My new short film 'Autumn Leaves' (Build up and speculation) thread

[The Amazing Lee]

So my graduation film I am asked to create a 10 minute fictional piece of my own creation. I will be directing, co-producing, editing and writing this and this thread is to go through the process from beginning to end through the means of a blog, as well as if you want me to ask questions.

Here's the blog in question:

http://leefilmblog.blogspot.com/

I will also post each entry in new posts for you guys to read and to enjoy

 

[The Amazing Lee]

Blog No. 1

http://leefilmblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/introduction.html

Introduction

My name is Lee Barham and I am a student at University College Falmouth, studying Film at BA (Hons) level. This is the first in hopefully a number of blogs that will appear here over the next five or six months, to accompany the production of my final film at university. This blog will take you through the film-making process of Autumn Leaves; a ten minute narrative short film that I will co-produce, direct and edit.

Autumn Leaves is to be my graduation film and represents an idea that I have had for the good part of three years. Over the last three or four months I have taken the idea and toyed with the different possibilities of making it into my ten minute short film. Although, at this stage I am still toying and tweaking the idea still, before I settle with the best possible way of telling it, in order to write a script.

Below is the latest story idea I have had and hopefully this is what will form into the final story structure for the film:


Autumn Leaves is a black comedy. It follows the story of a Funeral Director, his son and their family business, in a small rural village that has seen better days. The story starts in the last few days/weeks before William (The Son) goes off to University. Thomas (The Funeral Director), knows that the business is on its last legs and with William's departure, the situation will only get worse. It is at this stage that Thomas launches a desperate plan; to kill off the village locals. He knows that this is a sure fire way to maintain business in order to support his son's education and the business itself.

The story represents themes of change and the strain of local economies and communities under the threat of commerce. I chose the setting of a Funeral parlour because I have become fascinated by the question 'How does a Funeral director rely on community business when his business is death?'.

I am interested in the character because I feel that it's a fresh take on the serial killer story. I am interested in the extremity of the situation and the way a business man deals with expanding his business under harsh financial times. Essentially, I aim to make something that is funny, different but most importantly, a film that is able to say something about the society that we live in. In current times, it is the small communities and the lower classes that are under threat within this coalition government. This film symbolises the traditional family business under times of financial crisis, money cuts and globalisation.

That is a small summary of the story and of what my project is about in general. Over the next few blogs, I will talk more in detail about the story, the people that I plan to work with (Crew) and the creative and productive processes that I will come in contact with over the next four or five months.

 

[The Amazing Lee]

Blog No. 2

http://leefilmblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/look.html

The look...

Over the next few months I will be working closely with Joseph Henderson, who will be my Director of Photography upon Autumn Leaves. At this stage our relationship hasn't really entered a level in which we are constantly working upon what the film will look like but since the conception of the short film I have been thinking about how the film should look.

Considering that the film is about an ageing business, one which is falling by the way-side in a time of economic crisis for local communities, I want the film to maintain a vintage look. The film is set in present day but the cinematography should reflect the past and this is where I look for inspiration in films and art of yesterday.

The one film that I have had in mind from the beginning as a source for the way Autumn Leaves should look in terms of colour and lighting is The Godfather. Below is a clip from the opening scene of The Godfather between Don Corleone; the Mafia family figure talking to a man seeking help. The colouring in the scene maintains an orange hue upon their skin specifically and this ultimately creates a retro feel but also a sinister one. The darkness surrounding the scene shows the sinister nature of what the film may be about and the orange is a colour which shows up well in the darkness.

There has also been some speculation from fans and critics alike that the colour orange within the film is soaked in symbolism rather than just because it looks nice. People have suggested that the continual use of the colour orange and of the fruit itself presents danger and death. The colour orange to me almost represents a warning. Whereas red is associated with an immediate danger, the colour orange brings back that danger to a suspicious level, halfway between the innocence of yellow and the danger of the colour red.

Now in Autumn Leaves, the characters are literally surrounded by death which happens to be their occupation as a family Funeral Directors. But considering that they decide to revel themselves within a much more suspicious and sinister way of maintaining business, I think that the colour orange reflects how I want the audience to perceive the characters from the beginning which is with caution.



In terms of art, I have looked towards a contemporary artist who works on paintings that are similar to The Godfather. This is in the use of orange and of the darkness that is contained specifically within the inside scenes.

This artist is called Jack Vettriano and his art focuses upon vintage/period pieces. These paintings often study the relationships between men and women, drawing upon sinister scenarios that are happening between closed doors. The art is looking back at a time that doesn't exist anymore and he focuses on sexuality and lust that was often frowned upon. All in all, it's about the secrecy of scenarios that are hidden away from the idyllic perception of that time, much like Lynch's Blue Velvet which looks at American suburbia and how there is much more to the idealism than meets the eye.

In the reference book I found these images they are a stronger orange but you get the idea that these colours are often drawn out so there is a hint of brightness clouded in oranges, grey whites and browns. The characters all seem to dress in darker colours, specifically brown with white shirts on. Because the Funeral parlour is a traditional business, the clothes that they are wearing is not dissimilar to what is shown within these pictures. A business that hasn't changed the way it is represented stylistically, so colouring and lighting the film in a similar fashion will only highlight this need to hold on to the past.

For these next few pictures I have also looked at his outside paintings. There is an overall brightness showing perhaps that the outside world is where these characters are able to almost hide themselves within this innocence. What you can still see is that the orange hue of their faces is still persistent and that the brightness of some of the images is brought down and less saturated than a lot of the old fashioned posters and paintings of the era perceive it to be. The men wear dull colours which makes them stick out against this brighter backdrop. A sinister darkness hidden in this brightness? perhaps.

There is still a long way to go to make sure that the film looks right for every scene but for now The Godfather and Jack Vettriano are my two inspirations. They will help to create a sinister world hidden beneath the normal, the mundane and the realisation and desperation that these characters have been brought to because of hard times.

Hopefully by the next post upon the look of the film I will have more film and art influences. I will lok more into making sure that the feel of the film will match up to the black comedy tone of the film.

 

[The Amazing Lee]

New post can be found here: http://leefilmblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/autumn-leaves-draft-15-is-complete.html

or read here:

Autumn Leaves Draft 1.5 is complete!

So it has been a fair few weeks since I have posted a blog on here. I've been working to try and finish the first draft of the script and I am pleased to say that a few days ago I was able to walk away from the laptop with a confident draft. That draft is draft 1.5.

Why 1.5? Well the reason for this is that I wrote the first five pages of the script and ran out of steam. The idea for the film has changed so much over the past three or four months that what I had in mind for the ending had completely changed because of the way I was telling the story.

I ended up with five pages not knowing where I wanted the story to go, which is because I kept changing my mind upon the story every five minutes. Draft 0.5/1 had dropped the fact that the son William was going to university and it was more about trying to helping his dad out by killing people. I think that because there was less of a stronger motive and less character development in both the son; William and the Funeral Director; Thomas, I just couldn't really care enough for the characters to really know where they should end up.

It was at this point that I sent the script to Kamilla Hodol who will be co-producing the film with me. I thought that I should just send what I had written to see exactly what was wrong with the script so far and why I wasn't able to continue.

It was already evident to me what was wrong with some of the script but I couldn't see past these faults to see exactly what I could do to change them. I was aware that the dialogue was clunky and far too explanatory into the characters thoughts and I knew that them speaking what was wrong should be done with action and not with speech. There was a lack of build up or character development that needed a lot of work on so there was more motive in the character/s and maybe a few cliches that could be avoided.

A lot of what I wrote was written just to get through it and I was self aware that what I was writing was subject to change and a lot of the five pages have been changed and shifted around, with the best scenes (in my opinion) making it into draft 1.5 and the missing scenes (Montage) added in as well.

Below are the five pages of the unfinished 0.5/1st draft with feedback from Kamilla. Here you will be able to see the beginnings of the film and what exactly I had in mind but also what exactly was wrong with it. I'll add feedback after each page to explain how I feel about the feedback and afterwards I will explain what I have done to change this in the finished draft.

Things do happen too fast and I think that there isn't enough explanation as to why the business is failing and motive enough for William to do something to help his dad. Like I have said before, the dialogue upon this page is too clunky and should perhaps rely more upon visual images that Kamilla suggested me to do. The beginning needs to establish the town as mis-en-scene a little better and perhaps be a little longer to show the decay and emptiness. And obviously the description of the characters is brief and probably not enough to get an idea about who the characters are and what they may physically look like.

Too much dialogue was within this scene and a lot of it was too self explantory again. But I wasn't sure exactly how to express it at this point. The full draft does not have too much dialogue and I've made sure to replace the dialogue with actions.

Kamilla states that perhaps a character would not state the fact that he needs more bodies in such a way and perhaps this was something that I worked upon on the first proper draft (1.5), which was to make sure that both main characters were never reaching out of their depths in terms of emotional change.

The montage was not complete at this stage and it is something that definitely still needs work on when I go to write the second draft but it's an idea that I have had from the very start of development and is a scene that definitely needs tightening up. I just got worried about he content of it because the killings are the hardest part because I don't want them to be TOO realistic but I don't want them to be too slapstick or gory. So I left out the parts I just could not fill in and I'll admit that the montage was one of the last things that I finished for draft 1.5.

It is towards the end of this script that I started to really get into it and the scenes reflect a more creative approach to the way I've written, or at least that 's how I feel about it. The dialogue for all of this is dispensable and I think that the dialogue is probably the weakest part about this version.


So what has changed for the complete draft which is draft 1.5? Well, I've added tweaks to the story so that now William is coming back from university to find that his dad's business isn't doing too well. This is the motive to helping his Dad, who he thought wasn't doing as bad as he really is. The opening scene with the various locations incorporates William walking through them instead of just showing them, which I feel works better. The montage is complete now and flows better and I now have an ending which I think is good, but I won't spoil it for you. I've also gotten rid of quite a lot of dialogue and replaced with action, and I feel that the story is more complete as a whole rather than just drifting off being under-developed and characters wandering around.

Hopefully these first five pages give you an insight into what is to come and I hope that you enjoy it.

 

[The Amazing Lee]

New post that can be found here: http://leefilmblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/location-location-location.html

or here:

Location, location, location.
Locations are definitely an important part of this short film because it is the surroundings of this small village and the life or lack of it that really will play a major part within the picture. The film will be set in Cornwall, where I am currently living for university. That is not to say that I have specifically chosen Cornwall just because of easy access but I think that Cornwall would be the perfect place to set a film about small communities and the way a small Funeral business survives when there just isn't any business at all.

This isn't going to be a blog that will be as long as the others but it is just to really show you the type of locations that I have been looking at for filming with explanations under a few that I feel will probably be chosen and why they will be chosen.

Here are some images of different exterior locations for Autumn Leaves.


Graveyards


St. Ives - Barnoon cemetery

This is a great location and one that I hope we go for, even though it's a bit out of the way. One of the things that we need to do is to make sure that we are able to film within a certain time window of 3-4 days for the overall shoot. This means making sure that we have enough time to shoot in the various locations (I think there is 11-12 in total, which is a lot), so one of the things we need to ensure if that perhaps one town has many of the locations, or at least all of the locations we need for one specific day. This is something that me and Kamilla will be sorting out over the next coming two months.




Towns (For the main location of the film)


Mousehole

Mevagissey

St. Keverne

Fowey

 

[The Amazing Lee]

Continued blog (too many pictures)

Polruan

Looe

Perranporth

 

[The Amazing Lee]

Continued blog:

At present Perranporth is probably the location we have looked the most at and it's the location I have the most personal connection to. I have family there and have been to Perranporth more than a couple of times, so I am aware of what it looks like and the size of the community. It definitely is a front runner for filming. All we need to do now is do more location spotting and perhaps go back to Perranporth as well.

Country Lanes

Trevengnow

Obviously being a huge countryside, there are many lanes identical to this in Cornwall. So finding a road won't be hard, it's just trying to find one where we can block it off to film a scene where someone is run over by a hearse. Obviously this won't be easy but I can imagine that the location that we choose will ultimately depend upon the town that we decide to choose. This way we can work with local authorities and local people to try and find a suitable and safe location that isn't going to disrupt anything, which is at the top of my list to ensure.

Currently I haven't found any of the interior locations but I will keep you all posted and will post these when I come across them.[/I]

 

[The Amazing Lee]

Two more pics that couldn't be fit onto the last post:

 

[The Amazing Lee]

New post that can be found here: http://leefilmblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/shots-and-introducing-mr-henderson.html

or here:

Shots and introducing Mr. Henderson
Just another quick blog mainly to introduce Joe's current showreel for his portfolio work and to show you some inspirational shots that I may work at using at some point during the film. I've been working closely via e-mail through Christmas, looking at specific shots and the way the film should be lit and the shots we should be looking towards.

Here is Joe's current showreel:

http://vimeo.com/18520527

Here are a few videos that have inspired us both and are shots that we may possibly use within the film at some point.

This first video has been shot using a glide-cam. I hope to use a glide-cam which Joe is capable of using. Here are some examples of shots that may be used for the beginning.

EOS 7D NJ Botanical Gardens GlideCam 2000HD
http://vimeo.com/13870026

Trouble with Harry trailer (From 0.41 to 0.55)


The shot that I want to use is actually the thumbnail for the video but you can still view it to see exactly what it looks like and what I intend to do. I hope to use this shot in the scene where someone is run over by a hearse. I think this shot is amazing and displays a level of discovery to the character but also for the audience who are aware from the very second of seeing it that this man is most probably dead.


Quip (From 1.57)[/B]
http://vimeo.com/1094819
I would love to have a tracking shot from one side to another, making it seem like a transitional shot, as if the audience is peering in on the scene. I have seen it done in many films but this is an example of where I could find it. I am not sure at this stage where I will put it in the film but at least I am aware of this shot and its relevancy of being used in Autumn Leaves.

Nudel Funeral (0- 0-.13)
http://vimeo.com/12089915

An example on how a coffin can be introduced or shown within the embalming/preparation room within the film.

The next three videos are examples of how the film should look (the first and third more so than the second, I think.) The videos are films that have taken inspiration from Jack Vettriano who is the artist that I looked at for inspiration in my second blog. I really like the noir look of his work and I definitely still want to follow this old 1950s orange tint that makes the film look older than it really is.

Evelyn (Like Jack Vettriano)
http://vimeo.com/12055414

After Midnight


An Imperfect past (Jack Vettriano)

 

[The Amazing Lee]

Blog can be read here: http://leefilmblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/script-update.html

Or here:

Script update

Just a short update to say that the third draft of the film is now complete and I am glad to say that other than possibly having a few small future revisions, I think that for now, this will be close to the final script. I'm very pleased with all of the changes from draft 1.5, to 2 and now finished with 3, that have been made to better the script. To be fair many of these changes were simple ones that addressed problems with dialogue, making scenes longer to get across the importance of them and letting the characters develop, as well as spelling errors and general mistakes.

This script will be the version that will be sent to potential actors and their agents for them to take a look at, so hopefully this is a strong enough draft that is able to garner interest and support from others. The script will hopefully reach them sometime this week, giving us enough time to browse more actors and also to arrange audition dates and other issues, including payment, travel and obviously revisions to the script if it is not possible to film certain parts.

Kamilla has nicely helped me by putting together a prospectus / press pack that includes, a small and long story synopsis, history of the project and information about some of the crew including myself. I helped with adding my own knowledge on the project, as well as helping to write the synopsis and some of the others but Kamilla did the hard part and put it all together and I am thankful for her doing that.

This will be sent to actors as well as to others in order to help secure certain things upon the film, including locations, props, crew and also to short film festivals once the film is completed.

Overall, I am pleased with the progress so far and can now take a break from the script-writing process to focus upon other important tasks. This week I will be scouting locations in Cornwall again in order to find out where will be the best place to shoot the film and I will also be trying to gather the crew together for a short meeting in order for them to all address things in the same room together. This has not been done so far.

I will keep you updated as things progress.

Happy New Year

Lee

 

[The Amazing Lee]

Blog can be read here:

http://leefilmblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/make-up.html

or here:

Make-up
In terms of making sure everything looks authentic and looks right when it comes to the funeral parlour in the film, I think that making sure that the make-up applied to the actors in order to make them look dead is of major importance.

For Autumn Leaves, I have asked Lucy Pullinger (or Zombie Lucy as she is known) to do the make-up for me. When I first approached her to do the make-up for my project, I had a much more vivd imagining of gory deaths, with blood, guts and other visual treats but the more I thought about the film, the more I felt that having this amount of practical make-up and effects would just detract away from the overall feel of the film and from the characters. I think the tone of the film is definitely of the past and with that I've looked closely at older black comedies that are able to express murder and death without the need for excessive violence.

But what I will ask of Lucy is to make the certain actor's look dead and look the part, as it were. I need to do a bit more research into this and am aware of what dead bodies look like in their various forms (Courtesy of a Funeral Director's book that I will mention in a later blog) but what I really need is a visual reference, as horrible as that sounds. And getting hold of that type of thing hasn't been that easy so far. It's also not for the faint of heart, that's for sure.

Anyway, here is some corpse make-up Lucy has worked upon for the film.

To look at her other work, head on over to:

http://www.zombielucy.co.uk/
or

http://zombielucy.blogspot.com/

 

[oliverhenaine]

good... God bless you

 

[The Amazing Lee]

Trailer for the short film.

 

[The Amazing Lee]

So, this film has been in two festivals so far but will hopefully try and get to many more festivals before it is shelved. Any particular festivals (or local to you) that you recommend ?

 

[darkseid26]

edit

 

[darkseid26]

looks good. What are you shooting on?

 

[The Amazing Lee]

We shot on a 5D Mk II over 4 days.

 

[darkseid26]

nice

 

[The Amazing Lee]

Cheers.

 

[Duke]

It looks really good!! Good luck with it!!

 

[The Amazing Lee]

Thank you very much.

 

[Matt Mortem]

Looks good so far.

 

[The Amazing Lee]

Video is now available to watch online. Let us know what you think!

https://vimeo.com/29234207

 

[Changeling]

I reallllly liked this. Impressive acting

And the younger main character looks like Michael Angarono

 

[The Amazing Lee]

Thank you kindly. He does a bit. I also thought he maybe looked a bit like this guy from submarine.