AS Media Film Opening - The Game

Plan of Action

Date	Component	Information
16/1/11	Equipment forms filled out	1 tape camera, 1 tape, 1 tripod, 2 battery packs
17/1/11	Filming	I filmed some close up shots of my self as the main character.
18/1/11	Filming	We went to location in Shirehampton with two more of the main characters to shoot the outside shots. We managed to get inside the flats with permission to shoot the characters walking up the stairs.
19/1/11	Making and organizing Mise-en-scene	I poured flour into plastic freezer bags and wrapped them in ductape to use packs of cocaine. Nestor also bought candied blood and cigarettes for some of the close up shots.
22/1/11	Filming	The rest of the cast and I filmed the shots from inside ‘the room’. This basically completed our rushes for the first draft, which made us ready to edit on Monday.
23/1/11      to 15/1/11	Editing	Cutting all the shots together we found that the end of the opening just fizzled out  and needed a clearer direction to the rest of the film. We have also decided on the music for our piece, ‘In the Fade’ by Queens of the stone age. We felt that the tone and lyrics suited the opening and the intro to the song directly mirrored emotions of the character on screen.
	Re-shoots	In order for our opening to make sense additional shots will have to be filmed to make it clear to the reader what will follow in the film and what roles some of the characters have in the film.
	Re-edit	Adding the additional shots to the piece and keeping to the 2.30 minute maximum will the next step.

Story Board (First Draft)

Our film opening sets up a struggle between the police and a conartist/money launderer. The opening shot jumps to the end of the action and shows the main charaster (conartist) running towards the camera covered in blood and out of breathe. This is similar to some of the films we researched (memento, inception) the film starts part way or at the end of the story. We have also featured a lot of close up shots that would carry titles well.

Aswell as these main events, when filming we are aiming to cover all bases and get as many shots as possible includeing the ones featured in the storyboard, to make the opening look seemless and professional.

Location

Out side shots of a high rise flats is the setting for our opening. Lawrence Hill Roundabout Bristol A420, Easton, Bristol.
This would be an ideal location as it fits the main convention of a Crime thriller, with it's location in the centre of town, and the fact the the building is high rise, will combine with the interior location to give the impression of a block of apartments. 

The interior stair shots will be taken in the Buisness studies stair in Gordano school.
We planned to use a separate location for the stairs and interior set because are not expecting to get inside the high rise flats in  easton. This location specifically is suitable because do the dirty, industrial look which you would expect the stair case for a apartment building to look like.

The only problems with these two locations is the lighting in both locations matching up and the availability of the actors to get to location at these specific times to suit the lighting

Revised Location

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Shirehampton, Bristol, City of Bristol BS11 0DP

We decided against going to easton to shoot for several reasons, one of them being the risk of going to an area with a very bad reputation at night with expensive camera equipment. another being the distance and inconvenience of getting actors to location.

We then decided on using the high rise flats in Shirehampton, which is alot closer to 4 out 5 of the actors, safer to film and still very suitable for the genre because of the size and location of the building.

The revised inside location for the shoot will be my living room and stair case, as the light can be changed easily to suit the lighting of the outside location and it is alot easier to manipulate and organise than anywhere on the school grounds.

Music

Royalty Free:
-Prelude Action
-Cut and Run
(incompetech.com/m/c/royalty-free)

Royalty Music:
-Set You Free - The Black Keys
This song has has an upbeat tempo that would suit the running in the opening shot and then steadier beat that would mirror the walking to location.
-Skin And Bones - Foo Fighters
This song has a quite start and remains reserved throughout the song, with a steady tempo which would be suitable as it could reflect the the quite before the action.
-Lonely Souls - Unkle
Lonely souls has a similar theme to Skin and Bones, but the lyrics could offer interpretations from the viewer about how the people involved in the drug deal live alone.
-Loose Yot Self - Eminem

-In the Fade - Queens of the stone age

Actors and Mise-en-scene

Roles:
-Con Artist/Gangster/ Leader - Me (joe) (Confirmed)
-Police Man No.1 - Sam Pearson  (Confirmed)
-Police Man No.2 - Steve Wise (Confirmed)
-Con Artist Affiliate - Alex Perkins (Confirmed)
-Con Artist Affiliate - April Mathews (Confirmed)
-Con Artist Affiliate- Nestor Bigwood (Confirmed)
-Extras - Kez Barry

Mise-en-scene:
-Car (Mini Cooper/Skoda)
These were the only cars available to use, but despite this, both cars suit the genre as they are brand new cars that look fairly smart and business looking.
-Drugs (Flour/baking soda)
We chose flour because it was a cheap, realistic looking substitute for real cocaine, which is of course also illegal.
-Blood (Fake Blood)
Joke blood was a more realistic substitute than lipstick, tomato sauce or ink and also was a non-stain alternative.
-Cigarettes
We chose to include cigarettes, fit the convention that criminals aren't exactly 'healthy', and to add to the overall effect, that the film is about criminal, dark themes.
-Guns (BB Guns)
-Suits (3 suit and ties)
All the suits will be dark and standard as not to distract the viewer. We are trying to show high end criminals and the best way to represent them is to have them dress smartly to show the crime more a planned business meeting rather than a opportunistic deal.
-Alcohol (Apple Juice, Water)
-Furniture (Coffe Table, 2x Sofas)