#fn2module

Idea:

The idea takes place in an AA meeting between 2 characters: Cameron (early 20’s) and Fergus (50s-60s). Cameron, a wealthy, reckless man turns up to an AA meeting late and sits beside Fergus, a quiet ex-con. Cameron makes conversation to Fergus quietly while the AA meeting leader speaks in the background. Fergus generally keeps silent and gives him a heavy side-eye. The meeting finishes shortly after and as Cameron puts away his chair Fergus approaches him. He confronts him about how he knows Cameron gave him a fake number (as the two are sponsors who had to exchange numbers to stay in contact). Cameron takes his jokingly and Fergus interrogates him about why he isn’t taking the meeting seriously. By the end of a conversation its clear Cameron see’s Fergus as a parental figure and gains respect for him as a person. They go from basically strangers to having mutual respect and understanding of their characters.

We were possibly thinking of developing the idea to take place outside the AA meeting with Fergus smoking a cigarette in front of an “AA meeting this way” sign. Cameron walks out the meeting after him with a flask and Fergus confronts him with the same conflict as the previous idea.

Roles for the group:

Cayla Ferguson – Director

Kushal Dhingra – DoP

Alana Robertson – Sound production/Editing

Abbie George – Screenwriter

Sophie Brownlow – Producer/Script supervisor

Pre-vis:

We gathered inspiration from watching AA meetings in different movies to help establish the content we want to create while also the style we want to shoot in. The scene has a lot of different tones we could go for. As screenwriter my plan is to start the first draft of the script very quickly so we can decide where we eventually want to take the film tone-wise.

Here’s some links to some of inspiration we’ve looked at so far:

- https://youtu.be/OyO3Kmx-bEk

- https://youtu.be/7fm5BARTjiY

- https://youtu.be/7ooDX1NOzEM

Location:

For location, we originally planned for the Chapel but upon reflection of sound quality and how many groups seem to be using it, we decided to steer clear of it and go for a classroom in Craiglockhart instead. Since many AA meetings take place is community halls etc. we feel this would be a good fit for the vibe. If we decide to set the scene outside, we will need to scout out a location, which we plan to do next time we are on campus.

The group have had a few online and in-person meetings so far to which we all agree we are entirely happy with. Everyone has contributed well, and we all feel the dynamic works well and is one we are very comfortable with.

Pre-production:

Curve (dir. Tim Egan)

From the beginning, the juxtaposition of heavy crashing waves with the silence around the protagonist sleeping gives the audience an uneasy feeling that this contrast will collide eventually. The protagonists breathing when she wakes up is the main focus of most of this film which builds the tension as the audience follow her breathing, meaning when it alters or gets quicker, we panic more with her.

The lack of sound around this curve of land makes the film more uneasy, as it leaves the imagination to take over. The drowning noises coming from afar allude the audience to the idea of an unknown presence lurking from afar, pushing the tension higher as the protagonist has more to fight against.

I feel that overall the sound is very effective in this film. The director used silence to such a high advantage which helps elevate the overall tension and impact of the film.

Operator (dir. Caroline Bartleet)

From the start of the call between the operator and the woman in the fire, the tension begins. The muffled, distressed voice of the woman contrasts with the operator trying to stay calm and get details from her about the fire.

The fact the woman is never seen creates the question of whether or not she survives in the fire and invests us as an audience on an emotional journal to be invested in. We want the question of what will happen and sound is prominently how this is created.

Exercise 1 -- Brainstorming ideas

All Film Narrative 2 posts are under #fn2module

Group:

Alana Robertson

Abbie George

Kushal Dhingra

Sophie Brownlow

Cayla Ferguson

Our group recently had a meeting online to discuss some ideas for our final project for the module. Using the Craiglockhart Campus as inspiration, we came up with two solid ideas for short films: