Year 12- Main Task Evaluation

Year12 Preliminary Task- Gemini

Year 12 Main Task- Murder Case Final Draft

Post Production-Evaluation-Document

Year 12 Main Task Evaluation

Murder Case first edit

There are a few things we have noticed need changing from the first edit. These include the sound where it sounds fuzzy. Remove the random flashes and also the large black borders. All of these problems will be easily corrected for the final edit.

Pre-Production Risk assessment

Actor Bio's

Ryan Smith

Height: 5'11''
Age: 17
Experience: Acted in previous Media student productions
Build: Athletic
Hair Colour: Brown

Danny Duckworth


Height: 6'2''
Age: 16
Experience: None
Build: Athletic
Hair Colour: Brown

Vaughn Duckworth


Height: 5'8''
Age: 40
Experience: None
Build: Stocky
Hair Colour: Brown/Grey

Diary Entry 6- Editing

We have started editing clips together it seems to be going well although we had to cut a few shots due to the time limit and continuity.

Pre Production- Character Bio's

Murder Case Bio

This is our character bio, we had it done it a few days ago and handed copies round to the actors as well as the script so they could get in role and practise. We have just got round to uploading it to our blog however

Diary Entry 5-Filming day two- scene 1

It went well we forgot to white balance the first couple of shots but realised and quickly re shot them. We finished comfortably within the time we were allocated for filming and are happy with what we have produced.

Pre Production-Recce's of shooting locations

Recce 1- Scene 2

Location Name: Owl End Stukley

Toilets: Close by in actors house who lives in street.

Parking: Actors Drive only one space required

Permit Required: No

Sound- Exterior: Locals and cars

Film Friendly Neighbours: Yes

Lighting: Street lights

Electrical sockets: N/A

Conformation from owners: Yes

Any public interference: Locals or cars passing

Disturbs Business: No

Photographs: 

Land Owners:  Vaughn Duckworth and Council

Access: Yes

Health + Safety: Passing cars

Recce 2-Scene 1

Location Name: Manor Pub Alconbury

Toilets: Yes within pub

Parking: N/A

Permit Required: No

Sound Exterior: Locals and cars

Sound Interior- Small buzz from light, sound from owner working in background

Film friendly neighbours: Yes

Lighting: Lighting kit, tungsten lighting and natural lighting

Electrical sockets: Yes

Conformation from owners: Yes

Any public interference: No

Disturbs business: No as pub is shut at the time of the shoot

Photographs:

Land Owners: Ryan Kitson

Access: Yes

Health + safety risks: Lighting can be dangerous if used incorrectly however Charlie has done a lighting workshop and has gained a lighting certificate.

These Recces were completed a couple of days ago before we filmed to check the locations were suitable. However we only just got round to uploading it to the blog

Diary Entry 4-Production Filming- Scene 2

We filmed scene 2 today. It went very well and actors put in very good performances. We have added in some new shots as on the day we realised it would look better if we changed a few shots and added a few new ones in. We came across one problem where some shots came out blurry distorting the actors head when they moved so we re did those shots. We also changed some of the costumes around as some of them fitted different actors better and gave them a better representation of the character what we were looking for

Pre Production - Certificate

Charlie's lighting certificate

This is Charlies lighting certificate and he will be able to use the lighting kit now in the pub scene where I will be directing.

Lighting - workshop

From doing the lighting workshop we have learned how to use the lighting equipment safely and effectively. We have learned how to create shadows and silhouettes and where the best place to put the light is for different shots. This does not entitle us to use the equipment however. As only one of us will need to use the lighting kit Charlie has gained a lighting certificate which allows us to book the lighting kit out and use it. This is important as lighting is a huge part of film noir helps reveal things about a character and helps set the mood.

Pre Production - Production Schedule

Murder Case- Production Schedule

Pre production - Shot list

Pre production-Storyboard

Diary Entry 3-Locations for filming update

Yesterday I went into the bar we wanted to use and we have secured the location for Saturday
10 30am -11 45am. This is easily a long enough amount of time as we only have six shots we need to film in there. Also the bar is near my house so the actors, team and gear can be there before hand and is walking distance. Also after searching around for a place to film our street scene we have found a place in Great Stukley that has an old feel to it that fits into the era we are shooting as well as street lights in the right places as well as turn-offs.Two of the actors in our film live down that road so the house can be used for a restroom and a place to prepare before hand.

Diary Entry 2-Location for filming

Me and Charlie have decided on a place we think is the most suitable to shoot the bar scene which equates to about the first half of our film. As it is going to be in a pub it needed to be somewhere we both could get to easily as it may require shooting at very early hours before the pub opens as it will probably have to be done on the weekend. So we decided to use the best pub to use was one in Alconbury as I live in Alconbury it is suitable. Although we have not done a recce on the location yet I am familiar with the location and think it will be suitable. Also the owner of the pub is a family friend so we should be able to get permission to film there.

Diary Entry 1-Changing the script

We have changed around half of our script and story line due to the fact that after explaining our idea to fellow media students and receiving their reaction and feedback that it was not a strong enough first script and that the story line needed changing. Also we needed to pay close attention to the language we used in order to make sure it did not sound to modern and was suitable for the 40's american setting we had chosen.

Murder Case

Behind the Door

Questionnaire results

Film Noir Questionnaire Graphs

Questionnaire- Film Noir target audience research.

I asked participants two questions which they had to answer yes to one of them before choosing them to take part in the questionnaire to make sure I was asking people who would be interested in watching the film. I did this to make sure I was not wasting my time asking people who are not relevant.
Do you like Film Noir?
Would you be interested in watching Film Noir?

Questionnaire- Circle answers

What age range do you fit in?
16-25    26-35    36-45   46-55   56-65

What is you preffered genre of film?
Mystery   Drama   Comedy   Action

Do you prefer a traditional setting for film noir e.g. L.A. 1940's?
Yes    No

What would be your preffered main character in a Film Noir?
Journalist     Private Detective    Criminal    Historical figure

Circle the classic Film Noir conventions you would like to see
Femme Fatal character     Hat and long coat    Shot at night time    Voice over

What is your preffered start to a film?
Gunshot      Scream

The team and basic plotline- Behind the Door

I am going to be working with Charlie Sharp in the Film Noir project. Together we have come up with a basic plotline for the opening of our film that we will be filming and how the rest of the film would go. Setting America, 1940's. We have decided that it will start with a detective in a bar sitting down looking around paranoid at shadows and people. Then it will have a voice over him vaguely and mysteriously revealing that he is on the run and that as a detective he has never ran away from anything in his life and that it is usually him doing the chasing. He does not reveal who he is running from. Goes to flashback where he is given photo and adress of a women and told to follow her. He follows her fancies her , she is the femme fatal character. He notices that she seems to know he is following her but it does not bother her. She reaches a flat quickly enters he hears rowing and then a man appears at the open door who is a well known crime boss he slams the door a gunshot goes off. The detective sees the girl come out with the gun in her hand and begging detective for help and sais it was self defence. Detective tries to help her but does not realise that she is trying to frame him for the murder of the crime boss as she has killed him for his money. She would try to frame him ats she gives him the gun when she is gloves which she also gets blood on his clothes and shows police. She also set up the detective being assigned to follow her so he is seen entering the place of murder at the right time. It would catch up to the time where he is in the bar and you realise it is the police and the crime bosses allies chasing him. Then he sees the man in the bar who asked him to follow the women. He forces the man to tell him the whole story realises the women is behind it and catches her to clear his name.

Film noir posters

Two of the posters have guns on them. This shows that a common theme in this genre is violence and they want to show their film contains this,so it must be an aspect to the film that appeals to its audience. Also all three of the posters include the glamerous femme fatal character. This shows that these play a huge role in film noir and drawing in an audience. All the posters include colour and are cartoons drawn rather than a black and white photo taken. This may be because they want their poster to stand. Also the main star actors of the films names take up a lot of all of the posters. This shows that big name actors were something in film noir at that time that attracted a lot of its audience. In two of the posters men are seen wearing the conventional hat and long coat. This shows they want to show their potential audience they are sticking to some of the film noir traditions.

Film Noir openings

This is the opening to the film Double indemnity. We can see many of the conventions of Film Noir in just the short opening to this film. We can see it is set in America in L.A. in around the 1940's a classic setting for film noir. We see they are wearing the iconic hat and long coat that we see so many of the male characters wear in Film Noirs. We are introduced to a male investigator who appears to be the main character which is what many would say the stereotypical lead role is in this genre. We also see some interesting camera angles and the use of shadows and lighting.



This is the opening to Alfred Hitchcock's film Strangers on a Train. This opening is similar to the previous opening in some cases but different in others. In this opening it includes non diegetic music as does the Double Indemnity opening. However in this case it seems to be much more up beat. In this opening things are hidden from the audience as it follows two mens feet until they meet on a train. This enigma code leaves the audience wandering who these two people are and why there meeting seems to be highlighted as important. This opening is different to th previous one in the way that the shots are clear to see what is going on and much better lit and set in the day which is unconvetntional. Compared to the previous opening set conventionally in the dark for a mysterious tense atmosphere that the music helps create. This opening on the otherhand is more upbeat but still carries the element of mystery.



In this opening we see a lot of the film noir conventions again. We see the classic setting at night of which appears to be a robbery which is conventional as most film noirs start with a crime. They are wearing the iconic hat and long coat and one appears to reach for a gun. It also ends with a death and the a feeling of mystery which is also a common theme in film noir openings.

Similar products

These are some of the most popular and critically acclaimed film noir movies of all time.

Sunset Boulevard (1950)
M (1931)
Double Indemnity (1944)
The Third Man (1949)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Les Diaboliques (1955)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Notorious (1946)
Rififi (1955)

Plots

Double indemnity- An insurance rep lets himself be talked into a murder/insurance fraud scheme that arouses an insurance investigator's suspicions.

The Third Man- Pulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, black-market opportunist Harry Lime.

Maltease Falcon- A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.

Touch of Evil- Stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping, and police corruption in Mexican border town.

From my research into popular Film Noir and their plot lines and characters. I see that most of them include an investigation into crime or something bad with a detective ,most likely, or a journalist leading the way. They have a usual setting of America however this is not always the case. Men usually have the lead role in these films but the glamorous Femme Fatal character usually plays a key role in the film.

Film Noir Conventions

Interesting Camea angles
Black and White
Narrator
America
Central City setting
Filmed at night
Minimal lighting
No handheld shots
Urgent tone
Flirtatious, glamourous female actors
Murder
Flawed detective
Use of shadows and sillhouettes
Gangsters
Reflections
Obscured, blocked views
Rain and damp streets
Sudden noises
Heavy breathing
Downbeat music e.g. jazz
Use of silence
Non linear plot line
Heists
Amnesia
Psychological

Filming of Gemini

I believe the filming of Gemini went quite well. We are happy with the end product of the video and the shots it included. However we were missing one shot were he goes to leave and she goes to sit down. Then me and Jake came up with a solution that we believed worked well of fading to a black screen which says 'time to swap places' which kind of explained why they were swapping places in a mysterious way and also acts as a double meaning as he swaps place with his evil imaginary twin at the end in personality. The organisation of filming was good as well. The first day of filming we did not do all the shots as the Becky one of our actors plans changed at the last minute so we filmed all the shots that just included Chris then quickly arranged a second day for filming so we could get it out of the way as early as possible freeing up more time for editing the video. As I was the director and the creator of the shot list i believe I did quite well because we used some interesting and difficult camera techniques and shots that make it more interesting for the viewer. The shots could have had a few better transitions and looked a bit more fluid and smooth from one shot to the next.