MEST4 Linked production: Research and planning

1) Confirm your production brief. You write this yourself but it's absolutely crucial this is clear, appropriate and achievable. You should have done this already - the original blogpost was here - but it may have changed as a result of your preliminary exercise.

 ~ an opening scene ~

Everyone is soon to be coming back to school from there summer holidays. This opening scene would follow the protagonist evening; a hard worker, determined and a strong female. This opening scene would show that the protagonist doesn't need a boy to be there for within the last year of high school/college unlike others girls think..  

2) Research: detailed notes on at least THREE texts similar to what you are creating. What are the key conventions? What can you learn/borrow from the examples you have looked at?
-  Mean Girls - The appearance of how they are towards people 

3) Project schedule: when will you shoot and edit this production? Make this a week-by-week schedule leading up to Easter. Key dates: we break up for Easter on Friday 31 March and the final deadline is Wednesday 19 April.

4) Script - see the BBC Writers' Room for advice/script formatting. 

1. 1.      SUMMER. 1 
   2.      2 GYM_ 2 
   Audience are presented with the gym location, Katie, late teens, is on the treadmill, running quite fast. She is tall, and in causal gym clothing, quite sweaty. Shots of her on different gym equipment. Realising she has been running for a while on the treadmill, she then stops and puts her hands on the front of the treadmill, getting her breath back. 
   KATIE (V.O.)
   breathing out heavily, chest heavily moving, heads facing down.
   "Breath Katie” 
   She then takes out a deep sigh, moving away from the treadmill. Looking around, she realises she's had enough and drinks her water, walking towards her bags, sees her phone lit up with a text reading; 'School tomorrow, can't wait, you ready for the last year?' Sighing deeply, Katie ignores the text and leaves the building in frustration. 
   
   2. Northolt Hills - KATIE (V.O + P.O)
   walking up a hill; different clothing but same day- evening/night.
   Taking the view in front her, thinking about last year about herself being bullied... KATIE; voiceover – ‘you know that workout didn’t mean anything, your still the fatty that everyone saw you as last year” Katie heavily sighing and shaking her head down looking very disappointed and hurt. KATIE then sits around and admires the view in front of her; the city. VOICEOVERS- ‘can’t believe she wears the same clothes everyday, everyone’s knows how poor she is’ ‘try not to hurt yourself while your at PE; full of laughter”
   3.      HOME SCENE
   Katie at home, getting ready for school, packing backs and getting clothes ready to show that she is going back to school from summer.
   
   
   4.      School. – KATIE (P.O)
   Audience are introduced to the school location; clock, classrooms, students etc. KATIE hurrying inside and to her first lesson without getting unnoticed by anyone in a empty school hallway, keeping her head down and not seeing where she is going, causing her to bump into the person who she was dreading to see the most on the first day back.
   
   
   MAGGIE
   ‘Hey! Watch where your going and who you bumping into” without raising her head and on her phone
   
   
   KATIE
   “Sorry, I wasn’t looking”
   
   
   MAGGIE with a disgusted face;
    “Yeah bet you weren’t, stay out of my way otherwise, don’t say I didn’t warn you” with that Maggie leaves.
   
   
   Katie
   Staying put to where she is, whilst out a deep breath, “didn’t think by working out the whole summer would make her not remember me” With the school bell going off, KATIE; “today’s going to be eventful.”  
   
   
2. 
   

5) Sketching and drafting - for video-based productions this means a storyboard - sheets available in DF07 or you can print out your own AQA storyboard sheet. For print productions, this means detailed sketches of all your pages.

6) Shot list - use Microsoft Word or a template like this to help you. Remember, you need a shot list whether you are filming or carrying out a print photoshoot - professional quality original images are essential if you want to reach the top level.

7) Mise-en-scene: casting/model details, costume and make-up, props, lighting, location scouting for video productions etc. Use photographs to document and plan your mise-en-scene - using your phone is acceptable for this.