Pre- production

Script  

‘’APPROVAL’’

By NASTEHA MOHAMED

1    EXT. ESTATE – PRESENT DAY – 11.00

Council estate. Gloomy day, nobody is in sight, the sound of cars is the heard.

SALMA walks across the estate where NOORA lives and waits, staring down at a phone.

NOORA comes out and hugs SALMA greeting her.

NOORA

             Hey, what’s up? Thanks for waiting out here in the cold.

ZARA

    Hey, it is fine doesn’t worry about it.

Both walk down the street. There is a small pause.

ZARA

(Concerned but in a friendly way)

Hey, so is everything ok at home?

NOORA

(Doesn’t make eye contact, hesitant)

Yeh, I guess. Ever since I became part of the family, Aisha hasn’t been my biggest fan. She treats me as if I’m an intruder, ruining things. She’s gone rogue.  

ZARA

What are you talking about, what happened to Aisha?

NOORA

(Disappointed and quiet)

I don’t know, she just stormed out one day, Mrs Petal won’t explain anything to me... It doesn’t bother me really though, I’ve gotten used to the loneliness, Aisha never really liked me anyway.

ZARA

(Being supportive and quite playful at the same time)

Seriously, you guys used to hang out all the time.

1    CONT:

Noora looks at Salma.

ZARA(CONT’D)

She’s your sister... well kinda...

NOORA

(Shakes her head gently)

It was never like that. She despised that word.

As both SALMA and NOORA approach the corner of the street they bump into Aisha on the way. Without realising its her, they apologise and carry on walking. Aisha, who is wearing a black hooded jacket and a scarf to cover her nose and mouth, stops after a few steps and looks at her watch.

2    INT. LIBRARY – MORNING – 11:20

ZARA and NOORA are studying and discussing the topic of decay and organisms.

NOORA

(Points to the page in the book. Looks disgusted. )

SALMA, look... that’s what happens to a dead body as it decays.

ZARA

(Also disgusted. Responds by whispering)

Eww! God I wouldn’t want to be that guy right now.

NOORA

(Laughs quietly)

I know right. Jeez, just looking at it makes me feel weird .

ZARA

Well, we all gotta die someday.

SALMA and NOORA look at each other and smile. 

3    EXT. PARK – AFTERNOON – 13:00

ZARA and NOORA are sitting on the swings. NOORA is kicking a rock as she swings back and forth.

NOORA holds her phone with a photograph of both ZARA and her, in her hand. NOORA sighs looking around the park. One more glance at the photograph and without hesitation rips it into two. SALMA signals to her ringing phone and waves before departing home.

4    EXT. PARK – AFTERNOON – 14:00

The park is nearly empty. NOORA puts away her phone and get's up walking off. She walks up a hill when suddenly someone comes up from behind and attacks NOORA – they cover NOORA’S mouth so that the screams are muffled. NOORA’S eyes widen as she struggles.

5 FADE OUT AND THEN IN.

6    EXT. PARK – AFTERNOON – 14:10

NOORA’s phone starts to ring. There is no response. NOORA is lying dead on the grass. The masked killer is seen standing over her. They look around and quickly walk away.

7 FREEZE FRAME THEN REWIND.

AISHA (V.O)

Stop, let me explain. I followed you. I knew everything you were going to do. Weird right? It’s like we’re related.

    

BEGIN FLASHBACK:

8    EXT.  OUTSIDE NOORA’s HOUSE – MORNING – 10:00

AISHA stands opposite NOORA’s house wearing a low hood. AISHA brings out her camera phone and brings to take photos of NOORA’s window. Like a stalker.

    

END FLASHBACK.

9 FADE TO:

EXT.PARK – AFTERNOON – 13:00

AISHA is waiting by the gates of the park. Looks down at her watch ; it reads 1pm.

AISHA (V.O)

1 PM, I knew you would be there. That’s where we used to hang out.  

AISHA looks over her shoulder to see NOORA and SALMA.

9 CONT:

AISHA turns her back on them pretending to be on the phone as they walk by.

Shortly after AISHA begins to walk along the street, a safe distance behind them both, keeping a close eye on NOORA and SALMA. AISHA stops and looks down at the photograph of NOORA and AISHA, this was another photo, similar to one NOORA had.

AISHA (V.O)

I remember when my mum and dad used to take me there. It was a special place. I liked it there. I wanted to share that experience with you seeing as we were both the best of friends. I guess we did have some fun. For a while. They say nothing lasts forever… well isn’t that the fucking truth!

BEGIN FLASHBACK:

10   EXT. PARK – MORNING – 10:30

AISHA is sat looking at her phone, scrolling through hundreds of photos of NOORA. AISHA puts the phone down to open a bottle of water. After a hard attempt of opening the bottle she gets frustrated, and throws it aggressively across the playground. AISHA begins to break down.

    

END FLASHBACK.

11 FADE TO:

     EXT. OUTSIDE LIBRARY – MORNIGN – 11:15

AISHA walks down the street where the library is located. Stops and stares at it. AISHA looks down at her watch;  it reads 11:20 am.

AISHA (V.O)

11:20 am, you’d be at the library. You were smarter than I ever could have been. Every time I saw you, you had a book in your hand. I would get frustrated. Why couldn’t I be that smart? MY parents would praise you and reward you for your hard work. It didn’t matter in the end, because I stopped caring. 

    

BEGIN FLASHBACK:

12 EXT PLAYGROUND – MORNING – 11:00

AISHA stops crying. She gets up and puts on her scarf. She looks outside of the children area and makes her way out making sure to cover the entrance with the old tape. Inside the walls are covered with photos and information on NOORA and where she would be at different times of day. In the middle NOORA’S picture is circled in red.

    

END FLASHBACK.

13 FADE TO:

     EXT. ESTATE – MORNING - 11:05

AISHA walks down the street and pulls her hood up, approaching a corner where she bumps into NOORA and SALMA. Neither do not notice her but apologise for bumping into her. AISHA then walks a few steps and waits. She looks down at her watch. It reads 11:10. She turns around and walks, on her way to follow NOORA.

AISHA (V.O)

I’m not jealous of you anymore. I don’t care about how smart you are. I don’t care about the days when we used to go to our favourite park. All that shit doesn’t matter, because the day you arrived at my house, you changed everything. And somehow you got the better life and left me to rot in mine. I never gave a fuck, and I never will. Yeah, you might be accepted by my parents but you shall never get my approval. 

14 CUT

Storyboard by Salma Mohammed

Mise en Scene: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B9Oq2QuGbYq-c1J2UlN6QmM4LTA (Salma)

Shot List: (Pratisha)

Estate

Shot No	Shot	Filmed?
1	ELS of estate building
2	LS of Salma walking down the street with her phone in her hand
3	MCU of Salma as she looks at the estate
4	MS of Salma as she gets a text
5	LS of Nasteha walking out of the estate
6	MS of Salma and Noora hugging
7	Tracking shot of the two walking down the street
8	Close up of Noora as she talks to Salma
9	MS of the two, walking down the street
10	MLS of them bumping into Aisha
11	Tracking shot of Aisha
12	MS of Aisha when she stops to look at her watch.
13	Tracking shot of Aisha as she walks down the street
14	MS of her pulling up her hood.
15	ECU of her watch as it reads 11:10
16	MS of her turning around and on her way to follow Noora.

Library

Shot No	Shot	Filmed?
1	MLS of Salma and Noora studying.
2	OTS shot of Noora talking  from Salma’s perspective
3	OTS the of Salma talking form Noora’s perspective
4	MS of Aisha walking down the street
5	LS of her looking at the building
6	Close up of her looking at her watch
7	Extreme close up of the watch as it reads 11:20

Park

Shot No	Shot	Filmed?
1	MS of Salma and Noora on the swings.
2	Close up of Noora’s feet as she kicks the rocks beneath her.
3	MCU of Noora holding a photo in her hand
4	ECU of photo in her hand.
5	Close up of Noora’s face as she sighs.
6	ECU of Noora ripping up the photo.
7	MS of Noora walking home from the park, looking at her phone.
8	MCU of Noora’s face as her mouth is covered by Aisha’s glove.
9	Close up of Noora’s face as she struggles.
10	ECU of Noora’s widened eyes
11	Close up of Noora’s phone on the floor as it rings.
12	MCU of Noora’s dead body as she lies on the ground.
13	MS of Aisha as she stands over Noora’s body
14	MS of Aisha looking around and walking away
15	MLS of Aisha waiting by the gates of the park.
16	MS of her turning around to look at Noora and Salma
17	ELS of Noora and Salma
18	OTS shot of Aisha looking at them.
19	Tracking shot of Aisha as she walks past the park
20	OTS shot of her looking at the photo.

Aisha's Bedroom

Shot No	Shot	Filmed?
1	MS of Aisha looking out the window
2	Close up of Aisha looking out the window
3	Close up of Aisha sitting down and writing a note.
4	ECU of the writing on the note.
5	Close up of Aisha sitting down and writing a note.
6	Close up of her looking at her schoolbooks
7	MCU of her throwing the books on the floor.
8	OTS shot of her looking at her trophies
9	Close up of Aisha as she stops writing.
10	MS of her as she puts on her jacket
11	MS of her looking out the window.
12	Close up of the writing on the wall
13	Zoom out to reveal the plan to kill Noora
14	Extreme close up of Noora’s picture on the wall circled in red.

Project Schedule: (Pratisha)

Date	What we need to film
14/01/17	The estate scenes
15/01/17	Edit these clips
21/01/17	Park scenes /Library scenes
22/01/17	Edit these clips
25/01/17	Aisha’s bedroom scenes Voiceover
26/01/17 – 30/01/17		Edit these scenes and combine all clips together

It Follows ( My summary)

In the opening scene, a young woman is fleeing from someone or something.  She is shown driving to the beach.  At the beach, she calls her father and tells him that she’s sorry for being so unkind to him.  In the morning, it is shown that she was brutally murdered during the night.  Her leg is twisted and a bone is seen sticking out of it.
The film then switches to Jay (Maika Monroe) who is on a date with Hugh (Jake Weary) at the movies. While they are waiting in line, Hugh starts talking about how envious he is of young children and how they have innocent, carefree lives. When they are inside the theater, Hugh spots a young woman at the entrance.  He points her out to Jay, but she, however, cannot see her.  Suddenly, Hugh starts getting afraid and demands to Jay that they leave the theater.
On their next date, Jay and Hugh are having sex in his car, when he suddenly chloroforms her.  When Jay awakens, she is tied up in a wheelchair.  Hugh is there and he explains to her that when they had sex, he passed on a curse to her.  This curse is an entity that can only be seen by the person with the curse (which is now Jay).  The entity can take the form of any person and will follow her repeatedly at a walking pace.  If “IT” catches her, it will kill her and will go after the previous person who had the curse (which would now be Hugh) to get them to pass the curse on to someone else. 

It is implied that Hugh had slept with the young woman from the beginning of the film, but since “IT” caught her, “IT” is continuing to stalk Hugh until he passes the curse on to someone else, hence why he slept with Jay.
At that moment, Hugh spots a naked woman walking towards them.  Jay and Hugh then flee.  Hugh drops Jay off at home and continues to flee.  The police are searching for Hugh, but are unable to find him.
While at school, Jay spots an old woman in a hospital gown walking towards her.  Everyone around does not appear to notice to the old woman.  Jay’s friend, Paul (who has a crush on Jay), and her sister Kelly agree to help.
That night, Jay, Paul, Kelly and another friend, Yara, all agree to spend the night in the same house.  During the night, Paul hears a noise and examines a smashed window in the kitchen.  He looks around, but does not see anyone.  Jay then sees an almost naked woman with dark eyes walking towards her. 

Jay runs to a playground nearby, where her friends eventually catch up to her.  A neighbor named Greg offers to help the group by giving them a ride.  Jay and her friends plan to confront Hugh, so after tracking him down by figuring out his real address, he tells Jay that she needs to sleep with someone in order to successfully pass the curse on to someone else.She runs to tell the others, but none of them can see anything.  Suddenly, a tall man with dark eyes walks into the room.  Jay then runs out of the house.
The group then goes back to Greg’s house.  Jay deduces that she needs to learn how to use a gun.  While the group is sitting by the water, the entity takes on the appearance of Yara and begins to attack Jay.  Jay flees and then “IT” takes the appearance of the tall old man and then Paul.  Jay manages to shoot “IT”, but it does not die.  Jay gets into a car and drives away, but she manages to crash into a cornfield.
When Jay awakens, she is in the hospital being treated for her broken arm.  After she is released, Jay decides to pass the curse on to someone else.  She sleeps with Greg, in hopes of successfully passing the curse on to him.  Paul is heartbroken after finding out that Jay was with Greg.

Audience research focus groups: blog write-up

Due to my absence during this particular lesson Pratisha and Salma lead the focus group which involved both discussing the narrative ideas for our three minute production. 

·         Approval  / Low key - Title

·         Teenage girl murdered by mystery killer

·         Momento style

·         Set in west London/Indoors

·         Rated  15 /violent

·         Nora/ Character name

·         Ethnic based

·         Two characters are half sisters

·         One is adopted /other is taking by her real family

·         Use of flashbacks

·         Arthouse film/crime

·         Promoting women/feminist

·         ''Female gaze''

·         The end is the beginning 

The narrative in Memento is told backwards and is therefore a non-linear narrative. The audience is found out how and why the protagonists wife as the story gets repeated and more information is revealed. This particular art house film is considered as a classic when it comes to playing around with the viewers perspective of the story, to lead our production in this direction is thrilling and can become an excellent outcome overall. In terms of its genre the film is a hybrid as it is both a crime and a psychological thriller, It's narrative is played by a female protagonist. The focus group mentioned several times that the it is promoting feminism in a way that all the cast involved are female, suggesting that women have equal rights as a man when it comes to casting, because they are equally skill setted as the next man. The structure of the narrative was going to play with time and certain flashbacks the character has. The first half of the clip is going to be the story of Nooras death. Reversed. I have no more information of how it is structured because the focus group lacked detail on this specific part. Key elements within the discussions was about the title and whether it should be called Approval or Designation. The story line is quiet simple, involving a young girl called Noora ( the name meaning of light shinning above) is adopted into a new family. The family already has a daughter who is about the same age as Noora however this particular character does not warm to the idea of having a sister and would do all she pleases to make sure she succeeds in getting rid of her. In the recording it is stated that the character is the mystery killer. I think we will keep this idea because it falls into the idea of following into the footsteps of the film Momento and having her identify and her true from concealed from the audience at the start and revealed within the film would be fantastic. I also think it's best to keep the name Approval as it's catchy and easier to remember than Designation. 

Arthouse film institution research

1) Look back at the five films you have analysed for your existing product research. Find which studios made them – e.g. Film Four, Studio Canal, BFI, BBC Films etc.

Girlhood - Strand Realsing  
Donnie Darko - Flower Films
Boyhood - IFC Films 
The Falling -  Cinedigm
It Follows - Radius TWC 


2)What other films do these studios produce? Can you find any any other independent, arthouse or low-budget examples? 

Canal have produced many other films such as  the way he looks and edge of seventeen.

Flower Films produced films such as Happy Camp which was rather low budgeted and also a good amount of TV shows.

IFC films produced a vast amount of films such as don't knock twice , alone in berlin , between us and many more.

Cinedigm is an american company which produced films such as Shelly and The house that screamed.

Radius TWC - films such as 20 feet from stardom and horns.


3) Do the studios have any notable successes? What is the most successful low-budget or independent film the studio has released? 

Flower Films most successful film that no doubt reached many viewers across the globe was How To Be Single starring well known actors such as Rebel Wilson.
Strand Releasing has had its most success on the film The Way He Looks especially being one of their low budgeted films yet.
Radius TWC most viewed and successful movies are 20 feet from stardom and The hunting ground. 




 Summaries the 10 steps of film distribution in a list using your own words.

Step 1 . Once the filming has been successfully completed that there is a film distributor to get your film out there fast and quick.

Step 2.  Make sure that your film distributor knows how to gather the perfect audience that appeal to your film and make sure theaters know about the film in order to screen it. 

Step 3. Coming to an understanding with your distributor about releasing the film in cinemas. 

Step 4. The distributors having the film and now are able to have a release date etc.

Step 5. Publicity for the film to make sure it reaches the correct audience for the film. 

Step 6. Distributors sign a contract with varies agents and producers.  

Step 7. Prepare a certain budget to release the film , such as the amount of screens it will be sold to.

Step 8. Make sure the film is marketed into varies things such as t shirts and toys for children. 

Step 9. Licencing to exhibitors.

Step 10. Release for all cinemas. 

3) Now research the distributors for each of the arthouse films you have analysed for your existing product research. Who distributed each film in the UK?

Donnie Darko: Metrodome Distribution
Girlhood: Strand Releasing (USA)

Research Curzon Artificial Eye. Who are they and what do they do?
They are a British film distributor who are associated with the Curzon industry. They screen foreign film with non-english languages and screen them in arthouse cinemas.

Look at the Curzon Artficial Eye YouTube channel. Watch three trailers for recent or upcoming independent films and identify something you can learn from each film to use in your own film production.

Almost Holy: cinematic shots with blurred backgrounds almost giving off an effect of confusion. 

Christine: The pace of the clip was fast and racey to create an atmosphere of suspense and tension within the viewer.

The Commune: use of the same shot with the same settings with the people in a different position to create a surreal feeling

MEST2: Existing product research

Boyhood.

This particular art house film is set aside from the others as it took a large amount of time and dedication to make. It not only has a fantastic tale but allows the audience to follow the journey along with the 12 year old boy from start to finish.
The camera work is like no other because from start to finish the same camera has been used for 12 years meaning none of the cuts,edits, hand held shots or even zoom lenses had changed.
The camera shots were rather simple but held a lot of power as it was also part of the story being explained. The use of the arc shots that appeared within the movie represented the young boys giddy behaviour. There was a lack of handheld shots, were the camera provides a jerky movement, creating intimate feel. The cuts between the characters throughout the film during a conversation made the audience aware of facial expressions, movement etc allowing the audience to almost feel as if they are right there taking part in listening to the conversation. The sound was most diegetic as most of the sound that come from the movie was created by what was on the screen. However when non diegetic sound was used it created a nostalgia feeling as the audience felt that they are remembering something from a long time ago even though they just watched it from a scene 30 minutes ago. The characters/ actors in the film and watching them was remarkable because at the start of the film, the actors playing the characters were only young children and their lines, way of speaking felt rehearsed and stiff, like any child would at a young age. However towards the near end of the film, the young children matured into young adults also maturing their speech and movement, becoming more relaxed and well structured within the film.
The target audience for this film would be of all ages, I would say it depends on the mature-ness of the person watching. This film is journey through a young boys eyes. The audience grows with him, a good audience for this would be for people who understand the true meaning behind this type of film. 

It Follows

This art house film is a horror based film. It explores the different elements within editing and camera work to create a thrilling atmosphere. The camera work has a vast amount of different shots. Majority of the film was filmed using a tripod because there was a lot of tracking shots and crane shots to make sure the camera captures certain key elements that make up the plot or make the audience aware of the characters and their key role within the film. The editing was fast, paced and it included a lot cuts within the film that suggests that there is a lot going on, which most horror film do. This type of art house horror film does not focus on the cliches of horror films but rather the story of the main character and what is happening to her, it is more focused on the story line rather than the entertainment of the audience. The camera dissolved a lot in the clip, suggesting a lot is happening and that it doesn't have to always make sense in order to make sure it terrifies the audience.
The actor within the film seems to be genuinely terrified as we witness her being really happy at the start of the clip but move on to her being stripped of that feeling and having it be replaced with terror and confusion. This film will cause the audience to feel a bit lost as I am with this clip but unable to shake off the feeling of unease because of what might be happening within the film.
The target audience for this art house film would most definite be 15 or over. There are a few things that might suggest this, such as first the terrifying suspense that is highlighted within the film but as well as the imagery of the women. The audience target would be people who mostly enjoy films such as thrillers and horror films as this falls into that category.

Donnie Darko

This particular art house film plays with the audience mind. It makes no sense but it allows the audience to connect and grow with the character because he relates to everyone at some point within their life.This film camera work was limited from the clip because it highlighted a conversation between the main character and what seems to be his therapist. The camera did not move, pan or zoom out. However it did zoom in on him as he seemed to get into the subject of what he was saying, suggesting it is important whether it be to the plot or having better understanding of the character. The editing was throughout because it cut various time between the two characters having their conversation instead of just focusing on the one character and only hear the other. This allows the audience to get a good feel of being there with the characters and having hear it. The character seems to be wearing a coloured t shirt suggesting that even though what he might e saying is beyond his years he still has the fashion sense of the average teenager back at that time. His facial expression don't say much or give away much either because it seems like what he's saying is something he has probably repeated in his head over and over before contemplating the idea. The only expression we can get is that it is very thoughtful.

The target audience for this film is probably between young teenagers to young adults because it is very relatble for them at once to have had the same thoughts as Donnie. They would watch this to have a peek through the same kind of life as theirs but through the eyes of someone else.

Girlhood

 This art house film is livilly and brings a happy atmosphere to it's watchers but also leaves them with a better understanding for something that was probably not clear to them in the beginning. In this case being the lives of young black female teenager girls and the way they cope through the world.
The camera work is very noticeable because through this clip it suggests that it is hand held and jerky, causing that inmate feeling. In this clip the girls are learning and teaching each other dance moves, with the hand held camera it allows the audience to feel like they are there with them, dancing.
The editing is not very clear in this clip as it provides barely any cuts or transitions. Judging from this particular clip there might be a lot of cuts because we will probably going through different aspects of the film to discover the type of lives these girls have. The girls seems to be young and free and perfect to be represented for all types of black girls for this film.
The target audience for this film would be young teenagers who are confused and are lacking information of what life is like for people other themselves. However that doesn't also mean it should stop other people of age or colour to view this film.

The Falling

This arthouse film  clip has a heavy element of mystery within it. The audience will be quick to notice the film will focus on the life of young teenagers. However the first couple of seconds it does not seem to introduce anything to do with school life. The voice over of the main character sets the idea that the film will be through the eyes of the main character herself.
The voice over is played over vast amounts of quick cuts of single shots of what is probably yet to come into the film however it could also be interpreted as small snap shots into the characters mind.
The way the character speaks suggest that she is reading off a book or a page because of her low mono toned voice. The fast pace shots comes to a slow stop on a bell followed swiftly with the fast bustle of young school girls walking into the school. This is the starting point that the audience will have a better understanding of what might become of the film.
The use of sound in the film is a very key element of making it stand out to the audience, the non diegetic sound makes the audience more aware of what is happening, whether it be listening to the voice over or listening to the music being played over a scene, even blending the both together.
The first face we are introduced to is what the audience is quick to assume is the big part she might have within the film, we assume it is her voice too because of the amount of times we see her in the short seconds of the start of the clip.
The editing is fast faced at the start, emphasizing on the amount of things that will soon happen. The use of blending two scenes together while the sound from the previous scene is played over the next well done.
The target audience for this particular film would probably older teens, those who have the skill set to properly digest a film that relates to them and enjoy how it played on their minds.