Editing Schedule

Below is my editing schedule and I hope that with my organisational skills I will be able to follow it. I have scheduled it so each point is over 5 days, for example, when I start to put everything together right at the first stage, it says I have from the 5/1/15 till the 9/1/15 which gives me 5 days. The reason for this is because I thought I should be more realistic as I am most likely not going to get most of the editing done in a matter of a few days. So therefore, I have equally spread it out so that I have time to come back to it and change things, this also will prevent me from getting stressed and not following my editing schedule. 

Day/week	What?
5/1/15 - 9/1/15	Edit the beginning adding on titles and other text
12/1/15 - 16/1/15	Basic plot with what footage will be where (in order)and then add colour filters if needed
19/1/15 - 23/1/15	Start editing these clips making them the right lengths and add transitions between clips if needed
26/1/15 - 30/1/15	Add on the music and any other sound effects (e.g. text tone, children laughing and car door slamming)
2/2/15 - 6/2/15	Finish and add on credits at end or any other text that is needed
9/2/15 - 13/2/15	Any other touch ups whether it being due to audience feedback or last minute changes

Codes and Conventions of Short Films

What are short films?

Short films are films that can range from 40 minutes to anything shorter. Short films are usually made with the purpose:

• Experience, to gain experience in practical filmmaking, or as working in a team.
• Showreal, if pursuing a career in filmmaking, showreel will be essential to demonstrate your skills.
• Partnerships, to get used to working with different teams and people.
• Testing an idea out, making a short film will help get the audiences views and opinions, also, uploading it to YouTube or Vimeo will allow you to see how many views it gets.
• Money, you may not have the money to make a feature length film so a short film could be produced in order to raise awareness about it to get help with funding for the real feature film.
• Festivals, once you have made a short film, you might want to enter into film festivals such as Cannes De Film festival to raise awareness of it or to sell it.

Codes and Conventions of short films...

• Characters, is an obvious convention of short films. They tend to stick to two or three main characters, as short films are obviously 'short' they don't have the time to go into depth with the storyline, and definitely not enough time to keep introducing more and more characters. There's is usually just enough time in the film for the audience to relate to the characters. I will intend to follow this convention.
• Twist, is nearly always contained within a short film. The slight twist to the storyline will help make the short film become more interesting for the audience and will prevent it being boring and uninteresting. I will also follow this convention.
• Budget, the budget for a short film is usually very low as this is because Directors work independently without funding. They tend to keep the budget down by sticking to one or two locations, and using a small cast. However, some actors will work for free if they really like the storyline, this increases the budget even more.
• Length, in short films are obviously 'short' and have a max length of 40 minutes, however, typically, they are around five to ten minutes long. If these films would be any longer they would be classed as feature length films. You can always get short shorts which are between 1 and 3 minutes long. I will be following this convention. 

Overall, I will be following these codes and conventions in order to create a successful and professional looking short film that catch peoples eye and engage them to watch until the end. 

Recce

Below are all the different locations I used for my short film "Nina". For each location I have described why I have chosen this location, what was good about it and how I worked around any problems or hazards. 

This is the opening of my short film and as you can see it's of the sky. This was simply filmed in my back garden as it was the easiest and closest place to use. As my tripod doesn't allow me to point the camera directly up facing the sky, I put a towel on the ground to protect my camera and then places it on the decking facing up. As it was filmed in my own garden, I was able to leave it there without worrying about anyone stealing my camera, it was alas safe and there was nothing or no one who would of been a distraction and walked in front of it (apart from my dog sniffing the camera!!)... Although I left my camera for a while enabling me to have a wide range of footage to choose from.

The next location used was my friends house. I chose to film here as I could pretty much access it whenever I wanted as who's house it is, is the main character's of my film. The house is situated in a quiet neighbourhood therefore there was nothing that could detract us. I also used this house as I knew it was safe and with it being quiet and isolated I had no worries about getting my equipment in and out of the house.

Next we see a quiet walking path where locals walk their dogs. As this was were most of my film is filmed, I chose this area as it is very close the the actors' house, which was very convenient. I also made sure the location was safe and that there was no risks of anyone falling, to do this I went to the location before filming making sure it was definitely safe. Once we began filming, I also had to prepare for bad weather as after all it is England. So I made sure all the cast and crew had jackets, waterproofs and/or umbrellas just in case it rained, although it was also handy that their house was a 2 minute walk.

In one of two flashbacks in my short film "Nina"I chose to film in a park which again was a 2 minute walk from the actors' house. However, in these scenes we had 5 very young children ageing from 3-13 when filming. With parents permission me and two responsible adults supervised the children to make sure they were safe. This park is a very quiet and isolated park which suited by film very week and also was very convenient as it was walking distance from my actors houses. Again I made sure that it was safe, so for example, some of the swings and bigger slides I made sure James who was one of my actors at just 3 years old, that he didn't access these in case of any injuries. I also made sure all of my talent were prepared in case of any bad weather. 

Again in another flashback i used the park scenery. This helped give a more realistic view of the story. The park is a park that my talents use as they are locals so they knew it more than I did. i again went to the location before I started filming and made sure there wasn't anything dangerous or any hazards like broke equipment, but it was all safe. To make sure that the park wasn't used when I filmed, I decided to pick a day in January when it was rather cold so no one was around.

This is the location for my final flashback, however it was a bit further than my other locations. Still staying in the same neighbourhood, I chose the Primary school that my main actor attends. This was so it was familiar to her rather than it being a new surrounding to all of us. Since one shot was on the road with the car driving towards it, I made sure I filmed on a sunday where the roads were empty so I wasn't a hazard to any drivers on the road. But just to be prepared I made sure I had crew operating  the camera in case anyone came so they could quickly pick the camera up and remove it from the road. 

Lastly, my final location was this house . Yet again staying in the same neighbourhood I asked a friend if I could use her house to quickly film the outside as though it is the house the character lives in. This shot was very short and quick and I had none of my actors acting so therefore it only took a few minutes.

Filming

Here are some pictures I have taken whilst filming for my short film. As we use a handheld steady cam whilst filming a tracking shot of 'Nina', we used a household object with wheel, then placed the camera and tripod on top to enable us to have a professional looking short film instead of it looking very amateur. 

Call Sheet and Organisation of Actors/Assistants

In order for my filming to run smoothly without actors or anyone changing plans and letting me down, I planned out a table with all the shooting dates and what time I needed the actors. Below is a table where I have selected what actor I want at the specific time and date;

Date / What is being filmed	Nathalie (ACTRESS-NINA)	Alexandra (ACTRESS-NINA)	Nina’s friends/bullies	Where?
27/9/14 Lexi walking	--ASSISTING--	1 - 3 pm	N/A	path - in neighborhood
4/10/14 Lexi walking	--ASSISTING--	1 - 3 pm	N/A	path - in neighborhood
5/10/14 Lexi/Nat walking	2 - 3 pm	12 - 1 pm	N/A	path - in neighborhood
11/10/14 Nat walking	1 - 3 pm	N/A	N/A	path - in neighborhood
25/10/14 first flashback	--ASSISTING--	1 - 2 pm	1 - 2 pm	local park
8/11/14 second flashback	--ASSISTING--	1 - 2 pm	1 - 2 pm	local park
15/11/14 third flashback	--ASSISTING--	1 - 3 pm	N/A	outside primary school
30/11/14 beginning/end	12 - 12.30 pm	N/A	N/A	Nathalie’s house
6/12/14 voiceover	--ASSISTING--	1 - 3 pm	N/A	-
14/12/14 voiceover	1 - 3 pm	1 - 3 pm	N/A	-

This table will help me specifically with my filming so my actors all know when and where they need to be. For example, at the end of my filming schedule, I am going to film and record the voiceovers/narratives of my two main actors, Alexandra who is only 7 I have added more hours to record her voice as I feel as though with her age it will take longer therefore I have added in a few extra hours so I have plenty of time to get it done. Also where it says "assisting" on Nathalie's column, means that because she is older than all of my other actors, when she is not acting, I will possibly need her help in order to set up equipment or to organise my actors. Lastly, I have made sure that the times are all short and in the middle of the day, so not too late or early. This is because my actors range from the age of 3 to 18 so with their parents permission I will have at least an hour with them every other day to get what I need to film over a week or two. This is so i'm not filming in one big chunk, which will also prevent the younger actors from getting tired and/or hungry as with a low budget, I will not be able to provide food. 

Script

NINA

~Scene 1~ Entering the counsellors office (match on action, shot reverse shot, over the shoulder shot)

Counsellor:  Hello, sorry i didn't catch your name?

Nina:  (Silence)

Counsellor:  Um... ok then (Disregard this) let's get started. What is the reason you are here today?

Nina:  (Silence)

Counsellor:  can you confirm that there was no difficulties or concerns in your childhood?


*Camera zooms into her eyes and the flashback begins*



~Scene 2~ Walking along the street with cheat cuts for change of clothing of young Nina with voice over

Voiceover:  The sun comes up every morning, just like I walk along this street every morning. I am loveable. I am wanted, and that glimmer of sunlight that essence of nature. The sun, it is as bright as a scared child's night light. That's what makes all the difference, it not only gives me hope but, it tells me that someday, my summer will come.

*Happy flashback*



~Scene 3~ Flashback of young Nina playing in the park with her friends (fuzzy filter to establish that it is a flashback)

Friends and Nina:  Singing ring a ring of roses with high pitched laughter



~Scene 4~ Back to the street but Nina is dressed slightly more maturely to look older



Voiceover: It all comes back. Every word, every hurt, every moment. How could you ever understand where I come from? You can not hear or see or feel. You won't remember my story because you haven't walked my path, you haven't seen what my eyes have seen. My past defines me so this is who I am, I am
Unseen
Unheard
Unwanted
That is what I am, if even I am anything

*Slightly sadder flashback*



~Scene 5~ A flashback to the park again but this time Nina is sitting on her own and her so called "friends" are leaving her/making fun of her. (over the shoulder shot of Nina of the swing and friends in the distance)

(Sad, quiet music?)



~Scene 6~ Back to the street but now Nina is much older but she is still walking, this emphasises how her life is very repetitive.

Voiceover:  I still don't understand the purpose of my life, the purpose of my footsteps walking the earth everyday. My existence is invisible to an extent where even negativity is an understatement. In the end what we regret most is the chances we never took, but how can I take a chance if those chances are improbable, or an illusion to my eye, or a concealment to my verve.
Hatred
Violence
Beware (whispered)


*flashback*



~Scene 7~ Final flashback to Nina being abused or shouted at by her mother in her home



~Scene 8~  back to Nina on the street, she's about to approach her house

Voiceover:  However, I know that I, alone am morally responsible for my actions, my speech, and my existence.

*POV shot of Nina looking up at house when she suddenly receives a text message- diegetic sound of text and text appears on screen*

Bully:  Menacing laugh

*Deep focus, over the shoulder shot of bully in the background (Louise) that sent the text message and laughs, she starts walking toward Nina, knocks Nina's phone out of her hand showing it smashed on the floor, the bully then hits Nina and pushes her over, Nina falls and hits her head in slow motion leading to a blackout*



~Scene 9~ Counsellors office

*fade from black with iris as though eye is opening*

Counsellor:  Sorry, I didn't get your name?

Nina:  ~pause~ Nina... Nina Richmond

*Counsellor realises that she was the bully years and years ago*


~END~

Planning - Storyboard for Nina