Clown Short Film by James Conwell

Initial ideas

jamesc1804 — 2024-01-21 18:22:41 UTC

On Friday we came up with beginnings of an idea for a short film. I had the idea of a clown giving away free balloons and when a person takes one they themselves turn into a clown. I like the idea on a visual level, and the group seemed to respond well to it. However, I feel like a lot of work needs to be done before we have a fleshed out narrative or character. We had a few interesting ideas, such as the happiness a clown is associated with being juxtaposed with them being an empty and numb character but i feel that could be a little bit cliche. I'm struggling to work out the message or point of the film but I think after some group discussion and preparing a log line it will iron itself out.

Inspiration- Geese music video

jamesc1804 — 2024-01-21 18:33:57 UTC

This video served as inspiration served as inspiration for including balloons. I thought the were a fun and engaging visual element to include in a film. Balloons are also often associated with clowns so the two elements went hand in hand with each other.

Spike Lee's "Double Dolly"

jamesc1804 — 2024-01-28 11:59:10 UTC

Spike Lee's use of two dollies one for camera and one for character may work when the clown enters to make it look other worldly. Also is a surreal visual element that would go hand in hand with surreal plot and tone of our film. However, may be too difficult to practically achieve, will have to check if there is room to set up a dolly in the hall way, but I think it's too small.

Costume ideas

jamesc1804 — 2024-01-28 12:04:29 UTC

Husband- Well dressed but not well put together. He wears a shirt and tie but noticeably creased and perhaps not very well fitting. Shows his general lack of care in his appearance indicates the lack of care he puts into his relationship.

Wife- Expensive looking red dress and jewelry, clearly made an effort with her hair and make up. Shows she is taking this far more seriously than he is. Red dress suggests both danger and love as the Husband dies but there is a romance between her and The Clown. The amount of effort she puts into this miserable dinner open up the question of who she put the effort in for. Did she try this hard because she knew the clown was coming?

Clown- Clean costume and make up looks professionally and freshly done. Shows that he takes pride in his appearance hides who he is underneath the costume and make up. Perhaps there is no one underneath the costume and make up.

Basic story outline

jamesc1804 — 2024-02-04 11:55:09 UTC

A basic list of bullet pointed story beats that we will flesh out into our script.

A wife and husband are sharing a silent and awkward anniversary dinner.

There is a knock at the door and The Husband indicates that The Wife should go and answer it.

She opens the door with a smile.

The Clown enters and The Wife drags him into the dining room shouting 'Happy Anniversary' to The Husband

Husband goes to stand up but The Clown forces him back down by placing his hand on The Husband's shoulders

Forces The Husband to watch a performance as The Wife laughs and claps along

Pops a balloon and The Husband dies

The Clown removes The Husband's wedding ring placing it on his ring finger

The Clown takes The Husbands place at the table, The Clown and The Wife cheers and a glass of wine.

Pre-production task- Location Release

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-04 12:23:09 UTC

Had a few different locations we could used (Sam's sisters house, Lily's house and Emily's house) it made most sense to use Lily's as it means we can share equipment and not have to take it back and forth every time we film.

Initial ideas 2

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-12 21:37:07 UTC

We came up with various different story ideas including clowns but they are all still basic and still need fleshing out. Such as the idea of a clown being passed his prime and no longer having fun, a clown living in a world where he feels like he has to hide who he really is but ultimately there we 3 ideas that stuck out to me at least and that I will think about between lesson and try to develop

1- A comedy mockumentary about a student living in a flat full of clowns and the problems it would cause e.g can never use the kitchen because they are always making custard pies to slam in peoples faces. In the end embraces the life style and joins them as a clown.

2- A clown who is passed his prime goes about his day attempting to hand out balloons. Really down on his luck misses his bus, gets bullied by school children. Eventually comes across a house of people who want to take his balloons. Everyone who takes a balloon turns into a clown and they all share a dinner at the end. The film ends with a smile on the Clowns face.

3- A couple share an unhappy anniversary dinner together until a clown hijacks the dinner. He performs circus tricks and begins to flirt with the wife. When the husband protests the clown kills him and takes his place at the dinner table.

Insipiration- Better Call Saul

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-12 22:05:07 UTC

Howard's death scene from Better Call Saul has multiple elements I think can be applied to the death of the Husband. At the end of our short film the Husband is both terrified and can't comprehend the situation he finds himself in. This mirrors Jimmy's situation as he is both scared of Lalo and thought he was dead so can't figure out why is in his house. Elements of Lalo's performance can also be applied to The Clown because while Lalo is imposing and intimidating there is also a playfulness in Tony Dalton's portrayal of the character. Finally, the way Howard dies is so quick and jarring the audience barely have time tp register it happened I think a similar effect would work in our short film

Pre-production task- sourcing costume and props

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-13 11:51:28 UTC

A list of costume and props that will be necessary. Most should be easy to buy some will be able to be borrowed from cast and crew.

Clown

Clown costume
Make up
Novelty flower
Wig
Balloons

Wife

Red dress
Make up
Jewelry
Wedding ring

Husband

White shirt
Black trousers
Black shoes
Wedding ring

Set

Wine bottle
Wine glasses
Table cloth
Candles
Candle holder
Plates
Cutlery
Food
Balloons
Bunting
Record player
Record
Flowers
Vase

All props were relatively easy to source the clown costume had to be booked out from the university prop department. It was lucky they had a good one because this as an element that would've increased our budget and it was hard to find a costume that fit the tone and style of the film

Insipiration- Barbarian

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-13 12:15:32 UTC

The lighting and framing in this shot from Barbarian would work well in our film. It would be something to keep in mind when thinking about our visual style and the tone we want to create with our lighting. At this point in the film the two characters feel awkward and uncomfortable around each other, which is the kind of feeling the start of the film should have. The film also incorporates elements of the surreal and comedy into its horror which helped to inspire the genre of our film.

Inspiration- We Need to Talk About Kevin

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-13 12:24:41 UTC

The use of stylized red lighting in We Need to Talk About Kevin works in great effect to suggest how Kevin's actions still haunt Eva. I think this kind of stylized, intense lighting would complement the tone and style of the film very well and would help add another surreal element when The Clown arrives. Would need to decide on a colour that works for our film.

Inspiration- Pennywise 1990

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-13 13:29:31 UTC

This bright colourful clown costume from It is similar to what I would like to find for the film. Elements of Pennywise would also work for the Clown character as he is supernatural and intimidating but also has fun.

Character descriptions

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-13 13:53:30 UTC

Husband- Mid twenties. His creased shirt and slightly unkemp hair suggests this the kind of person who rarely gives things the effort they deserve, especially when it comes to others.

Wife- Mid twenties clearly pulled out all the stops for this dinner but she's done it for herself. The blank expression on her face and dead look in her eyes suggest she stopped caring about this relationship long ago.

Clown- Imposing figure of indeterminate age, with a blank look in his eyes that makes you wonder if there is a person behind the makeup at all.

Shooting

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-13 15:17:36 UTC

Good- Feel like everyone had a clear idea of the tone and style of the film going in so we were able able to achieve this when it came time to film. Managed to keep to schedule well for we could film and everyone is working well together.

Improvements- Helium leaked so we could only get around half the shots we wanted, this will probably push shooting from 2 days to three. I will have to work out when everyone will be available for a potential third day and make sure equipment can be booked out. I feel like director contributed more to lighting than Leah, she could've took a more active role. Emily also forgot to record a lot of the sound we got today but this shouldn't be too much if a problem as we will be able to edit in music and sound effects.

Shooting- Day 2

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-13 15:47:16 UTC

Getting the set ready and the set up for the initial shots went much quicker however we did need to replace the dead flowers to keep continuity. Managed to get much more footage than Monday but filming ran over and we were still unable to finish all of our shots. It was expected this would happen so I will change schedule slightly to add any shots we didn't get today. Started to keep continuity log sheet but hadn't previously kept one so there maybe continuity problems. We were sharing equipment with another group however they had returned it this meant that equipment had to be booked out last minute this could've been avoid with clearer communication between me and the other group. Our aperture lights also began to die so next shoot we should book more out to avoid this issue.

Shooting-Day 3

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-13 15:52:17 UTC

Managed to get all the shots we needed as slightly rework the ending sequence between Dylan and Ethan to hopefully make it work better in edit, didn't end up having to shoot for too long. Transitioning between different shot set ups could've been quicker but no major issues. Overall, filming went pretty well and there was a consistently good environment and energy on set from everyone, which definitely helped things along. As producer I should've thought more about where and when to take breaks and offering food and drinks. I feel like this would've helped when people were getting tired and would've helped the filming go more smoothly over all. While I did take into consideration the travel to location, it did end up costing a lot for taxis. In future I would try and scout locations that would accommodate for our budget. I would also try to think ahead more for any contingency so less problems would have to be solved in the moment. All we need to get now is the sound recording off Emily.

Pre-production task- Budget form

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-13 16:16:16 UTC

Budget ended up being quite big when split between the high of us it wasn't too bad. In future I would take more budget into consideration more when brain to avoid too much spending. Travel was also expensive but this cost was unavoidable because it was the best choice of location

Pre-production task- Script Breakdown

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-13 16:34:52 UTC

Went through the script highlighted any important information that would be necessary for the breakdown. made sure to write notes on anything that would be important for risk assessment as I went through the script. Deleted a few boxes that were applicable to the film.

Pre-production task- Shooting Schedule

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-13 17:43:04 UTC

Most shooting went well in future would think out the order of shots more so filming could go as smoothly as possible. There were times we didn't stick to the schedule because another shot made more sense to get at that time. A few changes did have to be made due to shooting going on longer than we expected but it wasn't a major problem.

Pre-production- Actor Consent Forms Dyaln

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-13 17:49:54 UTC

Pre-production- Actor Consent Forms Leah

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-13 17:50:56 UTC

Genre and tone

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-21 14:34:10 UTC

Genre- Horror, dark comedy

We have decided to go with a surreal horror as our genre because while the situation depicted in the film fits into the genre of horror there are also several surreal elements. While I don't think most people would find the film funny, the surreal element of the Clown walks a fine line between funny and scary which introduces comedic elements

Pre-production task- Risk assessment

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-21 16:17:11 UTC

The location we are filming in poses no unique risks to filming because it is just a house it is more elements we have introduced such as the candles that pose a risk. However, none of the props or stunts in the film pose a risk that is beyond are control or that would make the film too unsafe to film.

Forgot to get the risk assessment signed, this is definitely something I need to make sure does not happen in the future.

Pre-production- Actor Consent Forms Ethan

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-21 16:47:37 UTC

Editing

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-21 16:57:47 UTC

Rough cut of my edit drags on too much need to make sure I top and tail my scenes and shorten the exchange between Dylan and Ethan as it takes away from the tension currently.
Some elements felt like they could have been a slight continuity issue but watching it all back it is all ok and adds to the surreal elements off the film
Emily never gave us any sound recording and that has been difficult to work around in places, room tone would have helped in smoothing out some areas.
Overall the pace of my edit feels appropriate I wanted the tension to steadily to build at the end and I managed to achieve that.
Colour grading helped add a visual cohesion to the film and there were no major continuity errors that I had to work around

Continuity log sheet

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-21 17:00:41 UTC

Continuity log sheet

jamesc1804 — 2024-03-21 17:04:19 UTC

Originally I had not been keeping a log sheet although this did not result in any continuity errors, it just makes the filming and especially editing process a lot easier. In future I will keep one from the beginning of filming as it makes it easier to know how well I'm keeping to schedule and makes working through footage much easier.