Final Shot List and Storyboard

Here is a picture of our original storyboard. We needed to create this as a plan for all of our initial shots. We kept referring back to this throughout the production and post-production process. However, much of it changed. Shots were removed, added and framing was altered.

This shot list is closer in detail to the final product.

1. LS PAN - Lauren's room
2. MS - Lauren asleep in bed
3. CU SPLITSCREEN - Alarm clock/Mobile Phone
4. MS - Scarlett in bed checking phone
5. CU - Scarlett's feet walking through messy clothes on floor
6. ECU - Lauren grabbing toothbrush
7. CU - Lauren brushing teeth (head flick down)
8. CU - Scarlett washing face (head flick up)
9. CU - Scarlett turning sink tap on
10. ECU - Scarlett turning shower on
11. ECU - Shower head turning on
12. LS - Lauren entering room after shower
13. CU - Lauren picking up hairdryer
14. MCU SPLITSCREEN - Hairdrying
15. CU - Lauren buttoning up shirt
16. CU - Scarlett unbuttoning shirt
17. CU/MS SPLITSCREEN - Pulling up skirts
18. MS PAN - Desk to Lauren picking up mascara
19. ECU - Lauren grabbing mascara
20. MS - Lauren unscrewing the mascara
21. CU SPLITSCREEN - Both applying mascara
22. MCU PAN - Dressing table to Scarlett grabbing lipstick
23. ECU SPLITSCREEN - Both applying lipstick/gloss
24. MS - Lauren packing bag
25. CU SPLITSCREEN - Taking objects from a drawer
26. MCU - Scarlett picking up bag
27. MLS - Lauren walking down corridor to leave
28. ECU - Lauren's door
29. ECU - Scarlett's door
30. LS - Scarlett leaving the house
31. ELS - Lauren and friends at bus stop, bus arrives
32. LS - Scarlett walking down road (towards camera)
33. ELS - Bus pulling away
34. MS PAN - Scarlett walking
35. LS PAN - Lauren and friends walking and chatting
36. MLS - Scarlett leaning against wall lighting a cigarette
37. MS PAN - Lauren and friends walking, friends go into school gate
38. MS PAN - Scarlett walking
39. LS - Both walking toward school gate
40. CU - Girls bump eachother
41. LS - Continuing to walk towards school door

Props and Costume List

When planning, we had to think carefully about costume and props. Our opening sequence is very much revolved around the representation of the two characters, so their clothing really needed to reflect their characteristics.

Lauren

Costume: Pink pyjamas, hoody, towel (for head), flesh-coloured tights, smart heels, pale coloured blouse, blazer, skater skirt, pearl jewellery

Props: Cambridge Satchel, Mascara, girly notepad, pens, hair dryer, perfume and make-up for counter, laptop, alarm clock

Scarlett

Costume: Plain dark-jumper, stripy socks, plain white school shirt, black tube skirt, black over the knee socks, red hoody, red vans

Props: Paul's Boutique bag, cigarettes and lighter, lipstick, clutter and clothes for the messy room, Blackberry

Other Friends

Costume: Dark coloured skirt, black tights, blazer/smart jacket, smart heels

Props: Smart school bags (satchels?) 

Voice Over Script

After realising that we were not having any dialogue in our opening sequence, we thought a voice over might be necessary to help anchor the narrative. We tossed around many ideas, one girl narrating, both girls narrating, or an external character narrating.

We thought about who this external character could be, and came up with the idea of using a Headteacher reciting the school rules, possibly in an assembly. Although this did not anchor the narrative like we orignally intended,we wanted to try and relate the rules to the shots. For example, a rule about punctuality could be played over a shot of the girl looking at the alarm, a rule banning make-up could be over Scarlett putting on bright red lipstick, or one relating politeness could be heard over a shot of Lauren smiling into the camera.

However, after much consideration, we decided to scrap the idea of a VO completely as the wording seemed unrealistic and out of place over the shots. It also reduced the upbeat and happy feel to the opening, so we decided on sticking to just the music track and diegetic sounds.

Floor Plan - Lauren's Room

Creating a floor plan was essential when we were planning the shots. It allowed us to figure out where we could place the camera and what type of shots we were physically able to take. We could judge the location based on the positioning of the standard room features. 

Using Olivia's room as Lauren's was perfect, there was just enough space for shooting, and features like the sink were suited to her character.

Proposal- Presentation

At The Latymer School we are required to give a presentation proposing our film idea and only if approved by our teachers are we allowed to continue on with our project. (We got the go ahead!)

Here are screen shots of our proposal presentation:

Certification

There was much deliberation about the certification of Pretty Popular and whether a 12A or 15 would be more suitable. We decided to do further research into the differences on the http://www.bbfc.co.uk to help the decision.

Differences between the 12A rating and 15

• strong violence
• frequent strong language (eg 'f***').
• portrayals of sexual activity
• strong verbal references to sex
• sexual nudity
• brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence
• discriminatory language or behaviour
• drug taking

We also wanted to find out what out film opening was allowed to contain if it were to be a 12A. Although violence is unlikely for our genre, there is a possibility of it including strong language or sexual references. We also wondered if Scarlett's character smoking would have an impact on the certification. 

The BBFC's Guidelines:

12/12A

- There may be strong language (eg 'f***') at 12 or 12A, but it must be infrequent. The context is important.

- There may be moderate language (eg uses of terms such as ‘bitch’ and ‘twat’ at 12 or 12A).

- Any discriminatory language will not be endorsed by the work as a whole.
- Sex may be briefly and discreetly portrayed at 12 or 12A.
- Verbal sex references should not go beyond what is suitable for young teenagers. Comedy may lessen the impact of sex references.
- There may be nudity in 12A films but sexual nudity should only be brief and discreet.
- Heterosexual and homosexual sex and sex references are treated the same.

15

- There is no upper limit on the number of uses of strong language (eg f***). - There may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory language, and the work could explore themes relating to this. - At 15 sexual activity can be portrayed, as long as there is no strong or graphic detail. Some sex scenes can be quite long at this category and may involve some nudity and movement. - There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context. - There can be strong references to sex and sexual behaviour.

From these findings, we realised that smoking did not come up as an issue. We also noted that we were going to portray it in a negative light, in association to the rebellious and mischievous side to Scarlett. We wanted a lower rating to further our audience reach, especially as it has a high-school theme and would therefore attract a younger audience. Our final decision was to give Pretty Popular the 12A rating. 

Split Screen

We initially decided that we wanted to incorporate split-screens into our opening sequence because it would really emphasise the contrasting characteristics in Lauren and Scarlett. I researched films of our genre that used split screens effectively, and tried to find some inspiration for our group.

Although it wasn't particularly relevant to our morning sequence idea, the phone scene in Mean Girls uses four-way split screening to show all the girls in their own homes. It allows us to see them all constantly and usefully enables us to see their individual reactions to what goes on.

In my research, I also came across a film called The Rules of Attraction, a British Film made in 2002, rated 18, Although it is considered a dramatic rom-com, the IMDb film synopsis described it as a film about a love triangle between a drug dealer, a virgin and a bisexual classmate - making it a lot grittier than our girly chick flick. However, different as it may be, the opening sequence uses a constant split screen to introduce and highlight the differences in what could be two potential protagonists.

When choosing which shots we wanted to split-screen, we thought about what we wanted to contrast, and what would look good as a shot. We also wanted to split-screen with varying shot types.
We decided on using six:

• Shot 3 ECU- Alarm Clock/Mobile Phone
• Shot 14 MCU- Hairdrying
• Shot 17 CU/MS - Pulling up skirts
• Shot 21 CU- Applying Mascara
• Shot 23 ECU - Applying Lipstick
• Shot 25 CU - Opening Drawer

Institutional Research

We wanted ideas as to which institution might be suitable to produce and distribute our film.We decided to research the production company and distributor for 'St Trinians', 'Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging' and 'Wild Child' as they are typical, girly, British films and appeal to the same audience as we intend to attract.

St Trinians

Production Companies:

·         Ealing Studios

·         Entertainment Film Distributors

·         Fragile Films

·         UK Film Council

Distributors:

·         Entertainment Film Distributors (2008) (UK) (theatrical)

·         NeoClassics Films (2009) (USA) (theatrical)

·         Sony Pictures (2008) (Australia) (theatrical)

·         Sony Pictures (2008) (New Zealand) (theatrical)

·         Central Partnership (2008) (Russia) (all media)

·         Entertainment in Video (2008) (UK) (DVD)

·         Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD)

Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging

Production Companies:

·         Goldcrest Pictures (in association with)

·         Internationale Filmproduktion Stella-del-Süd

·         Nickelodeon Movies

·         Paramount Pictures

Distributors:

·         Paramount Japan (2008) (Japan) (theatrical) (as Paramount Pictures Japan)

·         Paramount Pictures International (2008) (non-USA) (theatrical)

·         Paramount Pictures (2008) (UK) (theatrical)

·         United International Pictures (UIP) (2008) (Singapore) (theatrical)

·         Universal Pictures International (UPI) (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)

·         Paramount Home Entertainment (2009) (USA/Germany/Netherlands/Brazil) (DVD)

Wild Child

Production Companies:

·         Universal Pictures (presents)

·         Studio Canal (in association with)

·         Relativity Media (in association with)

·         Working Title Films

Distributors:

·         Universal Studios (2008) (worldwide) (all media)

·         Universal Pictures International (UPI) (2008) (UK/Australia/Netherlands/Germany) (theatrical)

·         United International Pictures (UIP) (2008) (Norway/Singapore) (theatrical)

·         Universal Pictures (2009) (USA) (theatrical)

·         Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2009) (USA) (DVD)

·         Walt Disney Pictures (2009) (USA) (all media) (in association with)

We decided to focus our research towards the 'St Trinians' institutions as has the closest similarity to our film idea.


Entertainment Film Distributors

Entertainment is the UK's leading independent distributor. The company was founded in 1978 and has showed continuing growth and success since that time distributing a wide range of product and building a significant film library. Highlights for the company have been the release of The Lord of the Ring Trilogy. Since the millennium, the company's releases have totaled a remarkable 38 Oscar wins and 22 BAFTAs. Entertainment has had further success with big box office hits such as Hairspray, Sex and the City and 17 Again and British films such as Stormbreaker, Run Fat Boy Run and St Trinian's. Entertainment Film Distributors operates both in the UK and the Republic of Ireland and distributes in theatrical, DVD rental and retail films as well as licensing a substancial catalogue in both Pay-TV and Free0TV sectors.

UK Film Council

Our Film Fund is a new unified production and development fund dedicated to British filmmaking.
We will support filmmakers in the UK who are emerging or world-class and are capable of creating distinctive and entertaining work. We have £15 million a year to invest across the development, production and completion of feature films. Being supported by the BFI means more than just being given funding. It means that your project can be assisted at every step of the journey by our team, who can offer advice and practical help with many aspects of developing and producing your film.
We welcome applications for all kinds of film - from commercial mainstream to experimental, from genre movies to personal stories, from documentaries to animation to live-action fiction.


FINAL DECISIONS

We decided our film should be a co-production as it is very national. The Lottery Funding from the UK Film Council would be a likely source of funding for our film. We thought that Entertainment Film Distributors would also be a good production company as well as distributor for our film. We then had to decide on a final company to add to our co-producers list. From a rather large selection, we narrowed it down to our top 10, from which we came down to these 4:
- Ealing Studios (Dorian Gray, St Trinians)
- PeaPie Films (Stardust, Harry Brown, Kick-ass)
- Ruby Films (Jane Eyre, Tamara Drewe, The Other Boleyn Girl)
- Working Title ( Atonement, Hot Fuzz, Nanny McPhee, Bridget Jones' Diary)

We concluded that Ruby Films specialised in very girly and British films, which would be perfect for us. They have not, however, done anything too similar to our film so it would be a new branch-out for them, yet still staying true to their style.

The Devil Wears Prada - Opening Scene Analysis

During the first stages of our research, we wanted to find out more about opening sequences specific to our genre and style. The Devil Wears Prada's opening is a morning routine sequence similar to what we intended to do with our film. I analysed the clip to further my understanding of film openings.


OPENING SCENE ANALYSIS

Sound:

• Wipe on mirror Sound Effect
• The song 'Suddenly I See' by KT Tunstall bursts in
• Some song lyrics link with shots. e.g 'beautiful girl'
• Song is perky and upbeat - links with the pace on screen
• The diegetic sounds in the film are very quiet eg cup being placed on table, heels walking, flicking through pages
• Boyfriend says "Good Luck" at a point of no lyrics in the song
• Car horns - representing the busy New York City
• The music matches the action on screen. When woman is strolling along, there is a diminuendo in the track whilst it is also slowing down. Once she picks up the pace of her walk, the music returns to it's original tempo.

Editing:

• All the shots are cut together, ensuring a fast editing pace matching the hectic morning-routine rush
• Establishing shot very near the beginning
• Matches on Action heavily relied upon when cutting between the shots of women doing the same action. Also used in individual shots where the position of camera slightly changes. e.g the first woman putting on her bra
• There are lots of cutaways used throughout the scene, leaving the audience guessing as to which girl they belong to. e.g opening of the drawer, handing over of the onion bagel

Camera:

• CU Teeth, ZOOM OUT to face of character
• PANNING ELS used for the establishing shot
• CU on body parts throughout 
• LS to show girls' outfits.
• PAN UP on Andy - show outfit, audience can judge
• CU Eyelashes, shoes, drawer opening, jewellery
• CU Phone, Diary and Chapstick all in one shot to constrast
• CU lips applying lipstick, slight PAN allows title to fit in the gap
• MS sitting at table - establishes surrounding
• PAN DOWN to New York City street
• CU floor showing the shoes rushing past - busy work environment
• PAN DOWN on the building almost showing Andy's POV
• TRACKING MS in building

Mise-en-scene:

•  Lots of New York City establishing shots
• Clean white walls, big windows, exterior lighting, wooden furnishing, gold colours - Girls
• Lipstick, jewellery, modern phones - Girls
• Big, expensive looking, clean apartment entrances - Girls
• Green walls, Cream and off-white colours, cheap wire hangers, cramped, darker - Andy
• Old mobile phone and chapstick - Andy
• Small door in the middle of shops, run-down area - Andy

TITLES ANALYSIS

Fades used on titles. Yellow and orange colour scheme - synergetic. Two fonts used, regular uncapitalised font for the names, a curly font for their titles. Titles not placed on shots of the protagonist.

Order of Appearance:

Meryl Streep

Anne Hathaway

*Title of the film*

Stanley Tucci

Simon Baker

Emily Blunt

...other actors

Casting by Ellen Lewis

Music Supervisor Julia Michels

Music by Theodore Shapiro

Costume Designer Patricia Field

Film Editor Mark Livolsi a.c.e

Production Designer Jess Gonchor

Director of Photography Florian Ballhaus

Executive Producers Karen Rosenfelt, Joe Carraciolo jr

Produced by Wendy Finerman

Based upon the novel by Lauren Weisberger

Screenplay by Aline Brosh McKenna

Directed by David Frankel

Institutional Information Revealed:

20th Century Fox ident

'Fox 2000 pictures presents'

'A Wendy Finerman Production'