Planning: Location Scouting

Bench Scene:
This will be a tracking shot moving around the girls  in a semi-circular shape as they sit on a bench, facing away from the camera. We will film this in a garden in front of an old looking house. This will represent the girls looking back at their memories as some of the flashbacks will be filmed inside. We have chosen the location below as the garden in front of the house is large enough for us to maneuver around the bench in a large enough circle. It is also very accessible to us as we will be filming in my own garden.

Flashbacks
We will be filming these scenes in rural, remote areas. The location we will use is along the main road of Middleton Cheney village. As not many people will be walking along this street, we will be able to reenforce the idea that these events may just be taking place in the mind of Character 1. This is also very convenient for filming as it is not far away from the house where we will be filming other scenes and therefore it will be easier to transport equipment and actors to and from different sets.

Some of the flashback will also be filmed inside. For these we will make the scenes appear cosy by including props such as cushions and blankets. Many of these scenes will be filmed in the living room shown below, however others will be filmed elsewhere. For example in one scene Character 1 will be staring at herself in the bathroom mirror examining her reflection.

Planning: The Treatment

Our film will be following the story of two best friends as there relationship falls apart and one of them slowly becomes more vacant and empty. We will follow their story through flashbacks, beginning with fond memories and then slowly turning into confusing scenes and arguments as one of the girl's mental health deteriorates. These flashbacks will appear during a continuous shot of the two character sat on a bench facing away from the camera. The camera will start from directly behind the girls and will then begin to move anti-clockwise around them in a semi circle. As the camera gets closer to the faces of the characters the flashback will become more unpleasant and sad. Finally the camera will move slowly around the front of the girls to reveal the main protagonist sat alone. A close up will reveal her vacant look and hollow, dead face as looks directly into the camera, breaking the fourth wall, and the screen transitions to black. The themes of friendship, death, mental trauma and loneliness will all be present in this opening.

There will be two characters in our film. Character 1 is the main protagonist, who will experience mental trauma and Character 2 is her friend. The first character begins the film as a ordinary, happy teenage girl (around 16 years of age). We see through her memories that her friend holds strong significance in her life and that they are very close. It will be Character 1's memories that the audience witnesses and therefore her emotional responses in the scenes will be important and accordingly focused on.  Character 2 will be of the same age and will also appear perfectly normal and pleasant. However in later flashbacks she will jitter in and out of existence, confusing the audience and leading them to question her authenticity.
In later scenes Character 1's deterioration will be shown through her skin becoming paler and dark circles forming under her eyes. Her clothing will also change as she stops wearing bright colours and begins to favour black and grey clothes instead.
We decided to make both characters female as they are typically seen in film as the innocent ones who must be protected. Therefore there will be more impact on the deterioration of our protagonist as the audience will sympathise with her fragility as a female. Her age will also identify with our target audience and therefore provoke even more sympathy from the viewer.

For the extended scene of the girls sat on a bench, we will be filming in a large garden in front of an old looking house. This will represent her looking back at past memories as we will also be filming some of the memories inside in a home environment. For the flashbacks that are set outside we will be filming in a remote, rural area. The scenes will take place on quiet streets and around small village estates. This will make the memories more personal as it will only be the two characters in the scenes, with no interruption from anyone else. This will also reinforce the possibility that these events could just be taking place in the imagination of Character 1 as no one else is present. We will use natural lighting and will be filming during the day so that the scenes appear realistic.
Other flashbacks will be filmed inside as we will be recreating happy events such as the girls watching a film together. For these scenes the location will be a living room. We will use props of cushions and blankets to make the scenes appear more cosy which will reinstate the fact that the girls were both comfortable and happy in these times.
The darker, melancholy flashbacks will be set inside as well so that we can alter lighting more effectively. For these the tone and lighting will be dull and moody in order to fit the mental state of the character. We will also be filming some of these scenes in the bathroom where Character 1 will be staring at herself in the mirror, looking disorientated. The lighting for this scene will be stark and harsh, similar to that of a hospital, as she is examining her reflection. 

We will be using a large variety of shots in our production. For the bench scene we will use medium tacking shot to move around the girls in semi-circular shape. For the memories we will use close up shots to show the emotions of the characters, especially in the more melancholy scenes as this is where Character 1's mental deterioration begins. A close up shot will also be used as the last shot, showing Character 1 looking vacant and dead and then looking directly into the camera, breaking the fourth wall. We will also use over the shoulder shots for some scenes to show the perspective of Character 1 so that the audience has an insight into what she is seeing and therefore what may be happening in her mind. We will be using still shots but also fast pans and quick movements during the argument scene between the two characters in order to bring a disorientating feeling to the scene. 

During the post-production process we will edit the tone of scenes depending on the mood they are designed to give off. For example we will put dull, grey tones on top of the more depressing memories and warmer, brighter tones on top of the happier ones. We will also add in white and black flashes as transitions between clips to represent gaps in the character's memory. They will also be used to transition in between the bench scene and memories. 


 

Pre-production: Communication.

In order to discuss film ideas, such as visual representation, sound effects and score, myself and Lucy use a Facebook chat platform to exchange ideas when we are not together in person. Here we transfer ideas such as possible shots and camera angles, sound effects and score, makeup, props and locations. This is effective as we can exchange pictures and screen shots so that we can clearly, visually, represent our ideas for our film. This therefore ensures that we work as a team and the final production is a is a product of our equally combined efforts. 

To communicate with our actors we have a separate Facebook group chat in which we discuss possible filming times and locations and what they should bring to the set. This is efficient and effective as it allows us to discuss as a group and therefore avoid confusion as to what we are doing and when we are doing it. Likewise it is an instant form of communication and is therefore fast and means that anyone can be reached quickly if changes need to be made.  It also allows for the actors to contribute their personal thoughts towards our film as we can then alter and improve our ideas as our cast also fall into our target audience.  

Pre-production: Casting

Characters

Character 1
This is the main protagonist of the story. The plot surrounds this character as we watch her mental and physical deterioration progress throughout our film opening. This character enters the story as a happy, healthy and relatable teenager and then slowly transforms into a vacant shadow of her former self. This character experiences deep mental trauma and by the end of our production she will look both desperate and intimidating, thus stirring emotions of both fear and pity within the audience.

Character 2
This is the 'friend' of our main protagonist. This character will be used as a tool to provoke questions from the audience as to what the reality of these character's situation really is. This character also delivers the main psychological element to our thriller film. This character is introduced as the best friend of our protagonist and through fond and happy memories we see that these two girls are perfectly ordinary and full of life. Then in later recollections we see the girl flash in and out of memories and begin to have violent arguments with Character 1. This will juxtapose her previous representation and therefore create doubt and hesitation within the audience. However, whilst we see our main protagonist's psychical state worsen, this character will remain normal, thus leading the viewer to question her legitimacy and whether she is actually there or a figment of the protagonist's imagination.   

Character 1 - Lauren Barlow 





We have chosen Lauren for this role as she is currently studying musical theatre at Stratford college so therefore has both experience and a strong understanding of representing different characters. She has played many different roles and therefore we felt that she would be able to recognise the darker and more complex sides of this character and thus be able to represent her in a way that is effective with our plot line. She also has the visual characteristics that we were looking for as she is a healthy, relatable, young girl. 








Character 2 - Lauren Bricknell




We chose Lauren as our second protagonist as she also is studying Musical theatre at college as has a very broad understanding of character representation as she has taken on a variety of different roles. We also feel that she will understand the character traits that we are trying to get across with our plot and will therefore represent them well. Again she is also visually appropriate for the character as she is also a healthy, familiar, young girl. 

Planning: Costumes

Happy Memories/ Flashbacks 

In these scenes both characters will be wearing ordinary, comfortable clothes, so that a sense of realism can be enforced in these memories. We will also try to include clothes that have pops of colour, such as the pink coat shown in the mood board, so that connotations of life and joy are brought into the scenes. By doing this we hope to create an understanding between our characters and target audience. This will also make them seem innocent and will therefore lull the audience into a false sense of security as they feel that the traumatic events that are to follow, could not possibly happen to these two day-to-day girls. This also contradicts the ways in which characters are typically represented in the thriller genre, as these girls do not appear to be victims or villains at this point in the story, thus confusing the audience further and re-enforcing the psychological elements of the story. 

Dark/ Disturbing Flashbacks

For the more melancholy scenes, the costumes of Character 1 will change slightly. The idea of comfortable everyday clothing will remain, however will we exchange brighter colours for black and grey tones. This will visually emphasise her weak mental state, as she will begin to take less pride in her appearance as she begins to lose who she really is in her state of confusion. Also black and grey connote death, grief and depression, which again will re-instate the change in personality of our protagonist. 
Character 2, however, will remain in the same style clothing as in the previous scenes. This is because her existence is not supposed to be clearly understood by the audience. She remains a constant figure in all of the scenes and shows little sign of character development as she is no more than a figment of Character 1's imagination or a shadow of a girl that once lived. 







Bench scenes

This will be the continuous shot panning around the girls anti-clockwise whilst they are sat on the bench. In this shot both characters will be facing away from the camera and their figures will resemble silhouettes, Therefore they will both be wearing very dark or black clothing. As this shot will be reappearing in between each flashback and will be the only scene that is occurring in the present, it will create a sense of enigma from the very beginning of the film. The black will help bring forward ideas of death, fear and grief, which will later be represented with the mental breakdown of Character 1.  However in the early stages of the film this will juxtapose the happy memories and will put doubt into the mind of the viewer. 

Pre-production: Call Sheet

Initial Planning - Makeup

Our film opening will include a series of flashbacks, either expressing happy memories of more dark moments. These flashbacks will alternate with a single continuos shot moving anti-clockwise around the two main protagonists sat on a bench. 

Happy Flashbacks / Memories

The two main characters in these scenes will be wearing healthy and simple makeup. The aim for the appearance of these girls is to make them look innocent and ordinary, so excessive makeup will not be necessary.  I will use products that will enhance the features of the girls, such as blush, mascara and foundation, in the aim of making them look as healthy as possible. Also we will use products such as eyeliner and eyeshadow to make the eyes of the first character more prominent as later in the sequence her eyes will appear dead and drawn, so by purposely creating this juxtaposition, the characters descent into insanity and depression will be more apparent to the audience. 

Dark Flashbacks 
For these scenes one of the girls will gradually be deteriorating in health, (character 1). In the final flashbacks I will be using purple and red toned colours in order to create dark under eye shadows and dead looking skin. I will also add dark grey-toned brown shades to contour beneath her cheekbones in order to make her overall face look drawn and void. I will do all of this in the aim of making the character look sad and cold to emphasise the emotional trauma and deterioration that she is experiencing.  

Final shot
The final shot will be of Character 1 sat alone on the bench. In this scene she will have to look extremely sad and desperate in order to create sympathy within the audience. This will also make the viewer question her mental state and wonder whether her friend died, or if she was ever real, as she now sits on the bench alone. However she will also look slightly unnerving, so that tension is created within the audience thus making sure that our production will fit within the genre of a psychological thriller. For this scene I will replicate the makeup that I have used in the flashback however it will be more exaggerated so that an element of fear can be introduced.