The Script

You can read the script here.

Production Diary: I wrote a script!

It’s important to have a good script when making a film as it’s near impossible to make a good film out a bad script. From a business point of view, the script is usually what sells a film to get it into production, especially for a short film. This is why it is crucial to make the script as best as it can be - with developed characters and a structured story that utilises the medium effectively. Film is also a visual medium so it is also necessary to convey as much as possible through visuals.

The script I have written that I plan to shoot and produce is a drama which tells the story of a grumpy man who is happy in is misery until a new perspective changes things. It’s set in a coffee shop over the course of three days and features only two speaking roles - which will make the shooting quick and efficient as opposed to having to organise cast and crew to get to a variety of different locations. Furthermore, for this story more locations are not necessary so it will allow me to tell a concise and effective story.

The first idea I had for the script was the opening line of the protagonist’s interior monologue. This came about on a conversation on a camp, discussing the merits of black or white coffee. The phrase “I like the misery” (undoubtedly inspired somewhat by Father Ted) prompted the discussion of what sort of person someone has to be to drink their coffee without any milk or sugar. The ideas of the character were stuck with me the entire hike up the mountain but it was only when I was being dangled precariously down a hole in a glacier above an unknown height, the character of Graham and the basic story of Brew came into existence.

I always enjoy stories about contrasting two characters and exploring the influence someone who is no more than a stranger can have on someone. The creation of Miranda, who was from the offset cheerful, thoughtful and optimistic, was an obvious result of the desire to have a character who was the complete opposite of Graham. The story was a simple one - a grumpy, bitter man would begin to see the world differently.

The first draft was written on paper at the airport a few days after the conception of the idea. For the second draft, written a week later on Celtx there weren’t many changes. Graham had originally been called Jeff but that name never really stuck the same way Graham did. The main changes made were within the layout and wording. The first, rough draft in my notebook was only ever written to be read by me so I had to make sure it appeared professional and easier to be read by the cast and crew.

The ending was changed slightly - the ending that I had written on paper (and that was originally typed up) simply had Graham (then Jeff) sitting at his table with his own notepad and pen as he put some sugar into his coffee. While I did like the visual representation of his ‘sweetening’ with the sugar sachet, I felt it was a little too happy and I wanted to accentuate the bitter sweetness of a lonely man realising he was actually lonely. This made the ending more emotionally resonant and in my opinion much stronger than what was originally written.

The next challenge is to find a location to shoot and cast the characters while working on a shot list and a storyboard. 

Short Film Festivals and Channels

Production Diary - Resource Bank

I have been conducting a ‘resource bank’ for usage in my short film. This is a list of locations, actors, props and techniques I could use to make a high-quality, professional short film. Ideally I wouldn’t need to work backwards from these utilities to develop a story – rather meet halfway with a story that’s decent with a set or location that looks brilliant.
These are some of the Locations I have gathered.

South Quay.

This is an area near Canary Warf. As a location it is visually exciting, looks futuristic and is likely to be very easy to film at on a Sunday when no one is working. At night the lights transform the area into a brightly lit, colourful metropolis. I would consider using this location to tell a smaller, futuristic science fiction story, probably using the ‘ten minutes into the future’ trope to tell an exciting story – possibly exploring what happens to the people that don’t get to work in the big, bright buildings. Being on the other side of London it might be tricky to co-ordinate transporting equipment and actors as often as necessary so that would need to be considered.

Ruislip Lido.

A lot less glamorous than South Quay but that would be the point. Ruislip Lido is a hole of rancid water by an artificial beach with a park that needs just a bit more paint. This idea of urban decay would work with a story about outsiders and outcasts – perhaps a story about two people meeting and their lives changing. This location looks best at night: the lights from the pub across the ‘lake’ offer some beautiful visuals which is important for a film. I wouldn’t be the first person to shoot there either – Cliff Richard made his music video there too!

Woods.

We are lucky to have woods nearby. Not only due to the fact we’re near London where trees are rapidly becoming an endangered species, but they also look really cool to film in. While there is the idea that every student film ever is shot in the woods, it is for good reason as the woods offer an exotic environment with vivid colours and imagery. If I was shooting in the woods I’d want it to be with a story that could only be told in the woods – for example, a fantasy. While typically the budgets for fantasy films are very expensive, the children’s show ‘The Legend of Dick and Dom’ manages to be consistently low budget due to clever story telling techniques in regards to the locations and characters. If I was doing a fantasy in the woods, costumes and props to begin to ‘world build’ would be very important to sustain the suspension of disbelief. The proximity of the location lends itself to camera rehearsals without the actors or full equipment, just preparation of the camera to see how the location looks on frame.

Others.

I have a caravan in Wales which I will be going to in the summer so while it wouldn’t be practical to bring my whole cast and crew up here, there would be an opportunity for acquiring some B-roll footage to enhance something that may have been shot in the woods. For example: mountains, rivers and buildings. This part of Wales looks like its a couple hundred years behind everyone else, anyway.

There is also a canal nearby that offers some interesting and exciting visuals. At one point in the stretch between Rickmansworth and Harefield there is what looks like the framework of a building that has burnt down with a stuffed Gorilla hanging from it by a noose. I’d love to buy a canal boat and tell the story of someone who lives in a canal boat but sadly that is a bit over-budget for this project.

History of the Short Film

History of the Short Film