PLANNING: PROP LIST

PLANNING: PROP LIST

Props I need to use:

- Blacked out Pistol.
- Police / detective badge.
- Shades
- Black car / moped.

Outfits / costumes:

-Black suits (grey acceptable)
-

PLANNING: TREATMENT DRAFT

FINAL VERSION OF TREATMENT

- TITLE:  The HK Papers

- We reviewed our treatment as we wanted to make our subject matter more dramatic and topical. Newspapers are currently full of the unfolding Coronavirus drama which has offered us a rich source of material. 

- Our cast has now grown and will be bringing in footage taken overseas, but despite the more ambitious scope, we believe we have an achievable and much more visually rich text.

FIRST VERSION OF TREATMENT

• Title:  DIA (Death in Action)
• Logline:         A powerful one or two-sentence statement of the idea being proposed (about 25 words).
• Synopsis: The agent is a UK MI5 personnel who has died in action and the film opens with the last person standing near the graveyard paying last respects. A movement behind a tree  suggests that someone is watching him. As he peers closely, they disappear. back at the office, the death certificate and post mortem details don't add up.
  when he phones to ask about the autopsy, there are clearly discrepancies in the reports.
  The rookie has to investigate his death and in the process he discovers...?
  Cross cutting at the end to old times with him like laughing with his buddy and he asks whats on your mind for him to respond oh its just something at the office and flashes back so he puts the clues together.
• Characters:  
• Rookie Agent: Agent who is required to uncover secrets relative to an agents death.
• Autopsy Scientist: Scientist who explains that there is no longer access to the body. 
• MI5 Executive: Gives brief of mission to be completed.
• The Agent: On hiding throughout the whole movie. Using death as an escape from the role.

PLANNING: THE TOP LINE AND BIG QUESTION

RESEARCH:

I have watched a short BBC Documentary about how Frank Ash explained that with every production, a 'Top Line and Big Question'. Frank Ash is a creative consultant at the BBC Academy.  He explained that you should work out what your target audience is looking for when viewing. 

The Top Line definition is: Think about your favourite book or film or any 'good story' that you have recently watched, could you sum up its narrative into 'one elegant sentence' to provide its 'toppling'. For us the top line will be one sentence which sums up the narrative and main aims that it presents.
The Big Question definition is: What was its big story, and how important was it to your appreciation of the text. For us the big question will be what the main story/ aim is of our production.

OUR PRODUCTION

The Top Line:

A virus outbreak has killed dozens in Hong Kong. Many affected have been kept in quarantine to protect others. However, an exchange student from Hong Kong called Lee has brought the virus to the UK. It is the governments job to keep the outbreak a secret before it becomes a worldwide emergency. 

Big Question:

The virus has been swept under the rug but how long can the Chinese government keep it a secret for?

RESEARCH: AUDIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE

In order to gather audience data, in order to create my survey/questionnaire I used Google Docs as a template. This works via sending the recipient a direct link where they can answer the questionnaire using their google account.

These are the questions I intend to ask:

1. How old are you?______
2. What is your gender? (M) (F) (X)
3. When was the last time you visited the cinema? (Last Week) (Last month) (Last year) (Longer/Never)-
4. What movie did you last view at the cinema ___________
5. What is your favourite type of movie genre? ___________
6. What is your preferred platform for viewing?___________+E.G Netflix, Cinema, DVD Copy
7. Do you tend to watch movies because of the actors? or story? or even the brand?________
8. What platform would you be most likely to watch a film?
9. Would you be influenced by a review to watch a film?
10. What is the most likely platform you would use to find out about films?
11. What is the most likely reason you would watch a new film?

My Online Questionnaire can be found HERE
Here are some of the results:

PLANNING: MY TARGET AUDIENCE

WHO ARE MY AUDIENCE - HOW DO I TARGET THEM

I needed to plan how to reach my target audience. I also needed to know who they were. I had to research age, gender, ethnicity and social class. I also needed to research what their media needs were so that I could produce a product that they will want. Finally, in order to market our movie, I had to know how to reach them. I will show how my research has influenced my planning by answering the question below along with pictures to help support my answers.

I started by studying how brands define audiences to help create my own audience profile for our production. For example I looked at how Sky and NME defined audiences. This helped when I was profiling my audience, as a part of distributing my film I created a Facebook page, and other members of my group created platforms like Instagram and Twitter accounts and also a film website. When trying to find out who my audience was I worked out why they enjoy the genre of this film. Why would they want to watch my film? What makes my film different from competing films? And How will my film appeal to the viewing needs of my target audience?

1. Who is my primary target audience?

I will target my audience to viewers within the age bracket of 15-35. It will also appeal to those of any class, social and economic state and ethnicity. 

2. What kind of films and television are they likely to prefer?

Viewers who fit into my target audience are likely to enjoy action, adventure and crime movies. Examples of these movies are:

• Skyfall
• Kingsman: Secret Service
• Baby Driver
• The Fugitive

3. What platforms do they choose to watch films and where are they likely to see information about films?

My target audience is very likely to use platforms such as Netflix, NOWTV and Amazon Prime to view their favourite movies at any given time. 

4. What brands do they prefer?

Examples of brands are Nando's, YouTube, Santander, Monzo, Nike.

Some of the logos are displayed below:

5. What makes my film stand out from the competition?

My film incorporates multiple genres which might not usually be put together. An example of this is the genres: Crime, Thriller, Comedy, Action, Adventure.
This is a large array of genres all incorporated in one movie. This allows for the film to suit multiple audiences, therefore, allowing for the movie to be more popular when screening. 

6 . Why should my audience watch my film? 

It's unusual, it doesn't incorporate the usual action film cliche's and multiple different genres are included. It's new. The current film market is infested with prequels, sequels and franchises. My film is none of these, it's unique and topical this is why it is likely to be popular as it is a large change from mainstream movies today. 

RESEARCH: Art of the Title: Drive (2011)

THE ART OF A FILM TITLE

I chose to write about the movie 'Drive' as it has an exceptionally powerful opening sequence. It offers a slow build which draws you in emotionally with a clear initial insight into the overall plot.  

Drive is a Hollywood movie made in 2011, directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and starring Ryan Gosling. It is a feature film about a young man who is a talented getaway driver for criminals. The opening sequence is dark and moody with credits shown against black with voices heard. It soon cuts to more sounds with mapping in the background of a clear route with criminal intelligence behind it. The main voice is sending a voice mail to a loved one about what could potentially happen to him and requests they do not attempt to contact him as he will no longer be using that phone. This small snippet of the opening scene ends with him tossing the phone onto the bed, and walking away with the bag, with the camera remaining still whilst he walks out of the frame.This is an intense and powerful start-up as the audience is continuously questioning what the main character is getting himself into.

A slow transition shows the character driving his car in the dead of the night on an empty road. There is complete silence with the exception of the humming of his quiet engine. A few minutes later, the driver pulls into an exceptionally busy car park where there appears to be a protest/riot taking place. As the character gets out his car, he walks in the opposite direction to the crowd - he places a hat on his head. Upbeat music plays as he smiles to himself. The Credits Role.

This is a compelling opening scene as it allows the opening of the movie to set itself up.  It’s enticing and lets the viewer gather evidence from the opening scene to be able to assess what is to come.

RESEARCH: SCOOPIT! FILM OPENINGS

I created my own Scoop.It account, this is in place to help me find future references and film openings to help my future work. This gives me a large advantage as I am able to have articles I want, at hand, without irrelevant information i'm not searching for. Using ScoopIt, I can directly scoop information from a page I am studying, and can therefore have a fast access to information I need at hand. The two scoops in the images display how Marvel shocked the chinese and a horror scene from 'The Amityville Horror'.

ON THE SET

ON THE SET

In our previous lesson, we were taught how to successfully use the equipment to minimise damage and maximise our use out of them. The equipment used are:

- Canon Camera
- Manfrotto Tripods

Equipment: We were told to be extremely careful when handling the cameras. All of the media students were told to insert the battery and memory cards and remove them carefully and safely without damaging the camera. We explored some of the main uses of the camera and other side benefits which may not be obvious to the new photographers and directors. When you pass the cameras around you should say 'yours' and 'mine' to avoid the risk of dropping it.  We learned how to set up a tripod and to 'bubble' it using the spirit level to help make the camera balanced and in focus. We explored the camera such as how to focus. The exposure on the camera is adjusted by moving the dial up and down.  Also: We learned how to set up a tripod and to 'bubble' it using the spirit level to help make the camera balanced and in focus. We explored the camera such as how to focus.  The exposure on the camera is adjusted by moving the dial up and down.

White Balance: This is the process of 'removing unrealistic colour casts'. This essentially makes objects that appear white, to be displayed as white rather than the camera removing it. The canon camera is able to use 'colour temperature' to adjust to the 'coolness of the light source'. By pressing on the 'WB' button on the camera,  it is able to give the image a more realistic effect.

180 Degree Rule:  We used a rule called the 180 Degree rule. This meant that the 180 degree should always be in the same 'left/right relationship'. This means that, both subjects should always be connecting in the same frame, not with them both looking opposite directions.

Editing: My partner and I got to grips with editing by starting on iMovie. We rapidly found out the best effects for our footage. We created a folder on a laptop and a media mac, both containing all the shots created.

RESEARCH: TITLES 2

Just go with it (Comedy):

·                     Production Company – Happy Madison Productions
·                     Director- Denis Dugan

·                     Starring – Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Brooklyn Decker

·                     Title- Just go with it 

·                     Starring – Bailee Madison, Griffin Gluck, Nicole Kidman

·                     Casting 

·                     Costume designer - Ellen Lutter, Mona May

·                     Special make up effects supervisor - Lisa Goldberg

·                     Sound designer- Andy Kennedy

·                     Music - Robin Urdang

·                     Film editor - Tom Costain

·                     Production designer -  Perry Andelin Blake

·                     Director of photography - Theo van de Sande

·                     Executive producer - Adam Sandler, Heather Parry

·                     Based on novel- No

·                     Screenplay- Timothy Dowling

·                     Producer - Adam Sandler, Heather Parry

·                     Director CF 

RESEARCH: TITLES 1

Spider man: Into the Spider-Verse

·                     Production Company – Columbia, Marvel, Sony

·                     Director(s)- Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Bob Persichetti

·                     Starring – Jake Johnson , Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfield

·                     Title -  Spiderman: Into the Spider Verse 

·                     Starring – Mahershalala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Nicholas Cage

·                     Casting - Muneeb Rehman 

·                     Costume designer - Justin K Thompson

·                     Special make up effects supervisor - Danny Dimian

·                     Sound designer- Phil Lord, Christopher Miller

·                     Music - Daniell Pemberton

·                     Film editor - Robert Fisher JR

·                     Production designer- Justin Thompson

·                     Director of photography- Ronnie Del Carmen

·                     Executive producer - Phil Lord, Chris Miller

·                     Based on novel - N/A

·                     Screenplay - Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord

·                     Producer - Christopher Miller 

·                     Director - Peter Ramsey

PRACTICE FILM OPENING

the brief (tabletop shoot; live action shoot; soundtrack of Emily Barker Nostalgia; titles)

Brief: Our task was to choose our props from a selection of items including: old alcohol bottles, blueprints, clothes, brief cases, jewellery storage etc. We chose Nostalgia by Emily Baker as we believed the song tells multiple stories, displaying multiple images all at once allowing for us to replicate a lifestyle sung about to create suspicion and curiosity from the viewer. 

Inspiration: We were initially inspired to create an original title sequence in groups (with props) due to the opening title sequence of the 1991 movie - Delicassen. 

We chose some fake bloody aprons and surgeon masks to demonstrate death and violence within the short film opening. We also found some fake money and placed it all over the black cloth to display the person as wealthy. Passports are also displayed to represent travel is this particular persons lifetime, this is then followed by photos and postcards along with a picture of a female with a necklace on the picture to represent what she left behind. 

VIDEO

What went right: My partner and I decided to create several themes which go together well when filming. For example, we decided on three main themes. Travel, illness, and jewellery/wealth. Travel was presented with photocopied passports and cash lying on the table along with a postcard. These images were laying on top of a bloody apron which brought in the link of illness. This was a direct link to blood/gore/hospitals. Throughout the tabletop shoot, we had notes lying around to represent the wealth on the focused person. There was also a nasal tube which further represented illness. All our themes fit together well as they were diverse but also closely linked when considering an older persons lifestyle and what could be occuring. 

What went wrong; solutions: Initially, it was difficult selecting the props. We had a clear idea about what we wanted to be shown on the table when filming, however, other groups had props we were looking to use, so we decided to improvise. We found originality with what we were left with. There were several aprons which looked undesriable when filming this opening. However, i decided to use the apron as an undercoat for the whole set. This meant all the props were sitting on top of a bloodstained apron. This had a positive effect on our opening as there was a subtle hint of gore which would allow for any viewer to question upcoming scenes. We also had trouble placing our objects as we wanted them spaced out but enough to make our opening last a respectable amount of time. We countered this problem by zooming into our props in more detail. This overall meant that every detail was shown and our opening was a reasonable amount of time and we had staged everything as we chose. 

RESEARCH: Art of the title: Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse

I chose to research Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse as the opening sequence inticed me. It starts off with the very typical Marvel comic sequence with all the heroes forming into the Marvel logo. 

Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse is an american action/ comedy which is mostly based for 'teens'. The movie has such a fast paced opening with all of the cast and directors credits being displayed before the movie begins. Spider man is actually presented very early on in the movie. The first clip of anything that isn't a comic is Spiderman himself staring into a mirror. It is then followed by bingo balls and extremely short clips of him walking toward the edge of a roof. More credits are displayed, then he jumps. It is evidently known by all audiences that he is Spiderman and there is no harm of him jumping because he is able to swing from webs, however, it is luring the viewer in as it has more action scenes to come.

The use of mis-en-scene is extremely powerful within the opening sequence as it is extremely detailed, yet so rapid. This overall shows the sheer amount of detail displayed, despite there only being flickers of it. The opening switches from comic and real spiderman. This gives two sides to the film not allowing for the viewer to actually know how the movie is about to follow, causing questioning, allowing for the viewer to gain interest in the movie very early on. 

The music comes to a sudden halt straight after Spiderman jumps. It then switches to a man pulling the mask over his face and he begins speaking to the audience. This then ends the exciting build up and the viewers are able to get some information on what is to follow so they are able to assess the current situation within the movie and start guessing about what is to follow.