Pre Production Unit - Locations: London

I have been looking into further research on locations for the project. As I have gotten the ball rolling on the house, I wanted to do the same with the other scenes. Nearly all of the other scenes are set in London so I decided to look into this. I have filmed in London on previous projects and I have visited there a lot so I felt I knew the place quite well. When thinking about the visuals for the story, there were 4 places that I really needed to think about. These were the designer shopping street, a classy residential area, the financial district and picadilly circus. I decided to look into the designer shopping place first. For this I felt oxford street would be a great place for this as it has a lot of shops and is a really well known area. After thinking about it I felt this might actually cause a problem and not give the right impression I want to give as oxford street has more high street branded shops like Marks & Spencer, Boots and Topshop. I feel the character would shop in more designer shops due to her financial situation so I then thought about Regent Street. This place has more of the shops that are right for the situation. Its still a nice street to film on but also has a higher end look to it. This is somewhere that I am highly considering for this scene.

The next scene I thought about was the residential area. In the story, the character walks past a nice residential street in a fancy ball gown. I looked into areas like Knightsbridge and Mayfair but one place that really stood out for me was Chelsea and Kensington. I feel this area had the right look to what I was imagining with the expensive looking terrace houses and the nice traditional street lamps. I feel this location would fit really well with the story and will visually represent what I am trying to achieve so I will most likely look to film here.

The next place I had to think about was the financial district. I want to film here as its really important that I represent this as part of the story. Back in the original structure from the poem Sophie has real issues with bankers. Her parents were both business people and she ends up killing 3 as the story goes on. I also feel that I could use this scene showing the character homeless as the tall buildings and the people around her will really reinstate the contrasted situation that she is in. I also feel the tall iconic buildings reflect power and wealth which goes well with the story. 

The final place is Picadilly Circus. This is one of the most important places for me as i want it to become a statement scene in the film. I picture Sophie walking through London in a large, oversized, glamorous ball gown amongst tourists and people in casual clothing. It will all be slowed down and really visually stunning as she stands out amongst the crowd. I also imagine this taking place at dusk as the large advert boards reflect colour on her face. This is something I really want to include so I will be looking to seek permission to film here.

 After looking into all of these locations I really want to make sure that they are practical and will look right for the film so myself and Andreya will be carrying out a Recce as soon as possible.