Final Film Opening

After months of planning, preparation and post-production, we have finally completed our 2 minute Sci-Fi film opening for the film 'Cold Blood'. 

Here it is:

Reflection

When looking back over my experience whilst carrying out this project, I was able to recognise our success in planning and creating an ambitious product that challenged the status quo in terms of what is usually produced by A Level students. That being said, many issues arose during the course of production; some of which we were unable to overcome. Firstly, due to the intricate and complicated nature of our chosen genre, we struggled to make the footage we had look professional and polished. Were I able to redo this project, I would elect to create a smaller cast, allowing for more flexibility when it comes to the filming schedule as by having such a large cast we were only able to film on one day to maintain continuity. Overall, this has been an educational experience which has taught me many skills that I did not have before commencing work on our product.

Evaluation Question 7 - Looking back at your Preliminary Task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

Evaluation Question 6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Evaluation Question 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation Question 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

The reason for carrying out the interviews were to show who our target audience would be for our film ‘Cold blood’. In the interview we use two people one a 16 year old female and the second a 17 year old male. These people were our perfect target age within the age range through teenage years and early adulthood.

Over the top of the interview recordings there are clips of the programmes and films, which were mentioned throughout the interviews. Each of the clips has relevance to our film.

We expect our audience to have watch similar things to what our interviewees have said in ‘teen wolf and walking dead’ these are both TV programs which entice the audiences through the horror aspects of things. We target this group of people by using certain aspects of things that appeal to this kind of people. 

The secondary audience would be the people accompanying these people for example friends, family and partners.

Evaluation Question 3 - What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Evaluation Question 2 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

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

Special Effects

Lack of budget, equipment and technology.

Used slow motion and sped up some scenes.

Relied on editing software – Final Cut Pro

Altering of colours using filters.

Enhancing green eyes using editing software colour wheel.

Most sci-fi and horror films use special effects like green screens and have higher budgets to work with.

Title, Font and Style

Black and White, Bold, Decaying 

Sense of Importance

Catches your attention

Ominous

Font similar to apocalyptic films but also can be very different to horror and sci-fi genres.

Setting up of the story

Audience feel disorientated at the beginning, only to be clarified when the film will go back in time after the opening.

Dive right in to the middle of the story.

Main characters introduced.

Ends on cliff hanger – what is going to happen next?

Doesn't start from the beginning like most films - challenges expectations

Costumes and Props

Contact lenses and scale make up, fake blood and injuries help depict genre.

Baseball bat – links to life of a teenager.

Not many props unlike many films - shows lack of belongings in circumstances.

Genre

Use of blood, dark colours and unnatural make up.

Solidifies the violent and unnatural themes.

The font and depicted devastation clarifies the genre to include violence, sci-fi themes and horror.

Unlike horror because it is focusing on the plot and the cure and disease more than scaring people which makes it more sci-fi.

How characters are introduced

Straight into middle of the plot

Uncertain position to be clarified later on

Tense and hectic atmosphere, hard to make a judgement, especially since the opening lacks speech – the relationship with the character comes later on

Camerawork and Editing

Use of quick cuts

White Noise to add suspense and tension

Failure of civilization

Audience Feedback/Re-Filming

In the weeks running up to our deadline we had a viewing of the First Official Draft of our 2 minute film opening. This gave us an invaluable opportunity to receive feedback from our target audience and teachers on how to improve the film. The most popular piece of constructive criticism was that the fight scene looks slow and unnatural. We were able to improve this slightly with the addition of our score but we found that the only foolproof solution was to film addition shots that we could interject into the scene to speed it up and make it more manic and chaotic. 

This was a relatively simple task, which just required the lead actor to partake in a secondary filming session. We were able to film some very interesting and unique shots which, when we added them to the film opening, greatly increased the speed of the fight scene and how exciting it was to watch.

Music and Non-Diegetic Sound

The style of music is a very important choice we had to make in the post-production of our 2 minute film opening, which required us to look into the inner workings of the Sci-Fi genre. We took great inspiration from the scores of Prometheus and Alien which are iconic Sci-Fi films.

Both these films have classical style, swelling scores which add to the viewer's experience magnificently. While furthering our research, we discovered the quote from roundhouse.cc which was that 'Alien features a menacingly beautiful orchestral score with an eclectic use of ambient noise.' This quotation was very important to us as a group because we plan to use lots of diegetic and ambient noise to create a real and gritty environment. 

We are aware that strings are often used in Sci-Fi scores and so we endeavoured, when deciding upon the type of music we wanted in the film opening, to base it mostly upon the use of strings. We were lucky enough to have two A Level music students compose our score exactly to the footage so it fit perfectly from the beginning.

We plan for our film opening to begin with a black screen and non-diegetic voices reading news reports seemingly from a zombie apocalypse catastrophe. In order to give the impression that this was a widespread issue, we recorded some fake reports ourselves in English accents which were specific to our storyline - alluding to the lizard-style zombies that feature in the film opening, and we took extracts from free sound websites that were American fake reports. 

Font Style Choice

This film opening requires a very specific style of font for the title and the credits at the beginning detailing the actors and post-production distribution. When researching different font styles that are iconic for the Sci-Fi/Thriller genre, we evaluated the promotional poster for the film '28 Days Later', and even, to some extent, 'Shaun of the Dead':

The capital letters in a harsh sans-serif font create a threatening atmosphere and the seemingly scratched-out detailing on the letters is very important in both of these posters as they immediately allude to animalistic characteristics and violence. We used the free font website dafont.com to find a similar style of lettering that we could use for our title 'Cold Blood' and the credits which run throughout our film opening. Eventually, we decided on this font style:

This has a very similar feel to the two fonts above, with the scratched-out details creating a sense of danger and suspense which is very in keeping with our chosen genre. In the film opening itself, we decided to change the colour of the font to white, similar to the text above. We made this decision because as a result of the filters on the film opening, the colour scheme is very dark. This means that were we to use a black font, parts of the lettering could be illegible. We also chose to place the title in white on a black screen at the end of the film opening so that it really stands out and looks very threatening.

Editing

Once we had filmed what we thought was every shot we needed for our film opening, it was now time to begin editing. Originally, we began editing on the inbuilt iMovie software on the Apple Mac computers in our Media Suite.

We soon discovered, due to the genre of our film being Sci-Fi, that the filters on iMovie were insufficient.  The only choice we had was to choose new editing facilities and as a result of this we purchased the programme Final Cut Pro, which is a much more advanced editing software that included many more filters and sounds that could help enhance our piece. 

This allowed us to create a much more professional-looking film opening and to really put finer detail into the editing. Here is a time lapse of the film being edited on Final Cut Pro:

Because our film is Sci-Fi, we have had to put an immense amount of time into editing it in the most effective and appropriate way. This has included very fast jump cuts and unsettling filters to really give it an unnatural feel. So far we are very pleased with the way our film opening is looking but we are unsure as of yet as to whether we did in fact get all the footage we need to complete the opening.

Trip to the University of Kent

On January 14th 2015, the two AS Media classes had the privilege of spending a day at the University of Kent attending seminars and taking part in workshops. We travelled to the university in the morning and were split into two groups. We then took part in the first of many activities - a worship on in-camera editing. In small groups, we were given a camera with film in it as opposed to a memory card, which meant that we were unable to edit takes that we did not want and had around 20 minutes to create a very short film involving as many of the 5 given stimuli as we could. These films were then shown to the rest of the team and voted upon for things such as originality and technical skill. This workshop provided a very useful insight into just how important it is to plan shots and content before you film it.

We then moved on to a screenplay workshop, lead by a lecturer who had previously been a screenwriter, where we watched iconic scenes from films and examined how they were taken from the page to the screen. After this we began to roughly adapt well-known fairytales into a new setting and create a short screenplay for one scene. This was a very useful experience as we were able to further our understanding of just how much work goes into getting an idea from someone's mind into reality.

After lunch we had a tour of the campus and viewed a film that had been made by one of the students acting as a chaperone on the day, then attended a seminar held by two of the lecturers at the university. The seminar was about the Horror genre of film which was appropriate to our film opening as Sci-Fi Horror is a well-established sub genre. Finally, we attended a closing lecture about film and studying film at a higher level which was very informative and gave us a real sense of how Film and Media Studies can be useful in the adult world.

Filming

On January 10th 2015 we carried out a day of filming on location in Tunbridge Wells. For our film, we need a large cast, mostly consisting of extras. This meant that we had to film all of the shots of the dead bodies on the floor on one day, to avoid continuity issues with some people being unable to attend the filming on multiple days. We arrived at the location in the morning and set up the filming area. The potential for different angled shots was restricted significantly due to modern technology and appliances in the room such as a television and gym equipment.   

Before:

After:

The only major issues we encountered were time constraints - as we had around 15 people to make up realistically, it took us longer than anticipated to prepare for and shoot the scenes. Another issue was making sure that we shot every scene we needed due to the relative inability to re-film shots with the same actors at a later date. We made a conscious effort to film all the footage and more than we needed of the extras as we were aware that it would be easier to re-film with a couple of actors as opposed to a large cast.

Shooting Schedule

It was important when planning our day of filming to secure a detailed shooting schedule. This gave the day structure and forced us to work harder and faster in order to film every necessary shot one the day.

Time	Actors	Scene
9.00 – 10.00	Seb, Tilda and Tom	Make up and costume and run through teaching them the fight scene
10.00 – 11.00	Seb, Tilda and Tom	Chasing scenes down stairs and into the room
11.00 – 12.00	Extras Arrive	Make up and costume
12.00 – 1.00	Lunch	-
1.00 – 2.00	All	Positioning and pans without Seb
2.00 – 3.00	All	Fight scene
3.00 – 4.00	All	Pans with Seb
4.00 – 5.00	-	Extra shots with blood splatters etc
5.00 – 6.00	-	Clean up

Script

One of the major features of our script is that it involves no speech. This meant that we did not really script our film opening rather we based it upon our storyboard and what was possible within the location on which we shot the project. Though it worked well enough not having a script, I feel as though we would have had a more detailed film opening that flowed more seamlessly.

Fight Scene Choreography

Costume - Main Character and Extras

As a group we put much thought into the costuming of our actors. Our initial storyboard depicted the main character wearing a bright red tshirt - making him stand out from the background and the other actors whilst also acting as a symbol for danger and violence with the colour red. This was, however, not the case when it came to purchasing costume as we could not find an appropriate shirt for our actor. We adapted our plan when we found a grey tshirt with a brightly coloured design on it. The red and blue patterning on the shirt means that the actor stands out from the backdrop and the grey is in stark contrast with the black of the extras costumes. Grey also fits with the Sci-Fi genre as it fits on the monochrome spectrum which makes it more appropriate than bright, cheery colours. 

For our extras we planned for them all to be clothed in dark colours to give a sense of all the bodies blending together in the background, especially with the dark filter we intend to put on the footage. This works very well as it is difficult for the audience to figure out what exactly is in the background.

Production Company Name and Logo

The name we decided upon for our production company is Valar Productions. This is in reference to the popular HBO TV show Game of Thrones, and its tagline 'Valar Morghulis'. We came to the conclusion that this would be a fitting name as in the universe of the show, 'Valar' has strong connections with death and our film opening, being that of a Sci-Fi/Thriller film features violence and death in a large way. We felt that this name would appeal to our target audience as when we interviewed them, we discovered that a number of teens who would be interested in our film opening also watch 'Game of Thrones', and so would appreciate the reference.

Our logo is relatively self-explanatory, depicting a film-reel morphing into a fire-breathing dragon. We felt that this would be appealing to our target audience as it is relevant to the fact that it is a film production company and also the dragon relates back to our title and to 'Game of Thrones' as dragons are featured in the show. Using a mythological creature similarly fits with the Sci-Fi genre as it is not uncommon to see gruesome and unnatural creatures in this type of film.

Prosthetics and Liquid Latex

A friend of our group has had experience with using Liquid Latex in the past so we have employed her to help us with makeup on the day of filming. We have chosen to use Liquid Latex as we have planned for detailed injury that can only be attained with prosthetics such as deep scratched and we will also use this latex to create the scales on the infected characters. This is a test of the latex that gave us an idea of how long the makeup takes to apply and what looks good on camera:

This injury was created using liquid latex, tissue, foundation, body paint, eyeshadow and fake blood.

Age Certification

An important part of the production of our film opening is decided which age certificate we are aiming to give it. We used the standards given by the BBFC (British Board of Film Certification) to determine what aspects of film fell into which age rating, which are as follows: U, PG, 12A, 12, 15, 18. We have decided that our film opening will have a 15 certification, as we have included some bloody violence and the overall feel of the film is unsettling and thrilling. The BBFC have strict restrictions on what type of content can be shown in each age rating, which must be obeyed in order for the film remain within their desired category. These are the conditions for a 15 rated film:

• Theme: No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate to 15 year olds.

• Language: There may be frequent use of strong language; the strongest terms are only rarely acceptable. Continued aggressive use of strong language and sexual abuse is unacceptable.

• Nudity:  There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.

• Sex: Sexual activity and nudity may be portrayed but without strong detail. The depiction of casual sex should be handled responsibly. There may be occasional strong verbal references to sexual behaviour.

• Violence: Violence may be strong but may not dwell on the infliction of pain, and of injuries. Scenes of sexual violence must be discreet and brief.

• Imitable techniques: Dangerous combat techniques such as ear claps, head-butts and blows to the neck are unlikely to be acceptable. There may be no emphasis of easily lethal weapons (in particular, knives).

• Horror: Sustained or detailed infliction of pain or injury is unacceptable.

• Drugs: Drug taking may be shown but clear instructive detail is unacceptable. The film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug use.

A 15 rating is suitable for our target audience of teenagers our age and above (16+), therefore a 15 rating means that there is some lenience for slightly younger members of the public to watch the film opening, but it would also be highly appropriate for older viewers, and so widening the audience and raising more awareness for the film.

We also took into consideration the age ratings of TV programmes and films that influenced our film opening such as Teen Wolf, The Walking Dead and Supernatural, all of which have a 15 rating.

Health and Safety

As part of the filming process it is necessary for us as a group to complete a risk assessment and create consent forms. The risk assessment is important as, especially with such a large cast, we will have to be very aware of any potential dangers to the actors and to ourselves.

All of the actors we will use in our film are under 18 years old, we need to have written consent in order to show footage with them in. As a result of this, we have created a consent form to be signed by all actors on the day.

Finalising Props and Makeup

For our film opening, we have planned for there to be very few props, only a baseball bat that the main character uses as a weapon, but our makeup plans are very ambitious. Over the past weeks, we have been gathering information from the likes of YouTube about how to create effective character makeup which will convey the supernatural, sci-fi feel we are hoping to create.

We were able to purchase three pairs of identical lizard-eye contact lenses; two of which will complete the look for the two infected attackers and the third for the final scene of the opening when the infected main character opens his eyes.

After multiple attempts, I was able to perfect a mixture for realistic fake blood which did not stain skin. This will enable us to create gruesome and believable wounds for all characters in the film opening, including the extras.

I first tested the blood on myself to make sure that it looked real, was washable and safe. We will use this blood mixture in our film to add to the injuries shown.

Makeup Trial 2

In order to have some idea as to how the scales and wounds would look on the infected characters, we first ran a makeup test using very basic makeup products and techniques. Here is our simple physicalisation of the makeup that will allow us to further develop and experiment with ideas and possibilities for our film opening: 

We are planning to purchase lizard-eye contact lenses, liquid latex and to make fake blood which will all come together to create believable and shocking makeup effects.

Links used as references for lizard-style makeup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNUekw1QBPM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xb57bCDlYs

Make-up Trial 1

Emily ran a trial of the makeup that we plan to use for the extras and as a base for the 'infected' characters. These are the photos from her test-run:

Before application:

White face paint mixed with foundation applied:

A mixture of black eyeshadow and purple face paint around the eyes:

Black eyeshadow to highlight cheekbones:

We have also purchased lizard-style contact lenses for the attackers and the main character in the final shot. 

Make-up Plan

Here are the drawn plans for the make-up of our main characters:

              

                         Natural main character                  Infected main character

              

                         Infect female attacker                   Infected male attacker

The extras, playing the 'dead bodies' in the background will be made up with pale skin and bloody wounds on faces, arms, legs and chests.