Group Discussion - 21/01/09 -

After planning the concept behind the clip, we found it now necessary to think about where the filming should take place, which will ultimately effect the settings within the film. This is a very important part of the planning and we feel that it should not be rushed as it is paramount to the success of our work.  

Therefore we have discussed possible places where we could film that would be suitable. The location must be indoors with and a table and chair must be in the room. Also the best location would presumably be a fairly plain room so that there are less distractions from the character within the frame of each shot.  We have talked about the use of blinds as a common feature of film noir examples. We may be able to use iMovie to give the effect of shadowing in the way that the blinds would give. However this is uncertain and so we may need to include the blinds into our possible location ideas.

Ideas:

- 6th Form Rooms

This was our first idea as it is easily accessible for filming at most times of the day. However this is a very bad idea overall as it looks cheap and unrealistic. Also the it would be extremely hard to change the location to suit what we want it for. The room we want is to be plain, but also should look homely and 'lived in'.

- Local snooker hall

This was a bit off the wall, however it had many of the features that we would want, especially when considering the mise en scene. The dark and gloomy which is the effect that we want to convey. This is a possible location but its not perfect. 

- House

This is a good location simply because it looks lived in, however finding a room that has a simple background or a room that can be converted into a set would be hard. However if the room does need to be changed to suit what we want, it is the best place to do it. It is also accessible at all times in the day or night for filming. This is looking like a strong possibility for the filming set. 

- Cafe

This was a strong idea also, however we simply would not be able to film there for longer periods of time as it is a public place. Also if we wanted the man to be smoking then we would be violating the the anti public smoking law. For this reason I do not think we will use this idea. 

At the moment the best idea is just using a normal house for filming as it is flexible and  can be altered for a desired set. Sample filming of a very short extract of our clip will be used at this location as a test to see if it is really the best place to film. 

Character sketches / concept art

After the discussion, and designing of the notes for the main task, my colleague Karl, decided to begin on the ideas of the clothing for the characters involved with the filming. He designed a sketch of both the main character, showing how he looks rough, as if he has lost everything, but also of the suspicious character in the trench coat. For information about the characters see ''Detailed notes on main task''.

Detailed notes on the main Task

After the discussion and short notes, we begun to finalise our production, in terms of props, setting, camera shots and transitions.

1] Close up of a clock, ticking in slow motion. Amplified noise of the clock's motion, representation of time, dramatic effect and tension.

2] Introduction of character and setting.
Props;
Table, gun, ashtray, drink, remote
Room;
Basic, not much in their apart from the character, and his items on the table, representation of being alone, and having lost everything he used to have.

High angle/establishing shot, as character walks around the room. Narration over the shot, along with ambient sounds of cars passing by, and one which stops outside the house.
Amplified sound of a knock on the door, signifies a change in emotion and pace. Cut to close up of man's face, to show his reaction, shock, fear.

3] Cuts to outside of the house, facing the door. Hand knocking on the door shown, but no revealing of who it is. Sounds amplified of the knocks onto the door, and the shouting. Represent sense of authority within the scene.

Cut to medium shot of man in the house, as he finishes off his drink. Simultaneously as this happens, amplified sound of the door being smashed down, as the other(s) rush in.

4] Man picks up his gun, close up. Cuts to medium/low angle shot of him, showing to be superior, deep focus. His gun in hand focus on, other character(s) appear in the background. For the unknown, mise en scene of trenchcoats, hats, classic mysterious character appearance. Low level light will be used to influence this representation of mystery/ suspicion.
Camera slowly turns to behind him, tilting/crab across, creating the sense that you are on his side, subverting the status in socity (such as the matrix).

Cut to crowd shot, from the side showing both types of characters standing opposite eachother. Clock will be centered, keeping everything involved within the scenes to be still linked until the end. The ticking of the clock will be amplified again, supporting the clip as the clip shown in slow motion, unsteady.
(Will need to make sure the time on the clock is similar to what it was in the beginning.)

5] Begins to crab over to behind the character(s) in the trenchcoat(s), signifying a change in side to be on. Deep focus onto the man in background, as begins to lift up his gun and point it at them.
Jump to zoom/extreme close up of the gun, a effect used to represent gun being used, along with amplified sound. Flash will go to a blank, black screen, then fading to the title of the film and the credits, along with common soundtrack music in the background.

This is a basic outline, but upon the filming i'm sure it could be altered, as the first decisions are never the finished product.

Group Meeting - 14/01/09 -

Team members - Phil and Karl
Colleagues present - Connor / Dan / Joe / Mary / Rowan
Duration - 45 mins

This was not our first meeting considering the task, but it was much more indepth with specific ideas that we want to incorporate.
After studying various film noir style openings, we noticed several similarities. Some conventions were made obvious to us, therefore we have decided that we want to try and include:
- Smoke
- Black and white effects
- Voice over

We are still yet to think of a solid film pitch or idea for the story. But we discussed the main character. At the start of the clip we want to give the impression that he is a possible bussiness man. This would be done by using the mise en scene to dress the man in a formal suit.

The character however is not to be seen as a character who repects authority. Therefore his suit will be very untidy with buttons undone and tie to the side. The suit however must be black to give the impression of sophistication. It is imperative that the character looks amessy as it connotes his fall from authority. The idea is that later when other characters are intoduced, we want to make an attempt at subverting the roles played in society.

This idea was created after studying The Matrix, as the main hero figure is seen to be fighting against authority as a type of freedom fighter or vigilante. Personally i thought this was effective and should use this theme in our opening. Obviously we will have to make sure that our techniques in camerawork and editing especially help the audience realise he is not a villain. This might be done by the use of point of view shots and maybe a high angle shot to give the impression that he is not a threat.