Task 4.5 (Planning - Preparation)

Location : western heights north center bastion (smokey)
We decided to use western heights as a location as it is the ideal place to get the footage and look we desire were else would be better to film a abandonment bomb shelter from the war than a real historic old run down bastion from the Napoleonic war in 1804.it is local and doesn’t take long to get to from any of the actors or people who play a role in this production. It provides us with the perfect set and and its such a large building with so many different places to film inside , filming locations with in the north center bastion, there are several tunnels and steps draw bridges holes and fire pits.

Other locations : The other locations we thought could be used : the old war tunnels around Dover castle ,the warren in Folkestone ,east cliff .we ruled these options out due to the warren being to open and not providing the element of being trapped we was looking for. although Dover castle war tunnels would be a appropriate location you cant get in there at night and the film has to be shot in dark , although we did discus filming it there and using effects ton make it appear to be night however we decided that its to hard to film as its always filled with tourists. Furthermore the tunnel is full of world war two memorabilia which doesn’t look very effective in a film which is meant to be a Napoleonic abandon tunnel.

Lighting : we had a hard job to accomplish the look we wanted in a pitch black tunnels we wanted it to be obvious that it was so dark in the bastion and tunnels with out making it so dark it was hard for the audience to see what was happening we first used a powerful torch shone in the center of the shot however when we got the footage back on the computers it was clear to see that it was a torch light straight in center shot we come to a group decision that this Is not appropriate for most of the shots as it is to artificial and doesn’t make sense however we used a few bits of this footage to show the handheld footage of the protagonists running away and exploring. We tried several different techniques of lighting for the rest of the footage for example using areas of the tunnels with more natural light in furthermore using lantern style torches therefore leaving no beams which worked alright however didn’t always light up the scene the way we wanted it to. We finally found that using the bright torch however pointing the beam out of shot for example at the ceiling of the side walls providing the shot with light with out a beam.
We used several effects on the shot once on imovie for example we changed the contrast of shots while darkening some and lighting some so they all were the perfect way we planned them to be.

Transitions: most of the transitions we used were cuts as this is a fast paced horror trailer fades representing long gaps in time would be not be appropriate quick cuts building up faster and faster to create tension and bring the audience into understanding the rush, fear and panic of the antagonists who are stuck in a run down war bastion. We did a very good job in creating the tension and telling the story with out giving to much away and enticing the audience wanting more and to find out what happens.

Shot planning : we followed the story boards the original arrangement of shots however we made a few changes for example I felt we could get a better opening shot if we filmed out of the bastion as we all walk through the trees towards it, which I felt was very successful and set the scene straight away the use of a long shot from inside looking down on the main protagonists which represent vulnerability and the element of being watched and looked down by something or someone .we had to use a wide variation of camera angles shots and movements to create the authentic style of a hand made documentary along side with showing the filming from the antagonists view and filming form different places to show the antagonist and protagonists in the same shots .

Costumes: we thought for the most realistic film we should wear the type of clothes we would wear to explore in a run down old building which was old clothes jeans and a hoodie. which was very convenient as we all had costumes already, we made sure we were all wearing very different colours so we could tell who was who easily as its hard to tell from night vision footage, we made sure all are clothing had dust and chalk on so it made it realistic because its very unlikely you would be exploring dusty tunnels and not be covered in dust and dirt.


Actors:
Ashdon Morgan
Andy Reet
Beth Sterling
Brad Champion
Georgia Bell
Luke Birrell
Tom Cock
We selected actors who would play the part well and have can be flexible with times to film and can get to the film location easily. we was going to use just people from are school as it would be easier to arrange when we could film , however we decided that it would very difficult to build the tension and show fear, as its a genetic convention of horror film to have scared young women.

sounds: we made a lot of are own sound effects in the tunnels for example when the door slams shut in the tunnel we tried filming as the door was slammed but unfortunately it didn’t make enough noise and couldn’t be picked up very well on the footage so we dropped a large piece of concrete onto a metal bin lid to provide the sound of the metal door slamming on to the concrete building. We had to experimented with several different objects and distances to accomplish the desired sound. we dragged a brick along the uneven floors to create a horrible scraping sound as if something heavy is dragging itself , we thought this was to direct so we faded it down in to a subtle background sound running along side the soundtrack .

Test shots:
We used a number of different test shots before filming the real footage and came up with a few ideas that we didnt put on our storyboards. We found that shooting shots out of the building itself, through the trees was very effective and something we wanted to include. We also tested how the camera would work moving in and out of the dark environments and whether it would loose focus or not and we were lucky that were able to acheive averything we wanted too.


creating the soundtrack:
We used a program called garage band which allows you to use cuts of drum beats and guitar solos and percussion samples to use all these stock sounds and cuts to create are own track whilst using various editing techniques . as you can see from the photo below garage band provides complete control of what you compose with options to blend each sample layer them edit the pitch and volume adjust at each individual second.

Script/Outline-

There is only a short peice of speach within our trailer which only takes place in one scene.

-close up of both actors facing the camera-
actor 1 (shouts) "hello"
actor 2 (shouts) "hello"
actor 1 (shouts) "hello"
actor 2 (shouts) "is anyone there?



This is a google mapshowing the location of filming you can veiw this as image map or image with road names on . it is indercated as the A maker on the map.

View Larger Map


View Larger Map
Posted by Champion at 04:01

Task 3.1 (Pitch - Initial Ideas)

For the Brief we have chosen is to produce a teaser trailer for a new film. We believed this would be the best option as we all have made short films before and would be able to put are knowledge and experience good use. We all also have a interest in films and it would be something we would be interested in and also enjoy doing.
We aimed to produce a horror genre film trailer that’s set in some kind of underground location. We want to try and be different in our approach to how we construct the trailer and the techniques used. We want it to be a "hand-held" horror trailer so the majority of the shots will be filmed by the actors themselves. We decided to try something that is not seen often but can be very successful if pulled off. We also don't want to be too standardized in the conventions in our trailer, obviously there will be some of the main conventions included for example antagonist and in a enclosed dark space, but we also want to use some of the not very used conventions.
we will draw up storyboards of the plot of the trailer and what shots will be using. We will also show what will need to be included the scene and what transitions will be used. then We will use a computer to turn these storyboards into an photo animatics showing the order of the shots, the transitions of the shots and how long each shot will last.
we need do decide on a location so will go to a few suitable places and take some photos and footage so we can decide which would be the best and would be most beneficial for are trailer.
Once we have chosen a site we will go and take photos of the shots we will need and take photos for the photo animatic to show the story board in photos so we know exactly what we need to do once filming. Once we have filmed we will need to make an appropriate soundtrack using a program called garage band.

this is a break down of what the inital steps are


The brief we have selected is a Teaser Trailer. This for several reasons which are listed below.

1.All three of us have a strong interested in films and watch them often , Therefore we view lots of trailers from watching DVDs going to the cinema and watching trailers on you tube and film websites.

2.
we decided it would be better to produce a teaser trailer than a music video as we would have to contact a unsigned band and make a video for a song that no one knows or finds interesting, therefore it would be a lot smart decision to so something we are interested in and will enjoy a lot more, and something we have a lot more knowledge on.

3.We also have vast experience and knowledge of making n a film as we produced one for are AS project , which me and Luke produced and developed are film opening sequence of "Fiat Obscuritas". On this project we will develop are skills in film making , I feel we have learnt a lot of new things and we will incorporate them into are new film. We decided to do a horror , like we did for the as project.
The stages involved when planning this trailer are as follow
First comes the Ideas which involves selecting characters, location , storyline ,genre so on.

Secondly comes getting are storyboards done and photographing them and producing are animations with storyboards and with are photographed storyboards

Next is to get a ruff idea of what's going on in the story and a basic understanding of what's
going on and were its happening this is called the Synopsis.

Finally the last stage is to script the trailer not the whole film so what main clips out of the
main storyline will be included in the trailer and for how long.




3.2 Pitch- Presentation

As part of the pitch for our production we presented our ideas to our Media Class.

This involved explaining the following points:
• Which brief we have chosen and why
• Choice of genre and why
• The basic story line
• Next stage of planning to be carried out
• Lessons to be learnt - objectives
Experiences

1. Research - Trailer/Short Film

Task 1.1 (Research - Initial Trailer/Short Film Analysis)

Snatch Trailer.

Snatch is a British crime film written and directed by Guy Richie; it was a major success as it hit the box office in the year 2000. The movie grossed a total of $30,093,107 in the United States and £12,137,698 in the United Kingdom. Although it sold a lot more in the United States it is a british film its so you can exspect alll the generic conventions of a great British film. London streets betting shops pubs. It has a British cast with many well-known names such as Vinnie Jones playing Bullet Tooth Tony, Brad Pitt playing Mickey O'Neil and much more.

The Trailer for the film also instantly gives the impression off about being a crime film by the opening scene , as it is a man with guns strapped to him and everyone grabs them and flashes to a title screen displaying from Guy Richie director of lock stock and the two smocking barrels. This is a well-known crime/gangster film this clip is played over a song, which is very up beat and fast paced, to empathize that it is a fast moving crime film packed with action.
The shots get quicker and more action in them from shots of a diamond to shooting and bare knuckle fighting and lots of cuts from the film with the film sound effects and voices played over the music. As the film does, increase in pace it introduces different characters introduced. It ends in some funny clips to show that it has jokes with in the film ending with a scene at the ‘pikeys’ caravan site and it shows two main characters not being understand the ‘pikeys’.

The trailer shows everything you expect from a gangster/crime film, lots of guns diamonds money gold violence packed with lots of action, to intrigue its audience. This film also keeps them impressed and wanting more. It accomplishes this by using a smart and effective approach of introducing the cast and setting the scene. throughout using title screens displaying the cast and showing a short clip from them in action so gives you the general impression of there personality and style of the character for example its shows a title about micky played by brad Pitt and shows a short clip of him . Which is a short cut to him in a bare-knuckle boxing fight it shows he isn’t a huge man but he can put up a good fight tattoos all over the body which reflects typical pikey culture. It does this for a few of the main characters a short breakdown of who they are and what there like this is done very simply how every it works perfectly.

I decided to look at this trailer for the way which it makes it clear exactly what kind of film this is, and what type of things will be happening , it does a extremely well to set the scene introduce the cast and clearly show what genre of film this is . I feel we should introduce this style of quickly setting the scene and giving a clear indication of what’s going on in this film through out title screens if necessary. However obviously with a horror genre and this style will need to be addressed in a completely different way.