As director/scriptwriter, the location is important to me in terms of not only inspiration, but also limitations. I do not, for example, want to write a number of situations into the script, which are not feasible or cannot be done. Having said this, when discussing this with the rest of my group, we decided that in the meantime, i.e. whilst waiting to hear back from possible locations, the locations and their layout should not impede the script, or dissuade me from writing something, just because I feel that we may not be able to do it. We've decided it is easier to revise the script in the editing stage, or further along in the process, when we have things more set into place and a better idea of how things will pan out, or to try to go the extra mile to ensure the scene is as envisaged, i.e. by building sets.
As producer, Abi collated a list of department stores, showrooms and furniture shops for us to look around. She also drew up a schedule for the day with predicted Time of Arrival and Time of Departure. She drove from place to place, and we contributed in terms of petrol. The schedule was:
Schedule
1) 10am – Leave 2) 10:30am – Arrive at Beales
3) 11am: Leave Beales
4) 11:20 Arrive at Freestyle
5) 11:40 Leave Freestyle
6) 1:15 – Arrive at Ikea
7) 1:40 Leave Ikea
8) 1:40 stop for lunch/drive to home from home
9) 2 30: arrive at home from home
10) 3: leave home from home
11) 3 45: arrive at Thorndale furnishers
12) 4 15: leave Thorndale furnishers
13) 4 40: Arrive at David Salmon Furnishers
14) 5: Leave David Salmon
3) Ikea -
Valley Park, off Purley Way
Croydon
CR0 4UZ
4) Home From Home Store -
33- 35 Sussex Road,
Haywards Heath,
RH16 4DZ
5) Thorndale Furnishers -
Burfield Park,
South Road,
Hailsham,
East Sussex,
BN27 3JL
As ever, things didn't fully go to plan but along the way we discovered some very interesting locations and came up with some good idea's. When driving to our first location Beales we spotted a showroom which we had not come across when researching online. We decided to have a look inside and were very pleasantly surprised by the interior. The following photographs are one's which I took when looking around.
Alexander - Worthing
Dan, Abi and I really loved the layout of this show room as there were a number of different domestic "settings" which we felt could work really well in the scenes that we had in mind. The fact that they could look hugely realistic, when shot in a certain way was also a huge selling point. As well as this, we felt the store flowed really well, in terms of it's walkways. It almost felt like a maze, which could add the element of fun to our film which we really want. For example, our characters could easily get lost in each setting, or play hide and seek/mess around etc. We particularly liked the stage like bathrooms shown in the right hand corner of this collage and the winding paths surrounding them, as this provides easy access for camera's on tripods/dolly's/sliders etc. There were a wide range of kitchens within the store, however I was unable to take photo's of them.
Therefore, when the Male Lead awakes, we can undercut this supposedly cliched domestic scene, in which the Male attempts to sneak away from a one night stand quietly, by highlighting the fact that he is stuck in a showroom, and that in fact, the situation is abnormal. We thought that this would also look aesthetically pleasing, in terms of varieties of shots and angles as it'd make it easier for us to acquire high angle shots and attain some interesting tracking shots/camera pans.
Also, it is clear from this view that the shop isn't particularly huge, and thus this makes the story line more realistic, in the sense that there perhaps wouldn't be anyone there overnight (i.e. security/delivery men/night shift workers) as it is smaller scale and independent. There are 3 types of setting in this store: the living room, the kitchen and the bathroom; all of which will fit into our story line well, however, we may need to source/create a dining room scene as the store doesn't have this.
After looking around Abi, Dan and I approached a member of staff to tell them that that we were looking to make a film and wondered if there was any possibility of us using some of the locations within the store, to film. We were given the contact details of the Managing Director and told to contact him to explain our situation, and to ask permission. We may not be successful due to factors such as Insurance etc. however we will ask and hope for the best.
Beales - Worthing
The next department store we viewed did not fit the criteria as well as Alexander in Worthing, however it did give us the opportunity to film a dining table scene.
We felt that the decor was too old and found that what we really wanted may not be a department store, but a showroom, as in this store there aren't individual, realistic 'set' like spaces with walls etc., and so it could detract from the whole idea of moving from one life and into another; which is a large concept in the film as the two characters come up with imagination sequences based on their surroundings, and on their relationship within these domestic settings. Also, this store did not have any kitchens and only had one bath. We have written both a Kitchen set and Bathroom set into our script and do not want to compromise on these. Lastly, we worry that this store would be less attainable to use as it is a chain in a high street, and sells other goods including clothes, make-up and toys, and so they are likely to not let us use it due to security/insurance reasons.
Debenhams - Worthing
Debenhams happened to be very near to Beales and so we thought we ought to check it out, to decide for sure whether it was a department store location we wanted, or a showroom. We took a look around the furniture department, but again there weren't any spaces that could work as a set for a real-life domestic scene. The thing that I really looked out for here in particular were props that could be used in the scenes where the couple play around and have fun in the space.
We did discuss using a mannequin within the set to generate humour, i.e. by the characters talking to it as if it were a counsellor; sorting out marital issues. I therefore photographed the mannequins in the store, as we could include this in our film if we used this location. The thing I liked about the spaces within Debenhams was that they were very customised/personalised with realistic props. For example, the table is laid in the far right hand corner with an oven dish/oven gloves. This may allow the characters to be able to play around more so than if it were an empty showroom. Perhaps there is a way of combining the showroom location with the department store. This combination would facilitate the comedic/playful elements of our film.
Freestyle - Worthing
Our next stop was another kitchen/bathroom/bedroom showroom in Worthing. It was similar to Alexander and we particularly liked the fact that the bedrooms faced out onto the main road, as this would make for an even funnier undercut, when the man first wakes up and realises where he is. This is second on our list of favourites.
We decided against going to Ikea as it was very far away from where we were and also, we all agreed that we were familiar with Ikea's set-up/style, having been there many times before. We will still contact Ikea as it is the most ideal, in terms of what we want, but we are the least hopeful about it as it is such a huge store/chain, and there is likely to be a lot of health and safety/insurance policies, and maybe even a cost of some sort, if they were to agree. We drove past Home From Home Store and saw that it was a tiny furniture shop with no sign of any kitchens/bathrooms etc. and so we did not stop to look inside. Having gotten ideas from seeing other stores, we decided that we would call it a day and focus on contacting the ones we had seen.
Addresses
1) Beales -
Beales Worthing
South Street
Worthing
West Sussex
BN11 3AN
2) Freestyle -
53 Broadwater Street West,
Worthing,
West Sussex, BN14 9BY
53 Broadwater Street West,
Worthing,
West Sussex, BN14 9BY
3) Ikea -
Valley Park, off Purley Way
Croydon
CR0 4UZ
4) Home From Home Store -
33- 35 Sussex Road,
Haywards Heath,
RH16 4DZ
5) Thorndale Furnishers -
Burfield Park,
South Road,
Hailsham,
East Sussex,
BN27 3JL
6) David Salmon Furnishers -
116 South Street
Eastbourne
East Sussex
BN21 4LZ
116 South Street
Eastbourne
East Sussex
BN21 4LZ
As ever, things didn't fully go to plan but along the way we discovered some very interesting locations and came up with some good idea's. When driving to our first location Beales we spotted a showroom which we had not come across when researching online. We decided to have a look inside and were very pleasantly surprised by the interior. The following photographs are one's which I took when looking around.
Alexander - Worthing
Dan, Abi and I really loved the layout of this show room as there were a number of different domestic "settings" which we felt could work really well in the scenes that we had in mind. The fact that they could look hugely realistic, when shot in a certain way was also a huge selling point. As well as this, we felt the store flowed really well, in terms of it's walkways. It almost felt like a maze, which could add the element of fun to our film which we really want. For example, our characters could easily get lost in each setting, or play hide and seek/mess around etc. We particularly liked the stage like bathrooms shown in the right hand corner of this collage and the winding paths surrounding them, as this provides easy access for camera's on tripods/dolly's/sliders etc. There were a wide range of kitchens within the store, however I was unable to take photo's of them.
The Alexander Showroom also had 3 bedrooms from which to choose from, for our 1st scene, in which the Male Lead wakes up to find himself with a Woman, locked in a department store. The brilliant thing about these bedrooms was that they were located on a mezzanine level, which looks across the top of the store, as can be seen in the two photographs below:
Also, it is clear from this view that the shop isn't particularly huge, and thus this makes the story line more realistic, in the sense that there perhaps wouldn't be anyone there overnight (i.e. security/delivery men/night shift workers) as it is smaller scale and independent. There are 3 types of setting in this store: the living room, the kitchen and the bathroom; all of which will fit into our story line well, however, we may need to source/create a dining room scene as the store doesn't have this.
After looking around Abi, Dan and I approached a member of staff to tell them that that we were looking to make a film and wondered if there was any possibility of us using some of the locations within the store, to film. We were given the contact details of the Managing Director and told to contact him to explain our situation, and to ask permission. We may not be successful due to factors such as Insurance etc. however we will ask and hope for the best.
Beales - Worthing
The next department store we viewed did not fit the criteria as well as Alexander in Worthing, however it did give us the opportunity to film a dining table scene.
We felt that the decor was too old and found that what we really wanted may not be a department store, but a showroom, as in this store there aren't individual, realistic 'set' like spaces with walls etc., and so it could detract from the whole idea of moving from one life and into another; which is a large concept in the film as the two characters come up with imagination sequences based on their surroundings, and on their relationship within these domestic settings. Also, this store did not have any kitchens and only had one bath. We have written both a Kitchen set and Bathroom set into our script and do not want to compromise on these. Lastly, we worry that this store would be less attainable to use as it is a chain in a high street, and sells other goods including clothes, make-up and toys, and so they are likely to not let us use it due to security/insurance reasons.Debenhams - Worthing
Debenhams happened to be very near to Beales and so we thought we ought to check it out, to decide for sure whether it was a department store location we wanted, or a showroom. We took a look around the furniture department, but again there weren't any spaces that could work as a set for a real-life domestic scene. The thing that I really looked out for here in particular were props that could be used in the scenes where the couple play around and have fun in the space.
We did discuss using a mannequin within the set to generate humour, i.e. by the characters talking to it as if it were a counsellor; sorting out marital issues. I therefore photographed the mannequins in the store, as we could include this in our film if we used this location. The thing I liked about the spaces within Debenhams was that they were very customised/personalised with realistic props. For example, the table is laid in the far right hand corner with an oven dish/oven gloves. This may allow the characters to be able to play around more so than if it were an empty showroom. Perhaps there is a way of combining the showroom location with the department store. This combination would facilitate the comedic/playful elements of our film.
Freestyle - Worthing
Our next stop was another kitchen/bathroom/bedroom showroom in Worthing. It was similar to Alexander and we particularly liked the fact that the bedrooms faced out onto the main road, as this would make for an even funnier undercut, when the man first wakes up and realises where he is. This is second on our list of favourites.
We decided against going to Ikea as it was very far away from where we were and also, we all agreed that we were familiar with Ikea's set-up/style, having been there many times before. We will still contact Ikea as it is the most ideal, in terms of what we want, but we are the least hopeful about it as it is such a huge store/chain, and there is likely to be a lot of health and safety/insurance policies, and maybe even a cost of some sort, if they were to agree. We drove past Home From Home Store and saw that it was a tiny furniture shop with no sign of any kitchens/bathrooms etc. and so we did not stop to look inside. Having gotten ideas from seeing other stores, we decided that we would call it a day and focus on contacting the ones we had seen.
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