Behind the Scenes

Whilst conducting our latest film shoot we also decided to film a behind the scenes video.


North Chamber: Store Cupboard BTS from Sam Duxbury on Vimeo.

In this video, I as the producer outline what we are doing for the shoot and I also describe which props we used and why. We mainly filmed this so that we could add it onto our website because after looking at common conventions of a website we found that behind the scenes photos and videos are a very important aspect, especially when connecting the audience to the crew and cast members.

Production Diary - 26/11/14

On 26th November we asked Miranda to come into school and film her first scene which is when she finds the sketch book. As we were using the schools store cupboard it became extra tricky to plan out this shoot. 

For example, we needed permission from the caretaker to use the cupboard and we also needed to choose a day to film when he too was available so that he could unlock the room for us and supervise. 

Before our actor arrived we had a lot of work to do, for the lighting we had initially decided to use lamps because we thought that it would be very dark in the room, however these over-exposed the shots and we decided that the natural lighting from outside the cupboard made the footage more realistic too.

We also had to risk asses the area and remove dangerous item such as ladders and buckets of water. We also had to make a clear and safe path down the middle of the room. Here is a picture of all the hazards we had to clear away:

Finally we created the mise-en-scene which included creating a shelf of dusty old books, the dust was created by sprinkling wholemeal flour over the top of the books and we also hung a photograph of the 'old head-mistress' on the door of the cupboard. 

All this meant that once our actor had arrived we could begin filming right away. 

This is a screen shot of the call sheet that Sam Duxbury created for the events of the evening. 

I am really pleased with how well and smoothly this film shoot and I can't really think of any improvements that we could make because we were very organised with the pre and post preparation. 

Make-up

A very important aspect of the trailer is when Cassandra turns into a ghost, for this we needed to use make-up in order to make her look scary and freaky.

To begin with we used a very light foundation to make her face and neck look very pale and then blushed this over with white eye-shadow to further empathise the lifelessness.

We then proceeded to underline her eyes with red lipstick make her seem like she had been crying and this produced a worn out look and made her look tired. 

Finally we used a white contact lens in one of her eyes to add ghostly appearance to Cassandra to further emphasise that she is dead.

Here is Cassandra's finished look:

Production Diary - 19/11/14

On Wednesday 19th November we conducted our first film shoot. For this shoot we only used 1 actor, Kaitlyn who played the part of Cassandra. We decided to only shoot her individual shots as we knew that there were quite a lot of these and especially because our time is limited due to school opening hours, we didn't want to use up vital time when we had our other actors on set with scenes that only involve Cassandra.

I can drive so I went to pick up Kaitlyn from her school and brought her straight back to Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar where Hannah and Sam had begun setting up the locations and preparing what Kaitlyn will wear based on our costume guidelines.

Here is Kaitlyns finished outfit:

I personally feel as though the outfit looks really effective and I am very pleased with the outcome, it definitely fits the 1940's style uniform we have researched about and kaitlyn really brings the character to life in this way.

Whilst filming one of the scenes which is by a window we suddenly realised that it had gone dark outside by the time we came to this scene which meant we couldn't film because our trailer is set in the day as it is supposed to be during school time, for the next film shoots we will bare this in mind and film any outside shots first whilst it is still light.

Other than that one mistake the rest of shoots went very well and the Red Herring Production team and I are very happy with the results.

Here are a couple of behind the scenes photos:

I have screen-shotted the call sheet which was produced by Sam Duxbury for this film shoot, I have edited out the phone numbers for privacy reasons:

Monologue

Coming up with the monologue much more difficult than we had expected, at first we tried to make it rhyme but this restricted what our sentences could involve. We came up with a couple of good rhyming words, for instance if the poem was going to be from Cassandra's point of views we though about using the word 'me' and rhyming it with 'evacuee'.

In the end we dropped the idea of the rhyming poem and suddenly ideas flew and we came up with a great monologue with an added bonus of some words rhyming;

Covered in dust

At the back of a cupboard

There is a book full of secrets

Soon to be discovered

In the North Chamber

She’ll find it there.

Cassandra’s book

Don’t touch it.

Beware.

KEEP OUT.

Monologue from Rebecca Ainsworth on Vimeo.

Props

Props are involved in the making of the mise-en-scene for any film, and there is a lot more to it than just placing something in the background to make the room look filled. Certain props can allow the audience understand about a character’s story without anything even being said. For instance, A half-eaten mouldy pizza on someone’s kitchen counter can instantly be read as them being a slob or lazy.

Sketch Book

In our own production there is a very important part of the film which will be Cassanra’s sketch book, through this the audience will see things about Cassandra’s life and thoughts without her even saying anything about it.

To create this book originally I asked my German teacher to borrow a spare exercise book which looks like this;

Hannah, Sam and I then found two of our friends who take Art A-level and kindly asked them to draw some pictures of war and depression however when we looked at the finished result we were not very happy, the drawings didn’t match our interpretation of Cassandra which cannot be helped as we are the people who created her character whereas our friends didn’t understand Cassandra like ourselves. Furthermore, the drawings were done in black felt tip and we realised that Cassandra would not have owned felt-tips back in the 1940’s.

Having thought about the period aspect we also decided that the book itself looked too modern so we looked on the internet and found a much better old-fashioned book which is in fact a genuine exercise book from the 40’s.  The pages have a slight yellowy tint to them, there is rust on the hinges and there is no margin line, this makes the book look more authentic. 

However, we only ordered the book from eBay on Wednesday 12^th November and was due to arrive on 19^th November which was too close because we have planned to do our first film shoot on the 19^th. Therefore I emailed Lesley, the woman who I bought the jotter from, and she very kindly sent it in first class for us and I have now received it. It looks amazing and so much better than the previous jotter.

Fountain Pen

In the 1940’s people would write with fountain pens or feather and ink pens therefore we have asked around and Hannah owns a feather pen with a pot of ink and I own some fountain pens and ink cartridges. We will use these to write in the jotter as this is what Cassandra would have actually used.

We used a mix of blue ink and black ink and I love the pages, they really show Cassandra's character and inner-self. Also Hannah and I found out that we can be quite artistic after all.

Here are some photos during the process of drawing in the book. 

Wholemeal Flour

In one of the modern day scenes, Scarlett walks into an old cupboard and discovers lots of old exercise books, including Cassandra’s book. In order to make the books look old and dusty we will use wholemeal flour to act as dust.

Extra Books

Within the same scene we also need many other old-fashioned books to be on the shelves in order to make the scene look realistic. I have found a couple of old books that my mum has kept from past generations. 









I also we have found an old photograph of my great aunt which we shall have hanging on the inside of the store cupboard and this can be used as a photography of the old head teacher during the war period.

Also we asked around and we were allowed to use some of the actual school’s book from the past which are kept in BRGS’s archive cupboard. This was great as we found exercise books dating back to the 1940’s and also we found old versions of the schools magazine, ‘The Squirrel’.

Fake Blood

We are going to use fake blood in a number of scenes, one where we see blood dripping into the sink, making it evident to the audience that Cassandra has cut herself and another scene where Cassandra drops her blood onto the hand of Scarlett.

Bag

During one of the scenes Scarlett looks through her bag and takes out Cassandra’s sketch book and for this we will need a modern day school bag. 

Crew List

Hannah Boardman as Director

Hannah Boardman was born on the 13th May 1997 in Burnley.

She is currently studying Photography, Media studies and Psychology and hopes to go on to do film production at university next year.

She has had many work experience placements on television series' such as 'Scott and Bailey' and 'The Syndicate' and has had chance to work closely with well established directors.

"I've loved being a part of the production of North Chamber! I have really enjoyed working with talented young actors I hadn't met prior to filming. I have learnt a lot about directing and working as a team throughout this film making process."

Rebecca Ainsworth as Producer

Rebecca Ainsworth was born on 11th January 1997 in Bury and has taken on the role of the producer during this production.

She studies Photography, Media Studies and German at Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammer School and hopes to continue her studies in London during a Film Production course later this year.

Rebecca has always had an interest with cameras from an early age putting together montages of various family events and creating birthday videos for friends.

She has been lucky enough to have work experience on sets such as 'A Monster Calls' film and the Burghley Horse trails eventing weekend.

"Working on the set of North Chamber has been a great experience for me and I am now confident that the film industry is where I would like to pursue a career!"

Sam Duxbury as Cinematographer

Sam Duxbury was born on the 18th December 1996 in Oldham.

He studies Geography, History, and Media Studies at Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School and hopes to go on to do History at university later this calendar year.

Cast List

Kaitlyn Knight as Cassandra

Kaitlyn was born on 1st September 2000 and is very passionate about writing, acting and singing she especially likes to write and perform her own songs. Through pursuing this passion she has achieved many awards including a Music Achievement award, Performance excellence, Performance in King George’s hall and singer of the year just to name a few.

She has had various extra parts in several public performances for example, Snow White, Mamma Mia, Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat. Her biggest role being cast as Harmony Galloway in a Theatre production called The Ghosts of Galloway House.  Here is an on-stage picture of her as Harmony. 

Sophie Barnes as Natalie

Born on 19th July 2001 Sophie has much interest in her Drama and Dance hobbies, She currently attends The Performance Academy in Accrington and has just received honours in her first drama exam. She is also studying a drama qualification - NCFE - at the Performance Academy.  Previously she attended Burnley Youth Theatre and performed in several plays including 'The Event' and 'Animal Farm'.

Sophie also attends Sandersons Dance in Blackburn and has numerous awards for Cheer dance. She is part of the Cheer squad and enters competitions 4 times a year. Her latest achievement was honours at gold level.

Here is a picture of Sophie and the cast of Animal Farm.

Robert Mason as William

Robert Louis Mason, was born in Burnley 1st August 2002.  He has lived in Weir all his life, with Mum, Dad, brother Thomas and Rusty the dog. He went to Northern Primary School in which he obtain many main parts in Christmas performances before joining BRGS in September 2013.

His hobbies include, Golf, he is the current club champion and Junior Captain at Bacup Golf Club, Table Tennis, Scouts and,  of course, Drama.

He has attended the Performance Academy since 2012 and has taken part in the last three summer shows. He has recently been awarded a Distinction in his Grade 5 drama exam.

He is currently studying for his GCSE in Drama at the Performance Academy.

Loan Evans as George 

Loan Evans was born on Valantine's Day 2002.....ahhhh.  

He has numerous hobbies which include playing both bass and electric guitars plus a Flugal Horn. He regularly performs, and last year undertook 50 performances with the 2nd Rossendale Scout's Brass Band.

He enjoys acting, loves music (especially rock) plus the fast life and cars. He races one a month at a local kart track and his first word joined up  when he was a baby was "vintage car"!

Miranda Markham as Scarlett

Miranda is currently training at The Performance Academy, Accrington and is a dedicated, enthusiastic and talented performer who is equally at home acting, dancing, modelling and singing. 

She is full of energy and pursues every form of exercise from muddy mountain biking to graceful ballet. Miranda has performed in dance and drama shows, acting and musical theatre festivals, dance, drama and singing examinations and has won an array of trophies for acting and speech in Music and Arts festivals in the North West. 

She was also asked to take part in an editorial shoot and be the face of Craze Photography and has completed a modeling photoshoot for Carloan 4 U.   More recently Miranda has appeared in a short film called THE GREEN DRESS (Dream Catcher Films) which will be broadcast three times on the regional channel Bay TV in the next two weeks. Miranda is privileged and proud to be a part of Red Herring Productions forthcoming film and eagerly awaits the release of this magnificent feature.  

Nicola Markham as Teacher

Nicola began her acting training at Mountview Theatre School and has since completed a Masters Degree in Physical Theatre at Huddersfield University. During her twenty-year career as a professional actress Nicola has performed in a wide variety of theatre and film productions including a four-year No.1 tour and West End run of the hit comedy ‘Girls’ Night Out’.   Further credits include a No.1 tour of ‘The Secret Garden’, annual pantomimes playing a variety of characters and a recent performance of a one-woman play called ‘Artist Unknown’ which toured Manchester Fringe venues earlier this year.

 In addition to performing, Nicola also writes and develops new work for her own theatre company ‘Inspired Productions.’ These educational and bespoke productions tour schools, communities and museums providing an imaginative, theatrical experience in a non-theatre environment. Nicola is currently awaiting the TV premiere of a short film called ‘The Green Dress,’ by Chatterbox Productions & Dream Catcher Films where she plays a lead role as ‘Mum’ in this 1940’s nostalgic drama set in Lancashire.   

Last year saw the release of a full length 3D feature film ‘Saint Dracula’ for Cinema Verite where Nicola plays the role of ‘Mother Superior’. This is the second feature film role with Cinema Verite having previously played the ‘Lord’s Mother’ in ‘The secret diaries of Mona Lisa,’ also directed by Rupesh Paul.

Permission Letters

A very important part of the production process is having permission to film from the owner of the location set and also from the parents of the actors under the age of 18. It is vital that we do this so that if something should go wrong nobody can sue us etc as we have written proof of allowance.

For instance we are filming all our footage at a school location after hours, this meant that we had to get permission from our head of sixth form to be using the school during these times and also so that cleaners and caretakers are aware of our presence around the school.

For a certain part of our film, we want our main character Cassandra, played by Kaitlyn to use coloured contact lenses therefore as there are health risks around this, we added this into the permission slip but we have also checked with the nurse that she will be present in school around the time that we will be using the lenses so that if Kaitlyn does have an allergic reaction then we can seek medical help.

We also have the permission from the other actors parents as they are all under 18 too. These particular actors came from the audition I held one wednesday afternoon, I have handed out empty forms to each child I felt fitted the criteria of out film with my contact number and email address on. I have asked them to get in touch if they are allowed to film and bring this form back filled in and signed.