The 8 Key Questions

Even though we have chosen an idea to go ahead with, and got teacher feedback, I thought I'd answer the 8 key questions just to check.

1. Is it practical?
Yes, the sequence we want to film only involves two locations - a den (my cellar) and a girl's bedroom (my bedroom). Both of which I have permission to use. We don't need much movement or dialogue, so it won't be too complicated, meaning we can focus on the camera work.

2. Is it an idea that works to the strengths of the group?
Yes, we are all good at acting, filming and editing and are very creative. We haven't done the screen tests of us yet, so we don't know who will be playing the role of the girl, but whoever we choose will be great. I think we all know someone (a friend, or a friend of a friend of a friend) who has been affected by/thought about suicide, so we will handle the subject delicately.

3. Will it show off the skills you have learnt so far on the course?
Our sequence will include some continuity sequences (such as when the two men are talking to each other) and some cross-cutting (between the girl and the men), so this will allow us to show off the skills we've learnt. The preliminary exercise helped with understanding continuity, so I feel much more confidant about it now.

4. Is it something you can reasonably shoot and edit in the time available?
Yes definitely. As both of our locations are at my house, it makes it easier and quicker than if we used many different locations. Also, Holly lives near me, which makes travel easier. Amelia could always stay round one of our houses if we were doing a massive shoot one weekend. As the sequence is fairly simple, hopefully it shouldn't take too long to film, however we are not going to be stingey when it comes to footage; you can never have too much, so we will keep the camera rolling for a bit longer than necessary.

5. Can you get access/ permission to shoot in the chosen location at the chosen times?
As I mentionned before, I already have permission to shoot in those locations, and as they are in my house, I have easy access. The only major thing we will need to do concerning locations is to clear the cellar of my mum's art materials, or at least clear the area in which we wish to film in.

6. Can you organise lighting to use in that location?
Yes, there are plug sockets in both my room and the cellar, so we can use the big lighting if we need it, however we probably won't want it to be very bright, so we can use one of the many spotlight lamp things that I have around my house.

7. Have you included dialogue? If so, will it work to shoot conversation in that location?
Yes we have, although we haven't finalised what they are going to say, we have only devised a few samples for our screen test. Conversation will be fine to shoot in the locations, and as some of our conversation is through the "forum" we will film the screen (which we need to test that it looks ok on film).

8. Do you have guaranteed high quality reliable actors to play the characters?
Yes, as they are us and our dads, there is definite reliability and enthusiasm.

So, our idea seems to have passed the test.. YAY!