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Final crit

Main feedback points

Kate:

sweet film, the energy comes across well

good combination between production design and initial song to convey time period in a natural way

script was well developed to differentiate the two characters and add depth to their relationship

spell sequences should have been weirder, especially the one in the bathroom

the costumes should have been more exaggerated to motivate the narrative

actors look a bit too old

Andrew:

good relationship between the characters

visual storytelling works well around the restrictions of the film

good colours that are intentional from the beginning and not forced later

at certain points the colour grade could have been a bit darker

a close up of the book the first time we see it would have helped make it clearer

similarly, we should have close ups of the characters after the first spell

the sound design helps the bathroom scene but it still doesn't quite work without the water

the movement in the blocking keeps it interesting and makes good use of the room

Class:

lots of compliments about the production design

the music sets the tone successfully, but that sequence should have gone on for longer

the last spell feels a lot different from the rest of the film

Personal reflection

I was very pleased with the reception of the film and everyone seemed to enjoy it, which was the intention of Lola's Room!

I think the feedback that we got from the lecturers and also from the class is fair and I agree with most of the points. I am glad the tone and message of the film seemed to come across quite well, and the problems that were found in the film relate more to technical problems or things that were not executed to a good enough level rather than intrinsic problems within the story. In terms of Kate's feedback, I am glad that she noticed the character development and the amount of work that was put into the script. Her point about the costumes is right and I agree that more work should have gone into how the spells affect the costumes. While I think the first and third spells are weird enough and I am pleased with how they play out, I agree that the one in the bathroom could be a bit weirder, especially in terms of the lighting and some elements of the production design. Moving on to Andrew's feedback, I appreciate the comments about the blocking and the movement in the story and how the cinematography complements these to keep it interesting. I wholeheartedly agree with the absence of close ups of the books and of the characters after the first spell being a weakness in the script, and I wish we had had time to get these while we were shooting. And of course, the water in the bathroom is clearly not realistic enough, and I would like to go back to the sound design and develop it further and perhaps we can fix it a bit more.

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Post-production

Edit

The first step as we moved into post-production was a watch-through of all the footage with me and Robbie. The aim of this was to evaluate every take and look for the best performances, as well as to start coming up with ideas for sequences.

After that, Robbie was left alone to start building an initial assembly, as we had discussed beforehand that this is his preferred way of working. When he had a draft he was happy to show, he sent it to me and Alana for feedback. At this point, we had to work remotely as I was not able to come into Screen Academy, so we used an Edit Feedback form with a section for timecode to get our feedback to Robbie. After reviewing it, Robbie would send it back annotated with his own notes and thoughts. I found this system very useful and clear for working remotely, and it allowed us to develop a few drafts of the edit.

By this point, I was back in town and for about a week me and Robbie worked together everyday to develop the edit. I thought we worked really well together and reached a good dynamic of sharing thoughts and trying out shot combinations, resulting in a good and comfortable space for ideas to develop. As a director, I enjoy having a considerable input in the edit, and Robbie was always very open to suggestions and feedback. Moreover, sitting in front of the timeline for hours at a time and working together allowed us to bounce ideas off each other and discuss specific aspects and cuts.

Once we had a draft that we were comfortable with, we shared it with the rest of the HoDs for their own feedback. Around this point we also organised a tutorial with Andrew. He gave us very valuable feedback and we were able to ask questions about how some ideas came across or how certain shots were perceived, which was very helpful. Afterwards, we went back into the edit and developed a new draft, where we focused closely on the spell scenes and on building a cinematic language which was consistent across all the magical sequences of the film, which we achieved through the use of fades and the repetition of certain shots.

Sound design

Since our picture lock date got slightly delayed, we were in touch with Saoirse to update the post-production schedule and, in order to ensure there would be enough time for sound design, she started sourcing additional sounds before picture lock. I shared with her a list of ideas for the sound design, which we discussed in a meeting early on, along with some specific references such as The Craft or The Love Witch.

We had a few in-person meetings for feedback and discussing ideas which were very helpful for developing the style of the sound design. I think Saoirse did an amazing job at constructing the sound of Lola's Room, especially for the spell sequences, which are elevated to an impressive level by the immersive sound design, and somehow turned out just how I envisioned them.

Another aspect of the sound of Lola's Room is the song that plays in the initial sequence and again during the credits. We were initially going to have an original song composed for the film, but unfortunately this fell through and we were left to find an alternative solution. This problem arised quite late in the post-production process, which made me panic a little bit, but we were lucky to find another song very quickly. I spoke about this with a friend of mine who studies music and asked if he might know anyone who makes upbeat-girly-pop music, and he came back to me with the contact of an artist from Glasgow and a song that, in my opinion, is PERFECT for Lola's Room. I passed her contact details on to Alana, who reached out to her and we got permission to use the song.

Colour grade

The last aspect of post-production was the colour grade. I was lucky that Max was in charge of this, as he knows far more than I do about colour grading and I really appreciate his taste. We met up a few times to look at the progress and discuss changes.

At around the same time, Robbie and I started developing the style of the credits. I had a very clear idea in my mind about what I wanted them to look like, and Robbie did a great job at bringing this vision life. I wanted the girly and playful style of Lola's Room to continue for the credits, and this was the final result:

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The shoot

Shooting Lola's Room was a constant challenge but such a rewarding experience!

Having rehearsed and gone in depth into the script with the actors proved to be really helpful, as our conversations on set were mainly about the blocking or small adjustments, and they were comfortable with their performances. At the beginning of each day or before moving on to a new scene we scheduled a private blocking rehearsal, which allowed us to perfect the action before having the rest of the crew on set.

Another exercise that I think proved very useful was holding daily meetings every morning with the producer, 1st AD, DoP, and myself to discuss how we would manage the set during the day and anticipate any challenges that might arise, as well as to establish a working dynamic and, after the 1st day of the shoot, to discuss how this could be improved by reflecting on the previous day.

Our tight schedule meant that we were working long days with little rest, and at one point in the shoot we encountered an unexpected negative attitude from a member of our additional crew, which proved a challenge to me as a director. At that moment I prioritised keeping the shoot running and Alana quickly intervened to manage the situation. I learned the value of having a strong producer on set, as she immediately mediated and took matters into her own hands to ensure that the shoot would not be interrupted and we could complete the shots we had left in the schedule.

In hindsight, I wish we had scheduled an additional day, as fitting all our shots into only three days created a lot of pressure and I believe that it would have been beneficial for us to have put more time and care into some shots, especially ones with camera movements that could have been perfected. Moreover, we had to cut out some shots that I now wish we could have got.

On the other hand, I am pleased with the results and coverage that we achieved and the overall experience of shooting this film. The preparation we had worked on for the shoot gave us a valuable advantage, whether that was with certain shots that we had tried and tested during the test shoot and knew before hand how to make them work, a revised schedule that made our shot order as efficient as possible, or rehearsals with the actors. Moreover, looking back at decisions that I made on set, I am happy with the course of action that I decided to take in occasions such as changing certain shots or lines of dialogue from the script that were removed to improve the pace of the film.

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Week 8

Schedule meeting

This week has been really busy planning everything for our shoot next week! At the beginning of the week, Alana and I met up to start making the shooting schedule for Lola's Room. Beforehand I had discussed with Max certain shots that should be scheduled in specific orders to make it easier and quicker for the camera department. We also had to take into consideration multiple factors such as locations changes, actors availability, and multiple costume, hair and make up changes that take place throughout the script. This last aspect especially made it pretty difficult to find the best order for shooting. After about an hour of considering all the possibilities and getting very confused, we did it!!! We made a basic draft that Alana then went on to use as a base for a more detailed schedule.

Rehearsal with actors

I also met up with the actors for a few hours for a rehearsal. We read through the script a few times and discussed notes about emotion and intention. Then we moved on to action rehearsals. For future films, I would much prefer to be able to rehearse on location, and if this is not possible, at least somewhere where the position of the furniture can resemble the location, as it turns out that a room in the library is not the most convenient to rehearse a film that takes place in a bedroom. But we managed!

Bathroom showroom recce

The next thing we did this week was a recce in the bathroom showroom that we will be using for one of the scenes. Alana had been in touch with them and they were happy for us to use their space, so the aim for this recce was to make sure it was the right location for our film and to be able to plan in advance. Max attended the recce as well and we were able to plan shots around the location and think about lighting. We also had a conversation with the person who manages the showroom and came to an understanding about what we were allowed to do and how we would organise the shoot in this location.

Test shoots

Throughout the week, we organised two test shoots in the location that we will be using for the bedroom: one for shaping some of the shots around the blocking, and the other one to test the lighting. This was really helpful, as it allowed us to choose the right lens in advance for some of the shots we had planned, as well as to test our ideas and make sure they are going to work and look good. I am also convinced that having done a lighting test will save us time during the shoot, as we will already know the lighting setup that works for the location.

Editor + script supervisor meeting

As well as our editor, Robbie will be our script supervisor for Lola's Room. Before the shoot, I met up with him to discuss the shot list and run him through the coverage that we are planning to get, as well as some ideas that I already had for cuts. My intention with this was to make sure that, from an editor's perspective, he is comfortable with the amount of coverage that we are getting and that the shots will cut together properly. After that, we moved on to the script supervising aspect, and discussed certain things that I though he should specifically keep an eye on for continuity, as the exaggerated make up and hair, some elements of the set design, and the actor's movement. I also shared with him my marked up script and some notes about specific shots.

Set dressing

The last thing to do this week was to dress the set and create Lola's Room! India and Abbie have done a fantastic job at sourcing all of the props and other elements of the production design that we need, and now it was time to put it all together. We started moving the furniture and putting up the wallpaper, followed by the posters and photos on the wall. Most of the HoDs helped out with this, so it was a good chance to also have any last-minute discussions. Then, India and Abbie moved on to place the rest of the decorations, and we also had a look through all the costume options and decided on the combinations we will use. I am so happy with how the set turned out and I can't wait to see it on screen!

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Week 7

Dolly workshop

This week I attended the dolly workshop led by David Byrne. We are planning to have a few shots with camera movements in Lola's Room that we will be using a dolly for, and although I am not in the camera department I thought this class would be a valuable learning experience for me. It was very useful being able to play around with the dolly and come up with shot ideas on the spot, as well as knowing what to expect on set when we are using the dolly.

Initial meeting with actors + photoshoot

After sharing a shortlist of the actors that applied for Lola's Room with the rest of the HoDs and considering everyone's thoughts, we have cast Fabiana do Carmo as Lola and Annie Ferguson as Jasmine! This week we had a first meeting with them to break the ice and get to know each other and start talking about the film with them. Since time is limited, we also used this occasion to do a photoshoot for photos to use in the set design.

Storyboarding

For the past couple of weeks, Max and I have been working together on story boards, and this week we finally completed them!

It has taken a lot longer than I thought it would, as we have tried to be quite precise with our planning to avoid having to improvise on set. We also had to plan around the space that we have in the room that we will be using as our set, which is quite small and so it comes with its limitations. Due to this, we had to rethink some of the shots that we had in mind and come up with creative solutions. Other aspects that made the storyboarding process tricky were that we will be using a mirror for a lot of the shots and have to make sure that eye lines will match, and that there is so much movement in the script that we need multiple different shots to cover the action in each scene.

We tried to be as creative as we could and find ways to move away from obvious shots, and instead try new things in order to make Lola's Room visually interesting, and also to challenge ourselves. We also kept in mind our references and the ideas we had developed throughout the stages of pre-production so as to make sure the visual language of the film is clear, cohesive, and works well with the story.

Final script meeting with Gaby

After the last bit of feedback was incorporated into the script, Gaby and I had one last script meeting to finalise it and make any final tweaks for our shooting script. The changes that were made at this stage were only in relation to the blocking, as I had a much clearer idea of the movement after developing the storyboards and floorpans, and I wanted some changes to be incorporated into the script. Another last minute addition was the words of the spell that the characters' cast which I came up with:

"Luz del ocaso, ilumina mis pasos,

peina mi pelo y pinta mis labios"

Which translates to something along the lines of:

"Light of twilight, illuminate my steps,

brush my hair and paint my lips".

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Script supervising - other projects

This term I have also been learning about script supervising, and I have got involved in a few films to get experience on set and help out with other projects.

Popper (22nd-26th February)

The first of this was Popper, one of this year’s grad films. This was such a wonderful experience! The whole crew was lovely and the film looks amazing, and I learned so much by spending 5 days script supervising and observing the crew at work.

Code of conduct (1st March)

I was so happy to be asked to script supervise on this! I was on set only for one day of the shoot covering for their script supervising. This film is my first experience on a film set outside of university (it is being made by Napier graduates in association with GMAC's scheme Little Pictures), and it was very insightful seeing how everything works at a higher level of filmmaking.

Starstruck (2nd-3rd March)

Right after getting back from Code of Conduct, I script supervised for Starstruck, another one of the films in our year. After some pretty intense days on set, it was great going back to working with a crew that I know well and helping out with their film.

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On the article “Directors are Not Born Being Blockbuster Filmmakers”: Producers John Davis and John Fox on Jungle Cruise

This article is based on an interview by Jim Hemphill with John Davis and John Fox, who produced Disney’s Jungle Cruise, released in 2021. The author begins by giving a quick account of both producers’ careers to make the point that they both have managed to make successful, crowd pleasing films while remaining true to their artistic style and tastes. Even with Jungle Cruise, which is clearly made to be a blockbuster, the filmmakers made references to classic films such as The African Queen.

Davies states that they began working on Jungle Cruise from the moment the idea first came to be. Instead of joining a project already started, they were the ones who put the film together from the outset, they developed the script with a writer, pitched it to Disney and then attached a director to it. In terms of choosing the right director for Jungle Cruise, Davis says that they took a big risk as the director they proposed was not an obvious choice for this type of film, but they had reviewed his career and saw elements in it that made him a good match. “Directors are not born being blockbuster filmmakers”, and they were eager to give the opportunity to someone who could bring fresh ideas to the project, so they went with their intuition.

“I think the producer’s job is to both challenge and protect the director. The first job is to work with him and find your commonality. The second job is to challenge him…”, “once you all come to a conclusion and a decision, your job is to be a hundred percent supportive of that director. You keep the world around him simple, so he can just purely be creative”. This is Davis comment about the director-producer relationship, which suggests how the producer can get the best out of the director and elevate the quality of the film.

Both producers put a lot of importance on having plenty of time for the editing process, and being able to test out how the movie played to an audience. The difficulty with Jungle Cruise was to balance the stylistic, slow romance aspect with the special effects heavy blockbuster, and the time to play around with the edit was what allowed this balance to be achieved. Both of them had a lot of input and decision-making authority, staying involved creatively from the moment the idea was formed until the film got finished.

Near the end of the interview, Davis states: “What producing is all about is having a vision, having drive, knowing the story and knowing how to do something with it that is going to be special so your actor stays with you, so the studio makes the movie”.

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Week 6

THE PITCH

This way my director's statement:

Teenager girls are a collective that is constantly made fun of and belittled, causing young girls to grow up believing that being a girl is something to be ashamed of. With Lola’s Room, I want to move away from that perspective and portray teenage girlhood through a lens of acceptance and understanding, recognising that the things you care about as a teenager are essential to build your identity and shape your personality. Anyone who has ever been a 16 year old girl can relate to Lola and Jasmine, because the fear of not looking good enough is a rite of passage for women. The film takes place fully in Lola’s bedroom. As a teenage girl, your bedroom is your whole world, it is the one space where girls feel safe enough to express themselves freely. The same applies for Lola; her room is a reflection of her identity and interests. The themes of insecurity, self- awareness, and conformity that are explored in the film are heightened by the space where it is set, a space where only Lola and Jasmine exist and the fear of not looking good enough is fought back by the safety of a space for exploration free of judgement and expectations. Lola’s Room could not take place anywhere else other than in Lola’s room, because such intimate and vulnerable interactions between Lola and Jasmine would not happen anywhere other than a girl’s bedroom.

This is a coming of age story with its ups and downs, culminating in the realisation that it’s okay to feel comfortable being yourself and embrace your personality and identity. The tone of the film is of fun, excitement, and anticipation, with an aura of nostalgia and magic. The spell sequences will be integrated into the film with a shift in the style of the cinematography and sound design, turning surreal and dreamy, and playing with discontinuity in the edit. Lola’s Room is a film that feels like looking back at memories of teenage years and hours spent with friends, keeping girlhood and femininity at the core of its story. My intention with Lola’s Room is that it sheds a light on the reality of being a teenage girl and the importance of female friendship, but also to give viewers a glimpse into the fun and excitement of being a teenage girl.

Pitch feedback

Kate:

We spent too much time going over the stylistic elements of the film and should have touched more on the witchcraft element and the general conflict

The actresses look older than 16

Good use of references, but we should have made it clearer how our film is innovating

Good presentation and design overall

Andrew:

Unsure about the character’s attitude towards the witchcraft elements: me and Gaby explained how the spells reflect the girls’ attitude towards the dance and how Jasmine is at first skeptical and then insistent about doing the spells because she really wants to go to the dance, but in the case of Lola it is the other way round

I was overall very happy with the feedback that we got for our pitch. We were clear enough about how we were incorporating the brief (sense of place) into Lola's Room and it did not cause any concerns, and we were able to answer questions confidently. We will make sure to keep the feedback in mind as we continue to develop the film and move onto production.

Meeting with Gaby

This week Gaby and I had another meeting to discuss the script once again. After a tutorial with Kate and Caio, there were some considerable changes made to the script, so the aim of this meeting was to decide what changes we wanted to keep and what elements we wanted to bring back from previous drafts. The lecturers' feedback helped Gaby greatly to increase the stakes in the story and justify the characters' motivations. However, some of the essence of the story was lost along the way, and some of the characters' interactions did not feel natural. We worked together to bring back the character's personalities and their friendship dynamic back to the story while respecting the elements that were improved with the new feedback.

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Week 5

Pitch rehearsal

This week we have been focusing on our pitch. In preparation for it, we had a HoDs pitch rehearsal at the end of the week. We each had prepared what we where going to say and had been working on our slides, so the intention for this meeting was to make sure the presentation is cohesive and organised. 

After discussing references and ideas, Robbie and Saoirse have been working on an amazing mood film to show at the pitch. Here’s the link:

Production design meeting

This week we also had another production design meeting to decide on specific props. We were looking for 2000s CD players and trying to find a pink wallpaper. We also shared our own photos or art for Abbie and India to use in their posters design, and had a look at our clothes that could work for the character’s costumes.

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On the article “What is Producing? A Group of Sundance Producers Share Insights on Financing, Selecting Projects and Making a Career out of Making Movies”

Producing is a very fluid craft with many different facades, many times its characteristics change from project to project. In this article, Meredith Alloway talks to a group of producers whose films were featured in the 2018 edition of Sundance to give insight into the profession. 

First they go over the topic of funding. All of them agree that funding is a very inconsistent part of filmmaking, sometimes it can be smooth but other it takes a lot of searching to find someone who will put money into your project. This also depends on factors such as where you are in the process of making the film, your own career as a filmmaker or if you have a proof of concept, which can generate trust in potential investors. One of the filmmakers mentions that is also useful to consider what parts of the film can be attractive to a specific funder, so you can sell your film differently to different people based on their taste.

Next they go on to talk about cinematic releases. Again, all of them share an opinion that showing films on the big screen is a really important part of the filmmaking process, since that is how many films are intended to be watched. However, at-home streaming has become a very convenient option which opens up the possibility of reaching a wider option. Considering this, the producer has to think of what the best platform is for their film to be shared, whether that is on a festival run, a theatrical release or straight into streaming sites.

Then, the go over the points in the filmmaking process that made it easier for them. These range from trusting the director, to recruiting a crew that works well and understands the vision for the specific film, to sticking to schedules on set.

Lastly, the interviewer asks what they look for in a project they sing on to. One of the filmmakers comments that it comes down to the people they will be working with and their approach to filmmaking. For a few others, it depends on specific components shared across the films made by their production companies, whether that is a specific genre or simply a strong creative voice.

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Exercise 1 - A Box of Bliss

For our exercise 1 we made a short film about a woman who is obsessed with jewellery and shiny things, and uses men to get new pieces of it.

I came up with this story and made a moodboard which was heavily inspired by the visuals of Maya Deren's Meshes of the Afternoon, then I pitched it to my group, who liked it and so we decided to go along with it.

We filmed in just one day at my flat. It was a bit disorganised, we hadn’t planned too much and we didn’t have any equipment other than my little DSLR (we didn’t even record sound). However, this also meant that we were able to just have fun with it and explore the exercise creatively. We kept coming up with ideas on the spot and trying different things while filming. I then edited the film and found this crazy piano track that I thought would go along with it perfectly.

In the film, our main character meets up with a man, who proposes to her with a shiny ring that she can’t take her eyes off. Then, we jump in time and see her having a bit of a manic episode, anxiously putting on all her jewellery and then going to sleep, not even acknowledging the telephone ringing. The door bell wakes her up, and she finds the man at her door, furious because she has been ignoring him. They have a heated argument, she notices the shiny ring he wears and, in a crazy spasm, she kills him to keep the ring.

We used our silhouettes in the film to hide the identity of the man. We also played around with other lighting techniques to find ways to have the man in the frame, but always with his face hidden. This is because we felt that who he was didn’t really matter in the story, and by keeping his identity ambiguous, we would be implying that this could be any man and she probably has gone through this process before. In shot 1 we see them both coming into her house as silhouettes. In shot 2, she walks into a room, her face visible thanks to a dim light, but he stays in the doorframe and turns into a silhouette for the proposal, so we can only see her reaction.

This exercise was a wonderful opportunity to play around with techniques that I maybe would not have considered using for a bigger project, as we felt it was alright to just try things out, make mistakes and come up with new ideas to solve them. Since we made it a silent film, it was also really insightful to think about how we could best make the story come across purely through visuals and without the aid of any dialogue.

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Week 4

Production design meeting

In this meeting with Abbie and India we shared our ideas and references for Lola's Room and started planning. We discussed locations and what kind of room would be best to use as a set. One thing that we decided we do not want is white walls, and if we can't find a place with walls that are other colours, our alternative plan will be to cover them with wall paper or wrapping paper.

We shared the idea of having the walls also covered in posters, which India and Abbie will source or design to avoid copyright issues with existing ones. We also discussed the props, especially the spell book and the phone, and the costumes. The last item on the list was the style of the set. Although the script describes the room as extremely messy, I would like the mess to be stylised in an almost unrealistic way, so that it's not ugly to look at but rather chaotic in a planned way and with room to breathe.

We will be sourcing as many elements of the production design as we can from our own belongings or second hand to make the most of our budget and avoid being wasteful.

Post-production meeting

We decided to have an early post-production meeting with director, producer, writer, editor and sound designer present to be as prepared as possible when when the film gets to that stage. We discussed how we could make post-production smoother in the shoot and planned around any concerns (for example, a spell-sequence that will be in slow motion). Robbie and Saoirse shared how they prefer to work and we agreed on how I could collaborate with them, since as a director I enjoy being present for a lot of the post-production process and sharing ideas. Lastly, we made a post-production schedule.

These are some notes from the meeting:

Casting process

Since sharing our casting call, we have received around 20-30 applications. Because a lot of them did not include showreels, I thought it would be very useful to be able to watch the actors performing to inform our decision, so we added a second step to our casting process and asked everyone who applied to send self-tapes. I didn't want them to read the script for Lola's Room, as the lack of context and direction could mean their performance is not what I am picturing for the script, meaning I could be biased towards the actors who get closer to my ideas for the script even if they might not be the best option for the characters. Instead, I researched scenes from other films that had a similar energy to them as Lola's Room, and chose a scene from Booksmart (2019) and found it in the script.

Fundraiser

We had a really good turnout for the pub quiz fundraiser and were able to raise over £100! This will be really helpful to cover our production design and transport costs. Although it's not a loooot of money, combined with our own contributions it's a big jump from past projects, and will help us a great deal to be ambitious. It was also just really exciting seeing people coming together to support our little film :)

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Week 3

Directing class with Stewart Svaasand

This class was great! It was very insightful to hear about all the responsibilities of the director and all the aspects of the production they are involved in. The blocking workshop was great practice, especially since the film I'm working on will have a lot of movement and it's so useful to start thinking about how to best match the blocking and the cinematography.

Here are the pretty extensive notes I took:

Hods meeting

On the 1st of February we had our first meeting with all the HoDs. The things to discuss were:

Production plan

Shooting dates

Locations

Casting

Test shoots

Individual responsibilities

Budget and fundraising

Questions about script/story

Meeting with Gaby

Gaby and I have continued to develop the script together. These are some notes from this week's meeting:

References

These are the Moodboard and watchlist that I made to share with the rest of the crew. After bouncing ideas off the crew and getting a clearer picture of what everyone wants, I think it's a good time to start narrowing down the vision and working towards a more concrete style.

Planning for pub quiz + film church

The last meeting of the week was to plan our fundraising. We are doing a pub quiz for Lola's Room!

Alana has been in touch with The Three Sisters and they are letting us use a room, and Abbie has made a poster for it. In this meeting we organised how we would go about it and discussed matters like taking payments, dividing responsibilities, prizes and spreading the word about it. We also planned all the questions and categories, which was good fun. We are sticking with the themes of Lola's Room for the quiz, as well as film questions. It's the first time any of us is doing something like this so we are very excited, and I'm sure it will be good experience for fundraising for grad films!

After planning the pub quiz, we watched The Love Witch together as research for Lola's Room. It had interesting elements of set design and costumes/make up that will be useful as inspiration, especially for the spell sequences.

Costume design board

This is a document that I made to share with production design with ideas and how I picture the costumes according to the script:

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DAISIES (dir. by Věra Chytilová, 1966)

One of my main references for Lola’s Room is the 1966 Czech film Daisies. I watched it as part of my research, and found in it a lot of elements that I want to incorporate into Lola's Room.

The main thing that I’m taking from it is the way that the two main characters interact with each other and with the world around them. They are playful and childish in an unashamed way, and all their motivations are based on selfish and egocentric reasons, which I think is a pretty accurate teenager behaviour as you are learning what your place in the world is.

In terms of mis-en-scene, I noticed that the majority of the shots include both girls in the frame, giving them a sort of shared protagonism and equal attention. This is something I’ll keep in mind when storyboarding for Lola’s Room, as it highlights that the obstacles in the narrative affect both of the characters and keeps the scene focused on the way they interact with each other.

My main take from this film is its creativity and boldness in its form, every element from the writing and acting to the visuals and editing is fun and playful and consistent with the ideas of rebellion and joy of the film.

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Week 2

Initial meeting with Max - references and ideas

On Monday Max and I had a first Director-DoP meeting to start discussing ideas and have a bit of a brainstorm. Before this, we both created a list our own list of references. I was glad that we seemed to have very similar ideas and a lot of our references were the same, while each of us still had more ideas to add to the table. These are some of the things that we both agreed on after our discussion:

1.66:1 aspect ratio

Lots of 2 shots, show both character together as much as possible

Lots of close ups

Soft, pastels and hazy style

Creative mirror shots

This was my moodboard:

Film Project class - Moodboards

Milanote 

In order to keep all of the information about Lola’s Room together and accessible for the crew, we have created a Milanote where everyone can upload documents and references and update their progress. Here is the link: https://app.milanote.com/1RpMRG1OTR0X7l/lolas-room?p=yjlLV7nw0ej 

Casting calls

This are the casting calls that we made for Lola’s Room! I created the design, Gaby wrote the character info and Alana added the logistics information.

[paulasosafilm]

Week 1

Induction class

First class of the semester! I went into the induction class for Film Project with the intention of directing a film this term but not attached to a project yet. After hearing Gaby’s quick pitch for Lola’s Room and quickly reading the script in the break, I knew that I could resonate with this film and add dimensions to it as a director. I talked to Gaby and Alana (already a producer for this) and they took me on board as a director! This was a very exciting day and I instantly started coming up with a million ideas that I was eager to share.

Meeting with Gaby and discussing the story

The day after the induction class Gaby and I met up to start working on Lola's Room We read through the script and talked about the characters and the story extensively. The aim for this meeting was to be clear on the message that we want to express in the film (that despite expectations, girls don’t need to dress to impress other people and it’s okay to feel good with yourself as you are) and how to best translate this into the film. I also talked to Gaby about how I thought we could improve the script. I noticed that in this first draft of the script, both characters were a bit too similar, so we discussed giving the character’s stronger personalities and motivations. Another thing that I wanted from the script was to put more emphasis on the spell scenes, as the girls didn’t interact much with the magic element of the film and I thought including some reactions and hesitance regarding the spells would be a great way to make their personalities shine, and would also give us an opportunity to add subtext.

Director, Writer and Producer meeting

The day after, Alana, Gaby, and I met up to touch base about the film and begin planning. The aims for this meeting were:

Create a production plan

Reach out to other people to fill up crew roles

Make sure we were all on the same page about what we want from the film

Establish a working dynamic

We decided on tentative shoot dates and discussed who we wanted to join our crew. We also came up with the idea of doing a fundraiser and started giving ourselves deadlines. I introduced the idea of setting the film in the early 2000s to complement the visual style, which both Alana and Gaby really liked.

As this is still the initial stage where everyone is getting familiar with the story and things are only starting to get set up, we also took the time to make a collaborative playlist to to share with our crew and get us in the mood for Lola’s Room. Here’s the link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0MGudLLVY7830wqZTpU5Tg?si=781175130b814589 :)

[paulasosafilm]

Welcome to Lola's Room!

Logline: Two teenage girls, Lola and Jasmine, attempt a series of spells to look pretty for their homecoming dance.

Synopsis: Lola and Jasmine are getting ready for their homecoming dance when catastrophe hits: Jasmine's dress rips. In order to save face and still impress, they turn to Lola's grandmother's spell book. When it doesn’t go quite right, they try another, which ends in failure. But the search for prettiness instead reveals what they truly desire; the sense of belonging found in Lola's room.

Full crew list:

Producer - Alana Robertson

Director - Paula Sosa Martín (me!)

Writer - Gabrielle Häfner

Director of Photography - Max Brodbeck

Productoin Design - India Marshall 

Editor - Robbie Anderson

Sound Design - Saoirse Gillespie 

1st Assistant Director - Rebecca Chapman, Finlay Hearton

1st AC - Sophie Marshalsey, Holly Murgatroyd

Lighting - Duncan Forbes

Location Sound Mixer - Gabrielle Häfner

Boom Operator - Hazel George, Roddy Mathieson

Digital Image Technician - Léonidas Ibarra

Art Dept - Abbie George

Production Design Assistant - Jess Martin

MU Artist - Jessica Hynes

Script Supervisor - Robbie Anderson 

BTS Photographer - Taylor Cowe

Colourist - Max Brodbeck