Final Story Board

We have had many versions of our story board but after we finished our continuity task, we made it our priority to make a final detailed story board with a few annotations, which can be seen below. This final version is more detailed as we drew each shot we would film for ease whilst filming. We will photocopy this for all the actors so they know what we are looking to have as a final product and make the filming easier and quicker. I understand that we will probably stray from this as when we get to locations we might come up with a better idea, and the shots also may change whilst we are editing, but  to start we have a solid and detailed story board to follow.

Audience

Before filming our opening, we thought it was important to ask our target audience a few questions about which films they prefer regarding genre and themes, as well as a few other questions. We asked a random group of people in our target audience range - boys and girls around 15+ as the certificate of the film would be a 15 - 10 questions relating to our film and genre. Below you can see the questionnaire and their answers.

We decided our film would be a certificate 15 because of the violence seen at the beginning which will be seen in our opening sequence. It may be quite gory but not enough for it to be a certified 18. As well, if we keep the gore and violence to a minimum we can have a wider target audience as if it was an 18, it would minimise the amount of people who could go and see it. We also couldn't make the film a 12 because of the language and the nature of the film, as urban and racing films are generally not suitable for a younger target audience.

We asked did this questionnaire before completing our final storyboard as we wanted to take on any ideas and preferences that we discovered through the questionnaire to improve our ideas.

For example, almost every person we asked said they prefer car action films to be shot in Urban locations, so this helped us to decide where we would be filming. As well, most people said they prefer the cast to be mixed of both male and females, so we added in an extra part to make the genders more balanced.

This is the completed questionnaire after asking 6 random people who fit our target audience. We asked such a minimal number as some of the questions were quite specific.

Evaluation:
From completing the questionnaire, we found that Urban films were most popular amongst our target audience, which was convenient as this is what we have planned to make the genre of our film. This reassured us that our idea would be popular amongst our target audience. 

As well, I was reassured that our target audience said they would watch a film based on cars and car events even if they weren't car enthusiasts as this means we would get a larger target audience.
The point of doing the questionnaire was to make sure our ideas would be accepted by our target audience, and so that if our project was made into a real film there would be profit made from the production of it. 
And this is a pie chart showing the percentage of our target audience who prefer horror as their favourite genre. This will differ as to who we ask if we were to do the survey again. Even though horror was the most popular genre, we couldn't create a horror opening as we don't have enough equipment, or special effects available for us to make it as effective as possible, and we were all adamant that we didn't want our opening to be cheesy and there was a big risk that if we chose our genre as horror, this could happen. 

Health and Safety

Health and Safety is really important to evaluate for our main task as we will be constantly filming off site and away from school so we need to make an accurate risk assessment so everyone involved feels and is safe. We did this by analysing the hazards at each location and giving it a risk rating, as well as making it clear what we have to be careful of whilst filming.

                    
 

As well, for safety and reassurance, we had to get forms filled out as permission to take the cameras off site

Film Openings Evaluation

Before finalising our script and story board, I evaluated 3 opening scenes to big blockbuster films. These were Goodfellas, Sixth Sense and The Shining.

Sixth Sense

This is the opening scene to the Sixth Sense http://youtu.be/SZi3BmrUVrc 

This was a really good opening as it demonstrated many different cameras angles, many that inspired us for our final piece. However, the opening was 10 minutes long, which is something that we can't do, so we must brainstorm in order to make sure our idea stays under 2 minutes.

Representation - The best use of representation in the opening (and throughout) Sixth Sense is the colour red. This is used on the door handle, jumpers, various other items of clothing, cards, writing and many others. Red has connotations of danger and fear, feelings the director would want the audience to feel throughout the film.


Mise-en-scene - The lighting has a significant role for developing the plot and builds up anticipation. Within the first few seconds a naked light bulb gradually heats up within a dark setting through a close-up shot. This gives out a hint of a symbolic idea of the presence of ghosts and the unnatural. The light within the opening credits maintains an eerie and surreal atmosphere which builds up suspense.It becomes clear that Malcolm and Anna’s marriage is very strong. We see these signs from how Anna sits close to Malcolm, as well as the intimate physical contact between them. This signifies that she truly loves and has faith in him and tells the audience there will be a strong love story as a side plot. 


Use of Camera - Close up of the lightbulb at the beginning is eerie and nerving, and as one of the main characters moves into the close up it is clear she is very relevant to the story. It also makes us aware how important the lightbulb is, as it suggests there is not much light - audience can assume something bad/scary is going to happen soon and it's not going to be clear exactly what's happening. Long shot shows the audience everything that is going on, even though it is calm for the moment, emphasises how alone the couple are in the big house.

Sound - the unnerving music portrays a creepy nature which foreshadows that the film may be mentally difficult to watch. The music quickens when the titles come on and becomes more abrupt as the titles repeating themselves, representing how everything may not be how it seems the first time round, a key theme of the film

Narration - Restricted narration, we only realise what is going on whilst the characters are finding out, or thanks to the camera work, even later than them

Form - Flashback after the first scene, so the structure in not chronological, one line of action to start

Genres - Horror/thriller

Target Audience - late teens early adulthood as the film deals with issues such as death but in a sensitive way. Both men and women would enjoy this film as it is more of a mind game and not oo gory for (some) women to find it disgusting.

Titles - Suggests ambiguous nature of the film as the credits gradually appear in black and white, typically ghost colours. Creates and eerie and edgy feel, helps create tension and put the audience on edge.

The Shining

Here is the opening to The Shining which we studied in lessons.
 I thought it was a really interesting opening as it was so simple, yet I found myself really tense through the whole of the opening because of the non-diagetic sound, as well as the reputation the film has, despite the fact that nothing scary happen for the whole 5 minutes. 

Representation - The sharp editing of shots in the opening represents the theme of change which the movie incorporates throughout as there are sharp changes in the main characters attitude. 

Mise-en-scene - The single yellow car in the establishing shots shows how significant it is as the camera follows the car through out the opening, implying to the audience how important it is. As well, the colour is important as often yellow is the colour of fear, which represents the genre of the film and prepares the audience as what they are about to see is going to be scary. The lack of actor in this opening scene keeps the audience interested as they are curious as to why theres no actor seen as normal, and adds the feeling of isolation to the piece even more so.

Use of camera - Birds eye view and establishing shots suggest vulnerability and shows the audience the isolation the characters are going to be in for the rest of the film. 

Sound - Non-diagetic sound used, very famous for being 'horror music' as the film is now 30 years old. It was unnerving, and we knew it was a horror film from the screams featured in the piece, parallel sound, sets the mood for the rest of the film.

Narration - Restricted narration, as we only find out information as the character does (we didn't know the hotel was on an ancient burial ground until the main character is told on screen)

Form - From the opening, I could only see one line of action

Genres - Thriller/Horror

Target Audience - 16 and over as it is very scary, tense and jumpy. Stereotypically it is more aimed at men as they tend to enjoy the thriller/horror genre more

Titles - Simplistic, the titles were written in an icy blue to represent the cold, and this is parallel to the genre of the film. They also look very out of place as the backdrop is lush countryside, and so this doesn't fit in, but makes the audience aware of the genre and sets them up for what they are about to watch. The titles are also this way so that they stand out.

Goodfellas

Representation - clear they are in New York or from New York due to their prominent accents. The car represents what time era it was filmed. Gender is also represented here as the males being dominant as there are no women featured in this opening at all. This represents the life they are living and the fact that they are working in a male dominant world.

Mise-en-scene - The suits they are wearing represent what type of gangsters they are, high class mafia gangsters are most likely to be the case here. Clearly going to be violent film as we already see the use of knives and guns. Tommy’s face during the stabbing is mainly cast in shadow as he kills – there is no clarity, implying that he himself is not thinking clearly when he is carrying out the murder and all you can tell of his emotions while he is doing it is from what he’s saying and how he’s moving. He’s moving restlessly, erratic and brutal in his stabbing. His words are angry, and almost childish in the way he repeatedly says 'die'. Jimmy’s face on the other hand is stony. He is calm, his movements careful and measured as he pulls out the gun and shoots. He knows what he is doing, and we can see him perfectly though not for very long. Henry is the only one who does not take part in the kill. He only watches, observant. When he speaks in the beginning he seems fairly easygoing, even while discussing what the strange noise could be, only curious. They look to him before carrying anything out, waiting for him to open the car trunk. He is the one with the access, with the key, the one who seems like he has the ultimate power here – maybe he is the one who is really in control here.


Use of Camera - The very first shot in the film is of the car which has been placed centre frame, telling that the people in in shall be central to the film.There is a medium shot of the car’s three inmates. The most prominently placed is the driver Henry, then Jimmy who is dozing beside him and lastly Tommy who is out of focus in the back seat – perhaps he is not so important as the other two. When the men get out of the car, the camera shoots a low angle of them in side profile looking down warily at the trunk. The audience is looking up to them, seeing that they are in a position of power.A medium shot is taken to reveal that it is a man, bloody and beaten. There is no close up, so we feel a slight distance from him. The camera then zooms out on Jimmy, showing that he is distancing himself from the violence and his actions, as if taking less responsibility for it somehow, and isn’t thinking about it for very long either. It all happens very quick.The camera doesn’t stay on him for very long as he shoots before cutting quickly to a close up of the bloody man – but not of his face, all we see is the bloody sheet. This dehumanises him, as we are no longer putting a face to the man, and at the same time shows subtly that he is finally dead; the sheet is no longer moving.


Sound - The strong language used is casually and informal to show that they are among friends. Also shows the certificate of the film and makes it more realistic as the target audience most likely use this language on a more day to day basis. 
There is a strange thumping, clattering noise that indicates something is wrong, out of place amongst the usual sounds of the motorway and it’s nearby, then we find out the sound is coming from the trunk. The voiceover: ‘As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster’. This has nothing in particular to do with what has just happened, trivialising the matter and placing the focus on Henry Hill. There is no talk about life or death, the first thing mentioned here and so considered more important is the self indulgence of remembering, memory, nostalgia, his own self and his own desires. Following that voiceover is music, but not the typical action music that you might expect – this sounds much more like a show tune, something to dance to, jive-like and upbeat. The drama of the situation has been belittled to something like off of a TV show, stripping the people of reality, distancing from it and making everything feel more like just a story you’re telling for entertainment value.
Their accents are Brooklyn, a typically working class area of New York associated with gangsters in literature and films, this is in contrast to the expensive look they’re wearing which makes the origin of their riches suspect; this plants the seed of suspicion within the audience’s head that maybe these people too are gangsters.

Narration - Once again, restricted narration is used as the audience and the characters find out who is making that noise at the same time. However, the audience don't know who he is and what he is doing there, unlike the characters.

Form - From the little I can see, there is a flashback so the order of action is not chronological  however fit is most likely to be beneficial to the audience. So far, there is only one line of action

Genres - Crime/thriller

Target Audience - The certificate is and 18 which minimalises the audience. This means it is an adult film, stereotypically a man's film which I can tell from the cast, genre, explicity and the language. The target audience is also anyone who is a fan of the actors as they are big hollywood stars, and so many fans will come to see this film just for them

Titles - There is no music played in conjunction with the titles as there would be usually.There are only the sounds of the motorway, each time the sound of a car driving past played the same time as a name appears on screen. The font is simple, classic capitals white on black. The titles are cut in between the footage of the film, giving director name and then a couple facts: ‘This film is based on a true story’ – and then ‘New York 1970’. These help set the scene and add to making the film feel like reality, like the lack of music in the beginning.

Organisation

When the final storyboard was finished and we were happy with our outline, we organised dates we were all free to film, using lesson time as well as time outside of school. As editing takes the longest, we wanted to finish filming as quickly as possible, but have set aside a few dates when we could film incase we don't have the footage that we want or aren't happy with some of the footage.

Then, we all wrote down which costumes each actor was going to wear and for what scene, for continuity as we can't have one actor wearing something different in each scene if they are filmed on different days.

Final Continuity Piece

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxX-d0O_V0Y&feature=youtu.be

Here's our final piece for our continuity. To prepare us fully for our final piece we included some simple titles to get used to the software we would be using. For our final piece we want to do something a bit more effective, such as having the titles over something we will film. Adding in these titles also creates continuity as it gives the piece a clear start and finish, and this was the aim of the task. 

I enjoyed filming the continuity task, and despite the issues we had with camera batteries, I thought it went well and we got it done quickly and efficiently, hopefully this is a skill we can carry over to our main task, especially if we do enough planning. 

My favourite part of the final piece for the continuity task is the beginning when Mitch falls of his chair, and I am particularly proud of this as we filmed it from many different angles at different times yet still managed to create a fluent piece of filming. This was down to the hard work we put in as group in the editing room.

Continuity Task Editing

Editing is one of the most important parts of creating a film because, as the title suggests, it must have continuity and create an atmosphere.

We used Apple Mac software to do our editing and started by importing all the footage we had filmed and selecting the best clips to use. Once we had put these in order we had to cut the down by milliseconds to make sure they were continuous and that the dialogue didn't get cut off or jump between sentences or words. This took a lot longer than anticipated as every detail was important.

Once we had finished editing the footage, we added Titles which fade in at the beginning along with some music which faded out at the end. The pictures show the editing effects that we added to our continuity task.

The pictures above shows the slow motion and fade out effect that can be seen at the end of the clip. This was a group decision as we thought it created a dramatic effect and good contrast to the fast paced action at the beginning.

Once we added these effects, we created our own music through the use of Garageband as we couldn't use any other song due to copyright. This meant that we could use music in the way we wanted to create the dramatic atmosphere and tension that we wanted at the end of the task.

Continuity Task Filming

The Brief of the continuity task was to film two people face to face, after one had walked through a door and sat down as well as including match on action and the 180 degree rule.

The 180 degree rule is when the cameras have to stay behind an imaginary line perpendicular to the cameras viewpoint in the establishing shot of a scene and enforces continuity.
Match on action is where the perspective of the camera changes  during the scene but it continues to flow.

For the script, as it had to be less than a minute long, we decided to improvise along a basic plot line: I walk into the room screaming at Mitch as I have just found out he cheated on me. When I come in the room, Mitch falls off his chair and as he gets up I push him towards the window in anger. Finally, we included his hat falling out of the window when I slap him across the face (match on action)

Here, you can see us setting up the cameras on tables and on the floor to incorporate as many different angles as possible, such as high and low angles, as well as a simple two shot.

Overall, we found the filming of this quite easy, but the main issue was how long it took, and is something we really have to take into consideration when we film our opening as it took a lot longer than we realised. Setting up the cameras and making sure they were at the right angle as well as sticking to the 180 degree rule took a long time, especially as we had to change where we wanted to film to fit with the slamming of the door as well as being in a good distance to the window.

Another problem was that two of the four cameras we were using ran out of battery during filming, so we had to rearrange the cameras to be near a plug, which wasn't easy! Here you can see you is moving around all of the furniture in the classroom, as well as the angle and distance we filmed from so the camera could be plugged into a charger. Once we had done this, we once again had to get the cameras either at the same height for continuity or at completely different angles - i.e high and low angles.

Once we came to editing the piece, we realised that we had got the camera stand in a few of the best shots we had recorded, which of course we couldn't include as it's unprofessional. Instead, we cropped the view of the shot so the corner of the camera stand was no longer in sight.


Once we had combined all of the best shots for the best continuity possible, we decided to include music and special effects such as slow motion. We wanted to include slow motion to make the falling of the hat out of the window as dramatic as possible, and also to represent Mitch falling out of the window himself (which of course we couldn't film).
We originally wanted to only have music during the hat's slow motion, but by accident we included it at the beginning, which in the end created a brilliant build up of tension to start off our task brilliantly. The music we used was created using Garageband.