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Past It is about Sally, wanting to a degree so she can get a job in child care. Her husband Mike and daughter Carly are very reluctant for her to do this, and my interpretation of this was because they rely on Sally to look after the pair of them, and cook for them, and do the majority of the chores. After secretly studying with Rob her family find out she is studying to get into university, and this causes lots of tension between all of the family. However, in the end we see her get into university and begin to follow her dreams.

When I first got this script I changed around some of the relations between the characters. I made Carly her sister, and Mike her boyfriend, and kept the theme of unsupportive family, and unfair labor division.

For my test shots I want to show Sallys homelife, Carly's life and Mike's life, Salford and its industrial estate, and Sally making it to university.

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I want to use the style of naturalism for the acting style, and for the majority of the piece. However I do want to use lighting as a metaphor for the characters situations and inner feelings. 'Semiotics investigates ways of meaning. It represents a challenge to the ‘literal’ insofar as it questions the possibility of meaning what we say or saying what we mean, and of perceiving or representing ‘the way things are’. We always mean more than we say and sometimes even the opposite, and we can only ever selectively perceive or represent things from a particular perspective.
Chandler, Daniel. Semiotics: the Basics, Taylor & Francis Group, 2022.'

I will use colder colours to represent sadness, and warmer colours to represent frustration and comfort. I did some research on the differently styles, and naturalism can be defined as 'a stylistic approach that tries to make actions, dialogue, locations, sounds, and tex-tures of the filmic world resemble as closely as possible the everyday world we know. It hides allnotion that this is a fictional world created for the camera and seeks to convince us we are seeingreal events occurring in real and familiar settings.' - Rabiger & Hurbis-Cherrier, 2013. Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics p160. My test shots for Past It will focus on everyday life, and the live of working class people in the Salford area.

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I have given my actors their characters, and will also attach a short description about their character to the actor consent forms, and what clothes/makeup they need to wear for costume.

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Today I settled on which locations I wanted to use for my test shots.

Sanctuary Students Tramways- Kitchen and Bedroom

- The reason I have decided to choose my bedroom and kitchen is because of the layout of both rooms, and because I will be able to change them around to my liking for my test shots. I did think about using a friends student house, but the layout is not what I imagine for this piece. I want the kitchen and sofa room to be one room. In the student house it is two separate ones.

-Secondly we have brown leather sofas, and a brown wooden floor in the kitchen. These both sit the colour palate that I want for the kitchen because they are warmer colours which futher help create my metaphor. My metaphor is that Sally's home is her safe place, yet it is also dangerous as the people around her that also live there do not support her, and that she is at danger of not following her dreams due to her family.

We see this same sort of colour palate utalised in 'Fresh'  (2022). We see that the warmer colour palate is used to represent comfort and security, only for this to lead us into a false sense of security. We end up realising the colour palate ends up presenting the upcoming danger for the main character. I am very inspired by Fresh as the cinematography is very minimalist and relies on colours to communicate the plot and themes.

Furthermore, the chairs, and overall look of my kitchen is quite basic and looks quite working class, which fits the aesthetic of my piece. I will also be able to control and change the kitchen without limitations. 'When considering film set design, narrative is particularly important to the creation and understanding of the design of a film or television world.' D'Arcy, Geraint. Critical Approaches to TV and Film Set Design, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018.

However, to ensure my flatmates are comfortable I have let them know I plan on filming soon, and I will send consent forms to them asking for their consent to film, and to change around things in the kitchen for said filming.

-I will also use my bedroom as it is very basic, and I can change it as much as I want to fit the aesthetic of the film for the test shots.

-Other places will be:

-University of Salford Campus

-University of Salford Classroom

-University of Salford Lecture Hall

I have yet to organise asking for consent to use this space, and to book it.

I have also begun thinking about what I want my characters to wear, and what props and costume I need for my test shots.

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I have also inquired about different props and costume I’ll need with people around me. I have asked my dad for some of Mikes costume and props. My dad is a plasterer and will have spare hi vis’ and hard hats. They will also help my piece to look more real as they’ll be worn out and have paint, and plaster on them, will be a small detail for my piece. 

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Over this past week I have been organising my pre production documents.I have created my actor consent forms, and inquired about using spaces on campus for my shoot. 

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These preproduction tasks that I have done as the producer have really opened my eyes in to how much work a producer needs to do. I have enjoyed this and it also is helping me to get ready for shooting my piece. These documents have helped me develop my organisation skills, and think more about the logistics of filmmaking, which will aid me in my script writing and directing of other projects, as I understand how much needs to be organised to shoot even just for a 3-5 minute piece. It will help me adhere to budget constraints in the future when writing and directing 'Whatever the situation, the producer is the person

responsible for holding a project together from start to

finish, delivering the project on time and on budget. It is a tough and demanding role requiring an ability to

make important decisions, often under challenging circumstances.'Worthington, C. (2009). The Producer. In Basics Film-Making 01: Producing (pp. 10–35). Lausanne London: AVA Publishing SA.

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I booked my Black Magic 6k camera induction. I wanted to do this as quick as possible so I can book a refresher session if needs be, and so that I can book the camera out and get used to using it before coming to shooting. This is because it will make the production more effective as I’m quicker with the equipment

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I went to the Black Magic 6K induction, I really enjoyed it and got about out of it. I learned a lot about different lenses and made some good progress with the cameras. 

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I made notes on all the information I was given about the cameras. I will be doing more research about lenses. 

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Today I finished a draft shot list. However, once I have done more research into lenses I will be adding the names of every type of lens I will use for each shot so I know what to book out when. As I have decided I will film on a range of different days.

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Today I began all of my risk assessments for my locations. I wanted this one earlier but I decided to finish my shot list first, just incase I needed to add any other locations for the test shots or actors.

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Today I finished my risk assessments. I have sent one off to my teacher to double check that this is the correct way to complete them, and also researched potential risks online to help broaden my understanding of health and safety.

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Today I sent out the consent forms to the actors. This is so I have all of them signed way before the filming shoot, and to plan for any changes that could occur 

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I enjoyed the pre-production for this project, this was my first time creating such detailed producer documents. I really enjoyed this process and I learnt a lot about the role of the producer, and I would like to take on this role in the future if possible.

I made sure to get reliable actors for my piece, to ensure the production goes as smooth as possible, and secured my filming locations quickly, and communicating with the right people about these.

During my directing and producing seminars I made sure that I listened to Lara's advice and wisdom in order to have the best outcome during my pre-production.

I made sure to plan as much as possible to ensure that I covered all of what I wanted to do, and had a clear world for my characters.

I also made sure I paid a lot of attention to my induction with the Black Magics. I really enjoyed this, and has inspired me to learn more about lenses, and the different advantages and disadvantages of a range of lenses have. This is to help with my own knowledge for cameras and lenses, but this will also help when I do any projects where I operate the camera, and will also help me in industry.

One thing however, I wish I would of taken more notes to do with the Black Magic settings as there were so many types of settings and set up information I should of written down. However I was able to communicate with my peers, and find a wealth of information online. I found a Reddit community that is purely for Black Magic 6k cameras. I was able to find a lot of my questions answered, and more information that will help me now and in the future.

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Today I really enjoyed directing in the TV studio. I learnt a lot in a very short space of time. I was slightly worried about this exercise as I wasn’t sure if what I had prepared was good enough but I think I had prepared a fair bit so it went very smoothly. I did well on guiding my actor. I think for next time I will try and focus more on ensuring my actors eyes can be seen, and have the right movement for the camera. As I focused more on performance.

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I picked up all of the equipment I needed, early at 8:30am. This is so I could check over the equipment and make sure I had everything I needed.

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I wanted to use this kitchen because I like the white walls and brown floors, it looks visually appealing and I can turn it into a plain canvas to decorate for my set. As this is my kitchen I can also spend as much time as needed in the space, and change it around as much as I’d like as my flatmates allowed me to, and I had let know a fair few weeks before filming that I would be using this space.

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I cleaned the kitchen and added some props, such as an important dates grid on the whiteboard to utilise it on the set as I cannot move it. I also added some frames filled with pictures of Sally and Carly’s extended family. On the table I also added the props, such as the red shopping bag.

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When reading the Past It script, I envisioned Carly as a person who wears an alternative style. Therefore, for the actor of Carly I asked for heavy eyeliner and eye makeup, along with an alternative style costume. The actor also already had a septum piercing that helped to present this idea for the character.

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For the character of Mike I wanted to ensure that I had a hivis for them, to show that they work as a tradesman. I also asked for the actor to wear black shoes and jeans, as this would allow the main piece of costume to stand out. I also wanted the actor to have some stubble or a beard to show that Mike is slightly older than the rest of the characters

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For the character of Rob, I wanted the costume to consist of business casual, to show that they work as a teacher at the university. I wanted a kind faced person for this. For my actor I ensured that they had the correct clothing for this character. I did have a look in local charity shops to see if they had some suit shirts for the costume, and they did have a wide range, for very cheap prices.

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This light I will use during production, I know how to set these up well and they are easy to carry. They also can give off a range of cold or warm light which will be useful for my production, as I need a range of both light temperatures.

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For the character of Ed, Carly's boyfriend I wanted to present him as an alternative metalhead. Therefore I made sure he had a deathcore band tshirt on, and I also asked the actor to grow out their beard and stuble slightly before filming, as I want to portray there character as someone a bit lazy and as someone who overly doesn't take care in their appearance. My actors curly hair I also asked for it to be slightly messy to further portray this.

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I wanted the character of Sally to be kind faced yet tired due to the amount they do at home and at work. I was inspired by the show 'Maid' for this character, after coming across a picture of the actor from the show wearing a blue cleaning apron. I wanted to use the blue apron along with cold lighting to represent Sallys sadness and cold situation, as they do in the TV show. I was able to find the exact apron for a cheap price. After I finish the production, I am thinking about donating the costume I buy for this production to the New Adelphi Costume department so other people can use these and save their money.

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This shoot for me was the shoot that went the best out of all three. The actors arrived ready and prepared from the shoot. The shooting times, makeup and costume information I sent out really helped to ensure an effective shoot on the day. The BlackMagic was really easy to use, which helped ease my stress throughout the shoot.

One mistake that I made however was with the FPS on the camera. Luckily this was an easy fix as I noticed this early on and had only taken two shots with this, therefore it didn't hider the shoot, or the majority of my work. To ensure that this didn't happen again I took a picture of all of my settings on the camera, and double check these periodically, and check over the footage every 15 minutes or so.

One thing I struggled with was the lighting. The falcon light did a very good job at lighting the scene, however it did wash out some of the red, warm colours from the apature lights I had set up. However, this is something that I can fix in Adobe Premier Pro. I will look at some videos on colour grading to refresh my memory, and ensure that I colour grade to the best of the ability.

One thing that went incredibly well was actioning the actors. This is something I have a decent amount of experiencing in, as I have taken on the role of being the director in the majority of projects that I have taken on during university. I got exactly what I wanted from the actors in the shoot.

I also really liked the way that the set design turned out. It communicated what I wanted it to communicate, and I also asked the actors for their insight on the design to. The actor for Carly also does a course about designing and they also gave me good feedback on the design of the set. 'Technically speaking, a “motion picture” is in fact a sequence of individual pictures, but it is experienced

quite differently—as a steady stream of sensations. A movie is a vast outpouring of signs.'Edgar, R. , Marland, J. , & Rawle, S. (2015). The Language of Film. London: Fairchild Books.

To conclude, I had a small amount of set backs on this shoot but I did a really good job at preventing lots of mistakes, and miscommunications before hand. The majority of the shoot went really well and I enjoyed the experience. I got all of the shots I needed.

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Location - Robs study hall and classroom 

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Location - Robs study hall and classroom 

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I wanted to use a university of Salford lecture hall to create some interesting visual shots with Rob and Sally. However due to schedules and the space being hard to book, I decided to focus on other locations and the storys I wanted to portray with those instead

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This shoot for me was the most challenging one. This is because I was out in public. To help ease my nervousness I took a friend out with me to help oversee the shoot, along with me and the other actor. This person also helped hold reflectors on the actor, and helped keep an eye on our surroundings. This helps to keep the equipment safe, and me and the actor, as we have another set of eyes to oversee, incase we are not paying attention to the rest of the surroundings due to use being caught up in the filming.

Annoyingly, we were in a race against the light. We went out to film later than we should of, this was due to me beginning to organise the kitchen set slightly later, which ran over time wise. Luckily we had about an hour and a half which meant we did need to hurry up slightly, but I made sure to keep calm, and not to rush anything, as this can lead to risks, especially since we were in public.

Because the actor was on the otherside of the road for some of the shots, it was slightly harder to communicate. So we used a series of thumbs up, and calling them on their phone to talk in order to get the shots.

Unfortunately, a group of teenagers did begin to shout at me and the rest of the team which did upset me slightly, I felt quite uncomfortable for the rest of the shoot, and did just want to get it over with at that point. The rest of the team did help comfort me, and carry on the rest of the shoot. However I do not feel that I did the rest of the shoot due to the best of my ability, as I felt a bit on edge for the rest of the shoot. However, I did get through it, and get a range of good establishing and over the shoulder shots, and I got all of the shots I needed for this piece.

This was one of the first negative experiences of this nature I have had on my course when filming, but I am happy with how the rest of the shoot went.

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Sally and Mike's kitchen shoot, a reflection

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Sally and Mike's kitchen shoot, a reflection

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The kitchen shoot went really well, and was for me the best of the shoots. One set back I did have was a screw from the tripod breaking. As I was screwing it into the tripod it snapped. This made me incredibly worried, that I would not be able to use the tripod, but I remembered what I had learnt from the Black Magic Induction. That the cameras do have screws that you can use with them. I was able to use this screw and carry on with the rest of the shoot, and when I took back the equipment I notified the equipment store.

Furthermore, I was very happy with the costume that was used for this. I wanted two or three pieces that clearly communicated the jobs of the characters, that was cost effective and easy to wear. I settled on a hivis and a blue cleaning apron. I did want to try and get a hivis from my dad, as he is a plasterer, and uses hivis constantly for his work. The hivis would also be worn out and possibly stained with plaster that would look more visually interesting, and present how Mike has been working as a tradesman for a long time due to the signs of wear. This however was not possible, so I bought one to use instead. I wanted a blue apron because I wanted it to connote sadness from the main character Sally. I also wanted her to wear red to connote her upset, anger and frustration.

I think the shots for this scene tell the story very well, and really present the relationship between Mike and Sally quite well. Whilst these were not the most visually interesting for me I do think that these had the most meaning throughout them. Because I was also becoming more and more comfortable with the camera, I also had a play around at using the zoom feature to try and take some shots, focusing on the two actors.

To conclude I really enjoyed this shoot, and for me was the most straightforward out of the three that I did.

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I really enjoyed the production process. It did mean alot of early mornings and late nights for me however I loved the experience of using the new Black Magics, gaining knowledge and skills using lenses, gaining new knowledge, and creating my own idea and work.

I think the main lesson that I took away from this production process is that organising is the skill that you need to have under your belt as quickly as possible. As soon as I began this project I was set on making the most of my time and being well organised to help ensure a smooth filming process.

This has helped my shoots to go as smoothly as possible and I am really proud of the work I have done.

Working on my own, directing and producing has also been a fun experience for me. Whilst I did have a big workload, I had confidence in myself that I would be able to do the work to a high standard, and because all of it was my responsibility I knew that work would be done to the best of my ability. This has also allowed me to explore the role of the producer and I've really enjoyed producing, and is possible a role I will consider in future project.

I really enjoyed blocking the actors for the test shots. I have blocked actors with a script before, but blocking for test shots felt like a different experience. This is because I focused more on facial expression and movement way more as there are no lines for them to say. It was then also my job as the camera operator for this piece to then direct and film at the same time, making sure that I used my camera skills to capture these movements to the best of my ability. I enjoyed being the director and camera operator at the same time as I has full control of the frames and the direction of the piece at the same time. 'The director decides on the look and feel of a film; they are responsible not only for where the camera will be in relation to the action but also how the actors perform in front of it.'Barnwell, Jane. Fundamentals of Film Making, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2008. p67.

One thing that I have learnt is that I should always have backups of a range of small equipment, such as screws, and tape etc. Incase anything goes wrong I can easily fix them as I will have the equipment with me.

Furthermore, throughout this process, I have been able to gain alot of confidence in using a range of different equipment. Because I practiced with equipment beforehand, and used equipment I have used before, it meant that it was easy to set up, and quicker, which really helped reduce the filming times.

I think for my next project, I will try and get another person to give a helping hand on set, and to have another fresh set of eyes to help me with filming, as I did the camera operation, and directing on my own.

To conclude, I had a really good experience with this production process and I have learnt many valuable lessons which I can carry with me in the rest of my university course, and even into industry.

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Post production for me was one of the harder processes, and for me took the longest.

Once I had taken back the equipment, I had realised that I had left my footage on the camera. I had to rush back to the equipment store, and hope that the camera had not been booked out again. To mine and the equipment stores surprise, luckily it had not been booked out again, as there were so many cameras that had been taken out. This was a very worrying experience for me, and I think this alone will never make me forget something as important as the footage again during a project. For next time I will employ a to do list which are a range of things I should do to check that I have ensured I have kept everything I needed, and that equipment is going back the same way that I got it.

One of the mistakes I made was not putting all of the footage onto the same hard drive. This meant that I had to work from my desktop files and my hard drive, which made it slightly inconvenient. However, I did my best and am very happy with how the edit has come along.

One thing however, I wish that I had shown a bit more of a story progression for some of my test shots, as I think this would make the whole piece more interesting to look at, and listen to.

For my voiceover, this was slightly difficult. I struggled to ensure that it made sense to the shots on the edit, and that I was describing, and talking about its meaning in the correct way. I gave myself a script and stuck to it, which really helped the voiceover fit the shots.

Furthermore, when I first started recording my voiceover, I noticed that there was a really bad echo. To stop this from happening, I had to get creative and put a blanket over my head whilst recording my voiceover to stop the sound from echoing. I think this made my voice over sound quite professional and helped with the sound quality.

To conclude, I really enjoyed the post production process, but I think for next time I will take more time setting up my post production ready for my edit, to help quicken the process and make it easier for myself.

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Creating these test shots, engaging in pre production, production, and post production has been a massive opportunity to learn lots about film making. Directing and producing, as well as camera operating, controlling the casting, set design, lighting, and costume design has allowed me to gain a wealth of knowledge about a range of roles. It has allowed me to identify my strengths and weaknesses and has given me the chance to improve my craft, and develop my ideas and knowledge where I needed to the most.

I have never taken on the role of producing before, at the beginning of the module I was very worried about this role due to this. However, my organisation skills helped me with this role, and I was able to come up with a range of documents that ensured my production would be a success. I felt in control of the piece as I knew all of the information about my processes as I was directing and producing.

As for being the producer too, I wanted to look for low cost, set, equipment and costume, I used a range of items I already had, or could borrow from friends. Some items did cost money as I did not have these, but I had saved money due to using free things from those that I did know, which kept production costs down.

One thing I wish I had done however was possibly putting out advertisements on social media asking if anyone had any specific equipment, or drives I could borrow for the production process. This is because I did spend £150 on a Samsung T7. I decided on making this purchase as it would make the production and post production a lot easier. After consulting with the Black Magic induction teacher about different hard drives and equipment I decided a T7 would be a good purchase, as it is a one time purchase and I can use it for future projects. I also was able to use my Salford Inspire allowance which helped alot.

My shoots went very well, only having a few set backs. One big mistake that I did make was forgetting my footage on a Black Magic camera, but I was very lucky and managed to retrieve this. For next time I will ensure I have all footage before taking equipment back to any equipment store.

All of my actors worked really hard and well, and understood my blocking as director during the shoots. I ensured that everyone was comfortable on set, needed any drinks or food, and kept shooting time to a limit of 2 hours to ensure everyone including myself was comfortable. This was something that I have only begun doing, as sometimes I will work on filming days for hours and hours, putting my own wellbeing at risk, and those around me. These test shot shoots were a chance for me to practice being a better director and producer, and take my time, breaks, which will also directly lead to better wellbeing to their people around me, and a higher quality of work.

Furthermore, I was really happy with how my costume and set design turned out. I communicated well what I needed from my actors and they delivered well. One thing I would like to improve is my lighting. My knowledge on lighting is fairly good, however I feel as if I didn't light the scenes as well as I could, which is something I attempt to correct in post production. To ensure less post production fixing, next time I do a shoot I will practice with lighting equipment beforehand to ensure I do a better job at this.

During post production I would of liked to of organised my files alot better, and put them all in the same place and work from one drive, but I had already started my post production work before remembering this. For next time I will create three seperate checklists for all steps of the creative process, and ensure I follow these all to the best of my ability.

Doing the voice over for my edit was quite hard. To make this easier for myself I made a script which I read from to ensure that I could read out the information easily. I then cleaned up the sound and adobe audition, and exported it to premier pro. Some of my voice over does not line up with the shots very well, and this was something I struggled with, I did my best to make sure that it fit, but I am not too happy this. Next time this will be something I focus on more in the post production.

To conclude, this experience has been something which has deeply helped me understand film making. I think I have produced a fairly high standard of work, and I think I have developed my style throughout, to produce a naturalistic piece of work for what was a kitchen sink drama style script.

I think my test shots show character relations and feelings well, and I will continue to develop my craft, and try new techniques and roles.

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I want lots of alternative music posters, an alternative room, possibly some creepy decorations to help being this to life.

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These lights will work really well for creating warmer and colder colour lighting. They are small which means I can move them around the space easily.

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I want to recreate this warm lighting there. I feel as if it creates a double entendre, as the girl in the pink dress is in danger but the man on the right feels comfortable and has the power. It also emphasises the themes of cannibalism and meat in the film through the use of red, representing flesh.

I want to use red and warmer lighting in my shots with Carly and Ed to show how whilst they are comfortable, their lack of willingness to do anything but stay in their comfort zone can put their dreams, and future in jeopardy.

Sally pays the price for her own lack of willingness, which is being miserable in her job later in life, wishing she did something else.

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This colder lighting inspires me to take some cold lighting shots in the kitchen, to communicate the meaning of Sallys loneliness and sadness