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Locations/ Settings

When preparing for the filming of our Teen RomCom opening scene, my group assigned me the role of researching different possible locations for the filming. After looking at the questionnaire filled out by our target audience it was clear to see that they would like our opening to be set in a school with some possible scenes in a home. With this information I set out finding the perfect settings for our opening scene. I had a general idea of what settings would be necessary for our opening scene because of our storyboards however there is always room for adjustment so i was keeping my eyes opening for all possible settings.

Treatment

Front of Sixth Form

For our film opening, as it is set in a school, I thought that it would be best if we start off the scene with an establishing shot. The best place to show the audience where it is set would be with a shot of the front of a sixth form as it is a very stereotypical building in terms of what a school looks like. Also it is very accessible as we do not have to book out the area as it is not used for any lessons or activities. And we can access it throughout the day.

Howdale Park

Another possible locations for our opening scene is the Howdale Park. It is local to downham just opposite the sixth form meaning it is accessible for us t o film there. Also it is a public area meaning we do not need any permission to film there. So if we wanted to film here there would not be a problem however when considering the questionnaire results and our storyboard it doesn't seem likely that we will film here.

Sixth Form Library

One strong contender for a possible location for our opening scene would be the sixth form library. in our storyboard we actually have planned it so that we first meet our main character in the library to show what sort of person/ student she is (nerdy). However, in order to film in the library we will have to get special permission from the librarian Frankie. But once we have permission I believe the library will be the best location for the start of our opening scene.

Stairs

One of the locations that may be used in our film opening may be the stairs. This is a possible location as we really would like to film in the library for part of our opening scene and the stairs are one of the several entrances to the library. However, it all depends on whether we decide to film on the second floor or the first floor of the library. If it turns out we want to film on the first floor then the stairs will not be needed.

Kitchen

When thinking about possible locations that could feature in our opening scene, a house came into my mind as it is common to see maybe the main characters house in a Teen RomCom as a way of getting to know the character. The house we would use is mine as it is close to sixth form in downham so is only a short walk away. As my mum is a childminder she may be working during the day when we may want to film. Therefore, we may need to notify my mum when we would like to film so that she can work around us. This would mean that we do not disturb each other working. 

Classroom

Another locations that looks to be a very strong contender for a location in our opening scene would be a classroom. The classroom we would film in is R4 as we know it very well as our media room so we will not have any problems filming there. The use of classrooms is very common in Teen RomComs as the school setting is a very common one and and a good way to capture the school environment would be by filming in a classroom.   

Corridor 

A location that we could possibly use for our opening scene is various corridors around the school. The one featured in the picture is the corridor opposite all the R rooms. However, we are likely to use several other corridors such as the corridors in the library. This is great to capture the school environment as when you think of school a corridor is one of the first things that comes to mind.

Outside Sixth Form Area

The Outside Form Area is a very likely area for our group to film at as we want to have a group of people sitting around there on benches to allow the audience to meet some of the characters in the film. We have written this down on our storyboards as a locations we will film at so we are pretty sure that we will use this as a location for our opening scene.

Toilet

A good location that we feel will be good to use in our opening scene is a toilet. The use of a toilet will allow us to use comedic methods such as scatterlogical references. This will be perfect for our opening scene as our film is a Teen RomCom which means we need to get that sort of comedic element into our opening scene. To get permission to film in this location I think we will have to speak with Mrs Hornby and whilst film in the toilets place a sign on the door describing what is happening and asking people to not disturb us.

Canteen

One of the possible locations that could be used in our opening scene would be the school canteen. The reason for this is that a school canteen is usually scene as a very social place for students in the school. This can really help capture the school environment and really help the audience get to know what the environment is like.

Dining Room

Much like for the kitchen, the dining room would be a good way of getting to know the character if we were to use it as a location. If the audience sees the characters house it can show them what kind of life they live and if it is a typical house the audience can relate. Again, much like in the kitchen, we would have to let my mum know when we are filming as she works from home a childminder so we will not want to get in our her way.  

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Conclusion

After looking at all the possible locations I had collected and having several discussions with our storyboards at hand, my group and I decided which locations would be best to use in our opening scene to please our audience. Also which one would match best with our storyboards so that we can make the opening scene that we want to make. The locations we decided on were:

  • The Outside Sixth Form Area

  • The Front of Sixth Form

  • The RL Block Corridor

  • The Toilet

  • The Library

The reason we have chosen these locations is that all these locations will help our group create the most accurate film opening in relation to our storyboards that we can, they are all easily accessible and we will cause little disruption to any sixth form lessons when filming and they will help build the school environment that we are striving to achieve with this Teen RomCom opening scene.

Costumes

For the popular characters in our opening scene my group and I wanted their costumes to be fashionable, casual clothing to show they are up to date with the latest trends. For example I have a photo of Zac Oakley's costume:

Filming

When it came to filming for our film opening scene my group and I wanted a sunny day to film on as we wanted high key lighting to keep a happy comfortable atmosphere and to fit the conventions of the Teen RomCom genre. 

 

We also needed a day when we were all free to film, both us and our actors. We first checked the weather apps on our phones and found that Thursday 16th February was going to be a sunny day. As well as this, that date was during the February Half-Term so no one would have any 6th form lessons on that day. We messaged our actors for confirmation that they were available that day, which they were, and we made the final decision to film on that day.

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The camera in which we are going to film on is Caleb's own camera. The reason for this is that Caleb's camera is of a much better quality than the schools own. The sound quality that the camera picks up is much better than the schools own and this is important as ambient sound is a very important factor in the Teen RomCom genre.

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We will not film in chronological order, we will get all the scene that are outside complete first  whilst the sun is out as it could change at any point so we need to make the most of it.starting with the establishing shot of the school, it is important that we get that shot completed as it is the hardest shot of all the shots needed as we are using a drone. After this we will move to the library and all the other shot that will take place inside as we can use artificial light if the sun were to go in so we would not have any problems. 

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If we do not get all filming complete, which we have predicted will be the case, we have all agreed that we can film the rest of those shots  once we are back after half term. As well as the shots that we will need to film for the first time, we will also take time once we are back after half term to re shoot some shots that we arent as happy with to then replace for our final cut. 

Actors

When preparing for the production of our film opening, my group and I had to find suitable actors to play the roles of our characters, as caleb takes A-level drama we decided that he would be the best person to find actors. He knows many people who also took drama who would be willing to help . The main roles in which needed to be filled for our film opening were as follows:

  • Laci Allen

  • Zac Oakley

  • Nerdy Girl

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Laci Allen

For the character of Laci Allen we needed a powerful, pretty and intimidating women who could play the part of a bitchy popular girl. Caleb asked around and came to the final conclusion that Lauren Ring a good friend of his who also takes A-level drama (currently in her second year). She has experience in playing a character to similar to Laci Allen in that she played Talula in a DMA production of Bugsy Malone. After consulting with Holly and I ( the rest of the team) we agreed that Lauren would be great for the role.

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Zac Oakley

For the character of Zac Oakley we needed a confident, good looking and approachable character who could play the part of a kind popular boy. Caleb first looked at asking Daniel Clark who unfortunately was unable to play the part as he didn't feel comfortable playing the role so as a result of this he then turned to me to play the role of Zac Oakley. We discussed it as a group and as I was more than happy to do it for the group we decided that I myself would play the role of Zac Oakley.

 

Nerdy Girl

For the character of Nerdy Girl we needed someone who could play an insecure, nerdy and quiet character who was unpopular. Caleb asked around all his drama friends and he came up with the idea of asking Jazz Long. She is a good friend of his and is a great actress ( being given the lead role in the DMA production of Bugsy Malone). She also takes A-level drama and is in her second year. He came to us to discuss the role and we all came to the agreement that she would be great for the role.

 

Zac wears a blue bomber jacket as it is one of the current trends.

It is a very casual piece of clothing and perfectly portrays what we want the clothing to do. 

Zac has a white t-shirt as it connotes that under all the popularity ( the bomber) he is actually a decent person.

Zac wears black skinny jeans as they too are part of the latest trends as opposed to flare jeans several years ago. 

The colour black is to show his possible rebellious side which could help explain his popularity.

The shoes in which Zac wears in the opening scene are expensive, cool fashionable Adidas NMD's. This is a very important element of the costumes as good quality shoes are very much a trend at this point in time

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