Changes in Idea

As we experienced much difficulty with our actor that we originally planned to use, we decided to change this. We were extremely disappointed that we wouldn’t use our original actor as he was aesthetically perfect for the part; however he could not deliver the kind of acting we wanted so we decided that we would change our actor to someone who we knew could defiantly act. We needed this person to also be reliable and comfortable with acting in front of the camera too. We finally came to the decision as a group that Gabi would be the new actor in the sequence, as we spent a long time trying to think of a male actor; though none of us knew one who would defiantly be able to deliver good acting. Due to our schedule running tight we decided this would also be the most practice idea too.
We realised that changing the gender of the character could cause a big change in the overall outcome of the film but we thought that maybe this could show a different side to the film and could break conventions. We realized this could be too far in the fact that it is very un likely that there are quite a few female ex boxers but we wanted to portray our film clearly through aesthetics of location and through costume too. We still felt that our idea would work even if the character is changed to a female.
We then had to consider costume for Gabi to be dressed in; however we found this easy as we wanted it to be very similar to the costume of which our original character had worn. In the end we decided for the main part of the sequence, she would be dressed in a black hoodie and grey trackies and then also black trainers all of a typical work out style. We also had to consider hair and make-up and we decided obviously no make-up as we wanted Gabi to look quite tom boy-esque. We also decided for her to have her hair up and back off her face. We felt that these changes were appropriate and would still fit very well with the sequence aesthetics and idea we wanted to create.
We also had to consider the music in the opening too in the end we decided not to use Shakespeare - Akala as we felt this was suited to a male actor. When we tried the sequence with the original song and Gabi we decided that it didn't work. we then did some more research into songs that could suit it, searching songs from Adulthood. in the end we came to the conclusion of using Reach by Skrein as this was more suited to the aesthetics and to our character and what she's doing.
We then thought about the fight scene of which before it would be two males having a fight. When we decided to have Gabi as our main actor, we also as a group agreed that Katie was to be the other actor in the fight scene as it would be odd having a female and a male fighting. This change was able to tie the film in and presented us with a sense of relief as we had been struggling all along to find two new characters. This way we all knew each of the characters were reliable and what we wanted to achieve. This was extremely beneficial to us as we would then be able to carry out the filming whenever we wanted and go back to re-filming at any time instead of having to organise and hassle other actors.

Difficulties and problems when filming

When we went to film our opening sequence we were very optimistic as the weather was exactly how we wanted it to be, the lighting outside and the colour effect this gave was prefect for filming. Luckily this did not change or rain throughout the duration of filming the whole opening sequence. Whilst we were there we managed to get all of the footage we wanted to film in the location we had chosen and our actor was willing to do the shots that we had planned to do.
We did find it difficult when filming the smoking scenes as the cigarette would go down and we realized there would be continuity issues with having the cigarette at different points for each shots so we had to keep lighting more.
However, our opening sequence heavily relies on really good acting, as we progressed to the scenes where this good acting was needed we were less confident with the outcome of the shots. We felt that we would give directions of what to do to the actor but he couldn't really give us the overall result and look of how we wanted the shot to look. Nevertheless we carried on encouraging the actor and got all the shots filmed as we didn't want the whole day of filming to be wasted.
Once we had finished we were able to watch the footage back, overall we were not very happy with what we had ended up with due to the acting that the actor had presented. We felt quite let down with this and we very worried as we had a time schedule to stick to as we wanted to make sure that we filmed our footage before we got back to school from the half term. We finally came to the conclusion that we would import the footage and watch it back properly on the macs to see whether or not it was any different on a bigger screen.
When we had watched the footage on the bigger screen we decided then and there that we had not produced a sequence that any of us were happy with and we felt as if we had missed quite a few opportunities for some better shots to be included in our opening two minutes. We then made the decision to go back to re-storyboarding and changing our idea in order to make sure we could have an actor that we could rely on to really show the emotions that are needed to be portrayed in the sequence.

Testing The Smoking Shot

Here we have shot a short sequence of Gabi practising the shot where our character blows smoke into the camera lens and then it rewinds again. We tested this out as we wanted to make sure that it worked well before we filmed the next day. When we tried it out on the Monday it was quite windy where as on the Tuesday we were lucky to have little to no wind to effect the smoke going into the camera lens.

We think that shot will be one of our most important shots as it shows the audience the character ability to rewind time.

Dates Organised For Filming

As a group, we decided to film the main parts of our 2 minute opening on Monday 21st Feb and Tuesday 22nd Feb as it allowed us to have the rest of the half term to include more shots if we felt we needed to and make any corrections. On the Monday all 3 of us went to the location and filmed various establishing shots being featured at the beginning of the sequence. We also were able to test any other shots that we would be filming the following day. On Tuesday we were able to film our entire sequence as the weather stayed the same which was fortunate.

Discussion of Rating (BBFC)...

When considering the audience rating for our piece we researched the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification). This gave us a breakdown on the national guidelines of film rating. Initially, we started by researching 'Kidulthood' and started to understand what rating this was given and why. 'Kidulthood' received a 15 age rating due to it's frequent scenes of a sexual nature, violence and strong language. However, it does not promote these acts. Next, we looked at the criteria that establishes film as a 15 age rating.

15 – Suitable only for 15 years and over

No one younger than 15 may see a ‘15’ film in a cinema. No one younger than 15 may rent or buy a ‘15’ rated video work.

Discrimination

The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.

Drugs

Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.

Horror

Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised.

Imitable behaviour

Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.

Language

There may be frequent use of strong language (for example, ‘fuck’). The strongest terms (for example, ‘cunt’) may be acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.

Nudity

Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context.

Sex

Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.

Theme

No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds.

Violence

Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable.

There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification.

We want our film opening to contain the same gritty aspects of a Shane Medow's styled British film. Our film consists of scenes of strong language and abrupt violence during the fight scenes that Dom partakes in both in the opening sequence and full duration of the narrative. Within the first two minutes of the sequence Dom is seen to be smoking and fighting with another, whilst using profound language. The BBFC address that "Smoking was never spontaneously raised as a classification issue and when prompted, there was no support for raising classifications on this basis.". However, the use of the words 'Dickhead' and 'Prick' within our fight scene ensures that our film conforms more suitably to the 15 rating. Much the same as 'Kidulthood' it does note promote this violence and if anything would dissuade our target audience from these kinds of actions. We feel it appropriate therefore, to give our film a 15 age rating as it abides by the laws the BBFC have directed.

Presentation for our Pitch

Retrospect
A bold British Sci-Fi about the trials and heart-felt struggles of a troubled teen.

Synopsis
Retrospect entails the life story of a young British adult as he struggles to find the fine line between right and wrong. Brought up in a council estate, ‘Dom’, turns to boxing as a means of escape and empowerment. Our film catches his story at a poignant part in his life. He has had his boxing licence revoked due to his arranged illegal boxing matches, which have big money rewards. On his biggest fight yet, the fight goes horribly wrong and he ends up beaten to a pulp. After being resuscitated he comes back with a strange lease of life. Dom has gained a strange power: the ability to rewind bad situations. Our film opening starts with the discovery of this power. During his first illegal fight after his near death experience, ironically he kills his opponent. The next day, he comes face to face with a newspaper article describing his brutality. However, he teleports from the present back to the fight scene and stops the fight to prevent the death of his opponent. The time period is brought back to the present and the newspaper article has changed. The rest of the story follows him along a string of trials his must overcome. However, Dom starts to take advantage of his new power and finds that his alteration of time begins to have a knock on effect on the loved ones around him. The film ends tragically when the implications of his adjustments mean that his dearest friend dies and his is unable to rewind time and save them.

Genre
There are two different categories to which our genre fits into. These are British Film and Sci-Fi. After our research we found that there was a big gap in the market for British Sci-Fi, a challenge which we felt we wanted to undertake. The conventions of a Sci-Fi include… a scientific theme, visionary aspects…Imaginative plots, usually visualized through fanciful settings… Expert film production design, advanced technology gadgets (i.e., robots and spaceships) and fantastic special effects. The latter of which we don’t have. To ensure that our film follows these conventions we plan on taking full advantage of the mac’s editing skills. The usage of editing pace, chronology & colour balance should enhance the believability of our production.
Another key feature that puts our film into the Sci-Fi category is the fact that our Character has the ability to rewind time… However, the immediate genre which is introduced to our audience is the concept of British film (British Mis-en-scene, clothes, music), so by adding the surprise element of sci-fi creates enigma. The aesthetics of a British Film are as follows: gritty, fast paced, and can show the realism and hardship of Britain.

The conventions of the opening 2 minutes of a feature length film are:
*Establishes setting/character
*Uses establishing shot and slow pace edits

*Non diegetic sound

*Creates enigma.

We believe our idea incorporates all of these concepts. The establishing close ups of our character give time for the audience to be made aware of the proposed characteristics and props shown in the shot. Hopefully they gain an understanding of the type of character he is. The use of slow motion, real time and reverse scenes creates a contrast in which the plot is developed: the audience are captivated and engrossed by his trail of thought. This therefore, creates enigma. The use of non diegetic sound within the fight scene induces the sense of adrenaline and apprehension which again, adds to the overall pace.

Research
Our favourite part of sculpting our project was obviously the ‘market research’. Any excuse to watch films. We have capitalized on the new found interest for new British Drama/film i.e. Misfits and Adulthood and incorporated winning characteristics from these to enhance our opening. The main film that has the desired affect that we want to create is Adulthood. Here is a brief clip. (Cross, Mis-en-scene, music, costumes) Here is another of fish tank (Also a British film, mis-en-scene) Misfits is yet another form of media that we were able to gain ideas from. We like the way in which the rewinding of time is shown. Lastly, a music video. Devlin shows destruction with the shaking of the camera... something which we could possibly incorporate.

Opening
Our first two opening minutes of our film sequence is as follows... The clip begins with an 18 year old guy, dressed in lower class clothing. We will begin with establishing shots of the mise en scene of an estate. Our character would initially start running through an estate, all the while sparring to make the audience more aware that he is an ex boxer. We have decided to use the estate as it fits better with the mood/genre of the opening and it fits well with the character. We have decided to fade the titles in and out whilst the character is running. As the character is running through the estate he will have headphones in which will be playing diegetic music as it is in the characters ears, as he rests after training he will take out the headphones and the music will stop for the audience also. We have decided to play Shakespeare – Akala as it fits with the character profile. Our character is going to be stood/ sat against a wall showing the stress he's feeling rather than relaxation. We will then show 4-5 establishing character shots: Sparking up a cigarette, twitching with his fingers, bowing his head. By the character is part of a newspaper showing an article about the fight Dom has taken part in. After the character has seen the article he's smoking a cigarette which is blown into the camera and pauses the frame of the smoke for 2-3 seconds which then cuts to the fight scene. Dim lighting produced with a strobe light and torches as a fight/scramble between two lower class lads in an alley way takes place. Lots of low/high/ interesting angles. There are other people in the alley spurring the boys on. We will have diegetic sounds of the fight. The fight will end with Dom walking away from it ending this feud. The close up of the smoke will then rewind showing that time has now changed. Dom will then glance at the article and it will show a different article as if the event never took place.

Character

We have chosen this actor to feature in our 2 minute film, as we believe he fits the look of the type of film we are creating to look like. In the film he will be presented as an 18 year old guy, with a job as an ex illegal boxer. He will be shown to be living in an estate that we will present in the opening of our film to get a background of where the character is from. The costume for our actor will be grey trackies similar to the picture shown, a hoody and trainers. Our character will have the hood up in the opening to emphasis he done something wrong and trying to hide away from it.

Location
To fit the aesthetics of our 2 minute opening we went and looked for potential locations that would look really effective and match well with the idea we have come up with. Here we have taken a few shots of places that we really liked the mise en scene of. We really liked the cross as it becomes a contradictory to the rest of the film. We wanted to use a location that had interesting shots of the lower class estate that our character is from.

Audience & rating
We believe that our film would attract a male audience from the age group of around16-25. This is our intended audience for our film. We also think that this film will appeal to people with a similar background. We think that our film would be rated a 15, we have done some research into the BBFC.


Overlaying music
We have chosen to use the song Shakespeare by Akala, as we think this song was quite fast paced and a song that our character would potentially run to from the look we have given him. The pace of the song matches the pace of the beginning of the film and has a good beat for the character to run and spar to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gme1YN-qZV8


By Gabi, Katie & Vicky

Textual Analysis - Fish Tank...

In fish tank our main reason for searching this film was through the fact that is has interesting camera angles of the mise en scene which we really wanted to reflect on in our film too. The use of the establishing shots of housing estates is something else we wanted to include.
- Mise en Scene (more than adulthood)
- Character