PLANNING: CALL SHEET

 Call Sheet 1 for 'Chain Reaction' - Tunnel scene

Length: 2 minutes

Shoot date: 18th November 2021

Location: Tunnel at Claremont Fan Court School

Times (everyone): 2:45pm - 4:00pm

CAST	Ciaran.S	********@gmail.com	079*****774
CREW/CAST	Finlay.W	********@gmail.com	078*****653
CREW	Ruby.L	********@gmail.com	072*****748

Camera Equipment:

- Cannon EOS camera

- Camera battery

- Memory card

- Lens protector cover 

Props:

- No props needed

Wardrobe: Cieran 

Suit, shirt, black shoes

Wardrobe: Finlay

Suit, shirt, brown shoes

 Call Sheet 2 for 'Chain Reaction' - Discussion between scientist and friend

Length: 2 minutes

Shoot date: 23rd November 2021

Locations: Claremont Fan Court School's drawing room

Times (everyone): 3:00pm - 4:00pm

CAST	Ben.HF	********@gmail.com	075*****971
CREW/CAST	Finlay.W	********@gmail.com	078*****653
CREW	Ruby.L	********@gmail.com	072*****748

Camera Equipment:

- Cannon EOS camera

- Camera battery

- Memory card

- Lens protector cover 

Props:

- Calculations paper

Wardrobe: Ben

Suit, shirt, black shoes, tailored coat

Wardrobe: Finlay

Suit, shirt, brown shoes

PLANNING: RISK ASSESMENT

 

	HAZARD TO HEALTH AND SAFETY	RISK POSED AND TO WHOM	LEVEL OF RISK (H/M/L)	MEASURES TO REDUCE RISK	RISK LEVEL ACHIEVED (H/M/L)	FURTHER ACTIONS
Weather	Rain – possible making floor slippery and causing wet clothing.	Everyone.	L	Bring weatherproof clothing to quickly put on in case of weather change.   The rain could make the stone pathways slippery, if so, make sure actors are careful and notified of this possibility.	L
Candles – contact with fire	Actor could burn themselves while handling candles.	Actor in scene handling candles.	M	Make sure paper is not directly underneath match.    Make sure actors are aware of dangers.    When finished filming turn the lights on and asses, as it might be easy to place a hot match on a piece of paper without realising	L	Extinguisher or water can be placed near the premises in case of emergency, only if dangers increase.
First aid issues	Trips/falls – hit head against stone walls.	Everyone in environment could trip/fall.   Actors in struggle scene could hit head against stone wall	M		L

 

 

PLANNING: SHOT LIST

 

Scene	Vision	Sound	Actor/Actors	Props	Notes
Entry of the first character walking through a tunnel before being ambushed.	1) EXT – EVENING: various CLOSE-UP shots with SHALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD. A man walks past the frame for each. Some are at a DUTCH ANGLE. Last shot of the scene is a WIDE ANGLE, with a SHALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD, see the man walk off into the tunnel, then get ambushed, there is a struggle then the sound of a gunshot.	à GUNSHOT	ADULT (SCIENTIST)	N/A	3 or 4 walking shots before the finale. OPENING CREDITS can be DISPLAYED at this moment, maybe SLANTED or in different POSITIONS. Actors FACE should NOT be shown to camera, must be hidden so all shots are from waist down. They should not be too out of focus.
Scientist working out the equations.	2) INT – NIGHT: CLOSE UP of candle being lit. CUT to various shots of newspapers, lit by candlelight. CUT to a WIDE ANGLE, behind the scientist sitting at a DESK. Jumps up in joy and leaves the frame.	à N/A	ADULT (SCIENTIST)	è PAPER è PEN è CANDLES  è NEWSPAPERS è DESK è CHAIR è MAYBE BIN è OTHER WORKINGS	Due to low light filming, may need to use FAKE CANDELS, due to their increased lighting. The actor will TURN around to the CAMERA after doing some WORK.
Discussion between the scientist and a friend.	3) INT – DAY: WIDE ANGLE, in a POSH SETTING, two characters (scientist and wealthy friend) talking to each other. SHALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD means they are out of focus. Wealthy friend usher scientist out, towards camera. Wealthy friend stops, leans down to pick up a piece of paper. PAN UPWARDS – TRACKING. CUT to EXTREME CLOSE UP of wealthy friend’s pocket, placing paper into.	à DISCUSSION BETWEEN TWO CHARACTERS	TWO ADULTS (SCIENTIST & WEALTHY FRIEND)	è SHEET OF EQUATIONS	WHITE NOISE may need to be REDUCED in editing due to LOCATION. Make sure ACTORS faces are NOT SEEN. They should only be in frame when the camera is out of FOCUS.
Overhead of the equations with a red light spilling from the side.	4) INT – NIGHT: background is black, equation in centre of frame. BIRD’S EYE view and a slow zoom towards the paper. RED LIGHT coming from left of frame. CUT between SCENE 4 and END of SCENE 3.	N/A	N/A	è THE SHEET OF EQUATIONS è RED LIGHT (not seen) è BLACK CLOTH BACKGROUND è MAYBE FAKE MONEY	RED LIGHT will only come from ONE SIDE, but if it’s not light enough then two lights from opposite sides can be used.

PLANNING: SOCIAL GROUPS AND ISSUES

I created Pinterest boards to allow me to create a visual representation of the social groups and issues presented in our film opening, thinking about how we would dress the characters to further represent their social class through the use of mise-en-scène, with clothing, props and locations. There are two contrasting social groups presented, one being the young hardworking and struggling scientist and the other his friend, a rich and wealthy man. Creating a board of the locations helped to reinforce the ideas of the contrast between two characters, one of the locations being wealthy looking and well embellished room/house whilst the other being an office that is dark and lacks furnishings.

The main issue presented in our film is global warming, and the result it will have on earth if nothing is done or no solution to provide clean energy is found.   

PLANNING: PROPS

For one of the scenes we needed newspapers with headlines mentioning the energy crisis to help explain the situation to the audience. I changed the headlines of a few articles in newspapers by printing the new title onto bits of off cut newspaper strips, I then stuck these over the original title and stuck pictures relevant to the crisis on top of the original ones in the newspaper.  

PLANNING: LOCATION RECCE

We decided to use these locations as the set for the opening of our film. The tunnel will be used for filming the first scene of the man walking and then being attacked, we thought that this would be a good place to film due to the dim light and its eerie setting. The next place we decided to film was in the school's drawing room, in this scene the scientist will talk to his friend about asking to use his calculations and the friends money to solve the energy crisis; the drawing room works for this as it helps to portray the wealth of the friend due to the expensive looking room. The office desk will be used for filming the scene in which the scientist is trying to figure out the calculations to solve the energy crisis, this will work well as it  will show that he is working. Finally for the close up scenes of the newspapers and calculations the location does not matter as we just need a table with a black background to place the objects on. 

PLANNING: STORYBOARD

 

PLANNING: OUR COMP LIST

Kezia Williams, of Entertainment One UK, on the FutureLearn Distribution by the Film Distributors Association speaks about how film distributors build a 'comp list' of comparable films that their target audience would enjoy.

She emphasises the importance of knowing your targeted audience. She asks questions like"what drives them to the cinema" and "what interested do they have", as well as this she also says distributors will compare data of films that are similar in their genre, story and selling points. The target audience and budget is developed from what box office take was like with previous films and the types of audience that saw these films. The target audience can be analysed to find the gender gap, and which cinemas the target audience usually go to.

 

PLANNING: MY AUDIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE

I am using Google forms to create a questionnaire for my target audience and send it to people who are likely to watch our film. I will ask questions referring to age, gender, what types of films they prefer to watch, what influences them to watch a film and where they prefer to watch it. Our production team want to make a film that would appeal to young people aged 15-35. Our questionnaire will be useful to ensure that our type of genre will appeal to this audience. Through the use of Google Forms I will be able to collect this data.

These are the questions I intend to ask:

1.  What is your gender?
2.  What age category do you fit into?
3.  Which of these your film genres would you watch? Pick as many as you wish.
4.  What was the last film you watched?
5.  What platform would you most likely use to watch a film?
6.  Which of these trailers have you seen?
7.  Which of these platforms would you use to find out about films?
8.  What is the most likely reason you would watch a new film?

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdPFXeL2THRD-qyMngWcMGxBwCUTz7cJQvbsCIx0QIgBgHt-g/viewform?usp=sf_link

The Results:

PLANNING: MY TARGETED AUDIENCE AND HOW I ENGAGED THEM

From the FutureLearn course that I am following, called Distribution: Connecting Films With Audiences, I know that all products are targeted at specific audiences. 

I needed to plan how to reach my target audience. Therefore, I needed to know who they are (including relevant factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, social class), what their media needs are (so that I could produce a product that they will want and are interested in) and how to reach them (in order to market my film). I will show how my research has shaped / influenced my planning. 

I started by investigating how brands define audiences, for example I saw how Bauer Media, NME and Sky defined audiences; this helped me profile my audience. I then created an audience profile below.

PLANNING: FILM TREATMENT

A treatment will normally contain:

• A Title that is dynamic and engaging 

• The Top line: An elegant sentence that sums up the action

• The Big Question: What is the cliffhanger? What is the enigma that it will unfold?

• The Synopsis: One or two paragraphs outlining the plot

• Characters: Brief introduction: Adam, 35, a dreamy design engineer... Lucy, 25, a disenchanted doctor... Mart, 18, an idealistic student

Next:

• After writing the treatment, you create a storyboard 

• And then a shortlist

Initial ideas:
Our production team brainstormed ideas about the plot, the soundtrack, our favourite films/ scenes from films, ideas for locations and characters.
- Shortage of food or water, people only have limited amounts of what they can use 
- Suspicious neighbour - looking through window (thriller)
- Pill that makes you super smart 
- Scientist/engineer discovers something that business want, they threaten him 
- Genetic engineering (changing/ mixing DNA) - dangerous 

- Time travel 
- Location ideas: woods, pond, school
- People: Dog, parents, tortoise 

The Plot:

An energy crisis has caused the world to fall into darkness, however a young man finds the key to helping to provide clean, green energy to the world, but finds himself betrayed by his rich friend who takes the glory for himself.

Structure:

Scene 1: EXT – Night, Opens with a man walking, we follow at ground level, his face concealed. However, we do see he is nervous and agitated about something. He turns, we feel the tension, suddenly from behind a man lunges at him, again we cannot see their faces, but we see the struggle. The grunts continue for a while until a gunshot is heard before cutting to black

Scene 2: INT – Night, A match is lit and placed upon a candle; we pan over different newspapers whilst a V.O states the worlds current situation before it is cut off. We begin to focus on the man’s work, seeing he is struggling, shot of a bin full of his equations. Suddenly he jumps up, he has found the solution after a long time, we see on his face realisation, he needs money. Close up to calculations, knock cuts to scene 3.

Scene 3: INT – Night, We cut to a bird’s eye view of the man’s calculations, V.O of the man shouting and saying ‘he took everything from me’, ‘this was my work’ and so on. We zoom slowly into the sheets of equations, whilst lights from either side off screen flash slowly different colours, red, green, blue, over and over. Sometimes money would be thrown over across the sheets, concealing the equations. We then see the fist of the scientist reach down onto the table. Cut to black.

Scene 4: EXT – Night, We cut back to the first scene, this time there is no struggle, we then slowly see a man flop to the floor, before the titles are brought up. Who is the dead man? Did the scientist get revenge? Or was it the man who simply got rid of opposition?

Title of film is shown

Locations:

1st scene: dark outside tunnel at school

2nd scene: science lab at school or office room

3rd scene: living room in house

4th scene: dark room with table

5th scene: dark outside tunnel at school

 Props:

- Candles

- Newspaper 

- Calculations of the solution 

- Coloured lights

PLANNING: TOP LINE AND BIG QUESTION

I watched a presentation by Frank Ash, he has taught storytelling and creativity techniques to teams across the BBC and beyond. From the presentation I learned that it is important to focus on the audience, what will interest the audience and how will the narrative develop. 

For Frank Ash film makers need to think what the top line and the big question are. He calls the top line one elegant sentence that makes up the story. He then says we need to leave to audience wanting to find out more which he calls the big question. 

Having learnt from Frank Ash's presentation on FutureLearn, I decided to sign up for FutureLearn's Film distribution: connecting films with audiences. The course promises to cover how our favourite films make it to our local cinema or television screen, through the film distribution process. 

PRELIMINARY EXERCISE: FILMING AN OPENING SEQUENCE

This week we made a practice film opening using the idea of 'table top' filming. Our brief was to film in one continuous take and to include a small live action element within this. 

Research:

We started by viewing three examples of opening sequences filmed in a similar 'table top' style. Using Art of the Title, we watched Delicatessen and noticed how its inventive and well thought-out camerawork tells a story and sets the theme of the film, it does this by incorporating and embedding the titles within the visuals.

Another excellent title sequence that we watched was that of To Kill A Mockingbird, this uses very close up shots and moving objects to capture the audience's eye. As well as this we also viewed work created by previous students. Following this we then used these film openings as inspiration to create an original opening title sequence in groups by setting up the mise-en-scène using props from the prop collection. 

Planning:

Before we started filming, we laid out all of the props that were elements of our film narrative onto the table in an order that followed the storyline. 

Following this, we also researched and discussed music tracks for the soundtrack to use in our opening sequence, the one we chose was 'What a Wonderful World' by Louis Armstrong. This was due to its contrast to the themes shown in our sequence which included themes of war and violence compared to the happiness talked about in the song. 

Filming:

We then filmed the 'table top' sequence, it  started with a close up of a passport and then a hand opening it. The camera then moves onto a variety of old posters and then pauses on a picture of a baby, then the picture is covered by a communist flag to signify the war. The camera then goes on to show old newspapers, including one that has the word 'War' in bold, it then continues to show themes of war by showing a solider's uniform from war. The hand comes in again to pick up and read a letter, then to finish the sequence by placing a mask onto a piece of paper that says weapon calculations.

Following this we filmed the 'live action' element of the opening sequence, this included filming a close up of someone walking with a briefcase and then taking out to the paper that had the secret calculations to hand over.

Then I uploaded the footage onto the editing software and planned out the titles, credits, editing, special effects and soundtrack. 

RESEARCH: OPENING SEQUENCE OF 'AE FOND KISS'

At the beginning of the opening sequence of 'Ae Fond Kiss' there are 9 titles shown, one important title is Ken Loach's (the director) production company 'Sixteen' films, this provides the pedigree of the film.  This is followed by 'Multi-territory film British Italian German Spanish co-production' which shows that it is a multicultural film, it is typical in the film industry in smaller budget films as it shows the fundings.

The opening scene of the sequence is set in a night club in Glasgow where people of different ethnicities are dancing together, this shows the happy life of the young people. Bhangra music plays in the night club and across the opening sequence which blends to a wide birds eye shot of Glasgow, this suggests the unity between the many different ethnic backgrounds that live in Glasgow and also shows us the modern day Glasgow and what it is like now as a multi-cultural city. 

The images of the opening sequence portray and carry the happiness of the young people who happily get along together despite being from different cultures. A Bollywood movie is also played in the background of the night club which suggests the unity between the cultures, this also implies that the lovers will not fully be together as in Bollywood film there are never any intimate scenes. On the other hand, this is different to the other scenes shown of Tahara's Father at his shop, he is angry at the people for letting their dogs pee on his shop sign. The choice of a bulldog peeing on the sign is symbolic as bulldogs often represent as a symbol of Britain, this shows the encounter between someone who wasn't raised in Britain and stereotypical British.

The genre of the film is a romance, this is reinforced through the lyrics of the song which is sung by a girl towards the end of the opening sequence. The song is a famous poem 'Ae Fond Kiss' which is played while the scenes of Casim's family build a extension for him to live in when he is married, this suggests that his love will only ever be 'Ae Fond Kiss'. The film is also a coming of age film, this is shown when Tahara is making her speech in the school, she says 'I'm a dazzling mixture and I'm proud of it.

From the outset the film establishes an enigma through the love of the two characters. In the opening when Casim looks at the music teacher through the window of the door we see that he is intrigued by her, we then see his family planning their extension for him to live in, this creates a problem as we do not know how they could be together due to their backgrounds. 

Multiple strategies are used to ensure that the film appeals to its targeted audience, for example the film would appeal to younger people as it is a coming of age and romance film. It would also attract Glaswegians as the film is set in their home town and Pakistanis because the film incorporates Bhangra music and also some people might relate to Tahara's speech as they also could have similar experiences. 

Technology has been used effectively by using a variety of different camera angles, transitions between scenes and editing techniques. For example, the POV shot of Casim looking at the teacher thought the window of the music room is effective as it is more impactful as it allows us to see through his eyes. Another effective technique is the use if transitions, for example when the Bhangra music blends in and  continues to play as the birds-eye view of Glasgow is shown. An editing technique that is used is cross-cutting, this is used to put together the scenes of the nigh club and the scenes of Glasgow and the Father's shop. This works effectively as it shows that Glasgow is now a multicultural city.