Directions: Chosen Scenes

I have now watched every single episode of Breaking Bad again. Whilst watching I kept a list of scenes that I could use for this project. I also noted down any other important details.

Here is the list:

• S1E1 Walt finds out 1:09. Wife questions him about card payment 1:01. 19mins
• Song from end of ep1
• S1E2 15mins ep2 2:13
• S1E2 heads or tails 21 mins 3:45
• S5E14 phone call scene 40mins 4:40
• S3E12 bar scene 9mins 5:55
• S3E12 Mikes Speech 5:40
• End of season 3 into start of season 4
• S5E1 Opening of season 2:34
• S5E1 Diner scene
• S4E2 car scene 2:00
• S4 E12 car park scene 3:10

After watching all of these scenes back I have decided to pick:

• S4E2- Walt goes to Gus's house to kill him but doesn't. (2mins)

• S4E12- Walt attempts to blow up Gus but Gus foils the plans by not getting in his car. (3mins)

Screenshots from this scene

Both scenes are very tense and I think they demonstrate how Breaking Bad uses music and imagery in a very effective manor to build tension.

I will now work on forming a script using these scenes.

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Work Experience- Stand-in on Take Me Out

Recently I was given the chance to be a stand-in on ITVs Take Me Out, and of course I said yes!

On the first day we turned up early so we could see the set before it got too busy. I watch the show a lot so it was so cool to be on the set. It's not as big as it looks in real life, but that is usually the case with TV because of wide angle lenses.

We started off by doing the stair walk. At the start of each show the girls must walk down this big staircase at the back of the studio before walking down and standing behind their podiums. We had to do this a couple of times which was really fun. Next we had our microphones put on and we had to stand behind the podiums and pretend to be one of the girls. I was Beckie. For the first day of rehearsals we rehearsed with some stand-in boys and the stage manager Al was a stand in for the host. We had a lot of fun that day. The girls on the show always say the weirdest things to the boys so I tried my best to do that to. I think I pulled it off.

The next day we were very excited because we would be doing a rehearsal with the host of the show Paddy McGuinness. I am a big fan of Paddy so it was really surreal for me to be on set with him. We did the stair walk again and then moved on the the podiums. This time we were also rehearsing the real guys that were going to be on the show. Again it was down to us to come up with the weirdest responses and try and keep the atmosphere high.

The next day was a big day for me because the producers had asked me to be a stand-in boy for the real girls that were going to be on the show. Because of the way the show works, the real girls and boys can't meet until the show is being recorded so they need stand-ins for every rehearsal. I was nervous for the entire day. Next thing I knew I was being taken backstage to get into the lift. I walked up a spiral staircase, still nervous, and stood in the lift. I could hear all the girls chatting whilst the stage was reset. Then my walk on music started playing. The lift started moving and that was it, I was on camera, in front of the girls and a small audience of crew - there was no turning back. The production team had provided me with a few things to keep the girls entertained. After introducing myself I lost a few girls because they thought I was too young for them. Next I had to limbo and finally I had to tell a few cheesy jokes, I lost quite a few girls on that one. Finally, the power was in my hands and I had to choose a date. I went out and turned some lights off, that was it, I had my date. Mark, the stage manager, introduced us and then we walked off up the stairs and out of the studio. It was an incredible experience and not many people can say they've done it.

Over the next few days we were back in the studio standing in for the girls. By the end of it I think Paddy was scared to ask me about the boys because my answers were so rude. It was hilarious though.

There is a video of my time as a stand-in boy but unfortunately I can't post that until the show has been broadcast.

My experience as a stand-in on Take Me Out was brilliant. Working with Paddy and the whole crew was super. It was an amazing experience. I had a great time!!

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TV Play

During our time on the course we have to produced a few episodes for the TVPLAY YouTube channel. TVPLAY is a weekly web series created by UCA television production students.

For my groups episode we thought about creating a video all about the work we do as students. We came up with "A day in the life of a TVP student". We planned to shoot our day to day life using a GoPro.

At the time I was working on my story-telling unit so I took the GoPro with me on my shoot. I placed on the heads of my crew and got some really good behind the scenes footage. I also shot some footage of my journey to the studios, me booking some equipment from our equipment store, general socialising with other students and me editing my film together.

Once all the footage had been shot I opened up Premiere Pro and cut it all into a short video with some titles and music. I then sent it to Helen who has to sign each film off before it is released on the channel. She gave me some feedback about the titles and the music so I went ahead and resolved these issues. Here is the final cut:

Overall I am happy with the final result. I really enjoyed making the video and I'm glad everyone will get a chance to see what really goes on inside The Maidstone Studios.

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Directions: Opening Title Suggestion

As part of this unit we need to, as a group, come up with an opening title that will play before each persons film. It's a way of linking all of our films together as though they are a series.

After some brainstorming I thought it would be a good idea if it was film related. I thought about using film reels as the main theme. The reels could have a photo on them of us as a group and then it could cut to a separate reel with the title of the series on it.

Next I opened up After Effects and began working on a new composition. I added in my film reels, animated them and added in some text to give everyone an idea of what the visuals would be. I then animated the camera, added in some lights and added a few focus pulls, with a bit of dust on the lens to make it look like a projector trying to focus. Finally I added some sound effects.

This was the final result:

Overall I am happy with it.

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Directions: Red Riding Prep Project

As part of our directions unit lectures we were given the script for the opening scene of "Red Riding 1974". We then had to act as though we were directing it and pick a cast, crew, locations & think about tone and style.

Cast-

Eddie Dunford- Eddie Redmayne

Bill Hadley- Bill Nighy

Maurice Jobson- David Tennant

Kathryn Tyler- Sian Gibson

Barry Gannon- Benedict Cumberbatch

Bill Molloy- Philip Glenister

Mrs. Kemplay- Belinda Stewart-Wilson

Crew-

Director of Photography- Balazs Bolygo

Production Designer- Brian Sykes

Editor- Colin Fair

Locations-

Leeds: Leeds.

Leeds Skyline

Dawson Construction site: Construction site in Kent.

Construction site

M1 Motorway: Thanet Way.

Thanet Way

Wakefield Police Station, Conference Room: Build set in a studio.

Conference Room

Tone/Style-

Handheld, gritty, action packed feel. Low-saturation. Dark, naturalistic feel. Natural lighting. Realism.

E.g.:

Ripper Street (2012-present)

Life on Mars (2006-2007)

Sound-

Similar vibe to the visual. Natural sound.

Construction site: Nighttime ambience/foley.

Motorway- Radio in car. Traffic noise. Rain on windscreen. Sounds of car accelerating.

Conference Room- People talking. Phones ringing. People typing (type writers or computers?).

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Directions: Drama Series Choice

As part of our directions unit we have been asked to chose a drama that we would like to adapt a scene from.

I have chosen BREAKING BAD

Breaking Bad was a American crime drama produced by Sony Pictures for the AMC network. It ran for 5 seasons between 2008 and 2013. It was created and produced by Vince Gilligan.

The show tells the story of Walter White, a chemistry teacher diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, who, along with a former student, Jessie Pinkman, turns to a life of crime, producing and selling crystal meth to help secure his family's financial future before he dies.

Directors:

11 episodes were directed by Michelle MacLaren. 8 episodes were directed by Adam Bernstein. And 5 episodes were directed by Vince Gilligan, the show's creator. Even Bryan Cranston directed 3 episodes. All the other episodes were directed by a mixture of directors. It is clear however that Michelle MacLaren was the main director.

Clip: Breaking Bad Season 1-5 Trailer

Why I chose Breaking Bad:

I was a late comer to the Breaking Bad fan club. Everyone was always going on about it so I decided to finally watch it. I watched all five seasons over one summer and I absolutely loved it. I chose Breaking Bad because I think it is one of the greatest pieces of television to have been produced in the last 10 years. I think it has some great moments, but I won't say what they are in case you haven't seen it, because I guarantee you will eventually. The characters are great, the storyline is great, the dialogue is great, it's just great! I was addicted to it!

I want to adapt one of those great moments in my own way and use Vince's incredible dialogue to create my own masterpiece just like Breaking Bad. Of course it will never be anywhere near as good as Breaking Bad, but I will give it my best shot.

Oh and the other reason I chose it was so I could give myself an excuse to watch it all over again!!

I have not decided on a scene/s yet however I have decided that I will choose one/a few from season 1 because that season set up the story and introduced us to Walter White and Jessie Pinkman, two incredible characters.

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