Luke Pietnik - The Finished Film

So, here's the finished film. This is slightly re-vamped, because time constraints originally forced us to cut corners somewhat. Oh, and I should say, the videos are all viewable on my youtube channel, at http://www.youtube.com/lukepietnik if you want to see them larger. As well as the film, I've also uploaded and embedded some extra goodies:



Out-takes:



ThespWatch, with Luke Pietnik:



Looking Back:



And finally, the last video blog:



Enjoy everyone, and cheers!

Luke Pietnik - Completion

What a week. We cut it fine, but the film is complete. Today it was presented and shown in front of the group. It was good to see the various other projects, as it's easy to forget that so many other people are striving to finish their own films, too. It went down well all in all, the main critisism from our tutor being that it seemed a little slow, and could perhaps have done with a tighter edit.

I'm extremely proud of what I achieved in terms of sound design, and I think everyone else did a really good job, too. There was a fun 'ballot' at the end of today's session, and our film was voted the most popular group project film of the class. I think it captured the group's imagination. I know it did mine.

I will upload the film to youtube at some point, after some minor tweaks. Until then though, here's something to wet your appetite:



I don't know if this blog is still being assessed, the hand-in now past, but I'll keep posting various videos and/or bits of artwork, just for the sake of completism.

Thank you Max, Cat, Scott, Danny, Helen, Ross and Hollie. You were all brilliant.

Luke Pietnik - Filling You In

I haven't posted on this blog in 9 days (what!?). So with that in mind, let me fill you in. Ehem.

Shooting has been incredibly tight, all manner of problems interfering with our schedule, just a few being other uni projects, work, light, illness, squabbling, equipment trouble and hunger. Persevering, we finished shooting on Sunday, although we're currently without a montage, which might be replaced with either photos or a caption which describes the length of time that has elapsed.

We've got about a day to finish the edit, the film being roughly half done at the present time. I'm confident that we'll get it all completed, my soundtrack work running parallel to the picture edit. As Cath finishes one sequence, I'm sound editing the previous one, which is an efficient system that cuts down on time.

There is a rather tongue-in-cheek video blog to come, some of which I'm not sure I can post on youtube without fear of arrest or assault.

Anyway, amidst my pairs project and indeed, my dedicated sound project, I'm sure I'll be able to finish all the work off tomorrow, with time to spare.

Max Voyse - Final Update

Hi all,
I think this will probably be the last update before this needs to be in, We finished filming today which was a huge relief, I feel this will look good and we should have a decent finished film by Wednesday. There has been the mishaps throughout we have had good times and bad times but I believe we have all pulled through and we should be proud of our self's for achieving what is to me and maybe to some of the members our first 10 minute rom-com. It has been a long and hard couple of weeks as i said, I'd like to apologize to the actors and the group members for being really stressed and possibly losing it on set. This semester has been a hard one for me, trying to overcome sleep anxiety, depression and stress and it felt at times that no one was listening to what I had to say and most things I did was either wrong or wasn't even taken into consideration, i.e. the shot list I made wasn't consulted and it stressed me out working on it hard and nothing came from it. But looking at it now I think if anything the story is to the shot list give 2 or 3 shots per scene and I pretty much sorted the camera out as well.

I'm looking forward to seeing the finished piece I will probs put up some research up that I have done but for now I'll c ya later

Daniel Sieff - My Musical Influences

As I made it known some time ago, I am an aspiring musician, and so mentioned that it may be within my capabilities to compose a short but sweet instrumental on my acoustic guitar which could possibly be played over the end credits and/or montage sequence.

I particularly enjoy and find the works of film score composer Hans Zimmer to be very similar to my playing style.



Perhaps his most famous composition, Thunderbird, is featured in the soundtrack of Thelma and Louise (1991).



Although during the creative process I was heavily influenced by the melancholic melodies of indie/folk band Noah and The Whale.



Their film and album, The First Days of Spring (2009), written and directed by lead vocalist and rhythm guitar player Charlie Fink, exhibits how both film and music go hand-in-hand in the pursuit of effectively eliciting the earnest of emotions from deep within the audience’s hart.



And so I think this collaboration, but more specifically the outro of the piece(approximately a minute and a half long ... give or take a few seconds), would fit quite nicely on top of this feel-good romantic comedy.

Hope you enjoy! :)

Cath Tomkinson - Posters/Promos

Hi all..
Filming today overall went well. Again the light problem reared it's ugly head but we managed to sort it and got some really nice takes for scene 8. We've just got 10 and 7 to go now! Home stretch and all that :)

I took some stills for 'posters' today. It was against a rather ugly brick wall and I'm going to photoshop it so it isn't quite as boring, however, I'm not really sure what to replace it with so any input will be good. Also any input on the general layout would be much appreciated!

Here are some images I was thinking of using for the promo shots

For Jenny


For Both


For Gareth


Lemme know what you think!

Cath Tomkinson - Update so Far

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't posted in a while, we've all been rather busy!

So! We have 4 scenes which are currently being edited etc. and I'm quite happy with it so far. Luke has been working on special effects for the TMD, and we both have been working on Gareth's disappearance - which I'm quite happy with for the time being.

We --should-- be filming on Tuesday. I think we still need to think about what scenes we are shooting. I think if we have the majority of the day to film we can get a number of scenes down which will help take the stress off! I don't mind a couple of late nights again in the edit suite so post should be taken care of soon after shooting.

Sue seemed happy with the edit so far which was reassuring. One of the only problems we have looming is the length of the edit - but I think we should cross that bridge when we come to it.

As for the ending, I think we should have another group meeting to discuss it (and any other problems if you have any) as we don't all seem in agreement about it, so discussing it will be the best thing.

Cath

Luke Pietnik - Video Blog Two

Here's the second production blog, albeit a little late:



We started filming (as you'll have seen, if you've just watched the video) and although we had problems getting everyone together and the ball rolling, it went well. I'm getting more and more confident about the project now. The rushes and edited material we have so far look pretty good, too.

More soon...

Max Voyse - Filming

Hi all, today we filmed another scene so that is three scenes in all we have filmed even though we have had a lot of trouble doing them. Our actor Ross didn't turn up till about quarter past 4 because he were filming with another group, we were going to start filming at around 1.15 but couldn't, Helen turned up around half 1 and we were ready. We were thinking of filming three scenes today. I admit I was really frustrated with the fact that we could not film and I've been very stressed recently so this weren't helping. I kept proposing that one of us sat in (Preferably Luke) as Gareth, as we went to do so Ross turned up. I think this scene went well and I would like to apologies to the group and Ross for throwing a wobbler and I'll try not to do it again :D I think were on schedule as whenever we have filmed Cat (bless her) has gone and edited the stuff straight away.

As for the ending (Which I promise not to keep blogging on about (see what i did there)) I'm adiment that we use that song I think its a good song for the ending. But I have thought of one more, its a song called show me what I'm looking for by Caroline Liar

Luke Pietnik - Spinning Plates

I think it's fair to say that we're all finding it hard at the moment, and it's only going to get harder over the next couple of weeks.

We've finished casting, and I'm fairly happy with who we've chosen. Ross, who auditioned yesterday (video blog soon, hopefully), was very enthusiastic about the project, and put up with out amateurish organisation throughout the meeting.

We started on a rough schedule later in the day, and are now worried that in the minimal time we have when all three cast members are available to shoot together, we're not going to finish the film. We're going to do a far more detailed breakdown of the next 16 days, and hopefully edit as we shoot.

We're filming today with Helen. We're going to shoot the scenes in which Jenny is alone, or simply talking to Alice on the phone. Hopefully, when we're finished we'll get the tape to an editing suite and start cutting it together. If we're extra-ordinarily lucky, I might be able to do some sound dubbing, too.

I'm glad Max is looking at other possibilities in terms of music to accompany the end credits. If anything, it's an after-thought, but one that might reinforce the tone of the film for our audience. There's a song that I had in mind for the montage, but that we could, if we intend to use Danny's instrumental, play over the credits. It's a bit soppy, but so is the film:



More soon. Wish us luck!

Max Voyse - Update

Hey all,
today we auditioned Hollie and Ross for the remaining characters in the film. I think it went well and I believe we are filming tomorrow, with all of Jenny's parts which is a good start.

Ross seems ideal in my mind for Gareth, I think he can really make the part his own and depending on how he acts with a camera in his face he could really nail the part. I don't know what the rest of the group thought of Hollie as Alice, I think she is good for the role but needs guidance, I thought it looked like in the audition today that it seemed she is taking the pi** but I think that would work for Alice, this is for the group to decide as well as my self

As for the ending which I'm really exited about was on topic today, I have been asked to find other songs for the end, I have had a look and also working today I have thought of a couple of songs which could fit.


Journey - Don't Stop Believing
One of my fav songs of all time, I think it might work but it does seem too rocky


Will Young - Who am I
This is because I worked at the city hall tonight and he was the act. I think this might work but still believe that my original idea is better


Alice Cooper - Its Me
Again one of my fav songs I think it can work but again too rocky and I don't think the lyrics match the mood I have in mind to portray


Darkness - Growing on me
This is my final song, I think it could work, well without the long intro the video has but you get what I mean

I'll update soon
See ya

Scott Marshall - Time Travel Graph

Scott Marshall - Time Travel

After a quick browse on the net, I found a few interesting things relating to time travel.

This site lists the different styles of time travel used in film:

http://www.timetravelreviews.com/movies_list.html

This site, probably for the nerdier viewers, lists anomalies in time travel films:

http://www.mjyoung.net/time/

We don't have to be particularly concerned with time anomalies in our piece, as the action all takes place in the present day, but there are always problems that arise when films feature altered timelines.

Scott Marshall - Update

Well it has been over a month since I last posted on here, my apologies for the slackness. It's amazing how a bout of flu can derail plans to work.

Luckily in my absence my group has been plowing through and getting things sorted, and it looks like the film is coming together nicely. Its an ambitious piece, but judging from the progress so far it looks like turning out as a good piece.

One of my few concerns about the piece has already been addressed, and that was the length of the script. For my last project we planned a highly ambitious piece and after filming and editing realised we had far far too much footage and story, and we were forced to edit it down to 5 minutes and present an inferior version.

The original script was 18 pages long, but a lot of it has been cut and we now have a more manageable script, although we will still have to be careful about making sure our story fits into the 10 minute parameter. Perhaps a run through of the script in real time may be beneficial.

In a kind of backhanded compliment, I would like to complain that the rest of the group is far too thorough in their posts. Leave something for me to write about!

I joke of course.

Max Voyse - Update

Hey everyone,
Just a quick update before tomorrow, I'm getting rather worried about the fact we have not filmed, and this week I have a number of shifts at work which i need to go to. I'm hoping we get most of this done this week being that Wednesday being the day that seems to help all of us because everyone can make shoot. I'm currently trying to find a shot to post on here which is one of the key shots within the film. This being that when the audience see Gareth appear for the second time, he appears in front of Jenny but facing the wrong way. I wrote the shot list and in this shot we see a close up on Gareth then track left to see Jenny standing right behind him. I see this as one of the funniest moments in the film and would look brilliant.

When I was doing the shot list I thought of different shots but thought of them as what I would expect when watching a Romantic Comedy, I think if we view it from this angle than what I believe we are doing which is mainly focusing that its a Sci-Fi film, looking at the script thoroughly and working on the shots it feels more like a Romantic-Comedy than a Sci-Fi film. So I have looked at it from this angle. I have also come up with a idea for a finish to the film which could be a nice touch and would work really well. I have a image of both main characters sat in a park or somewhere and its a photograph which flashes on the screen after we see both characters leave with shot we see the plash than the photo. I can imagine it being at a Dutch angle and both of them smiling to give off the impression that there having a fun time. Than we hear this song over the top.



The song is 'Anything But Ordinary' by Avril Lavigne, it does sound daft that I come from a background listening to Alice Cooper and Madness but I think this fits the piece, well the begging part I think if we play this as there walking off then flash the pic for three seconds then fade out to credits I think it would work really well. Also if lucky we might get a few aww's in the audience. I have searched for other songs but I do think this is THE song for the ending, maybe Earth Wind & Fire's 'September' might work but I really want this song to be the ending with the photo. I have pitched it to the group and I know Avril is not every body's cup of tea but I think we should at least give it a try and not think of the song as a opinion but as film makers making a Romantic-Comedy. Luke didn't seem interested because it were Avril Lavigne that made the song. I plead for all of you if your looking at this post to listen to the song then think of the image and fade then wonder weather it would work!!!

Anyway sorry for rambling on, we are casting Gareth tomorrow, a fella named Ross is interested in the role, and will probably get the role. I'm hoping he looks good for the part and sounds good, I agree with people from the group when saying that both Gareth and Jenny need to look good together for the film to work.

I showed my girlfriend Hollie the script and went through some of the lines with her to play Alice, she is good for the role I think but needs guiding. Also we got to hope she doesn't freeze in front of the camera. That and she doesn't say the piece in her Welsh accent which she did when I went through the lines with her. I don't know it might work depends on how the rest of the group see it.

Anyways I'm off, looking forward to this week should be FUN!!! I'll post soon
SEE YA!!

Luke Pietnik - Sounds of the Future

Building on the content of my last post, I thought I'd delve into the world of sound. There's been very little talk of that, which seems odd, as I'll be designing and editing all the sound on this project. It is as much a part of any film as are the visuals.

As well as basic foley and spot effects for things like footsteps and general ambiences, our film requires some rather other-worldy, futuristic sound design. Gareth's TMD (Temporal Manipulation Device) should have a distinctive, ambient hum. His materialisations should also signify a mystical crossing, from one time to another. Building on the content of my last post, I thought I'd use those three programmes as examples.

Quantum Leap employs a range of sound effects including those of Al's Handlink and, of course, the actual Leap effect, linked here:

>> Quantum Leap Sound <<

The sound is recognisable, and fits the explosive light burst on screen very well. The sounds give an over-all continuity to the concepts and technology within the world of the show.

The beam sound from Star Trek is also instantly recongnisable, and has become iconic, often mimicked and re-created. Even in later incarnations of the series, the sound effect, while updated, has remained largely the same:

>> Star Trek Sound <<

Finally, it's my favourite show again, yes, Doctor Who. The TARDIS sound effect is one of the most prolific in TV history. Created by the Radiophonic Workshop, the effect was achieved by scraping a front door key along the wires inside a piano. This recording was then taken and reversed, reverb and distortion were added to it, and out came the most peculiar noise, once described as 'the sound of the universe':

>> TARDIS Sound <<

It's going to be my responsibilty, then, to design a sound that makes us think of the future, of time and space, and of course, of the void that seperates Gareth and Jenny. I'm keen, rather than dragging all the sounds from a library, to create them myself from various elements. It's a personal goal.

Right. Generate tone...

Luke Pietnik - Realising Space-Time

One of our major concerns throughout pre-production has been how to realise Gareth's materialisations. Max, heavily skeptical about in-shot transitions and effects, thought his appearances should be off-screen. However, I think we all wanted that shot, that extra-ordinary moment when Gareth passes from one world to another. As well as adding spectacle, it also emphasises Jenny's growing trust in Gareth, and the power possessed by the people of his time.

So, we looked to sci-fi for inspiration. I often sighted Quantum Leap as a major influence on me when it comes to materialisation effects. The flare is, as far as I'm aware, rotoscoped onto each frame, and animated.






The effects, as well as adding verisimilitude, help to 'hide the join' between the locked off shots of the environment, and Sam Beckett within that environment.

Another obvious effect to discuss is that of the Star Trek Transporter Beam.


The overlayed effect adds another level to the shot, more interesting than the ordinary and mundane jump cut or fade transition.

It's easy to forget that while we imagine Gareth traverses space, he also travels through time, and one of the most famous time travel special effects is also one of the most simple. The TARDIS.


Initially realised with just a simple cross fade transition, the sound effect and simple flashing light motif make The TARDIS' materialisation an iconic moment, whenever it occurs. With the advent of computer technology, the TARDIS effect has evolved somewhat since the show's return to our screens in 2005. A CGI skeleton underpins the fading box, and throbs beneath it.

Having done a few tests, I'm confident we can achieve something stylish, consistent and effective. Any scenery or minor lighting changes in the time between our locked off shots can be masked and shrouded by glow and blur effects.

Max, worry no longer.

Luke Pietnik - Video Blog One

Here's the first, hopefully, of several video blogs, that covers our brief meeting and audition with Helen. Enjoy:

Max Voyse - SHOT LIST!!!

Hi all,
I have finally finished the shot list and I'm confident it looks good and we will have fun time filming. There is one or two things on the shot list I have done/changed from the script, but are highlighted in some way with the scrip written dialogue done as-well. I have also added a possible ending which could be shot and added (well its a photo with a song behind it) and I believe would make to a nice ending to run into the credits. I hope everyone will be pleased with it and I'm really exited to work on it
See you soon

Max Voyse - Update

Hi all!!
Today we have been casting the female lead role, a lass named Helen turned up as soon as I got there and auditioned for the role of Jenny and Alice. I'm not too sure if the others will agree but I believed she performed Alice's roll better than Jenny, I think this is mainly because we sort of gave her a character to base Alice on (Phoebe from Friends) whereas Jenny we didn't really give her much to work on (sounds strange I know). But I believe after this weekend (if we can hopefully film) she will have nailed the part and made Jenny her own. I actually think looks wise she is ideal for Jenny just more how she acts and the tone of voice she needs to work on but I don't think it will take much (like Cat says below she isn't going to be perfect first time of looking at the script).

Apart from that it was the first time I saw the new edited version of the script and I like it, Luke and Dan have taken out a lot but not lost the narrative structure of the piece. Cat has had someone contact her for a possible Gareth, I think he will probably get the part as we have had no other interest from anyone else. As for Alice, I'm using tonight with our lass and hopefully with a bit of direction she could be ideal for Alice, Hollie (our lass) has the perfect personality for her but has never acted in front of camera before, hopefully she will be ok

I'm finishing the changes to the shot list now and I'll send everyone in the group a copy.

Cath Tomkinson - JP Factor... The Auditions!

Well, it should really be audition... Helen Dodds, the actress who contacted us yesterday turned up (thankfully). The elusive Ross didn't, and so far I haven't heard why.

I enjoyed Helen's performance, and I think she would be better as Jenny than Alice. Of course it all comes down to what everyone else thinks, but I think given time with the script she will get Jenny's character down, (lets face it, an impromtu performance of a script you've never seen before, with a brief look at character detail won't win a Best Actress Oscar).

We now need to face what we're going to do about Alice and Gareth. I can ask Helen if she is free over the weekend to film individual parts (the house scenes etc), and then we can at least put performance to tape - so to speak.

I think it would be good to have a meeting after the lesson on friday just to keep the ball rolling. Would that be ok with everyone?

Feel better soon Scott!

Luke Pietnik - The Happy Strife

Having been told on Friday that our script - then 19 pages long - needed to be edited down, we spent a couple of hours after our morning session scribbling on a copy, noting down what sections we could cut. Over the weekend, the script was gradually reduced to just over 12 pages. After that, there were only a few minor spelling and formatting corrections to make, and we now have a final draft.

Our attention has since turned to casting. Cat sent an e-mail to one of the heads of the drama faculty we visited the other day. She left a contact number with them, and we have recently been contacted by two actors, male and female, who are interested in playing characters in our film. Tomorrow, we are to meet and talk to them about the film.

We're a man down at the moment, it seems, as Scott has unexpectedly fallen ill, poor lad. I'm sure he'll be back on his feet soon, though. Until then, we've got to start gearing up, hopefully, for filming.

Get well soon, Scott.

Cath Tomkinson - The Drama Faculty

So, after our slight wild goose chase yesterday we managed to track down the faculty of Development and Society where we met Suzanne Boudjada who said to email her with details of the project and she will put it up on blackboard for all to see!

Her contact details are;
Email: s.j.boudjada@shu.ac.uk
Tel: 0114 225 5351

I'm going to include a short synopsis of the piece, character treatments and a rough schedule... but for the schedule I need to know roughly when we're shooting, and when we'll be casting. I'm presuming this won't be put up until monday now so it will have to be after that..

Also, Max did you have any luck with your actors?

Any suggestions on a post card.

Daniel Sieff - The Mounting Pressures of Pre-Production

Thanks to Luke the scriptwriting process went quite swimmingly and I couldn’t help but feel a little redundant at times. Don’t get me wrong, the entire process was a collaborative effort which as script writer I thought would be the best method to see that his idea went through and to have a completed script at a time that would allow us to comfortably focus on the remaining areas of pre-production.

We had expressed ideas about taking inspiration from one of the films we had seen at one of our screenings; Before Sunrise.



It was interesting because the entire film had revolved around a conversation between two strangers (a man and a woman) on a train in Europe who spontaneously decide spend a day together in Vienna as mere acquaintances and end up falling in love by nightfall. We thought that the situation these two people find themselves in and the path they follow into a blossoming relationship is almost identical to that of Jenny and Gareth and would be a good source to refer to when writing the exchange of dialogue between them.

In addition we speculated about ways we could pay homage to our film’s inspiration; The Time Traveller’s Wife.



So then we thought the book Jenny is reading in the second scene could be that, or if that makes things too obvious, it could have something to do with the theme of time travel or romance. There are also shots in the montage sequence of Jenny and Gareth playing a game of scrabble and watching a movie which will provide us with more opportunities for in-jokes and the like.

But all that aside - I thought in order to redeem myself, if it is okay with you Max, I would be more than happy to help you draw up some storyboards (of the montage sequence in particular) as I had a lot of success in this area whilst studying film and media at A-level.

I am also an aspiring musician and may be able to compose a short instrumental on my acoustic guitar, which if you guys like, could be played over the montage sequence and I think will add a more professional touch to the overall piece.

Oh yeah, and before I forget... to get this blasted temporal manipulation device sorted out once and for all, I suggest we pay a visit to one of those gadget shops that specialise in selling miscellaneous products, including futuristic looking artifacts such as the one we are looking for, and if we don't find anything that suits our interest, I think Luke's inventive design would be a nice backup.

Luke Pietnik - Casting the Future

How dare you Max! I will not tolerate slandour like that, not to mention grammar! - Ha! Yes, hello again everybody, it's your favourite busybody blog admin, Luke Pietnik. Tomorrow is the casting session, and almost everything is in place. I'm going to take in my Mini DV Camcorder and film some of what happens, then perhaps post an edited video here.

I have also prepared some script extracts and character treatments to show to the actors, hopefully helping them along. I think the hardest part is going to be choosing the appropriate actor for each role. I'm sure we'll reason wisely, though. I'll probably post tomorrow regarding our progress. Until then...

Fear not.

Max Voyse - Update

Hi all, getting all ready for tomorrow and quite exited really. Also looking forward to Luke editing this update: p only kidding I’m looking forward to seeing how people take a approach to the characters only seeing the script and a camera. I think if they do well we can find the ideal Jenny and Gareth. I’m still not well looks like I’m full up of cold now so trying to get myself better by taking loads of cold tablets.

Like Dan and Luke the meeting we had on Monday was problebly the most productive we have had all this project, we coved a number of things and now I’m looking forward to getting our actors and shooting next week

Luke Pietnik - The Belated Meeting

As young Daniel mentioned below, yesterday's meeting was most productive. We discussed casting, props, treatments, filming locations, and even this very blog. Friday is our next window of opportunity. We're going to hold a casting session, with staggered slots for each actor and actress. If we manage to decide and confirm who will play each of the three characters, filming should begin next week. If not, we might have problems.

I'll be sure to have a section or sections of the script for audition purposes, just to give our actors something to work with. We'll also be filming the auditions, so that we can refer back to each, and post a video blog of the session here. This will also act as a screen test, more of which we might do later, depending on whether we're ahead of schedule.

Max still isn't fond of our film's current title, 'The Time Messenger'. However, at this late stage, and in the absence of a suitable replacement that we all feel works better, we're going to have to go with it. I thought, then, that I might embed this poster. I wish I could say that it was a production aide, and part of our project development. It is, however, merely the result of boredom:


Sorry, Max - Much love!

Daniel Sieff - Update

I just want to say that I had found Monday's production meeting to be one of the most productive thus far. It was our very first meeting we had all managed to attend which enabled us to finalise the script and devise an extensive shot list. However, despite the fact that we are slightly ahead of schedule, we had realised that we should now begin to focus on the following things:-

Casting: Max and Scott had managed to contact a few actors and actresses where I recall Max agreeing with them for there to be a casting session after our class on Friday. I advise you guys to e-mail them the relevant extracts from the script for them to rehearse prior to the session and we should in advance, book a small room in the learning centre or someplace such as that where we shall assess their performances on a panel and decide who would best fit the bill for each of the three roles.

Character Treatments: We had agreed that Luke will write up a treatment for Jenny, Scott - Alice, and I - Gareth, to be handy before Friday's casting session. Although I would like to suggest that for anyone who would like to come up with some form of treatment for any, if not all three characters to please do so as it will enable us to fully understand the different perspectives we may have of these personalities which should prove to be most helpful when on the casting panel.

Location Scouting: Pending further investigation. lolz :P

Max Voyse - New Post

Hi all, just a quick update. I’ve not been feeling very well recently so not done much. Been trying to cast for the film and been getting rather worried that we have not filmed anything. I have proposed to some people of the group about a actress me and Luke used in one of our projects last year and the actor is a young actor who I know from school, I believe he is a brilliant actor. We are going to have a meeting tomorrow and I should have a shot list done by tonight. We should have started filming by next week and we should have this finished by the end of the month.
Max

Luke Pietnik - Fun With Photoshop

Yes, it's me again, the head! (sorry). I haven't heard from the others yet, but I think we may be meeting tomorrow. Sorry about the continual posts, but I thought I'd stick up these designs I had a go at, for the business/message cards that Gareth carries:


You'll notice I used the same black spiral motif on both, to give the company an identifyable brand or insigia. We'll probably print these onto card for use in the film, and try our best not to crease or damage them.

Swish!

Luke Pietnik - Will This Do?

OK, so you're probably going to be a little apprehensive about using this in the film, guys. Never the less, I think this is the closest thing we'll get to a 'designed' prop. Yes, earlier on, I spent a bit of time creating this:


I found an old iPod Nano box, took out the cardboard middle and covered all the logos and apple watermarks with white stickers. I then designed a front 'face' in Photoshop and printed it off on glossy paper. I had to saw off some bits from the back to get it to fit on, then put in the front and cardboard middle and selotaped it up.


I'll be the first to admit it's not perfect, both in terms of proportion and design, but I reckon it'll serve. As long as we abstain from extreme close-ups and keep it tucked away in Gareth's hand, we'll get away with it.

Anyway, those are my views, and if you guys have anything better, brilliant. But what do you think, will it work?

Hmm...

Luke Pietnik - Finishing Pre-Production

The script is finished for now, so we're going to start casting very, very soon. I started work on some designs for the business/memo cards which are vital to the plot, and have e-mailed them to the rest of the group.

I have also, like the young Walter Murch that I am (Haha!), started playing around with various sounds that will accompany Gareth's materialisations, and act as a motif for his character. In addition, I've started thinking about the various ambiences and effects I'll need to add with regard to the location of each scene.

The 'device' remains elusive, none of us having managed to create or find one as yet. As soon as we've managed to get that out of the way though, we'll pretty much be ready to film.

As the deadline draws closer, I'm anxious but optimistic about this production, and have faith in m'colleagues.

We few, we happy few...

Cath Tomkinson - Another Update

Hey all, just a brief post tonight as I have been in Blackpool all day!

I've been looking through the script, and apart from a few minor spelling errors (there is a 'loose' instead of 'lose' on page 5), and Jenny mentions a landlord when it is now a B&B (pg16 'What am I going to tell the Landlord'), I think it is a good script and is very close to what I expected the script to be like. A group meeting in the next week is imperative, we can talk about sound design and shooting style a bit more as well as we haven't really touched on that yet.

Anyway, I am out now as I am tired!
See you all soon

Luke Pietnik - A Quickie

Hello. This is another brief post, just to keep the ball rolling, but I'll be doing some more research very soon.

Danny and I got a finished draft of the script done on Friday. The others couldn't meet us for various reasons, but we managed to plow through it. Danny liked what I had done with the rough draft, but it still required some alterations. I've just got back from London (neither here nor there), and so haven't had a chance to post on here in the last couple of days.

I did mail the script out to everyone, but I haven't heard anything back yet. I told Danny to work on the script if he thought it needed any adjustments, anyway. It's imperative that we start location scouting and casting very soon though, so the script should be at least roughly finalised this week.

Depending on what everyone's up to this week, I'm hoping that all five of us can meet to discuss our next move. I've talked to the others about posting research, and I'm pretty sure they're all busying themselves with that.

More info soon...

Luke Pietnik - My Two Penneth

It's been a hectic few days for everyone, but we're getting to grips with the task ahead of us now. A very rough, first draft of the script has been completed. I imagine we'll have the final draft by next week. Going with the current trend, I thought I'd throw in my outlook on the 'device' that Gareth will use to navigate the space/time continuum.

I don't think the prop should be an Earthly, 20th century device. Quirky and interesting as this idea is, I think the device should represent Gareth's world. If nothing else, this will emphasise the isolation of Gareth from his own time when he breaks it. I also think that inserting an anachronistic or fantastical element into a domestic setting often creates an interesting juxtaposition.

In Red Dwarf 'Back to Earth', for example, the crew utilise a device known as the psi-scan, that helps them traverse 21st century Earth.


It helps, among other things, to emphasise the crew's natural segregation from this time period.

Likewise, the enigmatic Al from Quantum Leap has a hand-held device.


It helps us identify his connection to the world beyond the characters and times Sam Beckett inhabits. It also gives him an identifyable silhouette.

I am keen to employ a similar device in our own film. If we have a sturdy enough prop, the sound effects will do the rest.

Beep.

Cath Tomkinson - Devices, eh?

Ok well, I was thinking about the device used for time travelling on the train and I tried to think of all the existing hand held devices I could that were simple, so here we go! (Also, not all of these are time travel orientated, but they are all sci-fi-esqe)


Comm Badges in Star Trek, they are a simple design and something similar could be disguised as clothing.


The transport button used in the last episode of series 2 in Dr Who. Again, simple design. (For those not versed in Dr Who it is the Yellow thing in the bottom left hand corner)


Also, it could be something simple which 'blends in' with the time period, we could do it similarly to the off-style clothing idea we had? Something from a few years back, could be a tape recorder/cassette player or something similar? Or it could be something everyday like the 50p in The Queens Nose! (I won't bother finding a picture because I'm sure you all know what one of those looks like :P)

I thought that if the character is in a kinda dead-end job (sorta like a pizza delivery boy type role) then he wouldn't have complete control over the device, so maybe a button or something similar would blend in more?

Not sure, but I hope this is something to think about at least!

Luke Pietnik - Considering Our Options

It's Thursday, and things are beginning to gear up somewhat. I'm trying to arrange, with Max's help, a meeting for tomorrow. It's a busy time for all of us, so it's difficult to pin everyone down and decide on a time. However, we're building up our research and, amongst ourselves, making general decisions about how we want this film to be.

Thanks for the post below Scott, it's an interesting idea, using domestic or quite ordinary objects as a means of travelling through time. I'd say Doctor Who pretty much pioneered that idea (but then, I would say that). We could employ the same technique, modelling Gareth's time manipulation device on something like a TV remote. On the other hand, perhaps injecting an element of futuristic, science fiction design might add to the wonder with which Jenny experiences Gareth's appearance.

There is a budgetary issue, of course. We have little or no money for special or visual effects, which is why a domestic item might be neccesary. If we are to design a prop and create it, we have a number of options. We could buy something that is vaguely the right shape and then spray or treat it until we have what we need. Alternatively, one of us could actually manufacture a device using bits of things - junk, old phones, etc. There is another option in liaising with the design and technology department in the university and asking them to make us a prop.

I'm going to make a list of the things we need to discuss for tomorrow's meeting, including props and minor details, so we can clear them up once and for all.

Right, now where's that super glue...

Scott Marshall - Time Travel Devices

Time machines in the media tend to either be elaborate contraptions or relatively simple, everyday things that are tweaked or have otherworldly powers. The most famous time machines in popular culture are the Dolerean from the Back To The Future series, and the phone booths featured in Dr. Who and the Bill & Ted films.








The use of everyday objects acting as time travel devices is a useful tool we can use in our film. As opposed to a large, elaborate time machine, things like phone booths allow the far fetched notion of time travel to happen within a world that viewers can identify as our own. Due to the relatively large budgets available to producers of film and television, the act of time travel is usually shown through the use of CGI, something which we will not be able to utilise. This means we will have to show time travel through things like editing, or simply allude to it as opposed to actually showing it.

Scott Marshall - More Time Travel

Apologies for the lack of contribution thus far, its been a tough week.

Following on from Luke's list of uses of time travel in media, I have found a few more that deal with it in interesting ways:

12 Monkeys (Terry Gilliam, 1995)
Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (Peter Hewitt, 1991)
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (Stephen Herek, 1989)
La Jetee (Chris Marker, 1962)
Les Visiteurs (Jean-Marie Poire, 1993)
Time Bandits (Terry Gilliam, 1981)

Luke Pietnik - The Words and Stuff

Cath is right. The script, at the moment, is the most important thing. Danny apparently made a start on the script last night, but said he thought he needed some plot. More than that, he will need some help writing it. I recommended he download the script writing software CeltX, which is an invaluable program for anyone trying to write scripts at a reasonable speed.

I think what we should do is, at our next meeting, which might be on Friday, discuss the script, and try to plot it. By that I mean, write down what key events should happen in each scene, and decide on key bits of dialogue. Once that's sorted out, two or three of us can try and work together to help Danny on the actual shooting script, working in CeltX. Then we'll show a first draft to the whole group, who can discuss it and suggest improvements or additions.

I might also write some character treatments before then to work from. They will help us decide on the characters' motivations, and what they might or might not do in certain situations. Once we've got most of a first draft, we can begin scouting for locations and casting.

So that's our main game plan, really. I told Max I was free on Friday, and he suggested Friday might be good for him, also. However, when I spoke to Scott about it, he said he and Max might be shooting their pairs project/film. So it's up in the air at the moment, but I'll be speaking to Mr. Voyse today, and hopefully we'll clear it all up. Rest assured, we will be meeting soon. All of us.

Ambiguity, be gone!

Cath Tomkinson - Scripting

Hey all.

Script and Storyboard are upmost importance atm. Would you prefer if there were a few of us there Dan or would the treatments etc be enough?

Have we any idea of a schedule? Might be best to have a rough idea of when we need to shoot and such so it doesn't come as a shock at the last minute. I can sort this out if thats ok.

About the lesson today - I think the most important thing we took from it was the 180 degree rule. I think Luke and I have got the grasp of it (hopefully) and I know we did some stuff on it last year so we can try use it to our advantage - not sure how active the camera will be in the end product but it is always worth knowing.

I'm going to skim through the Time Traveller's Wife to have a look at the dialogue, I'll post anything interesting I find - I can lend the book to anyone who wants a quick look as well.

We should meet up at some point this week (earliest possible oppourtunity) to get stuff sorted and to make sure we're all on the same page! =]

See you soon!

Daniel Sieff - Script

Hey guys! Sorry I've been a bit of a ghost lately, I just needed to finalise my idea for the 2-minute film project. Now, to begin writing the script for our film, seeing as though it isn't my idea, I will need access to a copy of the treatment so that I get the gist of the storyline and will know what kind of things the characters would say in key events as the plot thickens.

Luke Pietnik - Still no Name

I drafted up a project statement earler (fret not, everyone). I'm sure it'll be OK, I spent a good bit of time on it. I've also been trying to think of a name. I thought maybe we could call it 'The Messenger', but it's already been used, and I don't think it sounds that great anyway. As Cath said, we could use the name of the time travelling courier service, but I'm not sure.

It's definitely going to take some mulling, that. We could always use a working title for the moment. 'The Time Messenger' maybe? Hmm...

Cath Tomkinson - Tomorrow

Hey all.

I've had a look at that list of relevant work - thanks for compiling that Luke. I think even though it is important to look at how other people have tackled a similar subject area we shouldn't get too mixed up in who did what with this topic as it is so important to try and be original with it.

We need to sort out the group statement thing for tomorrow. I can write up a draft if you guys want and I can show you it tonight at the screening or we can write it up after the screening at Starbucks or something? It is only 500 words so it shouldn't take too long.

I've been trying to think of a name for the piece - it is almost as difficult as coming up with a new damn idea! I was thinking we could either come up with a name for the messaging service (which we will have to do at some point anyway) and we could call the piece that or something? Not sure, it is making my brain hurt.

Alas. I have to get ready to come back to Sheffield.
See you all tonight

Luke Pietnik - Viewing List

Using wikipedia and a couple of other reference sites, I formulated a kind of viewing list. These films and television programmes are potentially useful to look at:

Films:

Back to the Future
The Butterfly Effect
Click
Donnie Darko
Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel
Groundhog Day
I’ll Never Forget You
Love Story 2050
Millennium
Out of Time
Slipstream
Terminator
Timecop
Planet of the Apes

Television:

Doctor Who
Crime Traveller
Futurama
Goodnight Sweetheart
Life on Mars
Ashes to Ashes
Quantum Leap
Sliders
Sapphire and Steel
Red Dwarf
Heroes
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Between us, we should be able to research these texts, influencing how we handle the film.

Luke Pietnik - Film Research

So here's the trailer for 'The Time Traveller's Wife':



Although our film does involve a relationship which plays on the concept of time travel, to go as far as this film does would be rather difficult in 10 minutes. Our film has a lot more humour, and sticks to a basically linear relative time-span, seen through the eyes of our female protagonist. Gareth, while able to travel to different periods in time, does not meet Jenny at different points in her life, young and old. The feelings of sadness and isolation in our film are more to do with the fact that Gareth returns to the future, not against his will, but because that's where he belongs. Or does he?

Another film which plays with the concept of time is 'The Time Machine' made in 2002 and based on the science fiction novel by HG Wells:



The book has been adapted for film several times, but the latest version is the most thought-provoking and intelligent. There is a relationship between the main character and a female from the future, and there is obviously a rift between the two. This relationship is underplayed, however, and serves mainly as a motivation for the bravery of the hero.

Our film focuses mainly on a relationship, the time travel concept acting as a hook to grab the audience. Gareth might as well have been a man who steps off a plane or ferry with a message from a long-lost aunt. But bringing big concepts like the traversing of time adds scope and intrugue.

These films are useful to look at because wether they got it right or wrong, we can always take something useful from them.

Luke Pietnik - Pitch and Putt

Well, thank you Cath, and to a lesser extent Max, for those insightful updates. As Mr. Voyse mentioned, the pitch was today, and our idea seemed to go down rather well. We were told it's a very well-rounded story, but that it needs to be cast well, because it is character driven. I'm confident that if we see enough actors, we'll get some good performances and chemistry.

Another new development is that we have a new recruit in Scott Marshall. Scott requested that he be put in our group, which is rather encouraging really. We thought that to somewhat take the load off Cath and Dan, Scott could, as well as generally helping us out, adopt both the Director and Producer roles. He was up for it, and said he'd be doing some research work, to be posted on this blog.

That's really all for now. We still don't have a title for the film, and the script is yet to be started. Still, that's something to look forward to...

Max Voyse - Update

We have just pitched our idea to the class, people seemed to like it. It has been a hard week, especially Tuesday when we were pretty much shouting at each other!

I believe this to be the hardest process in any project but I'm glad that we have an idea and now it should be fun writing and storyboarding the piece. I think that we should be looking for actors now. One thing that we took from today is that our piece is peformance heavy and we will have to be careful with casting. Both me and Scott know actors that could be in the piece.

It should be fun.

Cath Tomkinson - Just an Update

So we have FINALLY decided on an idea, and to be honest, it is the best one we had (thank you Luke!).

Just for some background on the other idea it could have been, here is a basic storyline for 'Nyctophobia'.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nyctophobia is based on a fear of the dark. The main character is a psychiatrist doing a study on people affected by phobias. Her main case study has an incredible fear of the dark - he sleeps with multiple lightbulbs next to his bed just incase the room light goes out during the night, he sleeps with as many lights on as he can so that he doesn't have to 'face the shadows' (see what I did there...) during the night. The psychiatrist is living in a half way house with this character to study his behaviour and monitor him from day to day.

The introduction begins at night time, when the psychiatrist is getting ready to go to sleep. It is a montage of generic nighttime activity - brushing teeth, washing face etc. As she goes to sleep she reaches over and turns off her lamp on the bedside table. The screen goes black and 'Nyctophobia' comes up on the screen, then fades out and 'n. an abnormal fear of night or darkness.' replaces it.

The main narrative begins during the day. We see the psychiatrist and patient interacting together, most importantly the psychiatrist has to be detatched from all situations, always studying the behaviour of the patient rather than fully interacting with whatever he is doing. We see them in several situations, outside (possibly in the botanical gardens), shopping etc. whilst emphasising his fear of the darkness.

As the sun begins to fade we can see the patient becoming more and more agitated. the psychiatrist wants to test him to see how long he can last outside whilst it is getting dark, however he becomes too much to control and they have to go inside to the intense brightness of the half way house. We then follow the psychiatrist into her study where she begins making notes and observations from the day. We hear a telephone call where she begins to complain how difficult the project is and how she wants to finish the case study as soon as possible so she can go back to normality. The phone call could be held with a neighbor who will be introduced later on.

The next scene shows the patient playing on a video game/watching a movie (possibly) when suddenly, the TV cuts out, and then the lights suddenly go down. The screen is blank, perhaps except for some highlights from a street light outside? We hear profanities from the patient as he starts to have a panic attack. He mentions getting outside as it is lighter out there, we hear fumbling and crashing as he forces his way outside. The psychiatrist realises where he has gone moments later and follows him.

When outside the patient is wandering in the road, lit by streetlamps. He is panicking. All of a sudden there is bright light upon him as a car approaches. He slams his hands on the bonnet and you hear the car horn. The driver gets out and goes to check he is ok - she puts her hand on his shoulder and he reacts, he swings round and unintentionally hits her. She falls to the ground as the psychiatrist is running towards them. The driver is the psychiatrist's friend who she was talking to earlier.

The screen fades out to black. We hear a voice over from the psychiatrist explaining how the patient was readmitted to hospital for tests due to the panic attack. Her friend is fine, and she has finally got the case study finished. This voiceover could be over a repeat of the introduction, however at the end, as she goes to switch the light off she hesitates, and instead leaves it on. The shot could then fade to white(?) and the credits roll.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That turned out to be more detailed that I thought it would!
Anyway, I think we have the better idea in the future message service - it has more character dynamics and is quirky.

I think it would be helpful to look at similar stories. The time traveler's wife (Review here --> http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/time_travelers_wife/review/) isn't exactly similar in most ways, but it has the romance aspect of a science-fiction piece that isn't often explored to the full.

Anyway, I'm going to shut up for now. See you all in the morning!!

Luke Pietnik - Huzzah!

This is just a brief post to confirm that we will indeed be doing the romantic, sci-fi comedy film that I thought up yesterday. I pitched it to Cath and Max earlier, and they really liked it. Besides anything else, it fits perfectly the brief.

All it's lacking is a title, and then we can begin writing the first draft of our script. Today we discussed at length the various practical elements of the plot. We'll need a couple of very small props, but not much else.

That's a very great weight off all our minds I think, Max's especially.

Brilliant!

Luke Pietnik - The First Hurdle

Hi, Lukee here.

Well, this week has been creative hell for all of us. Having devised 5 or 6 very detailed ideas, then having dropped them by Tuesday, I began to think that all of my creative energy had been exhausted.

We started off with some very vague notions. My first suggestion was that of a comedy chase sequence, a parody of Hollywood action movies. I also devised a couple of other ideas regarding loss of identity and an act of self sacrifice in a post-apocalyptic future.

Danny picked up on an interesting quote from one of the Psalms, which seemed to underpin nicely the ‘Facing the Shadow’ idea. Max and Cath began developing an idea that involved a man being treated for his phobia of the dark.

I began to question my comedy action thriller. I clung onto it for a while, trying to get around the practical problems it would have presented. It would have involved two characters, a hero and a villain, having a high-speed chase down-hill on scooters. The first problem I could see was that it would have been difficult to shoot, various angles and constant sound effects required. It would also have been hard to create a 5-10 minute film on the basis of this idea. Max voiced the concern on a number of occasions that comedy is difficult to write. While I did agree, I don’t think it’s any harder than writing a drama.

I decided to go back to the drawing board anyway. I was inspired partly by a Doctor Who serial from the 1970s, in which the Doctor enters a false reality, a computation matrix, and finds himself in a surreal environment in which logic does not apply:


I decided to put a human character in a bland, baron wilderness, and subject him to harsh trials and challenges. Working backwards from this, I decided to preset this world as a possible afterlife or limbo, and have the protagonist die or appear to die before he enters this environment. The film would finish with a darkness or blanket of greyscale engulfing the landscape, and the protagonist turning to face the oncoming force, as per the brief.

Once again, this idea fell down in terms of practicality. There were scenes involving strange beasts and elemental forces beyond our control. We also decided that finding a baron, featureless location close-by was going to be a problem. I then dropped this idea in favour of a completely new one that came to me on the bus, on the day that I write this entry.

My final (hopefully) film concept is that of a romantic science fiction comedy. A girl called Jenny, in her 20s, is astounded when a man appears out of thin air right before her eyes, claiming to be from the future. The truth is that Gareth is a rather reluctant employee of a gimmicky time-travel messenger service. The idea is that you pay to have messages sent back in time to friends and relatives. Jenny is bemused and a little sceptical at first, especially as it seems that this message is from herself, a much older version of herself, from the future. But these messages seem to be alluding to a relationship she is yet to have. All becomes clear when one day on a jaunt into Jenny’s past, Gareth’s hand-held time manipulator malfunctions, and he has to spend his time waiting for the link to be re-established, in the company of this young woman.

Cath and I are meeting tomorrow to try and finalise the idea that we are to pitch in Friday’s session. I believe she has polished up the original ‘fear of the dark’ concept, so it’s either that, or mine, I guess. One thing is clear though: we must finally decide tomorrow.

Gulp.

Welcome

Welcome to the Juggernaut Productions blog. Our creative team consists of:

Daniel Sieff - Script Writer
Cath Tomkinson - Picture Editor
Matthew Voyse - Camera Operator
Luke Pietnik - Sound Recordist/Mixer
Scott Marshall - Producer/Director

This blog will be assessed as part of our second year Film and Media Production course. We aim to create a 5-10 minute audio/visual project.

Wish us luck!