rushes log

Camera Rushes Log Final!!! by Lewis Surridge

risk assesment rackheath

Risk Assessment Form City Centre by Lewis Surridge

risk assessment mousehold

Risk Assessment Form Mousehold by Lewis Surridge

risk assesment office

Risk Assessment Form Office by Lewis Surridge

location plans

i havent done any location plans as i used the storyboards to dictate where i would place the camera.
i also made the location plans on the day, i pre organised where we were going to shoot, for example mousehold and rackheath, however i decided upon camera location on the day.

call sheet mousehold

CALL SHEET Mousehold by Lewis Surridge

backdated minutes of meetings

as i was working alone and found no one to help me with my lighting issues i didnt have meetinsg with others, only time when i worked on my solo project and took notes on what i would be doing for the week, i had two meetings with actors, one with one set and one with another, these are the backdated minutes of the those meetings and what was discussed

meeting one
detailed what i intended and agreed with two female actors what was going to happen, worked out a schedue and they agreed to film.

unfortunately after that i was contacted by my actors and they were unavailable to fit in with my schedule i then had to work with other actors

meeting two
improptue meeting with two last minute replacements, my girlfriend and brother agreed to film, agreed to do all filming in one day with minimum dialogue but didnt mind being filmed, we then proceded to film that same day and got all filming done in one day across 3 locations

participant release forms

Release Form Ls by Lewis Surridge

Release Form Aj by Lewis Surridge

storyboards with camera and directing instructions

mousehold scenes

rackheath scenes

office scenes

call sheet rackheath

CALL SHEET City Center by Lewis Surridge

recce checklist office

Recce Checklist(1) Office by Lewis Surridge

recce checklist rackheath/city streets

Recce_checklist(1) City Centre by Lewis Surridge

recce checklist mousehold

Recce Checklist(1) Mousehold by Lewis Surridge

screen shots of editing bin and editing timeline

This is a screen shot of my timeline. i have included colour bars and tones and a countdown clock, there are multiple layers of audio. the bottom 2 layers are my audio track it is a song called pursuit and it is a copyright free track i downloaded from the website jamendo. this track is played throughout the film on a low level to add suspense, it is non digetic and replaces the footsteps and wind/digetic music as the background, above it is the voiceover tracks, as i only wanted certain phrases with certain clips i edited it so that the voiceovers were all seperate and i could apply them to where i wanted them. there are 4 layers of visual, one is unused as i had orginally intended to make one scene red but discarded this idea. one layer is a black and white filter being applied to the whole film, another layer is the end credits being played over the final scene and the indication of time moving by saying 2 days later. there are multiple fade in and outs for when one scene moves into the next, i have also applied a screen wipe for when one character dies as an implied death in oppose to showing it. i have the credits rolling down as my character exits, i liked the last scene and felt the two coupled together looked good.

This is a screen shot of my clips bin, it contains each shot seperately and in order so i know which order to input it into my timeline, i also did this to make the rushes log easier to complete. the bin also contains multiple audio tracks, there is the un-seperated version of my voiceovers, there is another set of voiceovers i didnt use also, there is my audio track, the clock and bars and tones.

shot script/shot list

shot script

scene 1:  office interior
shot 1 low shot of feet walking in
shot 2 mid shot of man turning round
shot 3 mid shot from mans perspective of woman, panning up to her face
shot 3 close up of womens face
shot 4 close up low shot of feet walking out of scene
shot 5 mid shot of man turning head away, zooming out

scene 2 city streets
shot 1 long shot, man in close perspective, women far away and blurred
shot 2 wide angle mid shot of man walking in and woman walking out of scene
shot 3 over the shoulder tracking forward of women
shot4 high wide shot of woman leaving scene and man entering
shot 5 zooming out shot of man walking towards camera
shot 6 same for woman
shot 7 long shot of man running
shot 8 wide pan of woman walking
shot 9 long shot of woman in distance
shot 10 tracking of man running
shot 11 close up of mans face

scene 3 mousehold/woodland area
shot 1 mid high shot of woman entering woods, followed by man
shot 2 over the soulder shot of woman walking
shot 3 backwards tracking of feet
shot 4 zooming out long shot of woman walking
shot 5 tracking of man walking
shot 6 over the shoulder shot
shot 7 close up of dead body
shot 8 reaction shot close up
shot 9 close up of woman entering scene
shot 10 low mid shot of man with gun
shot 11 long shot zooming out of man walking out of scene.

audio

i have done voiceovers for the audio, i did this in the form of an inner monologue when my character stalks the other character, the voiceover will provide his thoughts. i have done this as the audio on my camera was built in and picked up a lot of directing instructions and digetic sound that was not very nice. i have also done it because it fit in with the film noir genre, useually at least one character has thoughts to themselves or provides a narration, such as sin city, therefore i felt this would fit in nicely with my work.
i have also placed an audio track on the film, i have a long piece of music which plays throughout but at a low volume, it provides the background noise in place of digetic sound, again i have done this as it is a useual stereotype of film noir films. i also feel that it provides suspense and give the film a dark atmosphere.

equipment lists

equipment list for Rackheath: handheld camera, tripod.
costume list for Rackheath: trench coat for female character, suit and hat for male character
prop list for Rackheath: book, mug
equipment list for Mousehold: handheld camera, tripod
costume list for Mousehold: trench coat for female character, leather jacket and shoes for male lead, denim jacket and bowler hat for supporting male character.
prop list for Mousehold: plastic shotgun, plastic revolver, sunglasses.

i chose the handheld camera for filming as i felt it would be easier to transport from place to place, i also felt that it would provide me with better shots and camera angles, it was easier for me to get reaction and emtoion shots as it was easier to manuver around. it also made it easier to track characters with a steadier hand due to its light weight, it also worked well on the tripod and got some great footage.

i tried to get the costumes reminisciant of the time period that film noir films were made, however i didnt have any available, so i made the outfits that of a fifties look, a time when film noir would still have been prominant, the costumes also fitted in with the modern setting. i believe this gave it a non descript look in terms of era.

in terms of props, some were minor and just had to fit in with the scene, for example books and a mug in the office scenario. the weapons i used for the final confrontation were orange and plastic, however as i was making the film black and white this did not factor in, the weapons i used i tried to model on film noir films, the revolver being a prominant weapon in other film noir films. i also used a shotgun as this again was featured heavily in film noir.

film influences

films that i have drawn influnece from and why include;

modern films

sin city- the use of shadows and darkness perfectly excentuates characters, the area you need to be scene is lit and everywhere else is dark which perfectly gives the sense of mystery, something i wish to emulate in my film. the voiceovers in the form of an inner monologue are also interesting, i am thinking of including this in my film in the place of dialogue.

gangster squad- the lead protagonists character, the way he plays the hardboiled cop who will single handly take down the mafia is a cool character i could potentially use in my film.

older films
dick tracy- the stereotyping of the characters and how they were played, i feel this will look good in my film.

filming and editing schedule

due to issues with actors availability, i had to completely re do my filming, the filming i had originally done had to be scrapped as the actors could not commit to further filming and i had only finished half my work. i therefore re filmed with different actors and in slightly different locations, this means i had to change my initial proposal slightly. i have now completed editing.
i haven't put a post on here in a while so here is a schedule of my filming and editing backdated:

filming in Mousehold and Rackheath, Sunday 12th of may
editing, Monday 20th of may and Tuesday 21st of may
voice recording, Monday 20th of may

production

over the past week i have manged to complete the scenes in the city, i have altered the scene in a bar to an alleyway, i also manged to film that, over the next week i wish to complete both the office scene and the woodland scene. i am going to edit the scenes i have filmed this week also.

production files

today i have completed the pre proudction paperwork, i have completed recces for each location, call sheets for each location and risk assesements for each location, i have also printed release form for my actors, i intend to have these loaded onto my blog by the end of the session.

weekly update

i have not started filming as i have had issues with being ill, and getting the cast and crew together for the same time, i intend to start filming this weekend on the Sunday, i am going to film around 4 o clock in the city centre as i imagine the city will have bare minimum people there around that time, which will enable me to create the illusion of solitude.

as i have not started filming i am not at the post production stages yet.

i am going to start working on production documents today for my shoot on Sunday.

by the time of the next session i wish to have completed my filming completely and started my initial editing, i wish to have all the necessary paperwork up to date as well.

i have shown my tutor an initial rough draft and i have received feedback on this, i have started using the notes in question to tweak my script, i am still to post the final script to my blog though, i am going to potentially have that done by the end of today's session.

i have not been keeping constant production log updates recently, that has been due to me being ill, as of today i will be posting regularly again, especially with the upcoming filming.

i believe that i will be able to showcase both my creativity in terms of plot and style in this film, and my technical ability in terms of camera work and editing the final piece, i am hoping this project will give a good account of my production management and ability to maintain a cast and crew whilst working on other projects. as i have not started filming yet i have no insight into whether this would land me a job.

illness

i havent posted on the blog for a week or so as i have had food poisoning and therefore struggled with doing work.

basic scene descriptions and initial plot ideas

here is the initial basic layout to my scene structure

scene 1) the interior of an office, a police man takes a gulp of whiskey before hiding it in his desk as woman walks through the door, the woman is attractive, they have a heated argument and she storms out, she passes another woman as she leaves the room. there eyes meet and the original woman glares hard, the second woman sits with the cop and kisses him, the original woman slams the door shut.

scene 2) a woman stalks another woman to a dark location, you never see there faces, the camera pans out and a single gun shot rings out.

scene 3) the cop goes to a bar, there he drinks heavily, hours pass, he appears to be waiting for someone, the original woman walks into the bar, he is suprised to see her, evidently she was not the person he was waiting for, she whispers something in his ear and the drink drops, she walks out and he slumps into his arms.

scene 4) the cop is next seen observing the woman, following her from the shadows, he follows her to a club, inside he hides at the bar while she has dialogue with an older man

scene 5) a flashback shows the cop talking to the older man, it is revealed he worked for older man and was part of there criminal organisation.

scene 6) the scene returns to the bar, the woman confronts the cop and it is revealed she claims to be holding the woman hostage and they are blackmailing him into working for them.

scene 7) the cop is tasked with killing a man, but backs out on it, instead allowing the man to go free and be silent, he returns to the bar and confronts the older man when he goes for a smoke, the old man reveals it was his idea to capture the woman and he believes the other woman has her in hiding. the cop then procedes to kill the older man.

scene 8) the cop then stalks the original woman through the woods, leading him to where he believes the woman is being held, it is there he finds the womans dead body has been hiden, a showdown between the cop and the woman ensues, she reveals she was working on behalf of the older man but killed her out of jealously due to there past relationship, she remarks about her offer from the initial scene, where it is revealed she had tried to blackmail him by the telling the police of his former life. the cop attempts to attack but his cronic alcoholism causes his body to temporarily shutdown, the woman gains the upper hand till the cop eventually kills her with a gun on the dead body of his girlfriend.

initial plot ideas
an aging alcoholic detective who hides a sordid past is connected in a love triangle that involves murder, blackmail and double crossing at every turn. doomed to fail and have his past revealed the cop is on the tail of the murderous whisperer who could change everything, will his vices make him fail before he can even begin his journey.

stereotypes of a film noir

there are many stereotypes in a film noir, most of which i hope to include to really give the feel of then genre and that 1940's influence.

plot and settings

the plot for a film noir follows many stereotypes. the themes of the film useually revolve around a crime boss' greed or a characters jealously towards another characters standing, the characters are useually heavily flawed and not content with there lot in life. the protagonists are often double crossed or implicated in situations the villain has been involved in, there are false accusations and always a feeling of mistrust even amongst friends. amnesia is said to be the common cold of film noir as it is so heavily prevelant.
they are tales of deception played out in the seedy underworld of big cities, places assoicated with the mafia type characters, such as gambling dens, bars and city streets. they are city life dramas revolving around crime.

morality and tone

the general tone of a film noir film is downbeat and somewhat black, often pessismistic. the characters find themselves in unwanted situation which they have not caused themselves but are tasked with resolving. they face many problems throughout and often doomed to fail from the start. the outcomes of the film are useually bleak and do not have the happy ending feel. vice if often the theme of film noirs and seems to go unpunished often flaunted, they even have the protagonist have the same vices as villains, this shows a similarity between characters which blurs the line of morality and what is good and bad.  the overall tone of the film is that of hopelessness.

character types

detective/private eye
the protagonist of a film noir is usually a flawed former or current lawman, they often have very distinguishing character traits. stereotypically they are hard boiled and have an uncertain history that is revealed throughout the film and usually contributes to the plot in some capacity. they usually play the role of literal dead men. more often than not they have a problem with authority that halts there progress. they are also portrayed as heavy smokers or drinkers more often than not. this character often is reluctant to answer the call of adventure. the character is usually middle aged.
how i will use this character
this character will play the largest part in my film, i will have him following the villain throughout the piece, always one step behind due to his flaws from the past which i will reveal throughout the film, this character will have ties to both the ditsy dame and the femme fatale and this will play a large role in the plot. i am going to make the character older and rugged, hardened to life and having a problem with morality and taking up the call to adventure, also having a poor reaction to the equilibrium.

femme fatale
the femme fatale usually is the antagonist or contributes to the antagonist in some way. they are portrayed as sexy seductress types who can make men ad hear to them, often coming into conflict with the detective in this way. they are commonly shown as being incapable of looking after themselves initially only to reveal a malicious, sometimes murderous character trait later in the plot.
the femme fatale can often be the anti hero of the piece though, starting off the bad guy and then coming around in terms of morality but still maintaining there solo disposition. this character breaks the stereotype of women in film and gives them a strong female character. they often have traits of jealousy towards others.
how i will use this character
i am going to have this character as my solo antagonist, they are performing the crime against the ditsy dame character, the motive of this crime is jealousy and to gain control of the protagonist in some capacity.

ditsy dame
the ditsy dame character or damsel in distress, takes the princess role amongst the character archetypes, they are usually the prize of the protagonist or person they are tasked with helping in the film. the character is usually portrayed as being pretty but unaware of this, they are inept and seemingly incapable of looking after themselves, but have a strong sense of morality. they can either play major or minor parts in the film and have ties to the protagonist or antagonist, they are not often stand alone characters. they are usually the victim in some capacity.
how i will use this character
i am thinking of using this character as the victim of my villain; the femme fatale, i am going to have this as a small part but integral to the plot, the death or capture of this character will be my heroes call to action and she will have ties to him.

there are many other characters such as the corrupt cop, but these are the 3 main characters i am going to focus on.

action plan

this weeks action plan
1. complete final brief
2. discuss final brief with tutor
3. add character research to my blog

the following weeks i wish to have started.
1. add character designs to my script
2. start my filming schedule
3. start working on production file; recce, shot script etc.

production update

i am currently working on character roles, i have looked into 3 different roles for my film.

i have been looking at the character traits of a femme fatale, flawed detective and damsel in distress and working out how i would incorporate them into my film and who could play the role and how they would play it.

i have also been extending on the basic script i had in my proposal and have been looking at locations for scenes.

response to last weeks action plan

i managed to achieve finishing my initial proposal for my film last week, i did not get around to discussing it with my tutor in length, though i did recieve feedback.

from the feedback i have researched character roles so i can then work on my script.

i am still to produce a final brief.

proposal

today i have finished my proposal, here is the link to it on prezi
http://prezi.com/0eoj3n02g1-8/untitled-prezi/

achievements for today and the coming week

today
1. finish my proposal on prezi
2. discuss proposal with teacher
3. make a final brief from the evaluation of my proposal

the following week
1. start initial script
2. start producing a schedule
3.futher research into my subject area

labels

labels

blog creation

today i have started my blog