Behind the Scenes

In this video our producer, Rebecca Ainsworth, talks through our second day of filming. She explains the props we used, how we set up the location and we see behind the scenes footage of how we filmed the scene.

We created this to put on our website so that the audience feel more involved with the film and can connect with the cast and crew.


North Chamber: Store Cupboard BTS from Sam Duxbury on Vimeo. Edited by Rebecca Ainsworth. Filmed by Hannah Boardman

Production Diary 3 - 29/11/14

Call Sheet- 29.11.14

This was the first shoot in which we had to do Kaitlyn's make up so that she looked ghostlike. We knew this would be quite difficult as Kaitlyn had never put in a contact lens before so we only planned to film 3 shots.

Production Diary 2 - 27/11/14

Call Sheet - 26.11.2014

On our second shoot we brought Miranda, who plays the character of Scarlett, to do the scene that takes place in a cupboard in school.

In this scene, Scarlett discovers Cassandra’s diary in the back of a store cupboard. We had to prepare the cupboard before the actress arrived; we cleared the floor so that it was easy to walk in and out of and then put in our props.

We found old books from the early 20^th century (around the time Cassandra was at the school) in the school archive and put them on the book shelf, along with Cassandra’s diary. As we wanted the location to look untouched since the death of Cassandra, we used whole meal flour to resemble dust on top of the books. We hung up an old fashioned picture on the back of the door to add to the authenticity and make the story more believable.

We asked Miranda to come in a school shirt and skirt so that we could start filming as soon as she got to the location.

There was no lighting in the cupboard and because the space was so small, we didn’t have any room for lights. In order for the books on the shelf to be visible, Sam (director of photography), had to stand behind the camera with an iphone torch. We faced the torch to the wall so it wasn’t too bright as we wanted chiaroscuro lighting.

Make up - Ghost of Cassandra

To create a ghostly effect we used pale foundation on Kaitlyn when we filmed the scenes of Cassandra’s ghost in the modern day. We used this so that the character looked significantly different to how she was when she was alive.

We used red lipstick under her eyes so she looked worn out and like she had been crying. This hopefully will allow viewers to see her history of depression just by looking at her appearance.

We used a white contact lens in one of her eyes which is meant to infer that Cassandra is dead and set her apart as they make her look scary.

Production Diary 1 - 19/11/14

Call Sheet - 19.11.2014

In our first film shoot we wanted to film all of the past scenes that included the character Cassandra only. We got Kaitlyn (the actress) ready when she got to school, dressing her in an old fashioned uniform. We took a picture of the red ribbon in her hair before we started filming so that we knew how it looked for future film shoots.

As the scenes we were filming were set in the past, we had to be very careful about where we filmed so that it would believable for the audience. One problem we had was that we wanted to get a shot of Cassandra looking out of the window, however, we realised that the view through the window looked modern whilst we were filming a 1940’s scene. This meant that we couldn't include that shot in the trailer.

Another shot that we wanted to film was one in the girl’s bathroom of the school. There were modern soap dispensers in the shot we originally filmed but we noticed whilst watching it back on the camera and moved to a better position so that they couldn't be seen.

Monologue

Covered in dust

At the back of a cupboard

There is a book full of secrets

Soon to be discovered

In the North Chamber

She’ll find it there.

Cassandra’s book

Don’t touch it.

Beware.

KEEP OUT.

To make sure the outline of the story is clear, we decided to record a voice over informing the audience that the film is based around a girl called Cassandra's 'book full of secrets'. We made sure that the monologue didn't give the audience details about the story behind the book, other than hinting that it is dangerous with the phrases "don't touch it" and "beware". We did this so that the whole story wasn't being given away, this will intrigue the audience and make them want to watch the full film.

Monologue Recording

Spoken and put together by Rebecca Ainsworth

This is the monologue used in the cupboard scene of the North Chamber Trailer.


Monologue from Rebecca Ainsworth on Vimeo.

Props

The sketchbook plays a big part of our film trailer as it is where Cassandra writes down all of her thoughts, fears and secrets. It is when this book is opened, that Cassandra’s spirit is disturbed.

As the first book we got was too new we decided to look for something more appropriate. We eventually found and bought an old jotter online that would have been used in the time period we were trying to replicate.

Rebecca and I drew pictures and wrote in the sketchbook bearing in mind what we wanted the audience to see of Cassandra’s personality. We drew London, war planes and Cassandra’s family to show how she was missing her home and to suggest to the audience that she is an evacuee from London. We also included drawings that displayed how depressed she was such as a picture of a hanging rope. In a particular bullying scene, we wanted a bully to rip a page of the sketchbook in half.

We decided that it would be effective for the picture of Cassandra’s family to be ripped to show her loneliness. To make sure it was ripped in the right place, we scored and folded the page in half so that it was ready.

In the scene when Scarlett discovers the sketchbook, we wanted to create the effect that the book hadn't been touched since she died. Rebecca found that wholemeal flour looked similar to dust and suggested we sprinkle it on top of the books to create this effect.

We used a fountain pen with a blue ink cartridge to draw in the sketch book as that is what people used to write with in the 40’s. At first, we were unsure whether people had access to different colours of ink at that time, but by further research we found that they did use both blue and black ink.

We went over the fountain pen drawings with black ink because we thought it looked more ominous in black.

We found some old school books for Cassandra in the school archive; these fit with the time period perfectly.

We bought fake blood to show the extent of Cassandra’s depression hint at the fact she started harming herself. 

Cast of North Chamber

Kaitlyn Knight as Cassandra

Kaitlyn was born on 1st September 2000 and is very passionate about writing, acting and singing she especially likes to write and perform her own songs. Through pursuing this passion she has achieved many awards including a Music Achievement award, Performance excellence, Performance in King George’s hall and singer of the year just to name a few.

She has had various extra parts in several public performances for example, Snow White, Mamma Mia, Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat. Her biggest role being cast as Harmony Galloway in a Theatre production called The Ghosts of Galloway House. 

Miranda Markham as Scarlett

Miranda is currently training at The Performance Academy, Accrington and is a dedicated, enthusiastic and talented performer who is equally at home acting, dancing, modelling and singing. She is full of energy and pursues every form of exercise from muddy mountain biking to graceful ballet. 

Miranda has performed in dance and drama shows, acting and musical theatre festivals, dance, drama and singing examinations and has won an array of trophies for acting and speech in Music and Arts festivals in the North West. She was also asked to take part in an editorial shoot and be the face of Craze Photography and has completed a modeling photoshoot for Carloan 4 U.   More recently Miranda has appeared in a short film called THE GREEN DRESS (Dream Catcher Films) which will be broadcast three times on the regional channel Bay TV in the next two weeks. 

Miranda is privileged and proud to be a part of Red Herring Productions forthcoming film and eagerly awaits the release of this magnificent feature.  

Loan Evans as George

Loan Evans was born on Valantine's Day 2002.....ahhhh.  

He has numerous hobbies which include playing both bass and electric guitars plus a Flugal Horn. He regularly performs, and last year undertook 50 performances with the 2nd Rossendale Scout's Brass Band.

He enjoys acting, loves music (especially rock) plus the fast life and cars. He races one a month at a local kart track and his first word joined up  when he was a baby was "vintage car"!

Filming was a new experience for him, one which he'd love to repeat.

Robert Mason as William

Robert Louis Mason, was born in Burnley 1st August 2002.  He has lived in Weir all his life, with Mum, Dad, brother Thomas and Rusty the dog. He went to Northern Primary School in which he obtain many main parts in Christmas performances before joining BRGS in September 2013.

His hobbies include, Golf, he is the current club champion and Junior Captain at Bacup Golf Club, Table Tennis, Scouts and,  of course, Drama.

He has attended the Performance Academy since 2012 and has taken part in the last three summer shows. He has recently been awarded a Distinction in his Grade 5 drama exam.

He is currently studying for his GCSE in Drama at the Performance Academy.

Sophie Barnes as Natalie

Born on 19th July 2001 Sophie has much interest in her Drama and Dance hobbies, She currently attends The Performance Academy in Accrington and has just received honours in her first drama exam. She is also studying a drama qualification - NCFE - at the Performance Academy.  Previously she attended Burnley Youth Theatre and performed in several plays including 'The Event' and 'Animal Farm'.

Sophie also attends Sandersons Dance in Blackburn and has numerous awards for Cheer dance. She is part of the Cheer squad and enters competitions 4 times a year. Her latest achievement was honours at gold level.

Nicola Markham as Teacher

Nicola began her acting training at Mountview Theatre School and has since completed a Masters Degree in Physical Theatre at Huddersfield University. During her twenty-year career as a professional actress Nicola has performed in a wide variety of theatre and film productions including a four-year No.1 tour and West End run of the hit comedy ‘Girls’ Night Out’.   Further credits include a No.1 tour of ‘The Secret Garden’, annual pantomimes playing a variety of characters and a recent performance of a one-woman play called ‘Artist Unknown’ which toured Manchester Fringe venues earlier this year.

 In addition to performing, Nicola also writes and develops new work for her own theatre company ‘Inspired Productions.’ These educational and bespoke productions tour schools, communities and museums providing an imaginative, theatrical experience in a non-theatre environment. Nicola is currently awaiting the TV premiere of a short film called ‘The Green Dress,’ by Chatterbox Productions & Dream Catcher Films where she plays a lead role as ‘Mum’ in this 1940’s nostalgic drama set in Lancashire.  

  Last year saw the release of a full length 3D feature film ‘Saint Dracula’ for Cinema Verite where Nicola plays the role of ‘Mother Superior’. This is the second feature film role with Cinema Verite having previously played the ‘Lord’s Mother’ in ‘The secret diaries of Mona Lisa,’ also directed by Rupesh Paul.

North Chamber Crew

Hannah Boardman - Director 

Hannah Boardman was born on the 13th May 1997 in Burnley.

She is currently studying Photography, Media studies and Psychology and hopes to go on to do film production at university next year.

She has had many work experience placements on television series' such as Scott and Bailey and The Syndicate and has had chances to work closely with well established directors.

"I've loved being a part of the production of North Chamber! I have really enjoyed working with talented young actors I hadn't met prior to filming. I have learnt a lot about directing and working as a team throughout this film making process."

Rebecca Ainsworth - Producer

Rebecca Ainsworth was born on 11th January 1997 in Bury and has taken on the role of the producer during this production.

She studies Photography, Media Studies and German at Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammer School and hopes to continue her studies in London during a Film Production course later this year.

Rebecca has always had an interest with cameras from an early age putting together montages of various family events and creating birthday videos for friends.

She has been lucky enough to have work experience on sets such as the film A Monster Calls and the Burghley Horse Trails eventing weekend.

"Working on the set of North Chamber has been a great experience for me and I am now confident that the film industry is where I would like to pursue a career!"

Sam Duxbury

Sam Duxbury was born on the 18th December 1996 in Oldham.

He studies Geography, History, and Media Studies at Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School and hopes to go on to do History at university later this calendar year.

Actor Permission Forms

Permission to use the School

Costume Research

As our trailer is set in the 1940’s we had to think about costume in great detail to make sure our costumes were historically accurate.

As there are old school photographs along the corridor in our school (Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School), Rebecca and I decided to look for one that was taken in the 40’s so that we could look at the uniforms they were wearing.

These are images we took of the old school photographs; we noticed that the girls were wearing black pinafores with white shirts whilst the boys wore a shirt and tie with a blazer and trousers.

As the photographs we took pictures of were not very clear, we were unsure about what kind of socks/tights our characters should wear. We believed that tights in the 1940’s would have been made of a different material than what we use now because of war rations.

We went on to research old fashioned school uniform on the internet which showed children wearing white socks which helped us make our decision about the costumes we should use. 

Original Journal

Originally, we were going to use a spare exercise book we found at school as Cassandra's journal. 

We drew depressing images of sad faces and also images of Cassandra's past such as the evacuation train and pictures of war. We scrunched up the pages to make it seem old as it is was meant to be old and battered.

However, we decided that the book looked too new and modern to be from the 1940's and the drawings -which were in black felt tip- also looked like they were drawn in the modern day. Therefore, we decided that this book would be used as an experimental book where we would practise drawing the pictures with different pens and ink.

Research into WW2 Evacuation

To develop a better understanding of what life was like for children during World War 2 we researched about evacuation and schools in the 1940's. This video left us with a clearer idea of how children must have felt at that time which helped us in developing our characters. It also showed us what clothes people wore so that we could start thinking about costumes that fit with the time period.

                     A 1940s Childhood - In Wartime from British Council Film on Vimeo.

Auditions

In order to get an idea of which actors would play which roles, Rebecca went to a drama class that most of our volunteer actors attend. She let them read the script so that they could get an idea of the storyline. Then she asked them to do an improvisational piece, with the storyline in mind.


She found that some of the actors we were planning on asking to be 'extras' were more suitable for the 'bully' roles and vice versa. This helps us when planning the actors' costume and make up because now we have a definite idea of what they will look like. Knowing that the actors will be good at taking on the roles we have given them, gives us confidence that the performances will be effective.

Shot List

LOCATION: EXT. SCHOOL

Scene 1 – Panning establishing long shot of school from car park

LOCATION: EXT. SCHOOL YARD

Scene 6 –

• Panning long Shot of Cassandra, Natalie and Ruth on playground through fence
• Medium long shot of Natalie and Ruth holding up book and shouting whilst ripping out pages.
• Close up shot of book drooping to the floor. Laughing and mocking can still be heard.

            LOCATION: EXT. SCHOOL DRIVE

Scene 15 -

• Long side on tracking shot of Scarlett walking down the drive, a tree appears in the right hand side of the shot with a red ribbon attached to the branches as she gets to the bottom of the hill

LOCATION: INT. CLASSROOM 1

Scene 2-

• Medium Close up shot of Cassandra in right hand side. She is drawing in her sketch book and 2 girls can be seen out of focus in the background towards the left third. Focus Pull so the bullies are in focus as they throw a scrunched up piece of paper at her head. Casandra turns to look at the bullies then turns away back to her drawing and there is another focus pulls back to Cassandra so we can see her expression.

Scene 17 –

Medium Close up of Cassandra in class (as in scene 2). The bullies are still laughing.

Scene 18 -

Same shot as previously but in the modern day. Scarlett is sat in the same place as Cassandra was in the past. Cassandra appears as a ghost is behind her.

LOCATION: INT. STAIRCASE

Scene 3 –

Hand held tracking close up shot of Scarlett’s feet walking up the steps.

LOCATION: CORRIDOR 1 – BELFREY

Scene 4 –

Long shot of Cassandra walking down the corridor towards the camera. Bullies   (Natalie and Ruth) are running up from behind.

Medium Close up from behind of bullies pushing Cassandra over.

Scene 8 –

Same shot as previous. Over the shoulder shot from behind Cassandra, the bullies can be seen running off down the corridor at the right hand side of the shot.

LOCATION: INT. BELFREY WINDOW

Scene 19 –

Medium long shot from behind Cassandra sat on the window sill looking out.

Scene 10 –

Close up of Cassandra hitting the window.

LOCATION: INT. CORRIDOR 2 – EXTENSION CORRIDOR

Scene 5 –

Handheld tracking extreme close up shot of the ribbon in Cassandra’s hair.

LOCATION: INT. GIRL’S BATHROOM

Scene 7 –

Medium over the shoulder shot of Cassandra looking at her reflection in mirror.

Scene 9 –

Hand held close up of blood draining down sink

Scene 11 –

Match on action from scene 10. Cassandra continues to hit bathroom mirror.

Scene 20 –

Similar to scene 7. Medium over the shoulder shot from behind the ghost of Cassandra looking in mirror.

LOCATION: INT. CUPBOARD

Scene 12 –

Medium long shot from inside of door being opened by Scarlett

Jump cut to Scarlett picking the book off the shelf.

Jump cut of POV shot of her looking through the book. Turns to a drawing we have seen before.

Medium long shot from back of the cupboard of her looking at the book. Door slams and she looks up.

LOCATION: INT. CLASSROOM 2

Scene 13 –

Medium close up shot of Scarlett.

180 degree pan around the back of Scarlett’s head, revealing the teacher as she starts talking.

Scene 16 –

Big Close up of Scarlett flicking through pages of Cassandra’s book, tracking out slightly

Close up from the side of Scarlett starting to write in the book

Tracking out, Fast shots broken up by white flashes-

Scratches made by Cassandra appear on Scarlett’s hand, getting worse each time there is a flash

Scene 21 –

A slight high angle medium close up shot of Scarlett writing in book, Cassandra suddenly strangles Scarlett from behind using a red ribbon

LOCATION: INT. LOCKER ROOM

Scene 22 –

Long shot of Scarlett running down the corridor (through the door window)

Sudden extreme close up of Cassandra’s face through the window.

LOCATION: INT. CLASSROOM 3

Scene 14 –

Long shot of Scarlett standing next to table, looking through her bag.

Longshot from behind Scarlett, Cassandra walks in between the camera and where Scarlet is stood.

Cassandra turns around to face where the camera is

Longshot from Scarlett’s point of view – red ribbon

Storyboards

We created storyboards so that when it comes filming, each member of the group knows how we planned to film the shot. We included descriptions underneath the drawings so that we know how to direct the actors in each shot.

Script- Draft 1

Script Draft 1

Synopsis

Cassandra is a young girl in the 1940’s who is being bullied at school. With no friends or family, she can only confide in her sketchbook in which she shares all of her anger and upset. The bullying leads to Cassandra committing suicide by hanging herself in the school bathroom, a place she has spent many hours hiding. Cassandra’s spirit is disturbed 74 years later when a school girl discovers the book storing all of Cassandra’s secrets. Angry that she has been disturbed and her privacy breached, Cassandra wants revenge.

Risk Assessment

To ensure that the cast and crew were safe whilst filming North Chamber, we risk assessed each location that we planned to film in. We thought about the dangers of each location and then discussed how accidents can be avoided.  

Risk Assessment Sheet