Fiction Adaptation: Film - Use of Props

What Props Will I Need?

As I'm getting closer to filming for this project, I've noted down all the props which I may need and why I may need them below:

White, Black & Red Rose

As mentioned in my 'Significance of the Rose' post, I will be needing a black, white and red rose. The black rose will be needed for the death and farewell of the male character, the red to symbolise the couple's love, and the white to show the innocence and vulnerability of the female character.

As well as these, I may also needed a dying/weak red rose. This is for the scene where we see the red rose die as the couple's relationship die. I will be buying several of these in case I need more than I think for filming. For example, I may need more if I have problems filming watching the red rose slowly die. This will be quite difficult to film as I need to show the death of a rose without touching it, however I could always slowly kill the rose bit by bit and then film it.

Outfits

Female Nurse
Outfit Idea

Also mentioned in my 'Character Profiling' post, I will also be needing world war one outfits. For the female character, I've decided to make the character a nurse. This is mainly because ww1 nurses are instantly recognisable and the fact that the costume is easy to get (I'm not too worried on the costume, as long as it fits the setting). I did want to get a church outfit however I've done some research and they are quite difficult to find let alone make, and I don't have a large budget to spend either. Also, one of my applicants for the female part has a nurse outfit, which would be very helpful.


The only problem I may have with these costumes is how I can adapt them for the flashback scenes showing the two characters in 'love'. This is because they wouldn't be wearing their work outfits if it is a flashback - however I haven't specified how long ago the flashback was, meaning the audience don't know when they might've first started falling in 'love'. This works out very handy as I could still use the soldier outfit for the flashback, as the flashback could be when the soldier was training for the war.

Male Soldier Outfit Idea

This is the same for the nurse outfit - she could be training to be a nurse for those who fall in world war one. Additionally, you could even gain an idea from the flashback that they meet whilst preparing for the first world war one - she could potentially practice on nursing on the soldier which is how they met. Nonetheless, I could adapt these outfits to tell the audience that they are a soldier and nurse, however remove some characteristics of the outfit to show that they are not at work.

For example, I could remove the nurse hat and the soldier's bag/gun/helmet which would give an impression that they aren't at work. Thus, the soldier and nurse outfit can be used throughout the whole of my film. The only extra uniform I would need would be for when the female is writing the poem. However the nurse outfit too could be used for this - I will have to do some experimenting to see whether it could work or not as this part is set further in the future (end of the war).

WW1 Newspaper

An example of a Newspaper front.
I could try to photoshop one of the
people's faces and put my actor's face
on it instead.

In my film, I have a scene where the female character reads the newspaper to see that lots of British soldiers have been killed at war. This is very difficult to find a headline like this. So far I have only managed to find a few however they have pictures of the dead soldiers on the paper, meaning that I can't use it as it isn't my actor's face on it.

However, I could try to photoshop his face onto the newspaper, however this will be difficult to make it look authentic. I will try to do this anyway however if this fails I will have to make a newspaper front myself. This will be updated on my blog when i get round to doing it.

Christ/Cross Necklace

Example of the necklace
I aim to get.

To help hint to my audience that my female character is religious, I've decided to use a christ necklace to reinforce this, which will also be used for a scene in my film. To my right is an example of what I am looking for - it has to look original and authentic and as if you would find one a 100 years ago. Therefore, a simple cross would be perfect (like in the image).

WW1 Pen: Dull Plain Pencil & Paper

'Old Fashioned' Paper which I
could use

An 'Old Fashioned' pencil I could use.

As I have scenes of my character writing the poem, I will also need to find an old-looking pencil (as they often wrote in pencil) and paper for her to write on. The pencil could simply just be a plain wooden-looking pencil, whereas the paper could be slightly crinkled and even a pale brown - the sort of paper which you die with tea bags to give it an old looking feel. To my right you can see an example of each of which I am looking for.

Black/Brown Silk Picture Frame

Example of a picture frame I
would like to use.

As I am planning to have a scene where my female character 'strokes' a picture frame of her and her husband, I will need a frame with a picture of the couple. The picture MUST be in black and white (as it is the first world war) and generally be of a low quality.

The picture frame however, I would prefer it if it was 'silk', as this then directly compares to the poem which quotes "The silken harvest climbed down", meaning it would generally have more of an effect if it was silk. I also would prefer the picture frame to be of a dark colour (black or brown) so that it gives it a more authentic look.

Old Fashioned Decorations

I will generally also need old-fashioned decorations for the living room which I will be making. These don't have to be related to the first world war - as long as they look reasonably old and would suit around 100 years ago then it doesn't matter to as much of an extent.

I will begin purchasing these props within the following week. I will keep you updated on my blog if I have any problems or changes with these props, as well as showing you images of them when I have them.