POSSIBLE COUNSELLOR’S OFFICE LOCATIONS

+ OUR CHOSEN LOCATIONNote: Pictures were taken by Monisha Roy (MR) and Sara Avramovska (SA)

Location 1 – School’s Meeting Room Myself and Monisha Roy (MR) have visited the meeting room space as a possible location for our Counsellor Office Scenes, however we were not convinced. As a group we have determined that the space is considerably large and complicated in terms mise-en-scene, we were unable to gain permission to re-arrange the furniture. Furthermore the particular interior space design restricts our film from establishing a sense of realism and a professional ambience entrenched by a stereotypical/conventional Counsellor’s Office. Within our film we intend to depict an environment that supports the therapist’s profession as well as the client’s comfort which Location 1 does not visually establish, for the characters on screen as well as it’s off-screen spectators. I believe the proportion of the room rejects the therapeutic emotional safety, empathy and delight that a client requires. For our filming of the conversational dialogue between Hayle and Mrs Audrey we intend to employ the reverse-shot – technique, as over the shoulder shots applied to emphasize the characters speaking, their reactions and responses creating a sense of emotional bond between the two. However the furniture in Location 1 is unable to provide an this adequate conversational/emotional as well as physical support ; our protagonist and the counsellor may be depicted as environmentally disconnected by the dimension of the wooden table inadequately embellished by the filming techniques/shots we aim to use. Furthermore, we have decided not to use the School’s Meeting Room area, as we must book a schedule through the school system preventing myself and my group from scheduling a time when our actors are free to film. Moreover, the room is located in a noisy environment which can be prevented by professional sound equipment that is rather difficult to carry through narrow spaces and on an upper floor. Myself and Monisha Roy (MR) have also tested the natural lighting within Location 1 which appeared overly exposed on our filing camera and it is unable to be prevented as we were not provided by window curtains.

LOCATION 2 – YEAR 11 COMMON ROOM Similarly to Location 1, we were unable to use the School’s Year 11 Common Room due to preventing factors including our group’s inability to transform the location into a professional visual outcome. The main restricting factor however, was the lighting within this location which appeared overly exposed when tested using our filming camera, we were unable to prevent due to the high sealing placement of the windows.

Location 3 – Prayer Room Space We have chosen to visit Location 3, as it is provided within our school’s facilities as a calming, relaxing and delightful area which is the ambience we desire to imitate within our counsellor’s office scenes however we were unable to use this room due to scheduled school activities.

FINAL AND CHOSEN LOCATION – Our Principle’s Office

Myself and my group member’s have chosen to film our Counsellor’s Office Scenes in our Principle’s Office as we believe the mise-en-scene is excellent in terms of demonstrating the aura of a conventional/stereotypical Counsellor’s office, furthermore benefiting the extent of realism we intend to portray within our film. For example, with the permission of our principle we were able to rearrange the furniture in order to create a sacred space. Our leather chair’s will be arranged opposite formation allowing the audience to recognise that our counsellor is enabled to provide adequate physical support towards Hayle.; the wooden table will be placed between the two character acting as a barrier to provide a sense of orientation within our on-screen visual . The wooden table will furthermore enhance the sense of realism as the counsellor will appear going through client’s paperwork as Hayle enters the room within our opening scene therefore the audience are able to gain a sense of space and establish the film’s setting. I believe the placement of the furniture will also allow us to demonstrate the shot-reverse-technique , as OTS shots are used to display the conversational dialogue between the two character’s (Hayle and Mrs Audrey). The colour of the wall’s (light blue/purple) appears calming while visually expanding the space Moreover, harsh artificial lighting can often make a room appear cold and stark therefore this location is excellent in terms of using natural light making the environment appear emotionally-safe to out audience’s, as therapist’s find natural lighting helpful to reducing stress, fatigue, depression and agitation. Within our film Hayle appears agitated and stressed throughout therefore the lighting will act as a form of irony while also highlighting the effect on Hayle’s mental state affected by her experience of Sleep Paralysis; the leather chair’s may also contribute to symbolising our protagonist’s agitated mental state as the colour black consists of negative connotation and leather is often associated with displeasure. In addition, the office is also located in a reticent part of our school facilities, enabling us to avoid disorientation within our audience’s often created by background noise. For our counsellor’s office scenes sound we intend to use a Boom Pole while also using a plugged in microphone within our camera. Post- production we will determine which sound we will be using in order to create a sharp and clear outcome pleasing towards the target audience of our film.