Once we were able to secure a room to shoot the bedroom scenes we concentrated on refurbishing the room with 'geeky' mise-on-scene.

At times the bedroom became very enclosed and claustrophobic due to the amount of equipment and crew members. To get resolve this we moved various items of furniture, our closed in camera angles allowed us to disguise this. 

To defuse the harsh lighting of the dedo we used grease proof paper.

Recently we managed to obtain a Glidecam HD 1000, this will allow a much more varied range in the shots, a slow backward track was a shot I had always wanted to explore in our film I now have the confidence that this will be possible.  

This scene implements an editing style similar to what we intend to use in our short film in the dating video scene. We plan to cut from the webcam footage to static shots of our protagonist in various activities in which he mentions in the webcam video i.e gaming, painting, watching a film, through this there will be continuous V.O however in some cases we feel it will be necessary to fade the V.O and add diegetic sound from that particular scenario. The character that Steve Carell plays in 'The 40 Year Old Virgin' has the attributes that we feel our character can relate to, he lives alone in house surrounded by geeky novelties and collectables regularly indulging in activities that steer clear of female contact, though his general attitude seems to be in high spirit we can't help but feel empathy. 

Today we analysed our location of choice for the shoot, organising the props we had acquired around the rooms we would be using. We also proof read the story boarding that was done prior to the location scouting so that any unusable shots could be revised and changed. 

I feel this scene in 'The Social Network' is stylistically inspiring, the use of V.O during the execrated montage sequence with frequent cuts to relevant shots drives an interesting scene, we will be using a similar technique as our protagonist will be blogging through scenes in the film serving as narration and actual character actions i.e typing on his computer. In parts the character will not always be seen typing however the diegetic sounds of the keyboard along with the V.O will signify the fact he is blogging. 

Character Construction CHARACTER NAME: Unknown                         
AGE 32
APPEARANCE Clean cut, wears suits, stubble

1. What do you know about this character now that s/he doesn’t yet know? 
His life is being destroyed by gambling but he doesn’t know.

1. What is this character’s greatest flaw? 
Denial

1. What do you know about this character that s/he would never admit? 
Family reasons for gambling and money issues as he is a banker.

1. What is this character’s greatest asset? 
Appearance.

1. If this character could choose a different identity, who would s/he be? 
Family man with a wife and children.

1. What music does this character sing to when no one else is around? 
Musicals.

1. In what or whom does this character have the greatest faith? 
Agony Aunt.

1. What is this character’s favourite movie? 
Shrek.

1. Does this character have a favourite article of clothing? Favourite shoes? 
Polished shoes.

1. Does this character have a vice? Name it. 
Gambling.

1. Name this character’s favourite person (living or dead). 
Frank Sinatra.

1. What is this character’s secret wish? 
To have a family.

1. What is this character’s proudest achievement? 
Owning a flat in London.

1. Describe this character’s most embarrassing moment. 
Going into debt.

1. What is this character’s deepest regret? 
Not having a family.

1. What is this character’s greatest fear? 
People knowing his true identity.

1. Describe this character’s most devastating moment. 
Coming home to an empty flat every day.

1. What is this character’s greatest achievement? 
His job.

1. What is this character’s greatest hope? 
To have a family.

1. Does this character have an obsession? Name it. 
Collecting materialistic things.

1. What is this character’s greatest disappointment? 
Not communicating as much with his family.

1. What is this character’s worst nightmare? 
Losing his job because it is all he has.

1. Whom does this character most wish to please? Why? 
His boss because he is the only person he really talks to.

1. Describe this character’s mother. 
Loving and caring but rarely there for him.

1. Describe this character’s father. 
Strict and distant with extremely high expectations.

1. If s/he had to choose, with whom would this character prefer to live? 
By themselves.

1. Where does this character fall in birth order? What effect does this have? 
He has no siblings therefore he is used to being alone.

1. Describe this character’s siblings or other close relatives. 
No siblings and he is distant from his relatives.

1. Describe this character’s bedroom. Include three cherished items. 
Very materialistic with a Television, desk and a blank photo frame.

1. What is this character’s birth date? How does this character manifest traits of his/her astrological sign? 
Capricorn.

1. If this character had to live in seclusion for six months, what six items would s/he bring? 
A Television, a laptop, a microwave, a blank photo frame, his wedding ring and his suit.

1. Why is this character angry? 
Because he gambles his life away.

1. What calms this character? 
Gambling.

1. Describe a recurring dream or nightmare this character might have. 
That he lives alone, then realising that it is his life.

1. List the choices (not circumstances) that led this character to his/her current predicament. 
Living poorly as a child, then working hard and getting a job, ignoring his friends and family, buying an expensive flat in London, then he begins gambling and has no family or friends.

1. List the circumstances over which this character has no control. 
His gambling addiction.

1. What wakes this character in the middle of the night? 
His fear of dying alone.

1. How would a stranger describe this character? 
Professional but reserved.

1. What does this character resolve to do differently every morning? 
Nothing, as he has a constant routine.

1. Who depends on this character? Why? 
No-one, because he doesn’t depend on anyone.

1. If this character knew s/he had exactly one month to live, what would s/he do? 
Gamble even more.

1. How would a dear friend or relative describe this character? 
Distant and alone.

1. What is this character’s most noticeable physical attribute? 
His strong facial features.

1. What is this character hiding from him/herself? 
Rejection from society and wanting to be a family man.

1. Write one additional thing about your character. 
Wears a wedding ring but is not married.

Drama Project

Initial Treatment

Below is our original treatment in which we pitched to the class, though through the process of further narrative development we have encountered various problems. We felt as a group that the concept wasn't viable because of the plot incoherence. I believe our attempt to draw significance to such a minor social issue would be illogical and unsuccessful.


A short drama that explores the struggle of three friends when the power cuts out and tension begins to rise. After swift negotiation it is decided that Desmond will embark to the corner shop to top up the power as the cold and isolation begins to set in at the house.
Narrative Development: The film begins with an introduction of the characters at their home, after establishing the group dynamic and learning a little about each of them by observing them in their ‘natural environment’ the electricity meter runs out, causing each of them a level of disruption. With this being the catalyst for the disequilibrium, it is decided by way of various methods i.e. rock, paper, scissors that Desmond, the most naive member of the group will go to the shop to top up the meter.
The middle of the film will revolve around the journey of Desmond, cutting back periodically to the two friends at home. Desmond, being a simpleton, is easily distracted on the way to the shop and takes a long time meaning that the two friends at home quickly get bored and begin trying to entertain themselves. When finally Desmond returns to his irritable friends it turns out he’s forgotten all about the electricity and has instead brought back some milk.
Through simple, light hearted comedy we’ll take this otherwise mundane task and transform it into a playful, feel good and relatable short film.
Visual Style: Considering the film is set at night, interior lighting is a key component to stylistic control. We hope to emulate Guy Richie films in terms of cinematography and mise-en-scene with smooth edits used throughout. Lighting and mise-en-scene will be tightly controlled in the house scenes where props will play a large part in telling the story eg. Candle melting away showing passing time/chessboard changing etc. Flashbacks will also play a major part in developing character construction, providing quick glances into the past of the characters. We plan to make use of alot of camera movement and homemade dollies eg. Rope around lampposts/boom pole tripod etc. To give the film a unique feel and keep viewer interest high.


Audience: We believe that this short would appeal to a wide audience, due to its relatable content however we are aiming the film at a mainly university student demographic. 

In the post production stages of the documentary we decided to keep an underlying music track throughout to keep a certain pace progressing swiftly from start to finish so that the dialogue never becomes monotonous, the first piece of music is diegetic sound from the interview and so links perfectly with the shots of James producing the track. 

We used two canon dslr's when filming and when the footage was compiled on final cut there was a noticeable difference between the two setups in terms of colour and so in the final editing stages I went through and colour corrected each clip. Overall we decided to increase the contrast to render a more vibrant aesthetic as we felt it was fitting in terms of the context. 

Shot List

Shot	Location	Shot Type	INT/EXT	Movement	Interviewee	Equipment
1	James Rand's Room	Medium Shot	Interior	Static	James Rand	Camera/Tripod
2	James Rand's Room	CU	Interior	Static	James Rand	Camera/Tripod
3	James Rand's Room	CU OTS	Interior	Static	James Rand	Camera/Tripod
4	James Rand's Room	CU of mixing equipment	Interior	Static	James Rand	Camera/Tripod
5	James Rand's Room	High angle	Interior	Static	James Rand	Camera
6	James Rand's Room	Medium OTS	Interior	Static	James Rand	Camera/Tripod
7	Peacocks Bar	Medium Shot	Interior	Static	Paul	Camera/Tripod
8	Peacocks Bar	CU of face	Interior	Static/Free hand	Paul	Camera
9	Peacocks Bar	Medium Long Shot of Peacocks Sign	Exterior	Static	Paul	Camera/Tripod
10	Peacocks Bar	Medium Shot of statue	Exterior	Static	Paul	Camera/Tripod
11	Peacocks Bar	Medium Shot	Interior	Static/Free hand	Paul	Camera
12	The Shipping Forecast	Medium Shot	Exterior	Static	Andy	Camera/Tripod
13	The Shipping Forecast	CU of face	Exterior	Static/Free Hand	Andy	Camera
14	Streets of Liverpool	Medium	Exterior	Static	n/a	Camera/Tripod
15	Streets of Liverpool	Long Shot (Building)	Exterior	Static	n/a	Camera/Tripod
16	Streets of Liverpool	CU (Simon Cowell (Graffiti)	Exterior	Static	n/a	Camera/Tripod
17	Streets of Liverpool	Medium Shot (Bar)	Exterior	Static	n/a	Camera/Tripod
18	Streets of Liverpool	Medium (Gig Posters)	Exterior	Static	n/a	Camera/Tripod
19	Streets of Liverpool	Long Shot (street/ posters)	Exterior	Static	n/a	Camera/Tripod
20	Streets of Liverpool	Push Focus (Street)	Exterior	Static	n/a	Camera/Tripod

Crew List 

Luke Wren - Producer 

George Beattie - Director 

Henry Vinten - Editor 

Joel Danby Irons - Sound Design 

Tom Newsham - Cinematographer