Shot List

To make sure that we got all of the shots we needed, Tyler wrote up a shot list before the day of the shoot. This will allow the cinematographer to know what he has to shoot on location.

 

Equipment List

Here is a list of equipment that we need to collect on Friday for our shoot this weekend.

Call Sheets

As well as having a Production Schedule, I have decided to create Call Sheets so that each member of the group has all the important information about the shoot, i.e. crew contacts, local hospital & police contacts and the schedule for the day.

Production Schedule

To ensure that everyone knows what they're doing when it comes to shooting the film, I have created a production schedule, which I will send to the other members of the crew.

Change in Location and Script

We came across a lot of problems when looking for a supermarket location to film the final scene of our film. Below is a copy of the message I sent to various different supermarkets.

To whom it may concern, 

I am a film student at Sheffield Hallam University. I am currently producing a short, five-minute Drama piece as part of my course. Our final scene is to be set at a supermarket and our director is adamant that Sainsbury's is the store we need, as he feels it epitomises the lifestyle of the characters in the film - in particular Helen, the main character's mother. The ideals of good living, health and family associated with Sainsbury's would really help to build this image for the family in our film and we would love to shoot at Sainsbury's The Moor in Sheffield.

We have contacted many individuals, including store manager Vince Newburn, and have finally been pointed in this direction. We thought we would take this opportunity to share some information about the project in the hopes that you will be on-board and allow us to use Sainsbury's The Moor as a location in our film.

The film is called 'The Secret Ingredient'. It focuses on Libby, a shy and quirky thirteen year old who has grown distant from her mother following the death of her grandma. She also has difficulty fitting in at her new school. Buying ingredients from Sainsbury's to make her grandmother's 'secret recipe' cookies, Libby takes a bite of the baked goods and falls into a dream-like state in which she visits her grandma. Her grandma comforts Libby and urges her to make things right with her mum. Some time later, Libby and her mother are shown shopping together in Sainsbury's, and it is clear that they are making steps to repair their strong mother-daughter relationship. We also learn that Libby has made friends at school. We then see Libby buying more ingredients so that she can 'visit' her grandmother once more.

We feel that Sainsbury's is the perfect setting for this positive change to take place in and would be greatly appreciative of the opportunity to use the store as a location. We hope to film on Sunday 13th April and are flexible with timing - we are more than willing to schedule the shoot to a time most convenient for you, should we receive this opportunity. As a token of our gratitude, we would not only portray Sainsbury's in a positive light throughout the film, but also include thanks to the store in the credits. There is also potential for the film to be entered into non-profit festivals, which would help to expose this image further.

We hope that this request is well received by your press office and we are excited by the possibility of potentially shooting at your store. 

Thank you for your time,

Lauren Griggs (Producer)

Sheffield Hallam University 

E-Mail: lauren.griggs@hotmail.co.uk

Mobile: 07720 542863

After sending this email to various supermarkets I recieved replies from them, however they all said similar things and they all said that it would not be possible. Below is a screenshot of one of the emails I received from one of the supermarkets.

After all of the supermarkets we contacted had said that we would not be able to film in them, we decided that it would be easier for us and the actors if we could just change the last scene in the script so that it took place in the house rather than in a supermarket. When re-writing it, Tyler, the director, tried to keep the dialogue mostly the same so that it would be easier for the actors to remember. Below is a copy of the new version of the final scene.

Actors - Helen

After we secured the first two actresses we wanted to get our third actress on board so that we could start focusing on other aspects of the project. After once again emailing and phoning many different acting companies and amateur dramatics groups, we were getting no luck in finding an actress to play the role of 'Helen'.

However, Jess had got in contact with us again and said that she knew someone who would be suitable for the role. We then followed this up and got in contact with her. The actresses' name is Sarah Wynne and she is the Stage Manager and actress at Chesterfield Studios.

After a brief phone call I then sent her an email with all of the information she would need and a copy of the script before we started shooting next weekend.

Actors - Grandma

Getting the actress to play 'Grandma Dot' was very difficult as all of the amateur dramatic societies that we contacted had not got back in touch with us and there was only a week left until we had planned to shoot.

However, I got in contact with a woman named Grace Stead through one of our tutors, as she runs a over 50's drama project.

After then speaking to a number of different people I then managed to secure an actress for the role of 'Grandma'. Her name is Brenda Bell and she is very enthusiastic about taking part in this film. As she doesn't have an email address I will be sending her a copy of the script via post and will keep her up to date with everything via telephone.

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Unfortunately on the Wednesday before the shoot, I received a call from Brenda saying that she was unwell and so would therefore not be able to take part in our film. Luckily I managed to get into contact with another actress who was willing to play the role of 'Grandma'.

The new actresses name is Mary Newey and she is very excited to take part in our film. However, she is only available to film on the Sunday, meaning that we will be filming Chelsea and Sarah's scenes on Saturday 12th April and Mary and Chelsea's scene on Sunday 13th. Below is a picture of the actress.