Portfolio: Final Storyboard

As you may have read on the last post, I submitted my portfolio this afternoon. These photos are screen shots of the final storyboard that I submitted. Fingers crossed, eh? I've already got an email back saying that they will be inviting me for an interview soon. I'm already nervous and I don't even have a date for the interview! 

Portfolio: Essay

As you may have read I had to submit an essay as part of my portfolio to Anglia Ruskin. This is the essay that I sent off this afternoon.

'The documentary I watched was I’m in a boy band on BBC 3 because it appeals to a wide audience and is linked to music. It was about the experiences a boy gains when he is a boy band member. The audience is drawn in from the start; this is executed by a humorous analogy of boy band members as creations of God. The programme used interviews of past and present boy band members giving an anecdotic insight into the life of a member. Archive footage from concerts of various bands was used which allowed the viewer to relive the events they may have been a part of; I found this to be my favourite feature as this connected the viewer to the programme. The programme made use of quick-paced editing which was effective because it engaged the viewer’s attention through cutting between clips of concert footage, interviews and music videos. Whilst this made for stimulating television, a weakness of the production was the lack of variety in camera angles.  On the whole though, the documentary was informative and an enjoyable viewing experience.

I think that a good documentary should be both informative, entertaining and, where appropriate, aesthetically pleasing. Viewers’ emotions must be taken into account throughout the programme and the narrative should strive to create empathy with the subject. A variety of angles and shots can help to tell the story effectively.

If I was making a documentary, I would aim to use humour, drama, music and sound effects to enhance the narrative. However, while the above are important, I would strive to let the camera tell the story through a wide variety of footage, in order to maximise the viewing experience.'

Portfolio: Shot 10

Portfolio: Shot 9

Portfolio: Shot 8

Portfolio: Shot 7

Portfolio: Shot 6

Portfolio: Shot 5

Portfolio: Shot 4

Portfolio: Shot 3

Portfolio Shots

The photos that follow this post will be photos I took last week on Friday for my university portfolio submission. Some shots have more than one photo because I wanted to have a choice. 

Portfolio: Shot 2

Portfolio: Shot 1

Portfolio: Gang photos

These are some group shots of Vanessa's gang. I had asked the girls to wear dark clothing and make-up, I loved how they had interpreted what I said. Veronika would play a great girl gang leader, she definitely has that look about her. I think the choice of gang members is a good mix because each girl looks like they're their own person although they are part of one group.

Portfolio: Cast photos

The girls who have volunteered to be my cast are in year 9 which means they are 14/15 years old.

Head shot: Veronika

Character shot

Head shot: Alejandra

Character shot

Head shot: Luca

Character shot

Head shot: Marta

Character shot

Head shot: Helena

Character shot

Portfolio: Characters

Rosaline: A young girl who is quite shy and timid.

Vanessa: A rebelious young girl, around the same age as Rosaline. Leader of the dominant girl group of boarding.

Clarissa: A girl who is Vanessa's messenger, does whatever Vanessa tells her to do.

Portfolio: Delay

I've had to delay taking the photographs for my University application. This is because one of the girls who told me that she would help out last weekend was actually away on a CCF trip. I am going to take the photos tomorrow afternoon after school. I shall be spending my evening coming up with the final plans and making notes on the exact shots I want. 

Portfolio - Location Shots

Girl's boarding corridor

Portfolio: The weekend

This weekend I plan on taking the photographs that I need to create my storyboard for the portfolio. I'll be spending the next few days creating and developing the characters, how they should look like and what they'd be like. I'll be doing this so that the cast will know what kind of a person their character is so that they will be able to play the part better. Even though I will only be photographing them, they still need to be in character. I plan on spending Saturday drawing sketches for the storyboard and then spend a majority of Sunday afternoon taking photos. Sunday evening will most likely be spent editing those photos taken earlier on in the day. 

Portfolio: Story

Seeing as the requirement for the portfolio is that the storyboard is of a narrative drama, I've decided to take a Skins take on this, also I am currently attending a boarding school. Being at this location gives me an advantage that many girls are full time boarders and therefore are around in the evenings and are willing to take part. The story is from the girls' point of view and what may happen which people may think only happens in the male side of boarding school. None of this happens here though.

Story:
A girl, Rosaline, arrives at a boarding school, brand new. She is greeted by Matron, a woman who looks after you, and is taken up to her room. As she's walking down the corridor with Matron there is a girl, Vanessa, down the corridor watching them. They enter her  room which is very bare and quite uncomfortable because it is rather empty, with exception of a desk, bed and a wardrobe. Matron leaves Rosaline to sort her things out. Rosaline sits on her bed looking around the room and then a girl, Clarissa, takes her by the arm and pulls her off the bed, taking her to Vanessa's room. In this room there are cups lined up on the desk with a bottle of alcohol at the end of this line of 10 cups, or a water bottle with water that's supposed to be vodka. There's a group of girls standing against the wall opposite to the desk, arms crossed with a smug look on their faces. The reason why there are cups on the desk is that Rosaline needs to prove that she's worthy enough to be part of Vanessa's gang and not be picked on for the duration of her time at the boarding school. Rosaline starts to drink the alcohol in the cups and it goes right through her system as she's quite a small girl. As she gets towards the 7th cup the alcohol is starting to get to her system. Vanessa then assists Rosaline by holding her head back by pulling on her back and forcing her to open her mouth. Vanessa pours the alcohol into Rosaline's mouth. Matron walks in when Rosaline is taking her last cup of alcohol. Matron pulls Rosaline out of Vanessa's room by her arm and that is when Rosaline is sick right by Matron's shoes.

This may not be the most complicated of story lines but it has potential. It is easy to picture but being able to take photos capturing the facial expressions and the actions could be challenging. The smug looks, the scowl, the fear etc.