In terms of casting I wanted to make sure the characters were believable. When I was thinking about who I wanted to cast I didn't want them to be striking and stunning as this would be a distraction and breaks the alignment bond between the audience, I didn't want them to be at an unreachable standard. I wanted my characters to translate from the script as these 2 normal people who emulate success in their life in the way they look that is achievable for the reality they could find themselves in. I cast Alessandra because I felt she was the perfect fit. She looks old enough to have had the time to make a success of her life but is also in that early stage of parenthood. She has an attractive look but she's not superficial. Oliver who plays frank is very much the same. He looks a few years older than her and is also attractive but looks like he could have a darker side to the way he acts.
In regards to location, I wanted to show the state of equilibrium the two characters hold in contrast to the irony of the situation that unfolds. They have a nice house, nice things but all that really equates to is material fabrication when the situation they are dealing with and the health issues April experiences are real. The heated row and the depression of April overshadow all of the things they thought would make them happy and thats a key part to the story.
In order to make this work I had to choose somewhere that looked aesthetically pleasing and would symbolise there success from there ocupational background. I was originally going to use a coverted barn but I felt this would be too masculine. I wanted to choose a gender neutral house to reflect to the audience that both genders who are watching the film could see themselves in the house. I settled on a house in bearsted that worked perfectly.
When looking around the house it had a great stair case to get good shots in the way of cinematography. I felt I could capture the feeling of what she has just been through walking down the stairs and make the journey longer with it having three stages. The other room that I particularly liked was the bay windows in the front living room. I could really see it working with the story of her looking out the window and shows the grandness of the room. The garden was long and green which was also another desicion to why I chose this.
With the costume I thought hard about how to portray the characters right. For Oliver I wanted him to wear a shirt and jeans to reflect him being a formal person but relaxed. It also shows he is more the breadwinner in the house as I wanted her to wear a nice but more casual jumper and jeans. When It came to the blood scene in the film the character wore a blouse and skirt. I wanted to reflect her going through something that is suposed to be clinical and done proffesionally like in a hospital but shes obviously doing it herself. After hours of looking online and going to high street shops I settled on this satin dress that ties with a belt. It is a dress but it could also look like a dressing gown or a hospital wrobe.
When looking at sound design I was very particular with what I wanted. when the couple are having an arguement I wanted it to be completly silent. I recorded a buzz track to play in the background but nothing else apart from their dialogue. This created impact and makes the audience feel as tho they are standing there witnessing the events taking place. For the second part I wanted to completly flip this and have no dialogue but only non diegetic audio. I did this to make it more surreel and also letting the score heighten its own emotion of the scene. I felt it made the scene more surreel and dreamy creating a sense that this is something that isn't really happening although it is. The only piece of dialogue I added was the phone call April makes to the emergency services. I recorded this in a quiet enviroment and seperatly to give clear clarity. I then put an echo effect on it to make it sound more like a phone call. Although in the film you see her walk off and make the call I felt it would be more effective to overlay it on the scene where her husband is distraught and running tieing the two scenes together.
With camera I also wanted a contrast between the argument scene and the rest as it was important to differenciate what was happening. With the arguement I decided to film it handheld. This created realism and made the film more gritty. It showed that what was happening wasn't a cinematic moment but more something that could be going on behind everyones closed doors. I felt this was very effective and worked well.
The second half as mentioned before I wanted to be more cinematic and dream like. I used smoother and more static shots. We used a smoke machine in the garden for the running scene as I wanted to add more atmosphere and highten it to more than just a man running. When April she walks down the corridor I panned back slowly following her and with the reveal scene I panned out slowly and smoothly. I wanted the sequence to look like she was trapped in her own paradise so I filmed a shot outside the window reflecting the trees to show life and realism on the outside but she is trapped behind the glass like shes dieing on the inside.
When editing it all together I wanted the first bit to have a pace but have less cuts when there was something important to be said. In the second sequence everything is much more slow and higher in contrast to reflect the dreamy and cinematic feel as well as the sense that she really is walking her last steps to her death. The phone call was edited seperatly and added in after as well to make the call stand out.
Overall I feel the the film is powerful but also had the moods and tones that make it realistic in some ways and not as much in others. I am really pleased with my choices and feel they worked with the overall effect of the film.
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