Studio Shoot Group Meeting 4

This meeting took place at 8:30am on Friday 11th November and was for the whole group to attend. It was so we could all come together and share what we had individually been working on so far and agree on where we are going with the piece.

Ade (sound designer) spoke about his plans for the sound. He wants to make an original soundtrack which will incorporate his own music along with abstract sounds to help reflect the emotions and tension within our piece. We asked him to get some more research done and some basics sounds or a plan put together for next Friday so we can get a rough idea of what it will sound like and how well it will work with in the piece. I have suggested to him that he record sounds on set as well as sound effects before the shoot to work with in post to help make sure he has enough material.

Jay (Set designer) then spoke to us about his set plans. He informed us of the other groups decision to now use a rectangle set shape as opposed to there original idea. Jay has agreed upon this shape with them because it will work for our piece too as we can't the mirror in the centre of this rectangle space and still decorate how we want on the change over day. We have also explained to him and the group that we don't want a wall in the middle of the set and instead just a freestanding mirror frame as a wall will be too restricting for the movement. Jay showed us his colour palettes he has gone for with each half of the set. The Superego will have pale pastel tones such as beiges etc and then the Id side will have much bolder isolated colours like blacks, greys and possible reds etc. We have asked him to draw out a plan and solidify this set plan so we can start sourcing materials for it. He has also suggested the use of a chair in front of the mirror on both sides which me and Logan (director) actually really liked the idea of as it gives the actor another object to interact with and therefore will add more interest to the piece so we have approved on this.

Logan (Director) then gave the group especially those who had missed a few of the meetings a bit more detail as to what the script is like so far (refer to previous post). He then explained the importance of the props to the group and Jay (set designer) because he wants the props to be representing specific aspects of the characters life and personality so that when this character interacts with them it is reminding them of who they are.

Ollie (Gaffa) then moved on to talk to us about his lighting plans so far and said he has decided that he wants warm light projecting down onto the Superegos side of the set and then cold blue toned light on the Id's side of the set to make a comparison between the two. He said this will only happen when the two characters begin to fight as it helps create a distinction between them but before then it will just be natural light. He also then spoke about the possible use of a smoke machine because he thinks if a smoke machine is present towards the end of our piece then the lighting will look even more effective with the 2 different coloured sides. I did however suggest that a smoke machine may be too much for our set because it will impair the actors and everyones vision making it more dangerous and it will make it tricky on the camera team. Katherine said she would look into this and thinks as long as its on the risk assessment it will be alright to use.

Ethan, Masie and Sugini (camera team) then just gave us an update and said the shortlist was done so they are going to put this on our groups page on Facebook so we can all read through this in our own time and anyone can make any suggestions they feel necessary. However having glanced over it during the meeting I am very happy with their plans so far. I have made them aware they need to make sure Chloe (Storyboard artist) gets a copy of this so she can add and update the storyboard accordingly. I also made Logan (Director) aware that he needs to send the script when its finalised to Chloe so she can also update the storyboard based on these changes as well.

Katherine (Producer) then spoke to the group about casting. She had already booked a room for next week 4pm till 8pm on Monday and Tuesday evening and had been advertising these auditions everywhere. I actually helped her to wright the advert for Facebook and other social media which read:

'Potential paid acting opportunity (For DFSA 2nd Year University Piece)

For our studio shoot we are looking for 2 actors to play our main characters. Mixed abilities welcome. Trained dancers are also welcome.
There is very limited dialogue. It is mainly going to be an abstract movement piece with the two characters reflecting / battling each other out with a virtual mirror. The theme is regarding self-identity and mental well-being. Please wear comfortable clothing you can move around in.

The auditions are taking place at The University of Creative Arts (Farnham), within a studio space on Monday 14th 16:45 – 19:45 and Tuesday 15th 17:15 – 19:45. You are welcome to turn up in pairs if you wish or solo.

The shooting dates are 28th November to 2nd December. It will be a two-day shoot in between these dates tbc. You must be free for these dates.

Contact Katherine Whetton or Nicole Harman–Smith via our emails or social networking for all the details to get involved.

Contact Information

Facebook - Katherine Whetton
Email – kwhetton@students.ucreative.ac.uk

Facebook – Nicole Harman-Smith
Email – nharman-smith@students.ucreative.ac.uk'

Katherine informed us that this had so far attracted 4 people to sign up for auditions. We then decided that it will be Myself (AD), Logan (Director), Katherine (Producer), Nicole (AP) running and watching the auditions and then Chloe (Storyboard) will be there helping by bringing the actors in and out of the room for their time slots. Then we chose Maisie (Camera Operator) and Ethan (DOP) to come and video the auditions for us so we are able to review it at a later date and show the rest of the group who won't be there. Katherine and Logan have agreed that over the weekend they will be putting together a plan for the auditions and what they will get the actors to do. My suggestion to them on this was maybe a 'Copycat' exercise where by one of us stands and does some movements and sees how well the actor copy us. This will help us judge how well they are able to interpret moment and copy it. Katherine and Logan took this on board.

I then finished off the meeting by sharing my research (see previous post) on the Id, Ego and Superego to help make sure everyone was understanding our topic as we need everyone on the same page. I then suggested how I thought the actors should play this by having the Id more childish and irrational and also animalistic. Then the Superego should be more graceful and held together. (again see previous post for more detail) I feel like everyone was in agreement with this which is good.

That concluded this meeting and it was a very productive meeting where a lot of decisions and plans got made.