Voiceovers TBC

Billy

Intention: The mise-en-scene manages to bring across the otherness and outsider status of the protagonist, but the voiceovers show that she still feels insecure sometimes and is trying to make Rachel notice her more. i 

In Bed

Today is a new day, full of endless possibilities. And so was yesterday.

Who am I kidding?

(based on Frankie's new start from Skins)

Rubbing Off Lipstick:

Suppose I'm just weak. Huh, the things we do to impress people. But not just any people. And not just any her. 

Walking to school:

So yeah I ditched the bag. Maybe that's the problem. Always carrying it around like a big idiot leash. 

Walking Up Stairs And Seeing Rachel

No cloak, no earings, no armbands. But I'm

not taking off more, otherwise I'll be a real traitor. (chuckles) Right now I've just got to wait for - (turns and sees Rachel)

Oh crud! 

Rachel

I wouldn't say I'm an outsider. But an insider? No, I try and fit in. But I just don't seem to get that, you know, rapport...

I suppose I prefer paintings to people. Well, more than most people.. (pulls out her sketch of Hugh, which then cuts to his car driving in)

Hugh

Based on the opening voiceover of Hugh Grant's character from "About A Boy"

Some people will call me priviliged, born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I say to them they're born with jealousy in their mouths, huh, suckers. 

Of course she doesn't understand cet langue, u

When he decides to to go for Rachel:

(Notices her) Hello, are there she is again, alone, inside her, creative isolasionism. Oh might as well, these biffs aren't much entertainment, getting a bit tiresome. Time for a new muse to make events more interesting.

References/Meanings

Muse is a Shakeapearan term, signifies a cultured and educated status, like the big book on [protagonist's] table in About A Boy.

UPDATE For Filming on 30th January

The fact that a number of students weren't in the common room due to a meeting with a scientific careers advisor, it was very fitting.

I was not able to get the As You Like It play script on camera, one intertextuality missed.

Some of the acting isn't that convincing, but I think once I add music I can underplay that. 

Character 3: Hugh Curtis

The name is a mixture of the profilic Working Title rom-com star Hugh Grant and Richard Curtis, the director and writer behind nearly all of the companies's entries in that genre.

He is upper-class, arrogant, confident, narcisstic and a woman's man.

He is what comes between Billy and Rachel. 

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE: FILMING for 30th January

AT SCHOOL

LUNCH BREAK

LOCATION

TIME
2nd Floor, Zinnen Building, St Georges International School, Hamm, Luxembourg:
 - Locker Corridor

-  Common Room

-  Space between these two locations

ACTORS
William Jenkins
Ethan Jacob Utting
Tom Zeimet
Adele Akai
Riona Drangsfeldt
Jonathan Paris
Kate Krizan
Jonathan Topaz
Several students in the background. 

NARRATIVE
Hugh's character walking into the common room, clearly anchoring his popular status. However, there are still subtle references to showing he is not completely worshipped and loved by all, with students in the background not being amazed at his entrance (in order to to achieve continuity editing I will only include one shot having them in the frame. 

PLANNED INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCES
- The exchange of hands is an idea I got from the opening of 90s coming of age flick Dazed and Confused.
- The play: "As You Like It" and book "About A Boy" being read by students 

AFTER SCHOOL ENDS

TIME
15:25 - 16:00

LOCATION
Locker Corridor near stairs, Zinnen Building, St Georges International School, Hamm, Luxembourg

ACTORS
Hannah Ni
Evie Gibbons
William Jenkins
Ethan Jacob Utting
Kate Krizan
Tom Zeimet

NARRATIVE
The climax after introducing the characters of Billy, Rachel and Hugh in their own sequences, as well as the school location. Billy is hoping she will soon find Rachel as maybe trying yet again to make an impression, but is startled to find her much earlier than she thought. 

PLANNNED INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCES

AT HANNAH'S HOME

TIME
18:00 - 19:00 

LOCATION
Kitchen + Living Room downstairsin Hannah's house, Howald, Luxembourg

ACTORS
Hannah Ni
Leon Ni

NARRATIVE
Hannah grabbing her bag and coat downstairs, looking at (this is a new element I have added in order to correct the continuity mistake 

PLANNED INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCES
The general topic of parents not being present for teenagers during important phases of their live is made through the father lying on his bed and their being conflicts, can be seen i Him sleeping is a direct reference to Pretty In Pink, but 

PRODUCTION - FILMING UPDATE: Billy's Room

With the sample footage giving me knowledge of the issues of filming in Hannah's room.

I was quite pleased with a lot of the footage I managed to capture.

However, despite having practised zooming out at home, I still had issues, but Billy, having some experience in photography and filming, managed to help me get the zoom right. 

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE - FILMING Billy's Scene At Home

TIME
14:00 - 17:00

LOCATION
Hannah's room upstairs, Howald, Luxembourg

ACTORS
Hannah Ni

NARRATIVE
The opening shot zooming out ofBilly getting u, an intertextual reference to Wild Child. 

Possible Distributor EG1 A24 Films TBC

Company existing since 2013

Similarities in their films which could speak for them distributing my text
German in Morris From America (This has now changed due to Northern English Evie Gibbons taking over the role instead of German Vivien Sassenberg)
British setting and characters
American protagonist
new LGBT film (Moonlight) which was also successful for them.
rom-com example: The Lobster, quirky with no American stars

Against:
No stars (if not the protagonist, there often middle American stars),
...

PRODUCTION: FILMING UPDATE - Hugh arriving

I had hoped to film all of Hugh's scenes, however there were two complications which hindered this.

- My train was delayed.
- Tom Zeimet, the driver of the car, didn't show up

This meant I couldn't film the scenes outside the school, faking Hugh driving in with the car. Also, due to me being late, I only had amount of time left. I decided to concentrate on the essential scene of Hugh walking through school, with filming him greeting a teacher being of secondary importance.
This filming however went according to plan, and Will was able to walk in character, although his gestures with his suit are a bit repetitive, something I can work around in editing

Actors used

- Will Jenkins

- Three female secretaries (would like to remain anonymous) 

PRODUCTION SCHEDULE: FILMING Hugh coming in to and walking through school

TIME
10:35 - 11:30

LOCATION
St Georges International School, Luxembourg:
 - Car Park outside main entrance
-  Main Reception
-  Runway between Reception and Zinnen Building
-  Entrance and stairs of Zinnen Building 

ACTORS
William Jenkins
Caroline Thomas
Three secretaries (would like to remain anonymous)

NARRATIVE
Hugh enters driving a car, this being a signifier of status, 

INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCES
A popular male teenage figure driving a car as showing off his status is something I took from classic teen rom-com 10 Things I Hate About You, as well as the teen horror All The Boys Love Mandy Lane.

PRODUCTION - FILMING: Art Studio

With great help from Ms Thomas and the A2 Art students I created an art studio location, with several paintings being used by the the Year 12 and 13 students.

I will accredit Ms Thomas as production designer.

Voiceovers

Voiceovers used in Rom-Com Openings:

Submarine (just the protagonist)

Manhattan (but without seeing the character, also it is very likely that he has been saying this to himself when writing)

About A Boy (protagonist and the helper)

Love Actually (one of the ensemble cast, although can be argubably called the protagonist due to his role in introducing the narrative, as well as his status as Prime Minister and the star status of his actor)

Character 2: Rachel

INFLUENCES

Molly Ringwald

The teenage protagonists played by Molly Ringwood in John Hughe's 1980s coming of age rom-coms Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink

Samantha "Sam" Baker in Sixteen Candles

Andie Lane in Pretty In Pink

Orphan Black

The housewife clone of Sarah Manning slightly conservative 

Literature Research 2: Falling in Love Again - Romantic Comedy

This book looks ar multiple issues the rom-com genre addresses, having also a whole chapter on Working Title's rom-coms and the "special relationship" that is represented in these rom-coms with an American female lead.

For my film opening it also looked on the gay best friend stereotype present in rom-coms, as well as as other social issues of feminism and race, and the homme-comme.

PRODUCTION - UPDATE Sample Footage in Studio

Layed out the mise-en-scéne and filmed sample footage including putting on clothes and putting on make-up, intertextualised Pretty In Pink and The Devil Wears Prada.

The setting



There was an issue with close-up shots of pulling up the stockings, as the camera keeps pulling out of focus.

Next Sunday will film all the scenes with a storyboard.

GENRE RESEARCH - Rom-Com Box Office

The biggest rom-com box office success was and still is My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It was a surprise hit, about the daughter of a conservative, middle-class Greek family desperate to marry her off, falling for a richer, upper-class suitor. 

If one looks at the rom-coms after the highest-grossing ever, one can see the star-dominated film industry, Mel Gibson in What Woman Want, Will Smith in Hitch, Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.

Working Title have produced a number of rom-coms, and owe their success to this genre.

In 1994 Four Weddings And A Funeral became a surprise hit. It was not their first attempt at the genre, they had had The Tall Guy and even their very first film about an interracial gay couple at the time of race riots and Thatcher's homophobia, has some romantic comedy elements along with the more serious drama and social issues.

However after Four Weddings, there were a string of films with Hugh Grant playing the dashing, slightly effeminate and puppy-like sex symbol, these include Notting Hill, Bridget Jones, About A Boy and Love Actually. In the middle two aformentioned rom-coms he developped a more negative and arrrogant side of a character, especially in the Bridget Jones films. However, these films selled, with some having IP (intellectual property), Bridget Jones being based on a book series based on a column, being a direct parody of Jane Austen's classic romantic novel "Pride and Prejudice", and Nick Hornby's About A Boy (which has now been turned into a series).

The Bridget Jones franchise has turned into Working Title's most profitable films, even more so in the UK however, as the most recent entry Bridget Jones's Baby demonstrates.

TECHS1 - Blogger4: Pageviews TBC

*Insert how to put pageviews on blog*

*Screenshots of how it has developed*

Compare with Evie's blog

PRODUCTION - SAMPLE FOOTAGE: EVALUATION

I have decided to not film in Hannah's bathroom, but have her put on her make-up in her room. This could be read as a rebellious character trait as well as feeling uncomfortable about being in other parts of her house, to anchor her family problems.

Mise-en-scène for Billy's room

- Untidy science school materials, but some books are neatly ordered, connoting she doesn't like school but has great passions for literature
- Photos/posters like in 10 Things I Hate About You and Submarine.

WorkingTitle3 Black Pretty

Black Pretty

Is a mixture of Black Beauty and Pretty In Pink.

PRE-PRODUCTION PLANNING: Mise-en-scène & Sample Footage for 22.01

Tomorrow on Sunday the 22nd January I am going to lay out the mise-en-scène for Billy's room and shoot some sample footage in there.

Two Options For Billy's Scene

• Character of Billy is abruptly woken up by a ball thrown at her sister. She gets dressed, in a hectic way.
• Without waking up from the dream, an Establishing Shot zooming out (like in Wild Child)

PRE-PRODUCTION - Costume + Make-Up: Billy

Getting the look ready for the character of Billy Osgood, through trying out costumes and make up, with the clothes coming from both Billy and a friend of mine who used to to dress a lot in emo style. Just like the mise en scene the aim is to create a balance between masculine and feminine signfiers.

Hannah in her original clothes











....

The leather jacket as a more masculine side.












..

Note for mise en scene, the Star Wars posters seen here will be part of that removed from the room as they are extremely strong signifiers of mainstream culture.

Tried out tying the hair to a small ponytail, but I decided it didn't fit because it looked to childish and could even be read as of a hyperfeminine lesbian steroetype

Also still to be decided, whether to use femine red  more typically gothic purple black lipstick.

CLOTHES STILL TO BE ADDED

Black coat to really signify outsider, as well as fingerless gloves and some armbands. I intend to have her wake up in a black, typically male t shirt and then change into this costume.

Uses and Gratifications Theory

Researchers made links between Maslow's hierarchy of needs and how audiences use the media.

We use the media for our most basic needs and satisfactions, according to four features:

1. Surveillance (Information, satisfies curiosity)
2. Sense of personal identity (Reinforce our own values and beliefs)
3. Personal Relationships (loneliness, empathise with the characters and the narrative, and generally figures in the media. Also following the crowd in watching something that is quite popular and will help audiences to engage in communication.
4. Diversion (to pass the time. escapism, unsatisfaction with mundane and real world)

TEEN FILMS - John Hughes

John Hughes first started writing for Universal TV series Delta House in 1978. His directorial debut.
was Sixteen Candles, with Molly Ringwald as the anxious and spunky teen protagonist.

His influence and legacy can still be seen in reaction to the very recent teen coming of age comedy-drama The Edge Of Seventeen.

http://www.cinelinx.com/movie-stuff/item/9163-directors-trademarks-john-hughes.html

DISTRIBUTION/REPRESENTATION Films with LGBT+ characters and issues

They are mostly dramas and based on real live events and historical events, and have stars in order to boost marketing as social issues aren't as a seller as blockbusters and there are no established LGBT franchises. They very much stress LGBT characters as outsiders

Brokeback Mountain (Heath Ledger, Anne Hatheway)
The Imitation Game (Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley)
The Danish Girl (Eddie Redmayne)
Freeheld (Ellen Page)

Ellen Page had managed to pull in a wide audience for her performance in Juno, and so that with the story being based on real events one would assume the film's box office would at least equal its budget. But no, it was a massive flop


EXAMPLES OF LGBT ROM COMS
But I'm A Cheerleader
Another Gay Movie

https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/jun/11/gay-characters-hollywood-films

Ideas for Music for the soundtrack Billy's scene

BILLY'S SCENE

These are both tracks with a catchy drumbeat, similiar to how. However, maybe the Pixies track is too downbeat too early for the comedic, light-hearted aspects of the narrative.

I WANT CANDY
by Bow Wow Wow, from the soundtrack of Napoleon Dynamite

DEAD
by the Pixies

Character 4 - Jake

Based on the character Tom from Sugar Rush the scarf is a particular element of mise-en-scène to signify his outsider status. 

...

New Pitch - Billy's Lipstick

...

Film Pitch Billy's Lipstick from Richard Dannenberg

...

ADULT ROM-COM EG5: Bringing Up Baby

WHAT I ENDED UP APPLYING

• The voices calling across the hall as diegetic sound.

POSSIBLE POINTS OF INFLUENCE:

• The slapstick elements

Bringing Up Baby

Howard Hawks, 1938

BBFC U rating, MPAA Not Rated

Running length of opening: 

LEAD ACTORS: Katharine Hepburn

                                 Cary Grant

GENRE: Screwball comedy 

PROD + DISTR: RKO Radio Pictures

BUDGET: $1.07m

BOX OFFICE: $1.11m

From wiki:

Despite Bringing Up Baby's reputation as a flop, it was successful in some parts of the U.S. The film premiered on February 16, 1938 at the Golden Gate Theatre in San Francisco (where it was a hit), and was also successful in Los Angeles, Portland, Denver, Cincinnati and Washington, D.C.. However, it was a financial disappointment in the Midwest, as well as most other cities in the country, including NYC; to RKO's chagrin, the film's premiere in New York on March 3, 1938 at Radio City Music Hall made only $70,000 and it was pulled after one week^[46] in favor of Jezebel with Bette Davis.^[47]During its first run, Bringing Up Baby made $715,000 in the U.S. and $394,000 in foreign markets for a total of $1,109,000;^[34] its reissue in 1940 and 1941 made an additional $95,000 in the US and $55,000 in foreign markets.^[46] Following its second run, the film made a profit of $163,000.^[34] Due to its perceived failure, Hawks was released early from his two-film contract with RKO^[34]and Gunga Din was eventually directed by George Stevens.^[48] Hawks later said the film "had a great fault and I learned an awful lot from that. There were no normal people in it. Everyone you met was a screwball and since that time I learned my lesson and don't intend ever again to make everybody crazy".^[49] The director went on to work with RKO on three films over the next decade.^[50]Long before Bringing Up Baby's release, Hepburn had been branded "box-office poison" by Harry Brandt (president of the Independent Theatre Owners of America) and thus was allowed to buy out her RKO contract for $22,000.^[51][52] However, many critics marveled at her new skill at low comedy; Life magazine called her "the surprise of the picture".^[53] Hepburn's former boyfriend Howard Hughes bought RKO in 1941, and sold it in 1959; when he sold the company, Hughes retained the copyright to six films (including Bringing Up Baby).^[50]

CRITICAL KUDOS:

ROTTEN TOMATOES:  Critics 95%, Audience 90%        IMDb: 8.0/10

From wiki: 

The film received good advance reviews; Otis Ferguson of The New Republic thought the film very funny, praising Hawks' direction.^[38] Variety praised the film, singling out Hawks' pacing and direction, calling Hepburn's performance "one of her most invigorating screen characterizations" and saying Grant "performs his role to the hilt";^[39] their only criticism was the length of the jail scene.^[40] Film Daily called it "literally a riot from beginning to end, with the laugh total heavy and the action fast."^[41] Harrison's Reports called the film "An excellent farce" with "many situations that provoke hearty laughter,"^[42] and John Mosher of The New Yorker wrote that both stars "manage to be funny" and that Hepburn had never "seemed so good-natured."^[43] However, Frank S. Nugentof the New York Times disliked the film, considering it derivative and cliché-ridden, a rehash of dozens of other screwball comedies of the period. He labeled Hepburn's performance "breathless, senseless, and terribly, terribly fatiguing",^[44] and added, "If you've never been to the movies, Bringing Up Baby will be new to you – a zany-ridden product of the goofy-farce school. But who hasn't been to the movies?"^[45]

TRAILER:



The whole film can be found on Dailymotion here.

SYNPNOSIS:
Classic screwball comedy following palaeontologist David Huxely who is engaged to the dour  and workaholic Alice. He faces a marriage trapped in hard work with little romance, who is determined that their marriage contain "no domestic entanglements of any kind."
He is about to meet a new woman in his life, Alice Swallow, a free-spirited and, possibly pre-cursor of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, who will turn his life upside down in the pursuit of a leopard that he has been sent from Brazil.
The opening sequence introduces us to the engaged couple in their place of work.

IDENTS:

One ident for one company responsible for both production and distribution, as was more common in those days, lasting for 15 seconds and then fading in and out to the titles.
It has a signature sound, that of s radio signal, appropriate for its name.

TITLES:

Separate inter-title sequence before the live action starts, which was the norm and convention back then, but can still be seen such as in films like This Is England and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and is still seen after a live action opening sequence in the Bond franchise.

THE OPENING SHOT:

An extreme longshot, an establishing shot which we are going to close in on

NARRATIVE, EXPOSITION:

Instead of a title telling us date and setting, like we sometimes see, mise-en-scène is used to anchor the location.


We get introduced to one of the main two protagonists of the narrative.

TODOROV:
This is an equilibrium, the disruption will happen later with the introduction of 
We are at the same location that the film will end on, when the dinosaur smashes to pieces, so the dinosaur at the moment represents the old equilibrium that must be destroyed for a new one to exist.

MISE-EN-SCÈNE:
For verisimilitude their are multiple scientific objects around the room to connote that this is a place of scientific study.
Huxley is dressed in a typical white garb which a majority of people know, making it one of Barthes's cultural codes.

EDITING:

At the beginning we cross-fade into shots.

GENRE SIGNIFIERS:

Two parts of the love triangle are present here, and conflicts about different opinions on family life.

REPRESENTATION:

GENDER: The female dominant in the relationship here. However the woman is shown as the typical torment for the man.

ETHNICITY: Just Caucasians present, this is pre-Civil Rights Movement.

SEXUALITY: Represents the norm of the time, heteronormativity, homosexuality was a punishable criminal offence.

AGE: This is a film mainly focussing on young middle-aged characters, teens and children are not present in the opening sequence. The old Professor stereotypically stands for intellectuality.

CLASS/STATUS: Middle-class, Alice Swallow has delusions of grander when she reacts to Huxley using the phrase: "I'll knock him over", she responds by saying:

David, no slang, remember who and what you are.

ABILITY/DISABILITY: Able-bodied, no physical or mental disabilities, unless you count the glasses of, which are more there to connote his status as a scientist.

NORMATIVE OR COUNTER-HEGEMONIC?

All in all this is a very typical representation in US cinema of the time, however we do get a more unconventional emasculated male who throughout the film will never be the true strong, masculine action hero.

SOUNDTRACK:

Start off with the first track for the titles from the soundtrack, we then get.
For the discussion between the characters we only get their voices as diegetic sound, with them projecting across the wide space, this adds a sense of realism.

TRANSITION TO MAIN FILM:

There is no sound added, just a cross-fade into the next scene, the change of location is the main transition, the protagonist is now on his journey as Joseph Campbell would say.

PRE-PRODUCTION CASTING of the PROTAGONIST UPDATE 20th

I have now cast the actor for my protagonist, Hannah Ni as Billy. The reason I approached her is because she has played a lesbian character in her Drama devising piece about homophobic bullying. She also was in a scene where she was close to the lips of another girl, so a potential scene where the two characters kiss in the dream of wouldn't make her feel uncomfortable.

A leading character being non-Caucasian isn't rare in the film industry, but for rom-coms and teen films it doesn't happen that often.

PRODUCTION UPDATE: Location not available

Will has now told me that he does not feel that comfortable about filming in the gym. I did ask him a couple of times to be sure, but this is understandable human nature.

Need to think about new locations for Hugh Curtis, to signify class, status and character. 

GENRE RESEARCH - History of the Romantic Comedy

WHAT I ENDED UP APPLYING

• I have decided to stay in the realistic and contemporary side of rom-com, and not include any supernatural elements. It will mix to some extent with the genre of teen drama and coming of age.
• As the narrative develops beyond my coursework opening, and the two female characters come closer together, it could future elements of chick flick.

Origins in Literature:

16th century: plays by William Shakespeare, for example:

• As You Like It

• The Taming Of The Shrew
• A Midsummer Night's Dream
• Twelfth Night

Silent Film Era:

Eg.:Girl Shy (1924)

Subgenres:

• Screwball comedy (eg.: It Happened One Night, Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, The Seven Year Itch, Some Like It Hot)
• Sex comedy (American Pie film series, Coming Soon)

Rom-com is already a hybrid, but can mix with other genres:

• Submarine, social realism
• Silver Linings Playbook can be seen to cover more serious issues so has a heavier dose of drama in its romantic comedy signifiers
• Shaun of the Dead, Warm Bodies: zombie subgenre of horror; zom-rom-com
• About Time deals with time travel: sci-fi rom-com
• Splash has a mermaid as the love interest, fairytale rom-com
• Enchanted is a satire on the romantic Disney film, and is also fairytale with supernatural elements, a deconstructionist, postmodern approach

CONNECTED TERMS

• Hom-com
• Chick flick
• Bromance