This document provides details about the production of a short film about Mary Ann Cotton, Britain's first female serial killer. The film was created for the Bright Lights exhibition in Sunderland to showcase young talent from the region. The original idea was too ambitious, telling Cotton's full story from her trial to execution. A revised ghost story was chosen instead. Pre-production involved script changes and struggles casting roles. Filming locations in Houghton were chosen for their relevance to Cotton's history. Production was difficult due to weather and delays but was enjoyed by the cast and crew. The film aimed to highlight Sunderland's unique history and young creative talent.

1. B2: Bright Lights Evaluation
Focusing on the City of Sunderland, by using any form of media as we please, we were to talk or
share something about Sunderland that makes the city unique and shows why it is a special space to
live.
Client being the charity Sunderland Culture, they are hosting an art exhibition highlighting young
talent and the City of Sunderland for the better. Titled the Bright Lights: Northern Talent exhibition,
the main requirement was to showcase the region in any way we choose, and in any form we choose.
For me, I decided to go with a short film, and a poster to link with that short film, all inspired by a
historical figure who is from the area. Britain's very first female serial killer, Mary Ann Cotton.
Scrapped Production
Originally, my first idea was a big one. Too big of a one for a student like me.
Still wanting to do a story on the female killer, for this version she was the main character. Telling
her story, the only part I could figure out was the opening and closing scene. Able to imagine it and
everything, I knew it would be too much.
Wanting the opening to be Mary Ann walking into the first day of her trial, I looked everywhere for
the details of her court case and made note of everything that I could to keep the accuracy right.
Then as the judge announces her in, the story would be told in a flash back form. That being the
whole of the middle sequence, it was hard to pin point which parts of her life I should tell, skip over
and where to even start from.
With too may possibilities, I never got round to choosing an option. Still writing out the ending, I
wanted to us to return to the final day where her execution is announced. Carrying on from there,
we would get to the day of the death sentence, finishing the whole film as soon as the lever is pulled
where she is hung till death.
Trying so hard to get this version of my project filmed, I had even opened a fundraising campaign
knowing it would take a nice budget to get what I was after. Knowing deep down it wasn't going to
work, it was still work a try. Not just that, but I had also joined a few freelance and student
filmmaker groups on Facebook seeking help that way. Coming to some use in other ways, the
intention of the fundraiser came to no use.
Having a back up idea to make a documentary on the killer instead, it wasn't until the production
had started on a short film I was helping out with over in work experience. Creating a ghost story, it
was noted we were trying to create something within our budget, and with that the newer idea
came to mind. A ghost story.
Pre-Production
Putting so much into the pre-production of this project, it did end up becoming a mess. Leading to
me coming out of my comfort zone to produce a video diary and talk through my plans.

2. Going through multiple script changes, I do wish I had developed it much more. The same with the
storyboarding, able to picture what I was after I believed that would have been enough but it clearly
wasn't by the production.
Back to the script though, again same with the issue I had with the original script managing to write
out the first and last scene but struggling to gather the middle. What didn't help as well was having
no cast at the time of writing this up. Coming up with the stereotypes for each character needed, it
helped more having the cast in place. That way the dialogue would be more fitting to the one saying
it.
Managing to gather two cast members early on, (excluding the Mary Ann Cotton actress), they both
did end up backing out by the day of the shoot. But luckily, more people were in place. As the first
two had spoke up about playing a role in the film though, I was on creating a casting call ready to ask
people a part of the Face book film groups as I knew asking the same people who had helped me out
with the smile project the timings would end up awkward due to me doing night shifts at the same
time as them working. There would have been a lot of juggling around that would have caused a lot
of delays in the production.
1 - Then as time passed, one of the two had backed out making me desperate for two cast members. Getting close to
uploading the casting call, a friend had heard of my intentions and reached out to his friends to see if they would be willing
to be a part of my production. Luckily, they agreed to it saving me from having to work with complete strangers who might
have caused issues to the production. Being a risk I was willing to take when I thought I had no other option, I am glad
things worked out the way they did.
Getting closer to making a start on filming, the location of a field in Houghton was chosen for the
main scene due to two reasons. The first being because by doing the ghost scene there, there is a
link with the killer actually being from that area. And the second, with us having to film at night, it

3. seemed easiest for everyone being right in the middle of everyone pretty much so meaning people
aren't having to travel far at night.
And final things to mention, are the equipment and props. Equipment-wise, going out of my own
way to make this the best that I could, wanting that professionalism I had went and purchased
lavalier microphones for the actors as well as lights for the night scene. Following them purchases, a
battery pack, candles, match sticks, needles, red nail varnish, lighters and the ghosts' costume had
all ended up on the shopping list by the production.
For the murder weapon, I did have an empty spare shampoo bottle small enough to pull of the
arsenic bottle. And filling that with flour, the prop was set.
The costume did take the longest to find being the hardest to put together. Going around charity
shops, a big grey scarf and a long dark blue skirt were the pieces put together. Originally being for
one cast member, they did end up backing out with another stepping up for the role.
2 - And by their scenes they brought a Michael Myers outfit out to wear under the skirt, and it worked a lot in putting the fit
together.
I did have more costume ideas prepped, mainly for Richard's character as he was the one going to
die in the end. Asking for him to show up on the day in something red to help foreshadow this, in the
end it unfortunately didn't matter due to the change in casting.

4. Following the foreshadowing idea, I did want also want to have two white candles and a black candle,
the black again being for Conner's character adding to the push of him being the one to go. The only
thing that had stopped me there though, when looking around for the props the only black ones I
could find where all in odd shapes. Wanting a normally presented candle, white it was for the them
all.
Another thing I had almost forgot to mention, the slideshow created using Canva for the opening
scene. Wanting to have the audience join as one conversation was going on to show the lesson had
went on for a while, I needed a link. And that link was the topic of the '1958 Bradford Sweet
Poisoning Incident'. Being caused by arsenic powder, Mary Ann Cotton was living in the area of
where this incident happened and with arsenic being the soon to be killers choice of weaponry, the
subject seemed to fit.
Production
As difficult as the production was, now that it is over I do miss it a lot. Especially our Monday nights
dedicated to getting the final scene complete.
The very first day was pretty hectic. I had spent the morning gathering the last of the props needed
whilst waiting on everyone involved too finish college. Planning to gather everyone together to let
them know what was happening and how it was happening, the day did become stressful but we
managed to pull through.
Starting the day off, I did have Jasmine, Martin, Conner and Richard down for the cast. But right
before filming, Jasmine had been swapped for Oliver alongside Richard being swapped with Corey
due to the two wanting to back out of the film. Still coming along for the production of the first day,
so did Emily and Keilan with the plan of helping out with the behind the scenes part. With the

5. second camera not working though and us packing away before the lights were in use or anything,
they didn't join us again after that. The main one who stuck by and helped with the whole of the
production though was Matthew. The last of the unmentioned cast members go to the lecturer,
Emma and the unnamed student, Ben. Both whom were only there for the opening scene.
Like I said, the first day was a mess but we managed to get through it.
For the second day of shooting, it had started to become a routine of everyone having a Lidl trip
either before or after the filming was done for that day. And on that day, the cast had left as I was
setting up with Matthew and Oliver, giving us time to practice Oliver's part.
https://sway.office.com/vbrduXdP29xo2mYy#content=1xck6tJYsUj2rx
3 - By Oliver's scenes, it was disappointing realising the little bits he got to do as it would have been great giving him more
screen time as the ghost. Bet for what he did get to do was definitely brilliant.
For the entirety of filming that last scene, it did become difficult due to the coldness and everyone
going numb, agitated and impatient. And with the painful parts of filming, parts became rushed
causing me to lose where we were with the script making the cast do the opposite to what I
originally wanted them to just to get the shoot over and done with for their sake. Luckily though by
the next day of filming they were happy enough to re-shoot where the mess ups happened.
Shoots were cut short due to the reasons mentioned, but we got there eventually. And now every
time I pass the field on the way to college I can't help but think and associate that field with the fun
we did have filming. Even talking tot he crew and cast about it they claim to miss the filming as well
making it really special.
The next scene to be filmed was lesson scene, where the main three are in class learning of the serial
killer who soon haunts them.
4 - For the set up, I did have the slideshow up for for easy-ness as well as quickness Emma would read her dialogue off of
the script itself due to the big bits she did have. Nearer the end though where Conner asks his question, the paper is put
down to make it look more like she was answering his question rather than continuing to read off of the script.

6. 5 - Another part of the set, was the book and the arsenic powder in the background. Purchasing the Mary Ann Cotton book
during my research stage having the aim to learn as much as I could about the killer.
And reading about the 'Chekhov's Gun's' film technique where they foreshadow the murder weapon. Wanting to use that,
the prop used to kill off Conner's character in the end is hidden in the background. Not something clearly noticeable, but it's
a fun little easter egg.
Only having fewer cast members than what would have been preferred for this scene, only four
were willing to fill out the seats and them four are the ones who have more purpose in the film. I did
try asking the class that was in there before us to see if anyone would mind be a part of it but no one
was interested. And although the class does look emptier with the no show of any new students, but
the focus was mainly on Emma the whole scene so it worked out well enough.
It was clear as well we rushed through the scene, the little mistakes found through editing with
Conner having his mic on show and the glimpses made towards the camera with not many re-shoot
made for the scene.
Once we were done there, the middle scene was the next one planned to be filmed on another day,
but before we managed to get around to that, two filler clips were filmed. That being the very first
clip used in the short film creating the establishing sequence letting the audience know of the setting.
And also the clip between the lesson scene and the arrangement scene where three lads are seen
walking up out of the college gates.
Using Matthew to represent his brother, two others who were making there way out anyways were
asked if they would be up for the role. Willing to do it, they weren't the first few we asked with a
group of people being asked beforehand but all declined to help out.
Then finally, after many attempts to just make a start on the middle sequence being filmed, it did
take a few weeks to gather the cast with one cast member backing out after every arrangement
made.
Then with me having work, Matthew offered and stepped up twice to help film the scene when the
cast were all available at the time I wasn't. Taking three attempts at filming, the first one Matthew
and the cast were left to figure it out with the script pretty much. And what didn't help was me
forgetting to hand them over the microphones.
The second attempt worked out better, the walking backwards was difficult especially when the cast
were walking towards me quite quickly causing the footage to result not the best. Needing to redo
the scene though as Coreys audio had been accidentally deleted.

7. Trying it again, Matthew was the one to film again but this time the same issue had happened but
with Martins audio.
Unable to re-film with time running out, I had to make do with what I had.
Overall, as fun as the filming was, the delays did become very stressful the closer the deadline came
by.
Post-Production
Starting the post-production at the same time as the production was still going on, by doing that it
was better to tell what clips worked for the film and where re-shoots and fillers were needed. And
also if I hadn't gone with doing that, there would be no way I would be done with the editing in time
for the deadline from how long it eventually took for us to call it a wrap on filming.
Trying to get this done as soon as I could, I did have two people waiting on me who both agreed to
help out with the music side of my film. Finding them on one of the Facebook groups mentioned
earlier, I had responded to a comment of a lass looking to help someone for her University
coursework. But by the time I was done editing, she had gathered all of her coursework not having
the need to help me with mine anymore.
As for the other person, they had came across my comment and reached out to me seeing if I was
still in need of the help. Taking them up, they got back to me with the mp3 files just in time of the
final product being put together. All versions have been included in the final outcome blog, one
where we stuck with my chosen audio files, then the second with his placed over the top of some
scenes.
The one I like most is the opening as it gives me something more original and personal to line up
with my logo and branding. Not having any exact meaning as it should, I still believe it is a nice way
to begin my journey through production entirely giving the product itself more meaning to me as it
is now, a part of me.
There isn't really much else to go through about the post-production alone, everything that was to
be said, all the issues and such it was all covered in the post-production diary.
Poster
Thinking I wasn't going to have time to get this done, luckily I have managed to come out of this with
two. Fair enough they are copies of each other more or less, but still, a better variety as suggested
by my audience feedback.
There is more I could have done with the designs, and would have liked to, but not being so good
with photo editing there was only so much I knew how to do. Even with the help of a few YouTube
videos.
Through the Summer, I did try to work on these skills by setting up a small photoshoot with my dog
to create my own version of a 'Pet Sematary' movie/book poster. Thinking I was coming a long quite
well with it, it was a shame I was unable to finish it due to the laptop I was using at the time breaking
down out of nowhere. With that though, it brought me to the one I am using today and I am very
happy with that.

8. Going back to the products now, the process was slightly rushed which again is a shame, but it was
still a nice shoot even without the props that would have helped the result a lot more. And the issue
of casting a man to do a woman's role, the audience feedback clearly wasn't a fan of that, but it was
another thing we had to make do with.
Happy with the overall results, I do know I could be happier but for what I do have, I am pleased and
proud enough of it.
Conclusion
Overall, I am as happy as I can be with the product.
There is so much I would like to improve on, but with what I can't I know I will learn from.
My scheduling and times are definitely a big one. I'm not sure what it is but I do tend to struggle a lot
with getting things complete in set limit of time. I know as well for half of the project it was me
having to rely on other people schedules, but aside from that with the paperwork and pre-
production files I could have definitely gotten much more done sooner rather than last minute. But I
have now finished with everything in round about the right time, so the statement isn't overall a bad
thing. But it is something I want to work on for future projects.
With the final outcome itself, many mistakes were make and many incidents did happen preventing
me from the chance of going back and correcting it. Audio was the biggest one. Like the opening
sequence, I am not sure if it was just the microphone itself as later on I did find that one of the three
were resulting quite ruffly. With Emma being the main one to speak I guess you can't really tell as
much but there is a difference between her lines comparing with Ben's and Conner's one liner in the
scene.
Then following that with the issues heard in the second scene, that's where accidental deletes were
coming in. Having to re-shoot the entire scene multiple times as mentioned, the second shoot did
help a lot in saving the audio from the first attempt. Only it would have been good if we were more
prepared with the outfits and such allowing me to have more clips to choose from when piecing it all
together. I would say as well you can tell that scene was rushed due to the lack of fix-ups, but I knew
it would be a struggle trying to get the cast together in limited time when I still needed to get the
editing done.
Luckily with the third sequence, when the audio did mess up we were able to go back a re-film due
to us having to pause the filming and come back to it days later giving me a chance to look over what
I did have and figure out if it was good enough to use or would need re-doing.
Going back to the being more prepared with outfits, that is another thing I want to do better on and
learn from. Not just that, but when going shot to shot, the cast would hold a new posture or/and
facial expression in almost every clip. So with that, I would like to pay more attention to the casts'
holding positions allowing the sequence to run smoother when piecing the clips together.
Another mistake that bothers me a lot is the microphone slip in the first scene. When starting to
rush the filming, I did find myself going wrong with the directions but that was another thing I was
able to solve when we kept going back with the third sequence. But the microphone slip again, that
is something I should have noticed. But unfortunately not making it a part of the final product.

9. What I do dislike most out of the entire product is the camera movement for the second scene. Not
having access to anything that would of helped the filming run smoother like a dolly, maybe if we
slowed down the walking it the clips would be less messy. And even with the stabilization tool added
on top of the clips in post production, that has helped greatly with more of the clips but you can still
catch the messy-ness with one or two even being painful just to watch.
Thinking as well, the last note I can give myself is same as what I had mentioned in the pre-
production section of this evaluation where I talked about the scripting and storyboarding. Much
more development could have been done there in preparation of the filming as when it has come to
the clips being stitched together there seems to be too many jumps when a few more shots that at
least connect what is happening in the first clip to show how they get onto the next bit would have
helped me out a lot.
The set up for example, that is a shot I really don't like as it feels too sudden. Corey drops the back in
the first clip then in the next he's placing it back behind him whilst Conner and Martin are seen
laying everything out. More could have been shown and I will work to improve for when it comes to
creating my next project.
Not entirely hating the project, as much as I have just rambled about the bad aspects of it, I am all
together proud of this accomplishment knowing nothing will be perfect, especially as it is one of my
first video products and my very first short film. I will only take the mistakes, and progress from
there the same as I have taken things I needed to learn from my smile and documentary projects last
year and had them in mind when it came around to this.
There are a few shots and transitions I am very pleased with, like the second to third act transition
with the camera panning up and then down from the sun. That I love.
I would say as well, I remember last year saying I needed to work on my directory skills more finding
myself to get very hesitant with the filming. Not 100% better as there were definitely moments,
luckily this time around I had a small screw who were willing to help me get around that. But I am
pleased to say I feel I am getting better and more confident in that aspect of filming.
Other than all of that though, I am very glad I got to have the opportunity of making this short film.
As stressful as it did become, the filming days were a lot of fun and I do already miss the nights out
filming. But I do look forward to making a start on the next project.