For our first shot we used an establishing shot to give the audience a clear view of the location of our film being a humble town centre (Guildford, Surrey.) We chose to film our opening initially in the Christmas holidays when we knew there would be plenty of busy Christmas shoppers. However due to work commitments not everyone was free at the same time, therefore we had to film at the start of January. However the fact that not many people are there at this time is quite effective because it would only contribute more to making the main character feel lonely. You can see a few Christmas lights however we did not get the street Christmas lights which hang from building to building like we wanted. However this shot is effective because this establishing shot allows the whole street to be shown. Cars and people are in this shot which makes the location feel more like a drama film because if we used an isolated location the film would conform more to a horror film. Everyday people are presented going about their everyday lives which conforms to typical features of drama films. They are wearing coats which are typical winter clothes showing the season we chose to set our film in. We trimmed this shot to be three seconds, our second establishing shot was slightly longer at four seconds. This sets up the storyline of our film of a foster child who is searching for her parents. This shot represents how her parents could be any one of these people shown in the shot and she wouldn't even know.
Our next chosen shot is another establishing shot which was the next shot used in our film opening. This shot effectively shows Christmas lights which is important as our monologue opens with 'Every year I see these Christmas lights...' Therefore it was vital for us to get a shot of the Christmas lights. The monologue really helps to make the audience aware to the genre being drama because most drama films tell the story of everyday people and the openings use monologues. This is evident in the drama films Forrest Gump, The Blind Side and My Sister's Keeper. This shot shows the surroundings to be quite isolated. This shot would not have worked if no one was in this shot and the Christmas lights were not up, this shot would have looked like a typical shot that would appear in a horror film. Luckily a pedestrian walked past at the time whilst filming so therefore it does not look too isolated but it emphasises how lonely the main character is. This shot is slightly low angle, this is to give a clear view of the Christmas lights and to make the surroundings look bigger and more intimidating. This is to represent the fear of the young girl on her search to find her parents.
For our film title we decided on a simple beige font with a black background. The title appears when there is a pause in the monologue, this is effective in emphasising the title. We most recently watched the film 'The holiday' and the title for this drama film also appears in the bottom left hand corner, the monologue for this film also pauses when the title appears also so we feel as though we were really influenced by it.
The next shot is a mid shot showing the girl on the train. This shot introduces our un named main character who is played by our friend Lauren. When this shot occurs the monologue starts up again after the pause to show the film title, The Desperate Pursuit. The line from the monologue that plays along with the shot of the main character on the train is 'This is my story...' The fact that she is on the train is suggestive of the fact that she is going to show you, as an audience, her journey to find her parents. By using this shot type it gives the audience an insight into what it is really like to be on your own. Audiences will be able to relate to times when using public transport on your own you tend to feel lonely however you have somewhere to go to, we want to audience to symphasise with the girl and make them realise that she really has no one and she is not on her way home to be with her family. The mid shot allows the audience to get a good view of every features of the girl. They will be able to see her face so they can see her expression of longing as well as what she is wearing. We want to allow them to be able to have an insight into the characters situation by what she is wearing. A mid shot is also a perfect shot type for as well as revealing the character of focus it also reveals the surroundings.
The next shot is an over the shoulder shot of the girl exiting the train. We found that the surroundings are quite deserted for a station, we were expectation more people to exit the trains. This is not however an issue for us because not many people around will make the main character feel lonely because she will know that even though some of the people may be on their own, they have the advantage over her of having a home to go to.
Our camera work for this shot is effective as it allows the audience to see things from the main character's perspective, they can therefore get an idea of our main character's emotions and how lonely she must feel. When exiting the train the man shown to be leaving at the same time as Lauren told her to get our of the way so he can get off the train. Very professionally Lauren did this whilst still in character. The man was wearing a hat and a thick coat so this contributes to make the season the film was shot in clear to the audience.
The next shot shows the main character walking away from the station. At this time there were allot of people leaving the station, we waited for a group of people to exit the station so that Lauren could walk away from the station behind them. We were particular about our main character being behind the group of people to show how she feels as though she is just a forgotten member of society. At this point it was around 4 o'clock in the afternoon and light was fading fast. We decided to just film her leaving the station behind the next people who leave. We used a long shot/ tracking shot to follow her path from the station to her nearing the road.
The next shot is a mid shot/ tracking shot of our main character walking along the street holding her coffee. The light has faded in this shot however the artificial light from the shops create the perfect lighting for our shot whilst still making it look natural. At this point Guildford was not very busy, however we still had a good amount of people in the background of our shots. We managed to capture a moment by chance when a Mother walked past with her two children, a young boy and a young girl. Lauren naturally glanced over at the family which conformed precisely to our main characters feelings of longing to have her real family. The tracking shot captures Lauren's back along with the line of the monologue '...probably not.' This was very effective as it makes it seem as though our main character is metaphorically turning her back on the idea that she will ever find her parents.
This mid shot shot shows our main character leaning against a wall showing her spot for where she will sleep that night. She is in a sheltered archway so therefore the audience will notice that she has been quite clever in her choice for where she will sleep because it is sheltered, therefore she will feel protected. The surroundings are quite dark, this helps to convey our main characters emotion and how lonely she must feel. We used a high angle shot to show that she is vulnerable because she is sleeping rough. This conforms to typical stereotypes of females being quite vulnerable, however arguably our main character is quite headstrong as she has ran away from home, therefore she must feel strong enough to do this.
The next shot is a close up shot of our main character drinking coffee. We chose this shot because we wanted to try and capture the steam coming out of the coffee to emphasise to the audience how cold the weather is, therefore they can symphasise with her. The wind also blows slightly through her hair, this makes the surroundings feel unpleasant,therefore this will make the audience appreciate that they live in a warm and comfortable home.
Recording studio: We decided to record our monologue at a professional recording studio to ensure that the sound is of good quality. Using a set of headphones and a microphone, Lauren read the monologue for us and it was recorded and sent to us through email. We were very keen on the idea of recording at a recording studio seeing as our opening will not include any dialog, we really needed to make sure that the monologue sound is good to ensure that the audience do not get bored and to make the film appear more interesting. 
