Editing Day 4

Editing Day 4

Today Alex and I converted the footage into Quicktime and have then put it on a disc which can be seen through VLC. We have submitted this and the peer assessment today. We are very happy with the result

Below is our final film that we placed onto youtube:

Editing Day 3

Editing Day 3

Today me and Alex completely finished the filming. We put all the footage together with the sound and we are very very very pleased with the result.

Towards the end of the film we have the final line 'some people think we are half empty but we are half full'- this is something for the audience to think about, this is heard when the first shot appears again at the end so we are reminded that we should not have negative opinions of people, but be accepting, caring and non judgmental

Sound Recording

Today the sound was re recorded in the sound studio. This was because all the previous sound made the voiceover sound fizzy. This recording was done on an iPhone because it created a much better outcome

Filming Day 8

Filming Day 8

After talking to Helen, we re filmed the ending so the three characters didn't need to come together, but instead, interlink them in the shots. Lucy's last shot was of her outside, so we brought Emma into the shot who then sees stacey. This is a much better ending and finishes it off well- more continuous.

Problem- Weather was really sunny. Tried to film in shade but we were limited to space. However, the shots of Emma were stunning- the light on her hair

Solving- we changed the location when we filmed stacey so the sun wasn't so intense

Filming Day 7

Filming Day 7

After showing our film to Helen, she suggested we re film the ending- it didn't work with the rest of the footage, felt cold
She suggested we break the boundaries of film and have a documentary feel- have the girls talk to the camera at the end


Problem- we still felt unsure if this worked because it felt unnatural and awkward and so will be talking to Helen again to see what she can suggest

Solving- find a new ending, one which flows, we went over the voiceover many times so it sounded more natural

We also re film the start shot which is much more effective and works well with all the elements of the magazine, tablets and hand sanitizer involved

Editing Day 2 and Sound

Editing Day 2

Found a new soundtrack from Audio Network- it is called Encounters. It works really well with the footage and has a more positive feel to it- to suggest hope and acceptance. This footage has replaced 'tension'

We also placed the title in- we were supposed to have it before the montage but me and Alex felt it worked really well on the footage instead. We chose a very simple sans serif font- fits well with the simplistic montage shots. Placing the title on the montage also meant we had more time to add shots at the end.

We had previously intended to put statistics on the screen however we felt the voice over was enough- the addition of words on the screen would steer the audience away from the shots I took

http://www.audionetwork.com

Discussion with Helen

Alex and I just spoke to Helen about our film. She really like the camera work and the mis en scene however the ending section doesn't work. She suggested we interlink the characters at the end- bumping into each other or seeing a character in the background of one of the other characters shots- this way it feels more natural and not staged. 

Problem- weather needs to be exactly the same as when we filmed Lucy- cloudy, after midday. 'Tension' feels like thriller music- lead up to a murder etc so need to find a new soundtrack- positive notes but still a sad or uneasy feeling about it

Solving- plan shooting- may need to be flexible so can shoot whenever cloudy 

Editing Day 1 and Sound

Editing Day 1

Today Alex and I put the footage together and started to edit it all together. So far it is going really well, all the shots are in focus, and the narrative fits better than we thought.

• We found a sound track called Palpitations and Tension- palpitation has a really strong beat which means we can edit our footage together and cut every time we hear the beat
• 
  
• Tension is for overall background sound, although we feel it might be too scary for the film? We will continue to find another sound track
• 
  
• Also we are really unhappy with our opening shot- we were supposed to have a triple split screen of all of the glasses however it does not look right- I will re film on our next shoot day, wont take long- will create a new shot with tablets, magazine and hand sanitizer in it so produces an overall togetherness of each illness.

http://www.audionetwork.com

Filming Day 6

Filming Day 6

Sound recording! We did this in the seminar room because it was really quiet. We recorded a voice over for the film- using the script below

Alex and I wrote this script for the new ending- this was based from people who suffer with the illnesses and how they said they feel

The first voice over is about how it feels to suffer with any of the mental health issues. The second part is a call for acceptance to the audience

Problem- it was difficult for the voiceover to sound natural, the sound was also fuzzy

Solving- we repeatedly went over the voiceover so the characters would feel comfortable with it, intention of re recording sound- sound studio?

Voice over throughout film

-       OCD

o   . Getting ready for each day involves so much hand washing, mental rituals, and doing things in the same order... Sometimes, I feel like staying in bed and avoiding the day.

o   It’s sunny outside and I want to go out, but I know I probably won't.

o   Obsessions are unwelcome thoughts, images, urges or doubts that repeatedly appear in your mind; for example, thinking that you have been contaminated by dirt and germs

-       Anxiety

o   "The feeling you get when you tap your pocket to get your wallet, and it is not there, but all the time"

o   Sometime I wish I could just blank out everything, see no one and lock my self away with my own thoughts

o   The stress of having to meet new people or make simple conversation puts me in this state of panic which I can’t escape from

-       Eating Disorder

o   Dizzy spells from time to time, but you learn to anticipate and manage them

o   Ana controls every thought, every move and every decision

o   A day without eating is a day of absolute success and all I can think about is achieving my goal

o   100 jumping jacks, 70 crunches, 50 sit ups, 40 squats, 30 lunges, 20 mountain climbers, 10 push ups over over,

END DISCUSSION talking to camera when in seminar room

Anxiety –

People who suffer with anxiety are often ostracized as others cannot relate to their situation due to their lack of knowledge about the subject, leading to the patient themselves feeling isolated and helpless. It’s such a common disorder and when people know you have it many will pre judge you, even though so many friends and family close to us suffer from it.

 Eating Disorder –

 People with mental health conditions are seen as more unsociable, when it’s not always the case, it isn’t that simple. We act ‘unsociable’ because of society’s constant need to point out when people are different society are so obsessed with having perfect people with perfect social lives and social ability, that if someone doesn’t appear to fit into that one popular group we disregard them. 

OCD –

People are quick to judge and this leads people feeling singled out, avoided and seen as outcasts. Unsure of how to act and round constantly feeling you might offend them. Thinking we live such miserable lonely lives, realistically we can be happy people we just need your time and understanding to see how we are as a person. Don’t put every individual with a disorder into a different category. Some people assume we are half empty, we are half full.

Filming Day 5

Filming Day 5

Today we filmed our final scene!

Lucy Emma and Stacey all sit together in a lecture and show that they are friends- mental health isolates people but we wanted to show friendship

Problem- We couldn't use the lecture room so we had to find another room to film in

Solving- we used a seminar room which was much better, it was really light and we were not interrupted

We filmed Stacey take out her anti bac gel, her 3 identical pens and some paper, we then see emma take out her laptop and open the screen. When she opens the screen there is a pro anna website on the screen from this morning. Lucy sees but lets Emma know that she is not judging her- that she is there for her instead

Filming Day 4

Filming Day 4

Today we filmed lucy as she left her room and made her way to her lectures

• I filmed shots of her standing still, with people walking around her and not noticing her
• Close ups of her eyes, feeling panicked
• People walking into her

Today was a cloudy day which worked really well for the shots- metaphoric meaning- moody weather- dim, sadness

Problems- People kept walking into the frame and looking at us- made it seem less natural, it also was starting to rain which meant the camera was at risk

Solving- Because we were so well organised with our shooting, we quickly filmed before it started to rain. We also turned away from the camera when we were filming, this seem to make people less aware of what was happening and created more of a natural scene

Filming Day 3

Filming Day 3

Today we filmed Emma (Sophie) who suffers with anorexia

We filmed objects that suggested to the viewer she was suffering with an eating disorder:

• scales
• pro anna websites
• water 
• magazines of women
• ribs, collar bones

Problem- the main problem today was lighting and shading on emmas body- we really want the reflector to add more shading to the ribs and colar bone but it was too bright

Solving- we closed the curtain partially and used the lighting on our phones and the reflector to add more shading

Filming Day 2

Filming Day 2

Today we filmed Lucy who suffers from anxiety!

This was a really successful day filming. We got lots of relevant shots that hinted to the audience that she suffers with anxiety

• tablets
• biting nails
• twitching
• tablets
• knees moving

The troubles we encountered we having enough room to do a successful pan. The lens is 24mm-105 and so was too zoomed in. Because of this we tried another of my very basic 18-55mm lens so we could fit enough of the room in.

Problem- There was also a lot of sun light and so we constantly had to change the exposure so everything had the correct white balance

Filming Day 1 - Prop Shot Examples

• key part of each illness within our film was the mis en scene
• how we used props
• how we composed items in our shots
• as cinematographer I have tried to produce a wide rang of shots
• close ups
• extreme close ups
• hand held shots
• panning
• below are a few example for why we use my camera and lenses- wanted a low depth of field and have very good lenses for this - canon 24-105mm and 50mm with an extremely low aperture of 1.2

Filming Day 1

Filming Day 1

• filming stacey
• suffers with OCD
• needed to set up Lucy's room
• neutral bed covers
• set up props
• simplify setting so appeared organised

Problems- we hadn't fully set up the room properly so we wasted time organising it. Shots on storyboard hadn't worked out properly as of size of room, and what angles we could film with. We also had a faulty tripod which wouldn't pan and was wobbly

Solving- re created shots so would work better with the amount of room we had. Used my tripod- although not of a high standard it did the job

New Character

Sadly our original character James is unable to be a part of our film. So we have a new character Lucy Abbott.

All characters are now female which is annoying as i feel this is quite generic, however, with the time limitations, we just want to start filming and move on

Audience Research Responses

Mental Health Survey - 29 responses

Below are the results we collected from friends and family. Under particular questions I have written a summary to explain what the data shows.

Audience Research

To cover all areas, we need to ask the audiences opinion on mental health
Concerned with:

• How people view such illnesses
• Whether they think they are genuine or for 'attention'
• Unsure of who they affect
• How much help is received
• How they can be treated
• Who is affected
• What influences illnesses
• How we stop it or reduce likelihood of it

Generic simple questions about mental health

Age: 13-25, 26-35, 36+
- These ages are significant, research shows that the majority of mental health issues occur in young teens to the mid twenties, so we need to target those who may have friends suffering, or even sufferers themselves

- Ages 35+ for parents- adults aren't always aware what happens with their children's lives and so they need to be informed of what young people can go through

Gender: Male, Female
- There is no overall gender pattern in mental health, but anorexia is affected by majority female

Is their enough help for young people: Yes, No, (Explain)
- It'd be interesting to see whether people think their is enough help there for suffers, or whether sufferers feel as if they need more

Is their enough awareness: Yes, No, (Explain)
- How can awareness be improved? Through schools etc

Do you think the health systems tailers to specific needs? (Explain)
- Friends/ family have felt they are categorised simply as being depressed etc, but not investigated in terms of where their condition stemmed from. Does their need to be more attention paid to the individual? Complaints of different doctors every session, no personal relationship or interest

Do you people with mental health issues treated as different? (Explain)
- In the playground, during work force, clubs etc- do we avoid those because we feel awkward? Do we not want to give people the time?

Do you think people feel awkward talking about it? (Explain)
- Any illness or struggle can appear to be the 'taboo' topic, people feel uncomfortable discussing it, but why? 

Should young people have more education on it? (Explain)
- I can't remember ever having lessons or sessions, being informed by mental health, it was always ignored- I only learnt because of the interest my self through programmed on BBC or Channel 4/5 (suggesting how the media do a lot to inform and yet schools/ family do little?)

(anorexia)
Do you think media has influence on young people?


What do you think the representation of  'curvier' women is one with negative connotations?


Describe what you think is a healthy body?
How has the media shaped peoples opinions?
If majority of answers are 'thin, not fat, not stretch marks, no cellulite etc' then surely we have been completely consumed by the media?
My opinion of a healthy body is a healthy mind- idea of being happy, not judgemental, positive and comfortable in self

Storyboard

• Start with split screen of glass half empty
• Each split screen will continue to each individual story
• OCD
• ANXIETY
• EATING DISORDER
• OCD screen stretches forward
• See the feet touch the floor straight into slippers
• Then a trio of sounds
• toilet - face on shot of feet
• flushing chain - shot of chain
• tap - combination of hand washing shops - extreme close ups and close ups- addition of editing for speed up - vigorous hand washing

•  ANXIETY
• main shot here is 360 pan - idea of isolation, distress, loneliness
• head circulation and moving
• similar to alt-j fitzpleasure - part of the video has a reversed moment where the subject looks under a spell???
• another 360 pan of them on way to lecture- subject is still and yet everyone around is moving- speed up time lapse- loneliness
• low depth of field here is key- only subject is in focus every one is blurred

• EATING DISORDER
• pajames or trousers just fall off when she stands
• steps on scale
• looks at self in mirror, sees a larger person from what she really 
• different close ups of bodies

Anxiety Statistics

Anxiety Statistics

Sources:

http://www.adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/statistics

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/prevalence/any-anxiety-disorder-among-adults.shtml

Anxiety

• We had planned on looking into OCD, Trans and Eating Disorders however we are now changing trans to anxiety
• Anxiety is something that has affected lots of our groups friends and families and so because we have seen its affect, we wanted to focus on that particular mental health issue
• Being transgender isn't a mental health issue, but there are struggles that surround it such as anxiety and depression
• Also, the short film is based on university students and their struggles and anxiety is something that affects so many of us so by focusing on this, hopefully it will be an insight for viewers to stop judgment

Need to look into anxiety- facts and statistics

Location

• Deciding where to shoot has been a dilemma so far... We know we definitely want to film in Turing College- it has big windows, big rooms and has white light
• Below is my bedroom- it would be a good place to film because it has desk space next to the bed where we could play the 'half empty' glass BUT I have been OTT with my wall decorations so filming here would mean I would have to strip the walls bare
• Also the long mirror here would be useful for when Emma looks at herself in the mirror

•  Another option is Lucys room, which is also in Turing but has a different layout
• Lucy doesn't have a table next to the bed but instead it is behind the bed- visually we don't think that will look correct in the came
• But the layout of the room is more convenient to film in, plus her walls are bare and the style of room is gender neutral so easy to film each character in

Storyline

Current Narrative

• Starts off with a split screen divided into 3- each representing a different life
• 1) Eating Disorder
• 2) OCD
• 3) Trans
• Each person is asleep when their alarm goes off- they go to turn it off and by the alarm is a glass of water - currently half EMPTY
• the idea here is to have each shot very similar so that the shot of the glass is the same- needs to be carefully planned out- so a possible pan from bed to alarm to glass
• We then go into the individual narrative
• So the first split screen will continue its story
• The narrative idea is that each student is on their way to a lecture
• get up
• get dressed
• walk to lecture
• sit down in lecture
• BUT each person has different conditions and so what happens after getting up and arriving at the lecture will vary
• The order of the narrative isn't final yet but we would like to mix all of the 3 narratives up so it is fragmented
• For example: Eating Disorder gets up and goes straight to mirror or bathroom (several shots taken) but then we might cut to OCD making their bed or washing their hands and then cut to Trans who is binding their breasts 
• Then we start again creating a fragmented yet continuous narrative
• Ideally the narrative will be a circular narrative where we start with the cup being seen as HALF EMPTY but then we feel it is HALF FULL
• This narrative involves the audience
• What are our initial impressions of mental health?
• Are we unnecessarily pessimistic?
• Are we naive?
• Are we judgmental?
• We would like thoughts to change through the short film- an understanding of the difficulties at the start and then an understanding of equality and acceptance at the end
• We want to include statistics and facts about mental health so we are incorporating the documentary style- we are producing to inform- we want people to learn from this
• When considering sound- we wanting the majority to be non-diegetic
• voice over
• possibility of us talking- or someone talking who has experience such struggles
• a conversation between people
• with soft music underneath the voices as there will be pauses from the voices at points
• the main focus here is the effects of mental health, dialogue and too much acting can distract from the point we are making

Characters

Characters

We have three characters in our short film; Jessica who suffers with OCD, Jamie who suffers with Anxiety, and Sophie who suffers with an Eating Disorder. All three are students at the University of Kent and study Psychology.

Jessica (19) will be played by Stacey Symons
Contact: 07904272332 

Jamie (21) will be played by James Unsworth
Contact: 07784695353

Sophie (19) will be played by both Emma O'Brien and Izzy Cooper (myself)
Contact: 07435146566 (Emma)
Contact: 07522953810 (Myself)