Final Props: Explanation

Today I Have put together a final prop list for our production. The props we have chosen to use are all relevant to our film and each have a significant use/meaning:

Enchanted Necklace

This is the main prop for our film, it is the central piece of the whole storyline and the plot wouldn't make sense without it. The Necklace will be used in nearly every scene of the film.
Overview:

Ruby finds the necklace hanging from a tree near college, intrigued and enchanted by it she removes it and takes it with her. Later in the day she puts on the necklace and unusual things starts to happen, she is ignored by her friends and other in and around college. Eventually Ruby realises that the necklace is wiping her from existence and therefore removes the necklace and throws it away.

Description:

Its is a black rectangular onyx stone necklace, on black elastic. It was originally on a black rope but we removed it and replaced it with elastic due to its flexibility and durability.

(The several props listed below don't really have any significant purpose in the film other than scene setting and making the film seem more realistic.)

Ruby's College Bag

As Ruby is supposed to be a college student she will therefore require a college bag to carry her books in. The bag has been written in as part of her costumer as we feel it adds to her character profile but also makes her appear to be a more realistic student.

Description

Ruby's school bag is a large brown leather bag, with a gold buckle and long shoulder strap.

Ruby's I-pod

Again as Ruby is supposed to be a modern day student it is believable that she would own an i-pod and be listening to it on her way to college. As before it adds to her character making her more realistic.

Description

Purple I-pod nano, with long white earphones.

Emma's Phone

Emma is also a modern day college student and therefore uses her phone a lot, we added the phone as a prop in the penultimate scene as it helps to reveal the films plot twist.

Description

Black blackberry phone in a purple case.

Prop List + Photos

Prop List:

- Necklace

- Ruby's Ipod

- Ruby's School Bag

- Mirror

Unique Selling Points (USP)

A unique selling point is a marketing concept that makes unique appeals to to a viewer in order to attract theyre interest.

In this post i am going to identify the unique selling points in films that have got clear unique features in them e.g plotlines that there is nothing similar to, a score of music specially attributed to the film, possibly even a specific actor who makes the film what it is or if a film is derived from a book, as this means it may already have interest before it even begins production.

For example, a unique selling point of 1951 film 'A streetcar names desire' was the casting of famed actor Marlon Brando, who was unique at the time due to him being relatively unknown and under-rated before this film and his tight t-shirts which at the time were unheard of, it had to be specially made.

Another film with a usp is the Harry Potter saga. Being derived from an extremely popular series of books, having iconic actors in Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson cast as the three main charecters and of course the even more iconic plotline full of mystery and magic which the world had never experienced before Harry Potter came into fruition.

The unique selling point in our production is our plotline, the schoolgirl who finds a cursed necklace that makes her invisible, unbeknowing that it is slowly but surely wiping her existence from the universe. In our groups research we have found no similar plotline to our production, making this the unique selling point to our film.

Film Questionnaire

This is a video questionnaire we conducted in order to gain vital information about our film's audience.

Thriller Films Research

Storyboard (First Draft in rough)

Blogger Update

In order for us to be more organised as a production team, I have decided to incorporate a search bar onto our blog, which makes it easier t find existing posts, and to place our research and planning together.
The way in which digital media allows us to be more organised is really helpful for us, as it allows us to remain organised at all times, in an easy and efficient way.

Final Costume Design

I have previously researched costume design for the characters in the play, and the ideas constructed enabled me to create an appropriate design for every character. The sketches are a different design to the research, and this is because the sketches are a more developed, and finalised.
To further enhance the quality of what the garments may look like on the character, I have created the character's using Hero Machine 2.5 , and also designed there costumes via this website also.

RUBY FOX (PROTAGONIST)



The previous research for Ruby Fox consisted of extravagant, bright garments, which would represent Ruby's personality. However, within my sketches and online design, the costume has changed into a more vibrant shape, with padded shoulder's to enhance her edgy look, and also changed the colour to a powerful green, to denote her earthy nature. As you can see from the sketch, I have labelled her vintage high knee socks, shoulder pads, and elaborate belt. These are all key features of her exaggerated costume. In the online character I decided to change the outfit in a would that would suggest the character was more innocent. Therefore her white 3/4 top represents purity and innocence in her situation in the film, but her pink dungaree allows her outgoing personality to be portrayed.



UNIDENTIFIED GIRL




We have previously established that this particular character holds the key to the films narrative, and although I have previously researched her style and decided upon a plain black dress, I have altered the length of the dress, as a longer dress enables the character to be completely hidden from everyone else, which is symbolic of the necklace in the film stealing her identity and removing it from existence. The animated character, and sketch are both similar, and consist of the main features of the costume design.

DANIEL COOPER

The first bullies costume has not really altered from the original design. It still consists of a blue shirt, boot cut jeans. However, I have altered the characters shoes to Nike Skate shoes. From a modern audiences perspective, the brand Nike is associated in local culture, and therefore the teenage target market will be able to correspond with this, and relate to the film. As the character is dressed in a checked shirt (popular with the today's teenage boys), the character could be presented as coming from a good family background. This suggests to the audience that the boy could have mental issues, as he takes his aggression out on those less fortunate. The costume design is realistic, and also unique, as thugs of today are stereotypically presented wearing hoodies, and tracksuite bottoms.

Invisibility Films

Whilst researching the invisibility effect in thriller films, it came as a surprise that not many films consist of this theme. Although it is would attract a wide variety of audience members, and is an unusual and mysterious effect to have in a film, it is initially difficult to create the specific illusion in a realistic way. These is the top ten list of films which consist of the invisibility effect, and how they are used. From my in depth research into invisibility from existing films, I am able to confirm that the films title connotes the narrative, as almost all of the existing films have "invisibility", for the main title. Although our film's title is "Shadow", and does not connote invisibility, I believe this is more appropriate for the genre we have chosen, as it does not explain the plot before the audience have actually viewed the film. Furthermore, all of the existing productions consist of the theme of a formula for invisibility, whereby the character takes a form of a fluid or powder in order to become invisible, or the character is psychologically invisible. In Red Lizard Production's film, the character is made invisible by an object: a necklace. This immediately breaks the traditional manor of the effect, and therefore enables our film to be unique, and different.

Video Questionnaire

In order for our film to have a large audience, we must first interview a few members of our target audience, which will enable us as a production company to make our film successful.
After revealing the plot to the audience, we then asked them a series of questions in order to receive their opinions.

1. What is your opinion on the film's plot?

2. Do you believe the characters and storyline are realistic?


3. Could you relate to any of the characters?


4. What age range do you believe would be interested in watching this film?


5. Do you agree that this film should be a 12A?
(If not, please give your reason) ______________________


6. Do you feel that the film appropriately matches its genre?


7. Do you believe this film is aimed at a specific gender?


8. Where would you watch this film?
• The cinema
• At home
• Elsewhere
(please give details) _________________________


9. What other thriller films do you enjoy?


10. Which genre of thriller films do you enjoy the most?
• Fiction
• Mystery
• Crime
• Psychological
• Other
(If other please state) _________________________________


11. Which films do you believe are similar to ours?


12. Which type of music do you associate with thriller films?
Please give an example ___________________________



13. Do you believe the films narrative is appropriate for the certification?


14. Would you ever watch a short film?


15. Would you recommend this to a friend?

Film Risk Assessment

In order for the film to be shot safetly, I carried out a risk assesment to ensure that all of the issues which could occur whist filming, are not a danger to the cast, crew, and director. Here is the risk assesment, please click to enlarge the picture;

click to enlarge

Call Sheet - Filming Schedule

After discussing the days which we could film, I decided to create our call sheet through the medium of Google Calendar. The service is a convergence of the standard calendar and the Internet, to provide a service that is accessible from hundreds of devices and computers.

This enables us to stay organised throughout the planning stage, as we can plan our meetings and filming schedule easily, to make sure that there are no clashes with personal arrangements.

Here are some screen shots of the planning of the call sheet;

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(CLICK TO VIEW LARGE IMAGE)

Distribution Research

As our film is only a 5 minute short film it would not be distributed by a top name company such as Warner Bros or Summit Entertainment.

Dazzle are one of Britain's top short film labels, they are based in Hoxton London and are on of the main partners of the London Short Film Festival. They have quite a few shorts on the site http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/organisations/dazzle, including 'A fitting tribute', 'Heather' and 'Mother'. I feel that these would be an appropriate distributor for our film although they don't distribute many Short films that are shown on television.

Film 4 , I feel would be a brilliant distributor for our film. They are a label for many different types of short films- both internet broadcast and TV. Their short films are available at http://www.film4.com/videos/film4-shorts, they have distributed short films including 'Hallo Panda' , Terra Firma' and 'Dogs Mercury'. I feel that Film 4 would be the best distributor for our film as they would enable us to be broadcast in showroom cinems and also on TV as Film4 have their own TV channel.

BBC would also be a really good distributor for our film, they too have their own TV channel and website which is dedicated to short films- this is http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/organisations/bbc_films. BBC has distributed short films such as 'The Black Hole' , 'Alberts Speech' and 'This way up'.

Filming Schedule

We are now preparing to start filming, below is a basic filming schedule in order to help keep us on track:

-3rd October - Filming at Clare's House for the scene where Ruby returns home.

-12th October - College scenes in and around Barnsley College

-14th October - College scenes in and around Barnsley College, Continued

-15th October - Footpath Scene

-24th October - Bridge Scene

We are going to try and film everything within one month, this will therefore give us enough time to re-film and make any changes that may be required.

Location List

Location: Public Footpath and Bus Stop
Where is it: Barnsley College, Honeywell Site
When is it used:Act 1, Scene 1 , Scene 2, Scene 3



















Location: College Entrance, Toilets and Corridors
Where is it: Honeywell Building, Barnsley College, Barnsley
When is it used: Act 1, Scene 4, Scene 5, Scene 6 Act 2, Scene 2

















Location: Pond
Where is it: Wilthorpe, Barnsley
When is it used: Act 2, Scene 3



















(Photos are just examples - not actual locations)

Equipment Plan

As we will soon be filming our production I have made a plan of the equipment we are going to use:

FILMING

Camera: SONY HDV 1000

The Sony HDV 1000 camera will be the most effective camera for us to use as it has an innovative design which makes it more mobile and proffessional. It is easily adaptable and can therefore be used in many different environments. Also the camera is simple and easy to use and will therefore make filming a lot quicker and efficient.

Tri-Pod: SONY HDV 1000 Tri-Pod

We will obviously be using the tri-pod that matches the camera. This tri-pod has a simple and easy design and is therefore extremely efficient to use. It is also very mobile as it can be folded down and carried, which means it can be easily transported to all of our filming locations.

Camera: LUMIX 10 mpx Digital Camera

As we will require photographs of our costumes, props, locations and filiming we are going to use a digital camera to take these. The Lumix 10 mpx camera is very easy to use and the photos can be quickly transfered to computer via a USB cable. The camera has a wide range of effects including black and white, multishot and auto scene mode which may come in handy during our filming.

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EDITING

Editor: Sony HDV editor

We are going to use the Sony HDV editor in order to transfer our footage to MACs ready for editing, we can capture small chunks or all of our footage straight from these when they are connected by a firewire.

Computer/ Programme: MAC, Final Cut Express

MACs are extremely effective to use for editing our film, they have the programmes Final Cut Express installed which is an excellent programme for editing. It is very simple and easy to use and has a wide range of tools and effects that will help make our piece more proffessional.

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RADIO TRAILER

Recorder : Samson Portable Zoom Recorder

In order ro record the sound for our trailer, that is not included already in our film, we are going to use a portable zoom recorder. They can hold a large amount of sound and it can be transferred easily to a Mac.

Programme (Editing) : Garage Band

Rather than using Final Cut express again as our editing programme, we are going to use Garage Band as it too is an easy and simple programme to use, and as a bonus it is more sounds orientated (rather than film). Therefore there will be more appropriate effects for us to use.

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POSTER

Camera: See above

Programme: Photoshop

Photoshop is one of the best editing programmes available today and so we are going to use it to create our poster. We will use it to edit the photos we want to include and insert text to make our poster look more realistic.