Upstairs
- louiseanastasia123
- Oct 20, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: Nov 22, 2025
Week 5 Proposal Pitch - UPST Pitch Doc.pptx
All our files and communications are carried out through Microsoft Teams-
The following Monday, we had feedback sessions, hoping our projects would go ahead.
Amber lit- follow up on Wednesday.
- Story was clear and engaging overall- partial yes, still needs to be clearer.
- Themes /target audience- strong themes and understanding of delivery to an audience and engagement.
Yeah, belief in the script and story to be developed in time.
Sufficient interest in the project with project roles filled- return to.
Appropriate for a 10-minute film.
It can be realistically projected in terms of time, budget, and resources.
Before Wednesday, we followed up with the crew and addressed some questions ahead of the next meeting, just over a day later. This dedication paid off in the end; every proposed film went ahead.
-Our next steps are planning for the test shoot and curating an Instagram account.
Research:
Overall Inspirations:
I revisited films like Sorry Baby and Never Rarely Sometimes Always that share similar themes of Friendship and Trauma. I found that they both use a minimalist, naturalistic editing approach that avoids dramatisation of the topics. This performance-focused presentation of events is what the team wanted for Upstairs.
Reading Walter Murch's book In the Blink of an Eye, after having it recommended to me by an Editor I interviewed for a case study a few months ago, aided my approach to both my test shoot edits. It drew my attention to actors' performances, prioritising the emotion in my decisions and utilising their blinks to find natural cuts which changed my previously continuity-driven perspective.
I found the long, unedited shot in the 'Questionnaire' scene to prove how effective the lack of cuts can be in expressing difficult emotional narratives without dramatising them, and we hope to do the same with the full film, already having the dolly and lingering still shots in our test shooting script.
During pre-production, I also created our film's Instagram account and a Rough Instagram posting Ideas/Schedule to keep audiences informed and updated, ultimately helping with our crowdfunding, which we hope to kick off in late December.
Pre-planned the caption for my introduction post:
I’m super excited to finally make this project a reality. Having been eager about this script since it was pitched last year, I’m confident this team will do an honest job in bringing this necessary story to screen. As a fan of the inspirations behind the project, such as Sorry Baby, Fish Tank, How to Have Sex, and Never Rarely Sometimes Always, I’m drawn to the themes of Friendship when coming of age and Vulnerability that many of us can relate to. Compared to previous edit-heavy projects I've worked on, like Broadcast Curse, I'm eager to take on a more realistic approach to the edit to help spark more open conversations about sexual assault without dramatisation.
Test Shoot Preparation:
-Leading up to the test shoot, there were regular meetings within departments to ensure the day progressed smoothly.
As an editor, I had limited documentation to prepare for the shoot day, as most of my contributions came in the form of in-person suggestions for the film. I didn't feel there was much edit-wise to test in the shooting script since the film requires a pretty naturalistic approach. I agreed that it was best to focus on how to capture the inciting incident on screen, ensuring the audience's emotions aligned with our intentions.
As I was AD on set alongside my DIT role, I prepared the shooting schedule once I received the shotlist. Making sure to run it by the department heads before the shoot day, I promptly made any necessary rearrangements, ensuring the team was positive and prepared for the day's run.
Reflection on TS:
From an AD Perspective:
Overall, I feel the shooting day was a success. As usual, not everything can be predicted or go to plan; however, what can be controlled is how issues are handled and solved on set. At the beginning of the day, we were about an hour behind schedule due to the equipment taking longer than expected to be loaded and traffic on the route to the location. Eating into the setup time, I did my best to shorten this process without sacrificing its quality or stressing out the crew. From personal experience as a creative mind on set (previously directing and DoPing), I understand how the knowledge of time constraints adds unnecessary pressure to what shouldn't be your main focus. I remained encouraging and calm throughout the day, keeping the exact timing of the schedule to myself, knowing I'd be able to put us back on track by the end. Allowing shots to go slightly over schedule when needed meant we started lunch 15 minutes later than planned; however, the time was made up in the following setups, where I ensured everyone stayed on track, stayed occupied with a job, and limited distractions.
I found this experience useful in learning how to make things better next time:
-Having more people at the equipment's original location to help load it into a van. (We only had two people because the hired van had only two seats.) As a team, we thought having the other crew take public transport to the location after loading would cause a larger delay, and that it would be more effective to save taxi budgets for the real shoot with the rest of the crew on location, getting things ready.
From an editor's perspective:
Initially, I was worried about not having a designated script supervisor, having had some nightmares with continuity on previous sets. Luckily, it wasn't as important when shooting a dolly shot as there was no plan to cut during it. In the second section, our runner stepped in to help keep track of movement, which paid off when I raised a continuity question about her actions while answering the phone. I did face an issue with the angle between the right-side shot and the middle one looking too close together, making the cut between them feel unnatural. Depending on the movement, it seemed little had changed. I avoided cutting during those moments. Upon rewatching the first rough cut in full screen, I noticed a lav pack outline through Elle's dress as she turns Jemma over. This surprisingly went unnoticed on set, and now we know to be more aware of this for next time. Informing Eve promptly to talk through our next steps, she requested that I attempt to cut around it. Annoyingly, there was no other decent coverage of this action. Rough cut 2 (below) demonstrates me utilising the other angles to mask the moments it's visible. Getting rid of this action was also not an option, as it wouldn't provide enough time to establish what had just occurred in the bedroom. I was also aware that there may have been too many cuts in this sequence, as I was favouring the performance of each action over a slower pace at this stage.
Rough Cut 2:
Following feedback from director Eve included:
-In general, if possible, fewer cuts- Though the start is to cover the mic pack, she'd love it to feel like longer, simpler shots/takes if possible. Do we have a clip of her shaking Jemma where you can see her actually shaking her, without the mic pack? Cause I’m not sure if it works to cut to that shot for such a quick shot, it feels like a jump compared to the rest of the scene. If not, we can firm having the mic pack visible since it has often gone unnoticed by viewers.
-Do we need to cut at .43 back to the door? - (No, we did not. Originally, I hoped this cut would help build more tension, but removing the shot worked better.)
-Could we keep on the take at 1.00 longer? Get more of Jemma’s reaction?
-Likes the cut at 1.14, Is it possible to maybe stay on that? Like the eyeline.
Final Cut, Pre-sound design and grade implementing these comments.
Preparation for Summative Proposal & Presentation:
With our Proposal document,
We also worked on our pitch
Notes I read for the pitch:
For Upstairs, my editorial focus is to shape the emotional journey between Elle and Jemma, translating their fluctuating relationship into the film's rhythm and tone. Moving from the carefree teenage chaos at the opening to the uncomfortable reality of what happens upstairs, the edit needs to carefully guide the audience through these shifts.
Our test shoot supported this approach to relying on subtle performance rather than explicit visuals. Focusing on Elle’s search for Jemma - and letting the long dolly shot play out - reinforces that uninterrupted movement at this point carries more emotional weight than cutting would. Giving space to the stillness and letting audiences sit in the silence of the actors’ performances builds tension in a way that stays true to our social realism style. The scene conveys what has happened not by showing it, but by making us feel the aftermath.
Overall, the edit will be more observational from Elle’s pov, remaining almost invisible during sensitive moments. The shifts in their character arcs will be reflected in the pacing, with the rhythm of the cut mirroring their changing relationship. My approach works best when it stays patient and unobtrusive, allowing the audience to linger in the discomfort rather than forcing it upon them.
Pitch Reflection:
We were really pleased with how it went and are eager to get into pre-production for the final film!
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