Locations

Locations

My groups opening begins with an interview of the Prime Minister talking to the children about the government and the current state of the United Kingdoms economy. As a group we decided that the front entrance of our school was a suitable location for the interview to take place.

We chose three possible locations outside the front of the school and took pictures of them to see which one works best. The first picture is of the front reception, however we decided it is not best because it is very busy and we will constantly be interrupted and is not the most practical choice.

Or second option is outside the front gates of the school, however we decided that the scenery is very dull and on the side of the road which means it is very noisy which is not helpful when we are trying to film. We thought best not to use this location.

This is our third and final location, it is the front of the school and is a main feature of the school, it is the one that as a group we came to a conclusion that it is the most suitable place because of the fact it is one of the schools main features and is on the side of the front entrance which means that there are less interruptions.

Deadlines

Deadlines

We have been set deadlines, this will help us to be able to keep to the deadlines.

Storyboards and Animatic Presentations: Tuesday 15th January
All of the filming; Monday 28th January
Post-Production, Rough cut: Friday 15th February 4pm
Final Deadline: Friday 8th March
Individual Evaluations: Friday 29th March 4pm

These deadlines are essential to keeping us on track with our work and give us time to edit our work if we are not happy with it. 

Rough cut

Rough Cut

This is the rough cut for my groups thriller project, as you can see it needs refining as it is not quite there yet. Last week Melissa and I went up to London with Callum to film the second section of filming that had to be done. As a group we collectively decided that we needed to go to Westminster in London because, there hold lots of iconic symbols that people will associate with the Government and the Prime Minister of England. We are still searching for non-diegetic score to add to the film to give it the audience that thrilling edge to the production. We collectively decided that it was best that we did not ad the title into the clip as we were unsure if it fit in, the title was going to be 'Mad Teacher' but we thought this was not the best and most creative name. I feel that a lot of the shot have to be polished up and made so that the transition is a lot smoother, however when this is done I feel that we will be very pleased with the finishing result.

Filming - London

Melissa Kerrison, Callum Carroll and I all went up to London yesterday (February 14th) to film some new shots to add to our opening sequence. We went to Westminster so that we can film Callum coming off of the train and walking up and out of the underground tube station, and also to film him around the Houses of Parliament. This was very successful as we got done exactly what we need to do. 

I am very pleased to say that we got managed to film every shot we needed with out any problems which was nice. They were the perfect length, and were steady and the distance was right; so Callum's head was not cut out of the frame like before. 

However, there was one small problem which was the fact that we were unable to get the view of the Houses of Parliament that we wanted without viewing it from the bridge. This was a little bit of an inconvenience as we intended for Callum to be waiting right outside the Houses of Parliament waiting for the Prime Minister. Despite this I am extremely happy with the progress that we have made and this new footage will make a big difference to our thriller opening. 

These are some of the photos that we took whilst we were up in London Filming:

Deadlines

Deadlines

Storyboards and Animatic Presentations: Tuesday 15th January
All of Filming: Monday 28th of January
Post-Production (rough cut): Friday 15th February 4pm
Final Deadline: Friday 8th March
Individual Evaluations: Friday 29th March 4pm

We have all taken on roles and responsibilities in order to meet these deadlines and keep the wheels in motion. Each having our own role in our group allows us all to get on with our own thing and speeds up the whole process, which means that if we have to change anything in our film we will have enough time to sort it out and perfect it.

Roles and Responsibilities

I am taking pictures of characters, props and settings.
Melissa and Hannah are in charge of the animatic.
Finley is in charge of the shooting schedule and shot list.

The New Storyboard

After our opening title sequence was shown to the class, and assed by our peers, it became clear to us a group that we need to make a lot of changes. Some of the changes that need to made are things like; in some of the shots the lighting was not adequate, some of the panning is not smooth enough and we cut a bit of the protagonists head out of the frame. So we decided to take a step back and re-think our storyboard. The reason we chose to improve our storyboard was so that we knew exactly what we wanted it opening to look like, and exactly what we had to film. I feel that this is going to really help us to make a better more well put together piece of media.

Here is our new and improved storyboard:

Update

When we all looked through and began to edit the shots that we had recorded, we had noticed that it was no where near long enough and also a few of the shots that we had recorded we not satisfying enough. As a group we all got together and came to the decision that we HAVE to improve on what we already have, and that on the 5th of February that two members of the group and the actor (Callum Carroll) would go Westminster in London to film various shots near the Houses of Parliament. We have also agreed to bring in a new character, who is going to be the wife of the protagonist, but we have not decided to just use an clip of audio (so you do not see her) or wether she will be seen. She will be unaware of what her husband is really up to and thinks that he is just going to work as normal.

Things that we will be filming: 

• The protagonist on the train. Impatient and agitated mood.
• The protagonist walking amongst the public.
• An establishing shot of the protagonist smirking and gritting his teeth (with the Houses of Parliament in the background).
• Shots of iconic buildings/ landmarks in London.

Things to re-film: 

• We need to redo a shot where we cut some of the top of the protagonists head out of the frame.
• We need to redo the panning shot of the bottles, because it is jumpy and not smooth.
• Some shots need to last for longer, the idea of doing this to create suspense. 

The re-filming will take place at my house as that is the location for a lot of the shots. After we do the filming in London we hope that the film will look far more professional, and with the re-filming the title sequence will be the adequate length (time scale for this task is two minutes)

Development of Idea

Development of Idea

This is the developed idea which we have chosen to cut down:

• The Prime Minister being interviewed explaining why he has chosen to visit the Chalfonts Community College.
• The over the shoulder shot of the assassinator turning the television off. 
• Zooming out from the television screen, turns to a close up of the assassinators face (to create an intense and angry tone) dressed in a smart suit and tie. 
• He then walks down the hallway (silence except for his footsteps).
• Stops 'Welcome Prime Minister, Mr David Cameron ( sound of applause)
• Assassinator opens door, then cuts to a black screen and titles appear. 

Props

In the room where the television is, on the wall there will newspapers cut outs of David Cameron and every thing that he has done, since he was elected Prime Minister of England. Key information will be circled with red pen to show the audience that he is obsessed/ angry.

We need a room with a television.

An actor who looks like he is determined and stern.

Throughout the process of filming we are bound to make small alterations to end up with the best out come possible.