Sliding doors-Scene From The Film

In the first timeline, Helen discovers she's pregnant with James's child and goes to see him at his office. She is stunned to learn from James's secretary that he is married. Upset, Helen disappears. James searches for her and finds her on a bridge, explaining he was married but is now separated and soon to be divorced. He and his soon-to-be ex-wife maintain a cordial relationship for the sake of his sick mother.

In the second timeline, Helen tells Gerry she has a job interview with the head of an international PR firm. Thinking Helen is out at the interview, Gerry goes to see Lydia, who is also pregnant with his child. While there, the doorbell rings and Lydia tells Gerry to answer it. Helen is there, and is stunned when Lydia tells her she can't do the interview because she's "deciding whether or not to keep [Helen's] boyfriend's baby."

This is an extract from a film called sliding doors, in these two scene you see two different aspects of time, and two different outcomes and plots different roads lead to for the girl. I thought this could link to our film because you could see are film as this would be what life was like if the women had not lost her son, and then in the end she goes back to her time and she's back in her world were her sons not around and its gloomy and she's not happy. I think this is a good effect for a film, it can keep the reader interested and leave the film and audience in suspense  till the vary end .

Ghost- The film

Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) and Molly Jensen (Demi Moore) are a happy and loving couple living in New York City. The only problem in their relationship is Sam's apparent discomfort with saying "I love you" to his girlfriend, only responding to her saying it with "ditto." This bothers Molly, who feels she needs to hear him say "I love you" in return.

Sam, as it turns out, is a banker who has discovered something very strange going on with several bank accounts. He informs his friend, Carl, about them, telling Carl that there is too much money within them. Carl tries to take over researching the accounts, but Sam won't hear of it.

One night, while walking back to their new apartment after going to the theatre, they encounter a thief named Willie Lopez (Rick Aviles). He pulls a gun and Sam is shot. Sam chases Willie, but loses him; when he returns to Molly, he sees her cradling his own corpse, and realizes that he is now a ghost, trapped between worlds. Lights descend to take him away, but he flees.

Sam realizes that the robbery was planned when Willie sneaks into the house and rifles through his belongings. Sam follows Willie home and overhears him on the telephone, from which he learns that Willie is working for someone else. Sam knows that Molly is in danger but he is unable to communicate with her in his spiritual form. However, he encounters Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg), a con artist posing as a medium who ironically discovers (through hearing Sam say that her business is a "crock of shit") that she really does have her family's power to hear ghosts, though she cannot see them. Realizing she is his only hope of communicating with Molly, Sam endlessly pesters Oda Mae until she eventually gives in and agrees to help him.

Oda Mae reluctantly calls Molly and tells her she is communicating with Sam, but Molly is understandably skeptical. Molly is convinced only when Oda Mae tells her several private things that only Sam could know, most importantly Sam's use of the word "ditto." Oda Mae then relays to Molly the message that she is in danger and should go to the police, as Sam was murdered and the killer, Willy Lopez, has been in their apartment. After Oda Mae leaves, Molly calls Sam's close friend and co-worker, Carl Bruner (Tony Goldwyn) and tells him what Oda Mae said. Carl tells her that Oda Mae is a fraud but promises that he will check the story out. When he leaves, Sam follows him to Willy Lopez's apartment and learns that Carl hired Willy to rob Sam in order to obtain his office computer password. Carl had been using Sam's computer to facilitate a money laundering scheme and needs the new password to regain access after the password was changed. Sam lashes out in frustration at his supposed best friend, but realizes that, as a ghost, he can do little.

Sam then sets off in search of a disturbed poltergeist (Vincent Schiavelli) whom he encountered during his first night as a ghost in thesubway, who is able to move and touch objects by focusing and summoning all his emotions on his intended target. Sam seeks to learn and the ghost is willing to teach, but before he can learn anymore the ghost snaps and disappears into the subway.

During his journeys Sam also learns that, thanks to him, Oda Mae is now being plagued by ghosts coming from as far away as New Jersey to speak to their living relatives. One briefly possesses her, but it is seen that this greatly saps a ghost's energy. He promises that she will no longer be bothered if she helps him.

Meanwhile, Molly visits the police, having become quite skeptical of Oda Mae's claims. The desk sergeant assures her that she's right to be suspicious, as there's no file on any 'Willie Lopez'—but there is an amazingly large file on Oda Mae Brown, who is well-known to local police as a huckster and small-time fraud.

Sam and Oda Mae move to thwart Carl's plan. Sam has finally discovered the extent of Carl's fraud and finds that $4 million has been placed in fraudulent accounts under the name of "Rita Miller." Sam sends Oda Mae to the bank to withdraw the money from the accounts, and convinces her (grudgingly) to give the large cheque to two nuns collecting for charity. Carl panics when he realizes the account has been closed, and is tormented by Sam, who, invisible, behaves like a poltergeist and types the word "MURDERER" on his computer. He then reveals himself to Carl, who ransacks the office in his terror and runs to Molly with Sam in hot pursuit.

When Carl gets to Molly's apartment he asks her about Oda Mae, unaware that Molly has already gone to the police with her concerns and that she had seen Oda Mae at the bank earlier that day. Molly tells Carl that Oda Mae's claims about Sam are a scam and that Oda Mae's name was really Rita Miller. Carl suddenly realizes what's happened and panics. At the same time, he realizes Sam's ghost is present and tells him he will be back to kill Molly if he doesn't get the money back.

Armed with this information, Sam runs to warn Oda Mae, but Carl and Willie arrive shortly thereafter. Oda Mae and her sisters escape as Sam terrorizes Willie, prompting Willie to run out into the street screaming and then get hit by a truck, killing him. However, much like what happened earlier when he shot and killed Sam, Willy doesn't realize he's dead until he sees his own corpse lying in the street. Shortly after his realization, the shadows surrounding his body take the form of screeching demons who come to life and drag Willie into the darkness, where he vanishes.

Sam and Oda Mae head back to Molly, who refuses to believe Oda Mae and threatens to call the police. Sam is only able to convince Molly after using the knowledge the subway ghost gave to him to push a penny up the wall. Oda Mae offers that Sam then use her body to share a passionate moment with Molly, which they accept and enjoy, but an outraged Carl storms in and threatens to kill Molly and Oda Mae if he does not get his money. Sam is forcefully ejected from Oda Mae's body and tries to stop Carl, but, as seen before, possessing her has left him drained, unable to help.

Molly and Oda Mae escape to a loft above the apartment, with Carl in pursuit. He tries desperately to catch up with the women and finally gets to Oda Mae, pulling out a gun, which looks like the gun used by Willy. Molly comes to Oda Mae's defense, but Carl overpowers her and he takes her hostage instead, calling out Sam to challenge him. Sam's energy is restored and he forces Carl to throw the gun away, enabling Molly to escape unharmed. Fighting in vain to stop Sam's attacks, Carl foolishly swings a hanging hook at him and scampers toward an open window to escape. The hook completely misses Sam and swings back, shattering the window into a jagged mass of glass shards which then come crashing down and impale Carl in the stomach, instantly killing him. Sam expresses regret as the demons take Carl's terrified spirit away.

Sam returns to Oda Mae and Molly, checking to see if they are alright. Slowly, something begins to happen as Molly can now hear Sam to his surprise. Immediately after, Sam begins to be enveloped in bright light, for he has now finished his unfinished business on Earth and is given a second chance to enter Heaven. The light makes him visible to both Oda Mae and Molly. After sharing a kiss with Molly and saying a final goodbye to Oda Mae, he tells Molly he loves her, to which she responds "Ditto." Sam slowly walks off into the bright light, saying "It's amazing Molly. The love inside, you take it with you. See ya." Molly watches after him, a tear sliding over her cheek, and whispers, "Bye", as Sam's now faint figure is approached and greeted by other faint bodies in the now disappearing light.....

I thought this is an appropriate film to relate to ours as it has the same plot line, of someone close to you who has died but is still there living beside you, were as in our film its the mother is the one who thinks she call still see him and goes on with life normally, in Ghost its the other way round but there are a variety of similarity's we can relate to our film. The endings both end with the lost person leaving, or going away as they realise there not real, there ghosts living in the memory of there loved ones.

The Birthday Party- play

Harold Pinter's work is infuriating at best, but this film version comes close to making some sense of 'The Birthday Party'. Dandy Nichols runs a boarding house in which oddball lodger Stanley lives (very well played by Robert Shaw) and when two unusual menacing visitors arrive (Patrick Magee and Sidney Tafler) events start to get progressively weirder. The play is dark, claustrophobic, and extremely clever, and the film plays on this - I particularly liked the sequence with the torchlight which had heaps of atmosphere. Not seen much, this version is now commercially available again and hopefully will be eventually viewed in the same light as other Pinter movies such as 'Accident'. It deserves better than it has had so far.

This is again another type of media in the form of a play, The reason i linked this with our movie is because they both have the same feel and mood. they are both ' Dark,Claustrophobic and extremely clever' 

The Birthday Party- Family Reunions can be murder!

The Birthday Party: Family Reunions Can Be Murder!
The mystery at the old mill is a deep-rooted secret that haunts the Hersel family. While most of the family would like to forget the past, two cousins have turned the decades-old mystery into a treasure hunt. Originally designed to be a children's game, the pursuit of fortune soon becomes an obsession, but not just for the two cousins. When the relatives gather to celebrate Aunt Bert's 80th birthday, the old mystery quickly resurfaces. The family is forced to come to terms with the mystery and a murder. Marshall Edmonds returns to help his son sort through the Hersel past. But first Marshall must solve the mystery at the old mill, and he will soon discover that the past and the present have a lot in common!

This is some research into a different form of media. non-fiction books. I like the opening blurb were it says ' while most family's would like to forget the past'. I think this linked in nicely with the story of our film as the women remembers things from her past that she does not want to forget, so she holds on to it, witch then makes her see things that are not actually there.

The Birthday Party Film Script

The Birthday Party

Scene 1
Opening sequence

The film opens with a long shot of an outside of a house in the earlier hours of a cold winter morning. It then cuts to a long shot of a couples bed. The couple is sleeping deeply its dark and the only noise to be heard apart from the heavy sound of breathing whilst they sleep is bird’s songs outside. The shot jumps to a close up of a bedside alarm clock, still no dialogue just the ticking of the clock which when it hits seven goes of in a violent alarm this is also confirming that it is indeed early in the morning. A cut effect to the next shot which is a close up of a woman’s legs putting on a pair of slippers this cuts to a shot of some stairs and the same woman’s legs with slippers on rushes down them.

Scene 2

The shot opens with a long shot for the hall way through the door way of a little boy’s room with a little boy who is nine today. The boy sat up in his bed and the woman who is his mother knelt down beside the bed handing the boy a present.

Mother: Happy birthday Josh! Here is your present from me and your father.

The boy does not reply but is simple sat up looking at the present pleasantly.

The mother continues to get excited about the boys birthday and present eager to know if the boy will like it.

Mother: Well come on then Josh you silly sausage open it, do you want me to open for you? It is nicely wrapped isn’t it Ok I’ll open it for you.

The mother continues to open the present for the boy at this point the father walks past the door way stops at the edge peers in hesitantly, shakes his head, turns around and goes back towards the bathroom to get ready for work.

The mother continues with her excitement.

Mother: Look its that new ‘Star Wars’ Toy you wanted! Do you like it?

The boy says nothing but looks happy.

Mother: Oh I knew you’d like it.

Looking very please with herself she stands up and says come on then get dressed and come down for breakfast and we will plan your day and leaves towards the camera.

Scene 3

The scene jumps to the kitchen the shot is a long shot from the bottom of the table looking towards the boy at the end of the table with a bowl of cereal and the mother sitting on the side with a cup of tea.

Mother: So I was think I’ll go get dressed and you can watch some TV and then I thought we would go shopping and get you some party things? Maybe ’Ben 10’ or ’Spiderman’? Then we could go to the park for a bit and then come home where if I know your father, (jokingly) which unfortunately I do, he would have plan some sort of surprise party like he does every year for everyone’s birthday. So their will be a bunch of mine and your fathers friends there which I know is boring for you but it means more presents and cake. So how about that for a plan batman? Sound good?

The boy says nothing but smiles with a big smile on his face.

The shot changes to a shot from behind the mother looking towards the doorway where the father enters in the doorway.

Father: Well I’m off to work now, so I’ll give you your gift tonight.

Mother: (Playfully) I hope you haven’t planed any party’s or anything?

Father: (Playfully) No I wouldn’t dream of it.

The father leaves and the scene ends

Scene 4

The shot opens with a low down medium shot of the boy sitting on the stairs and the mother, who is dressed now to show the change in time, is putting on his shoes.

The shot changes to a worm eyed camera angle of a garden path leading towards a driveway the Mother and Josh walk up the pathway and get into the car.

Scene 5

This scene opens with a shot from out side ‘Tesco’ the car enters and the shot changes to a shot to a low down shot of beside the car so we see Josh’s feet step down out of the car.

The view is then changed to the front of the shop where the mother is entering the shop pushing a trolley with Josh in the front.

The shot jumps to a shot of a medium shot of a supermarket aisle the mother pushing the now fairly full trolley with the boy in the front come into the shot from the side.

The mother picking up some party plates turns to the boy.

Mother: These are very nice aren’t they Josh?

She puts them into the trolley the shot changes to a medium shot of in front of them and as the mother pushes the trolley towards the camera she continues to talk to the boy in an excited tone.

Mother: You know Josh I believe this Birthday is going to be the best one yet. Seems like only yesterday you where small enough to fit in my hand and look at you now, nine! (jokingly) You’ll be leaving home soon off to uni to become a Dr or something. Get married have me some gorgeous grand children. Then you’ll be looking after me and putting my shoes on.

The shot changes to a medium shot of a check out desk, the mother is having her items scanned, The man is smiling at her she responds to this friendly smile.

Mother: Its someone’s birthday today don’t you know Mr Shopkeeper?

She looks down at Josh with a playful smile. Weirdly the check out boy looks confused he looks down to see what the woman is smiling at strangely he looks down and around but doesn’t see josh he just looks past him.

There is a long pause as he does this then he says in a reassuring yet confused tone.

Check out boy: ….Oh right

The shot fades.


Scene 6

The scene opens with a medium shot from inside the car the camera is looking from Josh’s point of view at is mothers reflection in the front mirror.

Mother: Are you ok Josh? You’re a bit quiet today…

The boy doesn’t reply but the mother takes a gesture that we don’t see as a yes and continues.

Mother: Well good we wouldn’t want you being Mr grumpy on your birthday know would we? Come on lets go to the park.

Scene 7

At the park now with a long shot from behind the mother who is sitting on the bench reading a magazine and the boy is playing on the swing.

The shot jumps to a long shot from behind the mother and child it shows them walking across the park to leave.

Scene 8

The scene opens with another long shot of the house the same as the opening shot but this time with the mother and child standing at the door way and as they enter it changes to a shot from the living room looking into the kitchen where many gests are looking towards the mother and child smiling with party hats on, the table has a few presents on and there is a cake on the kitchen side. The father is standing there smiling and he turns to light the candles for the cake. The mother rushes over to help when the candles are a light the mother takes the cake for out of the fathers hands the father looks confused.

The camera angles is the from the position of the cake looking up at the mother in a worms eyed angle. It switches from this shot to a shot from the mothers point of view. The boy is sitting at the table and the guest around him begin to sing happy birthday. The shot switches back again the mother and farther join in. The shot switches back to the mothers point of view all the time she is slowly getting closer to the table.

Everyone (except the boy): Happy birthday to you happy birthday to you…

The shot switches back to the mothers face.

Everyone (except mother and boy): Happy Birthday dear Sue! Happy birthday dear Sue!
The mother however at the same time sing something different.

Mother: Happy birthday dear Josh! Happy birthday Josh!

The atmosphere becomes awkward the mothers face becomes confused and distorted. The shot switches back to the guests who now look confused to and start looking at each other in their shared confusion. Josh looks upset and as the mother puts the cake down the shot changes back to the mothers face a rush of realisation hits her and she is devastated and tears begin to roll down her cheeks. When the shot changes back to the guest the boy is gone, the guest look confused and sad. The shot change to the guest point of view we see what they see the mother is crying on her husbands shoulder.

The shot fades into the final shot which is a close up of the birthday cake with the candle numbers 45 on it. Using editing effects the shot fades to the same shot with the candles melted more and more this fade into shot continues to show the progression in time until finally the candles have melt completely and the film ends.

The End.

i scream

The reason why i have posted this film on the blog is because the opening scene links into the original idea that our group came up with. The selection of shots are very well organised to apply the sense of horror to the viewer, this is what we are trying to aim for in our short film. I think that the framing of the shot is key because the women is in the centre of the screen which means that she is main focus of the film, this also creates the effect that the viewer can see the surrounds equally and it can make them stand out more. The establishing shot of the empty woods with the crow sounding in the background makes it clear the film has a horror element. The shot where the camera moves out from behind the tree gives the impression that the character is being followed by someone or something, also the shot where the character turns around also gives the impression that they are being followed.

Questionnaire

Below is a copy of our questionnaire which we will be distrubuting to a range of people from all ages to see what there respomse is and it will help us with our ending which is currently what we are struggliung with.

Short Film Magazine Questionnaire

Hello, our names are Alex Conor and Kayleigh, and for our A2 level media project we are making a short film. I would greatly appreciate it if you could take some time to fill in this questionnaire.
(Please circle the appropriate answer)



1. Gender
Male Female


2. Age group
10-16
17-26
26-35
36-45
46+

3. Do you watch short films regularly?

Yes No



4. If not, why not? (You may circle more than one)

Don’t have the time They are difficult to find

Don’t know about them They don’t’ appeal to me

Other (please specify) ……………………...


5. What do you look for in a good short film?

To Be Kept In Suspense/ A Plot With Twists To Be Horrified

Sex, Violence and/or Bad Language An Obvious Plot With No Twists

A Happy Feel Good Film Other (please specify) ………..........




6. What television programme genre do you enjoy to watch from 6pm-9pm?

Drama Horror Comedy Cartoon Romance Action Sci-Fi Other (please specify) ……………….



7. What type of ending do you prefer?

Cliffhanger Happy Ending Sad Ending Unsolved Ending Other (please specify) ……………….


Thank you for your time

Background plot research

Below is a copy of an article about a young boy who dies in a road accident which is the way in which the young child has previously died in our short film. This will help us with the emotions o what the mother is feeling because it describes how the mother of the true story is feeling which will give us a good idea of what a mother who has lost a child is feeling.


Boy dies after being hit by car while rollerblading
By MELLISSA TOPEY | Thursday, October 1, 2009 12:38 AM

Michael Gisondi

Family and friends remember the "beautiful blue eyes" of an athletic 13-year-old Sandusky boy hit by a car while rollerblading Monday night.

After suffering severe head injuries, Michael Gisondi was pronounced dead at 12:02 p.m. Tuesday with his mother, grandmother and loved ones at his bedside.

Michael's mother, Tammy Buckley, described her son as a great kid who loved hanging out and joking.

"He would bat those big blue eyes to get what he wanted," Buckley said of her youngest of three children.

In an assignment for Adams Junior High, teacher Babe Howland asked each student to say who they most admired.

Instead of a sports figure or celebrity, Michael wrote "my mom," Howland said.

Now Buckley's youngest child will help others.

"I'm donating his organs so no one has to go through what I'm going through right now," Buckley said through tears.

The last people to see Michael conscious were friends he was rollerblading with. By the time Castalia resident Deborah Lane saw him, it was too late.

Michael was apparently on his way home after rollerblading with a group of friends in the parking lot of Furry Elementary School, said Darrin Stanley, his mother's fiance.

He was told to be home by 8 p.m. At 7:47 p.m., he was hit by a 2001 Oldsmobile Alero on Strub Road, just east of Campbell Street. He was wearing dark clothing, and Lane, the driver, said she swerved and braked to avoid him but struck him as he attempted to cross the road, according to law enforcement reports.

Lt. Darryl Edge of the Sandusky post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said Lane was reportedly traveling at 45 mph, the posted speed limit.

Edge said alcohol was not a factor.

The crash remains under investigation. No citations had been issued as of Tuesday evening.

In a 911 call, a distraught Lane told dispatchers a boy skated out in front of her and was not moving.

Buckley said she spoke with Lane.

"I told her it was an accident. I don't want her to hurt," Buckley said.

Buckley said the incident happened less than a mile from their home -- a home that is now in need of Michael's jokes, his family said.

The last time his grandmother, Sherry Ebinger, saw him was as she was leaving his house on Sunday. Michael was jumping on a trampoline and wanted her to stay.

Ebinger said her grandson loved the outdoors.

"His mom was always telling him 'You better be in before it gets dark -- you have to get a bath and get ready for school," she said.

His mother's fiance described him as a typical, "rambunctious" kid with pretty blue eyes.

When asked to talk about Michael, Ebinger's first comment was also on Michael's eyes.

Michael recently transferred to Perkins Middle School from Adams Junior High.

Carolyn Esposito, his seventh grade English teacher at Adams, said Michael had many friends there and the school would have grief counselors available.

She remembers a boy with a great personality who loved to joke around and play with his friends.

She said he loved playing football for the Sandusky Blue Streaks and would talk or write about it in his journals.

"He was an all-American boy," Esposito said.

Buckley said the funeral is scheduled for Friday at Evans Funeral Home in Norwalk.

A fund has been established in the name of Michael Gisondi at Citizens Bank for anyone wishing to help the family cover funeral costs.

Plot research

Part of our film is very similar to the plot in sixth sense because in our film we have a women who is depressed and grieving about her sons death and she doesn't communicate with her husband at all.


The Sixth Sense plot summary:
Dr. Malcolm Crowe is a successful child psychiatrist and happily married to Anna. Returning home from an awards ceremony, Malcolm’s confronted by Vincent Grey, a distraught former patient who shoots Malcolm and commits suicide. Months later, a recovered Malcolm meets with Cole Sear, a shy and troubled 9 year-old boy. Cole has been experiencing disturbing situations he can’t fully understand. His mother, Lynn, is concerned about his withdrawn and fearful behavior and attributes it to her recent divorce and Cole being bullied by school classmates.

Initially, Cole is uncomfortable talking to Malcolm but comes to trust him and confides, "I see dead people." He says the ghosts don’t always know they are dead. Malcolm diagnoses Cole as delusional, noting he shares similar symptoms to Vincent Grey. Eventually, Malcolm realizes Cole really is able to communicate with the dead (as was Vincent). He believes the ghosts are benevolent and tells Cole the spirits somehow find their way to him for his help.

Since the shooting, Malcolm and Anna, have grown apart. She has become depressed and uncommunicative. Malcolm unsuccessfully reaches out to her, and is upset when it appears she is seeing another man.

This is another one of our 3 endings, this is so far the favourite one as it leaves the film on a cliff hanger, leaves the audience thinking and using there own imagination, and time for them to reflect back over the movie, The swapping of the birthday cake sybolyises that it was her birthday all along. and it was just her imagination, but then again the audience can assume there own ending. The candles will gradually melt, as the camera shot fades out, the time it takes for the candles to fade out will allow time for the audience to conclude there own ending and start piecing bits together from the film. i Think this is the most effect full ending and would work well, but we will have to experiment to see which one works the best.

We used shot planning sheets to help us get more detail into 3 different scenes. We then decided to do three endings, and way up the pro's and con's. This ending is were the scene will end focusing on a family picture that appeared in the movie earlier on so the audience can relate back, but there is a difference in the photo as the boy is not longer in it.... this can then give the audience opportunity to come to there own conclusion, was the boy ever real? did she just imagine him or did something happen to him
There are a few negatives about using this as the end scene as it might give away to much were as it might be better to give the audience there own thoughts and ending, we would have to be very careful in making sure we make the picture identical bu manipulating it, so it looks believable enough.

This is a storyboard we set out to help us in making a scene script, this is a basic layout of the film, showing us diffrent scenes, sounds, camera shots and limited amount of speech.
This will make it easier and more organised when we come to shooting, as is will give us a rough lay out to follow.

Article Found on the Idependant website, About a boy who's mother went missing but still believes she's alive.

'I'm always going to believe that she's alive'
Ann Myring vanished in 1997. Three years on, her husband and sons believe that she is still alive, while her mother is convinced that she was murdered. Who is right?

By Julia Stuart
Monday, 20 November 2000SHARE PRINTEMAILTEXT SIZE NORMALLARGEEXTRA LARGE
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A bove David Myring's bed is a poster of the TV presenter Kelly Brook in a shimmering bikini. On the adjacent wall is Kate Moss clutching a teddy bear. A pile of clothes is slumped in the corner. It's a typical teenage boy's bedroom, except for one thing - the photographs of his mother dotted around the undusted clutter. They make an odd contrast with the sparsely clad women clawing the blue-and-white-striped walls.

David would be the first to admit that it's not exactly cool for an 18-year-old design student to have a photo of his mum next to his bed. But it's easy to forgive him his sentimentality: his mother, Ann Myring, vanished three years ago. Her body has never been found.

On 7 October 1997, David's father, Brian Myring, was charged with her murder, but was acquitted last December. David and his brother Stephen, 24, still live with him in the family home in Bristol. And three years on, they are both still waiting for their mother to return.

In the same chair in which he was sitting when told of his father's arrest, David talks with affection about his mother, whom he last saw on 25 June 1997. "She was really caring, always there, intelligent as well. She liked doing crosswords and that, and metal detecting. She used to find quite a few coins. She liked her books as well, Mills and Boon," he says softly, with a smile.

Sitting with him in the three-bedroom modern house (which it is fair to say lacks a feminine touch) is Stephen, a plant fitter. "She was a real kind, caring person. I could speak to her about many things, and she was always there for us," he says.

On the other side of the city is another room filled with pictures of Ann Myring. They belong to her mother, Gwendoline Brace. But unlike David and Stephen, Gwendoline, 71, is no longer waiting for Ann to return. She, along with Ann's siblings, is convinced that she has been murdered. Gwendoline, who has lost her voice box to cancer, and speaks with an electronic voice enhancer which she holds to her mouth, almost shakes with rage at the suggestion that Ann walked out on her family. The two sides of the once-close family are no longer speaking.

"David was the apple of her eye. She would never have walked out on those boys, ever," says Mrs Brace. "She'll never come back. She's dead, and that's all there is to it," she says, banging her hand on the table. "I had cancer five-and-a-half years ago, and there's no way my daughter would not have looked after me. We were like that." She crosses her fingers. "She was my best friend, not just a daughter. She would come and take me out once a week, sometimes twice. She idolised her husband.

"I'm not very happy about them wanting their mother to come home when it's absolutely impossible. I think it's very sad. She was my daughter, she was my flesh and blood." She bangs the table again.

On 25 June 1997, Ann Myring, 45, a clerical assistant, told colleagues she was going out for dinner with her husband that evening. David and Stephen insist they saw her at home that night. The next day, they say, their father told them she had gone to a health farm for the weekend. The following Monday, he told them that Ann had left him.

"Me and Steve were really shocked,'' says David. "We didn't think anything was going wrong with the relationship. Apparently they had been arguing quite a lot that week, and going out on regular drives to chat about it away from us. I think it was about money."

Several weeks after Ann had failed to contact any of her family, she was reported missing. The police embarked on an extensive national and international search, and the National Missing Persons' Helpline launched an appeal at the request of Ann's sister, Lynn Flatt.

In October, Brian Myring was arrested in connection with Ann's disappearance, along with his lover of two years, married mother-of-two Teresa Kempster, 39, also from Bristol. She was released, but Brian was charged with murder.

"It was such a shock. I was shattered," says David. "You can't imagine something like that happening." Stephen was equally horrified when he heard the news on the radio. "I just couldn't believe it. I thought maybe they'd got the wrong address. One minute they're looking for my mum, and they next they've arrested my dad. I was in shock for most of the day.''

Brian was bailed to a hostel in Weymouth, where he was visited by his sons every other weekend. In a statement to The Independent, he writes: "I was very surprised I was arrested as there was no forensic evidence at all, no history of violence and there had been several sightings of Ann around the country, with three in an area that Ann knew, although myself, Stephen or David had not been told of any sighting.

"I suppose the worst thing is the two years I spent away from my family [on bail]. David was only 15 going into his final year at school, and for some four months I was not allowed to see or talk to him. This initial period was very traumatic for myself and for David.''

At the three-week trial, Mr Myring denied murdering his wife of 24 years so he could begin a new life with Mrs Kempster. The jury took less than three hours to find him not guilty. His sons have always believed in his innocence. "We couldn't imagine anyone like him ever doing something like that," says David emphatically. "He's never hit us, never shown any violence towards anybody, really. He's really nice. I just don't think it's feasible."

Stephen is equally adamant. "I'm the best person at winding anybody up, and Dad has never, ever raised a hand. He's quite mellow, actually. He's got a good sense of humour as well. It never ever, not once, entered my mind at all."

Brian Myring's sons say he is still shunned by most of the neighbours. "You walk out of a pub and people are saying: 'I reckon he did it'," says Stephen. David adds: "Dad feels really awkward going round to see people because he's afraid he might get abuse. He seems to be getting along in his own way, but you can tell it's affecting him."

In the summer, the two brothers appealed for their mother's return in The Big Issue magazine, and they have run a series of poster campaigns in Yorkshire, but there have been no leads.

David says that his father has suggested that they contact local newspapers in areas that had a special significance for their mother. "We're all encouraging each other to try and do as much as we can to try to find her," he says. "I'm not bothered about her reasons, I'm more concerned about her making contact. If she came back I wouldn't even ask her where she's been, I would just be crying, I'd be so happy."

Brian writes in his statement: "I would like to say to Ann: 'Come back. I know it means facing up to a lot, but the boys miss you a lot although we shall never be together. The first 20 years of marriage was very good and I would like to know you are all right.' "

David refuses to consider that his mother may be dead. "I would rather take the positive approach. There is lack of evidence both ways, but I would rather be more positive. I'm always going to believe that she's alive. There has never been any significant evidence as far as I'm concerned to say that she's dead."

Stephen says he feels "gutted" that his mother hasn't contacted him. He has since had a daughter, and given her the middle name of Ann. He also wears his mother's gold necklace, which the police agreed to give him before clearing the house of her possessions. "With my job, I'm out on the road on my own driving about, and you've got to think about something, and unfortunately it always seems to be about my mum and where she can be. I do still cry about it."

Last March, the Brace family held a memorial service for Ann. "We all believe unanimously that she's dead," says Ann's brother, Mark Brace. "Before she went missing she asked me to remember to call her with the results of mother's biopsy as she was concerned about it. Ann spent a lot of time with mother, doing things, putting feeding tubes down her throat, seeing what cancer did to her at the time. And there was no possible way that she would ever not contact her to find out whether it was benign or malignant."

Mr Brace, 39, an engineer, has moved away from Bristol. Ann's sister Jayne Marszal, 34, an administrator, has done the same. Since Ann's disappearance they have both had daughters, whom they have named after their sister.

Mrs Marszal says that Ann had told her that she would never leave her husband. "She confided in me that she knew Brian was having an affair, and that it had been going on for ages. She told me that she loved him, and that she wasn't going to leave him," she says.

The family hopes that Ann's body will be found, so they can grieve properly. "The boys would have to come to the realisation that she's dead," says Mr Brace, "and depending on what they find, it will show, in my opinion, that she's been killed."

Detective Chief Inspector Geoff Anderson of Avon and Somerset Police, who are leading the investigation into Ann Myring's disappearance, says that they are convinced that she is dead, and are not pursuing any new lines of inquiry. "Does a woman leave home leaving nine single shoes, all her make-up, her jewellery, and all her money?" he asks. "Her mother was ill with cancer, and she was very supportive of that. She was very supportive of her children. There was a huge amount of circumstantial evidence that suggests that this woman had not left that home on her own volition carrying two suitcases with all her belongings."

In the meantime, David still waits for his mother to come home, his heart missing a beat every time the doorbell goes. "I've had lots of dreams about her coming home," he says. His smile then suddenly vanishes. "But I also have nightmares about her not recognising me.

I think this article is very relevant to the film we are making, as it has the same bases of loosing a family member but the love for that family member is so strong you still believe they are alive. This piece of research will help with the making of are film as it tells us the feelings of the family members in which we can cooperate into are characters.

Original film script

Here is a rough film script for an opening scene of our original film idea, which was a horror film set in some woods the main characters would be teenagers. The horror aspect of the film would be that they were going to be gradually stalked, hunted and killed by something living in the woods possibly a werewolf or monster of some kind. However we have now decided against that idea although it was fairly well thought out we decided that:
A) It is not very original and similar story lines had been done many times before.
B) It would be hard to film killing or monsters scenes (although possibly the audience never sees the monster) with a low budget and has the danger of looking tacky or poorly bad.
C) It would be hard to establish characters so the audience grows attached to them in time to care or not care about them being killed and it would be difficult to fit everything in to five minutes.
Either way i thought it would be useful to post our first draft of the opening scene as a way of showing are progression.

Opening Scene

The film opens with an establishing shot of a long landscape of fields and pasture on a sunny autumn evening, in it sheep are running across the shot in the distance. This peaceful image is quickly ruined when the shot cuts to a close up of a path from inside some bushes on the side of the path. Suddenly something runs closely past the camera because of the blurred image, at this stage the viewer is not quite sure if the thing that ran past is a person, if is chasing something or if it is being chased.

The shot changes to a mid-long shot again from some bushes but this time looking down the path a boy runs down the path towards the camera with a scared expression on his face, The shot jumps to a worm eyed view from a babbling brook bank with the water in line with the camera but the camera pointing up. The boy runs through the brook all the time panting with a look of fear and exhaustion on his face his foot splashes in the water and he runs passed the camera and out of shot.

Then in a mid-long shot he runs out of the wood and into the open field the boy looks around him and then continues to run still breathing heavily with fear, the camera pans round tracking the boys as he runs past the camera and off through the field.

The next shot is a long shot from a birds eye view (We are going to shoot this from up a dead fallen tree at the edge of the field) the boys runs past and back into some woods as he does so the camera tracks him. The next shot is a extreme long from down a small hill in the wood, the boy trips and roles to the bottom the camera then switches to handheld and it walks up to the boy slowly as he squirms at the bottom of the hill .

As the pursuer gets closer and closer to the boys and the boy (still on the ground) tries to move his body back but half frozen with fear and half because of an injury he has done himself from falling down the hill he can not get up the boy begins to shot form help.

Boy
HELP!…HELP ME!…SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!

The Camera cuts to a close up of the boy’s terrified face.
With no reply and the pursuer over him now he shouts out in fear and desperation.

NO!…NO!…NOOOOO!!!

The camera dramatically cuts from the close up of the boys terrified face back to a peaceful scene this one an early morning long shot of a quiet farm. The sun is rising and the sheep are beginning to wake.

The camera jumps to a close up of a post a bird flies on to it. It then cuts to a long shot of a field where a group of teenagers are walking down towards camera with camping equipment tents, sleeping bags ect

END OF OPENING SCENE