planning for filming the props board

The next task was to do the final Planning for my film and this is a continuing task over the next few weeks. This would allow me to have a clear picture of what my film storyline and settings are and how everything works together to make the final opening sequence. There are eight key features to the planning that i have to do, these are script, story board, actors profiles, setting boards, prop boards,  permission for filming and test footage.

Now that i have completed all the research tasks i had to do i know the requirements that the BBFC and the target audience have to make my opening sequence successful. Now that i am planning for my opening sequence i will take these requirements into account when planning my film opening.

Props Board
in this section of this task i had to make a props board detailing the props used in my opening sequence and how they link the storyline together. also i had to say how typical they are the the characters gender.

From this task i have learnt how props influence the flow of the story and how it is conveyed to the audience. also i know how to use props to help me do this. from doing the props boards i have learnt that to make your film successful i have to use props effectivly.

planning for filming the setting boards, inside the living place

The next task was to do the final Planning for my film and this is a continuing task over the next few weeks. This would allow me to have a clear picture of what my film storyline and settings are and how everything works together to make the final opening sequence. There are eight key features to the planning that i have to do, these are script, story board, actors profiles, setting boards, prop boards,  permission for filming and test footage.

Now that i have completed all the research tasks i had to do i know the requirements that the BBFC and the target audience have to make my opening sequence successful. Now that i am planning for my opening sequence i will take these requirements into account when planning my film opening.

Setting boards interior

This setting will be used in the main film opening when we see James getting ready to go on holiday. I think this is suitable to shoot this as it is a modern teenage boy’s room.

In this scene I will use the draw to link to the flashback scene.

In this scene I will place the picture James looks at before he has the flashback about Rachel. They will be placed in the draw you see open in this shot.

I have learnt from this that setting is very important in the making of a film. Also I have learnt how to link interior and exterior shots together through the use of doors and cutting.

planning for filming the setting boards, location

The next task was to do the final Planning for my film and this is a continuing task over the next few weeks. This would allow me to have a clear picture of what my film storyline and settings are and how everything works together to make the final opening sequence. There are eight key features to the planning that i have to do, these are script, story board, actors profiles, setting boards, prop boards,  permission for filming and test footage.

Now that i have completed all the research tasks i had to do i know the requirements that the BBFC and the target audience have to make my opening sequence successful. Now that i am planning for my opening sequence i will take these requirements into account when planning my film opening.

Setting boards location

I decided that this was a good setting for a Romantic Drama because of the natural light of the area. The hill behind the area blocks out the sun a little and allows for an orange sky when the sun is setting, this is perfect for a romantic drama. 

This is a good setting for the storyline and genre of my film as it is in the urban area of Tavistock and it fits in with the characters description I made for James. Also this setting allows me to use a range of shot angles and lighting for my main film opening.

This setting is a stretch of river in Bere Alston Devon. This area is not very well known so as a result it is quite and perfect for filming.

In addition to this the area allows me to use a range of shot types.

I think this setting will help me to make my film look authentic because of the wide range of shots I can use. Also the colour of the set will help me fit the setting to the genre.

from doing this task i ahve found out how i can make my film look authentic and profeshional by using the settings natural light and a range of shot types. this will help me to keep the film opening interesting and entertaining.

planning for filming the filming scedule

The next task was to do the final Planning for my film and this is a continuing task over the next few weeks. This would allow me to have a clear picture of what my film storyline and settings are and how everything works together to make the final opening sequence. There are eight key features to the planning that i have to do, these are script, story board, actors profiles, setting boards, prop boards,  permission for filming and test footage.

Now that i have completed all the research tasks i had to do i know the requirements that the BBFC and the target audience have to make my opening sequence successful. Now that i am planning for my opening sequence i will take these requirements into account when planning my film opening.


Filming schedule
i decided during the final planning stage of my film i would make a filming schedule for my film. this would line out the days i would be filming and shows the days for editing. as well as this i did a bit of writing about how filming went on the day.

From doing this task i have a clear plan of when things need to be filmed by and much time i will have to edit ones all the shots have been filmed. this will also allow me to stay on time with the filming and editing and allow me to meet my deadline.

planning for my film the actors profiles

The next task was to do the final Planning for my film and this is a continuing task over the next few weeks. This would allow me to have a clear picture of what my film storyline and settings are and how everything works together to make the final opening sequence. There are eight key features to the planning that i have to do, these are script, story board, actors profiles, setting boards, prop boards,  permission for filming and test footage.

Now that i have completed all the research tasks i had to do i know the requirements that the BBFC and the target audience have to make my opening sequence successful. Now that i am planning for my opening sequence i will take these requirements into account when planning my film opening.

Actors Profiles
the next task i had to do for the making my film was actors profiles. in the actors profiles i had to include the characters backgrounds and how they fit in with the rest of the characters. as well as this i had to include information about the actors names and ages as well as which characters they would be playing in my film.

During this task I also have to show evidence of the actors agreeing to act in my film. The following is the conversation I had on Facebook with the people I wanted to act in my film.

Now that i have completed this task i can show my actors the characters they will be playing and their personalities and how they look so that they are ready when i come to start filming. as well as this it tells the actors the backgrounds of their characters. i have tried to keep this a close to their real backgrounds to make the characters easy to act. also by doing this i am hoping the film will look better as the actors are playing characters like there selves.

planning for my film the storyboard

The task was to do the final Planning for my film and this is a continuing task over the next few weeks. this would allow me to have a clear picture of what my film storyline and settings are and how everything works together to make the final opening sequence. There are eight key features to the planning that i have to do, these are script, story board, actors profiles, setting boards, prop boards,  permission for filming and test footage.

now that i have completed all the research tasks i had to do i know the requirements that the BBFC and the target audience have to make my opening sequence successful. Now that i am planning for my opening sequence i will take these requirements into account when planning my film opening.

THE STORYBOARD

the next task was to make a storyboard for the opening sequence of my film. to do this i would use my film synopsis and the script i have made previously to make a detailed shot by shot description of each of the shots in my opening sequence. i had to draw sketched of what the camera will see and what dialogue, music, diagetic sounds and shot type will be used in the shot.

from David Watkins on Vimeo.

from doing this task i have learnt how to make a storyboard and the features that are included in a storyboard. as well as this i have learn the effects the storyboard has on the making of the film by allowing people to picture how the scenes will look in the real film when it comes to filming.

the key thing the storyboard does to help me making and filming my film is it allows me to have a clear idea of the shots i will use and the positioning for the characters in the shot. also the storyboard allows me to show my actors what i want them to do and what they will be saying when, the script goes along with that to show them what they will be saying.

planning for my film the script

The next task was to do the final Planning for my film and this is a continuing task over the next few weeks. This would allow me to have a clear picture of what my film storyline and settings are and how everything works together to make the final opening sequence. There are eight key features to the planning that i have to do, these are script, story board, actors profiles, setting boards, prop boards,  permission for filming and test footage.

Now that i have completed all the research tasks i had to do i know the requirements that the BBFC and the target audience have to make my opening sequence successful. Now that i am planning for my opening sequence i will take these requirements into account when planning my film opening.


THE SCRIPT
I first decided to write the script for my opening sequence. The script would help my actors to understand the storyline through the help of stage directions. As well as this the script would show the actors the lines they have to say and when to say them in the scenes.

The following is the script for my film opening.

INT – JAMES’S BEDROOM – DAY

James is sat on his bed packing clothes and other essentials
Needed for a holiday in the UK. He is looking at a picture
Of a girl he met last year.

In James’s bedroom where there is a bed and a set of draws.
His room is rather messy as he has go clothes out that he
is packing.

JAMES NARRATING

As I was growing up I was always told I would find

                                           the one. And I did find the one. But as everyone
                                           knows good things never last.

James picks up a picture of a girl that is on the set of draws
in his bedroom. He gives a slight smile before remembering
the time he had with this girl.

EXT – WOODLAND AREA/PARK – DAY

(in style of a flash back)
James and Rachel are walking in the woods/park having
a good time talking and laughing.

In a wood/park there are leaves on the ground, it is late
autumn. It’s a sunny day and there is a slight breeze.

JAMES

                                            I'm really glad I met you. This has been the
                                            Best week of my life.

RACHEL

                                           Yes I have enjoyed it to. I will never forget
                                           This week.

JAMES

                                           I won’t either.

INT – JAMES’S BEDROOM – DAY

James is sat on his bed still looking at the picture.
He gets a text on his phone from Matt. He reads the
Text.

James’s bedroom where there is a bed and a set of draws.
His room is rather messy as he has got clothes out that he
is packing.

TEXT FROM MATT

                                               Waiting outside. When you are ready.

                                   (pause)

JAMES NARRATING

                                              I have never seen Rachel since that week
                                              Last year. I promised her I would never
                                              Forget that week… lets just hope she hasn’t.

James now finished packing leaves the room and walks
Through the corridor and out the front door to where Matt
Is waiting to set off on their holiday.

EXT – ROAD OUTSIDE JAMES’S HOUSE - DAY

James carries his bag and puts it in the back of the car.
James and Matt then get into the car.

An urban area with a road through it. Trees blowing
In the wind, a dry day.

MATT

                                                     Are you ready to go then?

JAMES

                                                    Ready as I will ever be. Do you think
                                                    Rachel will be there again this year?

MATT

                                                   You can only hope mate.

The car now drives off down the road.

From writing my script I have learnt how to structure a script in the way professional film makers do. As well as this i have been able to plan out the whole of my opening sequence and put it down in writing. This will help my actors to understand the storyline to my film opening and how the characters they will play fit into the storyline. This will help me when it comes to filming as the actors will know what is happening and won’t have to ask how they are fitting in to the storyline. Another thing I have learnt from doing this task is how using stage and actor directions help to create the picture of the scene in your mind and help the filming of the sequence.

media institution re-search

the next task I had to do was media institutional re-search. in the task I had to find institutions that would produce and dispatch my media text. I then had to select an institution that would make my media text and say if the style of the texts that already make will fit the style of my media text. once I had done this i then had to select the company that would fund the making of my film.

From this task i have learnt that different institution, that make films, produce their films with different criteria and styles. when making a film you need to select an institution that will fit the style of your film. As well as this you need other companies to fund the making of your film.

film perliminary task

the task we had to do before we could start the filming of our own film was the preliminary task. in this task we had to shoot a sequence in which a person walks along a corridor, through a door, across a room and enter convosation with another person. the new skills we learn were needed in this task, these skills were match on action, the 180 rule and shot reverse shot.


Perliminary Task from David Watkins on Vimeo.

from this task i have learnt that the use of match on action on a great way of making scenes looks more profeshional and that the 180 rule needs to be kept to in order to not confuse your audience.

regulation re-search into the BBFC

The BBFC (British board of film classification) is the is the British organisation that regulate the content of what goes into films. They regulate the content of films and grade them by the amount of violence, sex and bad language in the film. Also at any point if the BBFC decide there it’s too much of a certain content they will stop the film going out to the cinemas.

When classifying a film the BBFC look at a list of main ideas when they classify a film. These main ideas are:

Discrimination: Potentially offensive content to such matters as disability, sexuality, race, gender or religion. The amount of this content in a film can change the classification of a film and if the BBFC say there is too much of this content in the film they will stop the film being sent out to cinemas until the content has been reduced.

Drugs: no production, at all, may show images of the miss use of drugs in the content. However the use of alcohol or smoking can be used but must be in moderate amounts. Any over the top content of drugs will stop the film being put out to cinemas until it has been reduced.

Horror: The use of scary sequences in a film are allowed, film makers have used scary sequences that the audience can enjoy. however to keep the viewing of the film by the audience restricted the BBFC will give a film with a lot of scary sequences a higher rating to slop young children from seeing these sequences.
            

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: Many people are offended by the use of bad language. As a result there is a list of acceptable words that can be put into films that can earn them different classifications.

Nudity: nudity with no sexual context is acceptable at all classification levels. However nudity with a sexual content will gain a higher classification.

                            

Sex: The showing of sexual activity can be from kissing to detail of sex scenes. This is reflected in the classification system, as the amount of sexual activity increases the rating of the film increases

Theme: The classification system takes into an account the theme of a film, such as sexual activity or exploration, and the rating of the film will be changed as fits.

Violence: Violence has been in films for years and the classifications take into account the degree of violence and change the classification accordingly.

Film classifications that are given by the BBFC
There are seven possible classifications the BBFC can give to a film. These are U, PG, 12A, 12, 15, 18 and R18.

                  

U stands for universal which means suitable for all. The requirements of a u certificate film are no discrimination, no drugs, mild horror, no imitable behaviour, very mild bad language, no nudity with sexual content, mild sexual activities (kissing) and mild violence

PG stands for Parental Guidance. The requirements of a PG certification film are no discrimination, reference to drugs, no intense scary sequences, no detailed dangerous behaviour, mild bad language, no nudity with sexual content, mild sexual references and moderate violence.

12 stands for a film that can be seen by people of the age of 12 yeas old. However 12A is for use in the cinema only and means children can see the film if they are under 12 if they are with an adult. The requirements for a 12 or 12A film are discrimination aloud but not through the whole film, slight misuse of drugs, moderate horror,

dangerous behaviour must not dwell, moderate language aloud, nudity aloud but short sexual references, brief sexual activity and moderate violence.

 15 stand for suitable for 15 years and over to view. The requirements for a 15 are discrimination must not dwell, drugs may be used but must not dwell, horror sequences aloud, strong language aloud, nudity aloud with sexual content, sex may be portrayed and violence may be shown but must not dwell

18 stands for a film the only people 18 and older can see. The requirements for an 18 film are relaxed and most things are acceptable but must not be over the top. another form of 19 certification is R18 which stands for restricted 18.  And should only be shown in specially licensed cinemas, or supplied only in licensed sex shops, and to adults of not less than 18 years.

                                             

My films classification
The classification I have picked for my film 12. The reason for this is that the requirements that the BBFC set out match the content that we won’t to put in our film. The requirements are discrimination aloud but not through the whole film, slight misuse of drugs, moderate horror, and dangerous behaviour must not dwell, moderate language aloud, nudity aloud but short sexual references, brief sexual activity and moderate violence. Also this is the rating of many other romantic drama films and so I wanted to stick with the rest of the films in our genre.

The 12 classification will affect our film by not allowing us to use any drugs or bad language but also it will give us the freedom we need to make a film that is successful and fits the genre.

audience re-search into romantic drama's

In this task i had to do an audience survey into romantic drama films. To do this i made a questionnaire that i will ask to my audience to find out what they like/ dislike about the genre. I would then analyse the answers and see how i can adapt my film so my target audience will enjoy it fully.

This is the questionnaire i will ask to my audience:

1)     A) What is your gender?

             Male__         Female__

    B) What is your age?

            Under 10__  

                  11-20__  

                  21-30__

                  31-40__  

                  41-50__  

               Over 50__

2)      What is your occupation?

       Student__

       Full time job__

       Part time job__

       Unemployed__

3)     A) Do you watch Romantic Dramas or Rom-Coms?

                Yes__     No__

B) If you answered yes, what makes Romantic Dramas or Rom-Coms interesting?

_________________________________________________________________

    

C) If you answered no, what do you think could be done to the films to make them interesting to you?

_________________________________________________________________

4)     If you watch romantic dramas or Rom-coms, where do you usually watch them?

         At home__

         At the cinema__

         Other (please specify)____________________

5)     How often do you watch romantic dramas or Rom-coms?

        Once day__

        Once week__

        Once month__

        Once year__

        Never__

6)     What passed storyline do you prefer?

       Fast pace__

       Medium pace__

       Slow pace__

Why?________________________________________________________

7)     What is your favourite Romantic Drama or Rom-Com and why?

Title_______________________________

Why do you like it? ________________________________________________________

the following questionnaire is a completed questionnaire to demonstrate how they were looking when filled in:

As i said i would analyse the answers to the questionnaires and this if what i found out:

1) a) What is your genre?
in total i asked 20 people and got 17 of my questionnaires back. using the only ones i got back i had almost a 50/50 split between males and females. this would give me a clear view over both genders in my target audience.

1) b) what is your age?
for this question i tried to ask people who will be in my target audience when i come to making my final film. as a result of this the replies to this question are more bias towards the 11-20 age group but this will give me a better amount of information on my target group.

2) what is your occupation?
i asked people this question to see what most people social-economic status was and this would allow me to have a good estimate of the disposable income they will have. as with the previous question their is a bias towards the student with part time jobs occupation as this will be around where my target audience will be.

3) a) do you watch romantic dramas or Rom-coms?
i asked this question to find out weather people watched the genre or not and if so what was their reasons for watching or not watching the genre. from this question i was surprised to see that more boys watched the genre than girls which is going against the theory that Rom-coms and dramas are a more girl bias genre.

3) b) if you answered yes, what makes Rom-coms or dramas interesting?
for this question almost everyone answered with the storyline or the actor playing the part, for which most people said the actor was Hugh grant. this shows me that the actor playing makes a huge difference to the popularity of the film and how well it sells. as well as this you need an interesting storyline to keep the audience interested.

3) c) if you answered no, what could be done to make the genre more interesting to you?
the 3 people who answered no in this question said they wanted the story lines to be boring and they wanted more going on in the scenes. to try and improve the my film to their liking i will make the time between cut shorted to allow a faster pace in to hope this will make it more interesting for these people.

4) if you watch romantic dramas or Rom-coms, where do you watch them?
for this question i though most people would watch them as home or in the cinema. so to get a clear idea as to where is more popular i made these the main 2 categories but i also but an other box for other venues but nobody said other.

5) how often do you watch the genre?
i asked this question to find out how films of this type fit into the every day life of people. as well as this it would show me how successful a DVD of this genre would be.

6) what paced storyline do you prefer and why?
i asked this question to find out what pace i should film my film to keep it attractive to the target audience. for this question i found out a medium pace is best to allow the audience to keep up with the action and make it easy to understand.

7) what is your favourite Rom-com or drama?
i asked this question just for an idea into which film are successful around the audience this is so i could then analyse them and find out specific things that make them good and successful.

from this task i have found out that that my target audience want a film at a medium pace to allow them to understand the story line. as well as this they want a interesting storyline that does not dwell on the meeting up of the two characters. also i have found out that having a big name actor, such as Hugh grant, in the film helps with the successfulness of the film. i will not try and apply these facts in the planning of my film.

textual analysis of a film in my genre

For my next task i had to do a textual analysis of a film of the genre that my film will be based around. As my film genre is romantic drama i chose to analyse the film "The Holiday. the reason why we have to analyse a film is to see how the professional film makes behind the film use different techniques (editing, music, narration, dialogue, credits)

Textual analysis of "the holiday"

Blurred establishing shot of a tree with the words “universal pictures and Columbia pictures present” on it

Music starts the play slow passed – piano played

More credits play

Music sets the tone and mood of the film and hints towards the genre

Medium close up of a couple kissing

A romantic setting by a slow flowing river

The soft slow music continues still with the piano

We do not know the exact time frame but we can assume at due to the light levels it is mid day

The clothes suggest it is a dated scene

Mid shot of a computer screen that shows the two actors we have seen so far in the film, next to it is a screen showing the music for the previous scene of which is what we have heard so far in the film

Slow passed music continues – piano played

Show the characters got a relaxed life style as he has a job writing music for films and he is working from home

High angled mid shot where we get to see one of the main characters, we know this as he is the first person shown

Slow passes music continues – piano played

Credits showing the makes of the film start to play

Slow passed edit and the camera starts to pun up the actors face.

This is where we first see the face of one of the main characters of the film.

This is a medium ling shot of the character and his work area.

The character is now facing the camera but not in direst address

The same slow soft music continues – we now see it is the character playing this music

The scenes lighting in natural sun light

The slow passed editing (about one cut every 10-15 seconds) continues as we cut too the character looking over the computer screen

Credits are still on screen

The slow passed music continues – still piano

One of the other main characters start to narrate now telling a story about types of love and relationships

In this shot we see another of the main characters of the film

The speed of editing increases not to every 2 seconds as we see the emotions between there two main characters

The narration and slow soft music continue.

The scene still uses natural lighting

Through the rest of the film we can see the time frame is not modern times shown by the clothes

The screen is not mostly black as the camera moves from left to the right as it does this its changes location from the studio to a busy street

The title of the film now fades into the screen

The music not picks up a bit a pace with a faster rhythm but still the same tune played by the character in the previous scenes

A medium close up that introduces one of the other main characters

Slow soft music continues only now its has a bit of a backing tune along with it

Slow passed edit

Narrator is telling us about the love this characters has to the character we see in the next shot

Natural lighting still used only this time lighting from a street

We now get a medium close up of the other character in the car

Narrator its still telling us about the love this character has to the character has to the one in the previous shot

Music continues – piano played with a soft tune behind it

Still the use of natural lighting

Slow passed edit

High angled mid shot of the back of the car the two characters seen previously are in

Narration has now stopped

Music continues on now it’s louder with a faster pace

Still slow passed edit

Still the use of natural lighting

The camera now pans up from the last shot, as the car drives away, to a long shot of a busy city street

No narration now in this shot

Faster passed music continues

Still the slow passed edit

Actor credits now on screen again

Still the use of natural lighting

Through this task i learn that the professionals yous a whole host of techniques to make the opening of a film eye catching. they use a range of different shot types (MS, CU, LS, MLS, shot reverse shot, match on action). As well as this, the task has shown me that the editing and pace of music are rather slow in a romantic drama film. However the speed of editing increases as the characters enter dialogue. Also this task has shown me that romantic dramas use a great deal of natural lighting. In addition to this, the task has shown me how to use credits in the opening of a romantic drama.

now with what i have learn i have the techniques required to set to work on making an opening sequence to a romantic drama.