4.1 Critically evaluate

evidence document fmp

In my PROJECT PROPOSAL I said I was going to make a post-apocalyptic world where overpopulation has caused a mass starvation which has led to the majority of the human population becoming cannibals. My project is based exactly on that idea involves many things around that .

I kept it to around 5 minutes long and kept it to a thriller genre. I also kept the lighting as the most important aspect of the film as that’s what I needed to achieve for the campfire scene.

I feel I could improve the running away scene to create a better feeling of the need to survive by finding more appropriate music for the scene.

I used lights that can be dimmed to create the fire effect and also had wide shots using a real fire. I used an orange gel that I purchased off of amazon and placed it over the light to give it a more orange visual to add even more to the fire effect.

I uploaded it to YouTube and got some feedback. They said that the running away scene was too long so I cut it down a bit for the final product, they also agreed with me that the audio was inconsistent and they could tell where I had to use the Zoom and where I had to use the built-in microphone. They said that the angles seems slightly out-of-place at the end which I agree with and think I should use some movement to bring the shot to life a little bit more, they also said that the lighting effect I used was really good and worked great for what I was trying to achieve.

I took pictures of behind the scenes whiles shooting to show how I achieved the shots and effects I did. I also had a member of the crew take it whiles I was filming so you could see how I got the shots that I did as well as the lighting effects.

I also followed the production schedule however finished a bit earlier as it didn’t take me as long to film as I thought as everyone worked really well together and worked quickly. I felt that I got all the shots I needed at the time however once I finished editing I think I could have got more shots while I had the actors there and could have had a range of shots.

 

Introduce the project in your own words.

My project is a visually driven short film about a post-apocalyptic cannibal world where a couple try to escape the anger driven society by running into the wilderness and meet a stranger.

 

List five strength and five weaknesses in your final design.

The good things about my project in my opinion are the lighting, the story, the locations, the introduction and the actors .

• The lighting worked well in the campfire scene for using a light that isn’t very powerful it still gives a great effect and looks exactly how I wanted it to.
• I think the story is a good idea and has potential however I feel I could improve the story telling by doing it again.
• The locations worked well for the film and everything looked smooth between scenes.
• The introduction is my favourite part of my production as it really sets the scene and the tone of the film. I used the shots of abandoned sheds and fields on purpose to create the feeling of an apocalypse and let the audience know the scenario the film is set in.
• Although the actors weren’t perfect, it was their first time and they listened and understood everything I said. They didn’t question anything and asked if something confused them which was rarely.

The bad things about my project in my opinion are the sound, static shots, music, last scene and the story.

• The sound was bad because the shotgun microphone I was using didn’t have a stable connection and  didn’t record sound when plugged into the Zoom, therefore I had to use the Zoom on its own. The location we were filming at was really windy and some scenes there was nowhere to put the Zoom without picking up audio of the wind, I tried to reduce the amount by putting a sock on the mic but it still picked up wind. I ended up using the sound from the camera for the scenes where the audio was windy.
• All my shots are static, I think it would look better if there was motion in there as well to break up the static shots.
• I feel the music when the people are running away was to upbeat for the situation so to improve this scene I would find better music that fit perfectly with that scene.
• The last scene was supposed to be a bit surprise as the man the couple met is actually the man the from the rumour they were talking about. The stranger they met at the start was wearing a specific style shirt which was also seen in the back of the van in the last scene to show that he had been killed by the man that they met. However that wasn’t pickup by the majority of the audience so I don’t think I put as much an emphasis on the shirt.
• The story was good but the scenario was very clear. I feel I should have added a scene into the introduction showing cannibalism taking place to really show what was happening and how the world is now.

 

Was there a theme for the design ideas? Can you describe it? Can you reference any influences here?

The theme was thriller apocalypse films like ‘The Walking Dead’, ’28 days later’, ‘Dawn of the Dead’. They all have the same sense of survival to them and follow the same techniques, there is a lot of quiet scenes in these types of films to show how society is no longer active and the population is slowly dying out.

 

What experiments and exploration did you do (what happens if). How comparisons/difference can you identify?

The first thing I tried was to use a dimmer I bought off of amazon and plug a halogen light into and it worked, however I though I could use another light as a back light but when I plugged that one in it blew the switch. Then when the two dimmers I bought blew I was experimenting with different lights and how I could possible use them with out a dimmer. I tried using my iPhone and shining it through the orange gel whiles mimicking the actions of a fire, overall it might have worked however it was too strong of a light and didn’t look realistic enough. So I made a makeshift dimmer light by using a house hold bulb and wiring it up to a household dimmer. I also put a lamp shade on to the bulb so I could specifically direct the light where I wanted it.

 

Find a similar type of design publication – place it next to your own work – what comparisons/difference can you identify?

(artlessartorr, 2014)

I wanted to have the same effect as the scene ‘O Brother Where Art Thou’ has in the campfire scene and I think I achieved it well. I got the tree in the background and the effect looks very similar, However I think I achieved the effect a different way than the film did. It looks like they filmed the whole scene in a forest but I filmed it in my aunties back garden.

I think I achieved the apocalypse feel however not up to standards with ‘The Walking Dead’ which was one of my influences toward the apocalypse genre. The reason for this is the difference in production budgets, they have $2.75 million an episode and I have £30 for lighting equipment.

 

What were the key areas of development in this project?

The key areas where the locations, I had to change my location multiple times due to different reasons, The main reason was that I couldn’t get electricity in the woods for the light. I managed to achieve the effect I wanted by filming in my aunties back garden as it has a tree and stumps that can pass of as a forest and it works well. I also had to change location from Herne Bay park because one of my actors couldn’t make it at to that shoot due to work so I changed to a quieter location which meant we could film the same day as act 1.

 

Review your proposal – what changed, what develops did you make, did you manage to complete everything you set out to?

In my proposal I said that I was going to make a short apocalyptic film about cannibalism. My short film is still about that and is still a thriller, it follows the same story and has the same actors as I said at the start. I completed everything I set out to and also finished earlier than expected and agreed on my production schedule.

 

What did the client think of your concept? How did that make you feel?

My client liked the idea that the main requirement is lighting, and that I’m mainly going to focus on the lighting aspect of it and try to master the campfire effect using dimmer lights and the darkness. I liked the fact that they agreed with me as that was my original intention in the first place.

 

What could you adapt in the work produced to improve and develop it?

If I was to do this again I would try to improve the audio by filming when it’s less windy and I will get a shotgun mic that works which would improve the audio by focusing on the person who was talking. I would also add more motion to the project as it’s mostly consists of still shots and would look better if there is more motion such as slow pans. I would also find better music for act 2 where the characters are running through the forest as I feel that the current music is too upbeat

 

Is the final work appropriate for the needs of the client? Does it sufficiently answer their brief?

My project follows the proposal that I created for the client. It is appropriate for the clients brief, the only thing that changed was the locations due to actors needing to go to work during the planned shoot therefore I had to change to a quieter place.

 

Reflect on your pitch to the client; how did you feel about it before? Did it go better or worse than you expected? What was the feedback from the client/lecturer? What do you think you could improve next time?

When I pitched my project to my client she listened carefully to everything I had to say then gave me some good feedback. I appreciated that she liked my idea and didn’t ask to alter anything, she mentioned I should try to make it as visually driven as possible which I agreed with which was nice. Next time I should prepare more as there were times where I had nothing else to say so there were moments of silence.

 

Feedback from presentation of final piece

There were obvious sound issues that I experienced and have spoken about, I did warn the audience before they saw it to let them know.

During the running scenes in the fields, the audience said that they thought there was no sense of emergency and danger. Ways they said I could improve this was by adding clips of people feet following the characters as they look behind them or people pushing branches to walk past. The music during the same scene is to upbeat, it doesn’t add the feeling of danger.

For the first scene I could have a crowd or one person running down the ramp to show the danger and help show what they’re running from.

As the director I knew the story off by heart so didn’t need any conformation in the project but as a member of the audience there were some things that they didn’t understand.

I use cuts to change between angles, some however cut to a too similar angle and just looks out-of-place.

Original Video

 

Final Major Project

 

I’ve spoken about the audio issues I had with the original project and how it affected the outcome of the short film. I was disappointed with the outcome so decided to re-record the dialogue and some extra sound effects. I had to use different people to voice the characters as the actors used weren’t available at such short notice which did seem wrong as one of the characters was voiced by someone really young, however this sounded better than the original sound and wasn’t too out-of-place.

I added some reverb onto the dialogue for the scene under in the underpass to add to the effect of the location, this did make the dialogue for that scene sound greater.

I didn’t use a tripod when filming so a lot of my shots are shaky, I didn’t realise this at the time but when watching it back found out how bad it made the scenes look. To fix this I condensed the five-minute short film into a three-minute one by shortening each clip which drew less attention to the shakiness and more to want is happening on-screen.

The extra audio I recorded adds a more realistic effect to the scenes so for example the last scene when Charlie picks up the bottle it makes a liquid sound this just gave the scene more life. However I should add more sounds to it to create the same effect, the more sound the more realistic the scene will feel.

The last clip in the film is Charlie saying ‘Got it’ this was a big part of my film and wasn’t long enough to create the effect that I wanted from it. I added a freeze frame to try to prolong the effect and allow the audience to process what that meant by making it seem more important.

By cutting some of the clips down I changed the story slightly, The story of the character the couple met in the tunnel changed slightly as in the original he ran off ahead but now he stays behind. This doesn’t changed the outcome of the story just that one scene.

 

 

Bibliography

artlessartorr (2014) ArtlessArtorr. Available at: https://artlessartorr.wordpress.com/ (Accessed: 14 June 2016).

3.1 Apply practical skills – Production Pitch

 

Final Major Project

Project Management Techniques

CALL SHEET FMP

This is a call sheet listing all the information that people apart of the production may need to know about during the production and pre-production process.

PROJECT PROPOSAL

I made a production schedule at the bottom of this document that states when and how long I will set aside for each task.

 

Team and Individual Performance Monitoring

Daily Production/Post-Production Diary

Day 1: Today’s filming went well, we got a lot done in a small amount of time. We completed Act 1 in two and a half hours filming. At first I went through the script with everyone to make sure they knew there ques and what was happening in each scene.

We then also managed to get the establishing shots in wooded areas to lead up to the campfire in the woods scene. We accomplished this in three hours filming then I put all of the footage on my memory stick ready for editing.

This followed the schedule well as I had planned to get Act 1 and 2 done the same day.

Day 2: We started filming the campfire scene at 9:30 pm when it got dark and didn’t finish until 11:30 pm but then for half an hour I had the actors re-record the audio inside so that it was clearer and I could use it if I wanted.

This was almost exactly what I had planned however we had to finish the end of Act 3 tomorrow as it took longer to get dark than expected so we finished later.

Day 3: We Filmed the last scene of Act 3 in a different location to the rest of Act 3, as it was a more enclosed area due to trees we were able to start a little bit earlier at 8:30 pm and we filmed for an hour. I then put all the clips onto my memory stick and named each clip dependent on what scene it was or what was said so that it was easier to put together in the editing software.

Day 4: I edited the project all today, to make it easier I got all the sound effects and music that I needed yesterday night. This meant I could get straight into editing the project.

This was not how long I had planned it to take. I had scheduled 3 days to edit but it only took me 1.

 

Pre-Production materials

official story board

I made a story board using images from google images showing roughly what shots I would like to use in my short film. I printed them off and wrote what each scene would consist of and the actions the characters would do and shortened versions of the dialogue.

FMP SCRIPT

I wrote a script for the short film, the actors did slightly ad-lib so the film doesn’t match the script 100% but it follows the same story and idea. It also says when people will move or run off scene.

 

 

Production Development

 

Production Process

Directing the crew went well as the film didn’t require that many people, everyone listened and all understood what I was trying to achieve with the different shots. The actors hadn’t had any past experience with acting so in an attempt to make their acting better I tried to explain shot by shot what was happening and how their character would be feeling. I also told them they could improvise the script if they felt they needed to which worked for making it feel more natural however did bring up some syncing issues in post production. Using the camera was good as well the shots worked well and looked good but when watching it through I realised that most of the shots are static which doesn’t have the same feel to it as if some shots had motion to it. I acted in one scene so another crew member had to fill in while I was on-screen. I tried to tell them exactly what I wanted from the shot and how to achieve it and they did a good job.

I had a few things go wrong while on set. One of the problems I had been the wire for the shotgun microphone was unstable and would not record sound when plugged into the Zoom. This meant I had to use the Zoom alone to record my sound, this caused a lot of wind and cars to be picked up in the background during the day shots. I did try to reduce the amount of background noise by putting a sock over the top of the microphone and it did slightly help but there was still background noise. By letting the actors ad lip where they wanted to was a problem in the long run, although it did make the scene more natural and believable it also meant when I asked them to re dub the audio I had them read of the script so the lines didn’t match. This could have been avoided by watching back the clips and making note of the changes the actors made so that they could record clearer versions later. Another problem was that I ordered two dimmer switches from amazon but when I tried to use them with a light they both blew. I then had to make a custom light that dims using a normal light bulb and wiring it up to a household dimmer, this is what I used with an orange gel over the light and it worked great.

There was also changes in schedule which led to slight location changes. For the Herne Bay park location it had to be filmed early in the morning when it was quiet and no one was around however some of the crew had work and couldn’t make it to them shoots so we had to change locations to a place which was similar in environment.

The main focus of my project was visuals, I used an orange gel and placed it over the dimmable light. I wanted the background during the campfire scene to be pitch black, I achieved this by hanging a black sheet on the fence behind my actors so it covered the fence in shot as well as waiting for it to be dark so the black sheet isn’t as noticeable.

 

 

Post-Production Process

Once I got all my footage onto the computer I went through it all and named them after what scene or shot it was.

This was to make it easier to put together once in Avid. I edited all the footage so there were smooth cuts between angles and shortened it where needed, I then put all the edited footage together and added music to the establishing shots at the beginning. The establishing shots were to establish that the film is in an apocalyptic setting by showing abandoned sheds and houses. I downloaded royalty free music and sound effects to use for this project and added them in to add to the realism of the scenes.

I added credits at the end naming who the actors and crew where, I did it one name at a time and then faded out and in when they change as this worked well with the music I had in the background and also there was quiet a short list of people so by having one name at a time it made it longer.

I added black bars to the film in Avid to try to add the effect of it being a film however I didn’t take this into consideration when filming and it cut the actors heads in half during some of the shots.

 

 

2.2 Interpret research

Primary Research Reflection

I did a lot of research into my four interests, My primary interest gave me an idea on the amount of people follow the same interests as I do which will help me when deciding the target audience for my project.

Everyone who answered my survey said that they have gone to the cinema and continue to go as they think it has a great atmosphere and all round better experience than watching films at home. However most of them don’t go as often as they like, which is due to the lack of films or how expensive it is.

When doing primary research for music the questions were really open and didn’t give me much to go on. Later I decided to focus on soundtracks for movies and theme songs, this is what I did my secondary research on. So the primary research was not helpful in the end.

The same with games the questions were to open so didn’t really narrow anything down for me to use, but almost everyone did play games but not on a regular basis. I may need to make a new survey for music and games.

When researching TV I decided to focus on sitcoms. This turned out to be a very bland topic, not very many people watched them and didn’t really enjoy them. I may changed this to something that is a little more enjoyable and maybe has more of a following which would be TV series like The Walking Dead, Breaking and Game of Thrones for example.

I made another survey about TV series rather than sitcoms and the result were far better than sitcoms was. Everyone who answered would like to see an apocalypse inspired film and focused around the rebuild of society.

 

Secondary Research Reflections

I looked into the history of cinemas and the first projector came up which I looked into called the Magic Lantern, there was also a story of the first film shown to a large audience. It was interesting however I felt it had made no progress toward what I’m going to produce.

Unlike the primary research for music I focused on soundtracks for the secondary evidence. I discovered that this is one of the important aspects for films as that is what people remember the most, I found a video which featured some of the most famous soundtracks I recognized most of them however had not seen all the films. This has made me realize that the soundtrack is one of the main elements of films so need to take that into account when I produce something.

When I researched games I looked specifically at motion capture as this is a really interesting topic and also is used for games which I talk about as well. This is impossible for me to achieve as it is very expensive equipment however I can take inspiration from films and games that use it such as Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

My secondary evidence for TV was about sitcoms, this was a boring topic and based on my primary research no one is interested in them. Therefore I am going to change this to TV series because they have a bigger following and do another survey on this then take inspiration from that. I made a quick survey on TV series and games. https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/MLY5VSJ

 

What is it that makes me do my project?

I really enjoy apocalyptic films like ‘Mad Max’ or ‘Dawn of the Dead’ and they have inspired me to create my own.

 

My personal experiences that influence my choices? 

I’ve always liked the ideas around apocalypses films whether its zombies, infections or just the results of a nuclear war. The idea of strangers grouping up and putting full trust into each other to survive and keep the human race alive along with other people with completely opposite intentions. All the laws are gone, there are no authority figures to follow so it is completely up to the individual about who they become.

 

What is basic premise of my project?

A short apocalyptic film or scene of a group of people sitting around a camp fire at night talking about how it was before.

 

What do I seek to achieve and how it relates to my target audience?

I would like to achieve a short film that I am proud of and that the actors that help me can be proud of. My target audience is a wide range of ages however would be people with similar interests of apocalyptic films or shows, but the majority of people who watch The Walking Dead are between the age of 18-49 so it is more likely that my work will target the same audience.

 

What are similar media products and how does you work relate to them?

My idea for a short film could relate to shows like ‘The Walking Dead’  or films like ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ where there is a group of people who survived some sort of pandemic.

 

How have similar media products influenced your project?

A specific scene from the film ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ makes me appreciate these sorts of films more, The scene when they restore power at the gas station and music starts playing the film is very serious throughout as they are fighting day in and day out to survive and there are no more luxury’s so when they hear the power come on and the music play they  are all so happy and take it in and enjoy the feeling of accomplishment. This scene made me want to recreate the feeling it gave me in some way. The camp fire idea came from the scene from ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ in which the three men are laying by a camp fire talking. The lighting and shadows in this scene is what I want to try to recreate in my work as I really like the way it looks and makes the scene feel.

(Austin Dest, 2007)

The camp-fire scene from ‘howl like a wolf’ in the video below is set in a back garden, this could be another setting for my short film to really show the downfall of society that they are camping in back gardens.

(WatchMojo.com, 2015)

What can you learn from similar media products? 

Like I said earlier I specifically like the lighting from the camp fire ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ and would like to recreate that in an apocalyptic style, for example I could have it so that everything in the background is completely pitch black to add the effect of the unknown, not knowing what’s out there.  And I somehow want to recreate the same feeling the gas station scene had from ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’.

 

 

Production and Content Research

For my project I am going to do a post apocalyptic scene of a group of people sitting around a fire. They will be talking about how life was before and the start of the apocalypse to give a bit of back story to how it all started.

There are multiple different types of apocalypse scenarios to choose from [1] (Evan Hoovler), some examples are Global EMP, Flooding, Overpopulation and the obvious zombie apocalypse. I am going to mix global EMP with overpopulation so there is a mass starvation and food production is slowing down therefore a big majority of the world’s population have become cannibals as the human race is slowly dying out but also the added annoyance of no power.

The scene will involve a camp fire in the woods so I will need to figure out a way to have one in shot without the risk of danger. I will test a natural camp fire and try to find a suitable location with limited amount of flammable objects and surrounding it with rocks to minimize the risk of a fire. I had the idea of using a recyclable BBQ and again surrounding it with rocks so that there is nothing surrounding it that may catch alight I can have this as a backup plan in case it raining the day of shooting and the firewood is wet.

I will use a lot of slow pans and close-ups as it’s a very relaxed scene with just dialogue.

Actually lighting the scene with the camp fire in mind is a harder task, I want to try to capture the scene at night as then it gives the effect that the characters are more vulnerable. I could use the three-point lighting set-up but modified for the use of this scene, the camp-fire could be the key light and I could use soft LED lights as back light and fill light. However I want to try and capture shadows on the characters faces so in some shots I may not use the fill light. A way around the added difficulty of filming at night could be to film at dusk in a shaded area (www.creativecow.net) instead as then there is less hazard of an accident and easy to light. I could then just alter the lighting in post to make it look as if its night-time. To add the effect of a flickering fire to close-ups of the actors I could use an orange reflector and shake it slightly while a light is being reflected off it.

(RocketJump Film School, 2015)

The video above gave some really good advise on recreating a fire flickering for a scene as fire can be very unpredictable.

There will be around 3 characters, 2 that start off together and then 1 drifter who stays alone. The two will eventually see a fire in the distance then meet the drifter who invites them to take a seat, which will then lead to conversation about who they once were and what happened to the world.

For the sound I will use a shotgun microphone on a boom pole, this will allow me to focus on specific actors while there talking. I can also use lapel microphones as a backup in case the boom audio messes up or isn’t how I wanted. I can get the all of this from college.

Most of the scene will take place in the woods around a camp fire, I need to find a location allows the use of camp-fires and slightly out-of-the-way so that there will be no interruptions from the public. There also needs to be as little danger as possible so flat, clean ground would help limit the fire hazard. There is two places that I will need to look into and visit, Clowes Wood and Thornden Woods. They both have spots that I could look into from past visits however I will need to check to see if they fit the scene and are safe for the scene. I am also going to have a shot of the characters running through empty Canterbury, to do this I will need to go there early in the morning when there is no one around and is gloomy.

(mosaicendk, 2010)

The scene where the characters run through empty Herne Bay is going to be similar to the scene above when he’s running in the field.

For the props I wont need that many as it’s quite a simple scene. There will be a few weapons to add to the apocalyptic effect, it will be based in Britain so there will be no firearms but I could add some cricket bats or pipes for the characters to hold as there is no violence in the scene either. I will need some rucksacks for the group to carry to also add to the wandering feeling of an apocalypse. I need to make sure there is no electronic powered objects as that would go against the global EMP story.

The costumes the actors wear will also be quite simplistic as they are all ordinary people in a strange situation. All the characters will be wearing normal clothes, shirts, t-shirts, jeans and jackets but they will be made to look dirty and old as they’ve all been wandering for a while. This also means that I wont need to spend that much on outfits as they will be wearing casual clothes.

I would like 5 actors overall but due to filming during exam period and whiles people are at work I may need to lower the amount of actors I use to about 3. I also need a crew, I need a person on lighting, a person on sound and a person holding an orange reflector so it mimics the light of the flame on the characters face.

I wont add any scenery apart from the camp fire as I need it to look like a forest so nothing needs to be added to create that effect.

My target audience is between the age of 15 and 50 but could go above or below, the main audience will be people who have an interests in apocalypse films and TV shows.

 

I went to Dane John in Canterbury and took these pictures as I am going to have a scene with 2 characters running through it while its empty. I’ll do this while early in the morning between 5am and 6am that way it will be quiet and light. It will have the effect that they are running from something.

This is another angle of the path, I will record both and decide which one to use in post.

 

Reflection

I learnt some valuable techniques to help me towards completing my project, I learnt how to effectively use a light and a gel to create the effect of a fire and how well it works for the final project.

 

Bibliography 

Austin Dest (2007) Oh brother, where art thou. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXFmccYme2g (Accessed: 2 May 2016).

Hoovler, E. (2014) The ends of the world as we know it: Ranking 14 apocalyptic scenarios. Available at: http://www.blastr.com/2014-4-22/ends-world-we-know-it-ranking-14-apocalypticscenarios (Accessed: 20 April 2016).

mosaicendk (2010) 28 weeks later escape scene. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVnz6hlC3pQ (Accessed: 5 May 2016).

RocketJump Film School (2015) DIY TIP: Fire flicker effect. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1mH-qp4cLE (Accessed: 3 May 2016).

WatchMojo.com (2015) Top 10 memorable movie campfire scenes. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaxKYVXZy34 (Accessed: 10 May 2016).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.1 Review a range of research

For this task we had to describe who we are in many different ways, the first way was to make a mood board using magazines and newspapers and picking pictures that represent ourselves. We had to pick things that represented our likes, dislikes, introduce the town we live and the kind of media that I enjoy and that has influenced the direction of my project.

(Arant, 2015)

There were specific reasons I chose the pictures for example I chose the images of the actors because they are most of my favourite and especially the film the images is from.  The Martian (Ridley Scott, 2015) is about a man who gets stranded on Mars for three years.  The film has comedy elements despite the seriousness of the situation shown.  The main actor is Matt Damon, who I think visually suits the role.  The other film image is from Ridley Scott’s Bladerunner (1982).  This is a much earlier film but it also has a male lead character and is also a sci-fi-esque production.  There are also thriller elements to the film because it is a genre mix (sci-fi and noir).  I like the futuristic element of his films and showing a world no one has experienced.

In terms of dislikes, I am not keen on rom-coms in film.  I prefer action and sci-fi across different media, in films and in games too.  I have also put an image of football above that I found in the paper and used red strips to create a cross over it to show I dislike the sport.  I don’t enjoy the hype and it is a mainstream media event that I have no interest in.

The second thing we had to do was to give a brief explanation of who we are. This is similar to the mood board but goes into details about more personal and physical things. Talking about myself was surprisingly difficult to do and I struggled to think of anything to say. I just described my likes and dislikes and where I grew up.

 

The third thing was to describe what you think of another person, the video above was of another student describing me. When I described someone else it was so much easier than talking about myself. In the video above George is describing me and gives some good feedback about how I could improve my confidence to improve my work which I agree with. These are similar thoughts I have about myself and how I could get more involved in discussions and be more vocal.

https://prezi.com/rknrzywmbsk8/what-do-you-really-care-about/

 

I created a Prezi answering a few questions about the task we did this week.

 

If I was going to do these tasks again I would spend more time thinking about what I was going to talk about myself before we record and also get a better variety of magazines and newspapers to get images from for the mood board as most of the magazines I used were film related therefore so was the mood board.  So, I think that overall more preparation is needed on my part for future tasks.  

 

My four interests that I am going to look into are:

• Cinema
• Games
• TV
• Music (Movie Soundtracks)

 

One of my interests is the Cinema, the experience alone is enjoyable no matter what film you are seeing. It is a global thing as there are cinemas all over the world and they all show the most recent movies. although it is also a local thing as I go to my local cinema, Kavanagh in Herne Bay, often to support it and keep it open. It shows mainstream titles but it is a small cinema with only two screens.  I also go to View in Westwood.  The screens and cinemas are bigger and the sound quality is much better.  I don’t think cinemas were that different when they first started compared to now, but you would have to go to specialist cinemas like Curzon to watch a non-mainstream title.  The projectors work in similar ways  and the layout of the room is also really similar and hasn’t changed but obviously we have digital projectors now.  This is something I could research into more detail to find out more.

Music is another thing that I am interested in mainly for the reason it is relied on in films and shows to create the scene, if you pick the right song for a certain scene it can make a difference between a good scene and a bad one. Sometimes I imagine a whole story or scene from just listening to a song.  The soundtrack for the loosely sci-fi apocalyptic film 28 Days Later (Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, 2007) is really memorable for me because I immediately link it to a particular scene: the main character leaves his wife and child for dead, running from a zombie; this really establishes the character and he is tormented by it during the rest of the film.  I am interested in how a specific choice of music can change the feel of a scene and this is something I am keen to look at when I do my practical final project.

Games are another hugely followed franchise, same as films and shows there is so much you can do in a game and probably more than you can do in films. Games are also global as some of the best games are developed by different companies around the world. People tend to get more immersed in games than they do films as they get to play as the protagonist rather than following them. Some games allow you to choose the path you take and make decisions for yourself so that you get fully immersed into that character. And that’s what I think makes it so popular as it is escapism into another world that may never take place in reality.  There is a sci-fi/fantasy game called The Witcher 3 that I am playing at the moment and this allows you to play the Witcher, who is a bounty hunter type of character who is paid to go and deal with monsters.  These are mythical creatures invented for this game.  The game world is medieval and is forest-based.  This immersive environment makes the game more sinister and unnerving.  I am already thinking about re-creating this kind of setting for any practical work that I go on to do.

TV shows such as The Walking Dead or Breaking Bad are very popular all around the world. TV also has sitcoms which are generally about half an hour-long, there are loads of different sitcoms however they all tend to be similar in certain ways. I enjoy sitcoms such as The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother.  I could look into what the first sitcoms were and how they have changed compared to now.

For the Primary and Secondary research tasks for this Unit I will be basing my research on my interests in cinema, music, games  and TV.

Primary research plan:

• Do you go to the cinema?
• What’s your opinion about the cinema?
• How often do you go?/would you be interested in going?

Secondary research plan:

• Cinema foundation
• Famous cinemas
• Old theatres as cinemas

Primary research plan:

• Do you listen to music?
• How often do you listen to it?

Secondary research plan:

• Old piano in theatre
• Famous soundtracks

Primary research plan:

• Do you play  video games?
• How often do you play them?

Secondary research plan:

• How interactive games are made (Heavy rain)

Primary research plan:

• Do you watch sitcoms?
• How often do you watch them?
• Do you watch a range of different ones? If so is there any difference between them?

Secondary research plan:

• First sitcom
• evolution of sitcom.
• Difference TV series now and then

 

Reflective writing for the research task

For the research task I struggled to understand what I had to do for the task which wasted a lot of time but eventually I came up with some good ideas that are quite broad so there is a lot to potentially research. Music was one of the ideas but I decided to focus more on soundtracks and theme songs as this ties in with film and games side of things as well.  

My main focus was to see what area of media (cinema, TV, games or music) my respondents were most interested in and then think about whether that should influence my own production work.  

 

PRIMARY RESEARCH

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/726SJZR

I created a Survey Monkey questionnaire as my primary research. The questionnaire is above. I will write out the answers to the questions for each interest from the survey below.

Primary research for cinema:

Do you go to the cinema?

• Person one: “Yes.”
• Person two: “Yes.”
• Person three: “Yes.”
• Person four: “Yes.”
• Person five: “Yes.”
• Person six: “Yes.
• Person seven: “Yes.”

What’s your opinion about the cinema?

• Person one: “Love it, love the big screen and the atmosphere.”
• Person two: “It’s fun and gives a better experience than sitting watching a movie.”
• Person three: “Great way to see films. Better atmosphere and sound involves you more in the film.”
• Person four: “It creates a better experience watching films.”
• Person five: “Good entertainment but can be expensive for drinks and snacks.”
• Person six: “Brilliant”
• Person seven: “I like it”

How often do you go?/would you be interested in going?

• Person one: “Not as often as I would like.”
• Person two: “About two times a month”
• Person three: “Couples times a month maybe. Depends on the films that are out at the moment.”
• Peron four: “About once a month.”
• Person five: “Once a month.”
• Person six: “Two times a month”
• Person seven: “About once a month”

From the questionnaire I created, everyone who answered goes to the cinema and enjoys it a lot.  That tells me that film is one form of media entertainment that people really engage with.  

Primary research for music:

Do you listen to music?

• Person one: “Yes lots.”
• Person two: “Yes.”
• Person three: “Yes.”
• Person four: “Yes.”
• Person five: “Yes.”
• Person six: “Yes.”
• Person seven: “Yes.”

How often do you listen to it?

• Person one: “Everyday.”
• Person two: “Everyday on my way to school.”
• Person three: “Have a radio on daily and play music at home occasionally.”
• Person four: “Everyday in the car.”
• Person five: “Twice a week.”
• Person six: “Everyday”
• Person seven: “On laptop, radio in the car, sometimes from phone or tablet.”

 

Everyone who answered the questionnaire said they listened to music and everyone except one person said everyday.  Clearly, music forms a major interest in the lives of the people who completed the survey.  

Primary research for games:

Do you play  video games?

• Person one: “Yes.”
• Person two: “Yes.”
• Person three: “Yes.”
• Person four: “Yes.”
• Person five: “No.”
• Person six: “Yes.”
• Person seven: “Yes.”

How often do you play them?

• Person one: “Maybe once a week.”
• Person two: “Most ways.”
• Person three: “Not as often as I’d like. Used to play all the time but hardly play now.”
• Person four: “Most days.”
• Person five: “Never.”
• Person six: “Rarely”
• Person seven: “About once a fortnight, but sometimes more.”

 

6 out of 7 people said they play video games but not as much as listening to music and also less than visiting the cinema.  Video games are hugely popular but not an everyday form of entertainment used by my respondents.  

 

Primary research for TV:

Do you watch sitcoms?

• Person one: “Not really.”
• Person two: “No.”
• Person three: “Yes.”
• Person four: “Not really.”
• Person five: “Yes.”
• Person six: “Yes.”
• Person seven: “Yes.”

How often do you watch them?

• Person one: “I don’t really have time.”
• Person two: “Not very often.”
• Person three: “Often watch them.”
• Person four: “Not often.”
• Person five: “Once or twice a week.”
• Person six: “Four times a week”
• Person seven: “About once or twice a week depending on my schedule.”

Do you watch a range of different ones? If so is there any difference between them?

• Person one: ‘no answer’
• Person two: “I prefer to watch horror.”
• Person three: “There’s a big range. I like comedy in general. Some with more adult themes to the more nonsense kind of comedy and the more run of the mill. they’re all good if written and done well.”
• Person four: “I don’t watch many, comedy is not my genre of choice. However, when I have watched them I felt they have the same format.”
• Person five: “Yes, I tend to like the quirky ones.”
• Person six: “Some are funnier”
• Person seven: “Mostly comedy, one drama perhaps and I like documentaries.”

 

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/MLY5VSJ Although more people said they watched sitcom than not, they didn’t seem exited about it. They talk about how comedy isn’t their go-to genre and that they prefer other things. Because of this I decided to change sitcoms to TV series’ and to post another questionnaire, which is below.  I focused mainly on the TV series The Walking Dead as I enjoy that show a lot and love the apocalypse scenario that it’s set in.

Q1: Do you watch The Walking Dead?:

Person 1: Oh yeah!!
Person 2: Yes.
Person 3: Yes.
Person 4: Yes.
Person 5: No – I’ve seen some but have struggled to keep up with it due to a v hectic last yr (also I’m not overly keen on some types of scenes) and am now very far behind!

 Q2: If yes what do you like about it?: 

Person 1: The rules of modern society are gone and the world as you knew it is all open for exploration. It’s interesting to see how people survive and act differently to how they were before.

Person 2: Great story and i like zombies

Person 3: I like the thrill of a horror. In walking dead, I enjoy the personal stories of the characters, how they adapt to the new world.
Person 4: Everything
Person 5: The excitement and suspense

Q3: Would you like to see an apocalypse inspired film?:

Person 1: Yes
Person 2: Hell yeah

Person 3: Yes

Person 4: yes, would be interesting to see more of them

Person 5: Yes

Q4: If yes, what aspects of it would you like to see?:

Person 1: Not only zombies but how a major threat of any kind can disrupt our lives that we take for granted.
Person 2: Drama, death , action

Person 3:  How they create life after the event and the traits it takes to be successful in a new environment.
Person 4: he beginning of the apocalypse and what happens after, so the rebuild of civilization
Person 5: I love a bit of action and suspense. The good of human nature triumphing over terrible circumstance!

Q5: Have you seen any other TV series?:

Person 1: Yes
Person 2: Yes

Person 3: Yes

Person 4: Yes

Person 5: Yes

Q6: What makes you keep coming back to them?

Person 1: Most importantly is a good story line and depth of character.
Person 2: The stories
Person 3: Likeable characters, and a story line that creates an understanding of why they do what they do.
Person 4: some the humor, some for the problems that we are left with from the last episode
Person 5: If they are gripping, if the pace is good and I know there’s going to be something different each time. Or if they’re v funny/feel good. I don’t really do things that are depressing/make me feel stressed (why I don’t watch soaps!)

Q7: Do you play video games?:

Person 1: Sometimes
Person 2: Yes

Person 3: Yes

Person 4: Yes

Person 5: Yes

Q8: What your favourite game scenario?:

Person 1: Grand theft auto, Resident evil, TomeRaider. They’re all escapism I suppose. Same as the zombies, in that the rules no longer apply as you know them and you can play out situations that you wouldn’t face in everyday life. You can do things and act how you wouldn’t in real life.

Person 2: War or survival

Person 3: It really depends on the difficulty of the game, I’m not very good at them.

Person 4: actions that affect the outcome of the game, and change the game depending on your choices

Person 5: Tough question!! With people -Wario Ware/Singstar (or lips) or a retro Fusion Frenzy! Solo – Tomb Raider, Shen Wui, Harry Potter, Scooby Doo when I was a kid! Ooh, current faves for either on my own or on Xbox live – Disney Infinity, Viva Pinata, Splatoon!

Q9: What makes you come back to the game?:

Person 1: Wanting to win and get to the end of the game. A lot of games have a story linked strongly within the game play. The same as if you was reading a good book or watching a good film, you want to see the outcome of the story you are playing.
Person 2: Story and the multiplayer

Person 3: I like a game in which you don’t get stuck at a particular point, one that gives other avenues to avoid replaying the same scenario, open world type games.

Person 4: memories and sometimes to try to find different bits that i haven’t found before, as well as alternate endings
Person 5: Fun, silliness or to level up…getting stuck on a bit, a challenge!

 

This survey did better than the sitcoms one, I got more detailed answers and it seemed that the audience were more interested in these questions.  In general terms the respondents wrote at greater length in their answers.  What is clear to me from the feedback on The Walking Dead is that the audience survived the survival aspect of The Walking Dead and that there is a still an appetite for more zombie-based stories.  The zombie genre has been hugely popular for decades and especially in the last five or six years, so this might be a possibility in terms of making a production that will reach to a large audience.  Most of the answers as to why people watched TV related to a strong narrative so I know that a good story is key for my own practical work and interesting characters.   The same was true of the responses for games: the story was the reason players kept coming back to it, and more complicated and open story lines was what people wanted to see, and to see the fate of the characters. 

SECONDARY RESEARCH

Secondary research for the history of the cinema:

The earliest machine used to project the movie onto the wall was called a Magic Lantern which was developed in the 17th century, ‘it used glass lens, a shutter and a powerful lamp to project images from glass slides onto a white wall or screen. [5](Wikipedia 2016.) No one really knows exactly when this was invented, however it is thought to have been created by Christiaan Huygens in the late 1650s.

(Project Happening, 2011)
This video shows the evolution of the cinema well, it talks about the first motion picture shown to public audience and the effect it had on the first time audience. The motion picture shown to the audience captured a train arriving at a train station to pick up passengers, the audience was worried when watching this as it was a new experience and didn’t understand what was happening so thought a train was heading their way.  This shows that film can have a strong effect on the audience.

Secondary research for music (soundtracks)

(timededecker, 2010)

The video shows 30 of the most famous soundtracks from movies, I watched through the video and have heard most of the soundtracks however I have not seen all the films.

Before film, when theatre was the closest visual experience to film, there would still be theme songs and soundtracks going along with the show, however it would be live music by an orchestra at the bottom of the stage.  Theatre producers still understood the importance of music for triggering certain responses from an audience and creating a certain feeling or atmosphere on-stage, as they do today on screen.

 

Secondary research for games:

When I was researching into some of my favourite games, I  found out that they all use motion capture to show the exact emotion of the actor playing the character and the exact movements. So I decided to look into how it works, as this also can be implemented into film as well. You can see the effect it creates in the video below.

(Fresh Movie Trailers, 2014)

(whereisnovember, 2010)

Although the clip from Fresh Movie Trailers relates specifically to film, motion capture is used in the same way for games, it makes the actor into an animated character on-screen. The beginning of the video above is an example of what they have the actors do once they’re in the suits. They calibrate it at the start by standing still then just act. The cardboard boxes are there as guide lines for the actors as their surroundings will all be put in digitally around the characters and the same goes for the environment.

Secondary research for TV:

I did some initial research into TV but later changed it to other TV drama shows.  Originally I wrote:  I think that all sitcoms follow the same structure and scenarios, I can’t think of an original sitcom that wasn’t similar in any way to the other. I’m going to look into the first sitcom to see if that evolved into what we see today or if it has always been that way.

I looked at the following: The first UK sitcom was Pinwright’s Progress and the first US one was Mary Kay and Johnny [6](www.guinnessworldrecords.com, 2016)

There are many popular TV shows to date like The Walking Dead, Dexter, Game of thrones and Breaking Bad.  I will focus on The Walking Dead as this has a huge following not in the US where it is shot but all over the world.  The series is based on an original comic book of the same title by Robert Kirkman (first issue released in 2003 by Image Comics, and ongoing).

(Butler, 2013)                               (Smith, 2016)

James Poniewozik in the online review paper Time states: ‘what is arguably TV’s most relentlessly disturbing and violent drama is also arguably its most popular. Extreme is the new mainstream’.  He argues that the living characters suffer so horribly that they are the real walking dead. He says that the show is brutally honest and this is why it is such a hit.

Bibliography 

Arant, J. (2015) Neo-Noirvember: Blade runner (1982). Available at: http://deadshirt.net/2015/11/12/neo-noirvember-blade-runner-1982/ (Accessed: 27 June 2016).

Author, N. (2016) ‘Movie theater’, in Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movie_theater#History (Accessed: 10 April 2016).

Butler, E. (2013) Comic con: THE WALKING DEAD 10th anniversary panel Recap with Robert Kirkman. Available at: http://collider.com/comic-con-walking-dead-anniversary-panel-recap/ (Accessed: 27 June 2016).

Fresh Movie Trailers (2014) Dawn of the planet of the Apes MOTION CAPTURE clip. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lezfSnO9n5g (Accessed: 19 April 2016).

Poniewozik, J. (2014) Why The Walking Dead Is So Brutal — and So Popular. Available at: http://time.com/3506057/why-walking-dead-so-popular-ratings/ (Accessed: 22 June 2016).

Project Happening (2011) A brief history of film- animated documentary. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKJqeJ48CPs (Accessed: 10 April 2016).

Smith, C. (2016) The walking dead. Available at: http://bgr.com/tag/the-walking-dead/ (Accessed: 27 June 2016).

The walking dead (comic book) (2016) in Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walking_Dead_(comic_book) (Accessed: 22 June 2016).

timdedecker (2010) The 30 most famous film scores. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0di9tiulb4Q (Accessed: 19 April 2016).

whereisnovember (2010) Leon Ockenden – heavy rain interviews and motion capture. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zj001Zst78 (Accessed: 19 April 2016).

2016, G.W.R. (1946) First television sitcom. Available at: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/first-television-sitcom (Accessed: 20 April 2016).

 

Reflection for primary and secondary research:

For the primary research I created a survey using survey monkey and sent it to people to answer about their thoughts on film, music, games and TV.  I learned that every one of the respondents went to the cinema to see films on a regular basis.  Music was listened to by all respondents except one, every day.  I found out that story and character depth was what made people interested in the outcome of the games they played.  And finally, I learned that people are not that interested in the history of sitcoms and the certain features that make them sitcoms.  

I went on to make a second survey that removed the questions about sitcoms and instead asked questions about how the audience felt about TV shows like The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones.  As with the feedback for games, respondents said that a strong story was really important, and again, interesting characters were key.  

I got some good answers and they were wide ranging, and I think that based on the responses, narrative is a strong aspect of any production project and this is something that I will try and make as interesting as possible to draw in the target audience.  

For secondary research I looked on the internet into each of my interests,  then referenced them at the bottom of the page.  I looked at the history of cinema theatres, the first cinema screening and its impact on the audience.  I explored the magic lamp, which was the first projector.   Then  I researched motion capture in games and films. This advanced technology was  used in the same way in games and films, which was interesting, as they had similar outcomes.  Finally, I did research into the phenomenal success of The Walking Dead, its origins as a comic book and its brutally honest adaptation to the screen. 

This survey did better than the sitcoms survey, I got more detailed answers and it seemed that the audience were more interested in these questions.  In general terms the respondents wrote at greater length in their answers.  What is clear to me from the feedback on The Walking Dead is that the audience survived the survival aspect of The Walking Dead and that there is a still an appetite for more zombie-based stories.  This was also clear from my secondary research into The Walking Dead.  The zombie genre has been hugely popular for decades and especially in the last five or six years, so this might be a possibility in terms of making a production that will reach to a large audience.  Most of the answers as to why people watched TV related to a strong narrative so I know that a good story is key for my own practical work and interesting characters.   The same was true of the responses for games: the story was the reason players kept coming back to it, and more complicated and open story lines was what people wanted to see, and to see the fate of the characters.  

The research I did for this task has been very helpful in the journey to making my final major project.  Across my interests in films and games, I realise that there are a lot of common themes, such as survival, action-based narrative, other-world and dystopic scenarios; in terms of character, I relate to the Everyman characters who have to make hard decisions that affect him or her or them. 

I now have a clear sense of what the audience want or feel would make a good programme or film.   

 

 

 

1.1 Analyse the requirements – Production Pitch

Location Recce

Broomfield Underpass:

I was thinking about using the underpass underneath the train station, however I imagine the British railways are very strict about who and what happens there. I decided to use the public underpass in Broomfield that goes under the Thanet Way. After looking at the two locations it turned out that the one in Broomfield is better for what I want anyway.

I will need a camera, a light and sound. I will need most of the equipment apart from the orange gel. The location is a tunnel and there will be a lot echo so I may need to re dub the sound, I will record it while we are there as well as reference if I need to re dub.

It is a public footpath so I am free to film their, however that means that there is the risk of other members of the public to walk through as well. I will need to film quite early in the morning so that it is quiet but will also need to have someone looking out for people so that we aren’t in the way if they come through.

The scene won’t be loud but there are no houses surrounding the location, so I won’t be disturbing anyone while being there. There is no vehicle access so there is no danger of a car coming down the tunnel, the scene also doesn’t require a car so that doesn’t affect the shoot.

The location is underground so there will be no wind and the sun won’t be visible however this means I need lighting to light the scene. There is no power supply there either so the light will need to be battery-powered. All of the equipment will be handheld so I don’t need to worry about a secure place for kit.

The location is very secluded so there will be no sound from the public or schools and there is no nearby airport so there will be no aircraft sounds. The only problem will be the echo so I will need to re dub the audio after.

Herne Bay Park:

(Tompson, 2006)

I emailed FilmOffice@kent.gov.uk about filming in Dane John, they replied saying I needed a permit which I can get by applying for one. However they need two weeks – three weeks before hand which is too much time to wait for a scene that is less than a minute long. So I have decided to film in Herne Bay Park instead.

I am going to film a scene of two characters running through the park away from the town, I will use different angles and shoot it multiple times so that it I can choose the angles that work the best together. I am going to make a story board showing what angles I will use.

I will need to take the camera, sound equipment and the lighting equipment to this shoot. Although I may not need to use the lighting depending on the weather.

This is also a public place so I need to shoot early in the morning so there are no distractions from people walking through. The scene involves no shouting so I won’t disturb any of the surrounding houses whilst filming. There is vehicle access so I will need someone watching out for them so the cast and crew can quickly get out-of-the-way for them to go past.

It will be shot outside but under trees, this means that the sun will light up the scene however it will be early in the morning so it may not be out at the time of shooting. All the equipment will be hand-held so I will not need to put any of it on the floor.

It is right behind a road so there may be cars but there is no dialogue so I will only be recording footsteps which I can easily re dup if I need to. There is a school down the road, I won’t be able to hear them from my location however they will walk through to get there so I need to time it so I’m finished before they start. The only thing the weather will affect is the lighting so I will take lighting with me.

Woods:

I am only going to film a short 30 second scene as more of an establishing here. It will be the couple walking through the forest and spot a campfire in the distance. The only problems would be I will have to film when its dark and that is also the only danger apart from trip hazards in the woods. There is no one living near the forest so we wont upset anyone by filming there is no dialogue so it we wont be load anyway. There is no vehicle access so there is no danger about that.

Back Garden:

I can’t use any lighting in the woods as there is no power supply so I will have to do the campfire scene in a back garden. The scene will be all three characters sitting around a campfire talking to each other.

I will need all my equipment as this is the majority of the short film. I will need the camera, the sound equipment, the lighting equipment and an orange gel to add an orange light to act as the flames.

This will be either my own back garden or a families back garden so I will have free will to film there. There is no public access so no disturbances to the shoot.

There is no vehicle access which slightly affects the scene but I can work around this and edited to fit the story. There will be neighbours next door and this scene will be shot at night. I will need to be as quiet as possible which can work as there is only dialogue in this scene and it includes no shouting.

There will be no sun as the scene will be shot at night but there may be wind, the garden is well protected by fences so the mic shouldn’t pick up to much noise. There is a power supply which is the reason I am shooting here, that does add the risk of cables but I will make sure they are pushed to the side where no one is walking.

There is a road just behind the fence so there may be cars or people going passed which I cannot control and will have to work around. There are no airports or schools nearby so there will be no sounds that will ruin the shoot.

 

Risk Assessment

Fire is a big hazard during the campfire scene as its going to be in the woods. This will be a hazard to the actors as they are sitting around it. A way I can significantly reduce this is by using a recyclable BBQ instead. I can surround it with rocks to make it look like a campfire and will have about 10 minutes of flames before the coal catches. I will also have water close by so I can put the fire out if I need to.

The scene is going to be set at night. This is a hazard for everyone but especially the crew as they got expensive equipment. I can reduce the risk of this by shooting at dusk when it isn’t pitch black and people can see. I will bring torches so we can see where we are going once we have finished shooting.

We need to be careful of the public whilst filming as they could knock over our equipment or trip over it. We need someone watching out for people the whole time so they can warn us and we can get out-of-the-way.

There will be scenes done in the woods so we need to be careful and watch what’s on the ground so that no one falls over anything. There needs to be safe places to put the equipment so that there is no risk of them falling over as well.

There will also be scenes of people running so we will need to be careful the actors don’t trip while they are running.

 

Proposal:

Short film about an apocalyptic scenario where most of the big cities have become cannibals. A couple are walking towards a city when they are told to run the opposite way and get out of here because someone is coming. They then run into the forest and meet a man at a campfire who invites them to take a seat. They talk about the cities and a rumour about the cannibals and turns out the man they met is one of them.

Act 1: Meeting a Stranger: Roughly 3-5 minutes long, where the couple meet the strange man who tells them to run.

Act 2: Running: Roughly 2-3 long of the couple running away from city and then walking through the forest and they see a campfire in the distance.

Act 3: Campfire: The characters meet another strange man at a campfire, he invites them to sit down and they talk about the cities and life before. It turns out the stranger they met is a cannibal.

PROJECT PROPOSAL

Synopsis:

Short film about an apocalyptic scenario where most of the big cities have become cannibals. A couple are walking towards a city when they are told to run the opposite way and get out of here because someone is coming. They then run into the forest and meet a man at a campfire who invites them to take a seat. They talk about the cities and a rumour about the cannibals and turns out the man they met is not who he seems.

 

Treatment:

It takes place in an apocalypse where overpopulation is a huge problem, this has caused a mass starvation as the food production can’t keep up with the amount of people now in the world there was also a global EMP which destroyed all electronic devices that made it almost impossible to keep the food production going so most of the major city’s have turned against each other and become cannibals.

Two people are walking through a tunnel towards the city when a man that’s out of breath and wearing a Hawaiian shirt, he tells them that someone is coming and that they need to leave. They then run away from the city and into the forest where the meet a man at a campfire, The man invites them to sit down and offers them something to eat. They all talk about rumors of a cannibal with an axe who wanders then the man offers them a drink to wash down the food. He walks to his car and opens the boot which reveals the same Hawaiian shirt as the guy at the start with a small amount of blood on it, he then moves that to the side revealing an axe, also with blood on it. Then final he moves the axe and picks up the drink and shouts to the other two that he’s got it.

 

Script

FMP SCRIPT

 

Budget

I wont need a big budget as all i will need is outfits and because of the scenario they will be wearing everyday clothes that are slightly worn out as they are wearing them for long periods of time.

 

Production Schedule

21/5/16 I will be at the Broomfield underpass filming Act 1.

22/5/16 I will be filming at Herne Bay park doing Act 2, I will also be filming at Thornden woods doing the last scene of Act 3 and the rest of Act 2.

23/5/16 I will be filming in my back garden and doing Act 3 around the campfire. This may run into 24/5/16 as I need to film when it is reasonably dark so only have a little while to film until it gets to dark.

 

Roles

For my project I will need the crew to fill the roles. I will be the director and on the camera, I need someone to be on lighting during the campfire scene there will be an orange gel on the light to add the effect of the campfires light. I need someone else on sound, they will need to hold the boom pole with the shotgun microphone on it. I also need 3 actors to play all the characters.

 

Skills

The skills needed for my project are quite simple, whoever is on lighting will have to slightly flicker the light while the gel is on so it creates the look of a flickering campfire and this will only be needed for the last scenes where the characters are around a campfire..
The person on sound will have to move the microphone between the actors as they speak to focus on the character and pick up as little from around them as possible, they will need to know the script and know when to move the microphone.
The actors will need to remember the script however there will be varies different angles and cuts so they will only need to remember sections at a time.

 

Equipment

The equipment I need for my project are a camera, boom pole and shotgun microphone, LED light and an orange gel. I need a DSLR camera as I need the option to darken the scene using the camera so we are not filming in the middle of the night.

It needs to be a shotgun microphone so it can focus on the actors speaking and only pickup that specific sound, and it will need to be on a boom pole so it can pickup voices without being in shot.

It needs to be a light that has the ability t be dimmed as that’s how I will achieve the campfire effect. I will slightly flicker it whilst the orange gel is on and it will look as if it’s the campfire.

 

Health and Safety

Health and safety is important for this project as it involves fire. The risk of fire is quite high as we will be shooting in the woods so a way to reduce this hazard is to use a contained fire where it isn’t in any contact with the floor such as a recyclable BBQ. I will also have easy access water close to hand so that if there is any problems i can put it out quickly.

The scene will also be in the dark so that is also dangerous. I am going to film at dusk as it will still be dark but not dangerous and i can change some setting on the camera to achieve a night look. I will bring torches as once we are done filming it will be dark so we will have to carefully get back to the car.

We will have to be careful of the public and make sure they know we are there so they done walk into us or knock over any of our equipment. We also need to make sure that we don’t knock any of our own equipment over whilst there.

The environment will be a wooded area so we will need to make sure there is no tripping hazard where we are filming and that the equipment is firmly on the ground.

There will be a scene where people are running, we will need to be careful when shooting that scene.

 

Target Audience

My target audience would be a range of ages however mostly people between the ages of 15 – 45 as the film involves adult themes which appeal to the majority of people in this age group and not so much people older or younger than that. It would appeal to people with similar interests as the film such as, apocalyptic scenarios, horror/thriller genre.

 

Legal Requirements

I will need to look into where I can have BBQ’s as that’s what I’m using for the fire. I also need to double-check if I can film there but its a public place so I should be able to.

I emailed FilmOffice@kent.gov.uk about filming in Dane John, they replied saying I needed a permit which I can get by applying for one. However they need two weeks – three weeks before hand which is too much time to wait for a scene that is less than a minute long. So I have decided to film in Herne Bay Park instead.

Style/Form/Genre/Aesthetics

I want the style to be realistic, It wont be completely realistic as the scenario it is set in a scenario that has never happened however I want it to be serious and be the same as if something like this did really happen.

The form is  video production. I am planning to create a short film and am going to have a finished product at the end.

The genre of my short film will be thriller/horror. It has horror themes however there will be no danger in any of the scenes just hints of it.

The aesthetic of this short film will be dark. The camp fire is a crucial part of the story and wouldn’t have the same effect if it was the middle of the day.

 

Budget

I wont need a big budget as all I will need is outfits and because of the scenario they will be wearing everyday clothes that are slightly worn out as they are wearing them for long periods of time. So i will only need 30 pounds minimum.

 

Equipment Check list

Audio:  

• Zoom
• Shotgun Microphone
• Boom Pole

Visuals:

• Canon 550D

Lighting:

• LED Light
• Orange Gel

 

Working with Clients

The most important thing when working with clients is that they are always right. You have to listen to what they say and produce what they want as its their vision, you can try to persuade them against it but overall its their idea.

You have to be professional such as not disagree with their ideas, they are paying you to create their vision and you have to respect that and respect them.

You need a lot of skills when working with clients, you need technical skills so you know how to do what ever it is their asking of you.
You also need communication skills to fully understand what they are asking and to be able to if need be, persuade them to slightly change their idea while making them think it was all their ideas.
You need time management so you get it done when they ask, they shouldn’t be waiting for it after the deadline.
You need to have diplomatic skills, you need to be able to say your opinions but understand that it’s ultimately the clients decision whether they accept it.

The type of Person to hire me to create this would be a Director but more of a low-key one as this is a short film. They will need to be interested in the genre and ideas of the project as well as it’s a very wide genre.

 

Bibliography 

Tompson, B. (2006) Herne bay (Kent). Available at: http://mapio.net/o/4053057/ (Accessed: 27 June 2016).

 

Reflection

There was a lot of things I had to find out about my locations before I could start filming, which led to me changing my location from Dane Court to somewhere else as I needed a filming permit. I found out all the different equipment I need and how I will achieve the effect I need out of them.

Project 2