Production Diary: Action points and Preparation possibilities

To prepare for my film, I need to organise casting, locations, script, storyboard and narrative.

Progress so far:

So far the story, plot and narrative has been organised, and I also have some specific dialogue and shots in mind that I covered in my treatment. However, I still need to find out what locations I’m using and who will be playing what characters.

Casting:

As there will be a passage of time, I was considering using actors who are older than me. However, It will be easier to get actors who are of a similar age to me. Therefore, I think that the people working at the office will be mostly interns/apprentices, including the protagonist and the love-interest. I will ask my mum if she can be the woman, and her boyfriend to be the protagonist. I may have to use a wig to show that there has been a passage of time from when we see him in the past and the future. I can also ask him to shave his beard!

I have organised for my mum, Tracy Cairns, to be the love interest in the film and her boyfriend, Alistair Grant, to be the lead. I feel that their chemistry may play well on screen, putting less pressure on the dialogue and their delivery of it.

I also need to ask 2 or 3 other actors to play the co-workers and the office boss/manager. I was considering two friends from school as inters/apprentices, and my dad, Trevor Cairns, to be the unpleasant manager.

Trevor Cairns – The inconsiderate and passive-aggressive office manager.

Locations:

I will probably use my home kitchen for where the protagonist is applying for their job at the start and end of the film. I was considering using my dad’s office as a location for the office space, but I will need to check for permission by the people who own it. I will visit the location and see for myself how suitable it is for the script, as in if it is big enough, has a garden, table, etc. I will also need to organise how the actors will get there, and what areas I will be able to shoot in.

This is the sort of office space that I have in mind.

This is where I got inspiration for the bench-wide shot.

This is what I plan on one of the shots of the man at the start of the film on his laptop to look like.

Production Brief:

I have organised how I’m going to implement my production brief, a non-linear narrative, into the film. I am going to show a scene of two characters at the start, and these two are going to be later revealed towards the end. This will link up the beginning, is set in the future, and the end. It will reveal what happened after the final shot, and add meaning to the beginning.

Short Film Inspiration:

As part of this coursework, I need to take ideas from 90 minutes worth of the short films that we have watched. I have not planned exactly what these will all be, but some include the silent close up of the protagonist looking at the camera from Stutterer (Benjamin Cleary, 2015), the opening and ending shots from Curfew (Shawn Christiensen, 2012), the tracking shot from Pitch Black Heist (John Maclean, 2011), and the shot-reverse-shots from Connect (Samuel Abrahams, 2010).