Showing posts with label Planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Planning. Show all posts

Monday, 25 April 2016

Location Shots

The vast majority of the shooting for my trailer will take place locally in the surrounding locals woods within the Medway Area in Kent- the region in which i love. I chose this location because i ran into some troubles with my car recently and i was planning on going to New Forest National Park to condone my filming, this being quite a far distance away it was both inconvenient to get all the people to come along with me despite that being the original plan, and it near enough became impossible to still stick to because of the lack of time, but it meant that i had to adapt and change my original plan to somewhere closer to home. 

My film is based upon a group of friends who plan to go on a camping trip in a local forest/woods where by they expect the trip to be ordinary and like no other, however this trip doesn't quite go down how they planned. One reason why i decided to use locals woods instead of a well known forest, was down to the reason that it will reduce my travel expenses and save me time having to travel further distances. Also, choosing this location closer to home meant that if i have any errors upon viewing and playing back the film, i can easily re-gather my friends to help me film and re-shoot any shots i need to make up for what i don't have or that have gone wrong and need shooting again.


The location of Darland Woods in Medway, Kent. This is the location in which i will be filming most of my trailer. This is down to ease of access and convenience for all members of cast. This woods is big enough to condone all my filming and provides a variety of different effective filming locations.

Within my local area there are a variety of different woods (not forests) that are publicly open and can be explored as people may wish. One of the woods that i will be using is called Darland Woods which is pictured above in the red circle. This woods is situated close by to the motorway M2. The reason i chose this location is because my friends are all split up between a few towns - Gillingham, Twydall & Rainham and i needed to have a central location in which we could all travel to with ease, one of my characters featuring in the film lives close by to the woods so it was easy for him to access and walk to from his house, making this more convenient for me when it comes to filming. Another location i plan on using is a place down Lower Rainham Road called Motney Hill, this road is a public road however it comes to an end nearer the top and turns into a private road of which cars cannot access. This location i plan on using for the 'roadtrip' element of my film where the group is shown travelling to the location and all my various different car shots will either be done along this road pictured or in the surrounding roads close by.

Location in which Motney Hill can be found. Just off Lower Rainham Road in Medway, Kent. 

In the picture above, i have shown where about Motney hill can be found. In the other picture this shows where Darland woods is. Another erason why i picked these locations is because they are often very rarely occupied and roamed by people, although you do come across a few people here and there. Both the locations have vast majorities of open areas in which i can film within and this will help me utilize the overall effict that i am after to provide the best viewing experience. Having these open areas available to me means that all my planned shots can be hopefully performed and done to a good standard and turn out how i like them to be as if i had a smaller area i may be restricted as to what i can achieve.


Motney Hill-  a view of the road on which i will shoot some of my travelling shots. This road is fairly quiet so there is no issue in filming in the road. It is a dead-end road.
This is another shot of Motney Hill- the location in which i will perform my travelling shots. This shot is taken close to where the road ends and becomes a private road.



Set costume & prop design

In my trailer, there isn't much of a plan as to costumes and props that i will be using. Predominately, the film is based around a camping trip so characters will be in their own choice of clothes- something of which i will not take control over or worry about too much. However, i would like the main killer to be dressed up in all black, whether this will be in an all black tracksuit or casual black jeans/top/jumper etc. The idea behind my film is to have the killer appear as a black figure in the background of some shots- hence why I have chosen to film towards sunset. However, this will obviously have its limitations due to the coming together of people and making sure everyone is free and also depending upon the weather conditions.

One thing I will have to watch out for with costumes is that if i film at different stages, or different days the characters will be wearing different clothes to the time before so i have to make sure that they are in the same clothes to avoid the confusion upon viewing and making the story non consistent.

A prop that i will be using in my film is a knife which will be cutting into the tree- this is due to the fact that an axe is rather hard to find and gather and it is a lot more convenient to bring along to the shoot. The knife is very blunt so it will not be a hazard to anyone although complete caution will be taken with the knife.



Monday, 21 March 2016

Research into Roles

Research into roles

As I am working alone I will have to complete all of the given tasks myself. My main roles are producer, cinematographer, editor director and writer. By writing about these roles it will help me become more familiar with my tasks.

Producer:
·                     Location Scout.
Location scouting is a vital process in the pre-production stage of filmmaking and commercial photography. Once scriptwriters, producers or directors have decided what general kind of scenery they require for the various parts of their work that is shot outside of the studio, the search for a suitable place or "location" outside the studio begins. Location scouts also look for generally spectacular or interesting locations beforehand, to have a database of locations in case of requests.

·                     Production Designer.
In film and television, a production designer  is the person responsible for the physical overall look of a filmed event such as a TV program, video game, music video, or advertisement. Production designers have a key creative role in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the director and producer, they must select the settings and style to visually tell the story. The term "production designer" was coined by William Cameron Menzies while he was working on the film Gone with the Wind.

·                     Marketing.
As producer I will have to ensure that I have generated interest in my movie trailer. I will do through my subsidiary tasks and social media. For example, making the magazine cover and promotion poster. This will generate more hype. 

Director:
A film director is a person who directs the making of a film. Generally, a film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, and visualises the script while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision.

Writer:
The job of a writer is to create the back story for visuals of a movie. This will help me establish guidelines that I need to follow in order to make my trailer look professional.

·                     Storyboard Artist
A storyboard artist, or story artist, creates storyboards for advertising agencies and film productions. A storyboard artist visualizes stories and sketches frames of the story on paper. Quick pencil drawings and marker renderings are two of the most common traditional techniques, although nowadays Flash, Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro and other storyboard applications are gradually taking over. The digital camera is one of the latest techniques in creating storyboards

·                     Producer
SEE PRODUCER.

Cinematography:

·                     Storyboard Artist 
SEE WRITER.

·                     Technical Director
http://www.aact.org/technical-director
The Technical Director has to take care of the technical set including lighting, sound, set design and construction, and coordinating necessary maintenance.


Editor:
The film editor works with the raw footage, selecting shots and combining them into sequences to create a finished motion picture. Film editing is described as an art or skill, the only art that is unique to cinema, separating filmmaking from other art forms that preceded it, although there are close parallels to the editing process in other art forms such as poetry and novel writing. Film editing is often referred to as the "invisible art” because when it is well-practiced, the viewer can become so engaged that he or she is not even aware of the editor's work.
·                     Composer
N/A

·                     Sound Editor
I need to ensure that my sound matches up to my visuals.

·                     Sound Designer 

N/A

Monday, 29 February 2016

Magazine Plan


Above is an early draft of the rough outline I would like my magazine to cover to follow. I have tried to include all the conventions that a typical film magazine such as 'Empire' Or 'Total Film' would put on their front cover and base my plan upon this. Empire is one of the biggest selling British film magazines in the United Kingdom, and is too published in other countries such as The United States, Australia, Turkey, Russia & Italy. The magazine cover is labelled with most stuff on where i want it to all be placed in my final edition of the magazine cover, but i have not included where the titles will be, covering the sides of the magazine. 

To create an effective cover, I plan on the image being of a car sat in the middle of a forest at night time, with the car headlights turned on & the main killer/psychopath standing closer to the camera- in the very middle, as this will follow the conventions of most magazine covers who have one of the main characters centered in the shot. 

Wednesday, 24 February 2016

Shot list

Shot #
Location
Shot type
Camera Angle
Camera Movement
Shot Description
1
Ext
CS (Crane) /HS
High angled shot.
Track down tree- straight

The camera will track down the tree, to the ground where it will pause for a few seconds, with an axe coming out of nowhere chopping into the tree. Drone used
2
Ext
Tracking (TS)
Eye Level
Tracking character- try keep camera still as possible but shake for added effect. (Breathing and ambient sounds)
Tracking shot to the right of character running from behind the tree

Int
MS- CU
Eye level
Stationary (pull in)
Show one character going on phone and calling their friend up to ask them if they want to go camping... Turns into a 5 way call... Split screen effect.


FADE
TO
BLACK

3
Ext
MS
Eye Level
Camera attached to vehicle

Tracking shot/moving shot of group travelling to destination in car
4
Ext
LS/CU
Ground Level
Stationary- propped up (No tripod)
Camera placed on floor propped up, car drives over it
5
Ext
CU
Low Angle
Stationary- attached to vehicle
Camera attached to car showing the wheel turning/moving


FADE
TO
BLACK

6
Int
MCU
Eye level
Stationary
Attach go pro to car via suction cup- show group talking and laughing with each other
7
Ext
Establishing Shot
Eye Level
Either use drone to get a quick, smooth shot or pull out
Shows group arriving- perhaps pulling up to campsite.
8
Ext
MS
Eye Level
Pull in
Show characters getting out of car with some belongings to dump onto ground as they get out.
9
Ext
OTSS
Eye Level
Handheld-shaky feeling but not too shaky.
Continued from last shot- cut to show OTSS and surroundings as belongings get chucked on the floor
10
Ext
LS
Low Angle
Stationary- camera propped up
Chuck belongings over other side of camera
11
Ext
MS
Eye Level
Pull out
Opening boot and chucking belongings out
12
Ext
LS
Eye Level
Swivel around car (front to side)
Cut back to car parking up
13
Ext
ES
High Angle
Stationary
Show them setting up tent
14
Ext
CU
Eye Level
Swivel/follow
CU of character opening bottle of alcohol, follows movement of bottle as they drink it
15
Ext
MS
Eye-level
Stationary/pull in?
Show group sitting down on a tree log or leaning on car taking a break.
16
Ext
Variety of CU’s/OTSS
Eye Level
Handheld- slight shakey movements
Show characters faces mid conversation-showing forest background.
17
Ext
MS/OTSS
Eye Level
Stationary (variety of shots)
Get group to gather things to make a campfire i.e. logs, twigs.
18
Ext
MS
Ground Level
Hand held
Cut back to campfire- sticks/logs being chucked onto pile
19
Ext
MCU
Low level
Stationary/pan
Matches chucked to individual who lights the fire
20
Ext
LS
Low Level
Handheld/ moving (mounted to head)
(sound effect- turn in story) Camera cuts to distant shot of the group sitting there (with go pro attached to head)
21
Ext
CU
Eye Level
Stationary
Cuts to axe (Again) cutting into tree bark.
22
Ext
MCU
Eye Level
Handheld
Cuts back to group socializing with each other, having fun
23
Ext
CU
Eye Level
Handheld
CU of group in conversation
24
Ext
MS
Eye Level
Stationary
Bonfire shown as a figure of danger
25
Ext
LS
Eye Level
Stationary
Black figure appears in background
26
Ext
MCU
Eye Level
Tracking
One character walks off to collect something
27
Ext
MS
Eye Level
Stationary
Cut back to group/partners
28
Ext
MLS
Eye Level
Tracking/Handheld
Characters hear a faint scream in the distance- react and go off to see what it could of been
29
Ext
MLS
Eye Level
Stationary
Other characters act like nothing has happened- still normal.
30
Ext
MLS
Eye Level
Handheld
Editing- black figure appears out of nowhere in shot of standstill forest
31
Ext
CU
Eye Level
Pull in
Shot of character about to be killed (screaming)- laying on floor- axe raised in air
32
Ext
CU
Eye Level
Pull in
Very quick pull in to characters face with camera- as if the axe is the camera- character looks frightened
33
Ext
MS
Eye Level
Tracking
Quick cut to other character running away from murder- clip duration very short
34
Ext
LS
Eye Level
Stationary
Cut back to bonfire- killer appears behind the flames as shot comes to an end- no one notices.
35
Ext
LS
Eye Level
Stationary
Stutter effect- same shot except time skips- killer moves closer
36
Ext
CU/MCU
Eye Level
Tracking/pull in/out
End on a person being dragged away with them screaming