Location scouting

Over the last few weeks I have planned to film in three different locations:
- Uxbridge
- Little Britain (a park road in Iver)
- Coppins farm (an abandoned barn in Iver)
- Inside of a car

The main problem I face with these locations is the fact that all locations are more or less outside. In the summer this would not be a problem, but due to the early sun set times these locations will be difficult to light. However, in some ways this benefits my project- I plan to use low-key-lighting which will be achievable by the initial dark setting, using mostly adjustable lamps as a light source.

Another problem I face is the fact that the areas will be cold and open, so the cast and crew may not want to shoot for long periods of time. This can be avoided by visiting the location myself and planning all shots and set-up beforehand.

Research summary

At this point I am very happy with my research and just finishing off my planning before filming next week. The overview of various short films and short films posters has given me good ideas which I have incorporated into my planning. The ancillary task is one which I will complete over the Christmas holidays, but I feel the research of that side of the task is already enough to plan and create that poster.

My short film itself is almost fully scripted and storyboarded, inspiration from other films in the crime-thriller genre and short films have each heavily influenced my ideas and script. The art of film-noir is also planned to be featured in my final piece, due to research done at the start of the year.

One component of research that I am lacking greatly is customer feedback. So far I have not received enough responses in my survey to help benefit my planning. This is something I do plan to complete, but it will mean continuing the planning aspect throughout the filming period.

If there are any films or other pieces of media that I see within the next few weeks, I will add it to my research and planning section in order to refine it further. There is still work to be done, and it will be completed by the end of the year.

Survey feedback analysis

Over time I have accumulated 100 responses from both internet-based and paper-based surveys. Here I will respond to the feedback received through each question, and develop my knowledge of film demand to benefit both my research and planning.

How old are you?

Most of the feedback received was from people who I had asked personally or within classes to fill out paper based surveys. Therefore I expected this result of most participants being in the age ranges of 15-21. The following responses will therefore mostly reflects that age ranges views.

What gender are you?

I believe the reason for the large proportion of male participants is a result of the topic being about film, suggesting that males have a greater interest in film.

How many films (on average) do you watch per month?

This question was quite general and although may not benefit my planning towards how I should make a film, but more about what kind of people would view it. Male participants were more likely to watch a larger amount of short films. I think that a lot of the reason for people watching multiple films monthly and weekly is due to their easy accessibility through services such as Netflix ad Amazon Prime.

Out of these genres, which two do you most like to watch?

Thriller, horror and comedy are clearly the most liked films from the audience surveyed. I did not expect western to be a popular option, and it was not. I personally think that modern Westerns are not very good, but conventions used in Westerns from the late 60's/early 70's are very profound and should be utilised across many films. I therefore think it would be wise to create a thriller that heavily uses conventions from the Western genre. This is a technique notoriously used by Pulp Fiction director Quentin Tarantino who is known to be a fan of works of Sergio Leone.

Where would you look to find a short film if you wanted to watch one?

The majority of responses were for free internet-based services such as Youtube and Vimeo. I will therefore upload my short film to one of these platforms.

In a crime-thriller, what do you most look for in a narrative?

I plan on featuring one or two action scenes in my film. However I would like to challenge this convention by including some deeper meanings which may not be effective, but give the film a certain 'edge'.

Which conventions of the ones listed do you expect to see in a crime film?

I plan on using both drugs and guns to drive the plot of this film, although will most likely try to include most of the conventions listed in some way.

Which age rating would a you expect a thriller to be?

I would suspect my film to be 15 rated as did most of the participants of the survey; the film being a 15 allows for a lot of possibilities in writing and action.

Would you be disappointed if a thriller you watched did not meet the criteria of a generic crime-thriller?

A large proportion of these responses were for 'maybe'. This was clarified in a few responses stating that "if the film was still suspenseful and well made I would not be disappointed". I may therefore feature elements of a crime thriller, yet drive the plot and create a narrative closer to other genres of film.

Current progress

Over the past few months my blog has primarily consisted of research with a start on planning; the last month spent filling out each task criteria. I am fairly happy with the quality of my research, though I feel there is still content to add and improve. My blog is currently lacking in some short film analysis' that may help to influence my final product, so I will upload one or two more before shooting. Research into various film styles throughout multiple movements and genres is also something I would like to add to my blog, art house films in particular. Moreover, I would like top explore posters from various other genres, such as sic-fi and action films from the late 20th century. The reasoning behind exploring various genres being that my product will be postmodern, and genre-hybridisation is a convention which I hope to apply boldly to my work.

Currently I am finalising my planning by finishing up my storyboard and creating an amanita along with it. These are two tasks that I can easily achieve before I want to start filming, however I still need to time to select and photograph the sets, costumes and props. The animatic I have planned should enable me to plan out timing and sequencing in order to prepare men for filming. Writing the script whilst creating this animatic will hopefully give me a far greater vision into what my final product will look like. Casting is almost complete as I have agreed to shoot with people from A2 drama. I believe these chosen actors fit the description I have planned in my head, and will be able to pull off a professional and appropriate job. Following this I will make a shooting schedule and plan, ensure that each environment is safe for workers, and plan which equipment I will need to supply for filming. I have organised to borrow/hire most equipment for free from friends, although if I decide there are further resources required, like editing software, I have planned to spend a maximum of £300.

My main barrier with this project is timing, with new project plan provided by my Miss Piggot I hope to overcome this barrier to an extent, although I may need further help. I have scheduled filming with the cast for early to mid December, the majority of my first draft should be filmed and roughly edited
before Christmas. Research and planning will be completed by the end of November.

My project is currently moving faster that it has done for the previous few months. With a start on planning I have acquired a better direction of where my project is moving, and how to achieve the final product. Finally I am feeling keen to start filming and editing as oppose to dreading this process. Greater detail is going into my storyboarding and overall planning as I feel far more prepared.

Script

Within this script I have adapted various lines from other films which I have already researched, mostly ones of the Western and crime-thriller genre. Unfortunately I have not yet had time to test this script with my actors, although I plan on allowing them to adapt their lines in order to establish more authentic and engaging characters. It is important that my actors are important with their roles as I have based each character on the individual actor to aid the inevitability of the roles.

Despite this, I feel that the script is still necessary in order to have some guidelines to support the narrative and character progression.

Character concepts

In my film I plan on having five characters:

Jamie (hitman gang 1)
Jimmy (hitman gang 1)
Mike (boss gang 2)

Winston (hitman gang 2)
Boss (boss gang 2)

Jamie will be played by myself, Jimmy will be played by Aayush, Boss will be played by Benoit, and Winston will be played by Ashley.

I have decided on who plays which role by writing the characters with more screen time to be played by the more experienced actors. I will then write the script to support this movement.

Here are some costume designs I have come up for with for characters.

Jimmy

Jamie

Winston

Boss

Scrapped storyborads

Beginning my planning I do not have a dominant idea of what I want to create in terms of narrative and plot. I have theorised many scenarios through storyboarding scenes with the hopes of building inspiration for my end product.

Here are a few of the storyboards I have created:

With this first storyboard I have created test shots which I have not yet been able to film due to people not being available. However I think the idea of having a character waiting for a car to take part in a drug deal/job is something that I could include in my thriller.

This negotiation scene around a table is greatly inspired by Lee Van Clef's first scene in the Good the Bad and the Ugly. I would love to revive some conventions from the Spaghetti Western genre and think that I will look further into this in later storyboards.

Again, a storyboard inspired by 60's/70's Westerns. A possible follow up to my first storyboard.

I have considered featuring each of these scenes in 3 acts: job brief, capture, job. However I am unsure if fitting 3 scenes would be possible with the limited 5 minute runtime.

Full storyboard (draft 1)

Establishing shot featuring both Jamie and Jimmy standing in the middle of a road

Medium shot of both Jamie and Jimmy (dialogue starts)

Continuous shot, quick pans between medium shots of each character

Continuous shot ends

Cut in shot, closeup pov shot of gun

Medium shot of Jamie and Jimmy

Winston opens door and walks towards Jamie and Jimmy

Wide shot encompassing all characters in scene

Shot-reverse-shots between dialogue

Cut in shot

Tracking shot of Jamie pulling out gun

Tracking over-the-shoulder shot

Over-the-shoulder shot

Straight cuts between short closeups of each character, building tension

Jimmy pulls knife

Pan in on face

Fade out