Audience Research into short film.

I wanted to ascertain what a wide range of people thought about short film, film posters and magazine reviews. This would give me a more intricate idea about how to go I should go about creating these media products myself.

Firstly, I devised a simple questionnaire with just Yes/No and a few multiple choice answers and handed it to 5 people ranging from age 10, 17, 40, 54 and 78. I thought that this age range covered a broad enough audience for my results to be reliable.

Questions and Answers: 

1) How detailed is your knowledge of short film? 
Strong Knowledge 
General Understanding 
Brief Knowledge 
No understanding 

Age 40 and 78- Brief understanding
Age 17 and 54- General Understanding
Age 10- No understanding

2) Have you ever seen a short film? 
Yes  
No 

Age 10, 17, 40- Yes
Age 78- No

3) Would you ever choose to go and see a short film or series of short films over a feature length?
Very Likely 
Likely 
Unlikely 
Not at all 

Age 10- Unlikely
Age 17, 54- Likely
Age 40, 78- Very Likely

4) How often to you read film reviews? 
Frequently 
Often 
Sometimes 
Not at all 

Age 74, 54, 40- Frequently
Age 17- Often
Age 10 - Sometimes.

5) Where is the most common place you personally would find yourself reading a film review? 
Film Magazine (Sight and Sound, Empire, Total Film etc) 
Celebrity Magazine (Heat, Closer, Okay etc) 
Fashion Magazine (Elle, Vogue etc) 
Television Magazine (Radio Times etc) 
Internet 
Newspaper 

Age 10, 17- Internet
Age 40- Celebrity Magazine
Age 54- Television Magazine
Age 78- Newspaper

6) How influenced are you by film reviews? 
Extremely 
Moderately 
Hardly at all 
Not at all 

Age 40- Extremely
Age 17- Moderately
Age 10, 54, 78- Hardly at all

7) Would a bad film review stop you from going to see a film? 
Yes 
No 

Age 10, 17, 40, 78 - No
Age 54 -Yes

8) Does a film poster influence your choice to watch a film? 
Frequently
Often 
Sometimes 
Not at all 

Age 10, 17 - Frequently
Age 40, 54, 78 - Sometimes

9) What do you believe is the most important part of a film poster? 
Clear title 
Eye catching image 
Cast list 
Director
Release Date 

Age 10- Eye catching image
Age 17, 54 - Clear Title
Age 40 - Cast List
Age 78- Release Date

10) Have you got a favourite film poster? 
Yes 
No 

Age 10, 78 - Yes
Age 17, 40, 54 - No

11) Do you/have you ever had a film poster in your bedroom/house as decoration? 
Yes, Currently do
Yes, in the past 
No, never have 

Age- 10, 17 -Yes currently do
Age 40 - Yes, in the past
Age 54, 78 - No, never have

12) Do you believe a film poster is the most effective way of advertising a film? 
Strongly agree
Agree
Sometimes 
Disagree
Strongly Disagree 

Age 10, 78 - Strongly Agree
Age 40, 54 - Agree
Age 17- Sometimes

13) What is your favourite genre of film? 
Thriller
Drama 
Romance 
Romantic Comedy 
Comedy 

Age 10- Comedy
Age 17, 54 - Drama
Age 40- Romantic Comedy
Age 78- Thriller

14) Would you ever consider seeing a surrealist or more left wing independent film? 
Definitely 
Perhaps 
Definitely not 

Age 10 - Definitely not
Age 17, 54, 78 Definitely
Age 40- Perhaps

15) Generally what is your main reason to see a film? 
Great reviews 
Read the book
Eye catching poster 
Star Studded Cast 
Acclaimed Writer 
Acclaimed Director 
Award Nominations 

Age 10- Eye Catching poster
Age 17- Award nominations
Age 40- Star Studded Cast
Age 54- Acclaimed Director
Age 78- Read the book


These 15 questions enabled me to grasp the individual thinking behind these three aspects of film. It also allowed me to think about what target audience would be most effective for my own film ideas.

Flash of inspiration.

I have been solidly editing my film recently and appear to have hit a bit of a wall. I was worried this would be the case because of my last minute change in ideas.

I've spent my time researching into what I can add in, I don't want my film to come across cluttered with random, necessary content. I thought about playing around with the sound. My opening at the moment is the sound of children's voices getting louder and louder, originally I wondered whether I could morph this somehow, however then I came up with a different idea. 
This idea came about when I was doing some more research into MP's opinions and actions towards social media and the issues displayed in my film. From a young age one of the things that has struck me about when an MP voices his opinions in the parliament, is the erupting sound after a statement is made. I thought perhaps if I could find, or extract this sound and play it at the beginning of my film, then with it slowly morphing to the juvenile child sounds it might highlight the link i'm making a little more obviously. 

When I was looking into finding some sound, I couldn't help but watch some more video's with MP's discussing video's. Because my film already has the "education, education, education" quote from Tony Blair I had a look at some of the other video's just out of interest. 

THEN, it struck me like a tonne of bricks. 

Princess Diana! I've come across the speech that Mr Blair makes after Diana's untimely death a few times before doing various other bits of research. I've always been interested in the controversy that looms over her death; Royal Family's fault, or the media. 
Who controls the media? The Government. This takes me back to the original premise of my film. 
I'm not going to start playing the blame game, however Princess Diana in her prime was consistently splashed over the tabloids, what she was doing, what she was wearing, what she looked like. People were extremely interesting and after all, as Tony Blair stated she was the "People's Princess". 

It was speculated that Diana had issues of her own concerning her weight, she was diagnosed with Bulimia. No doubt her battle with food was something that had a lot of causes, her family issues, her broken down marriage, but I should imagine it was mainly because of the media spotlight placed apon her. 
If you draw parallels with the current Dutchess of Cambridge who is splashed across every magazine at least once or twice a week, her appearance is normally the thing that's being spoken about. If this was the case with Diana, then I believe this indefinitely was the cause of some of her problems. 

I have heard snippets of her interview with Martin Bashir several times and am always fascinated with her honesty and the way she justifies herself. 

I was wondering if instead of having my original narration in my film (scripted in post bellow), whether I could move the focus and have snippets of Diana speaking, this would be a great use of intertextuality and have a stronger relation to my original idea's about politics blind intervention with media, and our education system, sending us into a moral vacuum. 

Also, at the moment I have editing the clips together so that they flow into either other, using an effect on Adobe Premier Pro. I think I may take this out and have a the sound of a camera shutter, which will bring in my idea's about the media, paparazzi, Princess Diana and government intervention even more.

Script for Narration Part 1.

Education Education Education

 

Narration Part 1

Female Protagonist

(To be pronounced articulately and slowly. Dwell apon words. These are extremely deep emotions)

“ I used to understand it.

(Pause)

But now I don’t.

(Pause)

I used to control it.

(Pause)

But now I cant.

(Pause)

Its like my minds having an argument

(Pause)

With itself

(Pause)

About its self

(Pause)

And to do with itself.”

Script for Narration Part 2.

Education Education Education.

Narration Part 2.

Male Protagonist.

(To be pronounced articulately and slowly. Dwell apon words. These are extremely deep emotions)

“Control.

(Pause)

I know what I need to do.

(Pause)

But I cant.

(Pause)

I know what I want to do.

(Pause)

But its not that easy.

(Pause)

There’s no point in pushing.

(Pause)

Or trying.

(Pause)

Its out of my control”

Story Boarding.

Art clearly isnt my forte, however although I have begun editing my work I thought noting my original drawings for the short film may be a good idea. This way I can see how much my film is developing.

So far I have stuck pretty much to the basic premise of my first idea shown in the drawing above, although of course because of the length i've had to expand and add in different idea's. Such as having a male protagonist etc.

Story boarding is a really good way to get your idea's on paper in a visual way, rather than just writing them all out or making a vlog about them. I often work in a more visual and tactile way, so this compliments the way I work very well.

I always find it interesting to see how idea's develop and how they change, doing on going story boards is a really good way of displaying this so you can not only see the development yourself, but it can be shown to other people also.

Narration.

I've decided after all to encorperate narration into my film. I think I will probably use this rather than my idea of using music. I just dont think i'll find a song that connects as well with my film, also I watched back the little parts of my film that i've done and I feel like use of narration will help the audience understand the characters more. I dont want to give too much away in the narration, i'd rather just let the audience into a tiny fragment of the characters minds.

I used my own voice for the girls narration. I wasn't going to use myself originally, I just recorded my voice so that I had an audio version of what I wanted to say. However I imported the audio of myself into my film just to see what it sounded like, luckily it actually sounded exactly how I wanted to, so i left it in. 

For the male part, I wanted someone who had a clear, well spoken voice.  I thought immediately of Jake Brownbill. He has done a lot of narration and voice over things for other people in my media class, so I knew that he'd be able to speak clearly and get the point accross. Jake is also been an actor in a few things before, so he was perfect for the role.

This is Jake starring in an AS media film opening.

The words spoken by my narrator are the inner-most thoughts of my two protagonists. They would never ordinarily release this information to their friends or to anyone else. Both characters have a big front, and both have a fairly big brovado. This is why I hope my film comes accross quite instense.

After Affects Work

A main part of my film is the work that i'm doing on Adobe after affects. I wanted to create a type writer affect with the words appearing like someone is typing. From my work on my  titling at AS I had a basic knowledge of how I may go about it. I began and the easiest way I found to do it was add in each letter and then move it to the appropriate place, then moving the time in each letter along.
I did the first section, which was the writing "Ask me my three main priorities for the government.."
"Education Education Education, Tony Blair, Prime Minister 1996-2006". The whole clip lasted around 11 seconds and it took my three hours to edit.

Luckily I began doing this nice and early so left myself plenty of time to edit all of the bits needed like this.

So far I have written in my plan that i'm going to have three four individual sections of type  writer writing appearing. The first one is the "Ask me my three main priorities for the government.." The second is "Education, Education, Education, Tony Blair, Prime  Minister 1996-2006" The third is the definition of female explained in my last post and similarly the definition of being male, which is also explained in the post previous to this.

 

 

Originally I was onlu going to have 4 bits of type writing because I wasn't sure how they were going to look, however now I really like the effect and it makes it a little more interesting. Im thinking on ending the piece with the words "David Cameron's Broken Britain" to retract back and link in to my original theme of politics in the first type writing episode. 

"Broken Britain"

When I was thinking about the music I could put with my short film I realised how much music I listen to that has really similar meanings to the meanings i'm trying to convey in my film.
Just earlier on my walk home from school I was listening to the song Plan B- Playing With Fire. Its all about social corruption and gang warfare with youngsters. Obviously this isn't completely the same, but some of the  key themes are displayed such as peer pressuring and wanting to fit in to a certain clique. 
I found the lyrics of the song very interesting and inspiring.

Obviously I wouldn't be able to use this song, or anything by an actual artist because of copy write reasons, however i'm going to try and trawl through youtube and music sites to see if I can find anyone that doesn't mind me using their song because rather than just putting some emotional piano music over the top that has no relation, i'd like to use a song by someone that means something to them, or has more depth. 

Prop and Costume List

Costume:
Girl-
Sixth Form Suit

Boy-
Sixth Form Suit. 

Props:
Girl-
Mascara 
Perfume 

Boy-
Roll up cigarette
Phone 

Nursery Location-
Magazines
Newspapers
Paint


 Luckily the extent of my props and costume isn't that much, I wanted to keep the parts of my film where real people are acting in it, very naturalist. Hopefully this will contrast with the slightly more surreal meaning and rest of my film. Luckily the locations that I used didn't need any tweaking props wise except for the nursery, where I just had to add some paint covered newspapers and magazines. 

Explanations and the thinking behind..

Whilst continuing on the very time consuming and arduous task of editing my bits of type writer style writing on Adobe After Affects I suddenly realised that I hadn't really explained why they are there. I came up with the idea at first because I wanted to explore the differences between the male and the female constraints of school and society, I wanted to think about an interesting way of portraying the difference using the type writer effect, but without just simply writing male and female when the scenes changed. I suddenly came up with the idea of definitions. Throughout our whole life in school and out of school we develop by learning the meaning, or definition of things. I looked up the dictionary definitions with the Nouns, synonyms and adjectives and decided to have the full definition appearing in lettering. 

However I felt that this doesn't have enough depth. Creating my short film this year I am trying to ensure I do a full amount of research to make the meaning of my film far more intricate. I realised that through looking at definition and their place within our lives I had opened up a whole different kettle of fish. 

An interesting point I found was that Alasdair MacIntyre who is a Modern Virtue Ethicist believed that all people, whether they're scientists, philosophers, politicians or just the general public are now subject to looking far more into the intrinsic meaning, or definition of actions or words, rather than combating the issue or trying to raise new ideas. Surely as a nation or a universe what a thing means is just half the problem, people should spend more time arguing over making resolutions and solutions rather than bickering over a meaning. Alasdair MacIntyre also speculated that because of this the universe has fallen into a kind of moral vacuum. This is ultimately caused the corruption that had occurred within our culture, because of this there are three main groups of people that have taken over. 
-Bureaucratic Managers (MP's Government officials etc..) 
-Rich Aesthetes (Celebs etc.. 
-Therapists.

This is very interesting in terms of my film. Within my film i'm displaying how politics intervention with society,  especially within school doesn't actually achieve much in most cases and how as a nation we're influenced by media far more than the government and the media leads us to feel pressure to act or look in a certain way, maybe leading to negative effects such as smoking, drinking or eating disorders. If you look at the 3 main authoritative figures mentioned before there are undoubted links. 

This shows that in fact Alasdair MacIntyre's theory about there being a moral vacuum really is true. I understand that looking into school dynamics means that i'm not looking at the universe like MacIntyre is, however I believe school is like a microcosm of the greater population. 

My research into philosophy and ethics and definitions of words etc may look like a tenuous link, however this ties in with my slight surrealist feel of heightened realism. I want to ensure I have a wide knowledge so that the choices I make within my film aren't uninformed and after all surrealism is just looking at societies issues and explaining the in a heightened, dramatic or erratic way.

update on film production

Third Filming Location

 The location I chose to film the scene with the boy smoking was on the steps behind the leisure centre. I got my inspiration to film here mainly from the film Brick, by Rian Johnson. In his film he uses lots of easily accessible locations because he's on a low budget.. in my film I have no budget, therefore have taken a leaf out of his book. I have tried to ensure the leisure centre car park doesn't look like the leisure centre car park, I've tried to use low angled and close up shots just on the protagonist, rather than establishing shots. Of course I don't mind the fact there's hints of the car park because that fits in with the theme of heightened realism that I want to display in my film. Also seeing as my film is set in a school, filming there is just being true to the actual plot.

 I got my actor, Jordy, to sit on the metal stairs shown in the picture, I filmed very close up shots of him, some through the bars. I wanted this to represent the isolation he's feeling. It represents the fact that he feels trapped, even though if he just looked at the bigger picture he could see he has the potential to do well. This is why I filmed his bit outside, with the young girl I purposely put her inside because the anguish and stress she's feeling is far more psychological, it;s much more difficult for her to escape. However with Jordy's character it's more a case of laziness and just giving up. 

Second Filming Location..

 My second location is Mulberry Day Nursery. It's just across the road from my house which is very convenient. Also very useful if when I come to editing I realise I've missed anything out, I can just pop over there and film a little more. The reason I chose to film in a nursery, rather than just using my school was to emphasise the journey through school life, starting as an infant somewhere that's filled with colour and evocative tactile things that are supposed to stimulate development, learning and growth. 

Sociologists and psychologists such as Frued, Fromm and Kohlberg speculated that in the first five years of your live everything you do is without a conscience or as you've not yet developed into an autonomous being yet. All the decisions you make are either made for you by a person of authority (parent, carer, teacher etc) and this has some effect on the person you're going to become in later life. I found this interesting and that's my main reason why I chose to film in an actual nursery. 

 Whilst I was in there I was very much aware about how gender stereotypes are established at such an early and impressionable age, for example pink and purple trays for the girls and green and blue trays to the boys. Princess toys with long blonde hair and low cut dresses. I understand these things are a social norm, however should this image of 'perfect' be put into children's head so early on. If people like Kohlberg and Fromm are right then this is effectively one of the most important ages, by subconsciously telling the girls they should look like skinny blonde princesses or hinting at boys that they should be muscular and toned like action man surely we are embedding these things into their mind, that when they get past  the impressionable age and into autonomous thinking through reasoning  they will subconsciously strive to fulfil the stereotype taught at the age of 5. 

I am trying to display this within my film by having paint sodden magazines and newspapers. Two very important conventions of social media. In the magazines I ripped out pages to do with dieting, hair products, alcohol consumption and tiny skinny models. I covered this in red paint. Red is a colour that represents a lot of things, blood, death, love and so on. I wanted it to represent the negatives that these magazines are doing to young woman. By publishing endless articles about diet fads and what women should look like it's causes hundreds of teenage girls to become dangerously obsessed with what they look like. By  filming this part in the nursery i thought it makes more impact. Having the little miniature chairs and tables reminds us of where we begin, and then having the red stained magazine articles is a shocking representation of what we become and how easy it is to get hold of this potentially damaging social media.   

First filming location.

I begun filming today; my first location was the slightly dingy girls toilets in the south block of my school. I wanted to film with in the school to reinforce the pressures that occur in the school environment. This particular loo has no windows and no mirrors, this emphasises the isolation felt by the young lady.

 

The colour scheme is blue and yellow, both primary colours, however the actual décor is crumbling and of extreme lack of attention. This represents the fact that when you're in a school you're surrounded by bright colours because they're supposed to evoke creation and happiness, its something we all associate with our time at school. However this girl is clearly going through something very adult, she's having to make big decisions in her life. The crumbling and decapitation of the walls and paint mimics her mental state and the fact that the school can no longer provide her with the safe, happy environment that it could once when she first joined in year 7. 

Researching the nitty gritty.

I understand that my new concept of dealing with issues founded within the high school system is very serious, the issues that I wish to display in my film aren't something to be joked about, so I've done some research into this sector to make sure that none of the footage from my film is offensive. I want it all to be truthful and well informed.
I have read an article written by the BBC talking about how Body Image should be taught in school and it's all from media consumption that young people are getting warped images of what we should look like. It was a very interesting read seeing as it holds the basic concept of my film. 

Here is the article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18260133

I also came across Jo Swinson MP talking in Parliament about how the media has infiltrated the minds of young people. 

I also found quite a few interesting articles about media doesn't help young people smoking. I found it interesting because even thought people know for a fact that smoking really does kill, they see their favourite star on television, or papped in a magazine smoking and they believe it's cool. 

Here is the article: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/165A864BF423E69BCA2577650009ACD3/$File/smomed.pdf

Content; So far.

Short Film: Education, Education, Education.

 

Black. Fades slowly into light glowing through stain glass.

 

Noise of young children’s voices starts softly then grows louder to an almost unbearable level. Stops abruptly.

 

Black.

 

Dripping Sound.

 

Paint brush leaning against the paint pot of yellow paint dripping onto the table.

Another dripping sound over the top, out of time to the first one.

 

Green paint brush dripping paint onto a small chair.

 

Another dripping sound out of time to the first two.

 

Red paint pot tipped over, dripping into a puddle of red paint onto laid out newspaper on the floor.

Articles about school/children/education etc shown; zoom in then blur.

 

Sudden Black; the following words appear like they’ve been written by a type writer, in appropriate font.

 

           “Ask me my three main priorities for the government”

 Black.

 Sound of a type writer getting to the end of the line and clicking back into place.

        

           “Education, Education and Education”

-          Tony Blair. 1996.

 

Shot of girl over toilet. Coughing. She flushes the chain.

Black; words appear in type write style like before.

 

“fe·male/ˈfēmāl/”

Noun:A female person

Synonyms adjective.  feminine - womanly - womanlike

noun.  woman - she - wife - lady”

 

Close up shot of girl putting mascara on one eye. Cuts to washing hands. Intense and heightened sounds of actions. Almost unsettling. Cuts to spraying perfume onto neck. Cuts to putting bag on.

 

Black.

 Close up shot of smoke coming out of boys mouth. Wheezes and Coughs.

 

Black; Words appear:

                    

“male/māl/”

“Noun: A male person, plant, or animal

Synonyms: adjective.  masculine - manly - virile - manlike

noun.  man - he – mate”

 

Close up shot of boys hand rolling a fag.  Cuts to shot of boys phone in his hand shown on screen “7 missed calls, 4 texts”. Cut to shot of exhaling smoke. Cut to shot mouth coughing.

 

Black.

Shot of girl sitting outside school on the fence, staring straight at the camera. Camera positioned across the road. School children walking past but speeded up, girl still sitting still.

 

“I used to understand it. But now? I don’t.”

 

Long pause.

 

“if you asked me what I wanted. I wouldn’t know.

 

Shot moves two over the shoulder shot from point of you of the girl. Cars rushing by, sped up.

 

“Control. it’s not something we get taught in school, or at home. Or anywhere. In my eyes, it’s a taboo”

 

Shot of her blinking. Fades into a shot of the boys eyes opening. Over the shoulder shot mimicked but with boy instead.

 

“what’s there to understand?”

 

Long shot of boy across the road sitting on the same fence, staring at the camera. Sped up.

 

“it’s not in our control”.

 

Black.

My Concept

The concept of my piece is not to explore surrealism, I want to explore certain social injustices within the school environment, but using a few themes from surrealism. I've done a lot of research into Dada and the first surrealist movement and I like the idea of exploring things that cause issues within society then display it in a way thats far more dramatic. However this isnt the key theme of my piece.
I want to the issues that people face in the last year of school. After talking to a number of people in my year group I have gauged an understanding of what issues are surrounding us, this is what I want to look at. During school everyone is in a "high school bubble" and emotions are magnified and dramatised, this is similar to the themes in surrealism, about hightened realism. I don't want to take idea's from surrealist practioners such as Bunel etc because I want to try and create something that is far more original.
I really like the idea of exploring how politics seemingly controls the state school system, yet actually the main figures in politics have probably never even entered a state school in their life. That's where my inspiration from Tony Blair's speach "education education education" came from. As far as these politicians are concerned the only problems within school are how the grade boundaries must be changed, however there are much more intricate issues concerened with emotion. These MP's are in control of everything within out culture, education, media etc. I want to explore the paradox that the media is the cause of much corruption within school, such as body image and girls wanting to change themselves to fit these media stereotypes, but at the same time grade boundaries are being changed, courses are being changed and it's adding stress on to people.
I also like the idea of how we start off our education being extremely juvenille and year by year more and more pressure is added on. I want to try and show how the pressure is piled on in the last year of school and this is why people find themselves doing things to try and release the stress. I want to show how the issues that occur in school are important, they shouldn't be ignored because they are serious.

Plan: The chronology of shots within my film (so far)

1. Shot of stain glassed window.
2.Yellow paint dripping
3.Green paing dripping.
4.Red Paint dripping.
5.Black- Writing appears (education...)
6.Toilet door.
7.Black- Writing appears (female...)
8.Girl putting mascara on.
9. Washing Hands.
10. Perfume on.
11. Putting bag on.
12. Smoke from boys mouth.
13. Black- Writing appears (male...)
14. Boy rolling cigarette.
15.Looking at phone.
16. Exhaling smoke.
17. Coughing.
18. Long shot of girl accross the road.
19. Over shoulder shot of girl on bench.
20. Blinking girl.
21. Boy blinking.
22. Over shoulder shot of boy on bench.
23. Long shot of boy on bench.

This is as far as I have got when it comes to the order of shots. I haven't quite worked out how to end my piece. Because it's slightly surrealist and I aim for it to be relative to each individual person watching it, I almost want to leave it on a cliff hanger. Thats the reason i'm only having little snippets of the character. I dont want the audience investing the whole time in these characters, I want them to think about things relating to themselves, or opinions they have.
Although i've written a bit of speech for the characters, its going to be incredibly minimal and it will be recorded, so it's more of a narrative. This leaves who is saying it open to interpritation.
One of my main worries is that i'm not going to have enough content. I know from past experience that its important to film as much footage as I can, and from different angles and things, however because all of my shots are going to be fairly short im going to need a lot of footage.

My Actors.

Aimee Shingfield:
I chose Aimee because she has had a lot of experience in acting before, she's done both GCSE and Alevel drama, as well as doing a lot of drama outside of school. I wanted to choose someone that I knew was a very able actress so that I could direct her and she would know how to comply. The part of the girl has quite a lot of subtext which isn't going to be obviously shown in the film. Aimee will hopefully be able to get a grasp of what i'm trying to get accross. I wanted a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, to try and play on the stereotypes of school girls that care about their image.

Jordan Giles:

Jordy was the first person I thought of when I was writing the script for my short film. Jordy has always had an interest in drama and has taken A-level media, therefore has an interest in film. I have used him before in a few things in media and he's a very capable actor. He know's exactly what it's like to deal with the pressures of filming and repeating things over and over, so he will be a good candidate. I think Jordy will bring a lot of truth because I know he's dealing with some of the issues that i've included subtextually within my film; such as what to do when leaving school etc. I wanted to use someone that could relate to the character, so its more than just actors mindlessly playing a part. He may even be able to give me some imput, which would be incredibly helpful.

RADA Character Questions.

Girl:

1. Who am i?
My name is Lucy Frost. I'm 17 years old and I live at home with my mum and dad. I'm an only child and I attend sixth form. Im doing 3 A-levels; English Lit, Drama and Politics. I was born in Herefordshire just outside Wales, however when I was 10 me and my family moved to Winchester in Hampshire. It was just before I moved to high school, so starting a new high school in a new area was daunting however I do a lot of drama so I'm a fairly confident person. I've been brought up to make an effort with making as many new friends as possible. I hope to go to university to study fashion and journalism. Image has always been an important thing to me and I'd love to go into the fashion industry as a writer or reviewer. My family would much rather me do something more conventional, but i'm not afraid to follow my heart rather than my head. I have a good group of girl friends at school, we do everything together, theres always a party or something to do at the weekend, which ensures there's always plenty to talk about within the group. Its hard being in a big friendship group because sometimes its difficult to know who tell really personal things to.

2. Where am i?
 I live in a average sized, semi detached cottage on the outskirts of Winchester. I'm at home in my bedroom. I'm surrounded by all of my school work. I have loads of pictures of me and my friends stuck to the wall next to where I sit. There's magazines and catalogues stacked up high. I spend most of my time in my bedroom when i'm at home, so everything I need is here. I keep it tidy because mum always said "Tidy surroundings, tidy mind". I supposed I can be a bit of a perfectionist. 

3.When is it?
It's 2012, Autumn time. Im in year 13 so I'm thinking about my exams that are coming up in January. Quite a stressful time. There seems to be a lot going on. 

4.Where have I just come from?
I've just got home from the gym. Popped to the gym after school so i'm fairly tired. I had a 5 period day today and I need to go shopping later on because there's a party on Saturday and I need a new dress. I can do my school work when I get home tonight or in a free tomorrow. 

5.What do I want?
I want people to like me. I want people to think i'm perfect.I guess I kind of wish they'd envy me. I try and succeed with everything in life, which means i'm normally quite busy. I want to look the best and I will try and do that even if it means not eating for a couple of days, or wearing a few extra layers of foundation. I want to be in the fashion industry so that's what you have to do. Beauty is pain.

6. Why do I want it?
Because I don't want people bitching about me. School is a bitchy place and it's only going to get worse in the real world. I want to be able to fit in and caring probably a little bit too much about my appearance is something that needs to be done for me to be able to fit in. You have to fit in to stand out. 

7.Why do I want it now?
When else can I get it? I have a few more months left in this high school bubble. I've managed to conquer being a big fish in a little pond whilst at school, I need to prepare myself for life at uni. There's no point letting yourself go at this age. 


8. What will happen if i dont get it now?
I will get it now. I'll work for anything I want. I'm an ambitious girl. One of the things that I can control is my weight and my looks to a certain extent, I can manage that. If I dont get into the fashion world, i'll try harder until I do. If I don't get accepted into what's classed as the social norm then i'll change myself, If I dont get noticed i'll change myself, I'm not bothered. I will do whatever it takes to fit in. 


9.How will I get what I want, by doing what?
To get into the fashion industry you need to look right. So I just will do what ever that takes. I wont eat, i'll dye my hair, i'll buy new clothes. Anything. I just need to put myself out there, get talking to the right people. In that sort of industry it's not what you know, it's who you know... and often what you're willing to do with those people. I am driven, I just know it's not that simple  to get what you want. 

10. What must I overcome?
I guess I need to overcome myself. My fears. My worries about not being accepted. 



Boy: 
1. Who am i? 
My name is Toby Wilson. I'm 18 years old and I live with both my mum and step dad. I go to sixth form and do my a-levels; Business, IT and Biology. I enjoy them, but could probably work a little harder. I'm not really sure what career I want. I know I want to go to uni to study business, but I haven't really thought about where that going to take me. I guess owning my own business would be nice. My mum and dad split up 3 years ago. But I still see dad when he's not too busy. Me and my step dad don't speak that much. Me and mum get on, but I think she worries about me and my school work. Apparently i'm clever; just lazy. I guess I see where she's coming from. I'm quite a sociable person. See my friends as often as I can. Would much rather be out than at home. I get so bored at home. 

2. Where am i? 
In my car, just outside my house, just trying to organise where all my mates are. I think a couple of them are picking up, so i'll drive to their house in a bit. I have a part time job in a local pub to pay for my car and stuff. I'd hate to rely on mum, I'd feel really guilty. I spend most of my time driving around, girls seem to like the fact i'm happy to drive everywhere which I guess is a bonus. 

3. When is it? 
Autumn 2012, about 9:30pm. Its a Thursday night. Have school tomorrow, so i'll try not to be out later than like mid night. It's really cold as well so I don't fancy staying at much longer anyway. 


4. Where have i just come from? 
I was at sixth form earlier, then went home. Had a girl over. She's not my girlfriend, I think she wants to be but I cannot be bothered with the whole relationship thing. There's not much point. She's nothing that special, probably about a 6 or a 7. She's a nice girl. I wont call her easy, just... keen. I tried to do abit of school work when she left. Did a bit of my IT. Should probably be doing a bit more right now, but I just couldn't be in the house much longer. I needed a fag anyway and I'd rather see the boys. 

5. What do i want? 
I dont know what I want. I want to be successful one day. I'm just not really sure how yet. Maybe I want to have a bit more focus and drive. I want to be someone that is naturally clever and never has  to work for it. Half the time I slack because I don't want to start making the effort. I want my dad to notice, and try and help me out. It's hard not seeing him 24/7. But i'd never admit it because that makes me sound like a right melt. 

6. Why do I want it? 
Because I feel insignificant, I dont know what I want. Teachers dont seem to care about you if you're not an A* star student or if you're completely failing. The people in-between dont get a look in. Im just average. I just go with the flow. I do everything I do just to fit in with what's going on with my friends. 


7. Why do I want it now?
I'm 18. Everything is about to begin in my life. If I get my grades for Uni, then that's what i'm doing next. I would like people to notice me a bit more. I want my dad to notice, and there's only a few more months for him to do that. I feel a bit like everything's happening incredibly quickly. Should probably get off my arse and work a bit harder. 


8. What will happen if I don't get it now?
I'll feel like i've failed. I'll just have to sit around and get some dead-pan job, live at home with mum and her partner. Might retake if my a-levels are that bad. 


9. How will I get what I want, by doing what? 
I just need to get myself into gear. Stop smoking, stop going out every evening, stop seeing so many girls. I don't want a girlfriend, they take up to much time. I just need to focus on myself probably. Maybe take a bit of time talking to mum properly; perhaps even get to know my step dad a bit more. I think perhaps I should care. But whenever I care, something rubbish happens. 

10. What must I overcome? 
My fear to un-achieving. I know that if i dont work for something i'll do bad. I just dont want to do a load of work and then fail, it will just be embarrassing. I hate embarrassing myself, especially in front of my friends. I need to overcome my bravado I guess. Stop being so lazy and arrogant and sort myself out.