Standing room only at short film premiere

By Cissy Baille

‘Life’s a Bitch’ – a clever and moving short film about dangerous dogs and the consequences of maltreatment – premiered to a full house at Rich Mix Cinema in Bethnal Green on 19 August.


Looking at the consequences of violence, abuse and neglect, the film was written, shot and edited by five young girls who wanted to challenge the stereotypes about Staffordshire Bull Terriers and provide a different take on the issue of dangerous dogs.


The crew, all under 22, were either unemployed or out of school and the Hackney Hounds project provided the funds, equipment and training for them to develop the film on a subject they felt strongly about.


With support from social enterprises Poached Creative and Mediorite and mentoring from professional filmmakers, they wrote, shot, edited and promoted ‘Life’s a Bitch’,attracting more than 130 people to the opening night.


Their passion and creativity was captured not only in the film itself but in behind-the-scenes footage also screened on the night. Zoe, the 15-year-old film editor who had been out of school due to personal problems, said she’d found a new reason to get up in the morning and work hard. She’s discovered a flair for editing and is setting her sights on becoming an editor of blockbusting feature films in the future.

Behind the scenes - the full story

Life's a Bitch, a short film by the Hackney Hounds crew, premieres at Rich Mix in Bethnal Green on 19 August.

Watch the trailer and get your free tickets.

Behind the scenes - video

We actually did it!

At the start of the week we were all ready and raring to go, excited about the task in hand. Monday’s shooting took it out of us by five o clock we’d had enough. I don’t think any of us wanted to see another camera again. We didn’t realise it was so much work. A whole day of “Camera rolling”, “Rolling camera”, “Up to speed”, “Edge of frame”, “ACTION”, “CUT!”

For five young females who’ve never been involved in media before, it was a lot to take in. Although we were knackered, we were proud of ourselves, in one day we’d set up, rehearsed and filmed three scenes. Not too bad for amateurs. Tuesday and Wednesday went by in a blur; we just felt we were moving on auto pilot. We were running behind on schedule so we had to put in extra work to catch up. You could tell at times people were getting ticked off but that was to be expected, we were all working so hard.

By Thursday we were worrying we’d never get it done in time but we pushed on and somehow we finished before lunch. We had a great team behind us, a great team of mentors and actors on board.

For a group of people who only met at the start of the week by Thursday, if you saw us you would have thought we’d known each other for years.

So to celebrate our success we had a chip shop lunch and a great afternoon in the park, playing football and hula hooping. So I’d like to give a big thank you to everyone you were great we couldn’t have done it without each other.

Now filming has finished, let the editing begin.

Hackney Hounds- Life’s a Bitch! Coming soon to you.

Life's a Bitch- Music Video

THIS VIDEO WAS MADE BY ZOE, 15. WHO IS THE EDITOR/ CAMERA ASSISTANT FOR THE HACKNEY HOUNDS PROJECT. SHE MADE THIS ONE MINUTE VIDEO AFTER ONLY ONE HOUR OF TRAINING.

Scripted

Two solid days of scriptwriting and it's really starting to take shape.

One more day of camera training next week then we start filming.

Tom Fry, our scriptwriting mentor says:

"I’ve so enjoyed working with you and get the feeling that the team are going to produce a terrific piece."

Cool.

The proposition: Control = Respect

Male, urban, hyper male audience, into sex and violence and female film crew? Hmmm. How's that going to work?

What's our proposition? Real men can control their dogs, because control = respect.

What action do we want our audience to take? We want them to seek free training help, visit our blog so we can sign post them onto people who can help without embarrassment or loss of face.

Secondary audience: The Hackney community, short film makers, people who work with young people or dogs, politicians, media.

Finding the story

If you want to make a film - and we do - you've got to find people to help you tell your story. And you don't have to be good at English to write a script. Here's a rundown of what we learnt about scriptwriting last week.

Find your character
Scriptwriting is about characters. Characters who'll conflict with each other and be interesting. You need someone the audience will connect with instantly. Our task: find an interesting person or group of people or even a dog that will help us tell our story. Often, the most interesting thing about us is our secrets so ideally we would find a complex character who surprises us.

For characters that confound expectations, take a look at the opening scene of Reservoir Dogs.



Seven minutes
The other thing is, we've only got seven minutes so we have to be able to get that character across quickly. Constantly ask - how can I do that visually? We need an engaging visual image that tells the story - and we need to try to allow a way in for everybody.

What's your theme?
Find something that lots of different people can relate to. Being misunderstood. That's a possible theme for dogs and young people.

Change your mind
Be open. Challenge your own preconceptions. It may be that the story you didn't expect comes out of it that might be better than anything you can imagine. It's great if you can find a turn or a twist.

Get an attitude
Focus is important. At the end of the day, you have to decide what your attitude is. What's interesting is how a character develops from beginning to end so you need to think about where you're starting and where you're going to get to.

Hear me
You also need to get your voice across. Ultimately you'll come up with something that's personal and important to you and you'll bring that in by the unique way you approach the topic. Anything you make is about you, in a way. Every piece of art is a biography. You need to find your vision - know what you want to say. You won't find it immediately, it's the writing that finds the voice.

Involve others
In any film project you've also got to work with other people. A script is like an architect's blueprint for a building. You still need someone to build it. You'll do your first draft and hand it over to your producer. They'll add their notes. You need to accept ideas and criticism but hang on to what you really care about.

Final tips for a great script

• Show, don't tell.
  
• Conflict is important, and change is important too.
• Confound your audience's expectations (in other words, surprise them!)
• Go against the obvious - shock us
• Tell your version of the truth
• Always ask - how can we make that more interesting?
• If you can tell a story then you can write a script.
• Don't worry about getting it right. Write!

If you (or your dog) could be our character or you want to find out more about Hackney Hounds, email us.

What we're watching

What sort of video do we want to make? Here are a few short films we found that other people have made.

Facts and statistics

Female voice over

Dog fight footage- Youtube, RSPCA, Police, Battersea dogs home Animal character/ footage (dog in a hoodie- shady )

Vox pops- Real people= opinion - Some against= posh?

Reveal- owners or dogs?

Britania- location for filming

- Dog training

- Dog owners

J’s gran- rescues staff’s (vox pops)

Speaking dog- dog/ trainer

Observational filming

Kids with staff’s- J’s daughter?

Who are we talking to?

Who are we making this film for?

The audience: young male dog owner from Hackney

Who is he? : Male, 17, short and stocky, nappy hair, single, no kids, ( that he knows of ) wear Nike and Adidas, Timberland, G Star jeans and likes his bling. Eats McD's and KFC

Where does he live? : in Hackney, on an estate with his mum. He looks after his brother and doesn't see dad very often. He has no strong role models except older friends and uncles.

His dog: Using his Staff’s to intimidate people, it's not very well trained and he beats it because he can't control it but he does love his dog, he just doesn't know any better. He walks it twice a day and feeds it.

Media: Texts on phone, reads free newspaper, on facebook and youtube.

Music and entertainment: Watches DVD's, especially gangster movies. Plays violent games ( Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty ) on PS3. Listens to Hip Hop and Grime.

What does he do? : Kicked out of school, he's on benifits and he's bored, doesn't know what to do next. Smokes weed and possibly sells weed and is aware of gangs in his area. Got a scar from stabbing. He's not satisfied with life and is jealous of other peoples success. Goes to the youth centre, plays football and MC's in his spare time.

How does he feel about women?: He watches porn and likes girls but thinks women are a lesser species

What does he care about? His friends and what his friends think of him, respect and reputation, making money, family, safety.

What else do we know?: He intimidates people but probably because he was bullied, has no strong male role models and doesn't trust anyone.

Association: Colours, words, styles, images

There are no dangerous dogs, only dangerous owners

There are no danger dogs, only dangerous owners.

We had our first day of training on Hackney Hounds here at the Mare Street offices and we've nailed the central theme. Here's what we're thinking. Check it out, post a comment.

Central theme:

Why do owners chose this regularly stereotype breed of dog? Some play on the fact that their dog can be intimidating and offer status, whilst other s love the loyal nature and protection.

Stereotypes

• Young males, gangsters, drug dealers and illegal activity, dog fighting, status dogs, my dog is my weapon
• Potential to harm, aggressive, lock jaw, stupid
• Question: It was Rottwiellers and Alsatians in the 80’s and 90’s now it’s Staff’s. Why?
• Various versions of this breed of dog have been illegal since 17^th Century.
• Is this just a fashion trend?

Question : With lots of cross breeds how can you tell what breed a dog is? How can you tell the difference between an illegal breed ( Pit Bull ) and legal ( Staff’s )

Owners

• Who owns these dogs? Why?
• With loads of rumours ( pepper / hitting on the nose )
• Dogs regularly change hands and this breaks the bond of trust. Why is this allowed to happen? What re the effects?
• Are there dogs you can’t train or are dogs just a product of their environment
• What training works and how can Psycology play a part?
• Why don’t owners take responsibility?

The Authorities: Is there help and advice out there for people who want it? What are the Police, RSPCA doing to help people rather than just tell them off / confiscate their dogs. Why did they take away the dog license?

Themes discussed but not central: History of the breed, confiscating dogs and the police, breeding centres, the media, dog bite victims