Updated Script

Actor news

Eventually, over Easter I got in touch with a 'friend of a friend' who was very happy to be in our film. The only problem is that Meriel is not an old woman, she is 39. We decided that we would still use her for our film, and alter the script to accommodate a 39 year old rather than a 65 year old. I decided that Eve would now be the mother of Pip rather than the grandmother, I knew that this would be fairly easy to alter.

Actor Problems

I won't go into the details but, for a number of reasons, we have had trouble securing actors over the past few weeks which has left us with a bit of a problem. We have been left at the easter break, disappointed; having finally decided a date with both female actor's available to film in the second week of the holidays, we have been let down.

As a group, we have discussed ways to rectify this and we have 3 plans: Olivier, our producer has contacted 10 acting companies from Sheffield and surrounding areas. If this fails, we plan to either alter the location and shoot with a reliable actress in Bridlington, or come up with a more simple, idea that requires maybe just one actor that we can film in a short space of time before the deadline.

Perdre La Boule - Script

After the session our group had with three actors, we took our original script and altered it slightly using their feedback. The main things that we changed were:

• We changed the format from a stage style script format to a film style script format.
• We changed a few lines to fit the character profile better.
• We included information about a number of shots that we had planned.

Treatment

 Perdre La Boule

Treatment: 

An elderly widower struggling to come to terms with his wife’s demise and his own aging, embarks on a journey to recover a token of his past which he believes misplaced.
In a small isolated house resides a bitter and depressed old man whom unable to cope with his wife’s passing directs his anger and fears onto people who surround him. One day, after being particularly unpleasant with a young student working there as a volunteer (or being a family member), he notices that an object very dear to him, a bag of marbles his late wife gave him when they first met as children, has gone missing. Blaming the student of theft, he decides to take justice into his own hands and leaves the seclusion he inflicted upon himself to find him.
Knowing where the student might be, he proceeds to make his way to a park where the young man is. Although the park itself is a very short distance from his house, he is destabilized by his surroundings and on numerous occasions comes into contact with aspects of modern life which he never took an interest in understanding. Although confused and unprepared, his determination to find the thief leads him to find the place he sought. Unfortunately for him, the young man is nowhere to be found. Inconsolable, he seeks comfort by going to the cemetery where his wife is buried. As he is in front of her tombstone he fumbles his pockets to find a napkin and finds his bag of marbles instead.
Shortly after he hears the sound of footsteps behind him and turns to face the young student who left the park early to seek out the older man to apologize, yet upon discovering his disappearance from his home searched for him. Overcome by this caring act, the elderly man finally opens up to the student and tells him the story behind the bag of marbles. As they leave the cemetery he leaves the bag by the tombstone.


Characters:

A: The elderly man, so far nameless, should be in his late 60s, early 70s. He has a constant sullen look on his face and walks with a hunch. He never really accepted his aging and refuses to come to terms with the changing world, this is shown through his insistence in keeping the attire and fashion of his youth. In the beginning he is constantly seen holding or in close proximity of an old portrait of his wife as she was in her youth and the bag of marbles. He is an educated man who held on to strict values and refused to let them evolve with the times, this is shown through his eloquent speech and disdain for the younger generation.
B: The student volunteering at his home. He should be no younger than 18 and no older than 21, for the purpose of the story he will be 19. The fact he studies an English Major causes the elderly man to accuse him of being a spoilt middle class kid who lacks direction in life, sparking a row between the two of them. In fact he is a caring individual from a lower class background whose goal is to become a teacher. Confident and outspoken he refused to be bullied by the older man who attacked his insecurities yet doesn’t lack the empathy to see the man’s pain.
Room for one extra character.

Drama Project

For the drama project, the roles within the group are:

Producer: Olivier Chevalley
Director: Thomas Johnstone (me)
Cinematographer: Ryan Goff
Sound Recordist: Jamie Wiffen
Editor: Megan Crawford
Sound Editor: Emily Howes

Storyboards

Some examples of storyboards that I prepared as my previous role of director for the cinematographer