Question 5 clip in evaluation

This clip did not work within my evaluation. So i decided to upload it this way, it goes with Question 5.

Evaluation Presentation

Final Opening Sequence of Tripwire

Edit Notes

These were my notes that I made of every shot I did, and I commented on each one that I used in my book as I used this sheet as a quick run through of shots I didn't think worked due to lighting, sound or camera angle which helped me to quickly and thoroughly eliminate anything that I didn't want allowing me to focus solely on the shots that worked well for the overall image I was trying to achieve.

Actor Release Form - Thomas Ayling

Actor Release Form - Thea Miller

Actor Release Form - William Watson

Location Shots

The location was my grandad's house, who actually stars in the film; William Watson. We did not need permission to do filming at his house, he offered me to do it there. Here are some photos of us on set.

William Watson Audition Tape and Notes on Actor

William showed dedication in his audition, he came to audition dressed the part. He was confident and got into the role quickly. Although the last line in the audition was said wrong and slightly out of character, I decided William would be well suited for the role.

William comes across as the typical frail older man, however he also has the glare of the kind of man I was trying to portray for the film, I got him to wear dark clothing, such as the dark jumper he is wearing, dark jeans and walking shoes, all of his clothes were a bit scruffy showing the audience he was one to get involved in the messy side of things and that he is happy to get his hands dirty when needs be. He also wears a red top beneath his jumper connoting a passion for danger. I like the fact he can come across quite innocent to passers by, however in the film can be made to come across so sinister. I think the clothes I chose for him combined with his height and look gave the perfect outcome for the person I wanted the audience to see.

Thomas Ayling Audition Tape and Notes on Actor

Thomas showed dedication to the role, really trying to get into character and establish him. He worked well with the camera and seemed confident. He dressed the part for the audition, showing how keen he was for the role. For these reasons and the fact he was good on screen I chose him for this role.

I chose Orlando to be wearing a suit, this instantly tells us he's working, he has high standards and that he's a smart character. The spotty tie adds a flare to his character but also helps to distinguish him from other characters which I would of had wearing plain ties if I had done the whole film. It also signifies the importance of his role. His dark hair and clean cut look makes him seem more stern and focused compared to the more scruffy and casual look of Phillip North. I think the idea he is a lot younger than Phillip and smarter shows the sheer advantage Orlando has over him, however at the same time it shows Phillips been doing this for a long time so knows what he is doing. I also used a laptop and a phone in the shots of Orlando, but paper and pen with Phillip, this also helps to show the advances of Orlando's position and helps to establish who he is, part of MI5, and help to show how behind the times Phillip is.

Cassia Adams Auditon Tape

Cassia began very mumbled, she wasn't able to look at the camera atall showing lack of confidence and skill. She, like Jacinta, did not get into the role of the character and just monotonically read what was infront of her. So for these reasons, Cassia was not cast as my lead role.

Jacinta Martin Audition Tape

Jacinta didn't get into character straight away, she began to come out of her shell more towards the end of the audition, and instantly I could tell she had never done this before and didn't understand what I was looking for or the position of the character, for these reasons I could not chose Jacinta as the main role in my film.

Molly Key audition tape

Molly Key was the one that I found difficult to decide between, although her appearance, e.g hair colour etc, wasn't what I was looking for, the way she was able to get into character and how she came across on character made me re-evaluate what I was looking for, however I chose Thea due to these elements as I felt she stood out slightly more. However Molly was fantastic and very lovely.

Thea Miller Audition Tape and Notes on Actor

Thea Miller was the first person I auditioned, I felt that instantly she got to understand the character and really get into the role, this made me definitely consider her for the role. It came down to Thea and Molly for the role and Thea tipped it due to the overall look i was going for and her facial expressions were amazing. However both showed how well they could perform this in their own ways. Thea really delivered in this audition and continued to deliver throughout filming so I am glad I chose Thea and felt this really was the right choice.

In the film, I wanted Isabelle to be wearing just a long dark top, I chose dark colours again to express how she had been violated and hurt but also to make her blend in with the dark empty background, highlighting her loneliness and vulnerability, and to even show how secluded and hidden away she was. I also felt that by showing flesh such as her legs helped to show the severity of what had been going on and the trouble she had been in. I felt that the costume choice worked well for this.

Possible Music for Film Opening

Here I just have some music clips I had found from a Royalty Website that I am deciding between for my production, I have not yet decided which one I am going to chose as I am going to wait until I have fully created it so I am able to fit it in, however I have picked a mixture of sounds that I believe fit in with my genre and help to establish my genre. Here I have put out some snipets of each of the songs I have chosen.

This is one of the possible bits of music I will be using for my film opening, I feel like the low key and tone provides the atmosphere to the piece, the beginning is really fast and upbeat which wasnt what I was looking for at first but now I have listened to it, I think it could work to help really get the idea of action across. I found this music, royalty free on incompetech.com.

This one starts off ligher, but builds up and has nice sheer high notes followed by drops back into deep notes and tones, it is also quite fast paced which agagin fits in with my genre, this one in particular is one of my favourites due to the fact it gets your heart racing and makes you intrigued as to what is to come next.

This one starts of alot slower and calmer, which would work for the very beginning of my title sequence of the light creeping, it then picks up which would again fit in well with what I am doing as it begins to get more exciting.

This one is again starts of slow, but the idea of the choir singing, helps give it that creepy feel and intrigue people as to why it's playing. I do not however think I will use this as it comes across as quite religious which is not the concept of my film.

I like this one as it is again fast paced and gives you the idea of action, I don't feel that this would be appropriate as I have alot of slower parts in my opening that this wouldn't suit and I also feel that maybe the music is a bit too heavy.

Scripts of Actors for Audition Tape

Phillip North Script for Audition: 

"You don't deserve to live, neither did all of the other girls, none of you understand, none of you get why you're here. You have a lesson you need to learn. Now, smile for the camera."

Isabelle Matthews Script for Audition:

"Why are you doing this? Please. Just stop! Just let me go! I can help you! They know who you are, and they know what you've done... I can help you if you just let me go! You know he's coming for me, and once he's got me, he'll be coming for you."

Orlando Turner Script for Audition:

"OK, we can let him outsmart us, we're not falling for it again. I want the located by this evening and we're moving in. I want the best team you can find. Prepare yourselves."

Blinking shots

This shot is near the very end of the title sequence, where i wanted it to be a point of view shot of her opening her eyes, we first of all tried it to see if it worked, we then put the camera on its side as thats how she would be and then tried it upright but made the papers upright too so it made the camera still seem as though it was on its side so I could see which one would be the best, I realised that the blinking would need to be faster and as that's naturalistic but also as it creates the blurred vision I want before it focuses on what's ahead, obviously in these shots as they are practise it hasn't got what is set to be infront of it actually infront of it.

Practise shots

This is just a small selection of shots from the practise for the filming.

This shot is a practise shot of the lighting movement for my opening, we were quick to realise that this lighting however may not work in the way in which we wanted it to as the room was not dark enough and the lighting was too strong and didnt move in the way in which we thought it would, however since, I have been practising different ways of using the light to create this effect. Also the floor and the curtains behind Beth do not look right in the background it doesnt suit what i am trying to achieve. So I need to move this into a different place that suits what I am trying to achieve. However the acting within this is exactly as I had hoped.

In this video clip, the camera is meant to be the person who has just enetered the room, the camera work was slightly off and wobbly at points. This will obviously be a problem that will be rectified when I redo this in the appropriate space.

This video is the same as the previous but this is using the zooming in button. We realised this doesn't give the same terrifying and intimidating feeling that we get from feeling as though we're walking towards her.

This shot is going back to the tracking shot but with the lighting too, when it comes to doing it properly, the lighting will be alot slower and there will be sound effects letting you know someone has entered and then you would understand you had become the person that has just come in.

This shot is meant to be of him filming whats going on, due to the block of lighting throughout the shot it made the camera focus and unfocus too much and the shot wasn't great, so I had learnt that it would be better to do a really well lit set and use the computer to darken the shot rather than have a dimly lit set and have a bad camera shot.

Story Board

Lighting and Reflector Experiments

In all of these lighting experiments, unfortunately the room wasn't dark enough for me to fully show and experiment the kind of thing I would of liked to, but I know in my actual production I have the space and darkness I need to execute the kind of filming I need to. For example, the first video of the lighting slowly creeping across the floor is something I am actually doing in my film, the camera wont be moving with the light, instead it would be fixated in a place you are able to see everything, the reason for me having to follow the light is because the room itself was so light you would not fully understand the point of the lighting experiment. However I know it will work well for my production. The rest are just general experiments to show I know how to create different affects with the lighting and reflectors.

Production Company Research

Production Companies

For my title sequence I needed to research production companies so I could find the appropriate production company to put into my work. I was looking for a relatively small production company but something that doesn’t do just low budget productions as I believe my film would not come under low budget. However neither would it be a huge budget film. By doing this I have also widened by understanding of the overall film industry.

 

 New Line Film Productions Inc. often referred to as New Line Cinema was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne in New York and are now part of the Warner Brothers Label since 2008. They are responsible for the making of such films as Rush Hour, Se7en and Deep Cover. I do not however, believe that my film would be made by his company as they are too high budget.

Paramount Pictures based in Hollywood, US was founded in 1912. It created such films as Indiana Jones, Mission Impossible and The Godfather. Although these films are the same kind of genres as mine, my film would not be created by such a huge budget production company, so these would not be my chosen production company.

Working Title Films is based in London, UK. It was founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983. They have created such works as, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Shaun of the Dead and Les Miserables. Although they are the closest and most convenient, I don’t believe this production company would be my best option as they don’t seem to specialise in the kind of film I want to produce as they haven’t done much like it before.

 

Europa Corp. – French Production Company founded in 2000 by Luc Besson and Pierre-Ange Le Pogam, they have made movies such Taken, Taken 2, Colombiana and From Paris With Love. Although they are a French Production company, I think they would be the best for my film, obviously the standard of title sequence I will create will not be half as good as what it could be if I had the equipment that they do, but the story line seems along the lines of the type of film they would produce and have a lot of experience in the genre I have chosen, plus they’re not as big as other production companies, in fact they are quite small compared to the others, it just so happens that a few of their movies have gotten a tremendous amount of support. So because of this I think they would be perfect for my film because it wouldn’t be a small low budget film, but it also would never be on the scale of the production companies above.

Establishing Conventions of my Genre & The Order of the Titles

Establishing Conventions of my Genre

By doing the relevant research such as my deconstructions of opening title sequences I was able to establish the typical conventions of my genre. For example in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Vantage Point, Sherlock Holmes and Red Lights all use weaponry within their title sequences, such as guns, this was a typical convention for any spy/action/thriller film, this is what the audience expect to see and what helps them to distinguish the genre of a film when watching it. I also noticed the music in all of these title sequences, plus Psycho, The Driver, This Means War and Cargo were all quite low and typically quite scary that makes you nervous, with higher notes every now and again to keep you focused on what is going on or to draw your attention to something, but also to scare you. They also in most cases use a fast past to show that its thrilling and full of action, which is again, what you would expect. I also noticed that in most of them there was not a lot of colour, except red and oranges and the typical blacks, greys and white. This again is expected as it shows how they try to blend in and how they are then able to highlight things by using bright colours. By establishing the types of props used, the characters that are within them, the typical scenery, the font, music, colours and lighting that are used within these I think that I know what people will expect to see and how to subtly connote and convey the genre of my film within the title sequence. I think by doing these deconstructions, general research and audience research I was able to come up with a clear idea of how to use these to improve my own ideas and get across my genre clearly.

Order of Titles

The opening sequences I looked at unfortunately don’t actually use a specific way in which they have their title sequences appear except for the motion picture companies followed by the production company, these 9/10 came first. As this was the only thing my title sequences had shown to have in common I decided to research how titles were supposed to appear on the screen through a title sequence. From the research I did I found that usually they are put in place to signify their importance, so, as I previously stated, in 9/10 of the titles I had deconstructed began with the motion picture company, followed by the production company, this is also what I had found in my research, that it is more than likely these will be the first things you will see as they are likely to be the things you recognise, e.g. Warner Brothers being the big motion picture. The director is usually next, then any A-Listing celebrities, the title of the movie and then the rest of the principle cast such as the composer, costume designer, film editor, production designer and so on. By knowing this I am able to fit my titles in the way in which I believe it should be set out using this as a guideline. For example my actors are not major so would come after the title rather than before.

Identifying My Target Audience

Identifying a Target Audience

My target audience is for male and females from the age of 18-60, although I would say due to the content the film would only be rated at a 15, even though there would be a lot of violence and fighting and has kidnapping involved, none of it is glamorised, and neither do you see bad injuries. I believe that my particular target audience would enjoy this type of film more. From my audience research I can see that the majority of people within this broad range will go out and buy my genre of film as well as go to see it in the cinema, so it is wise to include them within my target audience so get as big as reception as I can. I also think that the target audience I have chosen will be able to appreciate the story line better than someone younger as well as them finding it much more appealing. My research showed 2/3’s of my target audience are likely to be men which tells me I should aim this slightly more at men and include things that would draw them into the film more such as guns, cars, violence and women, the typical conventions of my genre.

Title Design Ideas

                                                                  Title Design Ideas

 

·         I liked this writing but I decided that it connoted the idea of horror rather than a spy/thriller so it wasn’t the best option for my film.

·         I like this font idea as it looks like the formal secretive stamps that they used to have on the front of the files in the secret service in older films.

·         I like this one as it looks as though firstly it has got wires running through it with the distorted effected and secondly with the double letters it connotes the idea of someone leading a double life.

·         I like this font as it is really in your face and really stands out and kind of like a stamp but with the distortion going throughout it to show the thriller side of the movie.

·         I like this one as it reminds me of the first but a more modern one, it’s like a text or computer like version, but you can instantly tell it’s a spy movie by the way it comes up and the style it is in.

·         I thought this title design was really cool and you instantly know it’s the title, and the idea there’s a barb wire running through it is great, but again it looks too like a horror film title, so would not suit my film genre.

·         I like this as it looks quite like a battered, distorted image connoting action which could link with spy, but I felt the font itself was too bold and didn’t scream the genre of the film.

 I decided to choose between the 3^rd and 5^th titles as I think they connoted a more of a spy thriller theme, in the end I decided to go with the 5^th one as the title sequence itself could end up looking more thriller than it does spy, so by using this title it would make sure the audience understood it was a spy thriller. However, if it is possible I am going to try and use both the 3^rd and 5^th, it will come up in the 5^th, and stay on screen for a few seconds and jolt out of that into the other one, like a flicker, before going back to the original, I think this would look good and professional if I am able to do it but it also shows the more thrilling side to it.

Ideas for name of film.

After I had thought of some ideas on a name that would suit my genre and storyline, I then cut it down to 3 titles, Trip Wire, Deception and Time Bomb and asked my class of 16 to vote on which one they thought was best after I briefly explained the story line. There were 3 votes for Deception, none for Time bomb and the remaining 13 decided on Trip Wire. By doing this I was gathering audience research although it was in within my media studies classroom.

Questionnaire Analysis - Audience Research

Questionnaire Analysis Audience Research

I used 16 people to fill out my questionnaire that I created to find out more about what my target audience would associate with the genre I have chosen to help me put together my opening title sequences, using the key things they had pointed out.

The people I asked to fill out my form were mostly 16-18 and mostly female, but two of them were 25+ which gave me a slight insight as to the different views of the age groups.

I asked general questions like their gender; 13 females and 3 males, their age; 14 aged 16-18 and 2 aged 25+. I also asked a general question of what films they liked to see in cinema with the options of Action/Thriller (6/16), Romantic Comedy (5/16), Comedy (3/16) or Horror (2/16), by doing this I was able to get an idea of what people that have a different favourite genre perceive the kind of film I am producing to help me understand how I need to make my film come across and the conventions they highlight that I need to include. However, I also asked more in depth and more detailed questions about the kind of film I am producing so I could comprehend what other people expect from the genre I am doing. As I had predicted, both age groups had the same ideas about how that kind of genre would come across and what it would include to help show and point out what the genre was. This was an indication that no matter what your age, gender or what films you enjoy the expectation of what would be within the title sequence and the film itself would be the same. For instance my last question was ‘What kind of things would you associate with an action or spy thriller film? What kind of props or affects would you expect to see that would give away the genre of the film throughout the title sequence?’, everyone answered nearly the same things, they all included such things as modern gadgets/high technology, male actors in suits, guns/weaponry, upbeat fast pulse raising music and the body language of the actors. This audience research really helped me to picture what I was going to do and include in my production to help get my genre across to my target audience easily and clearly.

Initial Idea for Film & Target Audience Research

Idea for my film

My original idea for my film was to have a secret agent fall in love with a girl who bumped into him somewhere very public, he would then get talking to her and he would ask her to go out, a few months down the line, his boss comes into his office and shows him files with the girl he’s dating picture with a different name showing she is a secret agent from elsewhere, so he discovered he’s been played and lied to for her to get information to report back to her end, so he has to go and sort out the mess that has been caused by playing her at her own game. However this idea would need the right kind of age and look of actors for it to be taken seriously and unfortunately I could not find willing adults to do this for me.

However it didn’t take me long to come up with a new idea that would be more appropriate to the kind of people I could find. I decided instead of divulging straight into action I would play the title sequence out a bit like in one of the title sequences I deconstructed; Vantage Point. I like the way you could tell the genre so easily and get an indication of what was going on without it giving away too much but intriguing us to find out more at the same time. I also liked cargo, the way in which the girl was shown to look so helpless and lonely. I think my film is going to be based around stalking and kidnap and throughout the title sequence you will see this without too much being given away. I also like the idea of it being in an orangey sepia colour or black and white so I can have certain added colour at certain parts to initiate importance.

Target Audience Research

To help myself understand even more so of the genre I was looking into, I did a questionnaire which would hopefully help me see from other peoples perspectives what they think about the genre I am doing and what they expect from it (this is shown in the “Questionnaire Analysis” Above).

I then did more target audience research into the possible title ideas I had come up with. I initially came up with 10 different names; I then decided I would narrow them down by deciding which ones made most sense with the genre and the story line. I chose Trip Wire, Deception and Time Bomb as I felt these titles fit in best with the overall idea of my film but was also intriguing and without a doubt suited the genre of my film. Again, just above you will be able to see how I did this.

Film Certificate Rating