Week 8 - Script Changes & Initial Design Thoughts

Script Adaptations

Since our group formation day, the team has been working hard to develop the ideas we have and have come up with a series of ideas for the character - some of which were already in place during the first week. We have been trying to shape the character of Joe to reflect our group members’ experience of having to deal with the challenges of entering the film industry as a woman or female presenting person and the reliance on technology in modern filmmaking. The character also quickly became a representation of how all the different forms of gender-based inequality in the industry can affect an individual.

We have been trying to balance the characters of both Joe and Joanna as their presentation on-screen has turned out to be very different - with Joanna being more of a representation of the artistic muse and going against stereotypes of the alternative subculture through her demeanour and Joe easily falling into a more relatable protagonist with a simpler aesthetic and clear motivations. Joe is a representation of the negative side-effects someone who has struggled to have a breakthrough in the creative industry may experience - while a vast majority of her surface level character is established visually and through monologue, we later find out the main sources of her fear through her dreams. In contrast, the idea behind the character of Joanna was creating someone Joe finds herself seeking comfort in and projects ideals onto - a character that has been inspired by stereotypically heterosexual tropes in media such as the male protagonist’s manic pixie dream girl or muse archetype.

Initial Production Design Notes

We have been developing the visual concept of the film in order to further develop the ideas of the characters, the story and the production design. For instance, one of the most important elements of the production design pathway is the way the audience sees the characters - by seeing the environment in which they are immersed, we can more easily interpret their personality, thoughts and feelings.

We have been initially experimenting with the idea of developing the film as a multi-screen experience, as Beth suggested through her original experiments. Our intention at the time was to create an immersive experience with the audience in a cinema-like environment, rather than a flat screen, that would allow for a more detailed and dynamic experience. As such, the idea of developing the idea of the story in the form of a multi-screen experience was born out of a group discussion about how it could be achieved. The audience would be able to watch the film in different rooms and rooms in the house and the different rooms would be used to communicate different things to the audience.

We have also been looking into the idea of using a more realistic set for the film, as we have been inspired by the idea of a real apartment - rather than a set - to provide a more immersive experience for the audience. The idea of the apartment being a character in the film, as well as the idea of the story being set in a particular place have been explored through discussion, concept art and watching a few short films. We have been looking into the idea of creating the film in different locations in the apartment in order to better communicate the idea of the story being set in a particular place. There are a number of locations within the house that would work well for this idea and us production designers have been discussing these locations and began creating Pinterest boards for the settings.

Production Design - Pinterest Board

I have sectioned the board to include each setting, major event and character in its own subcategory and invited the other production designers to contribute. The key visual elements of the film have been defined through the board quite effectively as we all gained an understanding of the new version of Joe and her story after the meeting.

Luckily enough, our co-director Beth offered her apartment to be used as the main set as she is located near the university campus - thus making it easier for us to transport equipment across. Our plan was to get measurements of the set before the shooting dates in order to create an accurate floor plan and check for any furniture that has to be removed or moved across our sets - aspects which will be discussed in separate blogs.