Interview with Andy

This is my interview with Andy in the Editors lounge.

Interview with Marisa from The Cornerhouse

I did a video interview with Marisa in the editors lounge. My opinion is that Marisa has a very cool job. You may wish to do a 'WOW' count during this video.

The Start of Editing

Now we've finally shouted "that's a rap" it's time to start the long process of editing. They have all the footage they need ready to be turned into a fabulous film.

Marissa who works at the Cornerhouse cinema gave us a run through in the editing lounge. There seems to be a lot of tricky things to remember about editing, especially fine editing. After she'd showed us some basics on the macs, we watched some of the footage we had. We watched the kitchen scene which had lots of cuts and a few mistakes in it. It also had lots for the editors to work with and be clever about.

Once we'd finished watching, it was time for them to decide how they wanted the shots to go. They worked out the camera man's style of wide shot, mid shot, close up. There was some nice establishing shots of our actor setting up the kitchen - boiling curried goat and putting the kettle on.

So after they'd watched the footage and got an idea of how the shots were going to go, it was time to look at the script and the storyboard and start editing for real.

They split up into two groups to start editing the beginning kitchen scene. They began to work out more of the order of the shots and what they could do with the little mistakes that were made.

With the editing beginning it's starting to look much more like a film than just a few random shots of people having a chat.

Interview with Crew Member Aminah

During the filming process I took the opportunity to interview another one of the crew members. This time I interviewed Aminah. I wanted to find out how she thought the process of the film was going. I asked her a few questions about what she likes doing and why she wanted to make this film.

How did you find out about The Uncommon Shorts film project?

It was at my college. I was actually just signing out when I saw the word media. I ran back to sign up.

What have you enjoyed about the film project?

Filming and also getting to know new people and learning more about media.

What do you think of the story of the film?

Pretty good. I like the story throughout the film.

What would you say is your favourite scene in the film?

I really like the first kitchen scene.

How do you think the film is starting to look?

Better that how I expected it to look.

So there we have a few thoughts from Aminah on how she thinks the film is going.

I'm certainly very excited now all the filming is finished. Next is the editing.

With Thanks to Aminah.

By Aimee Sutton

Interview With Margaret Henshaw

I also was able to get an interview with our best friend character.
Margaret said she enjoyed the audition. Just as much as we enjoyed auditioning her I imagine.
Margaret had a lot of acting experience under her belt. She describes her job as on and off, she loves doing it as it a lot of fun and she's met so many interesting people in her career. In her 20 years she'd been in many different things including Christmas Lights, Clubbed, Eyes Down, Life on Mars and Shameless. She told me about meeting Rob Green and how he was the loveliest person she's ever met. She also has enjoyed working in theatre, and mentioned one of the productions she performed at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool.
She told us about her first acting job which was a walk on.
The auditions where held quite close to home. She said everyone was there and they queued up for hours. "I got picked. And after that I was asked if I'd like to be put on the books to play more walk ons." After that she got to play all sorts of parted. She talked about one time getting to meet Peter O'Toole. She said during the filming she had a good chat with him, only some guy came up and told her she wasn't allowed to speak to him. "So what am I supposed to do if he talks to me? Ignore him? I was always taught that was rude. So he just walked off and me and Peter O'Toole carried on talking."
Margaret was originally from Great Ancoats (where our story is set). This was brilliant and she had plenty of stories to tell about living on George Leigh St. A long while back around those streets was known as 'Little Italy' where they would make the best ice-cream ever.
She said when she was a little girl she would sneak to the back doors of the factory and ask for a cup of ice-cream. "Me Mam used to say 'you been begging again?'"

So from her interview I gathered some facts of her past experience and some lovely stories of past times. Thank you Margaret.

Interview conducted By Aimee Sutton

Interview with Patricia Farrell

On set I managed to sneak in a brief interview with our main actor, Patricia. I say brief and I mean brief. She was very busy during our days of filming. I was glad to ask her just a couple questions.
I asked Patricia how she thought the audition for this film went. She said it was lovely although she was nervous. She didn't seem that way to me. She seemed very relaxed and took everything on board. She was keen to have a go at the script straight away. She said that Jessica (one of our cast members) made her feel very comfortable as she read the script with her during the audition.
I asked Patricia how long she had been acting. Her answer of "since yesterday" surprised me a lot. She said she'd only done acting in school and also in a inter-generational drama group. But most of her acting experienced was relaxed. This was the most professional thing she'd done. This made me feel even more glad that we ended up with her.

Thank you Patricia for a few precious minutes out of your busy schedule.

Interview by Aimee

Pictures from the first day of filming

Instead of putting them on with the writing I've decided just to put the all on here so you can see them, I will try and explain each of them as much as possible, hope you enjoy

INSIDE THE CHURCH
Theses are some pictures I took of inside the church, during filming and inside the church.

This is the yellow light

I was talking about.

OUTSIDE THE CHURCH

These are some pictures of when we started shooting outside, when they were shooting Patricia (our main character) walking into the church.

These are some pictures we took after dinner, when dialougue was coming into the film.

Time for an intro

Heya, just thought I'd introduce myself. My name is Sarah Noblett, and I am 16 (nearly 17) years old. I got involved with MYVP through my college when they were there, I saw media and jumped to the chance of doing it, you could say i'm a media fanatic because I love it so much, the business side of it and the production side. This is the second time in my life that I have ever blogged and the first time was just maybe a month ago when I had to do it as a part of my A/S Media coursework, and I just thought i'd be good at it again so when this oppurtunity came up, I decided to try it. Not sure if its something I want to carry on in the future but lifes all about experimenting, if you don't experiment how do you know what you want to do in life.

First day of filming

The first day of filming I thought was amazing yet tiring. Our first location was at St.Peters Church in Ancoats which was beutiful, inside was amazing, and there was this one little spot that had three stain glass windows over it and from there the sun just beamed through projecting a little yellow light on the floor, which got used to its full advantage during filiming. We didn't really have to do alot of shots inside the building because it was quiet enough to run through without any distractions because for the bit that they were filming the only sound they wanted was a voice over of our main character as she walks out around this gigantic space that she was in, I presume also they wanted to hear her footsteps walking across the room because the boom was held near her feet sometimes just to get that right sound, after everything was done within the church we decided to have a dinner break, I was able to a little sun tan before I got to hot and had to move in the shade.

After dinner some people went to go and set dress a kitchen in Urmston for tomorrows filming, where as me and 7 people including the two actresses (which were fantastic may I add) stayed behind to film some more, outside of the church this time there was dialouge going on so they needed utter silence, but that didn't really happen that much because of the builders that were working right next to us, also we had to stop because an airplane flew over just as ACTION was shouted, but in the end we got the dialogue and action that we needed for this shot before we went on a walk around the church to do some more takes. This was the hardest to film because there were cobbles on the roads and as cars drove over them they made the loudest noise possible, so everytime a car went passed we had to stop then start again, I ended up being the person making sure that no cars drove past and ran everyone over when they were filming on the road I was so scared because I didn't think the cars would stop, but they did and waited patiently. As we walked around, we found a small hole that looked like a port hole in one of the walls of the buildings that were closed up and when you looked inside it you could see miniature sowing machines moving ever so slightly, it definatly had the WOW! factor this ended up being used because it was just so cute.

At the end of the day, it turned out to be a very succesful day, with alot of good shots to be put into the film.

Day 1 of Filming

Before I even got there our actors had been working hard, recording the dialogue that was going to be the voice over for the church shots. When I arrived it was time to move onto set and begin filming. They were filming inside a big church which had been half converted into an exhibition space. The building was beautiful inside out. It still had some very traditional looking bits as well. One particular place in the church caught my attention. The hall was big and very empty, except from a patch near the side that had a small rug, on it was a chair and a table. It fascinated me as it was the only bit of furniture in the building, and it stood alone.
The crew got to work lining up the shots, setting up the camera. They filmed Patricia (who plays our main character) walking around the church. some of the shots they filmed were going to have voice over. They also wanted to get a few shots of her walking where they could hear her feet moving around. They filmed her walk across the vast space. Patricia was very professional considering how much experience she'd had. For the scenes where they wanted to hear her feet moving, everyone had to keep deadly silent. Of course as you do with filming we had a few interruptions. Unfortunately outside there was a lot of building work going on, so we picked up every noise via the boom. I also managed to take my picture at just the wrong time meaning the flash affected the shot and Maria had to shout cut. oops. All part of the process eh?
After filming inside the church we took a quick lunch break. Actors and crew get very hungry when they've been working hard.
I then went on to dress set the kitchen in Urmston. We set up the kitchen in the community centre to look like a kitchen in a home. It's now set up and ready for filming there tomorrow.

Aimee Sutton

Filming tomorrow!

So tomorrow, filming commences in Ancoats. First in a big massive church, then down Ancoats canal. From what Sasha told me, it seems like it's going to be such a good day. Some of the group are going into Urmston to dress the kitchen for the kitchen scene.
I'll keep you posted on the events of tomorrow right after!

Auditions

This Saturday we started off the audition process by auditioning three actors to play the part of the best friend.
This was a very different experience for me as usually I'd be the one auditioning, so in this case it was nice not to feel so nervous.
The three women we auditioned were very good, professional actors. All of them had different styles. Here are a few things I noticed about them as individual actors. The first actor got into character very well and there was a distinct change from when she was being herself to when she was playing the character. The second actor used the space very well and she also liked to include props with her monologue, this is a technique some actors like to use to help them feel more in character, her audition went well. The third actor was very confidant and filled the room with her lively presence. I felt a little sorry for the women auditioning as I'm sure this was a bigger panel than they've had to audition in front of before, but they managed well. I loved auditioning them, telling them about our film and our ideas for it was great. It felt nice to be the one who gets to make the final decision.
I was worried it was going to be tricky deciding which would play our character best. However after we'd seen them all perform their monologues it was clear who was going to be best for our film. I felt happy about the decision we made about the actors. I thoroughly enjoyed the auditioning process.
Next we will be doing auditions for our main character which I think is going to be a little bit tougher but we shall see.
Not long until we start filming. At the moment we're still sorting out props and fixing our locations, but with one actor sorted we shall shortly be saying "lights, camera, action!"

Interview With Kasim Mitchell

I wanted to find out how the participants of the Uncommon Shorts project thought the process was going. So I did an interview with Kasim to find out about his thoughts and feelings. He had quite an opinion on some particular points, but in general he was very chatty and easy to interview.



How did you find out about the Uncommon Shorts Film Project?
I found out about it through my mother who received an email about it from her work colleagues.

What made you want to join the project?
I like to create and design. I enjoy writing stories and making plays for my friends.

What do you enjoy most about the project?
Interacting with the other people, just chilling and chatting.

What do you think about the film's story?
Awful. I don't like it because it's dull and boring. I do not watch stuff like that on TV, so why would I be involved in making one? I feel like a hypocrite.

Because you're involved with this kind of film, do you think it makes you appreciate it more?
I love what I'm doing, I don't particularly like the storyline. But I'm gaining experience and I'm learning to appreciate it a little.

What are you looking forward to as an end result?
Being able to watch a film that was made by me.

What do you want to take away from this experience?
I want this to go on my CV. I want to be able to go to a job interview with this as my experience. Also just learning about different film and camera shots.

Have you enjoyed the film project so far?
I find it really interesting. Even when we have to get down to work, I still really love it! I find everything really great.

Interview conduction by Aimee Sutton.
With Thanks to Kasim.

The Importance of Storyboarding

Storyboarding, setting all your ideas out and getting an idea of what each shot is going to look like. It can be a daunting task and for major feature length films, storyboarding can take a long time. However it is worth it, it can in fact save you time.
So why do we use storyboarding? Here are a few reasons:

It's economic, it can save you time. If you have a well worked out storyboard, it can save time in editing later. If you know exactly how many shots and what the shots are meant to look like, you won't have to add anything last minute.

It prepares you for exactly what your film is going to look like. In that sense it can save you from disappointment. With your storyboard you will know what each scene will look like and it will give you a clear idea of how it's all going to work out. You can practically see your film just by looking at your storyboard.

It's ready. Hitchcock's storyboards were so detailed and so well worked out that they could be read and fully understood. A bit like a cartoon. This made sure his film was ready to be shot.

So before just going right ahead and filming, we had to make sure we had a well worked out storyboard. We did this by jotting down what was in each scene, then we did some sketched storyboards. Finally we went out and took pictures, lots and lots of pictures. Each was a shot that we would take with the camera. Looking at our full storyboard now we can see what our film is going to look like come shooting day.

The dreaded introduction...

So, I think I should start off with my name: Brandon Walsh-Alexander - a bit long so we'll just stick to first name terms ;). I’m 15 and in my final weeks of high school - finally. My first exam is on Monday with a further sixteen, gonna be an ace few weeks for me *note the sarcasm*! My sixteenth is in July and I really can’t wait – party after all the exams and just get to have an ace birthday really.
I’m currently just writing this in my first session, everyone’s story boarding and it’s looking really good! I’m really glad I’m apart of this, such a good opportunity for everyone.
I hope that you all come and see the end result because from this session it looks really good and everything is getting done in rapid time. There’s one more storyboarding session and then the location will be scouted and then the filming commences!

I have a few more blogs to put up tonight, you're in for a treat.

(apologies for the really bad photo, I don't really have a good one)

xxx

Putting Ideas Together..

It was important from the very beginning to start getting some ideas together about what kind of film we wanted.
to start with we came up with a very loose, rough outline of a story. We came up with a character to go in this story. We gave him a character profile to get an idea of what he would be like. We also tried out having the same story line with a different character. For instance a woman instead of a man or someone younger than the age we'd originally planned. We did this to see how it would change the story but also to see how it would change how the audience would view the story, or sympathise differently with the main character. We decided to do character profiles of the man and the woman. After putting down a few ideas of what they'd be like, we decided we preferred the woman character, and as it's important to like the character you want to use, we thought she might make our film more warm and colourful.
So now we had our main character, it was time to make our rough concept into an actual story.
We wrote a background story, which wouldn't be seen in our film, about where she came from and what her upbringing was like. Then after we knew lots about her we moved on to what we would like to show through our film and what was important to get over to the audience.
By the end we had a basic story and an idea of what we wanted to get across to the audience.

hey heyy guyss newcommer alert!! =]

heyy guys and my fellows bloggers. hi my name is stella yhhh as in the perfume loool =]. i am in 6th form college, 17yrs old almost 18 whoop whoop lool cant wait. i just joined the project on tuesday although i applied early but my phone got stolen so they couldnt get in contact. Luckily i am sturborn and i have alot of determination and i finally got there number and here i am lol. i am soo super exicted to get to know everyone and get special peeks on the set and post them to you guys. i have met one of ma co bloggers and its great to know that he will be blogging as well cause he looks professional. By next week hopefully i shall start adding pics of the set and the progression of the project. I would put some pictures of me so atleast you would know am actually ma real age lool internet these days never know who your talking or in this case blogging to. xD plz write i would like to know you all. I am the girl on the left xD. Have a blessed day! x

My Introduction

Hello, my name is Aimée, I'm 16, I live close to the city centre of Manchester, and have done for six years. Living so close to a big city is great in that there are always things do to, places to go. I found out about MYVP and the projects they run on their website, this year. I applied to be a blogger for a film they were going to make.

I have been involved in many projects elsewhere doing things like film making, learning about lighting backstage, radio producing and presenting and a bit of directing. A few hobbies and things I enjoy doing include: acting, singing, script writing, and more recently blogging. I think I may like to do journalism as a career one day, which is why when I saw this opportunity to do blogging/journalism for a film, I didn't hesitate to apply.

During this project I'm looking forward to learning by observation, watching a new short film come to life from literally nothing, to a piece of art.
I love working with new people, people who can teach me things, so this excites me getting to work with all different kinds of professional people as well as working with new friends. I also can't wait to look at all the aspects of what goes on on set, with all different people working together. I also hope to get some idea of what it's like being a journalist and get some practice in.

What I want to get out of this project will be some experience of writing/blogging and what it takes to be a journalist. I just can't wait to see how this project is going to come underway. And I can't wait to see what we'll all learn.

More Uncommon Shorts !

Are you a budding filmmaker? Do you think you have Spielberg/Tarantino/Michael Moore like potential?

Are you: Aged 14-19 years? Creative? Committed?

Contact sasha@myvp.org.uk

Are you ready to get into Uncommon Shorts?
Are you a budding filmmaker? Do you think you have Spielberg/Tarantino/Michael Moore like potential? Well, 'Uncommon Shorts' – a project run by MYVP could be for you! MYVP, working with our partners Littlestar Media Productions and Cornerhouse, will be creating a series of three new short films made by young people in Manchester, funded through FirstLight Movies and the Lottery National Film Fund. We are looking for committed young people aged 14-19 who would like to volunteer to be part of a dynamic film crew. The film that you create will give you the chance to put your creative hat on and really use your imagination, and to top it all you'll be able to get your voice heard on issues that you're interested in! You'll also receive training to take you from initial idea, through script, storyboard, direction, video production, editing and sound track to your completed film. And if that wasn't enough, you'll also be entering your final film into a variety of film festivals across the UK and abroad and it will also be shown as part of an MYVP film celebration event in central Manchester in April!

So what are we looking for?

In order to be considered for this opportunity you need to be:

• Aged between 14-19
• Living in Manchester
• Prepared to have a high level of commitment: we'll need you to be
• available over the Easter holidays (29th March – 11th April) for the filming
• and editing. The project will also have production planning workshops
• during some evenings and weekends beforehand
• Able to work in a team
• Able to think creatively.

PLUS are you a budding writer or film critic? A blogger or a photo- journalist in waiting?
Then the 'Uncommon Shorts' project also has fantastic opportunities for you to show off your journalistic, creative writing skills, photography and blogging skills. You will have "access all areas" passes so that you can follow the film production; interview the crew, the writers and the stars of our new film project.

How do you apply?
Film Crew Opportunity
If you are interested in applying to be a member of the film crew all you need to do is complete a short online application form that can be found using the following link:
Crew application

Film Journalist/Blogger Opportunity

If you are interested in applying to be a film journalist/blogger just complete a short online application form that can be found using the following link:
Journalist Application

When you finish completing either form online, just click the 'Done' button and your application will be winging its way to us in no time!
If you have trouble with these links or you'd prefer to have either of the applications posted out to you, contact Sasha at sasha@myvp.org.uk or call her on 0161 236 3334.

Make sure your application gets to us by Monday 15th February!

Then what happens?

As there are a limited number of places for this opportunity, we'll be interviewing film project candidates. We want to make sure that we select people that are passionate about the project and are dedicated to working on it and seeing it through to the end. If you have always wanted to make a film about an issue you are passionate about and would like to work with professionals and other young people and gain exciting new skills, we would love to hear from you!

So…APPLY NOW!!!