Filming Process

After all the planning, I went out to shoot the two minute opening scene. The location I had arranged was an ideal place for my scene because it was very dark and added to the intensity of the scene.

The filming process went really well in terms of functionality and conventions. I got all the shots i think i wanted to achieve by following the story board I created. One shot that I think was far better than any other shot in my opening scene was the one of the bad guy shooting the man in the chair. The reason for this is because the lighting was correct on his face and helped to emphasise what had just happened and the emotion.

After uploading the footage onto the Apple Mac, I was to find out that I was very limited in what I could use. I had unfortunately not given myself enough to use for the editing process, so the final piece will be on a fine line between good and disastrous.

Story Board

This is the story board I have created. It shows all the conventions that I want to use and also shows all the shots, digetic and non - digetic sounds and all the details that I will need to include to help get the most out of my scene.

Mood Board

Here is a mood board to show what I want my opening scene to look like. It will show things such as, the props I want to use, how I want my characters to look and what I want my location to be like.

To see larger view, click image

The things I want my scene to portray is a lot of tension, darkness and vunrability. I think I can show this through the ideas I have through using, a man tied up, a dark room/ building, use of props such as guns and blood. I need to ensure that it is all done in a slightly dark environment because it helps to portray the situation, that its all a bit dark and gloomy. The man being tied up shows that the man is vunrable and all of the actions are determined by his own words and the action of the man manipluating him.

Chosen Idea

I decided to choose ‘Idea 1’. I chose this because it has the capability to be able to accomplish productive and effective camera shots, ranging from low angle shots for shots of important people being portrayed as significant or mighty. Another reason why I decided to use this idea because I already had a definite location to hand so I thought that it would make it time effective by using the location that has been offered to me.

I have decided to make my movie a certificate 15, the reason for this is because the idea in mind is of a violent nature and there will be some bad language within it. So I think a certificate 15 would be appropriate.

Idea 2

Set in a dark wood. A girl is walking in a fast pace down a dirt path, clothes all torn, crying with makeup running down her face. Over her shoulder, you can see a search lights and hear dogs barking. As they get closer, she gets more tense and she starts to get more distressed. This scene is more about her emotions than about the action that is going on. The scene ends on a cliff hanger, she carries on running and fades out. This leaves the audience wanting to watch on and leaves them in a tense situation.

- I would start with a close up of the girls feet - running. This will help to establish that the girl has nothing and is trying to get away from something.

- I will then do a shot of her running down the same path.

- An over the shoulder shot as she turns round, you will see lights in the distance.

- A close up of the expression on her face when she realises that whoever is following her is not far behind.

- A low angle shot of the girl running away as she stumbles and gets really scared.

Idea 1

There is a garage/ workshop. Someone is tied up on a chair inside it, a bag over his head and really struggling to get out. The door swings open and there is a silhouette of a man standing in the doorway. He steps in and starts talking to the man who is tied up. The identity of the man still remains a mystery. All we can see is close up features, such as the coat he is wearing, his smart black shoes and quite noticeably the 0.22 calibre pistol he is holding in his hand. The vulnerable man is asked some questions, all resulting in a hard blow from the attacker. Eventually, the man gets so angry, he is resulted into using his gun, maybe getting a little carried away, firing eight shots at the man who is now sitting their… dead in blood soaked clothing. The door shuts and the man drives away.

- I would start off with some close up shots of things inside the garage e.g. tools, water dropping etc.

- I would then put in an establishing shot of the man inside the container.

-Then when the other subject comes in, there will be a series of close up shots of the main features e.g. the gun in his hand.

-This will be followed by some fast paced editing of the man asking questions and getting angrier, until a sequence of shots are fired.

- Not actually seeing the murder, the camera will be in mid shot, directly to the side of the man firing the gun.

- It will end with a low angled shot of the car, you will see the feet of the man getting in the car and then drive off.

Preliminary Evaluation

The preliminary task was a very successful process in terms of functionality and the way in which it was developed. I started off with a major problem half way through the planning process of the preliminary task. Unfortunately, my partner who I was working with dropped out of the course so I was left to devise and plan everything myself. My teacher decided to ensure that I got the best out of the preliminary task, I should work with another group. This was done within the lesson and I was assigned a job role as soon as I started. We all started on the planning process which went very smoothly. I was then in charge of creating the story board and shooting script. After much planning and discussion we decided that it was time to start the filming process.

The filming process went very smoothly and a lot easier than we anticipated. We shot the scene in a classroom provided to us by the school. We started off with a ‘CCTV’ type shot of a character walking up the stairs. We had done this to show that we are capable of using particular conventions and styles. Although this is not the final piece, we understand that we had to create a piece that gives all the necessary functions of a basic movie. During the scene we used a number of conventions such as panning, over the shoulder shots etc.

The editing process went as smoothly as the filming process was. We did not anticipate it to go so smoothly but it was finished within a couple of hours. We had the opportunity to use the new Apple Mac computers that the school recently brought. Using this was a panicle process because without the excellent software used on the mac’s the editing would not be as easy and therefore the preliminary task would not be as professional. This mac is a vital tool for have, especially for our final production piece.

Overall, both the planning, creating and evaluating process went very well. Hopefully we can use this experience of using the newly found conventions of filming and the acquisition of new technology along with the creativity of the group to ensure that we have a well thought out, planned and executed final thriller opening.