Technical Pan Exercise

Technical Pan Exercise from Joe Cross on Vimeo.

Read More

Script Fourth Draft

Fourth Draft Script by

Read More

Shot List

Shot Number	Shot Type	Description
1	Close up	Luke opens his locker
2	Continued Close up	Luke is looking in his locker
3	Close up	Looking inside Luke’s locker
4	Close up	Looking out at Luke from the locker
5	Wide shot	Shows Luke from behind at his locker
6	Extreme Wide shot	Alice walks in to shot
7	Continued Extreme Wide shot	Alice stops next to Luke
8	Mid shot (over shoulder)	Luke looks inside Alice’s locker
9	Mid shot	Profile shot of Alice
10	Extreme Close up (long take)	Alice’s eyes
11	Extreme Close up (long take)	Alice’s nose
12	Extreme Close up (long take)	Alice’s smile
13	Wide shot	Alice shuts her locker
14	Continued Wide shot	Alice walks out of shot
15	Mid shot (over shoulder)	Luke is at a computer
16	Close up	Luke is typing at a keyboard
17	Close up	Luke’s work is shown
18	Close up	Luke clicks print
19	Wide shot (action match)	Luke gets up from his chair
20	Wide shot (action match) (high angle)	Luke is shown walking across the room
21	Wide shot (over shoulder)	Luke notices the Antagonists
22	Wide shot (canted)	Antagonists shift attention to Luke
23	Mid shot (low angle)	Antagonists point at Luke
24	Mid shot (reverse) (pull focus)	Luke is shown ignoring the Antagonists
25	Wide shot	Antagonist walks up to Luke
26	Mid shot (long take)	Antagonist stands behind Luke
27	Mid shot (long take)	More Antagonists stand behind Luke
28	Full shot	All of the Antagonists are behind Luke
29	Full shot	Luke leaves through the middle of the Antagonists
30	Wide shot	Antagonists follow Luke
31	Wide shot (action match)	Luke moves to sit down
32	Mid shot (action match)	Luke sits down
33	Mid shot	Antagonists stand behind Luke, with their heads out of shot
34	Mid shot (reverse)	Antagonist reaches for Luke’s bag
35	Close up	Hand reaching for Luke’s bag
36	Extreme Close up	Luke grabs the hand to stop it
37	Mid shot (reverse)	Luke throws the Antagonist’s hand over his shoulder
38	Extreme Close up	Antagonist reaches for bag and is stopped again
39	Mid shot (180 degree rule)	Luke talks to Antagonist
40	Mid shot (180 degree rule)	Antagonist talks to Luke
41	Wide shot	Antagonists leave Luke alone
42	Wide shot	Alice enters the scene
43	Close up	Alice’s face is shown
44	Mid shot	Antagonists laugh at Alice
45	Close up	Hand picking up a sandwich
46	Mid shot (reverse)	Antagonist throws sandwich
47	Close up	Sandwich flying through the air
48	Mid shot	Alice is hit in the face by the sandwich
49	Full shot	Alice walks to a seat
50	Mid shot	Alice is sitting down
51	Close up	Alice is getting things out of her bag
52	Wide shot (high angle)	Antagonists walk up to Alice
53	Mid shot	Antagonists take her bag
54	Mid shot	Alice curls up in her seat
55	Body shot	Antagonist holding her bag, their heads out of shot
56	Close up	Antagonists take things from the bag
57	Wide shot	Antagonists place her things in front of her
58	Mid shot	Antagonist puts his arm around Alice
59	Mid shot	Alice is curled up still
60	Close up	Luke’s face is showing anger
61	Mid shot	Luke reaches for his phone
62	Close up	Luke’s phone is shown messaging
63	Close up	Luke looks up
64	Wide shot	Antagonists shown terrorising Alice
65	Close up	Phone shows conversation is finished
66	Mid shot	Luke pockets his phone
67	Mid shot	Luke leaves his seat
68	Wide shot	Luke walks over to the group
69	Full shot	Luke pushes past Antagonists
70	Close up	Luke grabs Alice’s wrist
71	Wide shot	Luke pulls Alice outside
72	Extreme Wide shot (high angle)	Luke and Alice stop and face the Antagonists
73	Mid shot	Luke puts his hand in his pocket
74	Mid shot	Luke pulls his phone up to eye level
75	Close up	Phone shown on video mode
76	Wide shot	Luke’s friend pops out from behind a bush
77	Wide shot	Luke’s friend jumps out from behind a wall
78	Close up	Antagonists look around
79	Extreme Close up	Luke’s eye show anger
80	Close up	Luke’s phone shown filming the Antagonists being hit by sandwiches
81	Mid shot	Luke and Alice are close together
82	Close up	Luke and Alice hold hands

Read More

Ancillary Task 1 - Film Review - Draft 2

Review for TBC – Second Part

Joseph Cross’s latest piece TBC returns us to some similar ground and remembrance of his roots, from his previous piece, ‘Family Ties’ (2011). Suburban Surrey, with it’s grassy hills, and built up council estates, foreshadow the hushed sufferings of its inhabitants. The poor juxtaposed with the rich right next door as your ‘friendly neighbour’.

TBC’s main male protagonist, Luke, could be seen easily as the older version of his previous male character just a bit older and more weathered socially, still with the failing social realist relationships, seen in the relationship in his previous work with the mother/son relationship. But in this new piece, it is seen within his failing relationship, with the female, supporting protagonist, Alice. Alice is a completely new character to Cross, and an utterly new field for him to create wonders with. Her portrayal of the niche, ‘emo’ social clique represented through her all black attire, even down to the tiniest make up detail, meshed with her withdrawn, social awkward representation make for the drama that has been introduced in to this new piece, which creates the hybrid genre.

The flawed love story, and the social drama is very reminiscent of Andrea Arnold’s ‘Fish Tank’, in the shape and form that while Mia, the protagonist of ‘Fish Tank’ strives for social recognition through her dancing and the adoration of a male (Michael Fassbender), TBC’s Luke strives for the adoration and social recognition from Alice, shown through one of the main dilemmas of the short, where Luke is shot down and then has to choose whether to ignore or defend Alice.

The overall acting of the inexperienced individuals is utterly helped by the choice of location. Set in the Sixth Form Cross used to attend as a teen, he knew exactly what environment to set this piece in to make it realistic and believable, the imagery of the group of bullies, part of the ‘popular’ clique is a very clichéd idea but it has been pulled off in a way that makes it relevant to today’s teenagers. Cross stated; ‘I went in to visit for a day, and was welcomed back very warmly, and it hadn’t changed. The social cliques were all still present, even if a bit involved and there was also the group of bullies, and the few outcasts. It was just a matter of portraying that evolution, in my piece.’

So with Luke’s motives of acceptance and love, the film starts to seem incredibly cliché but it does it in a very subtle, enjoyable way. It doesn’t seem like a rehash of previous love/drama stories but more of a re-imagining but from a social realist point of view. With a very blunt take on teenage life, rejection, isolation, torment being some key features that are under represented by the media as a whole. TBC makes a very good stab, at opening the normally very dark, locked door to teenage life, but manages to get itself through that door and give a very real representation at what teenagers go through on a daily basis and what can happen if you make a stand, and make a change for yourself. This in turn makes it an extremely fun, informative watch for a social realism/drama hybrid.  

Read More

Ancillary Task 1 - Film Review Draft 1

Review for TBC

"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people." 

Even over half a century after his death, Martin Luther King Jr’s words still resonate in the world, in this example a teenage one. Set in a quiet, but highly mixed demographic, village sixth form, in the middle of rural Surrey, it opens the window to the highly abhorrent and frivolous world of teenagers, in the new socialist hybrid from, Joseph Cross.

We meet Luke, standing at a set of lockers, dwindling his time away on what items will aid him most, in contrast to most of his peers who have gone home, whilst he stays to be the persevering student. He is what you would call a model student, a teacher’s pet if you will, a social outcast by his peers.

Out of the misleading blue of the lockers, we are introduced to a new character, Alice, the pretty, quiet, introvert, deemed the odd child in the eyes of their peers, yet the apple of Luke’s eye.

Thereupon for the rest of the short, Luke is battling with his inner demons of his own social acceptance, from his extremely judgmental peers, whilst juxtaposing himself, pining for the acceptance and recognition from Alice. The ending albeit is a completed subverted expectation from the dregs of the bullying/romance love story. It hints at what could be defined as the beginning of a relationship, almost a reaching of Luke’s goal but it is open ended. It is left completely up to the viewer, a like to his previous work, ‘Family Vices’ where the ending was left completely down to how the viewer perceived it.

Though what we have here is an interesting, nose dive in to what is the troubled world of teenagers and how they function, almost a ‘slap to the face’ of the parents, who are in the dark about their own offspring.

Cross tries to affirm the strength of representation of key social issues in his work, this is informed from the nuclear focuses of his previous work ‘Family Vices’ which can be classed as a social realist piece representing the disabled and broken family, yet on the other hand this new piece TBC can be seen as a big step from his preceding title, in the way he is moving in to an under represented area of teenage social stereotypes. Nevertheless, as a viewer you can pick up on the small, lingering wisps, of social realist roots. This in the shape and form that both show a nuclear, destructive cycle, that is forever present, yet the whole story and character representations are totally converse.

It leaves the social realist ideals of the broken home and the troubled, left at home child, slowly progressing in to a more broad audience issue, though still maintaining elements of social realism, however it’s pairing with drama make this an engaging hybrid. This becomes evident as the characters break through the almost, Pandora like box that they are held ransom in by social cliques, such as the protagonist Luke, whom holds his own honorable principles, but is hindered by appearance, much alike to Alice, the quiet weak, introvert and the group of boys who ‘bully’ anyone, piloting a power hungry ego trip.

Narratively, the structure is simple yet engaging. The love story, intrigues the viewer as to what happens but that is only an underlying feature, whilst the drama powers through the waves of rife emotions to keep the viewer entertained.

Referring back to the opening Luke is shown as pining for Alice and quietly dealing with rejection, contrasted with just seconds later a powerful, stand against his oppressors, showing his two different personalities, his reality and his shield.

Which is powerfully juxtaposed against the reality and defense mechanism of Alice, as when she becomes the subject of the ‘bullies’ torment, she shows her true utmost helpless self, and recoils in to an almost fetal position as a her ‘bubble’ of safety from the outside world.

The audience are most likely going to have a mixed reaction to the protagonist, mainly down to the Director’s choice of how to represent the character, as Luke, is not what you would call societies accepted norm. But the way that the inexperienced, ACTORS NAME, depicts the character to the audience, as a subverted expectation, awash with emotion and grandeur. Cross rolls with the punches of his actor’s performances mainly because they help the overall intent of the film, which is to make society, otherwise known as the audience look at themselves and what is happening in the younger generation they created. It may sound incredibly clichéd but it’s a valid point. Parents don’t know what their child is like, or they turn a blind eye to it and there needs to be change. The change itself is not evident in a parental context within the piece, but the protagonist’s story, a tale of self defense, romance, displays of power and displays of aggression all entwined in to one leads to a pivotal moment of mental change from a physical catalyst.

Luke and Alice as primary and secondary ‘main’ characters blend and mesh together, almost like the fabric of a jumper, they have slight similarities in tastes, yet their differences in personality is what brings them together, plus the supporting roles of the group members when they ‘bully’ each character  in turn, makes the story seem so much more believable. The acting for amateurs was really convincing despite no prior experience being in front of a camera, although the choice of the near penultimate scene was a bad choice, it was so revenge cliché it brought the whole story down. However, the film was lifted by it’s up to date representation of teenagers, their culture, their style and their mode of address, it added to the story, and therefore added to the enjoyment of the viewer. It also raised some issues about British culture; TBC doesn’t really stick to the norm of British cinema, although it depicts a realistic representation of a failing British education system, raises the whole failure and destruction ideas again.

TBC is what you could call a dark horse, it is a bold, brave, step in to an interesting, frowned upon area, but it does it in such an upfront, real, digestible way, it makes an eye opening watch.

Read More