Pre-Production Paperwork
With this being a highly independent project, I took on the roles of Producer, Director, Editor, and Covid-19 Supervisor.
Initially, I wanted to shoot myself but after some thought, I realised that this would be harder to achieve and not necessarily fitting of the unit descriptor in the Fiction adaptation handbook, which states that “All cast… to be sourced outside of the course” (Rymer, 2021). With this in mind, I used social media to conduct a casting call as well as asking for crew who would be willing to help out. I got multiple responses and was able to find my cast and crew as a result of this.
As I want the short-film to be based on a true experience that had happened to me when I was 19, I wanted to find an actor who was of a similar age to that. Out of the people that responded, I felt that Charlotte Sparkes (she/her) was a good fit for the role. She fitted into the age bracket that I was after and has previous acting experience. In order to be able to use the footage of Charlotte for my short film, I had to get her to sign a consent form.
Figure.1 Charlotte Sparkes’ Mandy Profile (2021)
With regards to the crew, it didn’t matter how experienced they were, as long as they could get stuck in. However, I wanted to ensure that my crew was made up of at least one woman aside from myself as in the film industry, men outnumber women one to four in key roles (Wheeler, 2020). Out of those who responded, I selected Gabriella Niles-Ewen and Sophie Parker, who are both currently studying film studies degrees. They both took on the roles of co-directors and camera operators. Through having extra crew, particularly crew who study film, it will be useful in gathering different perspectives and is a chance to collaborate with others outside of the course.
Before the cast and crew agreed to be involved in the short film, I asked them whether they were comfortable being involved, considering the sensitive nature of the topic. They all agreed that they were okay to take part.
I set up various meetings with the cast and crew to discuss the project. Prior to these meetings I sent them a powerpoint presentation I had made in order to give them an idea of what I was wanting to achieve. Within these meetings, we discussed what it was I wanted from them
Through conducting these meetings, I learnt a bit more about how an actor works. Charlotte asked me various questions such as, what is the emotion I want the character to portray. Through being asked these questions, I learnt how some actors get a feel of their character, I also learnt that there are many questions an actor poses in terms of the meaning of/behind their character (Cannon and Gardner, 2009). I allowed the cast and crew to ask any questions they had and emphasised that they could ask questions and make suggestions throughout the whole process, from the pre-production process right through to the post-production phase.
In terms of costume, I wanted to ensure that Charlotte was comfortable throughout, particularly with the nature of the film. For the bedroom scene, I asked if she could wear something that she’d wear to bed (e.g. pyjamas). For the everyday scenes, I asked Charlotte if she could wear something she’d usually wear. As the character is of a similar age to Charlotte, I felt that the clothes that Charlotte usually wears in her day-to-day life would be fine as a costume. Finally, for the bathroom scene, I asked Charlotte to wear a preferably strapless swimsuit. Before I asked her to wear a swimsuit, I checked with her to see whether she was okay with this, which she was.
It is important to feed your cast and crew, especially when they’re working for free (Sengstaken, 2021) so, prior to filming, I asked the cast and crew whether they had any dietary requirements and any preferences for food. From doing this, I learnt how to organise food for cast and crew. With covid in mind, I planned the food around that, ensuring that I had individually packaged food, so that contamination was avoided as much as possible.
To ensure that the days we were shooting ran smoothly, I created and provided everyone with a call sheet: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xh0F_WKzJ-g7l6n9hnyvtoJzQmA1Zqyn5cb6gkB2ZWM/edit (Potter, 2021). When creating this call sheet, I based it on the one that was provided on a shoot that I worked on a few weeks prior. A call sheet will enable the day to run more smoothly and allows for the cast and crew to know when they’re needed on set (Maio, 2019).
Figure. 2 Call Sheet for Fiction Adaptation (2021)
As Producer, I selected the locations for the shoot and completed risk assessments for each location. I selected the locations based off of the research I did and the type of shots I wanted. The locations that I have chosen are as follows: a bedroom in my house, a bathroom in my house, Tooting Bec Common, Earl’s Court Station, Westminster Bridge, and Vauxhall Bridge. For me the most important locations to film at for my film were the bedroom, the bathroom, the street, and Tooting Bec Common as I felt that I could link them together more easily and gather more footage from. I’m not entirely sure how the whole project is going to piece together until I am able to experiment in the editing process, so have chosen some back-up locations just in case.
Figure. 3 Possible Location Ideas for Fiction Adaptation (2021)
Links to the Risk Assessments:
When it came to booking equipment, I had to make sure that all of my risk assessments were signed off by Laura Coull (Production Coordinator) before I could book kit out. I wanted to use a DSLR to film on as it is easier to transport and maneuver than a Panasonic AG DVX200. I spoke to Sam Creamer (lecturer and technical tutor) to ensure that I got the right equipment and then booked it out. As I wanted high contrast lighting, Sam and I agreed that the tungsten lights would be best suited. As my shoot is going to be handheld, I decided that a fig rig would be best; however, as the fig rig wasn’t available, I opted for the shoulder rig instead, which will still enable me to get the handheld shots I want. As this unit is experimental, I also booked out a few different lenses to try out.
Figure. 4 Lens Booking
Bibliography:
Cannon, D. and Gardner, L. (2009) ‘Character building and what makes a truly great actor’ In: The Guardian 09/05/2009. At: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2009/may/09/character-building-great-actor (Accessed 04/12/2021)
Fig. 1 (2021) Charlotte Sparkes’ Mandy Profile (2021) [Mandy, Screenshot] At: https://www.mandy.com/uk/actor/charlotte-sparkes-1 (Accessed 04/12/2021)
Fig. 2 (2021) Call Sheet for Fiction Adaptation (2021) [Google Slides, Screenshot] At:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xh0F_WKzJ-g7l6n9hnyvtoJzQmA1Zqyn5cb6gkB2ZWM/edit (Accessed 04/12/2021)
Fig. 3 (2021) Possible Location Ideas for Fiction Adaptation (2021) [Google Slides, Screenshot] At: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ufoJgmnFIgebGFKVmYcPERnKtRNsCW3_Nwdirq0NJJM/edit#slide=id.gfbfcd89b35_0_103 (Accessed 04/12/2021)
Fig. 4 (2021) Lens Booking (2021) [Siso, Screenshot] At: https://ucreative.siso.co/roc/ui/my-bookings.php (Accessed 04/12/2021)
Maio, A. (2019) What is a Call Sheet? The Essentials for a Smooth Production. At: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-call-sheet/ (Accessed 04/12/2021)
Potter, E. (2021) Fiction Adaptation Call Sheet. At: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xh0F_WKzJ-g7l6n9hnyvtoJzQmA1Zqyn5cb6gkB2ZWM/edit (Accessed 04/12/2021)
Rymer, M. (2021) Fiction Adaptation Handbook. (1st ed.) Kent: University for the Creative Arts. At: https://myuca.uca.ac.uk/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_71100_1&content_id=_1142002_1&mode=reset (Accessed 04/12/2021)
Sengstaken, K. (2021) Fiction Adaptation Lecture Series. [Kent: University for the Creative Arts 26/11/2021].
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