Back From Vacation

Back to school from Christmas holidays and ready to start working on the media project again. Filming planned for this weekend as last weekend there were some problems with actors that weren't especially major. We plan to shoot a majority of our film opening this weekend, except some of the shots must be done at a later date as one of the three actors isn't available. Looking forward to it

Research And Planning Conclusion

Using all the data I have compiled from questionnaires, vox pops, and various internet research I feel that me and my partner have successfully developed a plan for our film opening which will cater to our target audience while still enticing people in smaller, niche markets which will increase sales and hype around our eventual film. The filming will be done at various points from the Christmas holidays to the first couple of weeks back, leaving us plenty of time to edit on Final Cut Pro.

The skills we have learnt from things such as our preliminary task, the filming of "The Package" And that of our short clip about a nightmare parents evening will all help in the production of our final product 'Existence', highlighting things we must remember about sound, lighting and different camera angles. Within Final Cut, a wide range of effects such as blurs, sound effects, noise gates and various other things will enhance the way our film seems and set us apart from the rest. 

In terms of actual filming, we will be using clapper boards, directional microphones, microtracks, an HD camera, a tripod, and battery lights. This wide range of equipment can help us obtain the quality we are ultimately looking for. When filming, we will take extra shots as fillers so we aren't constrained to one sequence of shots, especially seeing as they may not work as well together as we would wish. 

Finally, when on location all aspects of planning will be used in order to decide lighting, the tone and the mood of the film being sure to cater to our target audience. 

JL

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.

JL

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.

JL

Actor - 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

Script

The only times in which speech is used within the opening to our film is at the very start, where he answers the phone and then on top of the tower where Kevin's boss hands over the money for taking out the hit. In the first instance, we saw keeping it short and sweet the best;

Kevin: [Answers Phone] Hello? Who is it?
Boss: [muffled voice, at the other end of the phone line] Meet me at the top of the tower at 8.
[Phone line goes flat]

We saw this as important, the boss' lack of an introduction highlights his importance and how well known he is to Kevin. In terms of the second occurence of speech, A juxtaposition between the distress Kevin was feeling in the hotel room scene and his confident attitude when talking to his Boss should be shown in order to portray his fragmented psychosis.

[Kevin is Looking out the window over the view of London. His Boss enters up the stairs behind him and Kevin turns around and acknowledges him with a nod. Neither character are fully visible]
Kevin: Boss, its done, There is no way he could have survived that.
Boss: Good. Ill be in touch. Until then, don't fuck up. [Hands package over to Kevin]

JL and JR

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