The Filming Process - Improved Script

written by Elena Antoniades and Anna Philona

As we were filming the scenes of our first storyline we were basing them using our draft script, which was written by Anna Philona and can be viewed via our group blog. Though we immediately felt this needed to be changed as the performance of realism was not being portrayed and these lines seemed unnatural. We wanted to achieve a scene that would reflect real life and a continuous flow, therefore we changed the script.

SCRIPT

Characters: Maria and Dervish,

played by Anna and Dervish are sitting on the sofa, Dervish leans in to kiss Anna he senses that something is wrong though still leans in to kiss her. Anna is hesitant and pushes him away.

Dervish; (reacts)

Anna; I need to tell you something

Dervish; Why, whats up?

Anna; You Know... (pause)

Dervish; reacts (looks on floor)

Anna; You know what I mean (pause), I don't think I'm ready for it yet.

(pause)

Dervish; I'm not going to false you to do something you don't want to. (pause) Whenever your ready. (trails off)

(Both look around followed by an awkward silence)

Anna; I bought the perfect dress for Joanna's party tonight, I cant wait.

Dervish; I'm sorry I cant make it

Anna; Don't worry

(Scene ends)

The Filming Process: Day 1 Gallery

These are a series of photographs from our first filming day, they vary from the characters in action to shots being filmed.

Me filming the scene of *Maria collapsed on the bed, this had to be re-shot a couple of times due to lighting and shadows ruining it. We tried filing from long shot, tracking the rapist walking towards Maria and also zooms close-up to her face.





The couple practising their lines and body language before recording live footage in order to allow them to become comfortable with each other and represent realism.






Fellow group member Shadei filming the shots of the rapist entering the bedroom. She filmed close-ups of the hand turning the key to create suspense.


Shadei creating the party atmosphere using a variety of different props ranging from disco balls to fairy lights.






These photographs show me filming the couple conversation scene, I used a tripod in order to produce a clear steady shot. The filmed the scene in three different ways. Firstly from front ways of the couple showing both their bodies, secondly close-ups from Dervish's point if view and lastly close-ups from Maria's point of view. The reason I done this was due to the fact that when editing we ill have a variety of different shots to choose from.



Here shows Shadei having a second go at filming the rapist scenes.

This photograph shows myself setting up the camera on the tripod to find the right position.

Lastly this photograph shows Maria and Dervish rehearsing their lines just before shooting the scene this was essential in order for the filming to run smoothly and prevent any time being wasted.

The Filming Process: Day 1

Today was our first filming day, all group members were present and fulfilled a role. Anna Philona played the main character of the teen *Maria, Anna.C carried out the job of assistant director whilst myself and Shadei swapped roles of Director and filming throughout the day.

We choose to shoot all the scenes of the celibate teen getting raped on one day while next weekend we will be shooting the whole storyline of the religious cultural clash. Although we will be producing a short clip trailer we still decided that it would be more effective if we filmed many different shots to achieve the best possible overall outcome.

We began the first scene of the couple *Maria and *Dervish talking on the sofa. Though we had a draft script this was immediately improvised and changed as we realised it seemed too unnatural and it didn't seem to flow. Once the script was changed the acting improved dramatically establishing realism. For this scene we took both close up front shots of the two characters and also over the shoulder shots to emphasis the tension and awkward feelings the two were feeling - which could be discovered from the looks and actions of them. This scene took the longest and was the only one which involved dialogue.

The next part of the storyline was the party scene. We improvised greatly on mise en scene here - we darkened my room, used; bottles, glasses of drinks, spot lights, disco ball, fairy lights all as props to create a realistic effect. This worked out better than imagined though it was hard to produce the illusion that this party was overcrowded in a small confined area, using only 4-5 people and close up shots. Here we shot the mystery hand placing a drug into *Maria's drink, we see the tablet dissolving then Maria picking it up to drink.

The third scene showed *Maria being led up the shadowy stairs by a strange anonymous male character. It is obvious that she is not in the right frame of mind as the viewers will have established in the first scene she wants to remain a virgin and the previous scene of the drink being tampered with. We follow the two up the stairs were we are led into a bedroom, showing *Maria lying on the bed , we see a hand locking the door (we shot both long shots and close ups) then the figure of the male approaching the vulnerable girl on the bed, we also tracked *Dervish and will decide which looks better when we begin editing. Our last few shots were of *Maria holding a pregnancy test looking shocked these were all close-ups to view her expression.

Overall the day went well, though we will find out how well when we transfer the footage onto the computer and begin editing. This will start once we have finished all the filming process. Our next filming date will be held on the 6th December.

The start of our website production

Today we began the first few steps of producing our soap website. We visited the CLC centre, where we were taught how to use a specific software using Mac computers called "iWeb", in order to produce our website. We made sure that we used this time sufficiently and managed to complete the basis of our website.

Our result was quite similar to that of our website draft. We choose a simple yet effective template. At the top of our home page the name of our soap "LIBERTY" is featured in big bold black font. Next to this is a group image of the main characters. Our home page contains a lot of activities - to the left are the times and dates of when our soap begins and will be shown on TV, below will include our trailer (which is yet to be made) and below will be a short insight video clip of next weeks episode. To the right we have two images that are in collaboration with the two most current storylines and below there will be written a short summary about this. The homepage also includes a "weekly vote" which is a poll that allows the viewers to vote on their opinions of the storylines. Also there will be a "WIN!" box where the viewers can enter a competition with the chance to win signed products. We wanted to add a number of different media products such as video clips, images and information in order to keep the audience interested.

To the top of the home page, just below the soap name are our different hyperlinked pages, these include:

"About Liberty" - this page will include a short description of the history of the soap and how it came about being produced.

"Character profile" - this page will include an account of information and pictures about the three main characters "Maria", "Shiffa" and "Dervish", this is done to introduce the viewers to these characters and giving them a sneak insight to their roles and personalities.

"Games" - this page will include four mini games which have already been made today: match the pairs, two puzzles and a "catch" game. this was done as an extra element of the website.

"Fan Forum" - this page will include a wall of posts by the viewers and the producers, questions relating to the current storylines asked such as "Will Maria keep the baby?", likewise to a social chat room though it will be a discussion about the soap.

"Contact Us" - this will be a page that will include contact information where the viewers will be able to get in touch.

Overall our group is pleased with the progress we have achieved today and we are all on task. We have most of the website basis done - all that is needed to be done is rearrangements of the layout of each page, improvements and possible changes.

Minutes of group meeting - Soap Website

All Present: EA, AP, SR, AC.

In today's meeting our group will be discussing plans for our website, essentially how it will be designed and its layout and format.

Website design/analysis

As each group member was assigned to different roles last week each has researched into these specific areas, resulting with our group having collected lots of relevant detailed information which will have helped us to provide what we will need when producing our website. Today as a group we drew up a rough draft template of what we aspire our website to look like. From the research we gathered we cut down the list of elements that will be included on our website, leaving all the important relevant information.

As our soap will be a new one to be shown on TV our website has the primary purpose to market our product. We want the website to reflect as much as possible on what our soap is about therefore we will need to be especially trying to attract our target audience of 16-25 year olds. The website will need to communicate that our soap is a mixture of both a traditional community soap as well as featuring modern aspects and appealing to the younger generation. This will be achieved through ways of methods contained on the website such as "sneak peaks" of the next episode, games, character profiles and so on.

Rough draft template of soap website: The homepage of our website will contain the name of our soap "Liberty" in large bold font at the top, so that it jumps out at the viewers. We will have a thin strip of all the hyperlinks to our features that will be contained on our site. This will be a drop down menu which will include features such as: "cast", "extras", "fan forum", "win" and "history of the soap". On the homepage there will be a photograph of the characters in action this will be the story of the week and it will feature a small passage of information of the storyline. On the top right hand corner will consist of a small box which will contain all of the TV scheduling times as well as "Contact us" information. Towards the right side of the homepage there will be a video clip of our trailer, this will be used to draw in potential new viewers. Below this will include a link to "sneak peek" of next weeks episodes, these will include both still images and short video clips of the forthcoming storylines. An additional aspect will be a "webcam" of the characters houses allowing the audience an insight into the set. This is just a rough outline of what our website will be like and improvements and changes will be made.

Next week we will all be meeting together to begin producing our website. Each group member will bring with them their information that they have researched, which they will be contributing to the site. On this day we aim to produce the basis of the site - being able to view what it will look like and with most of the aspects included and finished. Though improvements and changes will be able to be altered at a further date.

Filming Arrangements

We can now confirm that our filming dates of 29th November and 6th December will be going ahead. Each group member has been given a role on these days, whether it be directing, acting or arranging the set everyone will have a job to be doing. We discussed further mise-en-scene elements and how we will be arranging the set to represent realism. We have both the storyboard and script printed out in order for us to know what we are doing during the filming process, this will act as a guide line and improvisations will be made on the day. We may decide to use different shots or even come up with new ones that we think will be effective. Each group member has been given a list of what they will need to be bringing on the day- including props and costumes. We hope that on our first day of filming we produce enough high standard footage that then can be used for editing. This will be the next process we will need to plan.

Additional Soap Website Research/Analysis

For additional further research I have analysed the two soap websites: Eastenders and Gossip Girl in order to view a sneak insight into how these soaps use the websites to attract both current and potential new viewers.

Gossip Girl - Gossip Girl is a mixture between a TV soap and a drama. It is an American series originally based on the book "Gossip Girl". The soap/drama revolves around gossip, hence the title. It is based on the lives of six main characters who attend a private school in New york City. The mystery blogger gossip girl follows the lives of these six characters and posts gossip about them on the net.

Immediately the first thing that you see on the homepage of the site is a picture of a celebrity, on top featuring a passage of gossip, this is following the same type of theme as the soap - appealing to the audience of gossip girl. The site is very much about appearance, there are many images, colours and words drawing you in. At the top of the homepage are advertisements for shops such as "Macy's" which can be associated with wealth representing the stereotypical rich characters living in New York City in the drama. The soap target audience is a majority of young teenage girls therefore the website then attempts to attract these viewers using different methods. At the top of the homepage featured is a large heading that says "Hey people" where next to it contains an icon of lips, this is showing the flirtatious side of gossip girl catching the eyes of young teenage girls.

The site includes direct links to extra features such as "the cast", "downloads" and "shop" using marketing methods to appeal to the viewers. Photographs of the cast allow you to be introduced to them. The characters are viewed as almost idols for the audiences watching. All of the cast come across as very attractive and young, as well as this being presented in the photos of them which look perfectionised.

The direct link to the Gossip girl website: http://www.gossipgirl.net/

Eastenders - Eastenders is very much a traditional community based soap. The sight is very different from the site of "Gossip Girl". As this soap aims to target a variety of audiences from different age groups the website is much more plain in order to attempt to appeal to all viewers. The first thing that is seen again is a photograph though this is of the "Albert Square" street sign establishing the setting and location. Below this a strip of features that are contained on the website, some of these include: Weekly quiz, Gallery, Wallpaper, Webcam and many more entertainment aspects.

The soap website is appealing to all ages; it includes games for the younger audiences as well as quizzes for the older more dedicated viewers. Keeping people involved are vote poles (concerning present storylines) that you are able to take part in, this makes the viewers feel as if their opinions also count. There is also the option of watching previous episodes of the soap, this allows the viewers to keep updated on what is currently happening.

The direct link to the Eastenders website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/eastenders/index.shtml

Soap Website - Image Research

As part of my image research I have looked at two specific websites Eastenders and Gossip Girls, these being two that have been previously looked at by other group members and felt these have much relevance in portraying our type of soap to the viewers.

Firstly I looked at Gossip Girl and analysed how images were being used. As soon as you click on the web page there is immediately in the centre of the homepage a large photo of one of the characters, this was effective as it stood out drastically and is the first thing you see instantly making you familiar with the character faces. As you scroll further down the page lots more imagery is used. There are smaller photographs with captions and links beside them, the images here help to attract and draw the viewers to click and view these. The photographs used on the site come across as very flirtatious reflecting all of what the soap/drama is about: appearance, gossip and status. The images on the website are not just of the characters, as the soap is based all around gossip, there are uploaded photographs of celebrity gossip specifically targeting the audience in a different way - if they watch our soap which revolves around gossip they will definately also be interested in real life celebrity gossip. Additional features on the site include photographs of the cast - though this only included the main seven. The photos are small head shots nevertheless still very appealing. Whilst all of these characters come across as fresh faced and attractive this is done to attract the teenage targeted age group where appearance is an important factor. We too could include some of these elements, for example Character profiles will be effective as our group have already taken these head shots of the main five characters. These profiles will help to introduce the new characters to the viewers in giving them a sneak insight to their roles and personalities.

The Eastenders website uses slightly different approaches. again the first thing you see as the home page is uploaded is a photograph, though this is of the "Albert Square" street sign used as a sort of establishing shot to locate the setting of exactly where you are. Towards the bottom of the page there are strips of photographs of the different characters with added captions and links. These extra added features include: family tree and a gallery of the cast. Likewise to the character profiles the gallery shows photographs of the characters although these are recent pictures whilst the characters are acting in action packed moments and could give away the forthcoming storylines to be featured in this week working to draw in the audience to watch the soap. Below these photographs captions include the date of when these will appear on TV and catchy give away lines, I thought that this was a good method of attracting more viewers to watch the show and this could be a potential idea for our own soap especially as ours will be a brand new soap this will help to attract the audience further. The gallery does not only feature the recent week photographs but also photographs from dramatic occasions "Gary and Dawn's Wedding exit" as well as "Family" photographs.

The main difference of the Eastenders website from the Gossip Girl one in terms of imagery was that you could immediately tell that both are attempting to attract different target audiences. Gossip Girls site felt much more airbrushed and seemed like it strived for perfection. As the soap is targeted towards teenage girls appearance was a very important element and this could be observed. All the pictures were very presentable and the characters were all very youthful and attractive. As in contrast the Eastenders website was much more family oriented including images of the family tree and gallery photographs where all the characters were included. Eastenders target audience is much more varied which makes it harder as you are not just specifying to target one particular age group, you need to suit the needs of everyone. These two sites were very useful to look at as our soap will need to fit in the middle of both these categories which needs to be reflected on our website to market our new soap. Therefore we will be mixing and matching different yet successful elements.