MASTERCLASS
This week’s masterclass was unfortunately not provided by the original speaker, Roisin Kelly as she could not make it, however we did have an informative session from sound specialist Ali Murray. The main takeaways from this session were:
1. The first time that you watch your footage is perfect for when making notes so ensure that you do – this is what the audience will see.
2. Having people view your work as a sort of ‘case study’ is very effective in knowing what to change about it.
3. Bringing on a sound designer as early as possible will push your projects sound to be the best it can be.
4. Understanding the tone of the project is imperative to creating sound-scapes that are beneficial and move the story forward and aid its style.
5. Recording the sounds in person are better for the naturalism of the piece and will mean less foley has to be completed.
GRAD FILM
This week within the Us Not Them HOD’s, we focused heavily on locations and the casting process. A recce of the car park we were hoping to secure was scheduled for Louis and Jude, and we also started expanding our search for the the other locations. This included the ‘lock up’ and the pub. For the lock up, Louis and I focused our search on Facebook marketplace, Gumtree and Rightmove. From here I messaged many people through Facebook and Gumtree with the following message:
Hi …,
I am currently researching potential lock up spaces to use in our film, Us Not Them, an independent, small-scale production, which is in its pre-production stages at current. Your space is one that our director has had interest in so I am shooting you a message to see if you have any interest in offering us a day rate.
We can also provide a liability document from the University of Edinburgh.
If you are interested or have any lingering questions please send a message to this chat or usnotthemfilm@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
Best,
The Us Not Them Team
Below are a couple examples of the places I messaged:
For the properties on Rightmove, it was more efficient to call, so I did so and received many immediate No’s however for some I passed on the film’s email as they said that they would ask the owners of the properties.
I also used Facebook and Gumtree to source the two cars that we wanted for the film. The following is the message I constructed for these contacts:
Hi …,
I am currently researching potential cars to use in our film, Us Not Them, which is in its pre-production stages at current. Our director has a great deal of interest in your car, so we’re hoping that this may be something of interest to you? We will need it on set for 2 days of shooting. As this is an independent, small-scale production, we are offering a (modest) flat rate for your trouble. We will also cover insurance for our actor and provide you with a contract and our standard liability insurance document from the University of Edinburgh. We will however need your car to have fully passed an MOT.
You are also welcome to join us on set and we will prioritise shots involving your vehicle so as to not keep you too long, if you may wish to join us.
PLEASE NOTE: We will not film the car in motion on public roads. We are mainly after some shots of the car pulling in to park, as well as stationary shots with it in the background.
If you are interested or have and lingering questions please send a message to this chat or usnotthemfilm@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
Best,
The Us Not Them Team
Any people that responded to this message asking for further information received this message:
Hi …,
Thank you for your interest. The filming dates are set from the 18th-25th March, so we would need the cars availability for this time, however we shall only be shooting with your car for a couple of days so I will come back to you further on with specific dates. We can also have the car stored with us overnight during shoot days or have the car returned at the end of each day if this is of interest to you.
We are offering a £50 per day rate and you have the opportunity for our photographer to do a complimentary shoot for your vehicle if this may be of interest to you.
Best,
Maddie Hargreaves
For the Pub locations I looked up every pub in Edinburgh and went on both street view and saw the photos that they had to offer on their reviews, google photos and their Facebook’s to see if they could be of interest. I also reached out to friends that have spent a long time being Edinburgh based and asked for any recommendations. Every pub that had the interior that Louis and Jude were hoping for I added to a list for us to go and have a look at with Poppy, our script supervisor who offered up her help with her car for any location scouts. This location scout was scheduled in for a later week.
We also began the heavy involvement of the Graphic Design teams that were helping us with props, and though I was not the main attender of this side of the process, I was still added to our group chat to oversee everything going on and step in when necessary.
Within the casting process we had a very interested applicant called Paul, who found Louis’ website from his name on the Backstage call out, and messaged him privately expressing his interest. I took over the contact from the Us Not Them email and followed up on his interest and continued to speak to him regarding sending out the first set of sides for the role of Finley. I also did this for all applicants we were interested in on Backstage and Starnow. I did this with the following message (catered towards Johnny applicants):
Hi …,
Thank you for applying for our upcoming film. We’ve decided that you may be a fit for the role of Johnny. Please see below the details for your self tape for Us Not Them.
US NOT THEM (SHORT FILM)
Director: Louis Hudd
Producer: Hana Kudryavtseva
Dates: 18th-25th March 2024
Location: Edinburgh
Synopsis:
For some, operating in an ethical grey area can be very lucrative, but this is not the case for washed-up wheeler-dealer Finley. Constantly clashing with the idea of modernity, Finley instead clings to a world that only exists in the collective imagination of pensioners down the pub. When a new business venture comes along, he forms a scheme to re-cast himself as the lead in his very own crime drama whilst having his nephew Lucas there to witness and immortalise his quick wit, good looks, and charm. What Finley fails to account for is that his actions have consequences, and when disgruntled drug dealer Johnny attends his big deal, it’s down to Finley to save his image in the eyes of the next generation.
Role:
Johnny is a low-level drug dealer. He’s still conducting relatively minor deals but revels in what little power he has.
Please find the attached sides we would like you to prepare in your own accent. Apologies for the quick turnaround on this but we would like to get the tapes back by 25th of February for consideration.
Thank you and we hope to hear from you soon,
Maddie Hargreaves (Assistant Director)
For the role of Finley the role description was:
Finely is a washed-up wheeler dealer who clings onto a world that only exists in the collective imaginations of pensioner down the pub. Through ignorance or arrogance, he’s become cavalier in his ineptitude. Constantly clashing with the idea of modernity, Finley has become abrasive to those around him. He’s enjoyed bringing Lucas into his life, relishing his role as a pseudo-paternal figure as well as the rare company of someone who looks up to him.
And Lucas:
Lucas is a friendly, impressionable young lad whose main problem is that he reveres Finley. This admiration blinds him to his uncle’s character faults, meaning he will follow him through all his flawed schemes.
Though we mentioned the deadline being the 25th of February we planned on keeping the application open as to have a slight stream of interest coming in to fall back on.
