Planning: casting consent

In order to gain full permission for our actors to be filmed on camera, we have used a consent form that the actors parents will need to sign. Both of the actors are not yet 18, and so are still under instructions from their parents; as a result we require a signature from the parents to authorise Nicole and Jay to be filmed and sed in our media coursework.
The consent form will include the date that we are filming and the locations that we are using so that in case of any emergency, they will be able to locate us. We may also include a phone number so that we are easily accessible incase they need to reach us - we haven't yet decided if we will do this.
If for some reason we cannot gain permission from their parents, we will have to postpone filming until we can find a replacement actor.
We have been provided with a consent school by the school, and as Nicole is a student at the same school as Megan and I, we will use this to meet the rules of the school; this is because we will be editing the content in school and so will need permission to do this while on the premises.

Planning: location consent

Similar to last year, we are filming in a location that will require permission because it is a private dwelling that will need written permission from the owner. This letter shows the owner of the house allowing us to use it on our scheduled filming day. When we are filming outside, we will have to ensure that we don't get anyone in the shots that we film as they won't have written permission to be included in it. 

Planning: Equipment

Planning: costumes

The clothing in our film trailer will vary due to the different types of scenes that we are shooting.
We want to create the most realistic feel possible to the film, and to make the scenarios as life like as we can, therefore we will use a variety of different outfits depending on the situation  the actors are in. In research that I have carried out, I have found that the clothing used in romance films aren't specific to the genre, and that the clothing the actors wear will depend on their personality/character that they are playing.

For the section of the film that involves the male character being in an office/work situation and showing that this is his job, we have decided to use a formal suit to show that he is in a business scenario in a formal environment. Suits have connotations of authority, which is a concept of abusive that is very prominent when it is shown. The presence of the suit will show that he is authoritative in the relationship, portraying that he is controlling towards his finance´.




We will be filming a couple of scenes outside for the film, and because of the time of year that we a re filming, it will be very cold for the actors. As a result, we have chosen for the actors to wear coats, boots, hats and scarves. We made this decision not for any reasons relating to the film trailer, but purely to ensure that the actors are warm and for practical reasons. It is something that we highlighted in our risk assessment document, so these costumes will help to reduce this risk.



To show the relaxed atmosphere in the relationship at the beginning of the trailer, the actors will wear casual clothing e.g. jogging bottoms or leggings and jumpers. This will show that they are comfortable in each others presence, and allow the audience to see this personal connection.

Planning: communication

Similar to last year, we have decided to use Facebook as our method of communication between me and Megan and both of our actors, Nicole and Jay. We felt that this was an effective way to discuss arrangements and plans for the scheduled filming day, as well as being able to update them on any changes made.We made sure that the groups setting were set on to private to make sure that no one else had access to any of the information that we were posting in the group chat, as this could be dangerous if a lot of people knew where we are and at what times. The Facebook group chat allows the messaging to be instant so if there are any changes or alterations made the members can be easily and quickly reached.

Creating the group chat on Facebook means that we can communicate our ideas about the costumes we need them to bring, and the basic plan of the film. It will also allow us to discuss any problems that we may encounter, and ensure that the actors can contact us if they have any problems with making the scheduled filming date or anything else related to the film.

As Jay doesn't go to the same school as myself, Megan and Nicole, we felt this would be the easiest way to include him in any discussions that we have revolving around the film.

Planning: final story

For the final draft of the story board, we have added multiple annotations so that we know how to interpret the shots on the day of filming, as well as added detail around the edges of the shots. On some of the ambiguous shots these notes will help us to understand our thought processes at the time of creating this story board and the composition of each shot. We have included arrows on some of the shots where there will be movement from the camera, e.g. panning, tracking or zooming, as this will mean we know which way to move the camera in order to get the bet shot possible. Each shot has a text box underneath, where we have written any diegetic sound that is to be included in the shots so that we remember to tell the actors when filming; this is because the majority of the sound from the characters will be the voice over/monologue that is recorded by the female character. 

Planning: basic storyboard

This is the first draft of our storyboard, which includes the shots we want to shoot and the sequence that we want them in. We haven't added any annotations or specific details as this is something that we need to discuss and go through to decide the extra details that we want. The areas of black show shots that are going to be fade to black, and there are some shots that haven't yet been decided so we have left them blank.

Planning: make up

For this film trailer, we haven decided that we need to incorporate theatrical make up in order to help us create the most realistic scenario possible and to portray the actions of abuse that are occurring in the relationships we are showing. This is different to what we did last year, as we didn't use any specific make up because it wasn't a necessary feature of the trailer. However, we feel that if we didn't use it this year it would reduce the impact that the trailer will have on the audience, which is something we don't want to happen as romance films are often emotionally engaging for the audience.


In order to represent the abuse that the female is suffering from, we need to show the physical tortures that she is experiencing. To help us to achieve this we are going to show a number of bruises and physical injuries towards the end of the trailer because this is where the abuse is more visible and prominent to the audience. To create this bruising, we will use a combination of purple and black eye shadow from this 'Naked Smokey" palette, perhaps with the addition of green to show the age of the bruises. We may have to buy some additional paint in order to show the extent of the bruising. We plan to have the injuries to the face and potentially the neck and arms as this will portray that he is being violent towards her and hurting her.

As the film trailer will show the innocence of the female as well as the decline in the mental well being and her , we are going to show shots of the female crying to help signify her feelings about the situation to the audience. At these shots, we will smudge her make up, mainly the mascara, to fully represent the emotions she is feeling; the audience won't fully be aware of the abuse she is experiencing so this will foreshadow the remainder of the trailer .

We haven't decided if we will use this last element of make up because there isn't any shots that have been storyboarded, however if we feel that there is a suitable moment to use it, we will use fake blood to portray the severity of the abuse that the female is experiencing and to show the audience her injuries.

Planning: call sheet 1

Date	Time	Aim	Actors	Equipment
11th December 2016	Filming will begin from around 10:00am in the morning and finish at around 4:00pm.	The aims for this day of filming is to complete all of the outdoor shots. We feel that this will take us all day because we have quite a lot of shots to film, and we wanted to complete them in natural daylight.	Both of the main actors will be present.	Panasonic HDC-SD700 camcorder. Velbon CX 888 tripod. 8GB Sandisk memory card. No props will be used during these outside scene.

Planning: casting

For our film trailer, we are going to be using two actors as the trailer will be solely based on their relationship. Due to the nature of our film, we felt that our actors needed to be comfortable in each others company  and with certain romantic scenes. In order to achieve this we decided that we would try to cast actors who are actually already in a relationship as the romantic and abusive scenes will be easier to film if they are comfortable with each other. The two actors will be a male and female, as this will help to portray the serious downfall of a stereotypical relationship.

The age of the actors ideally needs to be young adults, however as neither Megan or I know anyone that would be able to help, we have made the decision to cast actors who are around 17/18 years old. We also wanted to cast the actors knowing that they have previous acting background so that we can portray the trailer in as real a situation as possible, with the skill of the actors helping us achieve this.


Physically, the male will need to look tall and strong in order to portray the fact that he holds a power over the female and that he is superior to her; as a result of this main criteria, we casted Jay as we felt that he met these aims. Jay carried out GCSE drama 2 years ago, and was a student who achieved an A overall; this was a second reason why we chose to cast him as our male actor as his previous experience with acting will help when filming. Because the nature of our film is a very sensitive topic and something that needs to be handled with care, we feel that having a person who has had experience with acting will help to portray the most realistic representation of what we are trying to show the target audience.

For the female actor, we have used Nicole, a GCSE and A level drama student, who achieved grade A's for both levels of education.  Nicole is in a relationship with Jay, which is one of the reasons why we cast them together, as we think that their current relationship will help to portray a natural chemistry on screen, which is something that can be extremely difficult to achieve in romance films. She is a very passionate drama student, and often takes part in a number of extra curricular drama workshops, and was part of this years school production. Due to her avid interest in drama, we feel that this will be represented in her portrayal of the abused character.

Planning: props

For our film trailer, we are going to use a number of props that will help us to reflect the situation that we are trying to achieve. Some of the props that we plan to use will be things that we already have, however some will be items that we need to purchase, for example the flowers.
The first prop we will use is n the closing scenes of our film trailer, where we will see the female character sitting on the sofa with a suitcase next to her. This follows the abuse that will be shown, and the suitcase will represent that the female wants to leave her husband after the aggression that he displays towards her, showing the tone of the film.


A second prop that we will aim to use is a bunch of flowers, which will be present in the first half of the trailer when the relationship is healthy, and the male brings the female flowers to show that he loves her. This is a stereotypical convention of romance films, as flowers are generally seen as being a romantic gesture to the person they love. It will also show that at this stage in their relationship they are happy and there are no problems between each other.
It will shown the audience the positive side of the relationship before we introduce the violence.

We will also use an engagement ring in the trailer, as this will help us to represent the seriousness of the relationship and how in love the two characters are. Conventionally, engagement rings signify the feelings between two people, and will also show that the couple are happy together; something that changes later on in the film trailer.





In order to effectively show that the husband has an alcohol addiction and to portray that their happy relationship is deteriorating, we are going to use alcohol cans to show that the male has been drinking and that it is affecting their relationship. In some scenes the cans may be crushed to show his anger, and there will be low angle shots and low key lighting to represent the mood.






In order to portray a stressful work situation, we are going to use a laptop to represent the stereotypical objects that are seen in an office environment. the use of modern technology will also signify the time in which the trailer is set in. We may also show the husband slamming the laptop shut in frustration, which will represent his anger to the audience


One of the final props that we are going to use is a stack of papers; this will show to the audience the amount of work that the male has to carry out at work, which is causing his stress and alcoholism. A heavy workload may create sympathy for him as the audience may be able to relate to his situation.

Planning: risk assessment

Risk or hazard	Risk level: low/medium/high	How to avoid risk/hazard
Damage to equipment	High	Take very high precautions when handling the equipment in particular when we are shooting the outside scenes, as this may cause more damage. Keeping the equipment in the appropriate cases when not in use as this will help to protect them from any damage or harm.
Cold/ icy conditions	Medium	We will make sure that when the actors are shooting the outside scenes, that they are wearing warm clothing as due to the time of year it will be cold outside. They also need to be wearing appropriate footwear to avoid that have good grip to reduce the possibility of a slipping hazard.
Smashed glass	High	We will ensure that when we are filming scenes with the glass bottles that we take extra care when handling to avoid dropping them on the floor. In case of an emergency we will make sure that we have a first aid kit on hand for any minor injuries that may occur. If there any severe injuries, we will ensure that we follow safety procedures by calling the emergency services.
Inappropriate weather conditions on scheduled outdoors filming day	Low	If the weather is not appropriate for filming, in order to avoid damaging the equipment or risking the actors safety we will postpone the filming day to another time where we know the weather will be suitable.
Loss of communication	Medium	We will ensure that we use our Facebook group chat to inform our actors of all the details of the days filming, and update with the latest information in case of anything changing. We will communicate what the actors will need on the day of shooting, and make sure that we are always available for if they need to ask any questions about the film. We will also have a backup phone number so if we are unable to contact one of the actors there will be another way of communicating with them.
Lights falling	High	When filming indoors, we will make sure that that lights are set up safely and that all loose cables are covered to avoid tripping hazards. Also when filming is taking place we will ensure that everyone is stood a safe distance away from the lights so that if for some reason the lights fall, they are a safe distance away to react and stay safe.
Physical harm	Low	When filming the scenes that contain abuse, we will need to ensure that the actors know how to realistically make their physical actions seem real, without causing harm to anyone.