Filming Day 3

On Monday the 22nd November we did our third day of filming in Great Leighs. For this, our whole cast came together and we managed to get quite a lot of our trailer filmed. We met up at St Anne's Castle pub, where we had already gained permission to film but we asked again once we got there, and will make sure we make reference to them in our credits. We filmed the close up of Helen's heels panning up to her body and the shot of the "jack the lad" characters outside the pub cheering at her as she walked past. We filmed this shot from three different points and cameras to ensure that we definitely had the footage we needed. The lighting and weather conditions were good and so the footage we have is of a high quality. We also filmed the shot of Helen walking up the road using shot reverse shot; we will be able to create this editing technique because we filmed it using two different cameras from two different angles. Finally, we filmed the scene with Stephanie and Richard , which was successful too because the positioning of the cameras meant that Richard and Stephanie's facial expressions were caught well.

Filming Schedule

Before we started filming, I created a filming schedule to aid us whilst filming. The reason this is useful is because it means we have a set idea of what we need to film each day and so will be able to make the most of our time and get as much done as possible. We will try to stick to this wherever possible. This can be found here on the group blog.

Filming Day 2

Today we were meant to be filming the scene with the three boys outside the pub and the reaction Helen causes. We were also going the film the parts with Helen walking down the road herself. However, due to the weather conditions being very heavy fog, we were unable to film because the conditions were too different to that of yesterday. We will now have to try and fit in these shots in our whole cast session tomorrow, or reschedule for Tuesday the 23rd of November.

Filimg Day 1

Yesterday we had our first day of filming in Great Leighs, and for this we had Tamer, Jasmine and Hannah. We were filming the reveal shots at the end of our trailer where Helen's children are seen for the first time. We also filmed the part where Deano realises Danielle is pregnant. Because of conflicts with Jenni's tiemtable, she was unable to take part in our trailer, and so we have replaced her with Jo, because it is a minor part in the trailer and so not much acting is actually required. Jo has similar looks to Jenni, who we casted originally because of the fact she looked right for the part, and so we will get the over all look we want for our trailer. We did have time contraints because of the light, and so had about 40 minutes in which to film these scenes; however, we filmed each part several times and from several different cameras and so I think that we have all the footage we need. We tried to make use of a variety of different shots, including shot reverse shot and a reveal shot, but we were also keeping in mind that in soap operas, the majority of the time they use midshots or two shots, so that characters expressions and reactions can be seen clearly.

Final Cast and Costumes

Due to several members of cast being unable to film when we needed them or through illness, we had to re-cast. These are our final choices;

Helen - Jasmine Lee

Jasmine was our first choice for Helen Howe, because she has the confidence and mannerisms we all imagined for her. This is the photo of her in her costume for the trailer and she looks very striking and authoritative, which is fitting for her role. The black dress connotes mystery and deception, which hints at future story lines which will surround Helen. Her red lipstick and shoes comply with the Male Gaze Theory as proposed by Laura Mulvey in which the assumption is that an audience is male, and so an attractive woman is used to advertise something, in our case, Helen is the focus of the trailer. The colour red is often associated with lust and sexuality also.

Deano - Lewis Spaul

Lewis was originally auditioned for the role of JJ but we decided he would be better suited to being Deano, especially after Tamer was unable to be that part anymore. The costume we decided on for him was skinny jeans, a trendy coat and a scarf. The reason we chose this is because the character of Deano is trying hard to fit in and be cool, and so his dressing trendy helps connote this. The black of his coat also connotes secrecy, which would perhaps be extended in a future storyline.




Courtney - Hannah Cullen

Hannah was our first choice for the character of Courtney because we wanted a pretty girl who came across as quite shy at the same time. The final costume we decided on for Hannah was skinny jeans, ugg boots and a fitted green and white jumper, with the white connoting her innocence and naivety, which would be explored in the first few episodes of our soap opera. The reason we chose this costume is because it is quite fashionable but understated, which emphasises the characters personality.




Danielle - Jo Peplow

When our actor who played the part of Danielle dropped out, we had to re-cast her quickly to ensure that our filming timetable was not affected. Because of this, and the fact that she had very similar looks to our original actor, we cast Jo as Danielle. The costume we decided on for Danielle was an over sized hoody, tracksuit bottoms and trainers, because this complies with the stereotype many people have of young teenage mothers. The heart on her jumper can be seen as connoting her trying to find love, which resulted in her pregnancy. The over sized clothing she is wearing connotes that she is trying to hide herself from people.


Richard - Matthew Bigg
Our original actor for the role of Richard dropped out due to other responsibilities and so we re-cast Matt as Richard. The reason for this is because he was available for each of our filming dates and he was able to portray Richard in the way we wanted him to. The character of Richard complies with the "Villain" character in Propp's Theory of Narrative who disrupts order because he is the suspected father of Danielle's baby even though he is married, and in the trailer he is seen winking at Helen. The costume we decided on for him was almost entirely black to connote the mystery and secrecy that surrounds him and how he is constantly deceiving his wife. The colour purple is traditionally a colour symbolising royalty and so connotes how he perceives himself in the community.

JJ - Lewis Montague

Our original actor for JJ also dropped out due to other commitments and so we cast Lewis Montague instead. The reason for this choice is because he was able to portray the slightly cocky and arrogant mannerisms we wanted for the character and interacted well with the rest of the 'jack-the-lad' actors. The costume we chose for him was a leather jacket, skinny jeans and trendy trainers; the leather jacket is symbolic of films such as "Grease" where the jackets show you as being part of a certain gang. The over all effect of the outfit makes him appear cool and connotes that he is the leader of the group.


Aaron - Tim Bousfield
Lewis Spaul was originally cast for the role of Aaron but as explained previously, he was re-cast for the role of Deano. The reason we chose Tim for the part is because he was able to be available when we needed him and because he portrayed the awkwardness we imagined Aaron to feel. Aaron is the character who feels out of place in the group of lads, and so we chose a costume for him that was slightly different to the others; a large hoody and wider jeans connote that while he looks similar to the other lads, there is something different about him, which will be explored in later episodes of the soap opera.



Paul - James Garrod

Paul is another of the 'Jack-the-lad' characters and the final costume we chose for him connotes how he is accepted amongst the lads. He is also wearing a leather jacket and skinny jeans which denotes his status in the group as being on a level with JJ. His character is similar to that of JJ in that he is confident and slightly arrogant, and so believes he is popular with girls; a later episode would see both him and JJ going after newly arrived Courtney.




Nathan - James Hancock

Due to the issues we had with casting, we decided to introduce a fourth 'Jack-the-lad' character so that we had a reserve if one of the other boys was unavailable. However, having four lads in the group actually worked better than having three and so we were happy with our decision. Nathan's character is included and accepted, but slightly on the outside of the group, and the costume we finalised on represents this.

Filming Groups

We looked back over our storyboards and shot lists in order to work out who is required for filming with who. We decided that Helen, JJ, Max and Aaron need to film together, Deano, Danielle, Courtney and Jasmine on another day and Stephanie, Richard and Helen on the third day. By grouping characters like this, it enables us to get as much done as possible each day and also ensures that cast members are not stood around waiting.

Final Costumes

Today in our meetings we discussed and finalised our costume ideas. We tried to do this in accordance with the verilasimilatude used in soap operas so that the costumes represent the type of characters we have. We have written out letters to each of the members of our cast telling them dates they are required for filming and what they need to wear, which is here on the group blog.The costumes are as follows;

Helen
-Black Dress
-Red Shoes
-Red lipstick, full makeup
(prop: red suitcase provided)

Deano
-Grey Tracksuit Trousers
-White poloshirt
-White cardigan
-Trainers

Courtney
-Skinny blue jeans
-Ugg Boots
-Green/white striped jumper

Danielle
-Tracksuit trousers
-Coloured vest
-Large oversized hoodie

Stephanie
-Tunic top
-Black leggings
-Full makeup, natural looking

Richard
-Smart Jeans
-Dark poloshirt/shirt
-Smart shoes

JJ
-Blue jeans
-Coloured poloshirt
-Plimsolls

Aaron
-Checked shirt
-Jeans
-Plimsolls

Maxwell
-Coloured poloshirt
-Jeans
-Plimsoll

16th November Update

This week and next we are filming for our soap opera trailer. We will also be taking the photos for our poster and magazine, and so we need a lot of planning and scheduling to pull this off. Because we have to fit around our actors plans, we are working out filming groups so that not everyone has to turn up at all times. This will also be more efficient because people won't be waiting around too long, and we can get more done. During these planning sessions we will decide on what our final props and costumes will be so we can inform our cast.
We are also re doing our animatic storyboard at the moment to increase the amount of depth in it; this is beneficial to us when filming because we have a more definite idea of what we want our final trailer to look like, and we know which shots and transitions to use.