MES - Costume

Scouting Location Shots

We decided to use copse tunnel, below are some example images we took to see if it was a suitable location to use. We decided to use this as it suggests an arena tunnel that the rider will be walking down, the harsh lighting at the end emphasizes that it is unknown what will happen after he reaches the end.

MES - Prop

We used as little props as possible when planning the film. We used two main props in the plan for the film, these are:

Edd's Bike:

This is used to infer to the audience that our character in the film is an actual MotoX rider who is going to be entering this race. The use of an actual Motorbike is to add the sense of realism and making it more believable for the audience. It is also an Icon of the genre instantly connoting the film is a Motorsport action.

News Papers (Self Made):

These are to further push the narrative forward, filling in any gaps the audience might have. These will also be laid out to suggest the importance of the events that happened to the audience. 

H&S

Hazard	Chance of Risk	Process to reduce Risk
Cold weather (People getting ill or health being reduced)	Medium	Make sure appropriate and warm clothing is worn. For example, gloves and hat.
Tripping over tripod	Low	Make everyone is aware of where the tripod is being set up and have the area clearly marked.
Being ran over by a vehicle	Low	We are only filming on the footpath in copse tunnel allowing us to shoot uninterrupted.
Being ran over by Edd’s Bike	Low	Make sure that everyone knows when he will be moving the bike and where, also no one is allowed around the bike during movement.

Film Name

We have decided to name our movie 'Pinned'. This is a riding slang term used for expressing someone going fast.

The BBFC

About the BBFC

The British board of film classification is an independent, non-governmental body, which has classified films since 1912 and videos since the Video - Recording Act of 1984. However, all their decisions can be overruled by local authorities.

How does classification work?

The BBFC will watch films all the way through and award an age rating to the film. The procedure for cinematography usually involves two examiners watching the film for theatrical release. The senior examiner will confirm the examiners' recommendation. However, if they fail to agree the decision may be taken higher up. The same process is used for DVDs and Blu-rays, though they usually have one examiner.

Our film is likely to be a 12A as it has no dark or unsettling tones that might affect the audience. The film is not intended to have strong language used throughout or any discriminating behavior. There will be no emphasis on injuries or blood, but there will be a few scenes, in context, that crash footage is shown.

Audience Test Footage

Planning Documentation - Cospe Tunnel Permission

Due to the location in which we want to shoot, we had to get permission to leave school during daylight hours to allow us to take some of our scouting location shots. As this part was my job I sent an email to a SLT within the school to gain permission. Below is that email:

Planning Documentation - Delegation of Roles

We have delegated roles between us for the next set of task on our two minute production. Below is the list of group members and the tasks in which they will be doing:

Delegation of production:

- George:
o Health and Safety
o Permission
- Edd:
o Props
o Costume
o Make up
- Jordan:
o Scouting Location
o Lighting
o Casting

Film Planning - Meeting 7: Storyboarding Continued

We have now decided to change the order of 4 of our frames in our story board. Below is the changes and the now added timings to each frame

Film Planning - Meeting 5 / 6: Storyboarding

The images below are of our inital Storyboard we did over two meetings together. They contain the shots we are looking to create however the timings are absent due to the possibility of changes to orders, if this happens it will be updated in a later post.

Film Planning - Meeting 4: Post Audience Test Review

We spoke about the problems with a ‘street race’ film due to location. Younger males in the test group wanted more action within the film however after reviewing the reasons given we tried another group with different ages.

The results from this was that a race documentary that focused on a more human element.

Final idea motoX:

General synopsis:
- Flash backs to getting to the final (footage from Edd, sepia)
- Walking down the tunnel
- Tough Journey
- Family dies Funeral
- Final fade into white after Edd kicks the bike over.

Film Planning - Meeting Three: Target Audience Test 1

We discussed what questions we would ask the audience and get their feedback on what they would like to see in the sub-genre we are.
The questions are:
• What would you like to see featured in a racing film?
• What kind of style would you like to it to be (Doc, Action/Theatrical)?
• How would you like the film to be opened?
• What kind of racing would you like to see?
• Who would you want as the main character?
• Would you prefer it to be more realistic?
• Would you prefer a film that you could relate to?
• What are the key points you would want in a film?
We have decided to each find three people from our PP to be apart of the test audience. This will take place next Monday.

Film Planning - Meeting 2: Initial Idea's Details

Meeting Two
Here we are discussing about 2 or 3 of our final ideas in detail.
• Emotional Race documentary:
o Maybe on a past driver
        o Including day to day life
        o Maybe an injury that stops them from racing (Wheel chair)
        o Long takes, slower pace, less cuts
        o Acoustic instrumental non-diagetic soundtrack
        o Flash backs (blue tint) – Home movie like
        o Flash Forwards (gold tint) – Cuts from a child playing
• Underdog story:
       o Love interest – Not much shown, rival used to date.
       o Fast pace cuts  - Dramatic action, build up with non-diagetic sound throughouT
       o Troubled past/ background – Looked down, no money from parents.
       o Good vs Evil – Rookie vs Pro
       o Theatrical – Emphasis action, not necessarily realistic
• MotorX Final Race:
       o Flash back to starting career at young age
       o How he got there
       o Finish with gate drop
       o Walking into stadium
       o Close ups and medium from behind tracking, use of many shots emphasising driver

Film Planning - Meeting 1: Brainstorming

Film Planning - Outlining Dates

Here is an inital schudule of group meetings, however this is not final. We may meet more often then outlined, but this will be updated on the blog if and when they happen.

Meeting NO. Date Notes
1 9/11/2015 Introduce the group video and brainstorm initial ideas.
2 10/11/2015 Decided upon two or three of the ideas and go into further detail.
3 11/11/2015 I am possibly absent, however, this will be used to plan and organise the first        audience test.
4 16/11/2015 Do the audience test on the two or three final ideas.
5 17/11/2015 Idea finalised. In depth plan including reasoning. Start story board
6 18/11/2015 Continue story board.
7 19/11/2015 Finish story board, and plan final audience test.
8 20/11/2015 Conduct final Audience test.

Motorsport Opening Conventions Consolidation Post

As my research below shows, all the films have...

Indents at the beginning of the opening scene, usually at the bottom of the corner over the film in the background. All use CU and to show facial expressions of all the drivers. These are things we will use within our film.

Conventions of Motorsport Openings: Days of Thunder

Film Name: Days of Thunder
Director: Tony Scott
Year of Film: 1990
Total Awards: 1 Oscar nomination
Box Office: $82,670,733 (USA)

Overview:

The clip shows the testing of an ex-open wheel racing driver in a stock car, they use this time to see how fast he can go on laps before considering signing him.

Camera angles and their preferred reading:

• Shaking LS of the car - This instantly connotes a racing film that will be high octane. The use of shaky camera is to connote to the audience that the car is travelling fast around this track.
• MS of the crew in the pits - This is to start introducing us to the characters that will be in the film. It also shows their faces waiting anxiously to see how well he does.
• CU of driver - This is to show the concentration of the driver as well as show the costume he is wearing. The costume connotes professional racing as he is in full protective gear.
• SRS between crew and driver - These shots are used to show the audience the facial expressions of key characters in the pit lane, while contrasting their anxiety of the driver with CU of him concentrating and in full control.
• MS of two drivers speaking - They use a SRS here also to show the tension that is rising between the driver and his new rival due to him being faster than he is.

All the sound is diegetic in this clip. It mainly has loud engine noises no screeching rubber, all icons of Motorsport.

The costumes of the drivers also connote Motorsport as they are all in protective clothing of race suits and helmets.

There is a faster pace of editing to further emphasis the speed of the movie and the Motorsport genre.

Conventions of Motorsport Openings: Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift

Film Name: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
Director: Justin Lin
Year of Film:2006
Total Awards: 4 Nominations
Box Office: $158,468,292

Overview:

A teenager becomes a major competitor in the world of drift racing after moving in with his father in Tokyo to avoid a jail sentence in America.

Camera angles and their preferred reading:

• CU to show match action - This is to show the two characters interacting with each other over their cars. The shot matches the diegetic sounds of him calling him about looking at his 'girl'. The close up shows the audience from the start who is the 'Jock' and who is the 'normal kid'
• Over should shot - This is during the conversations to show the props of the cars too the audience and what each car the driver has, to indicate the wealth and type of character.
• CU of facial expressions - This shot it to show the audience roughly what the character is thinking to the current situation
• SRS to the crowd of 'Jocks' - This is used to suggest to the audience that the character is under a lot of pressure from his fiends to act the way he does. 
• XLS of crowd gathering - This connotes to the audience of a school fight where everyone adds to the pressure for violence.
• Low angle CU to show the wrench - This wrench is not only San icon of the Motorsport genre, it also is used to suggest the idea of violence in a school environment.
• SRS during more dialogue - This is used to show how each character responds to the other and the crowd and what they are likely to do, this gives the audience the sense of being part of the crowd.

The costumes of the characters are used to distinguish the types of character from one an other, the purple jerseys are used to connote the jocks who are the popular kids at the school, the basic clothing of the main characters is to suggest to the audience he is a 'normal' kid who has no outstanding qualities but fits in.

All the sound is diegetic and the use of engine sounds are a music motif to Motorsport. 

Conventions of Motorsport Openings: Senna

Film Name: Senna
Director: Asif Kapadia
Year of Film: 2010
Total Awards: Won 2 BAFTA Awards with 14 other wins and 17 nominations
Box Office: $1,612,430 (USA) (12 August 2011)

Overview:

A film documentary of the Brizilan racing driver, Aytern Senna. The start of the movie introduces us to him and some of his early footage of racing.

Camera angles and their preferred reading:

• Home hand held footage - This is used to not only be informative to the audience using actual footage, but it also connotes home shot film style of shooting. This gives the audience more of a personal connection with the character as they get to experience his childhood.
• MS of Aytern Senna - This shot is used to start giving the audience a look at Senna during his days racing in F1, this also allows the audience to start building a connection to this character.
• CU of Aytern Senna - This shot is used to show his facial expressions while on the track. The emphasis of facial expressions is to further allow the audience to begin building these connections.
• Tracking of Camera during tracking footage - This again used home footage with shaking camera but the use of tracking Senna as he passes other Karters suggests that he is a good driver on the track.
• POV - This is to show (as the voice over speaks) Senna coming out of a corner, this is to give action to the words of the interview that is happening over the clip.
• MS of interview after being signed - This shows how excited his family is for him suggesting to the audience that this is not usual from this type of person.

Both indents of universal, working title and studio canal appear at the start of the film, as well as over the footage of the film between cuts.

The non diegetic sound used throughout the film opening is a voice over from an interview between Senna and a interviewer. They use this to highlight some factual infomation of Senna as well as giving an insight into the type of character Senna is.

Iconography Of Action Genre

What is Sub - Genre?

Consolidation Post

Below I have researched 3 example of conventions within film openings across all genres. In all the examples I have learnt that idents feature in all of the examples at the beginning of the film. These are usually the production company, followed by the director with any other major name soon following after. This will be something we include into our own films

What is Genre?

Conventions of Film Openings: Time Line

Conventions of Film Openings: Matilda

Film Name: Matilda
Director: Danny DeVito
Year of Film:1996
Total Awards: 3 wins and 7 minor nominations.
Box Office:£16,461,008 (UK) (11 April 1997)

Overview:
The clip shows two parents picking up their newly had child from the hostility like but it shows that they have little care or interest in the child.

Camera angles and their preferred reading:

• CU of a baby's face - this is to introduce the main character of the movie, Matilda. It is also used to connote the film being a children's film.
• Zoom out into arial shot - This shot is used to tie in the voice over that is introducing the character of the baby, the airal shot is used to emphasise the fact that babies are all look the same, even though they are really different.
• Cross Cut to LS showing them carrying the baby - The LS uses rule of two thirds to show that the two parents (in the middle of the shot) are the parents of the main character. They use a LS to show that they have little care or regard for the babies well being as they walk towards the camera.
• SRS (CU to CU) of the child and baby - They use this shot reverse shot to introduce the next family member, the brother. They use a CU of him playing mindlessly with a ball and paddle, this is to suggest that the brother is not very intelligent and gets amusement easily. The SRS is used to show the little care the brother also has by showing his blank facial expressions during the CU.
• SRS (CU to MS) of driving and sliding - They use the shot reverse shot as a match action shot between the father driving the car radically and the baby not strapped in and sliding about, suggesting the irresponsibility of the parenting.
• Cross cut to XLS of car driving down the street - This is used to establish the location of the main scenes in the house, it also connotes the wealth of the characters using the set design of a modern (at the time) suburban area.
• Pans as the car enters the drive - The camera pans as the car pulls into the drive and introduces us to the house where all the characters live.

There is little Diegetic sound and most of this is dialogue however there is a voice over used to progress the introduction of the characters through the opening scenes.

The costumes of the characters suggest they are a well off family who has little to no financial issues. They dress in casual clothes but still have shirts and dresses incorporated into their daily attire.

Conventions of Film Openings: Psycho

Film name: Psycho 
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Year of Film: 1960
Total Awards: 7 Wins, 9 Nominations.
1961 Oscars Nominations: 

• Best actress in a supporting role
• Best director
• Best Cinematography, Black and White
• Best art direction-set decoration, Black and White

Box Office: $50 million

Paladin Clip

Due to IT problems my Paladin Clip and evaluation was unable to be posted. It will appear here as soon as possible.

Preliminary

Favourite Film Opening (5 Min Max)

Film Name: Drive
Director: Nicolas Winding Refn
Year of film: 2011
British Academy Film Award nomination:
Best Film
Best Director
Best Supporting Actress
Best Editing
Cannes Film Festival Award's Won:
Best Director