Actresses Critique
Adele Pearce - Carmen Moline
Adele chose the role on her own accord after reading the script. Thankfully when going through the rehearsal I realised she suited the role well. Not only because she has an arty background and instantly connected with the role but because she was perfect at portraying the loving girlfriend who is not set in her ways but if you cross her she will let you know exactly how she feels and that she will neither put up with it or stand for it.
She drew from the characters background and family which she then goes to use in the present day and her current relationship. She felt confident and comfortable being intimate with the other cast member rather than it looking like she has read the script and seen that their is going to be a kiss with another woman and her not being fully comfortable with it because she is straight. They both appeared to joke about it before hand to somewhat take the power out of the kiss (peck on the lips) which merely lasts seconds.
Adele portrayed herself in a highly professional and presentable manner which on screen will/should make people of the lesbian, gay and bi-sexual community feel somewhat honoured/proud to be presented in such a positive light rather than the usual stereotypical way of one half of the couple being portrayed in either a butch or incredibly camp manner.
Josephine Arden - Grace Whedon
Josephine was left with the role of Grace as she came into production a lot later than Adele due to a former cast member pulling out at the last minute, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the two females knew one another well enough to not worry having to make small talk or getting one another before filming. They felt comfortable enough to get straight into production after a couple rehearsals.
However when I did tell Josephine about which role she would be playing she seemed content and somewhat relived as she too felt a connection with the character and thought it was more her than the role of Carmen.
During the rehearsal and production Josephine brought with and charisma to the role. She portrayed all the emotions and feelings across in a happy go lucky manner which can be interpreted as the characters way of suppressing and trying to see the best of every situation. Rather than shouting and cussing as Carmen does instead she takes the calm approach and doesn't want to discuss it at the present moment as she has other things on her mind/ going on in her life that she concludes to be more important. She knows what she wants and how to achieve it in a hassle free manner.
Josephine often asked questions and frequently made suggestions so as to make the role as believable as can be for the viewing audience. She was eager and keen to please so wanted to know which was the best way to approach the film, character and interacting with the other cast member.
Initially when I began the project with the two females I thought i'd have a few minor issues with them knowing one another, as I thought they would get easily distracted and that we would have to do re-takes but truth be told when it came to takes we only had to re-shoot a couple scenes not because of distractions but down to merely lines be muddled up, forgotten or saying their lines at the wrong time. They seemed to be the perfect match for my short film, their portrayal of their relationship on screen reminded me of that of the relationship my girlfriend and I have. It was so realistic that had I not known they were not straight and just close friends I would have believed they were an actual couple.
Cut Out Editing
Cut Out Editing
Rough Cut of Cut Out
When I first began editing I initially used the default video transition cross fade. This was because I merely put the clips in the right order, trimming the duration of each before adding them to the timeline and then again modifying them on the timeline. The default video transition is one in which would not suit my film as it appears to make the film come across as feeble and does not exactly give the impression of the film being of a high standard.
After I had changed the video transition to that of quicktime channel compositor I watched the rough cut of the film to evaluate if their were any scenes that I would need to shorten their duration or if I should use different shots like shot reverse shot or direct mode of address during certain scenes. I found that the kitchen scene was rather too long, initially it was just meant to show that Carmen needed a while to calm down before going back into the lounge to talk to Grace but it seemed to turn into a long moment where I almost forgot about the other character. So to resolve that issue I think rather than blocking the whole kitchen scene together I might jump back to Grace in the lounge where she declares she is going to do it, it's now or never. So that would divide the long scene and also show us the other character. Also Grace saying about doing it now or never and then Carmen coming in seemed a bit too fast almost as if she had been listening outside the door to Grace anticipating doing something. When I initially went to export my film the following message popped up.
-Turn off "unlimited rt"
-Lower compression data rate
-Close open sequences
-Lower the preference for real time audio
-Increase the speed of your system and/or disk drives and/or network connection
Primarily none of these messages meant anything to me as the film seemed to be playing perfectly well but soon after I exported it I started to see issues with my film, minor ones but issues all the same. A couple of the scenes appeared to be jumping just before the transition, a couple scenes came across as too dark, it also seemed to decrease the quality of the film rapidly the film now seemed grainy and cheap. All problems that I could rectify but did not see until I had exported it.
Rough Cut of Cut Out
Cut Out Diary (New One)
Diary Before Production
Tuesday 6th July - Sent out the email to see who could be cast in my film on the website www.castingnetwork.co.uk.
Wednesday 7th July- Heard back from Adele and Shana, it seems promising but neither female confirmed yes yet, they both want to have more information on the project.
Friday 9th July - Both females confirm they would like to be in the film and give me the details of their availability.
Sunday 11th July - The females each assign themselves roles, choosing the character that they believe they can relate to, the role they feel most comfortable with.
Thursday 15th July - Another female I contacted from the website www.castingnetwork.co.uk and makes me aware of why she can not be in the film but wishes me luck and to keep her in mind for the future.
Tuesday 20th July/ Wednesday 21st July - Shana makes up some ridiculous excuses about having to find somewhere else to live so not being able to commit to anything at the moment.
I speak to Adele over the phone about the problem that has arose and a possible resolution, she is going to contact actresses she knows and see if anyone is free to be in the film and that she knows to be reliable as she has either worked with them before or someone that she went to university with.
Friday 23rd July - Send out a new email trying to recruit a new female actress to play the role of Grace. Hear back from Josephine and Verity, I talk to both of them via email and Josephine seems like a good match for the role Grace as Verity keeps asking for some sort of payment after I've already stated in the email and on the website that it is a non-profit film, Verity contacts me yet again asking if I will be covering travel expenses instead. To which I had to inform her for the second time that it is a non-profit film and that I will not be able to cover pay or expenses.
Monday 26th July - Pollyanna contacts me for more details as she is willing and keen to be in the film if it doesn't clash with her prior plans.
Thursday 27th July/ Friday 28th July - Further conversations with Josephine where she confirms she can be in the film as the role of Grace the only issue is she can not do the prior dates stated but can do the next weekend and that she can only start after one o'clock on Saturday 7th August but can start bright and early Sunday 8th August, so it's not really an issue. She sees their is a possible problem but is willing to try fix it by doing it a couple days later and is going to work around her prior plans so that it doesn't not have a major impact on the final product as in it's not rushed.
Diary During Production
Saturday 7th August/Sunday 8th August
Josephine and Adele previously know one another from working together at 'London Dungeon's' so they were bouncing off of one another when it came to acting together. There were a few bloopers but nothing to serious or that was time-consuming as in constantly laughing over something silly, they acted in a professional manner and were quick to want to start over if either or both made a mistake during a take.
Josephine made the character Grace some what comical at times not to the extent where it changed the short film into a comedy but to the extent that she made it seem as though her character dealt with things through laughing it off rather than letting her get it down a somewhat happy go lucky person.
Adele made the character Carmen into a rather loving and excitable character. However you soon knew when she had been crossed and she wasn't impressed as her whole demeanour changed and she would let you know exactly what was on her mind, whether you agreed with her or not.
With a few scenes I left Adele and Josephine to improvise their own actions and interactions with one another, otherwise I feared it would look completely staged, and may come across as uncomfortable. Since I was not 100% sure how comfortable they were with one another. For instance the kiss within the first scene could have merely have been a peck on the cheek but they went straight in for the kill and delivered a realistic and comfortable kiss on the lips and embraced one another. Which looks great and set the correct atmosphere at the beginning of the short film, they brought true essence to the characters as if that was really their lives they lead and not just roles. They used their real life chemistry and brought it to the roles to make it seem realistic and lifelike.
During filming Adele really got into the moment when doing the confrontation scene in which Grace finally tells Carmen that there is more to the promotion than she has previously let on. She went bright red in the face from shouting at Josephine, these scenes had to be re-shot a couple times, due to both Adele almost losing her voice when shouting and Josephine forgetting her lines a couple times and interrupting Adele by accident.
The initial collision scene in the beginning of the film has now gone as the beginning of the film was some what changed from Carmen doing some house chores it has instead been changed to Carmen is merely relaxing at home watching television as Grace comes in. They still meet at the doorway of the lounge but instead it's as if Carmen is going to the kitchen/bathroom/bedroom whilst Grace is coming into the lounge to relax after her day at work.
Also I changed the close up I was initially going to do in the first scene to a medium shot as when i first filmed it as a close up it created a somewhat small issue as after Grace and Carmen had greeted one another they instinctively moved away from one another as their was no reason for them to continuously hold on to one another and it wasn't exactly realistic.
There are a few minor changes but nothing that has a huge impact on the final product. Some of the lines have been reworded when they are said but not to the extent where it changes the meaning of the sentence or the main point they are trying to get across. The armchair is now a large sofa but that was rather a minor change that didn't really effect the essence of the film.
There is no sign of tears during the film but the viewing audience is still able to feel/see the genuine emotion presented on both sides. The viewing audience are still presented with the range of emotions the two women go through in the film. Sadness on Carmen's behalf when she hears of Ashley's ultimatum as well as irritation/frustration and getting somewhat agitated. Happiness/excitement from both due to Grace proposing and at that one moment in time all their worries/problems appear to fade away as if nothing and no-one else is relevant at that one moment in time. Anger from Carmen when Grace drops the bombshell of Ashley ultimatum and Grace just seems to be calm, cool and collected about it rather than having a good rant about as Carmen is, she instead seems slightly happy go lucky about it as if it doesn't phase her at that moment in time. However the lack of tears didn't change the scene whatsoever crying wasn't definitely necessary for the scene, they adapted the scene to how they would each react if the same scenario was happening in their actual everyday life.
Tuesday 6th July - Sent out the email to see who could be cast in my film on the website www.castingnetwork.co.uk.
Wednesday 7th July- Heard back from Adele and Shana, it seems promising but neither female confirmed yes yet, they both want to have more information on the project.
Friday 9th July - Both females confirm they would like to be in the film and give me the details of their availability.
Sunday 11th July - The females each assign themselves roles, choosing the character that they believe they can relate to, the role they feel most comfortable with.
Thursday 15th July - Another female I contacted from the website www.castingnetwork.co.uk and makes me aware of why she can not be in the film but wishes me luck and to keep her in mind for the future.
Tuesday 20th July/ Wednesday 21st July - Shana makes up some ridiculous excuses about having to find somewhere else to live so not being able to commit to anything at the moment.
I speak to Adele over the phone about the problem that has arose and a possible resolution, she is going to contact actresses she knows and see if anyone is free to be in the film and that she knows to be reliable as she has either worked with them before or someone that she went to university with.
Friday 23rd July - Send out a new email trying to recruit a new female actress to play the role of Grace. Hear back from Josephine and Verity, I talk to both of them via email and Josephine seems like a good match for the role Grace as Verity keeps asking for some sort of payment after I've already stated in the email and on the website that it is a non-profit film, Verity contacts me yet again asking if I will be covering travel expenses instead. To which I had to inform her for the second time that it is a non-profit film and that I will not be able to cover pay or expenses.
Monday 26th July - Pollyanna contacts me for more details as she is willing and keen to be in the film if it doesn't clash with her prior plans.
Thursday 27th July/ Friday 28th July - Further conversations with Josephine where she confirms she can be in the film as the role of Grace the only issue is she can not do the prior dates stated but can do the next weekend and that she can only start after one o'clock on Saturday 7th August but can start bright and early Sunday 8th August, so it's not really an issue. She sees their is a possible problem but is willing to try fix it by doing it a couple days later and is going to work around her prior plans so that it doesn't not have a major impact on the final product as in it's not rushed.
Diary During Production
Saturday 7th August/Sunday 8th August
Josephine and Adele previously know one another from working together at 'London Dungeon's' so they were bouncing off of one another when it came to acting together. There were a few bloopers but nothing to serious or that was time-consuming as in constantly laughing over something silly, they acted in a professional manner and were quick to want to start over if either or both made a mistake during a take.
Josephine made the character Grace some what comical at times not to the extent where it changed the short film into a comedy but to the extent that she made it seem as though her character dealt with things through laughing it off rather than letting her get it down a somewhat happy go lucky person.
Adele made the character Carmen into a rather loving and excitable character. However you soon knew when she had been crossed and she wasn't impressed as her whole demeanour changed and she would let you know exactly what was on her mind, whether you agreed with her or not.
With a few scenes I left Adele and Josephine to improvise their own actions and interactions with one another, otherwise I feared it would look completely staged, and may come across as uncomfortable. Since I was not 100% sure how comfortable they were with one another. For instance the kiss within the first scene could have merely have been a peck on the cheek but they went straight in for the kill and delivered a realistic and comfortable kiss on the lips and embraced one another. Which looks great and set the correct atmosphere at the beginning of the short film, they brought true essence to the characters as if that was really their lives they lead and not just roles. They used their real life chemistry and brought it to the roles to make it seem realistic and lifelike.
During filming Adele really got into the moment when doing the confrontation scene in which Grace finally tells Carmen that there is more to the promotion than she has previously let on. She went bright red in the face from shouting at Josephine, these scenes had to be re-shot a couple times, due to both Adele almost losing her voice when shouting and Josephine forgetting her lines a couple times and interrupting Adele by accident.
The initial collision scene in the beginning of the film has now gone as the beginning of the film was some what changed from Carmen doing some house chores it has instead been changed to Carmen is merely relaxing at home watching television as Grace comes in. They still meet at the doorway of the lounge but instead it's as if Carmen is going to the kitchen/bathroom/bedroom whilst Grace is coming into the lounge to relax after her day at work.
Also I changed the close up I was initially going to do in the first scene to a medium shot as when i first filmed it as a close up it created a somewhat small issue as after Grace and Carmen had greeted one another they instinctively moved away from one another as their was no reason for them to continuously hold on to one another and it wasn't exactly realistic.
There are a few minor changes but nothing that has a huge impact on the final product. Some of the lines have been reworded when they are said but not to the extent where it changes the meaning of the sentence or the main point they are trying to get across. The armchair is now a large sofa but that was rather a minor change that didn't really effect the essence of the film.
There is no sign of tears during the film but the viewing audience is still able to feel/see the genuine emotion presented on both sides. The viewing audience are still presented with the range of emotions the two women go through in the film. Sadness on Carmen's behalf when she hears of Ashley's ultimatum as well as irritation/frustration and getting somewhat agitated. Happiness/excitement from both due to Grace proposing and at that one moment in time all their worries/problems appear to fade away as if nothing and no-one else is relevant at that one moment in time. Anger from Carmen when Grace drops the bombshell of Ashley ultimatum and Grace just seems to be calm, cool and collected about it rather than having a good rant about as Carmen is, she instead seems slightly happy go lucky about it as if it doesn't phase her at that moment in time. However the lack of tears didn't change the scene whatsoever crying wasn't definitely necessary for the scene, they adapted the scene to how they would each react if the same scenario was happening in their actual everyday life.
Coronation Street/ Twilight New Moon & Eclipse
I found this to be influential due to the nature of the relationship, it was something they stumbled upon accidentally as neither of them knew they could have feelings for another female let alone their best friend.
The relationship began shortly after Sian broke up with her boyfriend Ryan. Sian went to Sophie's to be comforted and to apologise to her for not believing her that Ryan had attempted to come on to her, the
I thought this was similar to 'Cut Out' as Grace and Carmen also just happened to stumble upon their relationship whilst at university. The difference is they never had to shy away from their feelings as much as Sophie and Sian do. This being because they both came out to their families and it was never a secret, however their reactions to the
Sophie is sure enough about the feelings she has for Sian, whilst Sian is attempting to embrace the idea and is still pondering about where her sudden feelings for Sophie have come from. I found this some what similar to 'Cut Out' as Carmen is completely sure about her feelings for Grace but Grace gets considerably in doubt when she thinks the only way she can help Carmen is by leaving her which will hurt and ends their life plans but will help her in the long run.
The love triangle is somewhat complex compared to that of Grace and Carmen's relationship in 'Cut Out', maybe because from the beginning of 'Cut Out' we know the relationship is just about the two of them and yes their might be other factors that try to disrupt their relationship but not in the form of a person who is trying to steal one half of the couple. Yes someone is trying to separate them but more because she's uncomfortable with the relationship as she is homophobic rather than
I also found that in both films there is always someone who is willing to make a sacrifice for the one they love. In 'Twilight New Moon' Edward is willing to sacrifice his happiness, life and the exposure to the fact that vampires live in the present day. Whilst in 'Cut Out' Carmen is willing to walk away from the relationship so that Grace can receive the promotion she deserves as she works too hard to miss such an opportunity and she doesn't want Grace to end up resenting her in the long run.
The other sacrifice that i felt had some sort of correlation is that of Bella putting herself in a somewhat compromising predicament to help her best friend Jacob. Bella loves Jacob but not as much as Edward as she is in love with Edward. However she tries to show him that she still needs/wants/longs for him through passionately kissing him before he departs for the big fight scene in 'Twilight Eclipse'. This is a sacrifice as Edward as the ability to read minds and he obviously knows that Bella and Jacob share a kiss through reading Jacobs thoughts. This could have been the downfall in their relationship but instead Edward respects that it was the only way that Bella could try and save her best friend, even though Edward and Jacob are arch rivals he realises that it's a somewhat selfish act but he can understand why she had to do it not to hurt him but instead to try and save Jacob from getting hurt. In the long run this backfires as Jacob knows in his heart and later on through a conversation with Bella that as much as she loves him it's not enough for her to be with him. As long as Edward is alive she belongs with him but at the same time she still wants Jacob in her life.Grace is also making a somewhat selfless sacrifice, she is sacrificing her career, her chance in being promoted especially as she has just proposed to Carmen. It could and probably will present issues with her boss Ashely when she eventually hears the news unless Grace has decided that Ashley either accepts that her sexuality/relationship is not something she is willing to change for anyone she either accepts it or she doesn't get promoted. As her sexuality/relationship is in no way interfering with her work performance and it's not as if she is parading her sexuality around at work, the case is it should be what Grace does in the privacy of her own home should never come into her being promoted or how it represents the company.