Planning process - "Withdrawal"

Before and during the filming process I planned out several ideas on paper so that when it came to actually doing the filming and editing I knew what to do and how I wanted everything to look. Firstly I designed a storyboard with a variety of my shots in order to help me put all the shots together. The storyboard included a drawing of each shot and underneath a brief idea of what's happening, different angles to capture this scene from and a list of props if neccessary. This made filming a lot easier as it was like a guide for me to follow so that I couldn't miss any shots out that I wanted to be included in the filming. It gave me a sequence of events to follow and a rough idea of the time duration needed for each shot. With the scenes pictured and described it gave me an idea of how to structure the monologue and music but this would need further anaylsis once the shots were captured.

I created a scrap book which I filled with ideas including the monologue, editing ideas, music and a variety of proposed features to include in the film. I wanted the monologue to be written in a very intellectual yet appealing way so that my target audience can sympothise for the protagonist and also think carefully about what's being said. I had help writting this monologue with a friend who's very keen on complex literature and especially enjoys creative writing. I sat down and explained how I wanted the monologue to be and he helped me write it whilst the film was playing in the background. We found a suitable creative enviroment and looked at various monologues that both him and I were inspired by. He enjoyed and liked the monologue written by Irvene Welsh in his book 'Trainspotting' and was keen to encourparate it with a monologue in the playwrite 4.48 by Sarah Kane. It was very successful as he was able to establish a very pessimistc mindset which suited the role of the of the character. We redrafted a few times before recording and used the timeline we created to suit the films flow.

This time line I made determined how I wanted my shots to be placed when editing. I divided the sequence into half which really broke down the order as I placed the flashback shots in the second half and all others in the first half. This was really useful as I was able to add all the shots in the order, kept it to a time schedule that I'd devised and used it to syncronise the music and monologue effectively.

Robyn Emily Bostock