Here is the risk assessment form we carried out using the internet. This is a basic health & safety form outlining all the possible danger we may encounter during the process of filming.
The story board went well as we included a detailed set of images of the scene and also added a voice over to it. By doing this it meant that we gave more information as to what is going to happen in the film opening and how each scene will plan out. We attempted to include some of the shot types to make sure they are varied although in many we were unsure as are planing to decide at a later date. it also gave us a good indication towards how long each scene will be to make sure we can make it with in the guidelines of two minutes.
What could be improved/ work you change next time?
The images of the story board were draw in pencil. This was to make sure if we made any mistakes we were able to quickly change them and stay on task. Although when we videoed these images they were not viably seen, to improve this we should have drawn them in a darker colour so the audience do not struggle to see them. Plus as mentioned earlier, not every scene is given a shot description. This makes the plan seem a little unorganized with is not the idea we want to give off. To improve this a title could be added on just to give the audience more information of whether it will be a match on action, long shot, close up or pan etc.
Our storyboard helps us plan our shooting schedule and will help getting the footage a more efficient process. We are aware that this storyboard can differ slightly from our final piece, however it will give us guidelines on the narrative of the film opening and how we need to portray it.
Our film is independent and we produced on a very low budget, our target audience is specific therefore it doesn't fit the conventions of mainstream film production companies and distributors. Here are the three film production companies founded by Me, Ale and Pip and these will feature in the start of the film opening for Traffic Lights.
Distribution
We researched into various film distribution company and we discovered a company called Focus Features, LLC. We feel our film fits into the conventions of this company because they distribute independent films in America and also internationally. Focus Features recently worked alongside the new film called American Honey. This film is a British-American drama road film which focuses on the journey of a young teenage girl who travels with new friends she meets selling magazines and partying hard. This film is closely related to our film as it follows the life of a young man who is lured into a life of crime, smuggling drugs earning money for his dangerous work.
Our film opening contains various representations, all of which relate to class, age, and region. The protagonist in our short opening is a vulnerable, disengaged man in his mid-twenties. The reason he turns to a life of criminality is because he has no other leads in life, he has no family or friends who can give him some help. The man is presented wearing old clothes similar to someone you would see lying on the streets at night. Contrastingly, the location is a very civilised and suburban area and extremely tranquil, this allows for the audience to see the reality of today's society where criminal activity is inevitable in any place no matter how attractive it may seem.
The other main character in the film is a wealthy man who's success has all come from high-risk, illegal activity where he recruits desperate young men to perform these dangerous acts. This wealthy man is dressed in formal clothing juxtaposing with the appearance of the man carrying out the smuggle. The reason we decided to portray a man with huge wealth and success is to tell our audience that he was once a desperate man in need of some care, yet he escapes this situation by offering himself to a life of dealing illegal goods to addicts across the nation.
The audience will immediately feel empathetic towards the man because he has nothing left in life and if he performs this act he will break free and re-discover himself and his qualities that he can give back to the world. With this connection between the character and the audience it creates suspense because viewers want the man to escape the authorities and re-build his life.
We chose not to portray a representation of a certain ethnic background, sexuality or disability as it would only cause controversy and some viewers would turn away from our production is they see a negative portrayal of a certain race or someone with a disability. We took out some research into some politically controversial films made in this particular millennium, one film we encountered was 'The Interview' starring Seth Rogan and James Franco. We noticed how this film caused controversy in North Korea as the producers decided to display a contentious image of dictatorship in North Korea. When the film was released it received criticism as it shows a graphic death scene, as a result the film was not released in some cinemas and it gained a bad reputation despite trying to show the reality of living in North Korea
Traffic Lights is a drug related drama and therefore the opening sequence is highly intense containing a number of enigma codes for the audience. This suggests that our film can be categorised as an independent film rather than mainstream. Consequently, our target audience is adults who can understand the plot of the film. Initially, we thought our film could attract teenagers above the age of 15, however the number of enigma codes included could make it hard for some younger viewers to understand so they would not be intrigued by the opening sequence. Contrastingly, teenagers at the age of 17 and 18 will have a better understanding of the storyline as they are more mature and more exposed to the world of drug-using so it contains some level of interest as this type of mission happens everywhere and all the time.
The opening we will create is slow-paced in contrast to other mainstream film openings. It is important for the audience to feel suspense in order to experience the sheer danger of the smuggling process first-hand. Our secondary audience is likely to be friends or siblings of the adults who we aim our film at. Taking this into account, the age range of both primary and secondary audiences will be 18 < 50 year olds.
On the first day of production of our Film opening task, we
researched different film openings to help give us ideas and inspire us for our
film opening we will make. We are also choosing the genre for our film opening.
This is so we have a clear idea for our film opening.
The films we researched for the film opening were: The
Shadow man and Midnight Express. We were intrigued by these films because of
the themes of mystery and crime. These themes create the genre of drama and
thus there are countless enigma codes which will captivate the attention of the
audience.
Day 2
On the second day of production we brainstormed genres and
ideas we can have for our film opening. We came up with a few ideas such as: a
drama/action film about drug smuggling, a war documentary film. From these
ideas it was clear that our intention was to create a drama however it was
still a question of should we create a documentary or a reality drama film.
Then we started to plan to produce a presentation for our
ideas for our film openings. We figured that producing a documentary would be a
challenging task with very limited resources. To create a war documentary we
would need to find outfits and a suitable filming location which is too unrealistic.
Day 3
In this lesson, we came to a decision to produce a drama
film about a young man who embarks on a life-changing mission to smuggle drugs
across the border for a huge financial reward. We produced a Prezi presentation
outlining our ideas on the opening sequence and the narrative of this.
Collectively, we had to plan how the opening sequence relates to the rest of
the film. This is essential because the audience must gain an insight of the
story however it is important not to overload the audience with information as
it could give away the plot of the film.
1) Who did you work with and how did you manage the tasks between you?
For our preliminary task i was grouped with Pip and Renae. We were all allocated jobs to do within the group to contribute to the final product. I had the job to plan the film and create a storyboard that we would refer to when filming. I also portrayed a protagonist role in the short film, as did everyone in the group.
2) How did you plan your sequence? What processes did you use?
We decided to use a storyboard as we felt we needed visual elements in our plan to create the exact shots we wanted. The storyboard is detailed showing how precise the shots needed to be. We finished with a total of 17 shots including the credits:
Shots 1 - 6
Shots 7 - 12
Shots 13 - 17
3) What theorists do you think you could apply to your task?
I think there are many theorists who could apply to our film. Firstly, Roland Barthes and his discovery of enigma codes can apply to our task, this is because the audience is constantly asking questions such as - why is the evil teacher after the yound girl? or - Who is the suspicious looking man?
Furthermore, the theories of Claude Levi-Strauss can be applied to our task. His theory was that there are binary opposites in our world that define what we make of it. One opposite used in our film was the use of male and female characters and also the opposite of old and young. The victim in our film is a young schoolgirl which immediately represents innocence and purity. Whereas the evil character in the film is a male who has no conscience and ends up killing the girl.
4) What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?
We had to choose appropriate locations when planning and shooting our task, for instance we chose a school as our location therefore we chose areas such as the diner, a staircase and a gate to show the audience that it was a school environment which adds even for enigma codes for the viewers.
When editing we had to decide on an appropriate soundtrack for non-verbal scenes and also had to choose a suitable and intensifying backing when the plot was carried out.
5) How successful was your sequence? Please identify what worked well and with hindsight what would you improve/do differently?
Our final sequence was successful because we included all of
the specified shots that were required of us, these included a tracking shot
and an extreme close up. If we could have improved our final product I think we
could have worked more in terms of editing, maybe we could have alternated the
lighting to create a more intense atmosphere at certain parts.
6) What did others say about your production?
Others enjoyed our film because they admired how the narrative built up right up until the end therefore suspense was constant throughout. Many viewers praised one shot in particular where the teacher answers the phone and then the evil man can be seen walking into the diner.
7) What have you learnt from completing this task?
I have learned that the most important element when working in a group is communication. Without communication ideas cannot be transmitted into the project therefore it is vital that everyone in the group is treated equally and no one should dominate a group because it leads to disagreements and a lack of time management.
8) Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing your final film opening?
The preliminary task is a good learning curve as I learned new features of Adobe Premiere as well as learning new camera techniques which are used by professionals such as the 180 degree rule when filming a conversation.
