spillages to ensure that none of my cast slipped and hurt themselves whilst I was concentrating on filming. When it came to re-shooting some of my footage, I had to ask a certified technician to set up the theatre lighting for me, because I have not been properly trained to use the equipment. Trailing cables where not an issue however as I used a hand-held video camera to shoot the footage. On top of this I also made sure that I and my cast were aware of where the nearest fire exit was so that we could leave the building quickly in the case of an emergency. I had also booked the use of the college theatre well in advance so that staff were aware that I was using the space in case of an emergency.

Name and logo for my film

The next stage of the production process was to devise a name for my film. I wanted the title to be punchy, memorable, and believable for the musical genre. Musical titles are conventionally very short and snappy, for example, "Rent", "Fame", "Hairspray" and "Chicago", reflecting the exciting, dynamic pace of musicals. I came up with several ideas for a title for my own musical, and then chose which one I felt best worked with the style of film I wanted to create. Some of my favourite choices are listed below:

1. Spotlight- I felt that this title would be ideal for a musical as a spotlight is a piece of equipment iconic to this particular genre, however I did not feel that the title put across a very high level of excitement or drama, which I wanted my title to create.
2. Believe - This is my favourite choice of a title, and the one I chose to use for my film. The word 'believe' is short and punchy, which will make it memorable as a film title and reflects the dynamic pace I aspire to create within my final trailer. The word also covers some of the key themes which will run throughout my film, such as aspiration, competition and fulfilling your dreams. This title also pairs well with the song I have chosen to use as the backing track for my trailer, "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey.
3. Dance Off - Although this title is very catchy, I did not feel it would be entirely suitable for use on my musical because it gives the impression that my film will only involve the art of dancing, whereas I wish to cover both dance and drama.
4. Stage Struck - Again this title is very catchy, particularly through the use of the alliteration. This was my second favourite choice for a title for my film, as it held the excitement that I wanted to create, and the word 'stage' is also iconic to the musical genre. However I do not feel it is as punchy as my chosen title, "Believe".
5. Hit It - This title is again very punchy, but is in no way iconic to the musical genre and therefore I do not feel it is the best choice for the title of my film.

My next task was to design a logo for the title of my film, "Believe".


















Above: Logo for the 2009 re-make of "Fame". Image source: http://www.filmscoreclicktrack.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/famereduxcd.jpg









The font which I decided to use for my logo is "Moonshine Script NF." I wanted to use a similar style to the 2009 "Fame" logo, as this will create further links to the similarity media language between "Fame" and my own musical "Believe". I enlisted the help of a friend when making the final logo (see below) who had a specialist programme on their computer for creating logos. I decided that I wanted my logo to use bright colours and reflect the idea if stage lights, further establishing the films genre as a musical.

Audio to my film trailer

Above is a video showing the song I intend to use as the backing track to my film trailer, "Don't Stop Believin'" by "Journey". The video also shows the lyrics to the song. I believe that the message behind the lyrics fits well with the message that I am trying to convey in my film trailer: never give up. The main repeated line in the song "Don't Stop Believing" also mirrors my films title, "Believe". The lyrics within the song also make many references to singing and dancing, for example: "some where born to sing the blues", "oh, the movie never ends" and "a singer in a smoky room". This re-enforces the films genre to the audience. The idea of competition is also highlighted in the song, which helps to establish the films storyline along with the visual images on screen, through lyrics such as, "some will win, some will lose", "working hard to get my fill", "dont stop believeing" and "hold on to that feeling".

The song also begins quite slow paced with the main instrument being the keyboard, and becomes more exciting as the other instruments, such as drums and guitar are introduced. The pace of the song will work well with the pace of the editing in my trailer. To begin with, a state of narrative equilibrium will be established through the use of slower paced editing on-screen and the music's soothing tempo. When the disruption to the narrative is revealed, the editing will become more fast paced, mirrored by the introduction of the drums and guitar in the song. This tempo will continue through the rest of the trailer, building up tension and excitement.

Cast, props and location list

When it comes to filming my trailer I must take all elements shown on the screen into consideration, including the characters in my film, the props I will be using and the locations where I want individual scenes to be set. Below is a list showing the all details of the above.


Cast List

• Gareth Walker - Darren. A confident teenager whose main passion lies in acting and performing on stage. Darren is optimistic that his and Jamie's routine will be enough to beat the prestigious snobbish London Drama Academy students. I chose to cast Gareth to play this part as he is an active member of the Hull Truck Youth Theatre and has been in plays organised by the theatre, and has strong acting skills.
  
• Erdogan Elma - Jamie. A passionate, talented teenager, who enjoys mainly acting, along with break-dancing. Jamie is less confident that his and Darren's routine will be successful in the competition, and almost lets the pressure get to him. I chose to cast Erdogan to play this role becuase he is also an active member of the Hull Truck Youth Theatre, and again has been in plays organised by the theatre.
  
• Bridie Sproats - Emily. A singer and a dancer, who wants nothing more than to beat the Hull Drama students and bring them back down to earth. She is portrayed as being snobbish and stuck-up. She believes that the Hull students are merely amateurs. I chose to cast Bridie for this particular role as she is a strong performer in both dance and drama, and is auditioning to do a course in performing arts at University. She has also been in several plays organised by the college.
• Jodie Smith - Fiona. Much like Emily, Fiona is snobbish and thinks herself superior over the Hull Drama students. She believes that her and Emily's dance routine is unbeatable and that the other team doesn't stand a chance against them. She is a talented yet boastful dancer. I chose to cast Jodie as a dancer in my film as she studies a course in A2 level dance and is a strong and versitile performer.
• Steven Shakespeare - Mr Jones. He is Darren and Jamie's teacher at their drama group at school. He has faith that the boys can win the competition, yet he does not underestimate the threat of their rivals. I chose to cast Steven as the role of the teacher in my film because he has an interest in drama and was willing and eager to take part in my film.
  

Location List

Wyke College:

• Theatre - the college theatre fits in with the genre of a musical because it is an iconic location associated with this genre. In the theatre I will be able to use proffesional stage lighting to create a range of different effects. The large floor area is suitable, safe space for performing, dancing and doing stunts (e.g. backflips).
  
• Ash Building - this building has good lighting and lots of quiet areas suitable for carrying out undisturbed filming.
  
• Wilson Building - this building also has good lighting, lots of floor space and quiet areas suitable for doing filming with good quality sound.
  
• College grounds (outside of the Wilson Building) (shots 13, 14 and 23)

Props List

• Newspaper (shot 5)
• Scripts (shots 11, 24, 27, and 29)

Storyboard

I have scanned in a copy of my storyboard for my film trailer and pasted it below. The storyboard includes conventional details such as the length of the shots, camera movements, the framing of the shot, the types of edit and diegetic/non-diegetic sound, including dialogue, music and voiceovers.

Script

The next stage in the production of my film trailer was to produce a script, giving details of the character dialogue and actions, voiceovers and the setting of each shot. I produced my script in the form of a word document, which I have scanned and uploaded onto my blog.

Audience Research

In order to find out what it is about musical films that my target audience, teenagers and young adults, particularly enjoy, I have carried out research in the form of a questionnaire.

The way in which I have chosen to collect this information is through an on-line poll which I have posted on my blog (see opposite), the results from which I have used to expand my research. I have posted the address to my blog on a variety of social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace, as the majority of the people on these sites fit the age criteria of my target audience. Therefore, the information I gather will be directly relevant to my own trailer.

100% of the people who took part in my pole were aged between 17 and 22 years of age, which means that all results are directly relevant to my product as this is my film trailers primary target audience. My pole revealed that the majority of my voters, 57%, considered themselves fans of the musical genre, which tells me that ny film is more likely to appeal to my target audience. 66% of voters have also been to see a musical film at the cinema within the last 6 months, which tells me that my target audience will be influenced by trailers, which aim to persuade people to see the films at the cinema. This also gives me a sense of how going to see musicals is a popular leisure activity for my target audience.

I also asked voters on their favourite songs to feature in musicals. The most popular two choices were memorable, sing-along tracks, with 17 votes cast, and well known, iconic, classic songs, with 15 votes cast. For this questions I allowed voters to choose more than one option. These results have convinced me that the song I want to feature in my trailer should be catchy, memorable and familiar to the audience, whilst fitting in with the fast narrative pace of my trailer.

I also asked the people who took part in my poll on their favourite aspects of musical films. These results will give me a clear picture on which elements to focus on in my trailer in order to make it appeal to my target audience as much as possible. The two most popular options were singing and dancing. Singing gained 17 votes overall, and dancing was cast 15 votes. Other popular options included learning about the characters and costumes, but a fewer amount of votes were given to setting and backing tracks. When I come to writing the script and storyboard for my film trailer, I will make sure to give more screen time to shots focusing on the characters singing and dancing, as this is what my target audience seem to enjoy the most in musicals. I will also pay attention to developing the characters in the on-screen narrative, although this is already a conventional feature of film trailers.