Update- Emma

Hi Guys!

Just thought i'd post something because we haven't for a while... Just like to say i think were doing really well with the filming so far :)

I think using Tuesday to really discuss the idea and get the props sorted out was a good plan and worked really well. Wednesday's filming was good, i know it was a bit daunting starting the project in regards to the filming but i know certainly at the end of the day i felt alot better for getting some work out of the way so i'm sure everyone else did too. Thursday also went really well although i think we've safely established the fact that we shouldn't arrange to meet up too early because it just doesn't happen, lol! However we did get some really good work done, we managed to get some really nice shots and thank you Ben for leggin' it down stairs to get the canvas several times :P

I know we said about filming possibly Monday and Tuesday which i think if we get it done and out of the way it will in the long run help with editing etc. I'll get in touch with Liam to see what he wants to do, i've still got all the propa and that though no problem so i reckon if we get the indoor things done first it might be best. I should be able to get my car up to Sheffield on Thursday so thus fetch your speakers and record player back round (Ben) to save us carrying it again and doing your arms in- lol! See you all soon guys!

Hey everyone, liam again
I have phoned most of you and organised to meet tomorrow.
We will sort out shots, location and actor. Everything we can really to film on Tuesday.
Please leave times you can do on here
Sorry for being so stressed just got alot on my mind.

Actor and location we can sort tomorrow. So not a problem.
Script and shotlist we'll sort between us too,
big issue is props, the syringe and the artwork.
Where are we gunna get the first of those two?
What is happening with second one, i thought there was a plan for that but not heard aught since?

Not meaning to have a go but like without any of these elements we can't film and we have just this week.
Let me know your thoughts anyways.

Mothers day thoughts, by Liam

Ok everyone, mother's day weekend has slowed us all down as we have all either gone home to spend time with family or been with family anyways. But we have big problems, actor, location and filming next week?
I propose we use monday to fix scrip and storyboard. THen use Dan's place.

Everyones working hard, bu i think Malcome talking to us has shook us up as we have been made more unfocused. What we thought was good he changed and bad well vise versa.

We're gunna do this and be fine. I would like us to compile everything we got tomorrow please.

THank everyone
[Liam]

Emma- Influential pieces

I think we've got alot of postive input now from the original idea in the sense that with everyone contributing it has strengthened Dan's idea. I really like the idea of the family photograph being in a draw along side of the death of his parents, inheriting money etc. I think it gives a good background for the character. I completely agree on age, taste in music to give compassion and all of the idea's so far basically :P

I was thinking though i know that we did discuss the idea of using a television and did have an idea although i'm not sure if it would be a complete cliche. The things on the television could be random things he has recordered ie. to inspire his work, which means we could have some hand held shots of say an advert. I'm just thinking this will get another variety of camera work in there. Basically i thought that maybe once he dies/ OD's the attention could turn to the TV, having it turn to static and then an old family video appearing at the end. Either that he couldn't stand seeing these memories any more so he taped over them or that he hadn't know it was there OR he was saving that for his greatest inspiration yet? Just a thought...

Also in regards to camera work i was watching Hereo's on BBC iPlayer and there is an interesting part at the very end where one of the characters is drugged via his drink. I wouldn't say it exactly glamourises drugs but it is something we can look at and possibly incorporate some shots.

Here's the link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00j2d8k/Heroes_Series_3_Building_26/
It is literally in about the last 2 mins or so...i did look for it on youtube but with it only being broadcast on Monday i don't think it's up there yet.

To add to this, the latest episode of skins aired on 12/03/09 called Gobblers End (i believe) features scenes where one of the characters 'Effy' is on magic mushrooms. Again i thought we could look over the camera work used...the link is:
http://www.channel4.com/video/skins/catchup.html
That takes you onto the 4OD (on demand) site where you can view it. I tired finding the exact clip on youtube but again couldn't...

Also i'm not sure if everyone's seen the film Trainspotting (1996). It shows in, i think, great depth the ups and downs of drugs, preparing them, going cold turkey etc. I think that in regards to not glamourising them this could work and deffinately link the inspirational idea of the record player needle as opposed to a syringe...also the fact that in order for it to get classified with the BBFC (it is an 18 btw) Danny Boyle had to be tactful when showing them preparing the heroin. So this could be something to consider. I managed to find the full film of Train Spotting on youtube and have noted certain time intervals that you might want to watch...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPW0agrlq5g
In this 'part' at about 2mins in the charactes take heroin so this would show about how to take it and last until about 4.45. After this at about 8 mins the main character walks into a bookies on drugs, shows a camera techniques we could try and you also get to see the character tripping in the toilet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6pmq3B4eqk
'Part 2' shows you drugs at 3 mins until about 4.45. It shows one of the characters at a job interview tripping out, you see him talking very quickly and his body language changed as opposed to the previous scene where the drugs have kicked in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQLXYMZTUDk
'Part 3' doesn't really have any drugs references in terms of visually and is only mentioned vocally. The sex scenes have however been deleted with it being posted on youtube, but i'm not aware of anything being mentioned through them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iIhXVfy3ZQ
'Part 4' there are quiet a few bits to look at. The first minute to about 4.30 has scenes involving drugs flashing up, especially preparing some heroin on a spoon. In munutes 6-7.45 it shows the concequences which include the death of baby Dawn and again people preparing a hit and the in minutes 8.30-9.40 it shows effects of heroin as a couple of the characters go into court.

(I am still going through the other 'parts' of the film so i will update this post as and when i do so.

Chelsea

hi guys....basically tried to post the same as Liam and Ben last night but it wouldnt let me :(
Like you two i have the same issue with the ending and how it glamorises the use of heroin. However i think this is something we have successfully developed through our meeting yesterday with taking the focus away from the use of drugs and making the film a lot more focussed on the character himself. For example the journey he makes through the centre of the town etc...
Although i do think that this will change the tone of the piece, like Liam i still think that the ending needs altering a little bit as Malcolm and Chris both mentioned how they weren't sure on how the use of heroin is portrayed. Im sure this is something we will discuss in future meetings as we have already looked at the use of the drug throughout the rest of the film.
Overall i think the meeting went successfully yesterday and we sorted out a lot of unanswered questions that we all seemed to have about the film regarding the use of drugs. We also now have the general timeline of the film sorted now although we need to look at this more closely and storyboard etc...
Looking back to last week i feel the pitch went well and we were well prepared. We were ready for the questions that were asked and all had our own input into the pitch rather then one person doing all the talking. Personally i am happy with how the pitch went.
Generally like Liam i feel that we are working well as a group and always taking each others opinions and ideas into consideration. Although it was initially Dan's idea i feel in we have worked well on the idea and included everyones different ideas and opinions.

Meeting Yesterday - Ben

Sorry it's taken me 'til today to post this, this blogs getting a bit upside down chronologically.

The first thing we discussed was also the main issue raised in the presentation, the fact that the film almost seemed to advocate drugs. We thought about alternatives to using drugs (such as insanity and illness) but decided that using an alternative would lessen the films impact and so thought of ways to combat the advocation of drugs. In the end, we settled on a storyline based on striving for perfection.
At first he paints off the drugs, and is dissatisfied with the result, smashing his artwork. He then takes drugs, believing they will inspire him, but again fails and smashes the work he was created. We then had a problem with a resolution, but have roughly penned in an idea of him coming off the drugs, and painting his masterpiece before overdosing or committing suicide.

Another main thing we discussed was the full profile of the character. Seeing as the film will more than likely focus on just him alone, we would need to have a good idea of what his character is like.
We decided not to give him a name, but thought he would be in his mid-twenties. This meant he would be experienced and mature enough to know about drugs, but young enough so that his death would still be tragic.
We thought he would live in a suburban environment as he is quite a reclusive person, but still thrives of the immediacy and life of a city. To him the outside world is strange and alarming, whereas inside he is safe.
We talked about the kind of music he would listen to, what music would inspire and suit him, deciding on classic rock/folk to reflect his analog environment.
We discussed possible jobs, but believed due to his non-conformist and reclusive attitude to the wider world, he would focus solely on his art. We also believed that, due to his constant strive for perfection, he wouldn't sell his art. This left us the problem of where he would get money from, but swiftly decided it would be relatively easy to give the perception that he had inherited money from the death of his parents; this also tied in well as a reason for his identity as a recluse.
Other personality traits we discussed were his hatred for the outside world, his contentment with being alone and the possibility of using a dictaphone to record his thoughts, which would give us the option of using a monologue throughout the piece.

Other things we discussed included; the possible problems in being able to find a strong actor who can also paint (something that will hopefully be resolved later this week), the use of a desaturated effect throughout the piece to give the world a dull ambiance, alternative settings for the film (such as making the focus a graffiti artist living on the streets), the possibility of showing other people he had effected (family etc.) and the content of his paintings (possibly of lost family, generally containing dark themes).

We then spent a good portion of time establishing a rough time line for the film.
0-1 minute: Opening shots show him buying a wrap of heroin and walking back through the hussle and bussle of the town, knocking into people, introverted and non-responsive to the world around him. We would show his disgust and uneasiness with the outside world by using frequent dutch angles and overlayed sound that builds up, creating a tense atmosphere.
1-2 minutes: He arrives home and immediately the sound drops to near silence and he leans against the door, signifying that he feels safer in his own space - alone. He puts the drugs in a drawer, where we also see a massive amount of money and a worn photoframe containing a photo of a couple (presumably his parents).
2-3 minutes: He puts a vinyl on his record player and begins to paint (possibly a macabre version of the portrait of his parents) as we establish him as an artist. A tv plays in the background (possibly a film for inspiration). He finshes the painting but is dissatisfied and throws it to the side.
3-4 minutes: He thinks twice about taking the drugs he bought earlier, but swiftly heads for the drawer. We don't see him take the drugs but it is implied using shots of him reaching for a needle etc. He begins painting again. Here we use a wide variety of effects (enhanced colour, increased shutter speed, stop motion, dutch tilts etc.) to create an almost psychadelic atmosphere. The tv is still playing in the background, but this time shows something more 'trippy' (Alice in Wonderland maybe?) that enfatuates him for long periods at a time. However, once he comes down from his high, normality is restored and he is again dissatisfied with his painting, smashing it in anger.
4-5 minutes: (This is still not fully worked out, but we have got a rough idea of what will happen.) He is coming off the drugs, but still managing to paint. He paints something sick and dark, but overcome by life (or an obsession with drugs) overdoeses or commits suicide. The tv could then show himself looking saddened by the tragic mess he made of his life... (or something along those lines).

The overview we have for the film is finally coming together. There are some creases that need ironing out (especially at the end), but what we have is good and beginning to work.

Daniel's Idea

Hey guys! I am sorry for the late post because I initially had difficulties with accessing the blog and then we needed to complete our treatments and essays. So I have had time to recover this weekend and I am ready to get started on our project. Which reminds me - I wish to thank you guys for choosing my idea to pitch in our first meeting at The Globe last Wednesday which I think went down really well on the Thursday. Cutting to the chase - here is my idea:-

In hope of overcoming his tolling heroin addiction, one night, a painter ¬¬decides to go cold turkey in his secluded studio. But what he does not realise is if he’s prepared to sacrifice his drug fuelled profession for his life or vice versa. An issue many people have to face at some point in our lives. On account of this key theme of self-destruction the film is titled Obscure Obsession.

The film will open with a display of a syringe conveniently placed upon what seems to be some sort of workstation appearing as though it has encapsulated the painter who can be seen slumped in a foetal position on the cold hard floor afar at the corner of his studio. This will enable the audience to fully understand and appreciate the controversial issue of which they are about to explore and the protagonist’s current situation.

Its content will focus on highlighting the particular symptoms of heroin withdrawal as he experiences the shakes, beads of sweat profusely pouring down his face, violent vomiting and cries of agony.

The climax or anticlimax rather will be the precise and concise moment in time he makes a fatal decision of sacrificing his wellbeing in favour of his profession as he desperately crawls to his workstation reaching out to seize and inject what has now become his sole inspiration to produce his most masterful piece yet only to overdose in the process and collapses to the ground unconscious leaving the audience with the enigmatic conclusion of whether he is ead or alive.

Due to the lack of dialogue in the film in pursuit of conveying its rhetorical question it will have to rely entirely on lucid imagery. Therefore the beginning and middle of the film will feature, desaturation in some shots in order to create a melancholy feel, numerous close-ups, Dutch tilts from various angles sometimes breaking the 180 degree rule and stop-motion to portray the intoxicated release of creative ideas from deep within the protagonist’s corrupted mind to impose the feeling of claustrophobia and anxiety, emphasise the his excruciating pain and drug induced genius, transcending the audience into the his shoes, feeling what he is feeling, empathising with him. The beginning and end will in and out to black to accentuating this melancholy feel to it and signify to the audience that he is most probably dead.

The audio will primarily consist of non-diegetic sounds of water droplets, a clock ticking, nails scratching a blackboard and the omniscient whisper of his conscience. This will also act as an aid in placing the audience in an anxious mood. The only diegetic sounds required to maintain this effect are the ambient sounds of the studio, his cries of agony, his body brushing against and collapsing to the cold hard floor and the bristles of a paintbrush against a canvas.

I think the finished product will be most appreciated by artists of any field, whether it is painting, writing, music or even filmmaking and attendees of art-house cinemas such as Sheffield’s own Showroom Cinema as I believe that as a whole they will be able to relate to the protagonist and the themes and issues it explores him facing and have the open minds the film will demand so as to avoid misinterpretation of its subtle speculation.

Liams thoughts part 2

Been thinking some more, the moral message at the end has been bothering a few of us that he creates his best work when he OD's at end. I am really not keen on this so would like to suggest a idea.

In time he is off them, he struggles so much but finally creates a masterpiece. When he goes back on drugs, he sees all his other work as hideous, see's that they were created in his own personal darkness and that's reflected in them.
In the end rather than Od he kills himself realising the monster he has become and missing the beauty found in true art rather than drugs.

Just a idea and maybe too happy ending though i feel it has a better moral message.

I believe we talked also bout use of a tv in background and using that to show mood.with normal calm tv to reflect one thing, white noise to reflect another. Can someone please add more detailed acount of that as i have forgotten it. Thanks.

Ok there's my thoughts bout the idea, just a final thing, my thoughts as project manager.

I feel all the group has worked really hard. We each contribute alot and ideas seamingly bounce off one another and things flow easy. So far i feel we all listen to each other and we help each other to such a extent i couldn't ask for a better team; frankly there isn't one.

Everyones attendance at group meetings has been terific, and ideas wise we seem to push and expand what each other do. Well done everyone. Privledge working with you all

12/03/09 - Liams thoughts

Hi everyone,

I'll start with the obvious, Dan's idea got picked. Unlike Chelsea's idea which in the different variations of that day would have employed different styles and themes, including humour, sadness, joy; Dan's piece is very dark, almost tragic.

I find myself very much agreeing with Ben on the fact that I too would like to steer this piece away from drugs and make this more a character driven piece. My original thoughts on this was make it a failing artist who so stressed by the demands of his skills, he becomes iller and iller has he tries to creat a masterpiece, each time getting better, but never being satisphied. He still would create his best ever work at end but would die still unhappy. It would be a story of obsession and opose to adiction.

While this idea was not picked i'm recording it here just to show some of my work.

Regarding our most recent group meeting, that took place yesterday, we have worked hard and created a more solid direction for the piece i feel. We have agreed to make the drugs secondary to the character.

We have designed a more detailed character and in doing so we were able to create a better story. Here is a outline of the idea

In the first minute -
The character will buy his drugs and go back to his studio. To show the character's difference to the world we will use dutch angles, and have the character ignore other people almost as if they're not there. This will also show the character as arogant and massaganistic. Looking down on the rest of the world. Other options discussed we lowering the saturation. We also intend to make him look alone

The second minute - He gets back to his studio. When he so much as closes the door, the sickness we create for outside world will end. The shots will be more normal. The sound will be silent or calm. This part will be where we get to know the character, we see how he is like he is. We explain the absense of his family, by use of a broken photograph.
We will use him having lots of cash at home to suggest he doesn't go out much. I believe someone said he has it in a draw or something and doesn't care about it, it's just something he has to use. I really like this idea.

As a transition to drugs part and we wanted to have a old vinal, rather that show drugs i think it'd be a good idea to show needly/seringe getting ready and go to vinals needle coming down.

From 3 minutes to 3.45 minutes you show him painting with drugs.

From 3.45 to 4.30 you have him painting without drugs, In this time he creates his best painting yet.

After 4.30 there is some reolution. This has yet to be decided

Ok well this is idea so far, well done everyone it's coming together quite nicely.

Ben - My thoughts

Hope everyone is all good and that. Had some ideas to expand on the project...

My main issue with Dan's idea is that drugs are often overused to the extent of becoming a cliche. The way I see it, the way to combat this is by incorporating different takes on the original and altering the idea, using elements other ideas to take it away from the same old drugs abuse story.

One idea is building on what Malcolm mentioned, by not using drugs and taking it in the direction of an illness (i.e. the artist is dying and struggles to finish his final peice of work). If we were to merge the idea, we could have the artist use drugs as a form of pain relief/escapism.

Another idea is to focus on the art, what inspires him and the art he produces, as opposed to the drugs, keeping that an underlying theme.

Not to say that we have to alter the idea completely, but I just thought I'd throw it out there and see what people thought.

Emma- The Pitch

Well we survived the pitch as a group!

Today we worked really well especially because yesterday we had already established the two idea's so this gave us time to work on our pitch. I think we all contributed really well to put together the presentation we did within the given time and covered all the required points if not even more within it. With going first i think we set really high expectations, especially with only our group having a powerpoint. We did really well guys and didn't get half as many questions and/or our idea's pulled apart as much as the other groups.

With the chosen idea from Malcolm being Dan's piece we need to begin working on storyboards for this asap. From there we can start thinking about locations/ camera angles/ editing decisions/ sounds to record/ sounds to edit/ scripts etc.... If we get ontop of the paper work we can start filming as soon as and thus give the editors hopefully as much time as they need, if not more, to bring the piece together. Presumably we will meet up next wednesday and get this started.

Emma- An update from meeting up earlier...

Right so we all met up earlier on and discussed all of our ideas. Our main interest, i feel, was to thoroughly understand everyone's ideas and then to choose the two which we are going to present tomorrow. We all discussed our idea's of which we mainly summed up the cons to each one and offered possible solutions.

Upon discussing my idea the main issue was location. We all agreed that there was just too much that could go wrong with having to travel so far away in order to film. Looking further into it there could be issues with traveling, costs, if it rained, possible equipment issues etc etc.

When we began looking more in-depth at Ben's idea we could also see a problem emerging. With ben's idea being to show someone aging throughout their life it would mean showing them at various ages. The issue with this was that lots of actors would be required which we don't know if we would be able to get and also having to restrict this down to 5 minutes may limit the quality of Ben's idea.

Liam's idea about throwing cards into the hat to show chance and people making decisions about their life gave a new perspective to the brief. When we discussed it Liam had been brilliant in breaking down the timing however when Chelsea went onto explain her idea we thought that they were quite similar. Also it could be quite difficult to get the almost 'groundhog day' theme across to a viewer.

Chelsea's idea was to have people's lives crossing. To show a variety of people all meeting in one place and show how they got there which we all liked the idea of. I really like this idea and felt that it would be good being able to incorporate other people into one persons 'story'. The breakdown on timing worked pretty well going between characters as well. The only concerns we had with this was finding the number of actors and also Chelsea originally wanted to film on an actual train. From this i suggested people meeting on a platform for a train station as it wouldn't be as hard to film and/or obtain permission to film.

We then moved onto looking at Dan's idea. Dan had the idea to look at almost a drugs theme, looking at an artist going cold turkey. He had originally had the idea for the piece for the individual journey project and was able to adapt it to the current brief. The only issue we felt with this was that it may prove difficult to stretch out from 3 minutes to 5 but could see alot of potential.

Ultimately we chose to put forward Chelsea and Dan's idea's for tomorrow. This was concluded from a group vote that we did. We felt that mine and Ben's idea's were just too constraining to the brief and timescale that we had so our idea's became pretty much ruled out. Liam's idea we decided was too similar to Chelsea's in a way however felt that if her idea was chosen we could incorporate some of Liam's idea's into her piece as some of the idea's would work very well together. Upon discussing Dan's idea more in depth we all began working together suggesting camera angles, editing techniques and different sounds which could be used (we also did this for Chelsea's piece however seemed to go more slightly indepth with it for Dan's). We suggested between us influences for both pieces including Amelie, Lost, Bedazzeled, Music Video's etc. We've decided we want to get locations/ storyboards/ treatments/ scripts etc done asap too in order to get our filming and sound recording done and out of the way so we have plenty of time to edit our piece. All in all we are working really well together as a group and getting on with getting our work done :)

chelseas actual idea

k actual idea....i was thinking like a busy train or bus full of people on their 'journey' but then look into each person (or a couple) of the people who are on the train at home or their mind and look into why they are on the train etc... for example someones simply on the train to work? on the way to an interview and nervous? had an argument at home and just got on the train? not sure what you guys think about this?

after todays meeting like the idea about on the platform or at the bus stop. would definately be easier to film and not as jolty. or could always have a smaller part filmed on the type of transport than was orginally planned.

timeline roughly...
20-30 seconds introducing hustle and bustle of the train/bus/platform?
50-60 seconds introducing first character. first main character is the next person to arrive at the station.
10 seconds- on train...moving onto next character. next in queue? something like that
50-60 seconds introducing next character.
10 seconds- train-introduction to next character. first see them
50-60 seconds- next characters story
10 seconds- train-intro to next character...first see them
50-60 seconds- final character
20-30 seconds- finishing with following one of the characters to where they are heading? or something else following what we were saying earlier? a crash or something like that

my idea- chelsea :)

hey guys...sorry this has taken me so long....been bit fluey sorry...
well my ideas still a bit brief and not that great? basically was thinking of journey in literal sense like emma with the train, bus etc... but extending it a bit more including more of a personal journey as well as the actual journey itself. i was thinking of the whole uni thing like we were talking about with the emotions and journey included with moving away from home...doesnt have to be uni but was thinking of moving away from home or something along those lines? Thought we could develop that into something a bit more interesting including the journey itself and then a more personal journey.
Sorry its really vague at the moment and not very clear.
Your three ideas are all good. I particularly like the poem idea. Sounds quite interesting

My Rough Idea - Ben

Sorry it's taken so long for me to post, but have been busy with finishing projects and working etc. Anyway, basically my idea is to chart the progression of a man's life, basing it on Rudyard Kipling's 'If':

"If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!"

There's plenty of ideas in here, a lot that are open to interpretation. The poem also seems to come from a paternal perspective, so the influence of a father figure should be made clear. So, for instance, the start of the poem needs to be the man at a young age, therefore the line:

"If you keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming you"

... could have the boy playing football and letting a goal in, but with his dad's encouragement he gets back in the game and scores, now that's quite a rushed and simple example, but I'm sure you get the idea. The poem layers quite nicely and feels like a journey in itself, with themes of winning, losing, determination, triumph in adversity, etc etc, and these can all be tied in with real-life events.

It's a little rough round the edges, but that's my idea. x