Research and Planning Conclusion

To conclude, my partner and I are now ready for filming. Hopefully we will be filming most of the opening over the Christmas holiday so that we can begin editing when we come back to school after the holidays. When we film will obviously depend on when the actors are available as its the holidays. 

All tests of the filming editing and sound practices have been done as can be seen in earlier posts on this blog. I have learnt many skills in editing and for filming and sound through practice and planning and I definitely feel ready to film the opening for mine and my partners film. We are ready with our actors and have tried to fulfil the criteria for what we wanted our characters to look like when we chose our actors. 

When we film we will be using Clapper Boards, Micro-Tracks, Boom Poles, Camera and Lights. I have had practice with all of the equipment above and so when it comes to filming my partner and I will be quickly set up so that we can get filming out of the way and editing underway.

The process for the research and planning has been long but I have definitely learnt new skills and tips to take away with me and use for when I am filming and editing with my partner. With all this planning in place, there shouldn't be too many mistakes when filming but there are always bound to be some. 

This is my final post signing off from my Research an Planning for the opening scene of a film. 

Actor-Kevin

The actor we have got for Kevin is Barney, another friend of our and this time an actual actor. With Kevin, the need for someone who can actually act is necessary in order to show his fragmented mind and brings in the idea of the psychological. If the role wasn't played well, not only would it make the film look bad but defeat the purpose of having the whole film about tone. Doing drama A level, Max can adapt to any situation given to him with a lower class, insane Hitman being a walk in the park. The style of clothing and look we wanted to give Kevin can be reflected in Max due to what we dress him in, the way we take shots of his face and the way in which he talks. He must look confident, at points (Such as when meeting his boss) yet switch to moments of distress (during the flashback) in moments and because of this we chose Barney. A photo can be seen below of the character, not wearing what we want him to but still showing what he could look like.

Actor-Tyrone

For the role of our pursuer, and main antagonist, we have chosen our friend David. He is tall, well built and can have the effect of portraying a menacing figure which is perfect for our film. In the alley-way scene, and after he will be wearing all black with his face partly covered up showing his mysterious and threatening nature. Although not an actor, with no lines and a mainly visuale role to play his looks matter most, being he reason we chose him. Again, like the actor we chose for Kevin's Boss, he is readily available over the Christmas holidays and when we come back, meaning early filming can take place. Photos shown below show his stature and how he could end up working in the actual film opening. 

Actors-Kevin's Boss

Kevin's Boss

Kevin's boss will never actually be seen in full light. The scene at the top of the tower, which occurs towards the end of the opening. His face will be in shadow and fitted out in high quality, smart clothing. Because of this, the age of the actor doesn't need to fit with that of the character as long as he sounds old and can pull off the look, it will work. Because of this, we have chosen our friend Michael Hajiontonis for the role due to his range of voice. The photo below shows him in clothing not dissimilar to what he will be wearing in the film (see Kevin's Character post). He lives relatively close to us and is free all winter, meaning we can get filming done before the return back from school.

JL

Film Title and Planning

Film Title Planning + Some Graphics

Many of the films of a similar genre have names which are short, catchy and suggest something about the mind or psychological. Many are only one word long - Examples being:

• Identity
• Seven
• Fracture
• Flatliners
• Unbreakable

And many others. Some however take a title which gives a better idea of the film - such examples include 'Fight Club' - looking at the film in retrospect one sees it as not only the literal fight club in which they indulge but also the fight between the main character and his split personality. Similarly, In 'A Beautiful Mind' the title suggests the complexities of a mind which can create split personalities and cause different views on things. Again, the complexities and beauty of the mind is shown in the title of 'The Sixth Sense', implying a heightened sensibility and knowledge. Many films however take inspiration for their title from events that occur later in the film - From 'What Lies Below' to 'The ninth Gate'.

From these findings we can take that the title of our film should follow the pattern, as countless films before us can't be wrong as to what works as a title. In terms of the one word approach, a synonym of something like fracture we found would work the best - Such examples include;

• Rift
• Splinter (Already Taken)
• Breach
• Schism

None of these possible titles however have the same catchy and sinister tone as the ones mentioned at first however, leading us to ponder over the use of the title 'Existence'. Not only does this suggest the struggle for sanity but also plays on the idea of Kevin being haunted/pursued by Tyrone's ghost - whether this is his physical form or a psychological state which Kevin is in.

Taking the idea of the title being 'Existence', this then brings up the question as to how it is going to look in the film and on the title poster (usually both the same). Again taking inspiration from previous films of the same genre, the norm is to have either a very plain title which emphasises the name of the film, or a faded and horror styled font such as True Lies (True Lies Font Download) which sets the tone of the film. In the poster of Psycho, one can see the crack going through the centre of the text shows the fragmented nature of the 'Psycho'. Similarly, in 'The Haunting' the title takes a traditionally Gothic font and background.

Finally, in terms of the structure of various films titles and opening scenes, especially within the Psychological thriller genre, the credits appear during the opening scene in order for the action to commence straight away. It also contextualises the names and from the first second you can guess what sort of a film you are going to be watching. Examples of such title sequences are Memento (shown below) and Seven (also Shown Below). We see our opening as a possibility to embed the titles like the bottom two do, with the black flashes showing the actors names with the producers names (us) and production company placed throughout the opening.

JL

Film Schedule

Filming Schedule

Location: 

Alleyway/Road (Location 1 Post)
Date: 19th December - 8th Jan 2014
Actors Required: Tyrone and Kevin (Actors TBD) + P.O.V shots
Notes: The P.O.V Shots, not requiring any actors apart from Tyrone are going to be done over Christmas as they can be done quickly and well, with multiple different takes in case we need an alternative shot (First idea doesn't work etc.)

Tower + Elevator (Location 2 Post)
Date: 8th Jan -
Actors Required: Tyrone, Kevin and Kevin's boss (Michael + Actors TBD)
Notes: The night which we choose must be clear and the shot will be taken at twilight. Being January, we only have a short time to take the shot so multiple days may be needed in order to get the take done well. Also, It is while we are back at school so all of the actors are easily accessed after school etc.

Kevin in the Hotel (Location 3 Post)
Date: No set date has been allocated, with only 1 actor needed and the majority of the atmosphere in the scene coming from Effects such as the phone ringing at the right time and voice over the phone, it can be done quickly meaning more time can be spent focusing on editing.

JL

Logo and Ident

Ident Plans - Logo + Animation

JJ Star Productions

The idea for the actual logo came from my partner, with both our first name beginnning with J. The initial design (see below) was done on paper, with the studio of the logo already in mind. The original idea was that the two J's come from either side of the screen and meet in the middle, causing sparks. The star would then fade in from black on the space background shown below. The space background we are going to use (And eventually edit in motion, for animation) is a copyright free image taken from google images - and its use acknowledged. The reflection of the word "Productions" in our logo along with the different colour ways were the idea of my partner, with both white and both black not having the same appeal as the mixture of the two. We thought the black made the white stand out, and vice versa. The use of black and white was chosen in order to look retro, and also complimented the background - making it stand out while keeping the main logo looking professional. 

In terms of the Ident relating to the type of film we are making, the suspenseful and mysterious nature of the background compared to the retro and clean look of the logo show that we have an original idea but wish to take a new spin on things and give it a side which people haven't seen before. Inspirations are taken from Lionsgate suspenseful and clean logo with a natural background and Paramount, concerning the same things.Previous versions of the Ident and ideas for it are shown below - With different backdrops, text styles and ideas for the studio. The name was fixed from the start however. The metal texture which we eventually used on the white part of the logo is also shown.

JL

Representation

Gender and Equality

The gender for all the characters in the opening scene are all male and so there is nothing really to say about the femininity of the opening. The male roles in the film are all quite dark and or victimised such as the victim of the murder. There are the levels of authority shown in the opening scenes where There is a man who kills a man for money and all under orders of another man. The highest authority is obviously shown as the Boss who ordered the killing.

Social World

The social world that is presented in this film is that an ordinary everyday urban living man can do bad things if needed to when he is in a struggle. For example as he kills a man for money.
There is not much to say about any of the axes of identity. The average age for the actors would be about Mid 30's. There would be no stereotypes of young criminals or older disabled people. The cultural background for all of the characters would be the London urban culture as this is set in London as all of the characters are from there.

Axes of Identity

The gender for all the characters in this film opening are all male and so there is not much to say about gender equality. There is a level of authority in the opening which I have shown above referring back to the first paragraph. As there is no real involvement from women in this opening, there is nothing to say about the characters having relationships or having families/wives. The opening is not long enough to highlight any of these topics that may occur to a typical man.

Ideology

The ideology behind the film is that there is a man who is struggling for money as he is staying in a B&B and he has little money. This is associated with The character of Kevin having to kill a man for money. The opening of this film would suggest that this is the first time that Kevin has performed an act  of Murder for money as he is going out of his mind having killed. The way that I would like the character of Kevin to come across to the audience would be to show that Kevin is an ordinary everyday man living in London caught in a struggle for money. Kevin turns to his boss to kill a man for money and his boss meets up with Kevin in the opening of the film to hand him the money. Kevin is going insane because of the killing and he seems to think that the victim who he killed is following him and is haunting Kevin.
I would like to create a sense of realism from this opening trying to show that this could be a real scenario that a man in struggle would turn to crime to help him get some cash and that he could be distressed because of these acts of a criminal.  

Certification

Certification

My film would be a certificate of 15 because of the violence and of the killing which takes place in the opening and the morals and motivation of the characterisation. The film also includes some bad language which would would be acceptable for a 12 but associated with the violence, and its frequency, then 15 is a suitable and recommended certification.

My film is a psychological thriller therefore some of the scenes and the idea behind the film could be slightly distressing to people. The concept of a knife as an everyday object cannot be glamourised as it is the murder weapon; the film cannot suggest that a knife is an easy weapon to obtain and to use for harming others. 

This film is not an 18 certificate because although there are some scenes of violence, and language may be strong, the language would not be as frequent or as strong as this is a student film. The violence would also not be as detailed as it would in an 18 along with the injuries/wounds or killings or in the film are not as detailed as would be in an 18.

Sounds test

In the making of our clip about a "Nightmare parents evening", we learnt how to use the directional microphones, cutting and importing sound tracks from the microtrack linked to the boom pole. With relation to our film, these are very much necessary due to the exchange in speech at the top of the tower. The importance of where the boom pole and mic is in relation to the actor can't be understated and is essential in understanding what he/she is saying and creating the atmosphere we wish to obtain. During the making of the short clip we had some problems, with the microphone echoing and with some static in the background. This was overcome however through the sound effects in final cut, especially the one called "Car Radio" which reduced all external noise.

Ident Research

Lionsgate

This is the ident for the famous Lionsgate production company. This is the famous ident which was famous to start before the Saw film series. The way that this ident is put together is very clever as the clogs turning through the key hole and all inside a big gate, linking to the name and logo of Lionsgate.

Warner Bros.

This is the ident for Warner Bros. film production company. This ident is very famous linking to the Looney Toons franchise. The ident is made up of a gold shield where the letters of W and B as shown together and a band like gold material displays the name around the shield. The beginning of the ident displays some factories or building of some sort shining in reflection on the gold shield when the motion of the shield moves and displays the whole logo.

20th Century Fox 

This is the famous ident of 20th Century fox film production company. 20th Century Fox are famous for recent films such as; The Internship, Life of Pi and the latest X-Men-Wolverine film. 20th Century Fox has also been famous for the production of the highly interested, 'The Simpsons' franchise.

Paramount

This ident shows the Paramount Pictures production company's logo and motion intro. this is shown at the beginning of the film being shown along with all the other idents and logos shown above. Paramount Pictures are well known for the recent films such as; Iron Man 3, World War Z and Star Trek-Into Darkness.

JR

Title Research

Seven

This is the opening titles for the film of Seven. The opening is very dark, and mysterious whilst being slight strange. The Title consists of small blades and someone shredding the skin of the end of his fingertips, and sewing together sheets of paper. This is a quite weird but interesting opening and certainly asks questions in the audience.

It Might Get Loud

This is The opening titles for the film This Might Get loud. The use of short and close focus is what interest me most about this opening titles sequence. The use of close up shots of the guitars is also what inspires me about this opening.

Red Lights

This is the opening title sequence for the film called Red lights. The use of Shadow and light and dark is used very well in this opening sequence. The faded focus also is a good way in which this sequence is put together. The close up shots with faded zooms and focus are what i want to add to my title sequence at the end of the opening scene.

My opening scene would be made up of short shots in which have close up shots of everyday objects which have a twist to them, so say there is a close up of a table with close zoom and then a blooded knife is placed on the table. The titles would fade in on the shots with the Credits. The shots would only be about 2-3 seconds long and to merge the shots they would slowly fade in and out.

JR

Titles Test

This is a short clip showing how the titles may visualise in the opening scene of my partner and I's film. The titles on our clip will be shown at the end of the opening scene where the camera shots will be short 2-3 second long close up images being everyday pictures. For example, a table where subsequently a knife is placed down which is connected to a killing, where the victim is stabbed. The camera shots will be created using short and far focus to suggest a more atmospheric opening title sequence. The title and producers, etc. will be displayed as demonstrated in this short clip below.

These are the photos showing how the titles will look with the pictures in the background. The first picture shows the focus and look of a shot where just a plain table is in sight. The second photo shows how the Knife will look on the table being placed in shot (shown as pen). The use of short and far focus will make a good looking image.







































JR

Sound, Soundtrack and Ambient Noises

Soundtrack

The soundtrack we wish to use in our film must be suspenseful, and not of a high tempo. Something along the lines of the start of 28 days later, with he piano and quit yet rhythmic acoustic then electric guitar, accompanying the dark and rather bleak setting in which the opening to our film starts off. Another example of theme music which replicates this tone is that of the music style constantly occurring through Fight Club. The very dark, dismal tone which suggests darkness replicates the film we wish to produce and actually helps the way the audience view the film. We do not want the film to have a happy beginning, nor do we want it to be too dark. This will both draw the audience's attention away from the bleak, and slightly inactive start to the film and more towards the nature of the psychological - hence to references to music in 28 Days Later and Fight Club. Both Tracks can be found below.

Link to 28 Days later Theme
Link to Fight Club Full Soundtrack

Alternatively we could take the idea of the film "Angels" and create a loud, yet mysterious beat without the vocals, but with humming. This has an added dimension and because of this can create a similar, yet slightly different tone to our opening. The synth used within the track also helps to create the atmosphere we desire to create, fitting perfectly with the occurrences in the film.

Link to Angels Theme

Due to the requirement of not using Copyright music however, what we have decided we must do is look to music streaming sites such as Soundcloud and look for permission from the creators. If we do this however, film music (especially suspenseful film music) isn't a popular genre. One which suprisingly comes close to it is that of Trap music, and luckily enough I have a friend that is actually a reasonably big beat Trap beat Producer in Finland. His Soundcloud profile will be linked below, along with the song that we are going to end up using in the film - a deep and ambient trap beat resembling that of youtube beat producer Solitude (link below) - the low, deep and ambient noise really reflects our films atmosphere and although sets a very negative tone also resembles that of Fight Club, and The Darkest Child by Kevin MacLeod (link also below.)

Link To AXELDOE's Soundcloud (Friend)
Link to Darkest Child Soundtrack
Solitude Trap beat

Ambient Noise 

In terms of ambient noise within the film - the majority of the first minute and takes place by a road side in the middle of quite a built up district. Because of this sounds of cars and passers by are going to be prominent, meaning that a lot of added noises are going to have to be used. The ringing of a mobile phone to break up the second flashback is also important as it must be surprising enough to the audience, yet still maintain the atmosphere and not beak the mood due to what occurs after the phone rings. For this, sounds which are found in Final Cut should do fine. The other way in which ambient noise must be used is by the other persons voice on the phone. Me and my partner wish it to have a muffled and undefined tone, yet still audible to the audience. To do this we are going to record it separately and overlay it in the film, allowing us to sync it perfectly and also maintain the mood in which we want to obtain. 

With the film being of the psychological nature, everything to do with sound must maintain this. The tone and atmosphere produced by the music and various FX must accompany the events within the film naturally and not sound out of place. Maintaing the suspense is key in order for our film to work, and we see sound as the best way to do this. Voices should be kept clear (with exception to that already mentioned) - sound should be kept quiet but always constant with the loudest thing being the soundtrack - except for when speech takes place. 

This is a short video experimenting with the sound equipment for the filming. The video is a scenario of a parents evening meeting and the teacher is not happy with the performance of the pupil.

JL

Style and Tone - London to Brighton

London To Brighton - Tone, Mood, Sound, Plot and Characters

The opening of the film immediately sets the tone for the rest of it. The Desolate, bleak surroundings in which the first 10 seconds happen is typical of the psychological/Crime thriller genre in which the film most definitely falls in to. The graffiti on the walls, Some of which reading "Tense" and "Ghosts" setting the tone for the rest of the film. Although not psychological as such, the film plays on the ideas of social realism by referring to the child's prostitution and they runaway youth. Not entirely relevant to our film, however the music in the background and the setting are very similar to what we wish to be in our film. See the post "Storyboard", in order to view the similarities. We took inspiration from London To Brighton in the making of our storyboard in the setting of the film being urban, and in a desolate place.



JL

Style and Tone - Momento

Although sparce in events that actually occur in the opening scene of Memento, it could tell us a lot about what happens in the actual film. The opening credits start off with ambient background music, suspenseful yet mornful. The credits are over a black screen which allows us to concentrate on the main actors and the music, straight away setting a tone for the film. The next shot is the shown is that of a man holding a polaroid photo, the sort seen usually on Crime scenes. Fitting with the nature of the photo, it shows blood staining the walls and some sort of forensic person in the foreground, expanding on this the next few scenes are that of the man shaking the photo, trying to remove what it shows. This is where the idea of the psychological comes in, it could either be showing that the man who is shaking the photo is trying to forget something that has happened to him, or that he is trying to remove all evidence of the event happening.
Although not entirely related to our opening, being minimalist in the events that occur and having them not actually mean anything without the context of the film, the idea that the opening can set the scene so well using only text, one shot and music gives us the idea that establishing a tone early on i the film is a nessecary occurence in an opening, and also emphasises the importance of music to do this.



JL

Style and Tone - Fight Club

Fight Club- "I Know This, Because Tyler Knows This"

Fight Club, A cult film. Probably the best or its genre and undoubtedly one of the best films ever, is the epitome of a psychological thriller. The opening credits, not entirely to do with the genre are still a work of art and involve beautiful use of graphic effects in order to create an intense and exciting opening, leaving you prepared for what is to come. The following scene is a stark contrast to this, and starts the film off in a way it wishes to continue. The idea of the psychological is first introduced when, as the quote leading the post says - "I knew This, Because Tyler Knew This". This draws a link between the unnamed narrator of the film and Tyler, one which is not natural. The unnamed Narrator (actually called Jack Moore, as seen on checks and various small things around the play), by Freud's terms, uses his superego to a great effect - basically meaning that it suppresses the feeling that he needs better and makes him content with the life he is living. All too much however, as the superego creates Tyler, a split personality of Jack in order to break out against popular culture.

The opening scene, when looking back in retrospect, is the epitome of this. Straight away, he draws a link between himself and Tyler by saying that he "knows this because Tyler knows this" and that the gun was clean, because he knew Tyler/himself's love of cleanlieness. The filming in this opening scene is predominantly special effects cutting to mid shots of the bombs, setting the scene of where they are and their surroundings. The following shots are panning and mid shots of Jack at the testicular cancer meeting, even though he is a "faker".

The idea of sleep deprivation is also prominent within the film. Importantly, in regards to the psychological, this can have detrimental effects on the recipient and actually cause schizophrenia. In regards to our film, we could never replicate something of this magnitude. Being the colt that it is although, we can take a lot of pointers to it. As with identity, Memento and A Beautiful Mind the idea of the psychological is introduced in the opening scene - only seen although when looking back in retrospect. Because of this, we should make the opening obscure in a way that could later be determined as psychological. The idea of Kevin (in our film) being followed by his past (Tyrone) can very easily be reflected if the rest of the film was fully made. Also, the opening scene is important in setting the scene. Living conditions, daily life, and appearances are all dealt with in the various films mentions opening. This must also be reflected in me and my partners film.




JL

Style and Tone - Identity Opening

Identity - "I Met a Man Who Wasn't There"

Identity (2003) Staring John Cusack and Ray Liotta opens with a voice over the titles, played from a tape from an interview. The psychological elements of the film are introduced straight away, looking back in retrospect. The man says "Going up the stairs, I met a man who wasn't there. He wasn't there again today, oh how I wish he'd go away" - referring to his split personalities and how he switches from one to another. A close up of the mans name - Malcolm Rivers is then shown, accompanied by the sound of thunder.

The tone is now set, that someone is looking over past evidence of a murder case from someone who has split personalities. The close ups of the stick men drawings with blood coming out of their throat is a precursor to what is actually going to happen, and also the mental state of Malcolm. The origin of the mans mental disorder is then looked in to, referring to his past. There is a suggestion of his mother having something to do with it, and when slowed down one can see the criminal records of her being arrested for possession - and while she was out leaving him abandoned in a motel.

Looking back at the opening to the film in retrospect, it actually seems obvious that the events that were going to occur were in the mans head, and Malcolm wasn't sane. The use of a motel as the setting for the film referred back to where he was left as a kid, the names and birthdays of all the characters showing similarities. In terms of creating a sense of the psychological, as well as the rhyme at the start the clueless nature of the man in the interview helps to reinforce the idea.

When I first watched the film, the twist actually came as a surprise to me. When re watching however the opening contained many clues as to what the film was going to be about and what the twist could have actually been. As with the film we wish to make, this could be replicated. Taking the opening to Identity on its own, it would not make much sense in relation to the rest of the film but once the film has been watched, it puts things in to perspective.


JL