Meeting with Director

This project requires me, as the producer, to work very closely with the director to ensure that the piece we produce is of high quality. To make sure that we are well organised before shooting, we have regular meetings so that we can stay on top of all of our work and get ahead of the planning.

In todays meeting we discussed many different aspects of the planning for the film including; a schedule for meeting between the director and myself, costume ideas for the actors, a props list and a budget. Although we originally thought that we would not have a budget due to the fact that we cannot pay actors, we realised that to get actresses on board we would have to pay for their transport and food etc.
We also started to get in contact with possible actors for our film and also contacted the owners of some possible locations.

Below are the notes we made in our meeting for each of the following:

MEETING SCHEDULE
During this meeting we also came up with a schedule/agenda for our meetings that we were planning to have throughout this week.
WEDNESDAY 2ND APRIL
9am - 12pm - Meet at university,
                    - Call Asda and Tesco for possible locations,
                    - Scan in meeting notes and print out files needed for the meeting with actress tonight.
6.30pm - 8.30pm - Meet at train station and travel to Chesterfield,
                           - Meet with Jess to take us to her drama group,
                           - Watch drama group for any potential actresses,
                           - Speak with actress that Jess had suggested and also fill out any neccessary forms.

FRIDAY 4TH APRIL
12pm - Meet at university,
          - Props shopping,
          - Additional casting,
          - Search for more possible locations.

WEDNESDAY 9TH APRIL
2pm - Meet at university to discuss each members progress so far/bring up any problems they are having.


COSTUME IDEAS
The director and I went through what costumes we want each of the characters to wear in each scene. Below are scanned images of the notes we made.

PROPS LIST
We also made a list of any props we may need for the production of our film. Each of the items with a star next to them are items that we already own and therefore do not need to buy.

BUDGET
We thought it was important to set a budget so that each member knows how much they need to contribute to make it equal.

TRANSPORT (ACTORS ONLY) - max £40

CATERING (2 x SANDWICH PLATTER, CRISPS, DRINKS) - £15

PROPS - £65

Script Read-through and Possible Actor for Libby

SCRIPT READ-THROUGH
In this week's seminar we had actors come in and read through each of the groups' scripts. This was very helpful as it really helped to hear the script read aloud by actual actors. It highlighted any flaws that we had in our script and led to us making changes to the script before finishing the final draft.

POSSIBLE ACTORS
LIBBY
Talking to the actors was very helpful as well as one of the girls that joined us in the seminar had a very young-looking face, which we think we could use in our film as a back-up in case we can't find a thirteen year-old actress to play the character of Libby. We would only cast her as a last resort as we would then have to make Libby around 15/16, whereas we wanted her to be a bit younger.

However, one of the other actresses mentioned that she teaches a drama group in Chesterfield which consists of young actresses around 13/14. This is very useful as we would like the role of Libby to be played by a girl around this age and also we a re shooting in Chesterfield, therefore if we did cast one of the girls in this drama group in our film, then this would reduce the time and cost of travelling to the set for her and her guardian.

After the actors had gone through each group's script, we then had a chance to talk to each of them about possible casting. This was when the director, Tyler, then added the two female actors on Facebook so that we could stay in contact with them.

After the session Jess, the actress who taught the drama group, got in contact with Tyler and said that she had an actress that she thinks will be perfect for the role of Libby. Below is a screenshot of the message she sent;

After this conversation Tyler, the director, and I have decided to go to the class that Jess teaches to meet the actress that she has in mind and discuss the possibility of casting her. This will also give us a chance to look at the other actresses in this class, to see if we can find anyone more suitable for the role.

SCRIPT - First Draft

Below is a copy of the first draft of the script that was written by the director, Tyler Mason Mellins. Once he had written this first draft, we then went through it as a group and highlighted any problems that we had with it or things that we wanted to change. As the producer, I also made notes next to any highlighted sections to explain why they were highlighted and wrote any key points that needed to be changed.

Location Scouting

In our meeting we decided what type of locations we wanted for each of our sets. We decided we wanted to use a kitchen as the setting for the opening location where Libby and her mum are first introduced and also where Libby makes the potion/tea. We wanted the kitchen to reflect the fact that the family are wealthy, therefore we would need to find a quite expensive looking kitchen to use as a suitable location.

The second location we wanted to use was a large bedroom that we could dress to look like the grandma's bedroom. We would require a large room so that we have enough space for all of the equipment and so that all of the crew can move freely around the room without ruining the shot.

However, after discussing the idea, we have decided to change this location to being the grandma's room to Libby's room when she was younger. This requires us to then dress the set with a 'princess' theme using fairy lights and pink bedding etc.

The final location we will use will be a local supermarket. This will be used for the final scene when Libby is shopping with Helen and she asks for the biscuits. I think this will be the hardest location to find and film as we would need to find somewhere where the owner is happy with us using their shop to shoot.


For the kitchen and bedroom set, we had two locations in mind, the first one being my own house as I live in a student house with large bedrooms. Below are photos that I have taken of the rooms we could use:

After showing these images to the group, we all decided that this location is not exactly what we wanted, however we could make it work if we really needed it. Therefore we will keep this location as a back-up in case we can't find anything more suitable.

When we discussed the locations for shooting in our meeting, Tyler had the idea of using his Dad's house for the kitchen and bedroom locations as he has a very large, expensive looking kitchen and a number of bedrooms with a lot of space. This was ideal as it fitted exactly to what we wanted. Below are images of the location:

We've decided that we want to use this location for the bedroom and kitchen scenes as we believe that it is the most suitable location for what we want each of the scenes to look like.

Pre-Production Schedule

Above is the pre-production schedule I created so that each member of the group knows which tasks need to be completed and by when. This makes the group a lot more organised, which should help make the pre-production process move a lot more smoothly.

Contact Sheet

As my role of producer I have created a contact list as it is very important that we stay in contact with each other, as communication is essential to a successful production. I will make sure that each member of the group has a copy of this list so that they can also contact each other if necessary.

As well as this contact sheet, we are also all communicating with each other via Facebook as this allows each member to get a notification every time anyone posts on it.

Using Facebook to communicate also allows the group to express their views and ideas with the rest of the group all at the same time, rather than sending an individual message to each member. We also frequently use the Facebook messaging service to arrange meetings so they take place at a time when everyone is available.

Also, having a group message on Facebook allows us to make decisions a lot more quickly and easily as not only does it allow us to discuss the project, we can also send files to each other, such as this contact sheet for example, so that everyone in the group can have a copy of the files that they need for their roles.

Below is a screenshot of one of the conversations that have taken place via the Facebook group about one of the locations:

Character Profile - Helen

CHARACTER NAME: Helen
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AGE: 37
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APPEARANCE: Short dark hair, tall and slim, wears pastel colours and often wears a cooking apron around the house. Very suburban looking.
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RELATION TO OTHER CHARACTERS: Mother to Libby, Daughter of Dorothy
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1. WHAT IS THIS CHARACTER’S GREATEST FLAW?    She struggles to express her feelings - even positive ones - which has driven a wedge between her and her daughter. 
2. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS CHARACTER THAT HE WOULD NEVER ADMIT?    She still loves her husband - he cheated on her several times before their divorce.
3. WHAT IS THIS CHARACTER’S GREATEST ASSET?    Deep down she is kind and caring, and loves Libby with all her heart.
4. WHAT MUSIC DOES THIS CHARACTER SING TO WHEN NO ONE ELSE IS AROUND?    Robbie Williams.
5. IN WHAT OR WHOM DOES THIS CHARACTER HAVE THE GREATEST FAITH?    Herself - "if you want something done properly, do it yourself"
6. DOES THIS CHARACTER HAVE A FAVOURITE ARTICLE OF CLOTHING?    Her handbag.
7. DOES THIS CHARACTER HAVE A VICE?    She lives an expensive lifestyle.
8. NAME THIS CHARACTER’S FAVOURITE PERSON (LIVING OR DEAD).    Her father.
9. WHAT IS THIS CHARACTER’S SECRET WISH?    She wished she had become a dancer.
10. WHAT IS THIS CHARACTER’S PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENT?    Graduating university with a 1st class degree.
11. DESCRIBE THIS CHARACTER’S MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT?    When she kissed her best friends boyfriend in university.
12. WHAT IS THIS CHARACTER’S DEEPEST REGRET?    Forgiving her husband for his unfaithfulness too many times.
13. WHAT IS THIS CHARACTER’S GREATEST FEAR?    That she will never find love again and that she will never re-establish a bond with Libby.
14. DOES THIS CHARACTER HAVE AN OBSESSION?    Buying expensive things.
15. WHOM DOES THIS CHARACTER MOST WISH TO PLEASE?    Libby - both characters want each others approval, not realising they already have it.
16. DESCRIBE THIS CHARACTER’S MOTHER.    *See Dorothy’s character profile*
17. DESCRIBE THIS CHARACTER’S FATHER.    Very attentive towards Helen as she was very much a daddy’s girl as a child.
18. DESCRIBE THIS CHARACTER’S BEDROOM.    Lots of expensive items, large wardrobe, photos of Libby and her parents.
19. LIST THE CHOICES THAT LED THIS CHARACTER TO HIS CURRENT PREDICAMENT.    Divorced her husband and got a large sum of money from the settlement.
20. LIST THE CIRCUMSTANCES OVER WHICH THIS CHARACTER HAS NO CONTROL.    The death of her mother.
21. WHO DEPENDS ON THIS CHARACTER?    Libby.
22. HOW WOULD A DEAR FRIEND OR RELATIVE DESCRIBE THIS CHARACTER?    Tasteful, cares for her daughter, can be firm at times but very loving.