Rebecca Barrett - TV Production blog

To help my script out, a well as the other research I had done, I decided to also look at several 'Female Killer' documentaries related to killings over an affair as it would help me write the character of Alice in a better way. I noticed a pattern that while these friends or wives were, in the beginning, very faithful and loving, all it took was for a terrible event to happen and they become a cold-blooded killer. An example are the two below: (Taken directly from the Youtube videos) S tephanie  Erends :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1_sgqmxP5A Stephanie is convinced her childhood friend Alicia Ernet stole her boyfriend, and after Alicia makes cruel jokes about Stephanie, She slits Alicia's throat with a wallpaper scraper. Rita Gluzaman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDin69zv-gk After becoming an activist in order to free her husband Yakov (a celebrated microbiologist) but after two decades of living in the US their marriage deteriorates, due t

For my script changes, Steve gave the feedback: The dialogue "gets bogged down in a long static and wordy scene"  I needed "more action and twist and surprise in the second half" There "is no sense of development to her character" For this, I chopped out a lot of the dialogue and replaced it for action that ramps up the tension in the scene. I realized that action can speak more than words, which is why I decided to make the changes that I did. I added a bigger twist to the ending, where we find out that Carla and John were actually planning to murder Alice as they wanted to be together - I added this change as I wanted there to be a dramatic twist, and my original ending of Alice dying during her struggle with Carla seemed too basic, with the voicemail, it reveals a definite twist. For Carla's character, I made her dialogue and spiraling emotions more apparent within the scene to make her character seem realistic towards the situation

For part of our research we had to look at a British TV Drama which would help support our film idea. I chose the TV series 'Apple Tree Yard', a drama/thriller TV series that came out in 2017 and was directed by Jessica Hobbs – an award-winning director who originally came from New Zealand.   The plot to this series is ' Married with two grown-up children, Yvonne Carmichael (Emily Watson) lives a contented, conventional suburban life. But her world spirals into chaos, when a chance encounter leads to an impulsive and passionate affair with a charismatic stranger (Ben Chaplin). ' This plot and series inspired my film script as it focuses on a married woman having an affair, although I changed this to suit my film, which was the best friend having an affair with the husband. This TV show enabled me to understand how quickly a normal life can spiral out of control because of a chance encounter – similar to how my sort film changes the characters from being c

To help create our short film, we were told to look at three short films that would inspire our piece. Film 1: 'How to Murder a Best Friend' - 2017, directed by Rohan Yadav For me, the first short film I looked at was called 'How to murder a best friend'. For my original idea, I originally wanted the two main characters to be just a wife and mistress, however, after watching this short film, I soon realized how much more impactful the argument and characters could be made if the two were actually best friends rather than strangers. Although this film is in a different language, the basic premise is clear - three friends getting into an argument, and then planning and carrying out the murder. How to Murder a Best Friend:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpP7hlOv34Q  Film 2: 'Betrayal' - 2015, directed by Daniel Medrano  This short film revolves around a young female student who is with her boyfriend, she is later killed by that same boyfriend as

With the film script, it had to go through several re-writes, including input from Steve – who gave me constructive feedback on how to improve my script. When it came to my initial re-write before handing it to Steve, I realised that a lot of my action could be broken into smaller sections to help with any pacing issues during the shoot. Steve also gave the feedback of the dialogue not sounding genuine or realistic to the situation.  This feedback also made me realise , that even though I have been screenwriting for the past seven years, it didn’t necessarily mean I knew how to write a script perfectly, something which I quickly worked out. I also noticed when looking back on my script, that I was describing the ‘action’ too much and making the dialogue too expositional/formal, something which Steve didn’t agree with as he told us to only describe what the camera (the audience) can see and reveal only what they need to know. During pre-production, I had forgotten how much work

This shot list is only for the few basic shots I plan to use, if any more complex/more shots are used then I will update this list as I go on. The storyboard will be added underneath as the week goes on.

For my project, I am planning to film the ending of my script - this is because it is the easier to film out of the script as it only requires my two actresses and one room - rather than outside the house and inside. For the cast, I have chosen my mum and her friend as they are both more than willing to film for this project. For my crew it is only me at the moment, but I will be asking my other friends if they are free for the shooting day once it's chosen.

These are print screens for my risk assessment, due to some location changes, some of these may change, but will be updated ASAP.

LOCATION RECCE Prepared by : Rebecca Barrett Date : 18/11/18 Location Details : My mum’s friend’s house Scene/Purpose of filming : The whole production will be done in this location. Site Address : Contact telephone : The house owner is the actress so she will be on set all day   Point of access : Front door Permissions : Signed permission from one of our actresses (she owns the house).   Availability : Points of Interest : Kitchen   Possible shots : Shot are provided in shot list. Safety Issues: Narrow spaces, leads/wires/equipment bags Pictures and missing details will be added in later a we had to change our locations at the  last minute, but as soon as I get the right information, I will add it in.

On Thursday, our class went to Dungeness for a day location project. For our pre-production phase on Monday, we went into groups of three (I was with Alyssa and Katie) and were instructed to write a 2/3 page script which we could film at Dungeness (Thursday) and then edit today (Friday) for screening on Monday in front of the class. After looking up Dungeness on Google Maps for location inspiration, we found two key areas we wanted to use.  The abandoned shed (left) and the beach front (right). These two areas gave us the inspiration for our script, which was about two friends who has returned to the beach where their friend had died. The beach front represents where the friend died and the shed represents where they used to hang out as a trio. Myself and Alyssa chose to be the two character on-screen, while Katie was our narrator and third character in the occasional shot. As there is no dialogue in our script (instead we have a voice-over from the narrator), we relied on

In our last theory lessons before the half-term, we learned about drama shows and how to judge the quality of a TV Show. Plot = The story Narrative - How the story is told Quality indicators: Budget lavishness Skills of makers/performers Prestige Originality Cinematography Seriousness (is it a serious programme or one made for fun?) Quality of drama = Writing quality Criteria of quality TV similar to that of quality literature The writer becomes a brand - used to market shows Writers - "Originators of programmes" How to judge quality: Public service function Aesthetic = (Visual or structural?) Avant-Garde or experimental? Exploits the apparent fundamental properties  of the TV medium Professional experience of makers Contribution to definitions of national culture or a perceived heritage of excellence? Costume dramas: Literary sources Costumes, elaborate historical mise-en-scene and location shots Big budgets = 'lavish productions&

For our first big Theory project for our contextual studies, we have to study a sequence (3 - 10 minutes long) from a TV show and write a 1000 word essay which explores the different camera angles, mise-en-scene, lighting, costume, setting, performance, sound and editing. We also have to give our interpretation of the elements involved in this scene and what is learnt about the story, characters and the meaning of the visual aspects and reflect on the genre conventions. For my chosen sequence, I have selected the battle from Game of Thrones season 7 episode 6 called 'The Spoils of War', Where Danerys (Danni) and her Darthraki army attack a Lannister supply caravan on it's way to King's Landing. I have chosen this sequence specifically as this entire sequence is filled with action in every shot throughout the timeframe, right from the beginning where Jamie and Bron first hear the thunder hooves of the Darthraki to the ending when Jaime is nearly burned alive by Dro

In our second screenwriting class, we focused on what action, dialogue and irony was within a script. We learn't that action is: Action is also known as stage directions - it provides the visual elements to a script All capitals in a script are only used for mentioning a character's name for the first time Action should be cut down to short sentences instead of chunky paragraphs Action should only say what the camera (also known as the audience perspective) can see Avoid adjectives / over-description if it isn't important to the story / scene Only include what is needed to be known. Dialogue is: Don't do pointless dialogue if it doesn't show the character Avoid 'on-the-noise' / too formal dialogue Make realistic dialogue, but still natural enough to the actual way we speak. If doing speeches - include breaks to make it more realistic Avoid expositional dialogue if its not important or it can be shown through action instead Dramatic Iro

For this camera workshop we focused on the 180* rule. This is where an imaginary line is drawn between two characters within a scene, the camera has to remain on this line at all times and if it goes on either side of the line even for a moment, it has broken the rule. To help with our understanding of this, we filmed a short sequence in a group of three, where one of us operated the camera and the other two acted out the scene. For this task, i was with Elizabeth and Will. We began with myself and Elizabeth filming first, Will brought the camera to begin at a wide shot and remained on the imaginary arch that goes around the two characters before zooming the camera lens in for a close-up, so even though the camera was zoomed into closer to us, the physical camera and tripod had not moved to either side of the line. Like my other camerawork posts, this files will not upload, however, i will try to resolve this asap.

This was another short practice film myself, Katie and Elizabeth filmed in our camera workshop last Friday. This short film took abut half an hour to brainstorm as we had to decide what part of the studio we wanted to use for our 'setting'. - we ended up picking the 'bar area' in order to simulate a staff room. We also chose the bar for our location as the script spoke about something being 'a total bloodbath', yet never giving context to what it actually means, this allowed us to interpret it in anyway, and we saw it as an important sale going wrong, whereas we first thought it could have been about a murder, and William trying to keep it under wraps as his colleague (Eric) tries to get the information out of him. We then decided to have myself playing William and Elizabeth playing Eric, while Katie was our director / camerawomen. It took us about an hour and a half to shoot our short film as we tried out several different shots per take to see what shot

Here is the short sequence called 'The Chair' that we made last Friday in our last camera workshop. it's only about 10 seconds long, but it shows sev eral different camera shots we used in order to make the most of the location and the views from different shots. This 'test' scene was for myself, Katie and Elizabeth to get used to the cameras and how to work them. It also enabled us to get a sense of how perfect shots have to be as well as how much effort can go into a single shot. For example, the second shot of Katie's feet walking across the floor needed to be filmed several times due to the camera shaking ever slightly, or the camera not turning 100% smoothly. which could have ruined the shot. Unfortunately, for some reason the video wouldn't upload, i will look into this and try to upload them when i can. (This little piece will be deleted once the video is up)

For part of blog, we are supposed to look up screenwriters (preferably from TV) that have inspired out craft. For me, my influencers are David Benioff and D. B. Weissoff, the main writers for 'Game of Thrones'. While they have been a huge inspiration in my craft, my main inspiration came from the Emmy-nominated script from the episode ''Battle of the Bastards' from Season Six. This episode was not only a perfect example of showing off the writing for the episode but once you look at the script, you can see the writers knew the tone or the entire episode, especially when it came to the final battle between the Starks and the Boltons. Even from the very opening scene where it says 'Tyrion flinches each time a projectile lands near the pyramid, because he’s human and it’s a natural human reaction.' and 'Dany never flinches. She is not the same woman who flew away from Daznak’s Pit on the back of a dragon. She is changed, changed utterly, a terrib

Consequences Genre: Drama Pitch: An estranged wife and her husband’s mistress confront each other over the affair. But does Alicia’s calm demeanor truly show the real her? Story: After learning of her husband’s affair, 50-year-old Alicia goes to the mistress’s house to confront her, which ends in violence. Days later, the wife comes back to the mistress’s house with a more sinister intent. The wife grows more and more insane, eventually lashing out at Carla for not defending herself, only revealing that Carla was killed in their last confrontation. Characters: Alicia is a 50-year-old woman whose marriage has ended in heartbreak when she finds out her husband has had an affair with her best friend. This leads her mind to some very dark places, including murder. Carla is a 47-year-old woman who has resented her ex-friend, Alicia, since they were in secondary school as Alicia fell in love with the man she loved. In revenge, she had an affair with the husband, only

Title:                             Genre: Drama Character 1: Lawyer Character 2: Criminal Location: Worn down room, similar to a prison cell but slightly better looking Main story idea: After being convicted of a murder, a criminal and her lawyer rehearse her speech for court. Throughout her speech she seems calm and relaxed despite admitting to murdering her ex best friend, but will that innocent façade follow through to the jury, or will her cruel mind appear through the cracks? 

'The Bodyguard' For the first part of the homework, I watched the first episode of 'The Bodyguard'. This episode, I paid attention to the camera angles and sound as to me, these are the two of the most key elements in a tv series. I've only done the first few minutes of the episode just to give a general  Sound: Right away as the episode begins you hear sounds that almost sound like gunfire, sending to the audience that this is most likely another war based tv series. However, as the opening title fades, we are shown our main character waking up on a modern-day train and watching another train goes past. This could show to the audience that the man has some kind of trauma due to his sounds being confused. The sound during the second 'camera' section is quite tense, letting the audience know that this man who walked away from the bin could be dangerous Camera: A few moments (within the same scene), the camera slowly pans round to the man

My first idea for my short film was to do a short film on the alarming rate of suicide within the LGBT community, however, since this is quite a personal topic due to having friends within the LGBT community, I have decided to put the idea to one side (for now). I have now decided to change my idea to an ex-best friend going 'crazy' at the thought of her ex-friend moving on, so she decides to kill her, however, after taking inspiration from films such as 'The Sixth Sense', I've decided to do it from after the murder has taken place and filming it as a 'conversation' between the ex-friend and the dead friend. Of course, I won't rip off 'The Sixth Sense' as that is plagiarism and copyright, but I may take inspiration from it in terms of how the scene will play out.

Here is my speed pitch for the 'Soft' short film. I went through several ideas of what I could use for it and the one central line in all my drafts and the final pitch was 'Who will stand up for themselves?'. Here is my speed pitch: A father and son are attacked separately by teens. Will the father defend his son, or will the son fight back on his own?

My 'Introduce Myself' video for Uni. It was filmed over the course of a week and edited over three days.