One By One - Finished Short Film.

Here is our finished short film.

Reflection: Editing

We have now finished our editing section of the project and now have our finished short film ready.

Reflection: Editing

We are now in the 3rd week of editing and we have now got our full video however we are still in need of colour correcting all scenes and add our soundtrack piece over the top of it.

Reflection: Editing

We got have placed our scenes in our desire order and are now cutting the clips down to the right length and will soon begin to colour correct the scenes to make them darker.

Reflection: Editing

Today we have begun to edit our video using Final Cut Pro

Research and Planning: The Moving Image work

Filming Forest shoot #3

Today was the part 2 session of the filming we did yesterday. Today we managed to complete all the scenes we needed to that went with the ones we filmed yesterday. We also filmed some alternative scenes as a back up for the editing portion of the project just in case we do not like or feel they do not work with other scenes.

Filming Forest shoot #2

Today we went back to the forest in order to re film the scenes that were to dark from the first shoot on the 26th. However we decided while we were there it would make much more sense to film all the scenes again to avoid any continuity error that might occur. Because of this we only managed to film half of the scenes and therefore decided that our final shoot will take place tomorrow where we aim to finish filming altogether.

Filming - Container shoot.

Today we filmed the portion of our short film that takes place within the container (filmed at college). Having bought all the bought all the props and set them up in the way we decided on arranging we were able to film the scenes as close as we could to the way in which we wanted to like in our storyboards.

We were able to film all the scenes need today as part of the flashbacks needed for our short film. Today we also decided that we will be filming on the 2nd of November and will re-shoot the scenes we need as part of the footage that takes place in the forest.

Filming Forest shoot #1

Today we filmed our first portion of the footage needed for our short film. However towards the end of the shot the footage we filmed became dark and then to dark to actually see therefore we have decided to film these dark scenes again however we have not yet decided which date this will be.

Filming dates.

Today we have decided that tomorrow (Saturday 26th of October) will be our first forest shoot where we plan to film all the scenes from forest section of our short film as the weather will be a good condition to film in.

We have also planned with the caretakers to use the container located on campus on the 29th (during half term) where we aim to get all of the container scenes done as we would only like to film on this location once as it is not as easy to take along all the props as it is with the forest.

Weather forecast for Saturday the 26th

Weather forecast for Tuesday the 29th

Making of Main Article

Using photoshop i have created the top half the newspaper article with both the headline and image. I have decided the article will be in black and white which will help it look more realistic and fit in with the other newspaper cuttings.

Here i have made the background black, which will make the article and its details stand out against the white box at the bottom where the written article piece will sit.

In this updated version of the main article i have placed the article previously written over the top in the designated white box. Here i have added small details to make it look more realistic such as a caption underneath the picture and who the article was written by though the name used is fake.

Here is the final version of the main article that will be used during the scenes that take place inside the container on the evidence board. In this slightly updated version from the last i have made sure all the text and image are lined up and have also added underlines underneath the article headline as existing newspapers do this to draw more attention to the headline.

Container Arrangement and Props

We have produced a floor plan of how we plan to layout our props for filming that takes place inside the container.

The 2 main props we will be using in the container sequence include:

Wooden Table: On this table will be a surgical tray laid out like the tray pictured below (as seen in films. This tray will be used to signify the prepartion of the body.

Evidence Board: The evidence board will be used to show the audience that the vigilante killer, is a vigilante killer through its use of newspaper articles and the red crosses through them showing they have been 'deal' with. The board has been produced by finding newspaper articles and arranging them in a certain order to look as if they had been connected.

List of Props for container sequence

Here we have created a list of the props we will need when shooting the container sequence of our short film (29th of october) all of which we have ready to be used.

Article Layout

From the three possible layout choices we have decided the use the 1st as we feel it will look the most realistic by fitting in with the other newspaper articles that will be used in the same scene.

Newspaper article mock up - Layout 3

• Headline:

"POLICE SUSPECT CROSS COUNTRY STAR TO BE IN CONNECTION TO MURDER OF MOTHER OF TWO."



This headline will be the headline used on the main article as it sets up the storyline of the plot by mentioning a mother of 2 therefore the connection to the vigilante could be made and it also makes sense of the forest location as the 'suspect' is a cross country star therefore would be training it the kind of terrain the forest has.


Here the headline has been placed at the bottom of the newspaper cutting in a unconventional way to make it looks unique and eye catching to the audience. 

• Images:

Again, these are the two images that will be used on the article that is the centre piece of the evidence board. Taken from www.visualphotos.com these two photos include a family picture of two daughters and a mother which will be used similar to how home photos are used on here newspaper articles. The other image we are unsure about using as it does set up the reasoning to the plot such as the woman is the vigilante's wife however the other part of the plot is that the vigilante remains anonymous throughout therefore is would not make sense to have a picture of him.

In this layout we have arranged the images to be in the centre in the article, to help the unconventional look.

• Article: 
 The article shown in the mock up picture will be the one that has been posted previously and is the article that will be used.

Here is this mock up we have positioned the article at the in the middle of the cutting as a way of making it look like unconventional can interesting compared to other newspaper articles.

Newspaper article mock up - Layout 2

Article Layout design 2)

• Headline:

 "POLICE SUSPECT CROSS COUNTRY STAR TO BE IN CONNECTION TO MURDER OF MOTHER OF TWO." 

This headline will be the headline used on the main article as it sets up the storyline of the plot by mentioning a mother of 2 therefore the connection to the vigilante could be made and it also makes sense of the forest location as the 'suspect' is a cross country star therefore would be training it the kind of terrain the forest has.

Here the headline has been placed at the top of the newspaper cutting in a conventional way. We have decided that we will be using the headline in this position as it will make the article look more real

• Images:

First of the two images on possible article layout.

Again, these are the two images that will be used on the article that is the centre piece of the evidence board. Taken from www.visualphotos.com these two photos include a family picture of two daughters and a mother which will be used similar to how home photos are used on here newspaper articles. The other image we are unsure about using as it does set up the reasoning to the plot such as the woman is the vigilante's wife however the other part of the plot is that the vigilante remains anonymous throughout therefore is would not make sense to have a picture of him.

In this layout we have arranged the images on the right hand side of the article to make it look much neater compared to the first design.

• Article:  The article shown in the mock up picture will be the one that has been posted previously and is the article that will be used.
  
  
  
  Here is this mock up we have positioned the article at the bottom of the cutting as a way of making it look like conventional newspaper articles it is to makes the article look more realistic.

Newspaper article mock up - layout 1

Article Layout design 1)

• Headline:

"POLICE SUSPECT CROSS COUNTRY STAR TO BE IN CONNECTION TO MURDER OF MOTHER OF TWO."

This headline will be the headline used on the main article as it sets up the storyline of the plot by mentioning a mother of 2 therefore the connection to the vigilante could be made and it also makes sense of the forest location as the 'suspect' is a cross country star therefore would be training it the kind of terrain the forest has.

We have positioned the main headline at the top of the newspaper article to make the cutting look more conventional as it has a similar layout to realistic layout.

• Images:

This is the image that will be used on the article that is the centre piece of the evidence board. Taken from www.visualphotos.com this photo include a family picture of two daughters and a mother which will be used similar to how home photos are used on here newspaper articles. 

The positioning of this image will be in the top left hand corner next to the headline as conventional newspaper articles share this layout.

• Article: 

the article shown in the mock picture will is the article that has been posted previously and is the piece that will be used.

Here is this mock up we have positioned the article at the bottom of the cutting as a way of making it look like conventional newspaper articles and makes the article look more realistic.

Refined Storyboard - Container scenes.

This is the second part of our storyboard that consists all of the scenes we plan to include in the container sequence that will be integrated in with the main body of the story, however we have decided to layout the storyboard in this way as we have yet to decide the order and won't until the editing portion.

In this first storyboard, we have begun with the first flashback being the killer identifiable by his boots stepping into the container hold a tool of some kind (we have drew a shovel as an example) to which he drags in with him.

The bottom row consists of a shot of the container floor that is filled with newspaper and blood on top of it to give the impression of a messy kill. When we film this shot we have decided to use a swing light to show the blood quickly so it comes at a shock value.

Here in the second storyboard we have shown the killer packing up by wrapping up his rope, arranging his tools  and cleaning. This will symbolise that the 'kill' is finished as he is cleaning up.

In this final storyboard we have decided on showing the evidence board to make sense of the plot as the article he will cross through as a way of showing that have been dealt with, will be an article with the read line reading 'convicted killer on the run' symbolising that the jogger throughout the video was in fact the convicted killer and the killer was an Vigilante, however  we decided we wanted these to be revealed at the end of the film.

Refined storyboard. Forest sequence

The test footage we filmed was very helpful as it allowed us to see what was possible to film and way wasn't. Because of this we have decided to go back and re do our storyboard however spilt them into 2 (one set for the forest sequence and one set for the container sequence. Scenes may not be in order as once we have finished filming and begin editing we will begin to integrate the two)

This page shows the new opening sequence we plan on filming as a way to introduce the audience to the location of the forest. Throughout this opening sequence we will be focusing on small details of the forest such as grass, tree tops and leaves in the breeze. The final 2 boxes are the beginning of the short film, in these two we plan on showing the jogger character jogging through the forest as way of introducing the character and a detail as to who he is.

On this storyboard we have decided to include a number of shots that imply the jogger character is being followed by another character through the forest while also playing on the idea that the character is unknown by not showing them fully in any shot.

This storyboard is a continuation of the chase sequence as it shows the killer character following the jogger everywhere he goes.

This storyboard shows the camera closing in on the jogger character as if it is the killer however then pans around to reveal the killer is behind to which the shot turns into shot reverse shot.

This storyboard consists on a shot reverse shot that follows through into a wide shot of both characters showing a pause as they both acknowledge each other before the jogger begins to run away and hide behind a tree with the killer shown behind.

In this final storyboard, it shows the jogger running away and hiding behind a tree to which we plan on using a 360 arc to show the killer coming behind him before it being implied that he has killed the jogger through the blood dripping onto the tree.

Center point article

"POLICE SUSPECT CROSS COUNTRY STAR TO BE IN CONNECTION TO MURDER OF MOTHER OF TWO."

"Police are still looking to speak to cross country star Michael Lewis in connect to the death of wife and mother of 2 Katharine Dalton. Mrs Dalton was found dead in the country home back in early July after what neighbours call a ‘heated argument’ with Mr Lewis who had been a friend of the family for sometime. Katharine’s Husband, who wanted remain anonymous stated “He isn’t fully aware as to what he has done to both Katharine’s and I’s children and to me. Especially from someone we would call a friend. I just hope he knows he will pay for what his has done! I encourage him to turn himself in before it’s to Late!” Mr Lewis has since gone into hiding and remains untraceable to police who desperately want to speak to him regarding the event that took place in July on the night two young children lost their mother. For any information as to Michael Lewis’s whereabouts please call crime stoppers on 0800 555 111."

This is the written piece that will be used in the main article that is used as a prop in our short film. The headline has been chosen to make sense of the forrest as a location within our short film. This article sets up the background information as to why the vigilante killer in our short film is doing what he does.

Location Release form

As part of our pre production for our short film we have produced a location release form where we have in writing permission to film on location. For us we have gotten permission from the caretaker to say we can film inside of the container as part of our short film.

Talent release form

As part of our pre production for our short film we have produced a talent release form were the actor we have chosen to be in our short film as agreed to do so.

On this form we have agreed timings regarding filming and other forms of information such as contact details.

Risk Assessment form for short film

As part of our pre production we had created a risk assessment form that outlines any possible risks we will face while filming and how we can avoid these risks from happening. From the possible risks given on the sheet we have found that only 3 apply to us, these 3 include:

Camera Cable/Grip equipment - We will be using a camera grip as we are using a DSLR camera to film our short film therefore the director of the short film must be extremely careful with this equipment in both locations though particularly the forest scenes as the floor may not be levelled and therefore could cause damage to the camera if dropped.

Confined spaces -  As we have decided to use a storage container for our short film confined spaces will occur while filming however no action can be taken against this as the location is needed for the short film.

Weapons - One weapon is used in our short film as part of the flash forward sequence showing the vigilante killer cleaning up and wipes a knife as part of the short. While filming this scene the actor playing the vigilante killer must be careful not to cut themselves while filming this scene.

Reflection.

Today we had our test footage shoot for our short film and it was very helpful (we will upload our scenes soon as we are editing them). using our storyboard we produced as a guide of what to film however while filming we begin to discuss a way for our short film to make sense as to why the forest is used as a location. From this we decided to change our idea to make more sense.

Team meeting recordings

Reflection.

Today in our group we decided to do a test shoot to see what scenes work and which don't as well as possibly allowing us to develop our idea more to fit in with what is possible to film. We will be filming our test footage this Saturday (19th of October)

Team meeting recordings.

Recce - Locations for our Short Film.

(Container Shoot)

This storage container will be the location of all the scenes within our Short Film that take place inside the vigilante killers warehouse. Before we film we will have to decided the arrangement of the props that will be used in this section of the short film and how we will be able to create the tone we want for this location.

(Forest shoot.)


These are some images we took at epping forest. Here we will be filming the flashback sequences in that take place in the forest. We looked through and decided on these parts as they are similar to the what we imaged when doing the storyboard. However to get these scenes to match the overall tone of the piece we have decided to either filming in low light around 5pm when it begins to get dark or to darken the scenes up when we are editing.

Reflection.

As we now know where we will be filming the scenes needed for our short film we have decided as a group to go out and take pictures of these locations today after college in preparation for our location   recce.

Team Meeting recordings

Storyboard - Draft 1

This is the first storyboard we have produced of our idea, however we will be updating as we are still developing out story. The first slide consists of what we call the opening sequence as we have decided it will start our story film, nicely developing a back story for the main character. 

Box 1) We have decided that our short film will begin with an extreme close up of an newspaper article (that we will be producing ourselves) reading something along the lines of  "Mother of 2 killed by known murdered" The focus on this article at the beginning will show the audience that this is a significant piece of the story. 

Box 2) In the following shots the camera begins to pull out revealing a red circle around this article again showing it is significant. 

Box 3) Again, similar to the previous shot the camera continues to pull out revealing more of the shot. Here we can begin to see lines linking from the article in the certain.

Box 4) In this shot the audience begin to see that the links from the certain article are connected to other  articles however the others have red crosses through them. (Continuing to pan out.)

Box 5) Like the previous shot, this shot reveals more articles linked to the centre as well as links between the others with red crosses. (Continuing to pan out.)

Box 6) This will be the final shot of the opening sequence. This shot reveals a full evidence board with newspaper articles and images with red crosses through all linking back to the centre article, apart from one article without a red cross through. (Camera stops panning out)

Props Needed

For this section of our short film we will need a cork board or whiteboard to use as an evidence board. As well as a number of newspaper articles and images used to fill out the board. We will get these by using existing newspaper articles as well as creating our own particularly for the centre article as it is important to the storyline. 

Box 1) This shot will be a close up of the words "For Her' or something similar written or engraved into the evidence board to show the audience that what happens in the rest of the story is linked to both the article on the board and these words.

Box 2 This shot will be begin at a low angle (floor level) and will include a red puddle and something from above dripping onto the floor.

Box 3) This shot is a continuation of the previous shot as it pans up towards the source of the dripping revealing a table with a black bag on top of it

Box 4) like the previous shot is also another continuation of the previous shot as the camera continuous to pan upwards showing the top of the black bag and a hanging light source.

Box 5) The final shot in the upwards pan. This shot focuses on the light source as we think the brightness of the light will make a transition into a flashback that follows in next shot will work better, rather than just cutting to it.

Box 6) This will be the first shot to feature a flashback. We have decided that this scene will shot in a shaky cam first person perspective of a forest and heavy breathing sound effect to make it look like the person is running away from something.

Props Needed

During this section we will not need many props however the props we will need include fake blood or a puddle of water with red food colouring, a black bag moulded/stuff with newspaper to fill it out and a light source.

 Box 1)  This will be the second scene taking place during the flashback sequence it will consist of a wide shot showing someone running away in a forest.

Box 2) This shot takes place back in the warehouse and shows a mess will another pool of blood surrounding a chair tangled in rope hinting to the audience that a murder has taken place. We plan to make these scenes have a dark workshop/ warehouse feel to it therefore we will be working with low lightning and will be using a number of blurred to focused shot during these scenes.

Box 3 & 4 In these next following shots (including boxes 1,2 & 3 in the next storyboard however not the flashback shots in the forest) will be a kind of montage sequence showing the vigilantly killer cleaning up the mess by wrapping up the rope from the chair and cleaning the blood off of the floor)

Box 5) In this shot the person running away from something is taking a breath while leaning on a tree. This shot will be filmed by using a medium shot of the back of the person with trees in the background including heavy breathing sounds.

Box 6) This shot will be a continuation of the previous as it is a first person perspective of the individual turning around reacting to a noise to find no one is there, however we are still considering including a kind of illusion of the vigilant killer being right behind and then disappears when the other character turns around to look.

Props Needed.

The props we will need during this section of the short film include utensils that are used during the 'murder' these include Rope, fake blood, yellow gloves and a chair all of which are used to add to the  implied murder the scene.

Box 1) In the first box of this section we have decided to continue the cleaning montage through to this section. The first scene includes a extreme close up of a hand wearing yellow gloves cleaning
a table in a fast pace as we have decided that the cutting rate at this point will increase until the next section.

Box 2) This shot is a continuation of the previous shot however zoomed out. For this shot we will be using a wide shot or an over the shoulder to show a blacked out figure cleaning the table.

Box 3) This shot will include a close up of the vigilante killer organising his tools on to a tray as well as cleaning a knife to get rid of the blood. Here we will be using a blurred to focus shot. This is so the camera can focus on both the tools used and the knife being cleaned at the same time.

Box 4) Flashback scene of the victim hiding behind a tree, with heavy breathing used.

Box 5) continues from the previous scene to show the vigilante behind the tree that the victim is in from off showing the audience he is getting closer.

Box 6) This shot is a close up of the victims face to show their emotions at this time (being scared and panicked)  from this point onwards we will keep cutting between the killer and victim to build up suspense for the audience

Location for inside scene.

We have now found a suitable location for our inside scenes. With permission from the caretakers at the college we have been allowed to film inside one of the storage containers on site which will save us both time that we can use to focus on film and also money.

                                                            

Possible Locations for inside scenes.

Big Yellow Self-Storage.

we considered was to hire out a storage space at big yellow self storage as it offered large container space and was more affordable to us as a group. However found out we would not be allowed to film inside as we made a phone asking for permission to do so, therefore we had to rule this option out.

Garage rent advert on Gumtree

The final option we considered was to hire a garage out to film our inside scenes in, so we decided to look again on gumtree. Though the prices were affordable the garages we only available to be hired for 3 months at the minimum so we also ruled out this option.

Warehouse studio advert on Gumtree

We decided to look on Gumtree to look at warehouse photography studios to do our inside scenes however we felt that the warehouses on offer were either to expensive to hire or did not have the right kind of look we were going for however this option seems the most likely at the moment.

Reflection.

In our group have moved on to the pre production stage of our planning, and have been discussing possible locations. We 100% sure that we will be using the forest for a locations of the flashback scene as we felt it will be visually exciting and will help to set the tone however we are having a slight issue with where to film the scenes in the warehouse/studio/lock.

Team Meeting recordings.

Formal Pitch - Feedback

Here is the video to the Formal pitch we did during lesson.

Overall we are pleased by our presentation, though we did not receive much feedback from the audience.

Feedback we received included questions about the time of day we will be filming which is around dusk however as this time does not last for long we will have to be clear as to when we are filming to ensure we do not miss this small window to film.

Formal Pitch

Here is our pitch that we presented to the class about the ideas we have for our short film. When presented in class our pitch was in powerpoint format however using iMovie we have changed it into a video for the purpose of this blog.

Treatment.

Here is our treatment we produced as a group, including what we plan to do in our short film, what problems we might face and any other details to do with our film.

Treatment.

Classification/ Genre:

Our short film could be categorised as both a horror and thriller as we plan for it to contain elements from both fields. We have chosen these genres as they are the most interesting to us and could be to an audience once completed.

Short Summary:

A vigilant killer takes justice into his own hands as he gets rid of those who have wrongly freed by the justice system, sparked by the death of this wife but a convicted murder that the justice system failed to keep away from the public.

What professional films inspired you and how?

From the research we have done in preparation for our short film we are most inspired by the TV show Dexter as the TV show deals with similar themes to ours as well as the same classification. By looking at Dexter (in the opening sequence in particular) we have been inspired to use to use a large amount of micro shots in the same why they are used in the opening sequence of Dexter has they help the audience come up with false accusations as to what is going on however is then clear when the bigger picture is revealed, however this will be different in our piece as our version will be implied rather than clear as we will not use a bigger picture however something obvious to make it clear as to what is going on and for the audience to keep up with what is going on.

What makes your idea different?

Audience

Our target audience would be aged over 18 because it containing suggested graphic scenes of violence. Our target audience would be males who are fans of film and TV shows that are in the genre of Thrillers, Horrors, as the themes of this short film are though not commonly associated with females so the majority of male viewers would be larger than the majority of female viewers.

Length

As the maximum limit for our short film is 5 minutes we have decided to aim for a final cut time of roughly between 4:30 – 4:45 so we have enough time left over without going over the limit.

Logistic and feasibility –In terms of equipment, location and actors.

• Equipment – For our short film will be using a number of different props that include fake blood, (which will be used throughout) Tools, (such as knives & rope) a cork board with newspaper clipping and string connecting them, files and newspapers that we will need to produce ourselves as we will need to create a short that attracts the attention of the killer in our film.

• Location -  Our storyline only consists of two locations as more than 3 would make filming hard as well as effect consistency. Then first location we will need is a white room/ warehouse, were the killer is based. Here will be all his things for example, his board of newspapers clippings, Here we will shot the scene that include him cleaning up from his first kill at the beginning of the film and where he notices the newspaper article on his next victim. The second location will be a forest or woodland area. We have decided on this location as it will be an empty area therefore we do not need to worry about other people being in our shots as well as an interesting scenery. Here we will shot a chase scene between the vigilant and the victim, in this location the chase scene will be more interesting due to the obstacles. From this we will be able to get a Varity of different camera angles which will help our piece look more professional

• Actors -  As our story will only consist of roughly 2 characters (as one is only implied as we only see there arm) we have decided we will not need anymore than 2 characters however we are considering only using 1 as we are planning on not showing either of the characters in full however we are undecided on this idea.

Health and Safety issues

When filming the scenes in the forest we will have to be careful that the actors are not injured while running by falling over or getting cut by branches, therefore we may have to carry out this scene in a slower motion but speed it up in editing.

Where would your film be screened/ distributed? Includes YouTube and other Internet channels?

There are a number of places that our short film could be shown. We envision our piece to be screened in cinemas as we feel if shown on a larger screen the details within the piece would be appreciated better. However if it were to be uploaded on to a site such as YouTube it would be much easier for larger numbers of people to access it.