PRE-PRODUCTION: 23rd February Casting

Unfortunately our male actor playing Jamie is unable to fulfill his commitment as an actor due to health reasons. Due to this last minute drop out we have replaced him with our team member
Lucy Abbott:

PRE-PRODUCTION: 20th February Storyboarding improved

PRE-PRODUCTION: 14th February: Characters and casting

Character Profiles

Jamie

Age:18
Gender:male
Character attributes: This character has anxiety

Actor: James Unsworth

James has previously acted before at school and is very interested in doing more drama, he seemed enthusiastic and a very believable and real actor. 

Contact details :07784695353

Sophie

Age:19
Gender:female
Character attributes: This character has an eating disorder. She doesn't see what she really looks like in the mirror. This is called body dysmorphia


We are using 2 actress' one will be Jessica and the other the figure she sees in the mirror

Actress:Emma O'Brien

We have decided to use members of our group for this disorder. We know that eating disorders are very common with girls and that many females wouldn't have been confident acting this role and revealing their bodies. Therefore to avoid someone feeling uncomfortable while we film we have chosen to use Emma and Izzy as our actress' for this character.

Contact details :07435146566

Actress: Izzy Cooper

Contact details: 07522953810

Jessica

Age:19
Gender:female
Character attributes: This character will have OCD.

Actress: Stacey Symons

Stacey also has previously acted and she was very eager to act in our film. She is very organised and always on time, so we know she will be a very reliable actress. We also asked her to act out a few shots we would need and she took direction and acted very well.

Contact details:07904272332

PRE-PRODUCTION: 14th February:Script Development

My Sources

http://www.healthyplace.com/insight/quotes/quotes-on-anxiety/

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/anxiety.html

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/ocd

http://themighty.com/2015/10/l7-quotes-that-prove-ocd-ls-so-much-more-than-being-neat/

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/eating-disorders

http://thoughtcatalog.com/erin-cossetta/2013/12/25-heartbreaking-quotes-that-explain-what-having-an-eating-disorder-is-like/

Quotes from people living with OCD

I get unwanted thoughts all through the day, which is very distressing and affects my ability to interact with others and concentrate on my studies and work.





Getting ready for each day involves so much hand washing, mental rituals, and doing things in the same order everyday... Sometimes, I feel like staying in bed and avoiding the day.




OCD means that I miss out on things because I [stay in] to try to protect myself from the stress. It’s sunny outside and I want to go out, but I know I probably won't.






Obsessions are unwelcome thoughts, images, urges or doubts that repeatedly appear in your mind; for example, thinking that you have been contaminated by dirt and germs, or experiencing a sudden urge to hurt someone.






These obsessions are often frightening or seem so horrible that you can’t share them with others. The obsession interrupts your other thoughts and makes you feel very anxious.




"I couldn't do anything without rituals. They invaded every aspect of my life. Counting really bogged me down. I would wash my hair three times as opposed to once because three was a good luck number and one wasn't. It took me longer to read because I'd count the lines in a paragraph. When I set my alarm at night, I had to set it to a number that wouldn't add up to a 'bad' number."






"Getting dressed in the morning was tough, because I had a routine, and if I didn't follow the routine, I'd get anxious and would have to get dressed again. I always worried that if I didn't do something, my parents were going to die. I'd have these terrible thoughts of harming my parents. I knew that was completely irrational, but the thoughts triggered more anxiety and more senseless behavior. Because of the time I spent on rituals, I was unable to do a lot of things that were important to me."






"I knew the rituals didn't make sense, and I was deeply ashamed of them, but I couldn't seem to overcome them until I got treatment."






“I put gloves on before I put gloves on, so I don’t get my gloves dirty.” 

Quotes from people living with Anxiety

"It's like when you trip and the moment where you don't know if you are going to catch yourself or not is how I feel all day long."

"The feeling you get when you tap your pocket to get your wallet, and it is not there, but all the time" 
"I've always thought of it more like when you see police lights in your rearview and you know you did something worthy to get a ticket"

Eating disorder

"The headache. Constant pounding, all day long, even in your dreams. If I ever needed to take my pulse, I wouldn't have to touch my wrist. I could simply count the heartbeats in my temples.


"Then there is the feeling of constant lightheadedness combined with a spacey am I really here? feeling of disconnection. Dizzy spells from time to time, but you learn to anticipate and manage them."

PRE-PRODUCTION: 12th February: Storyboarding-(IMPROVED IN LATER POST)

On the 8th February we met up as a group and began storyboarding we each drew out different shots but ensure we were all happy with eachothers and checked that they all flowed together.


These are the storyboards which I drew, Firstly I have focused on the shots at the beginning of our short film including Jessica

Next I focused on some shots when all three characters are in the lecture theatre:

Next I have drawn some shots which I think could be used during the middle of our film when it is fragmented.

Other members of my groups have done their own storyboards for the other sequences in our film. We feel a lot more confident now that we have draw out the shots and can't wait to start filming !

PRE-PRODUCTION: 11th February: Audience Research

We have decided to create a questionnaire to allow us to carry out audience research. This will allow us to gather our targets audiences thoughts on the theme of our film.

Izzy and I created the questions.

 We then created the questionnaire using Survey Monkey and used social networking to send out the questionnaire.
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/JDT3LGC

From these responses I can conclude that majority of people don't think there is enough help. Due to the lack of education on mental health many people don't have enough knowledge on the subject and view it negatively. This highlights the need to educate people on this subject.

Over 75% of people thought that health services generalize conditions and don't tailor to peoples needs. This represents how sufferers must feel that they aren't listened to enough or doctors aren't giving them enough individual time to adhere to what they specifically need.

These answers highlight the stigma that sounds mental health, and due to this stigma people with conditions feel embarrassed to speak up. This also represents that many people view mental health negatively and that people should be educated on this subject.

Most people state that they are in some ways isolated or ostracized from society. They are generalized as being unsociable people and outcasts. This once again is due to lack of knowledge on the subject.

Most people agree that the media create an ideal beauty which many people want to obtain. People have the view that being slimmer/skinny is positive and bigger is negative. Many of the media's portrayal of the female body isn't even obtainable as they have been photoshopped.

Majority of people agree that being skinny is the ideal, and the only way to be beautiful. However there are negative connotations towards these skinny models, people see them as too thin and unhealthy. Society should make every size and shape positive, not try to empower or demoralise a certain type.

Majority agree that curvy or plus size women are portrayed negatively and undesirable. It is the body type that people don't want. However some people in the media are representing their curves positively such as kim kardashian and Nicki Minaj.

It was interesting to see who described an actual body shape and size and who spoke more about how they feel and about confidence. Majority of people want to be slim but still with a big bum for example. However some people described being healthy, or someone who feels good and comfortable with their body, and another states their is no perfect body.  People need to stop comparing how they look outside and focus on how they feel and their health.

PRE-PRODUCTION: 10th February: Research into mental health

I have looked up about the mental health disorders which we are portraying on the NHS websites.

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Anxiety/Pages/Symptoms.aspx

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Obsessive-compulsive-disorder/Pages/Introduction.aspx

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Eating-disorders/Pages/Introduction.aspx


This will give us reliable and accurate information which will help us when producing our film, here is what I found:

Symptoms of generalised anxiety disorder 

Mental Symptoms:

• restlessness

• a sense of dread

• feeling constantly "on edge"

• difficulty concentrating

• irritability

• Avoid social contact

• find work difficult and stressful

• lack of self esteem

Physical symptoms:

• dizziness

• tiredness

• a noticeably strong, fast or irregular heartbeat (palpitations)

• muscle aches and tension

• trembling or shaking

• dry mouth

• excessive sweating

• shortness of breath

• stomach ache

• feeling sick

• headache

• pins and needles

• difficulty falling or staying asleep (insomnia)

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition where a person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive activity.

Most people with OCD realise that compulsive behaviour is irrational and makes no logical sense, but they cannot stop acting on their compulsion.

• cleaning and hand washing

• checking – such as checking doors are locked, or that the gas or a tap is off

• counting

• ordering and arranging

• hoarding

• asking for reassurance

• repeating words silently

• extensively "overthinking" to ensure the feared consequence of the obsession does not occur – for example, if you fear you may act violently

• thinking "neutralising" thoughts to counter the obsessive thoughts

• avoiding places and situations that could trigger obsessive thoughts

• fear of deliberately harming yourself or others – for example, fear you may attack someone else, even though this type of behaviour disgusts you

• fear of harming yourself or others by mistake or accident – for example, fear you may set the house on fire by accidentally leaving the cooker on

• fear of contamination by disease, infection or an unpleasant substance

• a need for symmetry or orderliness – for example, you may feel the need to ensure all the labels on the tins in your cupboard face the same way

Eating Disorder

A person with an eating disorder may focus excessively on their weight and shape, leading them to make unhealthy choices about food with damaging results to their health.

• missing meals

• complaining of being fat, even though they have a normal weight or are underweight

• repeatedly weighing themselves and looking at themselves in the mirror

• making repeated claims that they've already eaten, or they'll shortly be going out to eat somewhere else and avoiding eating at home

• cooking big or complicated meals for other people, but eating little or none of the food themselves

• only eating certain low-calorie foods in your presence, such as lettuce or celery

• feeling uncomfortable or refusing to eat in public places, such as at a restaurant

• the use of "pro-anorexia" websites.