Actors

Luckily for me my mum is close friends with a Swiss family in my village. I often babysit for them and Lily, aged 8 is a keen actress, she goes to stagecoach in Norwich and likes performing, they are also all fluent in french and english. The mum, Isabelle is happy to help out and get the kids involved so I have found my actors suited to each character.

Script Plan: English and French

VIOLET: Is it on?
CAMERA WOMAN: Yes. Go ahead Violet.
VIOLET: Hello. My name is Violet. I am seven years old. I live with my mummy and my little brother Alex. I like to sing and dance and act. I used to go to a stage class but I've had to stop.
CAMERA WOMAN: Why have you had to stop?
VIOLET: Because I got really bad headaches. The lights were so bright. Mum took me to the doctors and he told me to go to hospital for a scan.
CAMERA WOMAN: What did the scan tell you?
VIOLET: They told me I have a lump growing in my head. 


CAMERA WOMAN: When did you realise that something was wrong with Violet?
MUM: It was about three weeks ago at her play rehearsal. So I took her to the doctor, and then to hospital. That's when we got the news.


MUM: She has six months left. 









VIOLET: Est-ce sur?

FEMME Appareil photo: Oui. Allez-y Violet.

VIOLET: Bonjour. Mon nom est Violet. Je suis âgé de sept ans. Je vis avec ma maman et mon petit frère Alex. J'aime chanter et danser et d'agir. J'ai l'habitude d'aller à une classe stade, mais j'ai dû arrêter.

CAMERA FEMME: Pourquoi avez-vous dû arrêter?

VIOLET: Parce que j'ai eu des maux de tête très mauvais. Les lumières étaient si brillants. Maman m'a emmené chez le médecin et il m'a dit d'aller à l'hôpital pour un scanner.

CAMERA FEMME: Qu'est-ce que l'analyse que vous dites?

VIOLET: Ils m'ont dit que j'avais une bosse de plus en plus dans ma tête.




CAMERA FEMME: Quand avez-vous réalisé que quelque chose n'allait pas avec Violet?

MUM: C'était il ya trois semaines à sa répétition jouer. Alors je l'ai emmené chez le médecin, puis à l'hôpital. C'est quand nous sommes arrivés les nouvelles.


MUM: Elle dispose de six mois à gauche

Genre

'Genre is usually a set of conventions - recognisable, usually through iconography, familiar narrative, mise-en-scene, actors and style of representation.'




After having a whistle-stop tour of genre in my media lesson today, and a lengthy chat with Mrs Brogan, I've decided that I'm going to be filming mine in the documentary genre. Originally I wanted to mix this up a bit by trying to make the audience question whether or not what they are viewing, has actually happened and whether or not it is fiction. But after realising that this would be rather complex and I don't necessarily have a reason for trying to film like this, that I'm just going to do it in a documentary style. Mrs Brogan suggested possibly showing how a lot of documentary film-makers exploit the people they are filming by invading on personal moments to make the audience react in certain ways to what the film-maker wants.






And now for some words from James Monaco


'Increasingly we are all going to see the same ten movies' 


After reading this quote, it has inspired me to change and add some originality to this genre instead of necessarily doing the typical close up shot of someone crying, and asking probing questions when my subject is seeming to be most vulnerable. 

Cinéma vérité

'Cinéma vérité can involve stylized set-ups and the interaction between the filmmaker and the subject, even to the point of provocation. Some argue that the obvious presence of the filmmaker and camera was seen by most cinéma vérité filmmakers as the best way to reveal the truth in cinema. The camera is always acknowledged, for it performs the raw act of filming real objects, people, and events in a confrontational way. The filmmaker's intention was to represent the truth in what he or she was seeing as objectively as possible, freeing people from any deceptions in how those aspects of life were formerly presented to them. From this perspective, the filmmaker should be the catalyst of a situation. Few agree on the meanings of these terms, even the filmmakers whose films are being described.'

Medulloblastoma - The facts

What is a medulloblastoma?

A medulloblastoma is one of several different types of brain tumour that may affect children. Brain tumours are caused by cells growing and multiplying in an uncontrolled way to form an abnormal lump. This happens because the DNA, which programmes how cells behave, changes.

A medulloblastoma is an infratentorial tumour, which means it is found below the tentorium, which separates the cerebrum from the lower part of the brain. This area is called the posterior fossa. Medulloblastoma tumours are found in the cerebellum and/or fourth ventricles. Please see the diagram in Childhood brain and spinal tumours. It develops from immature (primitive) cells in the cerebellum. It is a form of primitive neuroectodermal tumour (PNET). A medullobastoma is sometimes referred to as a posterior fossa PNET. For information about other types of PNET, please see the separate information sheet.

Some tumours are classified as benign if they grow but do not spread elsewhere. Others are classified as being malignant or cancerous if they can spread to other parts of the body. A medulloblastoma is a malignant tumour. It is fast growing and can spread (metastasise) to elsewhere in the brain and spinal cord. 

What are the symptoms associated with a medulloblastoma?

The effects of a medulloblastoma are due to the abnormal lump growing and putting pressure on the rest of the brain as it grows. Symptoms can also be caused by the medulloblastoma cells spreading to the spinal cord. Often it blocks the flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain, which causes hydrocephalus. More information about hydrocephalus is contained within Childhood brain and spinal tumours.

Children are likely to develop problems with balance (ataxia) because the cerebellum, which is the balance centre of the brain, is affected. Some of the nerves controlling eye, facial and mouth movements may be affected by pressure from the tumour, causing squint, double vision, facial weakness and swallowing difficulties.

If a medulloblastoma starts in or spreads to the spinal cord, the child may experience back pain. Often there will be weakness, sometimes in both legs and a reduced ability to feel pain and other sensations normally. Difficulties in controlling the bladder and bowels may happen.

Without treatment, a medulloblastoma will quickly grow in size. The symptoms that it produces will become more severe within a short space of time. Eventually, these will be life threatening.

What causes a medulloblastoma?

We do not know what makes a medulloblastoma start to grow nor do we understand what makes the immature (primitive) cells turn in to tumour cells. Researchers think that both inherited and genetic factors might be involved and that environment may play a part. A medulloblastoma is not caused by diet, lifestyle or upbringing differences, medicines given to parents or children or difficulties with pregnancy and birth.

How common is medulloblastoma?

Overall, brain tumours are the second most common tumour after leukaemia. They affect one in every 30,000 children each year. This is a lot less frequent than many other childhood illnesses. Brain tumours affect a child’s long-term health and well being more than any other type of tumour. Between 15 and 20 per cent of brain tumours in children are medulloblastoma tumours. They are the most common form of malignant tumour in childhood.

What treatments are available?

There are three main types of treatment for children with brain tumours: surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. For more information about these treatment options and any risks or side effects associated with them, please see information sheets about surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Will the tumour come back and what can be done if it does?

A medulloblastoma tumour can come back (recur), especially in the first two years after treatment. It comes back less often more than five years after treatment. Most come back in the same place as the original tumour but some may develop in a new area of the brain or spread to the spinal cord (metastasise). In many cases, it is possible to operate again to remove the tumour, followed by further treatment with radiotherapy (If not given previously) and/or chemotherapy. New treatment protocols for children with recurrent medulloblastoma are continually being investigated and developed.

Exceedingly brief synopsis

 VIOLET RELAIS (7) has a Medulloblastoma, a high grade tumour that has developed on her cerebellum. She doesn't realise that it is extremely life threatening and that she will probably die soon. Her mum MONIQUE RELAIS (42) decides that she wants to document the last few months of her only daughters life so she will always have some small part of her with her. Monique knows that the chances of Violet making it to her 8th birthday in 8 months time is very unlikely, but is still discussing plans with Violet for a party. Monique's other son ALEX RELAIS (5) is completely unaware of what is going on around him, all he knows is that there's now a camera around all the time, but he doesn't mind, he likes being the centre of attention. Violet and Alex's dad is no longer with them, he died just two years after Alex's death in 2007 in a tragic car accident on his way home from work one evening. It took several years for Monique to pull her life back together and try and explain to her children why dad wasn't coming home again.
    My movie follows the last months in Violet's life, capturing moments of unconditional love between a family that will soon be torn apart for the second time. And they say lightning doesn't strike twice. 

INSPIRATION

So I've drawn a lot of inspiration from a film I saw recently called catfish. My brother bought it and I'd heard about it briefly from a friend recommending it, but I hadn't a clue what it was about. When I sat down and watched it, it took me by suprise, not at all what I was expecting from this film, but a pleasant suprise nonetheless. I really liked how the film left me asking myself, is this true? It's difficult still to decide whether I believe it or not, the directors of the film are still insistent on the belief that it is 100% true. No my story will not be true, but I'd like the audience to second guess that.

My Pitch Evaluation

I feel my pitch went averagely but could have done with some more preparation on my part. I think it
would have been more appealing to the panel of professionals if I had included some kind of multimedia aspect to my pitch such as a presentation, or a short clip of my audience research. The feedback I got from the people in the pitch were:

• Good idea to go foreign language - different- stand out
• Subtitles and language gives a more professional finish
• Good expression of creativity

• Pitch really needed some sort of visuals eg - powerpoint to really 'sell' the idea
• Need to suggest some sort of audience research. Prove people would be willing to see such a film
• Research into the success of foreign films in the UK
• Research into Art HOuse cinema (Cinema City etc)

TOOT-DE-LA-FROOT