Monday 11 August 2014

Bringing the Raven Siren to Life

Help our talented team bring the Raven Siren to life in our crowdfunding project on GoFundMe.com

http://www.gofundme.com/d27mq0



Follow us: 

On twitter @TheRavenSiren

On Facebook 

Learn more about the Raven Siren universe on the wiki

The Style



The style of this series is rooted in the classic style of film noir but slightly modernized with influences from classic films such as Casablanca. The project will be filmed in colour and have colours muted during the editing process.

The costumes and setting are to be shabby in design, slightly worn on the other side of worse for wear. Though there is a modern twist to the classic film noir there will be a dingy and dirty feel to the piece that are indicative of the underbelly of the city that Siren inhabits.

About the Raven Siren



The Nicolette Mace: the Raven Siren book series comprises of the following books:

Beginnings, the Kevin Metis Saga, the Derek Long Saga, Filling the Afterlife from the Underworld: Volume 1 & 2, The Case of Mrs. Weldon and Hunting the Priest Killer.

There is also a popular online blog that can be found at nicolettemace.blogspot.com. 

The Scripts

We are constantly working on the scripts in order to bring the shorts and web series of the Raven Siren to live and so far have one script ready to be filmed - Of All the Gin Joints and a futher three shorts that are being worked on. 

We aim to have a total of 6 shorts (between 3 and 12 minutes in length) before we start filming the Web Mini Series that has 6 epsiodes per series (between 10 and 30 minutes in length) and has a total of four series at the moment. 

After we have filmed these we have a a further 6 series that we want to produce contain 10 episodes with each episode being around 45 minutes in length.

We will be raising funds for each series separately and currently are focusing on raising funds for the six shorts. 

What we will spend the money on?


The budget for each episode is worked out seperately based upon the number of people involved, the length of the episode being filmed, the costume, the set, the props needed and length of time that filming takes.

Of All the Gin JointsBudget: £600

£69.18 - Siren's Costume
Siren's costume is made up of black, worn, working boots, black combat or cargo trousers, a long black trench coat, her trade mark trilby and a black tank top.

£58.95 - Simon's Costume
Simon's costume is made up of a three piece suit, minus the jacket with a crisp white shirt, red tie, dress shoes and braces.

£72.50 - Air Squib and Blood Shots hire
This piece of machinery is the safest way to operate squbs on a small scale and will allow of 8 takes of the same injury if necessary.

£25.50 - Siren's lighter
Siren's lighter is one prop that is consistent throughout the Siren stories from as far back as Beginnings: Part 2. It is a zippo lighter that has been a gift from Fred Barlow to show how much he cares for her though the design of the lighter it is completely at odds with her character and persona. 

£220 - Siren's Beretta M84 9mm
Siren's gun is one of the most important props to get right for this project. The reason it costs so much is that it is a metal replica that is not a BB gun. It fires blanks safely so can be used to film with minimal injury. We are currently looking at cheaper alternatives to this but so far the alternatives do not look real or are too dangerous to fire in the confines of the shooting space.

*We have found two alternatives to the Beretta M84 that cost around half the price and are currently investigating the safety of using them in our shooting space.

£40 - Food and Drink on set
This will include all coffee, tea, lunch and dinner for the cast and crew during the day of filming.

£60 - Travel & Transport to location

£53.87 - Cast & Crew Expenses

The StreetsBudget: £200

Siren's costume is the same as in previous short as are the props.

£40 - Food and Drink on set

£60 - Travel and Transport to location

£100 - Extra lighting equipment for filming outdoors at night.

The Fred & Siren AffairBudget: £600

Siren's costume is the same as in previous short as are the props.

£40 - Food and Drink on set

£85 - Travel and Transport to location

£300 - Pay for the actors and crew involved in the short as it will take place over several days.

£100 - location fees

£75 - Fred's Costume

Other episodes & budgetsWe currently estimate that each episode will cost around £600. Budgets will be broken down as and when we have a better idea of what each episode will entail but we shall be working to only have £600 per episode available.

The Plot "Of All the Gin Joints"This short film is set in the club that Simon owns and sees Siren and Simon locking horns over his criminal activities. The current set for the club is a dance hall club including stage and seating though this is subject to change due to the availability of the location.

The short is a battle of wits between Siren and Simon, a sharp and witty back and forth between two foes, one who is adverse to getting his hands dirty with violence and the other more inclined to leap to violence at the first opportunity.

This short has a place within the Raven Siren timeline between the stories Backtrack and The Shortest Day in the Kevin Metis Saga book.

Of All the Gin Joints Script (working script subject to change)

By c.s. woolley

Based on Nicolette Mace: the Raven Siren series by c.s. woolley

©c.s. woolley 

INT.DAY.THEATRE

Siren is stood on the stage smoking a cigarette. Behind her is a table on which a bottle of gin and glass both stand along with an ashtray, her cigarette case, lighter and gun. There is a chair stood next to the table with her trench coat lying on it as well as a folder containing financial documents. She is dressed in dark clothing. Simon enters.

SIREN

All the world’s a stage, the men and women merely pawns.

SIMON

I think you mean merely players.

Simon walks across the theatre floor in front of the stage, slowly, then up the stairs to the side of the raised seating and along one of the rows of chairs to find a seat around halfway up the seating. Siren’s eyes follow his movement.

SIREN

Where you are concerned, I think pawns is generous.

SIMON 

It’s been a long time since I last saw you. 

SIREN 

I tend to avoid socialising with people that make my skin crawl. 

SIMON 

That’s not what you said the last time we saw each other. 

SIREN 

You didn’t make my skin crawl then. SIMON Because I was paying you? 

SIREN 

We weren’t socialising when you were paying me. SIMON So what are you doing here if this isn’t a social call? 

SIREN 

I needed a drink. 

SIMON 

Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, you have to piss your money away in mine? If you were just looking for a drink you wouldn’t be stood on the stage. 

SIREN 

What can I say? I’m a sucker for dinner and a show. 

SIMON 

And here was me thinking that it was only policemen with terrible tailors that could turn your head. 

SIREN 

You wouldn’t know the first thing about turning a woman’s head, let alone mine. 

SIMON 

My ladies don’t complain. 

SIREN 

And what about your sister? 

SIMON 

Still think I had something to do with Fiona’s death? 

SIREN 

I think you were responsible for everything that happened to her. 

SIMON 

I paid you to investigate her disappearance, you got me the answers. 

SIREN 

You paid me to follow the leads you laid down for me. A two year old could have done it. What I didn’t know then was who owned this theatre. 

SIMON 

What can I say? I didn’t want you to get the wrong impression. 

SIREN 

Whatever impression you think you left, there was always something that didn’t quite sit right with me about the whole thing. 

SIMON 

You got paid, what more do you want? If you were looking for peace of mind then you chose poorly, Siren. 

SIREN 

I always have peace of mind, it helps not having a conscience. I could happily shoot you and be on my merry way without losing one wink of sleep. What I don’t like are loose ends. 

SIMON 

Life is an endless sea of loose ends, missed opportunities and failed relationships - or at least that’s what I am told your life is like. 

SIREN 

Loose ends tend to bug me, get under my skin and eat away until I’ve tied them up, so I looked into you and this theatre a lot more closely. 

SIMON 

So you’ve come down here for some long and drawn out discussion of my business undertakings? Are you really qualified to make such judgments? 

SIREN 

It took longer than I would have liked, but fortunately there are plenty of people willing to pay for information on their rivals. 

SIMON 

Switched to corporate espionage now have we? I thought you had more class than that. 

SIREN 

And I thought you had more brains than it takes to savagely murder your own sister. Turns out we were both wrong. 

SIMON 

If you could prove that you’d have Mr Knight in Shining Armour here putting me in handcuffs and dragging me away. 

SIREN 

Oh don’t worry, he’s on his way, but I wanted to talk to you first. 

SIMON 

You’re pathetic, you don’t have anything on me. 

SIREN 

Oh? I have these. The financial records for your club for the last four years and even a three year old could tell from looking at these that things just don’t add up. 

SIMON 

Since you never finished school I don’t think you can really speak with any authority about maths. 

SIREN 

No, but the police accountants can. 

SIMON 

What do you mean? 

SIREN 

The police accountants found all sorts of little anomalies - and when I say little, I mean about the size of Texas. 

SIMON 

You must be a terrible poker player, you really can’t bluff. 

SIREN 

So I looked into these little discrepancies and found out some very interesting things. 

SIMON 

Like what? 

SIREN 

It’s a wonder that you’re still open considering that business is so bad. 

SIMON 

I’m getting by. 

SIREN 

But how? A man who kills his own sister is hardly going to shy away from other felonious activities. 

SIMON 

You’re boring me now, Siren. 

SIREN

Boring, moi? Well then I will just have to make my act much livelier. 

SIMON 

I’m sure you could, but I have a meeting to get to. 

SIREN 

A meeting with a Colombian flavour? Yes, Simon, I know about the Colombians and that it is their money keeping these doors open not yours. 

SIMON

You’ve got nothing. 

SIREN 

I have names, date, meeting places and about forty men seizing the latest drug shipment to you right about now. 

SIMON 

You bitch. You won’t get away with this. 

SIREN 

People get away with crimes, not stopping them. You really should have sent more time in school. 

SIMON 

I won’t be brought down by an ill educated tramp. 

SIREN 

Good job I’m an ill educated psychopath then. 

SIMON 

So all the problems last week - that was you? 

SIREN 

Do you mean the disappearing drug shipment, the drug dealers that were arrested or the man from Essex that was found floating in the harbour who would have spoken with a latino accent before he ingested half the ocean? 

SIMON 

All of them. 

SIREN 

I wouldn’t know anything about them. 

SIMON 

You can’t prove any of what you are saying applies to me - you’ve only got your suspicions. 

SIREN

Well you were never stupid enough to write ’I’m in bed with Colombian drug lords and killed my sister so she wouldn’t go to the cops about it’ down anywhere but these is plenty of other things you did put down.

SIMON

I don’t believe this.

SIREN

So I know, better than you obviously, that I’ve got you, lock, stock and barrel. It’s over.

SIMON

I won’t take this lying down. 

SIREN

You don’t have a choice. Try to run and you’ll find that hot lead makes it harder to walk let alone move faster.

SIMON

You threatening me?

SIREN

You asking?

SIMON

You can’t threaten me in my own club.

SIREN 

Just watch me. 

Simon stands to leave the theatre and starts to move down the stairs. Siren picks up her pistol and shoots Simon in the leg. Simon collapses on the floor and rolls about in agony. Siren puts the gun down, drains her glass, puts out her cigarette, puts on her coat, puts her cigarettes, lighter and pistol in her pocket and walks out stepping over Simon as she leaves. Music composed by Emily Worrall and sung by Charlotte Hall fades up as she shoots Simon getting loudest as she leaves. 

CREDITS

The Cast & CharactersThere are only two characters that feature in this particular short - Nicolette Mace and Simon McGregor and are to be played by C.S. Woolley and Aaron Long respectively.

Nicolette Mace is a private investigator who is more vigilante than detective and is fixated with the ideal of vengeance being delivered under the guise of justice. She has a checkered past that has influenced her development into a slightly psychotic individual - the murder of her father, the murder and rape of her sister, her mother dying in suspicious circumstances and her own rape. She is seemingly without guilt or a conscience and has lost the fear that she had during a childhood of surviving being the daughter of a Private Investigator.

Simon McGregor is a club owner with a failing business that he is having to keep from bankruptcy through importing and distributing crack cocaine. Siren once helped Simon to find his sister, Fiona, however his upstanding credentials that he once held no longer act as a smokescreen protecting his business from Siren or those that have hired her.



C.S. Woolley appeared in the film Weekend (2011) and has appeared in several plays and musicals on stage that include Look Back in Anger (Helena), Black Comedy (Carol), the Importance of Being Earnest (Lady Bracknell) and Disposing of the Body (Kate).



Aaron Long appeared in The Last Road (2012) as the lead character of Toby and has just finished filming Feather-Light and Paper-Thin (2014) in which he plays the role of Lucas.

The CrewThe crew is a small but professional unit that operates under the name The Fastidious Monks.

Director - Jared Drake

Assistant Director - Michael L. Worrall

Screenwriter - C.S. Woolley

Composers - Michael L. Worrall & Emily Worrall

Costume Consultant & Head of Wardrobe - Sam Moden

Props - Sam Moden

Vocalist - Charlotte Hall

Best Boy - Charlotte Vivian

Producers - C.S. Woolley & Michael L. Worrall

Editor - Michael L. Worrall

Further additions to the crew are to be announced when availability is known. A health & safety officer will be appointed slightly closer to the filming date.

The Locations


These are to be confirmed based on availability & cost.

Why is this important?The Raven Siren book series is growing in popularity and the style of writing lends itself to being turned into short episodes very easily.

We set about putting together the Raven Series shorts and web series in order to see the books brought to life as well as complementing the stories, filling out the gaps between the stories and bring a dedicated and professional finish to the shorts and series that we are going to put together.
What we will do with the projectThe videos that we produce of the shorts will be available through the Nicolette Mace: the Raven Siren website that is currently in the design stages as well as on YouTube.

We will also be releasing the shorts and the web series in DVD format for purchase when we have enough filmed in order to make the DVDs good value for money.

The music from the series will also be available for sale through digital music sites.

Problems we may face

The potential risks of our project include delays in filming due to personnel being unavailable, equipment failing or breaking and the filming location being unavailable.

We have booked the locations for the filming in advance to try and ensure we have them available to us as well as keeping our equipment in the best possible condition. If any equipment were to fail or break we would be able to replace it within 24 hours.

Personnel have all been informed of the shooting date and call sheets will be distributed to make sure that everyone is on set when they need to be.

Please help support us in this by donating to the project and sharing about it on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and other forms of social media. We'll only be able to do this with your support!