Final film

Here is the final draft of our film opening, The Assignment:

George Harvey, Lewis Bulmer, Josh Lawrence and Alastair Morrison

Filming Diary (plus any changes made when filming)

The organisation of our day of shooting has to be good in order for our film opening to be successful. If we are not organised well it could mean that our piece is rushed because we were not prepared and have the possibility of our film opening being poor.  

To get over this issue of being unorganised I have produced a schedule for our group for the day of the shooting so we can keep track of time and we will know if we are lagging behind a bit of if we are rushing and going too fast.

We are going to aim to complete our shoot in two hours and forty five minutes. This seems like a short time but if we know exactly what we are doing and we know what props we are using etc. then all we need to do is get the actors in place and film.

12PM – meet at the destination of our set. This will only include the people in our group (Lewis, Alastair, Josh and George) and not the actors yet. This is because we will need some time to set the set up and put props out etc.

12:45PM- actors meet at the set. They will be informed of what they will be doing in the filming so they have an idea of what they need to be doing, prepare, get changed etc. ready to shoot.

1PM- Start filming.

2PM- we will have a short forty minute lunch break. We are going to do this because we don’t want people feeling hungry or tired. Even though this sounds like a stupid thing, we need to all be feeling 100% in order for it to be successful.

2:45- resume filming and finish.

By Lewis Bulmer 

Throughout the day Lewis Bulmer was taking different snap shots of the day when we were filming and organising the different props. Below shows the outcome... 

 Above is a picture taken when we were filming the kettle shot. Here we had to think about the timing of the kettle, the positioning of it so that we could clearly see it was our main actor flicking it on. We also had to film the kettle then boiling. First of all we tried to add in a a focus shot but it was hard to time with the kettle then coming to a boil. After several attempts we then decided it would be better if we kept the camera in focus and have it as a much faster shot. 

 Above shows a photo taken when we were deciding on where to film the cctv shot. After this photo myself and Alastair decided that it was probably better if we filmed from a different location as it didn't look like much of a CCTV shot. There is another window to the left of the photo and that is where we ended up filming it from. We used the actor to come up and down the drive on the motorbike to see weather the shot looked good enough. 

 Above and below shows a photo of when we were filming all of the different scene where the protagonist gets changed. We decided to keep the camera in the same position as it then looked like the man hadn't moved. We flipped the camera screen around once we were happy with the shot to show the actor what he looked like. 

Above shows a picture of us arranging the different props within the film. we wanted to make sure that it all looked professional and made sure that we got all of the different key signifiers within the piece. So for example there in the shot we have a briefcase, the briefcase had a nice and gun in it. We all used our knowledge of the specific genre to then create the different props. 

Above shows another shot of us checking the different angle for the CCTV shot. This photo shows the clearer part of it when we had to get the motorbike to stay in the same position to make sure that it looked like a real life CCTV shot. This was hard to analyse as I then added the CCTV effects after the filming. 

 By George Harvey 

Filming Schedule (including Actors Schedule)

Consent Forms

If someone has agreed to be interviewed or filmed, it’s important to ensure they know what you are filming and how the footage will be used.

You can get consent verbally, but usually you should also ask your contributors to sign a form, known as a consent form. This will confirm that they know what they are being filmed for and are happy for the footage to be filmed, edited and broadcast.

If you are filming with someone who is under 16 years of age – and occasionally under 18 – you must ensure you have not only their consent, but the consent of their parent or guardian.

If you are planning to film with someone under 16 on a day when they would usually be at school, you probably need to request permission from their school, requesting that they miss some time.

George Harvey

Final Mise Decisions

Final Costume Decisions

For our film to be effective we need to have accurate costumes for characters that relate back to our genre. Our film is an action film therefore need stereotypical action costumes. Our main character will be wearing a black suit as shown below. This black suit has many representations, but we feel it is an accurate choice of costume for a hit man.

To accompany this, our protagonist also wears a set of pyjamas when getting out of bed. This costume will look something like this:

Furthermore, our antagonist needs to be shown wearing a stereotypical 'bad-guy' clothing to show the audience what they are supposed to think of him. Here is what our antagonist character will wear - bike leathers because he was most likely be arriving on a CCTV style camera on a motorcycle: 

Alastair Morrison & Josh Lawrence

Final Props Decisions

To the left of this text shows a briefcase that we placed in the back of a scene. This shows a stereotypical agents briefcase with all of the essentials that he needs for his line of work so for example the spare phone, the gun and the knife. This is an essential convention of a hit-man and adds an extra dimension of detail to our character. It also adds to the verisimilitude of the piece as the audience may see this in the back of a shot in the opening, helping to create believability of the piece, as well as the professionalism.

To the right of this text shows the pin board prop that we used in the shed to make it look more like his office. This particular prop is placed in most action films and is an essential convention of a hit-man or of any action film. This, again, helps to add believability of the film as, although its only in shot for a few seconds, it's an added extra that a viewer might see to help him engage with the film. On the prop, you can see both future and past assignments our protagonist has had to do and their whereabouts.

  

  

George Harvey & Josh Lawrence

Final Location Decisions

These two photos are showing the location of our filming. We have decided to chose these locations as they seemed the most open planned out of all of the locations that we chose. We wanted to have a location with a the most room because we would need to get the tripod around the rooms. The top photo is a shot of the front of the house. We have decided to get that photo as we wanted it to act as a CCTV shot with the high angle shown. The second photo is of the kitchen , we like the idea of this as it had the island bit in the middle where we could film along.













George Harvey

Final Casting Decisions

Initial Shot List

Shot List		Josh Lawrence & Lewis Bulmer
	Duration	5 Seconds
	Shot Size	N/A (Institutional logo)
	Location	N/A (Institutional logo)
	Description	The first institutional log will be presented here, 'Gecko Productions' (Fade to Black)
	Duration	5 Seconds
	Shot Size	N/A (Institutional logo)
	Location	N/A (Institutional logo)
	Description	The Second institutional log will be presented here, 'BTD Productions' (Fade to Black)
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Close Up
	Location	Bed-side table
	Description	A still shot of an alarm clock, protagonist is seen turning of alarm-Family photo is seen in background.
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Medium Shot
	Location	Side of bed
	Description	A Still shot of the protagonist getting out of bed - cut off head / some of body (Mainly seeing feet)
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Close up
	Location	Shower
	Description	A Close up shot of shower head as shower is turned on
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Zooming Close up
	Location	Body of protagonist
	Description	A zooming shot as we see protagonist buttoning up his shirt
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Close Up
	Location	Arm of Protagonist
	Description	A still shot as we see the protagonist sorting out his cufflinks on his shirt
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Close Up
	Location	Body of Protagonist
	Description	A still shot as we see the protagonist sorting out his tie / tying his tie
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Medium Shot
	Location	Kettle / kitchen
	Description	A shot of the protagonist warming his kettle up
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Medium Shot
	Location	Kettle / kitchen
	Description	A shot of the protagonist's kettle having been boiled (most likely  another shot between this and the previous one)
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Close Up
	Location	Mug (In kitchen)
	Description	A shot of the protagonist pouring boiliong water into a 'No. 1 Dad' mug
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Extreme close Up
	Location	Mug (In kitchen)
	Description	An extreme close up of the protagonist drinking from the mug (half of face cut out) There will most likely be another shot between this shot and the previous one.
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Close Up
	Location	Mug (In kitchen)
	Description	A close up as the protagonist hears an unexpected knock at the door and drops his mug in a panic
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Medium Shot
	Location	Hallway
	Description	A medium shot showing the hallway as the camera zooms towards the door where the knock just came from
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Medium Shot
	Location	Outside front door of house
	Description	A CCTV Style shot which shown two large unexpected guests outside the house
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Close Up
	Location	Hallway
	Description	A tracking shot as the protagonist walks towards the door
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Medium Shot
	Location	Hallway
	Description	A still shot as protagonist walks into another room and he reaches for a briefcase which we find has a gone on it. The room is decorated with Hit-man style maps / pictures etc.
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Close Up
	Location	Study room
	Description	A Close up shot as we see the protagonist arm a gun.
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Zooming close Up
	Location	Hallway
	Description	The camera zooms towards the door handle where the people outside are trying to get in
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Medium Shot
	Location	Outside
	Description	CCTV style shot, similar to before, as we see the people outside manage to open the front door
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Close up
	Location	Hallway
	Description	Over he should / back shot of protagonist and we see the characters from outside walk in the door in the background.
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Zooming close up
	Location	Side of protagonist's body
	Description	The camera zooms towards a now armed gun in the protagonist's hand
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	Extreme Close Up
	Location	Protagonist face
	Description	Extreme close up of the protagonist's eyes as we see him staring at the intruders
	Duration	4 Seconds (Still to be finalised)
	Shot Size	N/A
	Location	N/A
	Description	The title of the film flashes onto a black screen as we hear a gunshot- 'The Assignment' - the title fades to black.

Post on final decisions on locations

For our final location, we have chosen one of the houses we looked at in a previous blog. Here are the images of that location:

We chose this location over the others we looked at due to the fact that we decided this fit our character better. As a group, we decided tht this house fit our character's profile best as we want audience to think heis a family man just trying to make a leaving, the idea that this house gives off. Similarly, we also decided that this house would be the easiest and best to film is. This is mainly due to the fact that it has a long corridor leading up to the front, allowing us to use the dolly on our camera to have a zooming shot on the door - something we could not do in the other houses. Finally, the aesthetic of the door and outside the front door of the house also decided our final location - this house had a drive-way that was perfect for a CCTV camera and also had two window panels on the front door that allowed us to see the antagonist from inside - an added extra shot we wouldn't have been able to shoot in the other houses. 

Josh Lawrence

Post on organising sound, including sound examples you may use.

This sound footage could fit our type of genre that we are planning on using.  The suspense theme comes across strongly within this piece.

I like this music as it is royalty free and builds suspense. But for when we want to use it through our film I believe that it sounds a bit to slow in tempo.

This fits in with the theme of our piece and the name of it "fight till the end" suggests that it suits a fighting scene. This may be too up beat to be placed as some background music for our film opening.

Here is a few examples of the sound that we are going to use for our opening scene. These are all very stereotypical to the action genre as they usually have some suspense music at the start to then build the tension up to the action at the end. To get this music we searched "royalty free music" into YouTube.

George Harvey and Lewis Bulmer

Post on audition script and audition times – how you will organise your auditionees

1- Ask to put on a tie
We have decided to ask the people that we are auditioning to put on a tie in the way that we have told them. We decided to do this to see whether they can follow simple instructions
2- Drink from a cup
Drinking from a ,mug is one of the things that we have in our film. We will need to see if the actors can do it dramatically enough.
3- Shot of eyes
Here they will have to look into the camera with a worried look. Their eyes will be the only thing that we will want to see.
4- Pick up the mug in the way the you think the actor would do so
By doing this they will be able to get into the mood of the actor. If they are unable to do this correctly and up to the standards they will not be able to be part of our production.
5- Say something that you would think the actor would say
This also gives the actor a chance to get into the characters mind set.

George Harvey and Lewis Bulmer