Workshop preparation...

So I am now in the process of preparing for the workshops. They will take place on weekend days and evenings throughout February.
Part of the preparation was creating a shot list and then a storyboard, drawing out what I imagined each shot would contained.
I realised that this was essential process for myself because I tend to come up with a series of shots intuitively. I then need a way to work through what they really mean because I will have a DOP coming up with his own ideas, and then locations that will not quite be the way I imagined them to be. What is the essential elements of a scene? That way JC could make his own suggestions, and we will know what to compromise on a location?
Here are the two shots for scene 5. In scene 4, Natalie, Claire's sister calls very late. She must see Claire immediately. We cut to a medium shot of Natalie at Claire's front door. 5a. We stay on Natalie. She won't come in. She goes on and on. Claire is barely able to say anything. Her relationship, her boyfriend, Nick, it is too intense. Claire wouldn't know what it is like.















Finally she goes, after handing Claire the keys to her flat and asking to take care of the plants and check everything is okay.
Claire is left there on the doorstep. 5b. Wondering what has just happened. She looks out into the night, and then shuts the door.

















So this is the way I imagined it. Natalie in the open street, free, Claire framed in the doorway of the flat, encumbered. Why?
Natalie is free. She pays a price, she is frightened, but that is how she prefers it. Claire, on the other hand, is comfortable. She got out of a warm bed and can shut the door and return to it. But is also trapped.
So when Natalie is gone Claire takes a quick look out into this world. The great, frightening world that Natalie floats about in is the place that Claire will enter in the story.
So these are the essentials that JC and everyone else needs to understand. Perhaps we will shoot it just like this, perhaps JC will come up with something better, or perhaps the locations will dictate something entirely different, or we will find something there that adds on top of it.
More to come as I begin shooting the workshop.

Update - Claire

So, an update.
First I managed to finish a new draft of the Paul section of the script. Or nearly finished. I feel there are some parts that need some more thought but I need some time for it to cook. So I am putting this aside for now. This means I can now focus on the Claire section.
And I am ready to begin the workshop. I have begun a rough breakdown of the scenes per shot, and all that remains is to schedule in the actors. I can't remember in all these posts whether I have detailed my plan, but it is worth repeating. Like the short film Reconciliation, I am shooting the whole film on DV, editing it, and then getting feedback. And then repeating the workshop/DV shoot as required until we are satisfied.
So when can I expect that the DV version of to be complete? Well, ideally at the end of February, so the weather will improve and we will be ready to shoot for real.
More on the workshop as it progresses.