BFI Film Academy Diary, Week Three

What did you do?

This week we had the brilliant opportunity in watching the film, ‘The Runaways’ which is written and directed by Richard Heap. I very much enjoyed this film as I found the plot moving and I thought the cinematography was very impressive. After watching the film, we were able to meet Richard Heap and asked him questions about him being a first time feature film director. We learnt how Heap funded the film, some of the struggles he faced when making it and the highlights throughout the film making process. Heap also talked about how before making this film, he used to make outdoor documentaries and shared with us what that was like. I found it very interesting be able to talk with Richard as I was able to understand more about the development of the film and how certain aspects changed throughout the process.

After meeting with Richard, we spent the afternoon getting together with our mini groups writing our scripts. We have decided as a group to make a horror film, based in Sheffield, about an office worker who gets chased and attacked by his boss. As well as writing our script we also looked at where we will film each scene and potential props that we will need to include.

What did you learn?

This week I was able to learn more about the role of the director and the responsibilities they have, after meeting with Richard Heap. I was also able to learn about the difference between working on a high budget film vs a low budget film, like Richard’s. Richard explained some of the difficulties of having a restricted budget, which forces film makers to become more creative when filming. As well as Richard explaining the difficulties of making a film with a low budget, he was also able to give myself an insight into the difficulty of working with minors, due to the need for a chaperone and them only being able to work restrictive hours.

How have you worked with others?

I believe I worked with well with others this week as we had to all collaboratively decide on the plot for the script, which was difficult due to the range in ideas. However, we all listened to each over’s ideas and agreed on the final idea. As well as working on the script with my group, we had to also decide on filming locations and props, which again involved us listening to each over and making a final decision together.

What do you need to develop?

Although I did not struggle with coming up with ideas for our script, I think I need to develop my skills involved in writing it and coming up with dialogue for each scene, as I found this more challenging. However when we had our script writing master classes, we were given information sheets that gave help how to improve character development and pointers on how to make your plot more exciting. I think by reading these, my script writing skills should improve, making myself more confident in that area of film making.