Filming Diary

Rhianna Ross; day one of filming

As a group we decide to film the main sections of the sequence first which are the parts showing point of view shots of the detective as he is on route to a crime scene and on his way see’s people which he believes could be possible suspects of the crime. For this sequence we were filming at station road in Chingford we decide to film here because the idea behind our story is that the detective is on route to a crime scene and at station road there a long path way which we thought would be suitable to do our filming. Before we went out to film we made sure that we had all our props and costumes ready to ensure that we did not waste any time. We brought the script and storyboard with us when we went filming so that we had a plan to follow. When we arrived at station Road before setting up our camera we went through our plan to make sure we knew what we was doing and then began filming. We decide to do more than one take for each section so that when we came to editing we could chose the best pieces of footage to use. In the process of planning our sequence as a group we decide that we would use a point of view shots from the detective point of view for the audience; to achieve this shot instead of using a tripod we held the camera in our hand and walk along the road in perspective of the detective walking and then stopping showing a medium/ close up shot of each of the suspects individually; To create the effect showing that the detective is walking. At first we found this difficult as it was hard to keep the camera steady however after a few take we were able to get some good footage.

Jessica Moruzzi; day two of filming

For our second day of filming we felt prepared as a group as we had already discussed and organised what equipment and props would be needing for the day and also as our first day went well we felt more as ease. We where able to therefore use our time wisely as we had already wrote the script, created our story board and decided what needed filming next . As a group we came to the conclusion that next we should film the first flash back where the buisness woman is at work as this was the correct oreder to film in and we felt we knew how much fliming we would have left after this day. Our location to film this section of our sequence was in a corridor as this allowed both the characters to cross one another allowing a confrentation to occure with a reason for someone getting revenge. We also felt is allowed us to show off our skills by performing a reverse shot and also by panning the room. We brought our story board and script along with us to allow us to have a guide line to what we where doing and to help us set up the camera for specific postioning for the over the shoulder shots. When we began filming we decided we should take a couple of takes for each section as if we have too much film we can always cut it down however if we are editing and have too little we would become stuck. When handeling the camera we thought to make the sequence more realistic and the positioning correct we will have specific markers where we should place the tripod and camera and also the characters to make everything link together so it is clear for the audience.

Haylie Donovan; final day of filming

By the final day of filming we had filmed all of the main parts of our sequence, which left us just need to complte the final shot of the sequence which was a long shot which zoomed into a close up of a dead body which had been dumped by one of the three suspects which ahd been introduced in the sequence however the murder is not revealed.When planning we thought in representation of a dead body we could stuff a black bin bag however we realised that it may look a bit unrealistic so instead we used a maniquin, put it in a bin bag and tied it up with rope which i think did look quite realistic.we decide it would be a good idea to do the visual filming of the dead body first so we made sure we had all of our props and filming equipment and went to the loacation of a forest where there is a pond which we thought would be a good location for where a dead body may be dumped. We also had to record the voiceover which would be used in our sequence at the points when a point of view shot is used for the detective we decide to have a voice over of him talking.

Audience feedback of our opening sequence

The audience was very honest with there comments and has allowed us to see what could have been improved on. We believe that the audience comments about our opening sequence are fair and we have taken on board what they have said. For example the comment on the voice over is fair as it is slightly quieter than we expected therefor not as clear so next time we will make sure it is clearer for the audience as it does guide them through what is going on. To improve this next time we will try and pick a place to recorde the voiceover that does not have an echo. We believe that our sequence did fit the genre very well as it did create tension with the flash backs and how they changed to black and wihte to make them identifiable.

Preilm task

Imfamous Murder

Our final product

Evaluation

1. In what ways does your product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our product uses, develops and challenges forms and conventions of real media products:
In order to make sure that we made a good final product we researched films of crime/detective genre's to gather idea's and to help us understand the different conventions used which we could apply to our film. We were inspired by filming techniques and idea from other films mainly relating to crime and mystery Eg. Sherlock Holmes and Pink Panther . The conventions we used relating back to these films were flashbacks the character of a detective, the long continuous roads which allowed us to perform long shots allowing people to identify the location.

2. How does your product represent particular social groups?

Within our product the representation of particular social groups is conveyed through the use of generic conventions and micro-elements such as mise en scene as through the costumes use the audience is able to identify the social groups the characters belong with. For example the Business woman's clothing represent she has a good job as she is dressed smartly however the young boy associated with being a teen as he has his ipod on and his shirt is all untucked.

3. What kind of Media institution might distribute your product and why?

As films like Sherlock Holmes and Pink Panther are mainstream our film could be out in mainstream cinema's and could be distributed in mainstream distributers like Fox,Universal and Columbia.

4. Who would be the audience for you product?

As the characters are a mix of male and female, this film could appeal to both genders as both genders are able to relate to the characters.
Also as it is a crime film it is not really recomemded for children as they would not follow it as easily and it could be scary for them to watch. So we believe the film would be suited for 15year olds and upwards.

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

We researched two types of conventions; crime and mystery, that had a positive impact on the audience. So the conventions that had a good impact on the audiences were flashbacks,and the cliff hanger on the end which allowed the audience to think about who was the killer. We also used editing to help attract audience such as the non-digectic soundtrack.

6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

As a group we have learnt how to use 'imovie HD' effectively in order to produce a high standard opening sequence. Also how to use basic equipment like a tripod and camera. It has enabled us to learn how to extract just the audio from a section of footage and place it in as a voice over. We where also able to learn how to add in specific transitions that reflect our genre.

7. Looking back at your prelim task what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

When we looked back at our prelim task to our finished opening sequence we have learnt how to control the camera more steadily and how to effectively produce a reverse shot. Also our editing skills have developed emensily as we have learnt how to edit in words and transitions within our sequence. We learnt that it is important to have an acurate plan before filming so that it is easier to construct. Lastly we learnt to film a little bit before a scene started and also after it ended so that when it came to editing we were left with a longer scene so we could edit it more accuratlly.

Storyboard

Storyboard; (first draft)
This is the first storyboard that we put together which is not very detailed or clear to read or
understand. The shots are not in order and have not been put together very well which we
later on as a group improved. Putting together a storyboard helped us to gather our thoughts
and ideas to plan our work. It helped to set us in a direction of how to go about filming and
putting together our opening sequence.

once we had completed our storyboard and started to film for our opening sequence we
found that when we go to the different settings for each shot some of our ideas would
work better and and fit the narrative better if we slightly changed the way of filming a shot or
changed the idea of the shot which meant we did not follow our storyboard precisely.


Some of the changes we made:

These next pictures show the story board pictures we drew compared to the real life opening sequence and the changes we had to make in order to put together a good final product.
(We also had to consider the practicality of limited people that were available and willing to help participate in our opening sequence.)

Close up of teenage Girl Walking

(click on image to enlarge)

We decided to change the young girl from walking to sitting down to have variety between the three strangers and to make the opening sequence look more realistic.

Boys playing football

(click on image to enlarge)

We changed the boys from playing football and getting beaten up to theh young boy getting mugged. We changed this because we had limited amount of people to participate in our opening sequence.

Final draft of storyboard:
This the the final draft of our storyboard which we added more detail to and made it more understandable and clear to understanding identifying the different shot types and what is happening in each shot.

(click on images to enlarge)

Research

Before we began to produce our opening sequence, we did some research on crime/mystery genre films, as well as research on crime/mystery in general so that we could identify the typical conventions of mystery films. Doing research will help to us create a good final production.

http://www.filmsite.org/mysteryfilms.html- This website gave us information on crime and detective films and some typical conventions of this type of genre; Detective-mystery films identify the detective as being the person who solves the crime or situation through clues and their professional instinct as being a detective . The detective looks at the possible reasons and events which have lead up to the crime, and eventually considers the person who is the culprit of the crime. Suspense is usually evident in detective type films in order to engage the audience making them want to try and figure out the puzzle and trying to find clues within the narrative and who the villain is after being introduced to the main suspected character in the film. It is typical in most detective genre films that the detective is the one to find the criminal and solve the mystery/crime.

Sherlock Holmes
One of the films we looked at to give us inspiration for our opening sequence is ' Sherlock Holmes'. Here is the opening sequence from the film;

The sequence opens showing a medium shot of the detective 'Sherlock Holmes leaving a building and the use of non-diegetic sound straight away identify that the film is of a mystery genre or something suspicious is going to happen. A long shot is used showing what look like a path that the detective is following and he bumps into a man who may have something to do with a mystery the detective is trying to solve.The conventions used in this sequence are similar to the conventions used in our opening sequence; the main character is a detective however this is not revealed to the audience in our sequence and he travels along a long path focusing on three random pedestrians who could be possible suspects, conveying the idea that everyone is capable of doing wrong.

Pink Panther
this is another film sequence we look at;

Pink Panther

By watching this sequence we decided we would reveal that there has been a murder at the end of our sequence by showing a body laying dead on the floor however in a differnt location such as a wooded area. Also the cuts used appear to be fast in this sequence however after discussion we decieded that wouldnt fit in with our sequence. The way the characters where identified with there names coming up as the appeared insipered us to identify our characters to the audeince. Also the main character in this sequence was the detective and this is the same as ours.

The Lovely Bones

By watching this sequence we are insipered by the use of the black fade in transitions to allow the audience to recognise a flashback has occured, showing the positive moments the young girl had before she was murdered. We feel that our suscpecs should have one flachback each to show the audience the posiblity of why they are a suspect and it shows there negative moment that could caure them to get revenge on someone. The use of the voice over in the sequence created tension for the audience as it is the voice of the little girl who has been murdered. In our sequence we also want a tensoin to be created therefore have deided to place in a voice over in and it will be the detectives voice.

The Script

The Script

Dectective- In the words of Friedrick Nietzsch 'society exits only as a mental concept; in the real world there are only individuals'. In other words i believe everyone is out for themselves and through life i have learnt that people are not always what they seem to be...

(detective sees Caren walking along the road)

Detective- This woman may be viewed as nice and intelligent however we are not aware of a persons true identity.

Flashback

karen is walking down a corridor towards her office , she comes across the woman her husband had an affair with (Co- worker)

Karen- (Takes a deep breath) shouts "How could you do this to me?!"

Co-worker- Its not my fault.He needed someone and i was there.

Karen- Do not tell me what my husband needs!

(Both Caren and the Co-worker walk away from each other)

Flash Back to reality

(detective sees Stacey sitting on the wall as he is walking past)

Detective- Look at this girl, she could be a potential suspect. Teenagers can be very unpredictable.

Flashback

(walks out from an alley way then cuts to her talking on her moblie phone)

Stacey- Oi , mate where’s my money at.... I’ve waited long enough, If I don’t get it by tomorrow, something bad is going to happen to you!

(Stacey walks away)

Flash Back to Reality

Detective- Some people find it eaiser to forgive and forget more so than others. This young man could be someone who finds it difficult to forgive and may belive that everyone deserves their comeupance.

Flashback

(Jack is walking listening to his ipod). A boy runs up behind him head butts him takes his phone and runs away.

Back to reality

Detective- The slightist thing can trigger off a persons mind and posses their thoughts. Anger and pain can causes them to do wrong. Doing something out of the ordinary which themselves cannot explain. The people who you see everyday all have the potentail to do wrong.

(Detective walks onto crime scene)

Treatment

Genre: Crime/Mystery/Detective

Narrative:
The narrative of our film follows the lives of three people who could be possible suspects of a murder. In our opening sequence theses characters are followed by a detective; whose visual identity is not revealed throughout the opening sequence only his voice is heard. The audience are set back in time looking back at situations which each character has been in looking at minor reasons which may make a person want to destroy another person life. All three of these characters live normal lives however one of them is the purpotrater.

The message of our film is that everyone has the potential to do wrong in life even the nicest people, conveying the idea that the slightest thing can posses a person to hurt another person or go against the law and do wrong.

Characters:

• Detective
• first possible Suspect- Business Woman
• Second possible suspect- teenage boy
• Third possible suspect- teenage Girl
  
• Dead Body

Overview:

The opening sequence of our film is a mystery.The detective's identity is only visually unidentifyed through the use of Non- diegetic voce overs and point of view shots are used in representation of the detective. Flashbacks will also be used showing realting to each of the chacrters conveying minor or unlogical reasons for as to why they are suspects of a crime.

An establishing shot will be used showing the location of station road identifying to the audience where the scene is taking place. Throughout the sequence the camera will acts as a point of view of a detective as he in walking along a street passing pedestrians. The camera will stop and freeze on three different characters and non-diegetic sound of voice overs will be used in representation of the detective. Through the voice over the detective is talking about each character as a still frame shot is used showing each character. The detective is explaining why each of these people could be possible suspects. The detective subconsciously interrogates them telling the audience why they could be a possible suspect.

Once the voice over is finished a cut is made to a flash back showing situations in which each of the characters have been involved in, which make them possible suspects of an incident. The idea behind the story is that everyone is a possible suspect of all situations and that everyone has the potential to do wrong.

Setting /Location:

• Urban-Station road -Chingford ( Busy roads)
• Stream/Forest

Mise-en-scene

Costumes:
Teenage girl - (flashback) , fake eggs, baggy jeans, orange make-up.
School uniform, orange make-up

business women- (flashback) blazer, shirt, pencil skirt, simple make-up, hair tied back
blazer, shirt, pencil skirt, simple make-up, hair tied back

teenage boy- (flashback) Suit

shirt/trousers

Lighting:
natural day light

Props:
Tied up mannequin a bin liner to represent a dead body body

Target Audience:

Mainly for both men and women over the age of 15.

Crime Genre conventions research for our opening sequence

Definition: Crime is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred. The genre's flexibility is perhaps one reason for its wide and enduring appeal and means different things to different people at different times.

Narrative:

• Suspense
• Misleading
• Clues
• Death
• Never enough evidence

Settings:

• Forest
• House
• Warehouse
• Alleyway
• Middle of nowhere (Field)

Character Types:

Protagonist:Detective/constable; person which the audience can relate to or like.
Antagonist: Not often obvious to the audience until the end

• Detective
• Wrongly accused character
• Suspects
• Victim
• Police
• The Killer

Sub-Genre's:

• Mystery
• True Crime
• Detective Fiction

Examples of Crime Films:

• The Godfather
• Sherlock Holmes
• To Kill a Mocking Bird

Action Conventions

Definition of Action;

A film genre when in the story it is largely told through physical action rather than through dialouge.

Narrative:

• Lots of stunts
• Hero's and villians
• Damsels in distress
• Chase scenes
• Martial arts
• Battles
• Distructive and disasters
• Fights
• Car chases

Settings:

• Science fiction settings
• Deserts
• Well known locations (e.g. New York city)
• Bridges
• Deserted areas/ isolated

Sub-Genres:

• Action comedy
• Die hard scenario
• Girls with guns
• Heroic bloodshed

Target Audience:

Designed for pure audience escapism

Action Films:

• James Bond
• Die hard
• Batman
• Spiderman

Horror Conventions

Horror

Definitions: Horror is a genre intended to scare, unsettle and horrify an audience

Target Audience: People who like to get a thrill or a buzz from watching a film.

Narrative:

• Suspense
• Designed to scare people
• Uneasy Situation
• Elements of death
• Generally an unhappy ending
• Designed to frighten or panic
• Shocking Finale
• Focus on dark side of life

Setting:

• Grave yard
• Haunted house
• Forest
• Genrally at night time
• Full Moon
• Moteks
• Long country Roads

Characters:

• Scary
• Helpless Characters
• Children
• Monsters
• Demons
• Ghosts
• Vampires

Sub-Genres:

• Cutting edge
• Dark Fantasy
• Erotic horror
• Extreme Horror
• Gothic
• Surreal
• Suspense
• Supernatural

Films:

• The Decent
• Stir of echoes
• The Sixth Sense
• Politergeist
• The Grudge
• Dark Water