Unit 9: Characteristics and Contexts in Media and Communication - Task 2.1: Pre-Production Diary - Hallmark Christmas Film

After a large amount of time off college, due to the coronavirus pandemic, we were finally able to come back and start the second, and last, academic year of our course. Along with our teacher, Kelly, announcing to us we would be doing an immersive cinema experience, we were also told we would first be creating a Christmas film during our first term back. The previous year we had worked alongside the Year 2's during the production of their own adaptation of 'A Christmas Carol' and Kelly thought it would be a great idea for us to do our own Christmas film, but there was a twist. We had to create a film that is in the style of a Hallmark Channel 'made for TV Christmas movie'. Due to the restrictions enforced by the Government, we were told that we would mainly be able to film on the college campus rather than a usual on location shoot, so the film had to be in a more modern day setting and time period.

Kelly then told us a bit more about the Hallmark Channel and a brief history of their programming style, especially when it comes to broadcasting their own Christmas films (more about this can be seen on my 'Task 1' blogpost about understanding the characteristics and context for a chosen media and communication activity where I talk about the Hallmark Channel and analyse two separate Christmas films).

Kelly then told us, for anyone who was interested in doing so, to write a screenplay for our own Hallmark Channel inspired Christmas film. We would need to tell Kelly of our interest in writing the film by the 15th September, which we would then need to have a fully developed screenplay by the 5th October (that is if our own screenplay would be picked to be developed and turned into a film).

I was interested in expanding my writing skills and knowledge so I decided to try and give it a go, but my only problem was that I hadn't seen any Hallmark Channel Christmas films. I was then worried I would struggle with creating a story for that style of film as I am not a huge fan of cheesy, soppy, romance movies that have stereotypical, cliche and expected plots. I also found it hard to think of something joyful to write in a time where things were still so bleak and unforeseeable as no one had any inkling of what was yet to come due to the events of the world. It was still very scary to not know what was going to happen next and for me, personally, it took a toll on my writing as all I could think about was upsetting and depressing stories rather than something joyous and thoughtful. Thinking back to Christmas films that I love, they are generally darker films compared to what would usually be accepted and seen on the Hallmark Channel, such as 'Gremlins' (1984), 'Home Alone' (1990) and 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' (1993). So, I needed to take some time to think of something to write but I didn't know if I was going to be able to conjure anything up in my foggy and clouded head. 

Pre-Production

Tuesday 3rd November 2020

This was our first day back after our two-week self-isolation period after someone in our bubble had tested positive for coronavirus, but now we were all back together and able to get on with our work. When we first came in, Kelly took me and Amiliyah to one side and told us about starting up our very own female-led production company alongside our 'UFilms Productions' company. This was only a very brief conversation as our lesson was about to start and we needed to discuss what we were going to do about our Christmas film project, but this was something that really excited me as I had recently written my first draft of my personal statement for university and I had mentioned that in the future I would be interested in starting my own female production company. My goal for the company (as for the company I can hopefully set up in the future) is to allow talented female filmmakers the opportunity to create and develop their films and have their voices and stories told and heard by many. So, being able to have the opportunity to develop an all-female production company by Kelly is a huge honour and something to expand my knowledge in the field of producing.

After our conversation, we then got the group altogether and started to speak about the Christmas project. Kelly had said that Sam was the only person from our class to write and send in a script, but she had said she had quite a lot of thoughts and questions about the premise of the film. Keep in mind that the task was to write a Hallmark Channel style 'made for TV Christmas film'.

As we didn't know what Sam had written, Kelly gave us an insight to Sam's story. It was about two friends, a man and a woman, who force their way into an abandoned pizza shop to hideaway from zombies during an apocalypse. Christmassy elements do come into the plot as it is set on Christmas day and the two reminisce about past Christmases and realise, they are both in love with each other. Then zombies start making their way into the shop, causing the two to fend for themselves and confessing their love for one another and I think that was the end of the film. I could now see why Kelly has a lot of thoughts on the film, she said it was very well-written and it sounded very entertaining, but... it definitely was not a Hallmark style Christmas film. Kelly told Sam he should maybe try writing a version without the zombies and have the romance between the two characters highlighted significantly throughout. I'm not sure how long the film was going to be but the script was about over forty pages long.

Sam's film sort of defeated the whole purpose of the task as it didn't seem very Christmas and didn't feel it was a family-friendly film that would be broadcast on the Hallmark Channel. Kelly had asked him to try and write another version where zombies weren't included and possibly have it in a more modern and normalised setting. Kelly then said to our class we should each, again if we were interested in writing and creating a story, try and write our own Christmas short films that took place in only one location, as Sam's was set in only a pizza shop (which she said he should try and rethink as we wouldn't be able to use an actual pizza shop due to the pandemic).

We then all started to think of the types of stories we could do, only using one location that was available for us to use around the college. I then thought back to what Kelly said and she had mentioned that we could possibly get a set made if we needed one, this then made me think of what we could make that was Christmassy and would be quite easy to construct. My first thought was Santa's grotto as we had a sleigh from a past musical theatre production and we could easily set the theatre up with fake snow and Christmas decorations, but the problem was I couldn't think of a story that could only take place there. I then started to think of some Christmas films I had seen previously that had Santa's grotto within the story. My mind first went to 'Miracle on 34th Street' (1994 remake) and 'Elf' (2003) which I then realised that Santa's grotto is within a Christmas shop in each film. I then started to think about Christmas shops I had been to, seen in films or had even heard about. 

One particular shop then sprung to mind called 'Bronner's Christmas Wonderland' in Frankenmuth, Michigan (USA) which is known to be the world's largest Christmas shop. I had heard about the shop through my mum as she had told me she had visited Frankenmuth when she was younger with her family on holiday. I then took note of the setting in my notes application on my phone and started to create a story from there. I needed to think of an exciting, amusing and cheerful story to go along with the setting, as well as how it was going to be like a usual Hallmark Channel Christmas film. I started to think about why the film should be set in a Christmas shop and how it could become a plot device within a situation that the characters must face. So, this naturally led to my idea being set in a Christmas shop, late on Christmas Eve, where the characters, who are a romantic couple, are doing some last-minute gift buying until they are trapped in the shop due to a sudden snowstorm. I then thought that the couple getting trapped in the shop would lead to a heart to heart where they both open up about being nervous to spend their first Christmas together and meeting, either persons, family for the first time. Concerns may arise within their relationship, worries about their future together and wanting to make a good first impression with their family. I still needed to think more into the story when I got home the following night, but at least I had a basis for the film and could expand from that. 

I then told Kelly my idea and she said it was great and sounded very Christmassy already, and for me to think more about the story of the film. She said she was also happy to help with the set design and possibly be able to get something made that we could use. I was happy that she liked the start of my idea and I got the heads up to go away and start developing it and creating a story.

When I got home that night, I wanted to make a start on my Christmas film but before I could do that, I first needed to get some inspiration and get into the Christmas spirit, as it wasn't too long until Christmas would be arriving. To help with inspiration and ideas, I then created a Pinterest board that could me start to visualise the look and feel for the film, as well as discovering different visual elements and mise-en-scène (colour, lighting, set, props, etc) that would be needed to create a successful Christmas film. It was really helpful to create a Pinterest board as it really got me in the Christmas spirit and started to make me think about how I wanted the film to look and be set out, now I just needed to think more into the story and how that would be linked into the location and set. I also now felt things were starting to come together and I was now able to believe in myself to create a sweet and sentimental festive holiday film. Pinterest board link: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/HarrietP27/hallmark-christmas-short-film/

Friday 6th November 2020

After spending a few days looking through Pinterest and finding more ideas and inspiration for my Christmas film, I now felt that I was ready to make a start on the script. Though before I went straight onto writing the script, I first needed to create an outline of the story and, actually, create a story otherwise there would be no point to writing and developing a Christmas film as every film needs to have a significant and meaningful story. 

As this was a Hallmark Channel style of film I was creating, I needed to think of the stereotypical and cliche tropes that are always involved and highlighted in each of their Christmas films. What I first thought, alongside my idea, is that Hallmark films always involve a romantic story. I still have not watched any Hallmark films but from what I've seen on Google and Netflix the posters of their films always have a couple on them, whether they are a couple from the beginning of the film or the poster suggests the film is about how they romantically get together. So, from what I saw of the Hallmark Christmas film posters, there needed to be a romance involved in the film, which I had already started to think about originally. Other stereotypical traits and tropes involved in Hallmark Christmas films that I found and thought of were:

• Christmas isn't all about gifts - There are meaningful stories within their films about what Christmas is truly about, meaning the main characters romantic interests and family are more important than what possessions they asked Santa for Christmas. This is something I could relate to as Christmas is a special time where I get to spend time with all of my family and forget about the troubles and worries I am having for a day and have a joyous and merry time with my family. 

• The main character goes back to their hometown, usually small and suburban, to be with their families - Usually the main character has an exciting and important job, such as being a journalist or author, a baker, an interior designer, a real estate agent and many more occupations, in a big city. It's once they come back home for the holidays that they realise their families are more important than their careers and usually meet their romantic interest in their hometown, whether they knew them from childhood or they happened to move to the town after they left for the big city. This usually causes the main character to drop everything and move back to their hometown to be with their family and their new romantic partner. 

• Santa, or one of his elves, come to the rescue - It is normal in any film to have some strain or troubles between characters and their relationships, whether it is a family issue or a romantic problem that arises. This is then usually solved with a bit of Christmas magic, whether it be Santa coming to save the characters love for one another, or his trusty elves come to their aid and bring peace, love, and joy to the characters and their town once again. 

Although I have not watched a Hallmark Channel Christmas film, I have watched many romantic films that have these particular tropes within them, whether they are a Christmas romance films (e.g. 'The Holiday' (2006) and 'Love Actually' (2003)) or your average romance/rom-com film (e.g. 'About Time' (2013), 'Bridget Jones's Diary' (2001) and '50 First Dates' (2004)). With those films and tropes in mind, I then started to write a story outline for the script.

After trying to write more of the story and thinking about the characters and what the outcome for them would be, I started to struggle writing anymore of the film. Again, this was due to me not being a huge fan of sappy romance films, especially set during the Christmas holidays, as well as not watching Hallmark Christmas films for inspiration and help with the structure and story of their films, I was unable to create a romantic Christmas story. I then started to rethink the whole film and thought what could I write about that I can relate to and thinking of a message or story that was important for me to highlight and get across through the film. Straight away I thought about the importance of family, especially the importance of having a strong bond with your siblings. 

I was inspired to write something about the importance of siblings, in my case the importance of sisters, as I had recently watched the Disney Pixar film 'Onward' (2020) for the first time. I was very moved by the story as it is about two elf brothers, Ian (voiced by Tom Holland) and Barley (voiced by Chris Pratt), who go on a magical quest to bring back their deceased father for a whole day. Although the story is about the brothers trying to bring their dad back to life, there is a hidden message we soon discover towards the end of the film that changes the lessons learnt along Ian and Barley's journey to resurrect their dad. The character Ian sadly never got to meet his dad as he passed away from a terminal illness before he was born, so throughout the film, Ian is obsessed with bringing his dad back so he can get to know him and spend time together before he goes away, again. Although Ian is so fixated on meeting his dad, he doesn't realise that he has actually had a fatherly figure his whole life, that being his older brother Barley. Ian now understands, even though it would have been great to have his dad in his life and it pains him that he wasn't able to learn from him and grown up with him, Barley is very much his dad as he has taught him everything he needs to know and has always supported and cared for him every step of the way. 

'Onward' is such a gorgeous and sentimental story with so much thought and meaning invested in it, I decided I wanted to do something similar for my own Christmas film. I briefly mentioned before I have an older sister myself who I have a great connection and bond with, nothing upsetting like Ian and Barley's story has happened to us, thankfully, though once we've grown up and matured a bit more, we have a much stronger bond than we did when we were children. We used to fight like cat and dog constantly and drive each other up the wall to the point where one of us would end up crying, this would also be known as "sisterly love". Everything changed for the both of us once she moved away to university. I was still at secondary school and living in Dubai at this point, so it was a lot tougher having her move back to the UK to continue her education. What I never realised, when she moved away, was how much I'd actually miss her as we never bothered with each other that much and when we did spend time together, we would end up bickering and taunting one another. So, once we had to start growing up separately and moving on without one another, as we got back together during half-terms and holidays, we then started to speak more personally to each other and actually get on and have a laugh. Even once she got went back to the UK, we would still talk a lot via text or social media and it was great. Luckily, we can now call each other best mates and if we ever need support, we can go to each other for help and advice.

From watching 'Onward' and thinking about mine and my sister's connection, I then started to form a story together. It was still the same setting and similar premise to the original idea I had come up with but the only thing that had changed was of course the romantic couple were now sisters. I also thought it would be a great idea to change the main characters from a couple to sisters as there was then more female representation within the film as I was thinking back to the new production me and Amiliyah were setting up, thinking this film would be a great start for the style and type of content we would like from female filmmakers/creators. Luckily, the idea and story of the film was coming together now and was much clearer and fluent than the original idea. I was happy that I was able to conjure it up quite quickly and easily as it was a story, I was starting to become excited by and was interested in writing. I also thought back to some of the tropes I had learnt about from various Hallmark Christmas films and started to think, and write down, how I could include some of them into the story to make it feel a bit more Christmassy and magical. 

After writing the up the idea and story, I was then, almost, ready to make a start on the script. The only thing that I still needed to do now was build the characters up as I felt the character Grace was more complex and had more depth than the character Holly, so I needed to develop the two of them and make them more realistic and believable. Though I had an issue with the characters realism, I was happy I now had a premise and basis for the film and I liked where the story was going now.

Saturday 7th November 2020

The previous day I had written an outline for my screenplay and I was now very confident with the story I had created and felt like I was ready to develop. My only problem I had was I felt the two main characters, named Holly and Grace, could do with a bit more character building. So, I started by making some notes on the two of them after reading through my new outline.

I found it quite strange when writing the character of Holly as I was having difficulty building her up and making her as complex as Grace. I then started to think and remember that the two characters are very different, that's why there is so much friction between the two of them as Holly, the younger sister, is very caring, selfless and supportive. Though, on the other hand, Grace is a very misunderstood character as she is only seen for what she is on the outside a selfish, independent and dominant, yet when you really get to know her and understand who she truly is on the inside she is very sensitive and doesn't like the way she is perceived by people around her, especially her family. When thinking about the two characters, they are both very different people and it is understandable why they wouldn't get along as they both have very different personalities and traits, so both of the characters were well developed after giving it more thought. it didn't matter if one of them was more complex than the other, what I took from this and understood was that they are both very different people, Holly is more in control of her feelings and who she is as Grace is misunderstood and acts like someone, she truly isn't yet acts that way to seem tougher than she actually is.

I was now a lot more confident with the newly developed characters I had and now felt ready to make a start on my screenplay.

Sunday 8th November 2020

Now that I was ready to start working on the script for the film, I first needed to try and visualise the setting of the story meaning that I needed to create a style and look for the Christmas shop in the film. I already had some thoughts and inspiration of how it should look from places and films that I had mentioned previously (such as 'Miracle on 34th Street' (1994 remake), 'Elf' (2003) and 'Bronner's Christmas Wonderland' in Frankenmuth, Michigan). To help influence the style of the Christmas shop, I then had a look on Pinterest for ideas which was very helpful towards helping build the Christmas shop in my mind and start piecing it together.

After I had looked on Pinterest, I then had a look on Google at a few shops, whether they were Christmassy or not, that I had previously visited. This was mainly to help with what the possible size of the set could be and thinking about shops of a smaller size would be much better to develop and film in. The two shops that I could only think of that would be a suitable size and great for the set were the 'Marks & Spencer' pop up Christmas shop (that was in Teesside Park) and 'Bert's Homestore' (which I visited in the summer when I went to go see my friend down in Worthing).

I then thought about a few more Christmas films that I had watched that had Christmas shops involved in the films, whether they were a big part of the story or a place the character(s) visited when they needed gifts for their families and friends. What first sprung to mind was 'Duncan's Toy Chest' from the classic Christmas sequel 'Home Alone 2: Lost in New York' (1992). Obviously, due to restrictions and not having the budget to design and construct a Christmas shop on the scale of the shop feature in 'Home Alone 2: Lost in New York' (which was a budget of $20 million USD), the shop was merely used to help surge more inspiration towards the development and style of the Christmas shop. 

I then also had a look at the Christmas shop named 'Yuletide' from a film I had only watched very recently called 'Last Christmas' (2019), not to get confused with the 1984 Christmas hit by 'Wham!' which the film was inspired from. I wasn't particularly the biggest fan of the film but the setting of the Christmas shop was really good to have a look back on for inspiration. Although the shop is purposefully meant to be full of cheap and tacky ornaments, some which go against the traditional norms of a classical Christmas ornament, there were moments set in the shop where the main characters, Katarina 'Kate' (Emilia Clarke) and Tom (Henry Golding), decorated a tree and placed prettier looking ornaments on it. It is a very vibrant and loud style shop but to get a look at the lights and decorations within the shop was very helpful towards thinking about what would be needed to fill the space and build up the location to become a realistic shop for audiences. 

After looking through everything that I could think of and find online, I then started to draw my very own set for the film. When drawing the set, I needed to think about how easily we could manoeuvre the camera around the shop, especially if we were possibly going to be using larger equipment on set such as the dolly track, as well as how the camera would have the set behind within various shots. So, when drawing the plan of the shop the placement of props and set was key to how I was going to write the script, thinking about the shots we could get as well as where characters were going to be positioned, especially for pivotal moments like the sudden snowstorm and the power cutting in the shop, particularly the moments with only Holly and Grace where they fight and rekindle their relationship with one another.

It did take a while to draw up the set design ideas as I am not the best drawer and haven't really had any experience with creating and designing sets in this capacity (through drawing), even though I had looked at many pictures for ideas it was still quite difficult to create a basis for the design of the shop and thinking about all the visual and technical elements that would be involved when we were going to be filming. After I had finished drawing my own set design ideas, I was now officially ready to get started on writing the script for the film. I only made the tiniest start on the script as it was quite late in the day now. All I wrote was the opening sequence of the film, which would be an establishing shot of the exterior of the shop and then going inside the shop and the camera going through the Christmas shop in one, fluent movement and shot. The camera would then land on the Holly and Grace, introducing their characters and learning of their purpose at the shop so late on Christmas Eve. As soon as I tried to start writing dialogue for the two of them, I hit a brick wall already. So, instead of getting frustrated with myself I decided I'd try again tomorrow and see what would happen and where the story/script would take me. 

Tuesday 10th November 2020

I was unable to attend college on this day as I had woken up ill (the illness was unrelated to coronavirus), due to the pandemic it would be best not to go in as this would worry people and it's a wise choice to not go in and make everyone else ill. Whilst I was off, I thought it would be best to go back to writing more of the script, I was in the mood to get the gears in my brain turning and to get the script finished as soon as possible as we only had a few weeks of college now until the Christmas holidays. 

Before I continued with the script, my teacher, Kelly, had replied to my message about not coming into college. She also said it was a good decision not to come in and asked how the script was coming along and to let her know about my set designs. I told her I was going to continue with the script and sent her over my ideas which she really liked, whether we would get a set built or not (due to new information and laws from the government as we were now in a second lockdown) it was still good to send the ideas over to her as she could then possibly help me build up and develop the set a bit more. 

I then continued with the script, working on it all day and into the night where I was able to finish it all. Although I had finished it, I was still unhappy with parts of the script, whether it didn't make sense or didn't flow as smoothly as I wanted it too. I was definitely happy with where the story was going as I had made some changes from the original outline so the story made more sense, wasn't too personal or dark and made it a lot more Christmassy than it was before (strangely enough that was my main problem with the story that I couldn't make a Christmas film Christmassy). I was still unsure of some of the conversations between Holly and Grace as I find it quite hard to make dialogue sound natural and believable, I also struggle writing dialogue short and concise as I always feel I need to express everything in as much detail as possible so people understand what I'm, or the characters, are saying and to not be confused. The conversations between Holly and Grace needed to be as perfect as possible as they are the most pivotal points of the story, whether they are arguing about their own personal problems or hashing their issues out with one another. The film is all about these two characters and how they rekindle their relationship, so I needed to make sure their conversations would make an audience interested in these two and that they could, possibly, relate and understand one another's circumstances and be intrigued and interested in them. 

My biggest issue with what I had written was the ending. I felt it wasn't strong enough, emotionally, and I also felt it lacked sentimentality. The film ends with Grace finally being able to write her article about 'The Importance of Christmas' after she has apologised and reconciled with Holly, how this would be played out in the film would be a voiceover that is heard over many different shots between Grace writing the article to Holly with customers in the shop and finally Grace going to Holly and restarting their relationship. What this scene really lacked in was I didn't know what to write for the article, I had written a few lines of dialogue but they didn't feel emotive enough and unprofessional for a magazine article. I decided the following day I would make these changes and either create alternative scenes or fix and expand on ones I had already written in but needed a bit of touching up. I also decided I would try and write my own article, speaking from the perspective of Grace on what the Christmas means to her and what she has learnt from her sister to open her eyes about the holiday being so important to so many people. Although I was still unsure of the script and wasn't happy with the outcome, I still had the following day to make changes and get it all sorted out. 

Wednesday 11th November 2020

I, again, did not go into college as I was still feeling ill, but that wasn't going to stop me from making a few tweaks and minor improvements on the script. I first started with looking back on the final scene of the script where the voiceover of Grace's article on 'The Importance of Christmas' is heard over various shots throughout the Christmas shop. Looking back on it I didn't mind the shots that were involved in the scene and how they played out, my only problem now was the article. Before I could jump straight into writing Grace's article, I first made a few notes. I first thought about what Christmas now meant to Grace, from her perspective, after reconciling her relationship with Holly, I also thought about how much Grace changes from the beginning of the film to the end as she now has a different view on not only herself but everything within her life, such as family (Holly in particular), her job and, now, why it is so important to celebrate Christmas and what she thinks is the holidays true meaning. After writing those few notes, I then started to think about what Christmas means to me, personally. I only made a few notes for my own opinion on the holiday but it was helpful to think in terms of Holly and Grace's ideologies and understanding of Christmas.

After writing notes, I then made a start on the article. This did take some time, roughly about an hour, as I didn't want it to be too long but also wanted to convey my message and meaning of what Grace has learnt from Holly and hopefully what the audience will have learnt from the two characters. It also took a while to write as I tried to make it sound quite professional, almost of a high-standard article you'd either read in a magazine or newspaper. 

Once I had finished writing the article, I was then able to fit it into the final scene, between the descriptions of what was taking place in the scene. After that I then looked through the rest of the script and was able to tweak some conversations between characters. I was able to make a few improvements on the conversation between Noelle, the elf, and Holly when Holly lets off some steam by expressing her pain and sadness towards her sister. The main part that I was able to improve and was much happier and confident about was the conversation between Holly and Grace where they finally express their feelings to each other and are able to connect again. This is the most pivotal and crucial part of the whole film and it needed to be right or else there would be no point to the film. After I finished with the improvements and was slightly happier with what I had (it was much better than what I had before), the only problems I had was I still didn't think the ending was good enough and the script was quite long (25 pages) so it did need a bit of cutting down. Now nervous about the film, I then sent the script over to Kelly to have a look through as her opinion is vital, I was really worried about what she'd think about the story and I knew she'd be able to help me improve it and cut it down. 

Tuesday 17th November 2020

Kelly had now finally read my script and was able to give me feedback on it which I was very nervous about. Luckily, she had nothing but praise for it and she actually said, verbatim, it was "beautiful". I was absolutely chuffed when she said she loved the story and gave me the green light to go ahead with the film. She said we wouldn't be able to get a set built as we didn't have enough time to get one constructed, as well as having restrictions we needed to stick to that wouldn't allow us mixing with other bubbles/courses within the college. Although we weren't able to build a set, Kelly mentioned that Musical Theatre had made their own Christmas style set for performances they were filming to put online, as they aren't able to do their annual Christmas musical and wouldn't be able to have audiences attend and watch. So, Kelly took me and Amiliyah down to the theatre and have a look at the set. The set wasn't much, there was a painted brick wall and a couple of Christmas trees placed at the back, as well as a large wreath hung on one of the walls. Although it wasn't much, we would still definitely be able use it as it was down to the props and set, we brought in ourselves to set it up as a Christmas shop.

Kelly also said we might need to think of alternatives for certain shots like the establishing shot, for example, we wouldn't be able to use an actual shop for filming and I'm guessing it would be quite difficult to ask any shops if we could film the front of their shop (also the new restrictions and lockdown would stop us from being able to do that). I also needed to try and think again about doing the more technical effects like the lights flickering on and off, it didn't matter so much about the sound but the lights would be difficult to do as I wanted Christmas string lights and we wouldn't be able to place them in the theatre. So, there were a few things that needed changing but the overall story was fine. 

Once we had spoken about possible script improvements and changes, as well as new ideas for set, I then went to the classroom and created a casting notice, which didn't take too long to make. To make it stand out I placed two images of decorative Christmas holly on either side of the top of the notice, even though it may have made the notice a little less professional but it was a good idea because when the actors walk pass it, they will be drawn in by the images and have a look at the notice. After I finished typing it up, I then printed it out and placed it on the casting board. Now I could get started on all the pre-production work I needed to have successful shooting days and wait for actors to be either text or email me their interest in the film. 

Thursday 19th November 2020

I was now able to make a start on all of the pre-production paperwork needed for the film, but because we only had a couple of weeks left to prepare for filming, I decided to mainly work on any paperwork to do with the artistic roles in film production, such as set design, props, costume, make-up and hair. This was my main priority as I now had to change most of my ideas about the layout and look of the set, as my set design plans were now out of the window, as well as trying to find designs and looks for the characters costumes, hair and make-up as I hadn't looked into the visual look aspect of the characters. Of course, when I was developing the characters and writing the script, I had ideas in mind for what they would look like, but now I needed to find images to help create more ideas for style and looks of characters.

Before I started to work on the costume, hair and make-up breakdowns, I first started to work on the set and props design breakdown, which was mainly just a checklist of what we needed within the Christmas shop that had been mentioned within the screenplay. This was easy to complete but the only thing I worried about now was where we were going to get most of the props and set from. For props, mainly products and gifts around the shop, most of them would be easy to get a hold of and I was able to make some whilst at home. My main problem was getting Christmas decorations as we were now on the build-up to Christmas and when we would be filming this, potentially, people may have put up their own decorations and not be able to spare some for the film. This was something I was still unsure of but could hopefully get around, with the help of Kelly and the college. 

After creating the props and set design breakdowns/checklists, I then moved onto creating the costume, hair and make-up breakdowns. Before I could get started on creating the actual breakdowns, I first had a look through Pinterest for ideas on styles and looks of different characters. It was pretty straight forward to find different styles for each and every character as many were very similar to one another, for example, Holly and the Customers needed to wear very Christmassy clothing and Noelle and the Staff Members needed to wear elf costumes. It was quite difficult to think about the style of Grace as she doesn't like Christmas and would look much darker than everyone else in the film, but looking back at her occupation, a journalist at a magazine company, she would wear something very casual and modern which would also be the style of make-up. 

Make-Up & Hair

Costume

Once I had looked through Pinterest and got many ideas for the looks of different characters, I was then able to create breakdowns and mind maps for each character's style and look. 

After finishing all of the paperwork, I then got a message from Kate Drummond about her interest the film, alongside Sophie Ashcroft. As soon as she messaged, I then sent over the script to see what she and Sophie thought and if they still wanted to be involved with the project. Luckily, they loved it and said they would love to be in the film. As they had got in touch with me first and I knew they would be brilliant, I cast them both as the leading roles in the film with Sophie playing the character Holly and Kate playing the character Grace. They were happy with my decision as they said they could relate to the character's personalities as they were similar of their own, it was also great casting them as the leading roles as they both looked as if they could actually be sisters in really life and they also have a really good connection and friendship in reality so that worked well when it came to the chemistry between the two sisters towards the end of the film. I was relieved that I now had two great actors as the sisters in the film as I was mainly worried about who would play them in terms of finding two actors who look like they could actually be related in reality, so I was very lucky that they were both interested and contacted me as soon as possible. 

After speaking to both Kate and Sophie I then thought about the casting of Noelle, as she is a bright and bubbly character who is secretly a real elf, I also needed someone who could fit those aspects of the character. I then thought about asking Izzy Martin if she was interested in the role as I thought she would be a perfect fit. After a lot of thought and finally plucking up the courage, I then messaged Izzy about the role and sent over the script. She got back to me very quickly and said she would love to be part of the film and after accepting she then read the script and said she would definitely love to be part of it. I was really chuffed that she liked it and accepted my offer, as well as now having the three main roles cast in the film. Now I just needed to look for Staff Members and Customers and then the casting process would be complete and ready for filming. I now felt a lot more confident in the project and was so happy that I was now getting somewhere with planning and prepping, as well as the casting of great talents in the film. 

Friday 20th November 2020

After sorting the three main roles out, I then woke up to a few messages and emails from different actors, all from the first year Performing Arts course, speaking about their interest in the film. The way I would do the cast was for whoever was interested, I would send them the script, see what they think and see what role would suit them best. The new additions to the cast were:

• Magen James - Staff Member 1
• Justin Cromack - Staff Member 2, this was a great role for Justin as he had sent in a self-tape of him performing the poem "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" and showed all the caring and helpful aspects of the character.
• Tamara Mills - Customer
• Ethan Brown - Customer

Now that I had most of the cast done for the film, there was only one more person needed to play a Customer. Before I could go looking for another actor to play this part, I had been filming some performances for Musical Theatre with our UFilms team, but after we had finished filming the choreographer of the dance piece, we were filming thanked us and asked us about filming more performances for them which would be constant for the next few weeks, until we broke up for the Christmas holidays. This worried me as we only needed one day to film in the theatre and I didn't know if we would be able to, so this was something I needed to ask Kelly about. Although I was worried that we might not be able to do the film without that location now, it was best to keep planning and getting everything sorted out for our production/shoot days.

Tuesday 24th November 2020

As I got into college on the morning, Kelly came to speak with me and said she was able to speak with Musical Theatre and book the theatre for us to film in for a whole day. Our shooting day was Thursday 3rd December. This was something I was still very worried about as I didn't know if we would be able to film everything in one day as it is a twenty-five-page script that all takes place in this one location, but it was the only day we were able to get in the theatre and it would be a mammoth task and we would just have to do our best to get it all done or as much done, as possible, on the day. 

After speaking to Kelly, she then said it would be best to try and get a scene breakdown done so once we got to filming, as it was only one day, we could get everything sorted out quickly and easily and know what we were meant to be doing when we moved from filming one scene to another. It made me feel a lot more relaxed after finishing the scene breakdown, although there was still a lot to film and accomplish on the day, we now had a structured layout to know what scenes we needed to work on thoroughly on the day of the shoot, mainly what would be the most difficult to film so we could spend the most time filming them first and then move onto the simpler scenes. 

Once I had the scene breakdown sorted out, I then went to the make-up classroom, along with Tom, to discuss my film with a few of the students and see if they were interested in being part of the project. Luckily, I was able to recruit three make-up artists:

• Stephen Allenden
• Paige Goodings
• Abigail Sievers

After I got their names, I then created a group on Teams and told them a bit more about the project and what would, hopefully, be happening on the day, mainly the time the actors would be coming in to get ready and what time we would be filming until as they would need to keep touching-up the prosthetic elf ears that Noelle and the Staff Members would have applied on their ears. They were all very professional and understanding and were all fine with the schedule. 

After I had got the make-up team all sorted out, I was then working as a camera operator/set designer for the second year Performing Arts course virtual pantomime they were filming called 'Babes in the Wood'. As we were setting up the scene we were filming, I had asked Kate if any more actors would be interested in being part of the film as a Customer. As I had mentioned the role, Sadie Patterson said she was interested and would be part of the film, this now meant I had a complete cast for the film. 

Now that I had a complete cast, I then created a group on Teams and uploaded a call sheet/schedule I had created onto it to let all the actors know what was going to happen on the day of the shoot, as well as when the shoot day was and hope that they were all able to attend. 

Luckily, everyone was able to film on that day and I was then asked by Stephen, from make-up, if I would be able to send over headshots of all the actors so that they could create some make-up plans for each actor and their characters. I then asked all the actors to send over their headshots to pass onto the make-up crew to help them with creating the looks of each character, as well as helping them know what make-up they would need in advance to suit the actors. The project was really looking up now and I was becoming more and more confident about filming it as it was now a big group project with people who I could rely on.

Thursday 26th November 2020

In the morning, I woke up to a few messages from the make-up crew on ours Teams group, showing me their sketches and ideas for each character. They were all amazing and absolutely perfect for the characters and the film. 

Stephen's Ideas for Holly and Staff Members

Abigail's Ideas for Grace and Customers

Paige's Ideas for Noelle

Once I had received the make-up sketches I then messaged all of the actors, individually, of the style of costume they would need to fulfil the role of their characters. I sent them each the costume breakdown alongside images of the type of costume they should have for the film. The only actors I didn't message were Izzy, Magen and Justin as they didn't need to bring their own costumes in. After messaging everyone, I then spoke to Kelly about elf costumes and she said that she had a few we could use for the film. 

Sunday 29th November 2020

First thing in the morning, I had received a message from Kelly saying that Kate and Sophie were quite worried about learning the whole script for our shoot day on Thursday, as they had both been working on different Christmas films and their pantomime 'Babes in the Wood'. Kelly said about trying to cut some of the script down and this would be something we'd go through when we got back to college tomorrow. This was something that I was actually relieved she'd now mentioned as I, myself, was now worried about the film and knew it would need some changing to actually be able to film everything. I was also worried we weren't going to have enough time to film it all in one day, as I had previously mentioned, so when we would make changes to the script/story we needed to try and think how we could, possibly, still have it set in the same location but use another set/location that would be free and easily be set up as part of the Christmas shop. So, we decided we'd sort everything out when we got back to college the following week and see how we could slightly change the setting of the film to improve the quality of the film. This was also good to sort out as Kate and Sophie would then be able to get more time with learning lines for the following scenes we'd be filming on another day.

As I had just left the script changes for now, I then started sorting out the props for the film. The day before I had gone to the shops to get a few things that were necessary for the characters to have or to dress the set and my mum had recently received a gift hamper with some Christmassy products inside that she had allowed me to use for the film, as well as using some items that I already had at home that would contribute to the film. All I had to do now was create some items that were part of the collection of gifts Holly and Grace are buying at the beginning of the film. 

I first started making the props by finding loads of spare boxes from the garage and around the house, measuring them all and figuring out which item each one would be. After noting down all the measurements of each box, I then went onto Microsoft Word and started to make templates for the different boxes, decorating them with either one solid colour (Christmassy based colours like whites, greys, blues, reds, greens, etc) or Christmas patterns (Christmas trees, Santa's, candy cane style stripes, etc). I also made some labels for certain props like the Christmas sweet boxes and a jar of sweets. As it was quite late when I finished designing them all and printing them out, I decided that I would bring the props in and the sheets of paper with the templates on them to cut them out, with the help of Amiliyah, before helping Tom with filming the following day.

Monday 30th November 2020

When I got into college, in the morning, me and Amiliyah quickly got started on cutting out all the templates before going to work on Tom's film. It took us around less than an hour to cut them all out, I had also brought the boxes in to start sticking putting them altogether and making them look like real items but we were able to go and film's Tom's project earlier as the aviation room was free to use the replica of the interior of a plane. 

Working on Tom's film was so much fun as we weren't able to have many of us in the scene due to coronavirus restrictions and having to stay within out bubble, and because we couldn't have too many crew members and actors mixed together, all of the crew members were also used as background artists to fill up the scene. It did take us a bit of time to get onto filming the scene as we were waiting for Kate, who is also in my Christmas film, to get her make-up done and we were also having some set and technical issues as the aisle between the seats was two slim for us to place down and use the dolly track when the camera tracks alongside the window seats of the plane. Luckily, we were able to get around it and the scene looked amazing and I was very honoured to have been part of it.

After we finished filming the scene, I then went home and finished making the props. All I had to do now was stick all the template pieces onto the different boxes and make them look like realistic items from a shop, it did take some time to do but it was worth and out of the way so that I could now focus and making improvements and changes to the script.

Tuesday 1st December 2020

When I got to college in the morning, Kelly was able to sit down with me and speak about what changes we could make to the film. She said she that the previous night she had been up quite late trying to think of alternatives and had struggled to cut it down a lot as she had said it was well-written. One big plot point she had mentioned was instead of Noelle, the elf, using her magical Christmas powers to create a snowstorm that would trap the sisters in the shop (also we just wouldn't have been able to film that), to be able to get another day of filming and use a location available to us (the studio) why doesn't Noelle somehow get Holly and Grace into the staff/stockroom and lock them in, which would still cause them to have to talk to one another and rekindle their relationship. I thought this was a brilliant idea as, again, I was worried that we wouldn't be able to film everything in theatre and only in one day and I also wanted to have scenes where the sisters were isolated and didn't have anyone else around in the scenes, which was much easier to film and didn't consist of too many people to go against social distancing rules. So, for the rest of the day, Kelly said to make those changes to the script, as well as the few changes she had noted in certain parts of my script which wasn't a lot and it was mainly cutting down or changing some dialogue. 

Before I could get started on changing and improving the script I first spoke to make-up as I needed to make sure they were fine with coming in Monday 7th December to do make-up for a few of the actors, there really wouldn't be as many people as the first shoot day to get ready as there would only be Kate, Sophie and Izzy. Luckily, they were all fine and free to do make-up again on the Monday. 

Whilst we were at college, I went through the whole script again and started making my own notes of what to change and how to improve certain plot points and dialogue. This did take a while to do but it was definitely worth it as I actually started to like this version of the script/story than the original first draft. I think what I mainly struggled with was how to use the 3-Act Structure to figure out when the story should be set in the shop and when it should move into the stockroom. Another part of the change from the shop the stockroom I really struggled with was how were Holly and Grace going to be persuaded to go into the stockroom? What was their reason for going in there in the first place? I really needed to think on this as it needed to be believable and not forced to make the story go ahead as originally planned. I did finally come up with a way for Holly and Grace to end up getting locked in the stockroom which made the action reasonable and allowed the story to go forward. The scene before they go in the stockroom, which is when Noelle feels sorry for Holly after she is told about their distant and non-existent relationship with one another, as soon as Grace comes to the counter to pay for her things Holly is still upset and is unable to say anything. What I thought could happen was Grace would start getting agitated with Holly which makes Noelle devise a plan to get the two to be sisters again by knocking one of their items on the floor, causing it to break and needing to get a new one. Although, when Noelle goes to find another, she soon comes back and tells them she is unable to find another of the same item and asks if they can help her find it. This then causes a small argument between the sisters as Holly loves to help anyone, when they need it most, and Grace is only thinking about getting her article done. When Grace tries to fight for what she wants, to go home and do her work, Holly hits a nerve by calling her selfish which makes her think again and finally give into helping Noelle, causing them to go into the stockroom and get locked in. Once I was able to get that sorted out, the rest of the script was pretty much the same, just making a few changes to some of the dialogue and location. 

After finishing all the new notes on the script, I then went home and got started on creating a second draft of my script. I wanted to work on it quite quickly to get it sent straight over to everyone on the Teams group but it did take a few hours to complete. Again, it was worth it and I'd rather spend as much time on it to make it as good as possible rather than rushing through it and have the story now lacking in quality. I was happy that the script ended up pretty much being the same story just with some new improvements made to it to better that story as I still felt the sentimentality and spirit of Christmas was still within the story. The script was also the tiniest bit shorter by, about, one page. Another great thing about the second draft of the script was I finally had a title for the film, it was one I had thought about for a while but I didn't know if it sounded like it would fit them film and then thought why not use it? So, I named the film 'Holly, Jolly Christmas' as it is mostly about Holly and sort of links to the nickname Grace gives her which is 'Jolly Holly', and I also thought of the Christmas song 'A Holly, Jolly Christmas' which is a popular song to hear around the Christmas holidays. 

Looking back on the script, I remembered I needed to find a picture of Holly and Grace when they were younger on the 'Arctic Express' (changed from Santa's sleigh as I thought I had a picture of me and my sister when we were younger on it but I was mistaken). So, I was able to find a picture of my two younger cousins when we went on 'The Polar Express'.

It was now really late once I finally got it all finished, so I quickly made a couple of new call sheets/schedules for the separate shoot days and added the new script for everyone to read through on the Teams group we had, as well as sending the new script over to Kelly to make sure the new script was alright to work from.

Now that I had the second draft finally finished, I felt much more confident in myself and the project as it had really worried me that I wouldn't be able to get it all done and the film would be ruined, but now we had a new and solid idea that I preferred to the original script which would give us more time to work on it as thoroughly as we possibly can.

Wednesday 2nd December 2020

First thing in the morning when I got into college, Kelly told us we wouldn't get much time to film in the theatre as we had originally planned and would have liked to, only having from when all the actors have their make-up finished, which would be much later on, till about 2:30 pm - 3:00 pm as Musical Theatre would need the space to rehearse and film one of their performances. This did really worry me as we needed some time to be able to do everything but now, we just needed to think about how we could use our time wisely and what are the most important and key points of the story we need to film. I did believe we could get it all done but, simultaneously, I thought we might not be able to get all the scenes and shots needed in the Christmas shop filmed. I put this to the back of my mind as this was something we needed to mainly figure out once we got onto set the following day, as we would have time in the morning to setup the theatre as the Christmas shop whilst the actors were getting their hair and make-up done. 

Although we had got that bit of bad news I, for the rest of the day I worked on Tom's Christmas film. As we were getting equipment and getting ready to go down to the college café to film a scene set in an airport coffee shop, I had been speaking to Josh Durnall who had said to me the previous day he had read the script for my film and was interested in being part of it. As he did show a lot of interest in the film, I cast him as one of the Customers in the beginning of the film in the Christmas shop. Once I had finished speaking to Josh, all of Tom's crew went down to the café to setup the equipment and set for the scene. It was another really fun day of filming and was such a funny, emotional and beautiful scene to have the pleasure of working on.

I did have to go towards the end of filming as I needed so sort all the props out that I needed for the first day of filming my Christmas film, which I was also really nervous about. Once I had everything bagged up and ready to go in the morning, I decided to do a few more props that I would use for the second and final shoot day of the film, in the stockroom of the Christmas shop (I would use the same props we were using inside the Christmas shop). As the studio had a metal cabinet, I thought of using that as the shelves the shop would keep their stock in but, as this was a Hallmark Christmas film, I thought the cabinet could do with a bit of sprucing up. So, I found some pictures on Pinterest of vintage and retro looking Christmas posters, some which had Santa on them to remind audiences that Santa is always watching. 

I also created a countdown to Christmas calendar, using Microsoft Word, to place on the cabinet just to remind audiences that the film is set on Christmas Eve.

I then started to think of little Easter eggs to place in the film to give a nod to Noelle being one of Santa's elves from the North Pole. I was able to find fake postcards from the North Pole on Google and I also got a picture of Will Ferrell as Buddy the elf from the film 'Elf' (2003) and did a bit of editing to it to show Noelle's love and adoration of the character.

I was also finally able to find and 'Elves Only' sign like I had mentioned in the script, I didn't realise how hard it would be to actually find a sign with that message written on it. I wasn't able to find one that exactly said 'Elves Only' on it but find one that said 'Elves at Work' on it instead which I think was actually better as 'Elves Only' sounds a bit harsh and as it's a lovely Hallmark Christmas film, you'd rather have something that sounds a little less threatening. 

Once I had finished printed off everything and had all the props I needed, I was now ready, but nervous, about my first day of filming the next day. I was now confident that we had an extra day to film but we needed to make sure we got everything we needed to film in the theatre done before our time had ran out. So, now I was just hoping we would have a successful shoot day and that everything would go great.