Soundtrack

As well as Max doing some of the soundtrack, our group have managed to get copyright from two recording artists, Shaheen who was in the final of Britain's Got Talent, and a soul/funk group, UnkleJam. The songs from these artist's might be used in our montage sequence, but we are not yet sure on which one we are going to use.

Animatic

Production Roles

Prop/Sounds

1 - Ext. - Cycling to college
Sound FX of bicycle
Whistling "Lucky - Kylie Minogue"
Pink bicycle

2A - Int. - Classroom
Classroom Sounds
Pencil Case, Text Books

2B - Ext. - Outside classroom
Romantic music
Blackberry (Gabriella)
Starbucks Coffee (Gabriella/Sophie)

2A - Int. - Classroom

3 - Int. - Outside classrom
Common Room Sounds
Pen, paper
Blackberry's
Coffee
Half eaten muffin

4 - Ext.- Sitting in courtyard eating lunch
Tuppa Wear Lunch Box
Picnic Chocolate Bar
Carrot Sticks

5 - Int./Ext. - Montage
Music - Shaheen (Mircales/Hip Teens) or UnkleJam
Clothes , hats , shirts etc

6A - Ext. - Round the corner from school
New look props e.g Rocky
Blackberry, Watch
P. Diddy - Bad Boys

6B - Ext. - Outside classroom
Blackberry, watch, sunglasses

8 - Ext. - Charlie is inside class, Gabriella is outside
Text Books
Lunch box , Pencil Case

Costumes

There are three different costume changes for each character.

Production Meeting

We had a meeting in our lesson about which student is going to take up which roles. It is important that everyone learns about their own individual roles, and sticks to them. Those using Camera and Sound, will need a tutorial.


Ryan is now the director, while Gabriella is now producer.

Character Breakdown

Charlie:
- 16 boy
- From London
- Goes to college
- Nerdy/ geeky
- Nervous/ shy
- Has only one friend
- Has a crush on the popular girl
- Studies maths, chemistry and biology
- An only child living with his mum and dad
- Big imagination


Max:
- 16 year old boy
- Geeky, but not as geeky as his friend Charlie
- From London
- Goes to college
- Studies P.E, maths, English
- Lies about previous experiences
- Lives at home with mum, dad, older brother and younger sister

Gabriella:
- 16 years old
- From London
- Goes to same college as max and Charlie
- Most popular girl in school
- Charlie’s crush
- Confident but ditsy
- Has a best friend called Sophie
- Lives at home with just her Dad
- Studies P.E, Photography and Art


Sophie:
- Gabriella’s best friend
- Giggly
- From London
- 16
- Goes to same college
- Popular
- Almost Gabriella’s ‘side-kick’
- Studies P.E, Photography and Art
- Lives at home with both parents

Audience Research

Our film, Smile, falls under the genre of romantic/teen comedy. Because of this it would therefore appeal to the age groups of 14-21, however I also feel that peopler older than that range would also enjoy our sort of film, because they could then imagine themselves in those situations, as they would know the feeling that the main character is feeling. Rom-coms generally appeal to the female gender, but males also tend to have a little soft side and enjoy watching them. We did a test in our class, with 90% of the students saying they regularly watch films of this genre.

Storyboard

This is my first attempt at making a storyboard using the application Celtx. It is only of one scene, as I am going to do the rest of the storyboard using pen and paper, which will then make it much easier to modify.

Script - First Attempt

This is our first script. There are going to be many changes to it before we are happy with it and able to start the production.
To make our script, and to make it look professional, we used a piece of software called Celtx. Using this, helps us make a script which is so simple to follow and understand, and the software automatically put each piece of text into a different section (i.e. dialogue and character)

1. Ext.
Charlie is riding his bike in to college. Music in background. Cross cut to shots of Max Sitting in Starbucks waiting for Charlie to arrive.

2A. Int.
Max is sitting down in Starbucks next to the window. Charlie arrives and sits down.

Max:
About time
Charlie:
Sorry, was up late last night doing work, I'm shattered.
Max:
Did you see the new eppisode of Dr. Who last night?
Charlie:
No i didnt i missed it, i told you i had too much work! What happened?
Max:
It was amazing, Dr Who became friends with the evil guy but he didn't know he was evil, but the audience knew. So I was literally sitting there screaming at the television you don't understand I was getting so in to it! And then at the break, there was an advert for a Dr Who Live Show, I've already told my mum and she's booking us both tickets.

Max starts to describe lasts nights episode of Dr.Who, his voice starts to fade out and become a mumble as Charlie begins to stare at Gabriella and zone out.

2B. Ext.
Charlie Imagines himself getting up, marching outside, throwing his glasses, ripping open his shirt then grabbing Gabriella, dipping her and leaning in for a kiss. (Music "Just the two of us")

Cut


2A. Int.
Shot cuts to Charlie sitting back at the table in Starbucks with Max. Max slaps charlie.

Max:
Charlie wake up, your never gonna get a girl like that.
Charlie:
Sorry sorry I am listening! I need to go outside tho and get some fresh air.

Charlie and Max walk outside Starbucks and sit on the ledge.

3. Ext.
Max and Charlie begin to over hear Gabriella and Sophie's conversation. Charlie shakes Max to get his attention.

Charlie:
Oi! Listen!

Cut

Gabriella:
I cant believe me and Brad broke up, hes such a prick.
Sophie:
You know you can do so much better Gab so why do you care so much.
Gabriella:
I just wish i could meet my dream boy already.
Sophie:
And that is?
Gabriella:
I dunno, a boy that's fit obviously, good body, always smartly dressed...and...urm... with a cool hat of course!

Sophie Giggles and Gabriella laugh sarcastically.

Cut

They look over and can see that Charlie and Max and listening in.

Gabriella:
...and he has to come up to me and go "Alright sexy?" I then would want him to smile, wink, and say a really cheesy chat up line!

Sophie and Gabriella are still laughing.

Cut

Charlie and Max together

Charlie:
Did you hear all of that?
Max:
Ye, so? What's your point?
Charlie:
That if I change myself, I can make myself her ideal boy. See! I told you I do have a chance!

Dissolve

4. Int./Ext. - Montage
Charlie and Max in Max's room, looking for different clothes and hats to wear. He tries them on and keeps checking himself out in the mirror. He also tries different smiles to use, and practices his wink. They both practice chat-up lines whilst getting changed.

Max:
Ok, so let's practice some chat up lines. What you got?
Charlie:
I hope you know CPR, because you take my breath away
or Excuse me, but I think I dropped something!!! MY JAW!!
Max:
Do you work for Royal Mail? No? I could have sworn I saw you checking out my package.
Charlie:
You must be Jamaican, because Jamaican me crazy

Charlie looks into the mirror, turns to Max, and presents himself to him.

Charlie:
What about this?
Max:
Ye that should definitely work!

Fade to black

5. Ext.
Charlie walking down the street, dressed very nicely, looking very smug. He approaches Gabriella.

Charlie:
Alright sexy. Nice to meet you, I'm (your name) and you are...gorgeous!

OR

If I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd but U and I together...

Gabriella laughs, slaps Charlie and walks away.

Fade to black

6. Ext.

Next day Charlie comes back, back in his normal clothes. Gabriella spots Charlie and realizes how hard he tried to impress her. Charlie looks up at her. Gabriella smiles at Charlie and scene fades out.

Fade to black

New Idea - Smile

Group Meeting
We had a group meeting where we discussed our ideas and scenes. We came to the conclusion that there was just to many story strands to narrow down into a short 5 minute film. We then decided to take the basic idea of a boy trying to get a girl and take it into a new direction.

This is the scene list we came up with

Opening Scene:
Open to Charlie riding his bike to college.

Scene-1
Max and Charlie are sitting in a room; Charlie is staring out window at Gabriella. Mean whilst Max’s voice is in the background trying to have a conversation with him. Charlie zones out (Imagines him approaching Gabriella, dipping her and giving her a kiss). Max hits Charlie back to reality telling him to stop staring and that he could never get a girl like Gabriella.

Scene-2
Max and Charlie walk out room and are standing outside, they hear the girl telling her friend how her and her boyfriend just broke up, and starts to describe her perfect boy. Charlie and max over hear the conversation and Charlie begins to hatch his plan.
(smartly dressed, Good looking, nice body, cool hat, laid back personality, charming & most importantly an amazing smile and someone who makes her smile) – Ideal man

Scene-3 (Montage)
Charlie goes out to try and achieve the girls ideal man, with max’s help.

Scene-4
Charlie finally gets everything together, approaches girl with a cheesy chat up line dressed in the way she had described her ideal man. Girl laughs, rejects Charlie and walks away.

Scene-5
Next day Charlie comes back, back in his normal clothes. Girl spots Charlie and realizes how hard he tried to impress her. Gabriella smiles at Charlie and scene fades out.

We decided on the title Smile because the girls ideal guy is just someone who can make her smile and smiles at her too. We also felt it gave a warm feeling to the film and it was a nice simple title.

Characters
Charlie:
- Nerdy/geeky/unpopular
- Middle class
- Book smart

Max:
- Not as geeky as Charlie, but still geeky.
- Slightly more sociable
- Middle class

Gabriella:
- The girl Charlie admires
- Popular
- Beautiful

Sophie:
- Gabriella's best friend

Stereotypes of Our Characters

Girlfriend


Geek


Smartly Dressed/Good Looking


Jock


In our film 'Smile' we have decided to stick with the conventional exaggerated stereotypes typical used in other films. This is to stick with our comical humour which is used throughout our film.

Five Card Charlie

This was our first main idea for our short film:

Scene List
Scene 1. Int
Charlie being beaten up in a dark room by security

Scene 2. Ext
Charlie sitting outside, expensive car pulls up, Gabriella gets out car with boyfriend, kisses him goodbye and walks into collge.

Scene 3. Int
Charlie is in the library (doing maths homework) and staring at Gabriella. Max is sitting across the table and notices Charlie staring. Speeks to Charlie and tells him hell help him to get Gabriella in exchange for help in school looking at books and talking about the girl he has seen, Max tells him the only way he has a chance is by making money. They then spot a book “counting cards”
- Charlie helps with Max’s maths homework, in return for Max to teach him about girls.

Scene 4. Int
Fast forward cross cutting of Charlie learning how to count cards, then playing and then racking in chips - montage

Scene 5. Int
Charlie is playing a game of cards in a dark room, with 3 others, plus the dealer. voice over of him counting the cards, he’s then grabbed on the shoulder and voice over stops. He is taken into a room.

Scene 6. Int
Charlie being beaten up in a dark room by security (Scene 1)

Name
We came up with the title Five Card Charlie, by researching Blackjack slang and terms used in the game. We found these on Ildado.com. Five Card Charlie in blackjack terms is a blackjack rule variation where if you get 5 cards without busting, you win that hand. We picked this particular term out of all the others because we thought it had a good ring to it and we imagined it would be a catchy film title which related well with out film.

Characters
- Charlie: main character, nerd/geek, unconfident, lower/middle class, from London
- Max: Charlie’s best friend, not as geeky as Charlie, can still get girls
- Gabriella: girl Charlie admires

‘The Writer’s Journey’

Because the film I want to create is similar to the film 21, I am going to write about how the book ‘The Writer’s Journey’ by Christopher Vogler examines a film, and how close the book is from the way 21 is told. This book is useful for help with the narrative, which is what I’m going to write about.


1. Ordinary World
- The opening of any story always has some special burdens to bear. It must hook the reader or viewer, set the tone of the story, suggest where it’s going, and get across a mass of information without slowing the pace.
Because so many stories are journeys that take heroes and audiences to Special Worlds, most begin by establishing the Ordinary World as a baseline for comparison. The Special World is only special if we can see how it contrasts to a mundane world of everyday affairs from which the hero issues forth. The Ordinary World is the context, home base, and background of the hero.

- In the film 21, we see that the ordinary world is a 20 year old boy, who has very little money, but enough, studying at college, getting the subway, having dinner with friends and his mum. The dad has died, and he is very intelligent and has a dream of going to Harvard University and getting a high doctors degree. Even though not many of the audience will be like this boy, a lot of the audience will be able to understand him. It also helps the audience understand him as a character, and his situation, with the help of a voiceover.

Throughout the whole opening, in any film, we always see different stages of this ordinary world. These stages include:
- introducing the hero to the audience
- identification
- the hero’s lack
- tragic flaws (not having enough money to go to Harvard)
- backstory and exposition

2. Call To Adventure
- The Ordinary World of most heroes is a static but unstable condition. The seeds of change and growth are planted, and it takes only a little new energy to germinate them. The call to adventure gets the story rolling. It often involves the temptation of something, which could fix the hero’s problem.

- In 21, the call to adventure is being asked to go to Las Vegas, with a serious amount of money, and count cards. Seeing as the student is a grade A maths genius, the teacher who asks him to join the team badly wants him to join it. The temptation of this is so that he can use the money from his winnings, to pay for Harvard.

- The different parts of this stage include:
- synchronicity
- temptation
- heralds of change
- reconnaissance
- disorientation and discomfort
- lack or need
- no more options
- warnings for tragic heroes
- more than one call: call waiting

3. Refusal of the Call
- The problem of the hero now becomes how to respond to the Call to Adventure. If you put yourself in the hero's shows, you can see that it’s a difficult passage. You’re being asked to say to a great unknown, to an adventure that will be exciting but also dangerous and even life-threatening. Theres an avoidance, different excuses, calls and positive refusals.

- In 21, when Ben has been asked to join the Blackjack team, although he would love the money, he would prefer to wait on the scholarship and concentrate on doing well via his school work.

- The different parts of this stage include:
- avoidance
- excuses
- persistent refusal leads to tragedy
- conflicting calls
- positive refusals
- artist as hero
- willing heroes
- threshold guardians
- the secret door

4. Meeting with the Mentor
- Sometimes it is not a bad idea to refuse a call until you’ve had time to prepare for the ‘unknown zone’ that lies ahead. In mythology and folklore that preparation might be done with the help of the wise, protective figure of the Mentor, whose many services to the hero include protecting, guiding, teaching, testing, training and Vladimir Propp calls this character type the ‘donor/provider’ because its precise function is to supply the hero with something needed on the journey. Meeting with the Mentor is the stage of the hero’s journey in which the hero gains the supplies, knowledge, and confidence needed to overcome fear and commence the adventure.

- In 21, the meeting with the mentor occurs when Ben decides to join the club, and goes into the secret classroom with Kevin Spacey and the other teammates. Here he learns how to count cards, and how to play the game properly.

The different parts of this stage include:
- heroes and mentors
- sources of wisdom
- mentors folklore and myth
- mentor himself
- avoiding mentor cliches
- misdirection
- mentor-hero conflicts
- mentor-driven stories
- mentor as evolved hero
- critical influence

5. Crossing the First Threshold
- Now the hero stands at the very threshold of the world of adventure, the Special World of Act Two. The call has been heard, doubts and fears have been expressed and allayed, and all due preparations have been made. But the real movement, the most critical action of Act One, still remains. Crossing the First Threshold is an act of the will in which the hero commits wholeheartedly to the adventure.

- In 21, this is again where we see Ben learning to count cards takes priority over his school work, and how he is eager to start winning big money.

- The different parts of this stage include:
- approaching the threshold
- threshold guardians
- the crossing
- rough landing

6. Tests, Allies, Enemies
Now the hero fully enters the mysterious, exciting Special World which Joseph Campbell called “a dream landscape of curiously fluid, ambiguous forms, where he must survive a succession of trials.” It’s a new and sometimes frightening experience for the hero. No matter how many schools he has been through, he’s a freshman all over the world.

The different parts of this stage include:
- contrast
- testing - test in the chinese restaurant where they play small blackjack
- allies and enemies
- sidekicks - helpers who help count the cards
- teams - the Blackjack team, and the cctv team
- the rival - head security guard
- new rules
- watering holes

7. Approach to the Inmost Cave
- Heroes, having made the adjustment to the Special World, now go on to seek its heart. They pass into an intermediate region between the border and the very center of the Hero’s journey. On the way they find another mysterious zone with its own Threshold Guardians, agendas, and tests. This is the approach to the inmost cave, where soon they will encounter the supreme wonder and terror. It’s time to make final preparations for the central ordeal of the adventure. Heroes at this point are like mountaineers who have raised themselves to a base jump by the labors of testing, and are about to make the final assault on the highest peak.

- In 21, this is when Ben takes it too far and trys to gamble his money, instead of beating the system and counting. He then wants to go on his own, with the rest of the team, instead of using the mentor.

- The different parts of this stage include:
- courtship
- the bold approach
- preparation for the ordeal
- obstacles
- beware of illusions
- warnings
- an impossible test
- higher steaks - gambling instead of counting
- get into your opponent’s mind - going alone without mentor
- breakthrough
- no exit - beaten up by security

8. Ordeal
- Now the hero stands in the deepest chamber of the inmost cave, facing the greatest challenge and the most fearsome opponent yet. This is the real heart of the matter, what Joseph Campbell called the Ordeal. It is the mainspring of the heroic form and they key to its magic power. With this, heroes must die so that they can be reborn.

- In 21, when the hero dies to be reborn (loosing all the money, getting beating up), he comes back as a bigger person, wanting to be part of a bigger team, and using the mentor again.

- The different parts of this stage include:
- death and rebirth
- change
- the crisis, not the climax
- placement of the ordeal
- points of tension
- witness to sacrifice
- a taste of death
- the elasticity of emotion
- hero appear to die
- hero witness death
- hero causes death
- facing the shadow
- death of a villain
- the villain escapes
- villains are heroes of their own stories - Ben is told how Kevin Spacey (mentor) was a great card counter
- heroes cheat death
- youth versus age
- death of the ego

9. Reward
- With the crisis of the ordeal passes, heroes now experience the consequences of surviving death. With the dragon that dwelt in the inmost cave slain or vanquished, they seize the sword of victory and lay claim to their reward. Triumph may be fleeting but for now they saviour its pleasures. Encountering death is a big event and it will surely have consequences. There will almost always be some period of time in which the hero is recognized or rewarded for having survived death or a great ordeal. A great many possibilities are generated by living through a crisis, and reward, the aftermath of the ordeal, has many shapes and purposes.

- The different parts of this stage include:
- celebration
- campfire scenes
- love scenes
- taking possession
- seizing the sword
- elixir theft
- initiation
- new perceptions
- seeing through deception
- self-realization
- epiphany
- distortions

10. The Road Back
- Once the lessons and rewards of the great ordeal have been celebrated and absorbed, heroes face a choice: whether to remain in the Special World or beging the journey home to the Ordinary World. Although the Special World may have its charms, few heroes elect to stay. Most take the road back, returning to the starting point or continuing on the journey to a totally new locale or ultimate destination.
This is the time when the story’s energy which maybe have ebbed a little in the quiet moments of seizing the sword, is now revved up again. If we look at the hero’s journey as a circle, with the beginning at the top, we are still down in the basement and it will take a long push to get us back up into the light.

- In 21, this is when Ben goes back to his hometown and has a ‘sorry’ talk with his friends, talks to his mum, and tries to take things much further with his teammates for his card counting.

- The different parts of this stage include:
- motivation
- retaliation
- chase scenes
- magic light
- villain escape
- setbacks

11. Resurrection
- Here comes one of the trickiest and most challenging passages for the hero and the writer. For a story to feel complete, the audience needs to experience an additional moment of death and rebirth, similar to the supreme ordeal but subtly different. This is the climax (not the crisis), the last and most dangerous meeting with death. Heroes have to undergo a final purging and purification before reentering the Ordinary World. Once more they must change. The trick for the writers is to show the change in their characters, by beaviour or appearance rather than by just talking about it. Writers must find ways to demonstrate that their heroes have been through a resurrection.

- In 21, this is when Ben trys to work together with his mates to try and get Kevin Spacey (the mentor) caught, so it is revenge.

- The different parts of this stage include:
- a new personality
- cleansing
- two great ordeals
- physical ordeal
- the active hero
- showdowns
- death and rebirth of tragic heroes
- choice
- climax
- character arc
- false claimant
- proof
- sacrifice
- incorporation
- change

12. Return with the Elixir
- Having survived all the ordeals, having lived through death, heroes return to their starting place, go home, or continue the journey. But they always proceed with a sense that they are commencing a new life, one that will be forever different because of the road just traveled. If they are true heroes, they return with the elixir from the Special World; bringing something to share with others, or something with the power to heal a wounded land.

- In 21, this is when Ben and the team-mates find a way to capture the mentor. They do this by allowing the mentor to be part of the group so they can share the winnings. After this, they get caught on cctv, he makes a run for it with the chips, but they end up being the wrong chips. However, Ben finds a way to beat of Kevin Spacey.

- The different parts of this stage include:
- return
- denouement
- two story forms
- the circular story form
- achievement of perfection
- the open-ended story form
- surprise
- reward and punishment
- the elixir of love
- he world is changed
- the elixir of responsibility
- the elixir of tragedy
- epilogue