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Poppy Blog
Poppy Blog
There are moments the director has created with use of simple, but extremely
effective, lighting and editing, to show powerfully violent scenes.
There is a scene in the film involving two very young children, that I find extremely
uncomfortable to watch. It fascinates me, that something so powerful can be
conveyed through film, and I have often thought this about other pieces of cinema
that have stirred strong emotions from me. Not a morbid fascination, just one of
appreciation, and would like to develop these skills in my story telling, to create this
among the viewers of Poppy
Addiction has always fascinated me. The emotions, pain and helplessness that
addicts go through is raw and powerful, especially on screen. It is very rare, unless
you are a close family member of friend, to truly understand the spectrum of
addiction and to accept it as an illness.
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To have no control over repeatedly using a drug that is destroying your life, is one of
the most harrowing experiences a person can watch another human go through.
It is these emotions and experiences that will form the basis for the style of Poppy.
The film will incorporate hallucinations, withdrawal, desire and low self worth
experienced by addicts through editing, lighting and tone. Although the visuals will
be surreal, the performances will be realistic and brutal.
well as providing a platform to view your film for people already in the industry
searching for new talent. These sites can achieve 100,000 views in just under two
weeks, which is a far greater audience than the traditional festival circuit.
Shortoftheweek.com has become the most influential.
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The
possibilities of online viewing has created vast means for audiences to view short
films (Curt Holman 2012)
Short films merging with product advertising, is a new idea circling the media world;
We often scoff at the integration of marketing into entertainment because it is done
so distastefully. Long-form advertising through artistic expression is, in my view, a
suitable cure for heavy-handed marketing and product placement (Mike Elsenbery,
2011)
This is where films like Poppy can be commissioned, by companies and musicians
etc, who want to create a following online, and can do so by attaching themselves to
a short film attracting an endless range of viewers and the potential for viral
marketing.
Recently there seems to be a return to the 1980s, in particular Michael Jacksons,
idea of breaking away from the traditional music video and making a short film with
music attached.
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They allow a director to be the auteur and have control of content, without the need
to included the musician or dancing, something I would be interested in making.
The platform for these types of films is largely online, especially in the youtube era,
where it is widely excepted that successful artists will make their break and create a
large fan base. I first saw the potential for musical short films whilst exploring the
music of Sigur Ros. An ambient/post rock band from Iceland who became a major
influence for directors and directors of photography around the world. Their songs
are meant for film. Recently they gave fourteen directors a sum of money to make a
video for each song off of their new album, with complete freedom and not knowing
what the songs were about, and promoted them exclusively on their own website.
(Poppy Portfolio pg 7)
Poppy will also have its own website that Lauren W has designed, which I have
created the content for. It will be the central hub for viewing the film, with extra
material, a gallery and provides a way of contacting the cast and crew that worked on
the film.
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Star Now
Mandy Ellen Performing Arts
Prima School
University of Kent Drama and Theatre
Valley Park
Invicta
Maidstone Grammar School for Boys and Girls
Rose Bruford College of Performing Arts
Hilton Hall Dance Academy
Poppy Blog
beginning of each audition it was important to establish they were informed about
the dates, times, pay, subject matter and physical requirements of Poppy.
In the casting process actors will be advised of the nature and amount of onstage
nudity you will require and that their willingness and ability to collaborate have been
established (Dekoven, 2006, pg 135)
My producer role also included scheduling the cast and crew. I started by looking at
the dates people were available and the times we could use the studio and farm. I
then created call sheets so that everyone knew where they needed to be and when
(Poppy Portfolio pg 30) .
The main role of a producer in the industry is to raise funds for the film and manage
the budget;
It is all dependent on day to day control and knowing what is going on and ensuring
that costs are kept down. (Jones and Jolliffe, 2006, pg146)
Poppy is a student film, and as such is running on a zero budget. Once we had hired
our actors, I realised we would have benefitted from fundraising, but unfortunately it
was too close to production. I discussed with Lauren, and together we managed to
find around 400. I negotiated with the actors how much they were willing to except
for expenses for a six day shoot, traveling from London. James was traveling by bike
from Canterbury most days,
so in fact we paid more for
snacks to keep them fueled
whist filming, then we did for
our lead actor (Poppy
Portfolio pg 29) . For future
projects, raising funds will be
a greater priority, although I
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am happy with the amount we spent and what we achieved with it.
As the writer on Poppy, I took control of the prop list, and myself and Lauren both
sourced them. I was responsible for transport, and along with a family member,
recovered the whole set from Rochester and transported it to Maidstone.
After filming I made sure I collected all the relevant paper work from the actors, so we
would have no issues over ownership of material. (Poppy Portfolio pg 32).
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People often mistake a good script for a good story, and vice versa. They are not
the same thing. You can have a script, which is beautifully written, but the story is not
that interesting. ( Jones and Jollife, 2006, pg 38)
Although Poppy is not explicitly a metaphor for heroin, it is there to symbolise any
kind of addiction, researching this drug was important. I started by reading about
the effects of heroin, the risks associated with it, the physical and emotional
implication, as well as the practicalities of being hooked on the drug. I watched a
number of films that focused on the subject for inspiration.
Candy
Trainspotting
The Artist
Tyrannosaur
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Leaving Las Vegas
Russell Brand - Addiction to Recovery
Requiem for a Dream
I begun by listing the different scenes I am visualised in my head, and the order they
should go in. There were certain moments I knew I wanted to create in my film, as
soon as I got the idea, through these I developed the character and the journey they
would go on. Poppy deals with conflict, but it is also about the deepest connection
two people can share. Since the day you thought about writing screenplays, youve
no doubt been told that they must have conflict. This is only have true, connection is
equally as important. (Johnson, 2009, pg 99)
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Director
I choose to direct Poppy, as my
strengths are in story telling
and communicating my ideas.
Having a DOP has meant I have
been allowed the freedom to
work solely with the actors. It
has been very freeing to not be
concerned with setting up
cameras and lighting, putting all my trust in the capable hands of Lauren Woodfall to
achieve the look I want for Poppy. I was able to fully submerge myself in the world of
Poppy, and think about the emotion and intensity of the story.
One of the directors biggest jobs, which also goes beyond acting, is that of creating
a world for the characters to live in (Dekoven, 2006, pg xiii) .
Although Lauren Woodfall was in charge of arranging the set, it was important for
me as the director, to add a few finishing touches. I also sat with the actors and gave a
detailed background into the lives of the characters and the feelings developed in
every scene of the script.
The key to directing, is building a strong relationship with your actors. It is important
to give direction positively and Avoiding negatives such as Dont do that, use Why
dont you try. Actors are subjected to enormous doses of rejection and are, by
definition, asked to expose their very innards in the course of the work. This makes
them extremely vulnerable human beings. (Dekoven, 2006, pg 11)
As a director you must make sure your actors know you believe in them. Whilst
working on Poppy, after the end of every scene I gave opinion, even if it was just a few
words about what I liked, so they felt their performance was working. I also made the
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decision at the start of every day to show them some of the footage we had recorded
the day before. Although this is rarely done on productions, due to time constraints
and protocol, I believed it gave my actors a boost each morning, they enjoyed seeing
their hard work paying off.
The rehearsal period proved invaluable, especially due to the closeness required of
the actors. It also allowed me to create a comfortable relationship with them, I felt in
control, but relaxed enough to make them feel this was a collaboration.
The primary need of the actor is a sense of security, provided by the knowledge
that the director will protect him/her and help make the performance as good as
possible (Dekoven, 2006, p63)
I arranged for the two of them to first meet in London for coffee, without any of the
crew or production team present, so they could build a personal relationship.
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Whatever the director chooses to make of the material at hand and it is entirely his/
her decision finally - this self imposed discipline of actually condensing ones thought
and transferring them from the subconscious to the conscious level be writing them
down, translating them into a useful and articulate sentence, is in my opinion the
most important part of the directors process. (Dekoven, 2006, pg 53)
Editor
Editing in post production is
where a story teller can use his
or her scissors to piece it all
together. I enjoy being able to
switch off from the pressures
and often crowded situations
of production, and focus on
something that is quite intricate, and be allowed to structure my work on my own, its
like having a cup of tea and doing a word-search after a hectic day.
It is difficult, but necessary to create a barrier, a cellular wall between shooting and
editing (Murch, 2001, pg 25)
It was hard to become detached from the shoot. As an editor I need to see the
footage for what it was, not because as I director I loved what I had achieved, or let
the amount of hard work and time it took to film a particular shot influence whether it
is cut.
The editor should try to see whats on screen , as the audience will. Only in this way
can the images be freed from the context of their creation (Murch, 2001, pg pg24)
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During the edit of Poppy, we found out very quickly the draw backs of over shooting,
and re doing takes, simply because of the time it takes to sift through the footage. We
allowed four weeks for editing, and it was tight, with over twelve hours of raw
footage. Organising clips and starting to assemble alone took two weeks. On the
other hand, it was nice as an editor to be able to select the best performance, and not
worry about finding enough footage to make sense of the story. In the industry,
realistically I would be given a few months to edit a project of this size.
Continuity was an issue for Poppy, and some of the shots that worked the best were
not usable, because of differences in position, make up and props. Having someone
on board to watch out for this on set, would have be great, especially over a long
shoot, when the director can not always remember if the actress had her hair behind
her ear or not three days ago. However, small things are noticeable to the editor and
director, as they have come to know the footage inside out, but in reality most
continuity issues go unnoticed, and this was the case with Poppy.
I benefitted greatly from organising my clips well. Although it isnt to every editors
tastes, I started by selecting all the clips in order for each act and putting them in the
timeline, then gradually cutting scene by scene. This helped me select the best takes.
Poppy is an experimental film, and the edit needed to reflect this. In the beginning it
was hard making jump cuts, I didnt feel the audience would follow, but you need to
give their intelligence as knowledgeable viewers of film some credit. One basic rule
of editing and film making, is that you dont need to show every second of an actors
movements from getting up and going out the door to know he has got dressed and
prepared himself for the day.
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In the book In the blink of an eye editor Walter Murch who worked on Apocalypse
Now, talks about the six rules of editing. Traditionally three dimensional continuity is
at the top of the list, but he places it at the bottom. At the top of a list is emotion, the
thing you thought come to last. How do you want to audience to feel? If they are
feeling what you want them to feel through the film, youve done as much as you
can. (Murch, 2001, pg. 18)
Murchs List;
1.Emotion
2.Story
3.Rhythm
4.Eye Trace
5.Two dimensional plane of screen
6.Three dimensional space of action
With editing Poppy, I made some brave decisions to let the scenes breath. Where she
re-enters the room after her ordeal, and the man sits her down on the bed, I stayed
with the same shot for the rest of the scene.
You would never say that a certain film was well edited because it had more cuts in it.
Frequently, it takes more work and discernment to decide where not to cut - dont
feel you have to cut just because its what you are being paid to. (Murch, 2001, pg
16)
By not cutting, it allowed tension and intensity to develop, making it emotionally
hard for the audience to watch, but bringing them right into the scene.
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Learning
The main issue I had was finding the right actors . Three factors were effecting this.
We needed actors who were available during nine to five hours due to the availability
of the studio, we could only afford minimal expenses, but unpaid actors tend to have
regular jobs to subsidise their work. They needed to be comfortable with semi nudity
and physical theatre method acting. We also had a distinct lack of the right kind of
female interest for the role of Poppy, only managing to audition three compared to
thirteen males.
I have learnt during the making of Poppy, casting can be extremely demanding on
time and resources, and should be allocated accordingly.
Although we had few minor issues with illness and working to get the soundtrack
completed, the production went well. This was down the the communication and
planning we both worked hard to achieve.
loss of split screen, changing script, cutting, too much footage, trying to find talent,
weather at the farm, photographer problems, Kathryn going home early, music
complication, time contraignths. Exporting problems.
Potential Career PathWorking on Poppy has cemented my ambition to make films. I have realised, the
technicality of filming, isnt my strongest point and being a DOP is not the road I
should take. My passion lies with writing and telling stories.
I am looking to continue working with Lauren Woodfall, into our professional career,
and believe the roles we have taken will continue to suit us. Producing is also
something I feel comfortable with and would use this to create business. We are
looking to work with more local artists, using their fan-base as a platform to
showcase our own abilities.
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Bibliography
Books;
Water Murch, 2001. In the blink of an eye:a perspective on film editing. 1st ed.
Silman James Press, Los Angeles.
Claudia Hunter Johnson, 2010. Crafting Short Screenplays That Connect. 3rd ed.
Focal Press. London
Chris Jones and Genevieve Jolliffe. 2007 The Guerilla Film Makers Handbook. 3rd ed.
continuum and Ealing Studios. London.
Websites;
Mike Elsenbery, 2011, Are short films the future of advertising? http://
www.cmo.com/advertising/are-short-films-future-advertising. Last Accessed
November 2012
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