Reflective Blog on Current Progress

Retrospectively looking back at the SWOT Analysis produced in the early stages of our planning, many of the weaknesses and limitations we knew would face us have actually caused more difficulty than we initially thought they would. By looking to achieve the best film possible, we created the storyboards and any obstacles that would affect us, Nina and I had the 'cross that bridge when we come to it' mind set. Whilst neither of us took it too far knowing there are certain things we can't achieve no matter how hard we try, There have still been inconveniences that have been hard to get around.

The first is the fact that my partner is in a wheelchair making access to certain areas that are too hilly/have steps or the ground is just unconvenient very difficult. Because of this we've had to look harder for areas to film which isn't very easy living in the countryside where a lot of areas contain such anomolies.

The second was the distance. Having to travel an hour and a half to college on the bus each day, the area Nina and myself live in is quite far away and any people we know either live in Weymouth or Lyme Regis where we live. As different scenes in our trailer take place in both these areas, whoever we chose to film would have to make long journeys which made it hard to find people who were willing enough. This became a constant problem as nobody wanted to do it, and times when we found people who did, other obstacles got in the way such as exams, having completely different frees to us, and having other things to do.
The main time all of us are free is lunch time, but unfortunately the cameras can't be booked out over that time.

Finally we are ready to film. We have our actors and actresses and know when everyone is free and after careful planning and time management we will be filming very shortly.

Plot

The film is is a thriller and based around serious issues facing mainly young and sometimes even older men and women around the world-domestic abuse.

It begins with two people-Ella who is 15-16 years old and her boyfriend Ross who is around 20-21.
Ross starts to become possessive and jealous which leads to physical and verbal abuse, something that is seen briefly in a flashback in the trailer, and Ella becomes frightened so she decides with advice from her friends that she needs to get out.
Unfortunately the possessiveness doesn't stop there and Ross starts stalking Ella-watching her out in public, giving threatening telephone calls and so on. During this time, Ella gets a new boyfriend, which only increases his jealousy and possessiveness.
By the end of the film he has broken into her house and tried to attack her-although this is only briefly seen at the end of the trailer where you see the door opening a crack so that some suspense is left for the audience-but in a twist of events, Ella accidentally kills him whilst trying to defend herself and escapes out onto the street injured but safe.

Character Analysis

Our film is about a girl who is abused verbally and physically (although this isn’t shown in the trailer, it is implied), and because of this, we decided to use the most stereotypical representations possible so that the audience would be able to have a better understanding of the characters involved.

Ella
The main character is a girl called Ella who is around 15-16 years old. In the beginning of the trailer she is being abused by her older boyfriend Ross and because of this we wanted to portray her as weak and vulnerable. In contrast to Ross, we want her to appear quite small, and in the first scene, she witnesses a flashback of Ross towering over her whilst she is sat down. This makes her appear defenceless whilst he appears in control.
Even when she finally gets up the courage to break up with her, he still appears in control of her, and at one point a high point of view shot is used as he is high up above her and she is on the ground below walking. As the camera is focused on top of her, she appears very small and weak, which contrasts Ross even more as it is his point of view and you know he is the one looking down on her.
Ella is the one who the audience will relate too as she is the weakest, and being female helps continue this further. People will feel sorry for her and will want her to escape from Ross which will hopefully draw them in and make them want too see it.

Ross
Ross is represented as tough and masculine who appears to have the power and control-something that is brought more to light when it is contrasted against Ella's weak and vulnerable character. He is a few years older than Ella and this is obvious in the way he acts as he appears the stereotype of an insecure powerful male who has the dominance in the relationship shown at the beginning.
The only time you get to see Ross is at the beginning during a flashback Ella is having of him being violent and agressive. This furthers the mysterious elements as, by not seeing him you are tapping into the mindset of Ella who, in some of the trailer is oblivious to the fact that he is there. It makes it appear more mystifying.