Next Shoot

We are going to film the school scene whereby the kids are coming out of school and Chloe merges into the crowd and follows the children towards the camera. We will film this on Wednesday 5th Januray after school when kids leave school so at 3:20.

Molly and I havbe decided that we will film the scene with Chloe getting on the train at Audley End to Cambridge and then Chloe getting off the train in rush hour at Cambridge on the 8th of January which is a Saturday and we will do this at lunchtime so we get a slight crowd getting off the train for Chloe to merge with.

Depending on time, we will then do the scene whereby Chloe walks towards the Grand Arcade and drops the bag.

Tester Filming

Yesterday we also did some tester filming for the train scene. We got some good, effective footage of the train coming into Audley End which will be the train that Chloe gets off in rush hour. This shot will most probably be in slow motion with mysterious music playing in the background. We also got some footage of the doors opening which we will use for when Chloe gets off the train in the crowd of people. We then got some footage which shows outside of the train window which looks like it is from Chloe's viewpoint. These clips can all be edited and used in our film and we aim to get some more filming done in January when we get back to school.

Plan B for Grand Arcade Filming

Unfortunatly, we are not allowed to film in the Grand Arcade. Luckily for us, we had a back up plan incase this did happen. We will now film on the path outside the Grand Arcade and capture crowds of people as they go into the centre and Chloe will then drop the bag outside the centre, rather than inside.


I feel this will still look good and we will still use the crowd as Chloe's cover and we will blur them and slow down time so everything looks like it is going slower.

Possible Camera Shot of Chloe on the Train

This shot is my favourite as it really maintains that theme of mystery and suspicion we are looking for.
This is a mid/ long shot which would show Chloe and some of the bag; however, not making the bag stand out meaning the audience may or may not notice the bag. This shot also makes it look like it is taken from a passengers point of view which again, maintains that theme of mystery. This will be a shot we definitely use in the train scene.  

Possible Camera Shot of Chloe on the Train

This shot is a high angled shot which is a slightly more obvious shot and maybe gives too much away to the viewer to early. This shot shows Chloe in the seat and the bag next to her, however, it does not show anyone else on the train which is maybe not what we want at this moment in time. We want the audience to be wondering who Chloe is and what she is doing and we do not want to give too much away in this scene.

Possible Camera Shot of Chloe on the Train

This shot is going to be used for when Chloe is sitting on the train on her way to Cambridge and this will be taken in rush hour so there will be lots of people sitting around her. This shot illsutrates the rush hour theme we are looking for meaning Chloe does not look as obvious to the viewer. She will be sitting in the seat next to the bag and this will maintain our theme of mystery which releates to our thriller genre.

Filming in Cambridge

Yesterday, Molly and I went to Cambridge to talk to the management team regarding permission to film in the shopping centre. After spending weeks arranging an appointment with the team, we turned up and no one was there. The team had left a note on the door saying we should report to the security room.
We were then escorted to the security booth, whereby we spoke to the head of security for the shopping centre and he mentioned that it was unlikely that we would be able to film due to the arcades silly rules.


He then took down my name and number and said he would call me with the outcome of talking to the management team.


When I arrived home, I recieved a call from him saying that we could not film in the arcade.


This was very annoying; however, Molly and I had decided on a back up plan if this did happen so we will now film outside the arcade on the path where the crowds of people enter the shopping centre.

Deja Vu Inspiration

After thinking hard about what i wanted my film to be like, i decided that the film Deja Vu would be suitable for what i aimed to produce. I will use similar camera angles and shots along with similar methods of creating tension such as; through music.

Cellular Inspiration

Cellular was my intial inspiratobn for my film opening. I wanted to create a similar thriller/action film and have a running away scene. However, i have now decided to only use some of the camera angles and shots used in the film as i feel they will be appropriate for my film.

Film Storyboard

School scene location shot

This image shows the gate of the school. This is where we are having Chloe approach from the right hand side on the right path. Then we are having the school kids coming from the left hand side on the path to the left of the greenary. Chloe will then merge into the school kids group and everything will become a blur.

Camera angles/shots

After the perliminary task,  Molly and I decided that panning shots and extreme/close ups are very effective when creating tension and giving the scene a theme of mystery. We aim to use panning in almost every scene and we will zoom in on certain points of the frame, which will be the bag in most scenes as we want it to stand out more than anything else, while at the same time we don't want it to be ther centre of attention in every scene but we need the audience to be aware of it. We will use an extreme close up of Chloe's hand holding the bag in the last scene at the Grand Arcade shopping centre. This will create tension and we will film Chloe dropping the bag whilst still in this extreme close up and then we will quickly zoom out to a long shot of chloe walking away and then we will perform another close up of Chloe turning round and smiling. This shot will be edited so it is in slow motion will will create tension and then suddenly Chloe dissapears and everything goes quickly again and the crowd are in the shot and everything speeds up to normal speed again and the bag is in the last shot and everything goes silent and the ticking remains.

Script

Our film is all about the music used and the gestures and movements of the actress. We also aim to create a theme of mystery and tension through the camera angles and shots we use. As a result we have decided to use no script at all and we feel this will maintain the theme of mystery and will make teh audience more alert and curious to know what is coming next.

Props

Props is an aspect of the film that we do not have much control over, other than the props that Chloe will have. We are giving chloe a rucksack and she will carry this in every scene. The bag will be black like her coat and she will be carrying it in her hand and not on her back to maintain that mysterious look to her. The bag will be the main prop on the film and we aim to make it stand out in each scene. We aim to make the audience wonder why the bag isn't on her back? Is it heavy? What's in it?

Costumes

We thought very hard about costumes Chloe would wear and finally came to the conclusion that she would wear a black coat and black tights. This will make her look a bit different to everyone else in the shot; for example the school children; however, it will not make her stand out too much as we want people to maybe see her in the second or last scene and we aim to give her a mysterious look. She will be wearing dark make-up and possibly wearing a cotton hat which will maintain that mysterious feel.

Actors/Actresses

Orginally we decided to use myself as the main actor for teh opening. However we then realised that this would mean i wouldn't be abel to film enough as i would be in the film. As a result of this we spoke to one of our friends and she said she would love to feature. She is very good at drama and she seems very determined to be our actress. Chloe will be in almost every scene and she will be wearing the same black coat in each one. She will not be wearing incredibly obvious clothing and make up as we want her to blend with teh crowd and as we go through the scenes, she will become more obvious and will stand out more through choice of shots.

Target Audience

After deciding on the genre and synopsis of the film, Molly and I decided on the target audience for our film. We aim to attract a wide variety of audiences although the main group would obviously be thriller fans. We feel this film will be watched by a wider audience than just thriller fans. Paranormal Activity atrtacted a much wider audience than people who enjoy thrillers. It was promoted as being very scary so everyone wanted to see it and experience the thrills. This is what we aim to do with our film and specifically the opening. We aim to make the opening end on a cliff-hanger which alone, will attract a wider audience and make people want to go and see it.


Overall we feel the film will be mainly targeted at people who enjoy watching thrillers.

Locations

This is a shot of the Grand Arcade during rush hour. As you can see there are lots of people scattered about which is why we thought this would be a prime location for our final scene of the opening and we aim to leave the audience hanging with an effective cliff-hanger ending. We aim to film at about 2pm on a Saturday in Decemeber when the Grand Arcade shoppping centre will be packed. We will set up the camera in teh centre of the arcade and capture a slow motion shot of people walking through and they will be blurred for a tension effect, and also for privacy purposes.






We will then film Chloe walking through a crowd and she will be clear with the crowd remaining blurred. She will then drop her bag in the centre and the ticking noise would be getting incresaingly louder at this point until finally the crowd noise goes silent and the tickingremains.


We have decided that we may encounter problems when filming in the arcade as Molly's brother was told to delete images he took from the arcade for his media project. I am friends with one of the security guards who works there on Saturday's so we are going to make a trip to Cambridge soon and discuss this with him and make sure we are able to do it and when.

We have chosen to use Audley End train station for capturing business men and woman coming off the train during the 6pm rush hour on a weeknight. We will be shooting from the botton of the stairs of platform 1 or along the trains side as people get off to capture that rushed effect. Chloe will be placed, again in the background but a little more obvious this time. She will be wearing the same black coat throughout the production and will be carrying the same bag. We will focus on the bag as the secenes progress. The ticking noise will still be ticking and slightly louder in this scene.

We have chosen Saffron Walden County High School too shoot our first few scenes. This is a prime location for setting the scene for our film as it enables us to introduce Chloe Cremins (The main character) to besubtly placed in the background. We will film students coming out of school at the end of the day near the bus collection point as this is when there will be the largest concentration of students in one place. This will enable us to capture a slow motion shot of students rushing about and we aim to put Chloe in the background so she is not too noticable but she will be visual. The ticking noise will begin in this scene quietly and will increase in volume throughout the film.

Comment on blog

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New Idea For Our Film

We originally decided on filming the film with me as the main character but we felt that this may mean that i would not be able to film as much as Molly due to the fact i would be in the film acting. As a result we have now asked one of our friends to play the part of the terrorist. She is vert talented at drama and is happy playing thsi role for us. She would be appearing in every scene, however in the first few scenes, which will be the train station and the school she will be subtly placed into the scene rather than being very visual. This will create tension and then she will appear in the last few scenes in the shopping scene wearing all black and she will then drop the bag on the floor which is when everythign goes quiet and this is when the ticking becomes louder. The ticking will be played throughout the film and will get louder through each scene.

Discussion in todays lesson

All lesson we carried on planning how we will film our film and drew final ideas together and we now have a good idea of what we want to do. We have finished the synopsis and have decided that i will be the main character in the film.

Our film opening idea

After lots of discussion and research Molly Muckle and I have decided on a synopsis and therefore a opening to our film.


The opening to the film will include slow motion shots of people getting off a train in rush hour, kids laughing and playing in a playground, people in the market square when it is busy and then we will have shots from a plane looking down on these places and then referring back down to a camera on the ground. We will also film a digital type clock ticking away which will be either on the main characters watch or in another frame. We will then film the main character who is a terrorist in every shot but subtly. We will then see him more obviously as the shots progress and eventually we see him nervously walking into a shopping centre and dropping a bag and then the timer runs out and everything goes quiet.


This idea is our final idea, however we will most probably modify it slightly over time if we feel it needs to be improved or changed for whatever reason.

Deja Vu Inspiration

Over the weekend i watched the film Deja Vu and the opening scene really inspired me for my opening to a film. I have now decided that i will base my film around the opening to the film Deja Vu and i will create a similar scene. The oepning scene consists of slow motion shots of everyhting really, from public transport to more specifically the marines boarding a party boat to celebrate with family for whatever reason. It is clear from the way the director has created this opening, that something bad is going to happen but it is not clear what.


For my film i aim to create an opening that also uses slow motion and creates tension and curiosity. I will film from my dads plane and film over places such as the town square on a busy saturday, the train station in rush hour and a playground or school at lunchtime. This will all be played in slow motion with the use of noises that symbolise happiness such as; laughters, cheering, clapping, talking etc. I will include lots of shots and sounds that will help build up this tention and mysterious scene and i will keep flashing back to the plane from the sky and then back to the ground to increase tention.


I will also have some sort of digital clock that will be ticking thoughout and refered to throughout to symbolise that something will happen when the timer runs out.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsjR5FGNGiY

Level 4 Film Analysis

The film begins and continues to show creative ideas throughout. At first we see a title along with a news reporter style voice which draws the audience into the video and sets the scene.
We then see a man running towards a set of strairs with the news reporter's voice in background along with some quiet mysterious music. This is very creative and already the director has set the scene and engaged the audience into the video.

1. All shots framed well, character is shot in centre of shot unless the scene demands anything different
2. the shots are correct
3. wide variety, long shots and close ups
4. all content is suited to genre and relevant to storyline
5. colours are dark apart from red making it stand out, setting suitable to genre, props
6. Relate to storyline and build on the setting which is consistently urban, few actors are used which makes it clear who the main character is
7. cropped & re-sizing
8. clear pronunciation, emotion shown through the characters voice well
9. suitable size
10. blogs in chronological order with titles blog type is plain, film type, different size
11. editing and cutting shots, add in titles, contrasting of shots, colouring of shots, blog

Level 4 Assessment Criteria for Foundation Portfolio (Video)

Level 4 Assessment Criteria for Foundation Portfolio (Video)
Level 4 48–60 marks

There is evidence of excellence in the creative use of most of the following technical skills:
framing a shot, including and excluding elements as appropriate;
using a variety of shot distances as appropriate;

shooting material appropriate to the task set;

selecting mise-en-scène including colour, figure, lighting, objects and setting;

manipulating photographs as appropriate to the context for presentation, including cropping and resizing;

accurately using language and register;

appropriately integrating illustration and text;

showing understanding of conventions of layout and page design;

showing awareness of the need for variety in fonts and text size;
using ICT appropriately for the task set.

In class we created a storyboard for Chapter 4 11:05 secs to 11:42 secs in Juno.
This is the draft storyboard i created whilst watching this clip a few times.

Juno Storybaord and Timeline

Title &
Time





"For searchlight pictures presents"
16 secs


"A mandate pictures/ Mr Mudd. Production
21 secs


"A Jason Reitman film"
26 secs


"Juno"


29 secs


"Ellen Page"
39 secs


"Micheal Cera"
43 secs


"Jennifer Garner"
49 secs


"Jason Bateman"
56 secs


"Allison Janey"
1min 1 secs


"J.K Simmons"
1min 5 secs


"Olivia Thribly"
1min 11 secs


"Casting by Mindy Marin, csa, Kara Lipson"
1min 17 secs


"Costume desginer Monique Prudhomme"
1min 21 secs


"Music by Mateo Messina songs by Kimya Dawson"
1 min 26 secs


"Music Supervisors Peter Afterman and Margret Yen"
1 min 32 secs


"Co-producers Jim Miller and Kelli Kenop Brad Van Arrogan"
1 min 40 secs


"Film editor Dana E, Clauberman"
1 min 43 secs


"Production designer Steve Saklad"
1 min 49 secs


"Director of photgraphy Eric Steelberg"
1 min 53 secs


"Executive producers Joe Drake Nathan Kanane Daniel Dubleki
1 min 59 secs


"Produced by Lianne Naylon John Malkovich Mason Novich Russell Smith
2 min 5 secs


"Written by Diablo Cody
2 min 10 secs


"Directed by Jason Reitman
2m 18 secs






Overview





When looking in detail at the timings of the titles at the beginning of Juno it is clear that the director has purposly created a slow intoroduction to the film by using this big lead up at the begginning of the film.
The whole introduction includes the main character making her way from home to school and we can see that there is nothing else to it. It is obvious that she is making her way somewhere and eventually she gets to school and the titles stop there.


This is an effective way of attracting the audience into the film as it engages them into thinking what the introduction may lead to and what could possibly happen. The director has specifically created it like this in order to please the audience.

After thinking of films that i could use as inspiration for my opening to a film, i decididon using the 2004 movie called Cellular starring Jason Stratham, Kim Basinger and Chris Evans. I feel after watching this film that this is going to be the main inspiration to what i am to achieve with my opening to a film. The genre of the film is action and throughout the film we see guns, fast paced chases and scenes of violence.

The story is based around a young mum (Kim Basinger) who is kidnapped by Jason Stratham and his crew and thrown violently into a mustery house and then the attic and the phone is then smashed up so she has no contact to the outside world.





Jason and his boys are unaware of the fact that she is a secondary school science teacher so she is able to fix the phone. She then makes a random call to a man who hangs up after thinking it was a prank call. She then calls him again and this is where the story begins. s

Preliminary task

Last lesson myself, Danny, Molly and Dean went around school to film our preliminary task. We found an empty classroom and began to film our short film to get practise for our final film opening that we have to do.

We first filmed Molly sitting at a desk acting as a secretary and then i came into the shot and the camera then followed me into the room and we did a match and action shot from my shoulder down to me opening the door handle and then entering the room. We then changed the camera so it was focused on my worried face from inside the room as i entered. The camera then went to a extreme close up of my eyes twitching and then zoomed out to pan as i sat down at the table. Danny then used the 180 degree rule whilst myself and Dean had a conversation at the table. He used fast paced shots to show the tension in the conversation as we did not use sound. We used a variety of camera angles and techniques to make the short clip more intersting.

From the task i learn't how to apply the camera techniques rather than just knowing how they work. I also learn't that making the individual clips flow is a technique that takes practise to get the hang of.

Overall i think the perliminary task has prepared me well for the final film opening i have to do and it also gave me an idea of what would be possible when making my film and what kind of film i will make. The camera practise has also made me feel more confident about filming by myself as it allowed me to have first hand experience of using the camera.