R&P Post 10: Reflections so far/looking ahead

Reflections so far: So far I think that we have worked really well as a group and have achieved a lot in short length of time. We have managed our time effectively and from doing this we have met all our deadlines. It has been really interesting to see how much our film opening has developed from a small starting idea.

Looking ahead: I am looking forward to actually starting to try out the shots and see how they work. I am expecting that in the test shoot we will find some new ideas which can be incorporated into our opening. Through this phase of pre-production I have realised how important it is to have a clear idea of audience and genre which will hopefully be evident in our finished project.

R&P Post 9: Our script

Film Opening Treatment

Below is the script for our opening sequence:

Our Script

Todorov's Theory

Binary opposites

Olamide wrote the script and then we all gave feedback and critiqued it so it could be redrafted. We used narrative theory through our script as it clearly sets out our character and the use of a voice-over illustrates Craig's inner thoughts and feelings. We have also used Todorov's theory by having Craig's normality and equilibrium interrupted by a disruption in the film opening which will then go onto be resolved in the film and it will end with a new equilibrium. We also used Levi Strauss theory of binary opposites by having an introvert and open gay teenager and also Craig is "socially awkward" which juxtaposes the loud socially confident bullies. 

R&P Post 8: Our opening sequence idea, to include sound and titles

The lake

Opening Sequence:

Our opening sequence begins with Craig getting ready in the morning and then he goes for a walk round the lake. We see him writing in his notebook at different points of the opening which is explained in the voice over as where he writes down all his thoughts and feelings. The end of our opening sees the future love interest being abused by bullies and Craig changing from being an introvert to standing up for David.

The notebook

Our titles: 

I was inspired by the website Art of the Title: Art of the Title Website

From my research on this website I learnt about the role titles play in clearly illustrating actors and institutions to an audience. I also learnt that titles normally follow an order of introducing the institutions, actors then director and film title.

A key film reference we used was 'Elephant'. For example, the opening titles begin with:

• HBO Films presents
• In association with Fine Line Features
• A Meno Film and Blue Relief Production
• Elephant
• [Actor's names]

We used this as the inspiration for our titles (which can be seen below) but adapted it as we wanted to have our film title at the end.

• Produced with Film 4 
• and the UK British Film Council
• In association with BFI.
• Quak Films
• Introducing Reuben Wooley 
• Alex Harris
• Georgina Harper-Dennett
• Directed by Olamide Ajisafe
• Produced Phoebe Hung 
• 'aglet'

In regards to style we liked 'Elephant' because of its simple font and the fact that the actors names were in columns which looked like squares which we will hopefully use in our opening. We also liked how the titles appeared on the sky not a black screen which is done in some film opening titles. We will try to incorporate our titles into some of our scenic shots.

Sound:

The song we are using is the acoustic version of James Bay's -Let It Go (which one of our group members will play).

We are also using the sound effects of a punch and a vinyl playing. 

R&P Post 7: Our film's title and plot outline

Our film title is 'Aglet'. An aglet is the plastic or metal tube around the end of a shoe lace. Our original ideas focused around it being quite an obscure thing that is important in everyday life but is not thought about often- paralleling how abuse towards gay people is not thought about a lot.

Our film title took a very long time to be decided on as we could not really think of a title that suited our film or one that we all liked the sound of- this was probably one of the most difficult parts of the whole process.

The plot follows our teenage gay protagonist Craig who is coming to terms with his life and being gay. He is in the closet but meets and falls in love with David who is openly gay. Craig's love for David begins unrequited but over the course of the film it begins to be reciprocated and they end the film in a strong relationship with each other. An influence for this was the idea of the conventional 'boy meets girl' scenario which we have adapted to suit our narrative and target audience.

R&P Post 6: Our chosen genre and how we plan to connote this

The genres we have chosen for our film are:

• British Indie
• Drama
• Romance
• Coming of Age

British Indie: To connote this we will use the grading (orange and blue) to give it a slight sepia and cold feel. Some British Indie films focus on less mainstream topics. Arguably the best mainstream film focusing on gay people was 'Brokeback Mountain'  which was created over ten years ago in 2005.

A very well known drama

Drama: To connote this we will focus on the main idea of what the genre of drama is which is serious in tone focusing on the development of realistic
characters who have to deal with real and emotional struggles. For example, our protagonist has to deal with the fact that he is gay and the struggles this creates for him.

Romance: The conventions are a 'boy meets girl' scenario which we have changed to 'boy meets boy'. A romance film follows a romantic journey in which the lovers have to overcome many obstacles which we show in our opening as one of them is verbally and physically abused.

Boyhood- a very famous coming of age film

Coming Of Age: This is a sub genre for our film. The conventions of it are focusing on a person transitioning from childhood, through adolescence to adulthood-but we focus on our characters transitioning only from being a teenager to young adult and learning more about themselves. Coming Of Age films also tend to emphasise dialogue and internal monologues over the action both of which we have used in our opening.

R&P Post 5: How we plan to attract/address our target audience

Our film's target audience are members of the LGBT community and we plan to attract them through the use of a strong gay protagonist which is seen through the voice over, for example he says: "(interjects into fight) (anxiously) Just leave off." and how he stands up for the other gay character in the opening sequence.

We also plan to attract our target audience by making Craig someone that all people can relate to, as we have all felt awkward or felt that we don't fit into society's expectations at some point in our lives. The certificate of our film is a 15 so we would use this to attract our target audience of teenagers and older.

To attract our wider audience of a British audience we will use the gratification and uses theory through the use of British actors and settings.

R&P Post 4: Representation of social groups in our opening sequence

The social group we have chosen to represent in our opening sequence is gay teenagers- so we have used a gay protagonist (Craig). We have decided to show gay people in a positive light and we made our main character not the stereotype of 'camp' but more an introvert artistic guy. He is reticent but he uses a diary to write down all his thoughts and feelings.

Oliver Tate- 'Submarine'

A key influence for our main character was Oliver Tate in 'Submarine'. He is an awkward, bullied teenager who wants his life to be "[followed by a film crew]". He doesn't fit in much like our protagonist and is bullied for being weird so is therefore labelled 'gay'.


We have decided not to have Craig portrayed as victimised as gay characters are in many representations because we wanted to show him as a normal guy and illustrate how being gay should not make you stick out in society. Despite our protagonist being awkward in society and feeling like he does not fit in we do not want him to be seen as weak so in the opening sequence we see him having to no longer be an introvert but stand up and defend another gay teenager.

R&P Post 3: Our production and distribution institutions

Production:

Our Production Company is called QUAK Films which is a British company based in London. We decided that our company would specialise in films that feature members of the LGBT community and ethnic minorities as we believe that they are still under represented in film. The wider impact this has had on the progress of our film is making it more centered on the LGBT community.

Distribution:

Our Distribution Company is Film 4 which is a British company. Film 4 has supported many British films such as 'Suffragette' and '12 Years a Slave'. We also have funding from the BFI Film Fund and will premiere at the BFI Film Festival London. BFI is the largest film fund in the UK and invests "over £26M of lottery funds to support film development, production and distribution activity in the UK."

R&P Post 2: Our Target Audience

Primary Audience:

The LGBT Flag

Our primary (core) audience is members of the LGBT society. We hope that our film would attract them as it centres around two gay protagonists. LGBT people are under-represented in film and tv and are sometimes only included as novelty characters, so by having the whole film focus around one gay man we would hope to attract a large audience. The other part of our primary audience is people aged late teenage years and older. This is because our protagonist is a teenager so we would hope that that would attract people of a similar and slightly older age.

Secondary Audience:

Submarine-the main influence for our film

Our secondary audience and wider market is fans of the genre which is romance, drama and coming-of-age. There is a love story which unwinds throughout and it follows the emotional journey of one man who is openly gay and one who is a closeted gay and the coming-of-age aspect is seen when he falls in love and subsequently comes out of the closet. Another part of the secondary audience is British people. It is a British Indie film and is set in Britain, with British actors and British accents so would hopefully appeal to them.

Our ideal audience

R&P Post 1: How we intend to work as a group

In our first group meeting we decided to meet each week on Wednesday and Friday at 3:55-4:55 in the media department to work on our project.

We have agreed that we will arrive on time, work efficiently and will complete any tasks that we set ourselves meeting the deadline. If we are ill we have decided to let the group know immediately and we will find out what work/decisions we have missed. We also set up a Facebook group where we post ideas, questions and images and comment on them.