Production Diary

Parallel production diary from oliviaseymour

This is my production diary for the construction of our opening sequence. In this PPT format, it clearly demonstrates the journey from having no idea of what to do, to the final draft. 

Feedback from First Draft

We already had a rough idea of what we needed to change from our first draft before people saw it as our editing took a long time due to the masking effect we needed. This meant that we focused primarily on getting that part right that we didn't have enough time to tidy up the other parts.

When we did receive our feedback, it was more positive than I thought but they also highlighted other parts that we should change. For example, including music. We thought music would not be a particularly good idea in the beginning but after reading the feedback and testing it out, it may be something that we actually include.

Below shows some pictures of our feedback:

People tended to like the cloning effect which is good as we spent a lot of time trying to get that right. They thought the acting by Max was good and convincing. Our criticisms include the shaky shots and some of the cuts needing to be quicker which we plan to sort out. Overall the feedback was extremely useful to us as a group.


We spoke as a group and decided that these were the main things we need to improve upon:
- Title order, size and font
- Cut out wobbly shots
- Find different sound effects/music and cut out bird sound.
- Remove the title at the end of the sequence.
- Make it more interesting by removing some of the walking shots.

Parallel First Draft

This is the first draft for our film opening sequence:
 

Fonts For Titles

This is our favourite idea for fonts for our titles at the moment. We think that this font is quite quirky but also quite simple which portrays our genre quite well.

Filming Pictures

These are some pictures that we took during filming. It shows some of the locations and also Marcus actually filming some of the shots. 

Group Meeting Pictures

This is one of our group members (Mollie) working on things for our film. She has been mainly working on the research side of things and has contributed a lot to our planning. 

Shooting Schedule

This is out shooting schedule. It could change due to the weather and may also have to be extended due to us trying to do it on just two different days. There may also be a possibility that we can film on the Sunday.

Here is the current weather forecast for Friday, the weekend and Monday (our planned film days). At the moment it looks like we will be able to film on all of the days which is good. 

Risk Assessment

 

 

This is our risk assessment for our film, Parallel. Most of the risks are minimal but it is important to recognise that there are risks involved to make sure we can reduce the chance of anything happening as much as possible. 

Synopsis

What we will need:

• A bench in Admirals Park
• Bus stop. (Preferably not in use by other people) 
• Trees in the park
• Pavement beneath the bench
• Suit 
• Smart shoes and bag/briefcase
• Medicine bottle and new label 
• Tic Tacs  
• Coke and Diet Coke 

Characters:

Max will play both schizophrenic men on the bench as it will be a clone. Olivia will play an unfortunate woman who happens to engage eye contact with Zabel/ Zac (Max) on the bench in Admirals Park.

Costume:

We have decided to have Max in a suit so he looks like an average working man but when the film starts, the problems start to unfold and it becomes clear that he has schizophrenia.  

Location: 

Our film opening will be located in Admirals Park. We will use the bus stop opposite the park on Rainsford Road, depending on how much filming we can get done and if we stick to the shooting schedule. 

Audience: 

We have pitched our audience to be between the ages of 18-30 however not excluding any ages older than that. We didn't think anyone younger than 18 would enjoy or understand our film which is why we set the age to 18. The certificate is 12A.

Blog Reflection 1

TECHNOLOGY:

One of the new online programmes  I have used the most is SlideShare for uploading my PPT. This is becoming more important for me as during the planning for our opening sequence we have to make lots of PPTs for a lot of our research, e.g. audience research. I have also used Prezi (once shown on the blog) for my Prelim task. I have tried to use it on other occasions to and am currently making one for my Marketing Research, however I do find is slightly confusing and I am definitely more comfortable using PowerPoint. I am planning to try more technologies in the future such as E-Maze. Recently I have been experimenting with Premiere a lot for titles for our film so have been looking at the different fonts available and sizes that would work, etc. During my Juno edit, Sam and I used a cartoon-like effect which we found on our own which is quite cool. Also, I found out how to put the whole sequence in black and white which was useful for my Prelim task. We are also going to use a cloning effect that Max will teach us to do which we will use in our final task.

MARK OUT OF 20:

I think I would maybe get 15/16 out of 20 at the moment. I think I need to go into more detail with certain things and extend my analysis, however it is all organised and I have good time management. All the tasks are completed and the majority are very detailed.

PARTS WHERE I COULD BE MORE THOROUGH OR LESS COMPLACENT?

I could be more thorough in my analysis of my titles research. I also could go into more depth in my representations.

IS IT FUN TO LOOK THROUGH?

I think it is fun to look through as there are many pictures and PPTs instead of just text. I have also put it with a white font which I think is more interesting than just a white background and black text. I change the style of my blog quite regularly to make it more interesting. I do need to add some more pictures to break up the text.

IS THE LEARNING JOURNEY EVIDENT?
I would say that it is very evident as looking at my first ever editing task to looking at my prelim task, a lot has improved. Although my prelim was not perfect, since then I have gradually become more skillful with programmes such as Premiere. I have picked up on all the theories and types of institutions. Hopefully my learning journey will become even more evident after finishing my final opening sequence.

TARGETS:
I think I need to link my film opening idea to the conventions of the genre more. Also I need to improve my knowledge of all the different theories and finally make my blog perhaps a little more visual. 

Storyboard

This is our storyboard for our film opening with a voice-over by Max. Some of the pictures are not that clear in the video as our film was quite dialogue-heavy, we used the script a lot more.
Parts of the storyboard changed when we actually started filming as it started to get dark around the time we wanted to film the bus scene. Instead of waiting for a bus to come we decided to use a door instead as it was less time-consuming but still created the same effect.

Timeline of Shots and Titles

This is a timeline of all our shots and titles that we plan to include in our film opening sequence.

Market Research

Mise en Scene Ideas

MISE EN SCENE:
- Settings & Props- Costume, Hair & Make Up
- Facial Expressions & Body Language
- Lighting & Colour
- Positioning of Characters

As our film sequence is all outdoors, this makes finding a location a lot easier. We plan to film in Admirals Park. We were thinking about other parks but we decided that this one was ideal as it is quite big and picturesque but also close to a bus stop which is another part of our setting.
Our costume is also quite simple as well as there is only one character on one day so we only require one costume. We decided that the man (Zac) should be wearing a smart suit, nearly immaculate as he is supposed to be boring and plain. Whereas Zabel, the other personality, will be wearing the same suit but messy to represent his evil character. The costume of the other woman will be smart/casual, perhaps she is on a lunch break.

Facial expressions will be important in our sequence as Zac is supposed to be angry/frustrated/embarrassed quite a lot. Facial expressions will also be important when Zac finally caves in and shouts at Zabel, after which the woman sitting next to him quite obviously thinks he is talking to himself.

Although lighting is quite hard when we have a limited amount of time to film, we are going to try our hardest to get it all in the day time when the camera quality will be the best. This is also because we are trying to represent everyday life.

The main focus of the sequence is Zac so he will be on camera the most. It should be clear that he is the protagonist as he is the first person to come on screen and the main focus on the first couple of minutes is him.

Script

 

This is our script for our opening sequence. We looked at other scripts and tried to do ours in a similar way. When we come to filming then it is obviously subject to change but we are very happy with it. We know that it is quite dialogue heavy but we plan on re-dubbing most of the talking to make it sound as clear as possible. 

Institutions Research

FILM FOUR 

Film 4 is a British film institution company that is owned and operated by Channel 4 Television Corporation and it has screened many films. It has also distributed many successful films such as Casino Royal, Slumdog Millionaire, Shaun of the Dead and most importantly, The Double and Shallow Grave. Film 4 has a niche, mature audience which we intend to aim our movie at.
The main reason we decided to use Film 4 as our distributor is because we modelled our film around The Double and Shallow Grave which were both produced/distributed by Film 4. This means that they have experience in a similar film to ours which helps things like marketing.

NEW LINE CINEMA 

Founded: 1967
New Line produced the Oscar Award-Winning The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Some others of its most popular films include The Mask, The Austin Powers titles, Hairspray, Rush Hour, Elf, Sex and the City and Wedding Crashers. Since 2008 (when it became a unit of Warner Bros) the company has seen the most successful period in its history.
Like Film 4, New Line Cinema aims its films at a more of a sophisticated audience. This is one of the reasons we want New Line Cinema to help produce and distribute our film. It can help us greatly in advertising to the right audience. Also because of its success it will help us advertise on a large scale.

Audience Research

This is our audience research. People said our target audience was too broad so we decided to take three people of different ages and say what aspect of the film they would like. We also used a contrast and included someone that we thought wouldn't like our film, for example, a child.

Shot List

During our film sequence we want to include a variety of shots to make it more interesting for the audience. This is a rough idea of the types of shots we want to include in the order they'll appear in the opening sequence:

1. High panning shot of tree's in Admirals Park 
2. Wormseye shot of river 
3. Extreme long shot of the park 
4. Close up of a roundabout spinning on its own
5. Close up, wormseye shot of the man's leg
6. Pan upwards to reveal the man sitting on the bench 
7. Mid-shot that tilts upwards to reveal both personalities sitting on the bench 
8. Close up of mans mouth 
9. Long-shot of both men sitting on the bench 
10. 180 degree shot during conversation 
11. A variety of tracking shots including close ups and long shots whilst the man is walking to the bus stop. 
12. Long shot from across the street. 

All of these shots will be accompanied with dialogue, music and titles.

The pictures below shows our group looking and planning our shot list:

Titles Research

Titles for Forrest Gump:

T1: Paramount Production Company
3 seconds long






T2: More production companies.
3 seconds long









T3: Robert Zenick film.
3 seconds long








T4: Tom Hanks (actors introduced)
3 seconds long

T5: Forrest Gump. (Name of film)
3 seconds long

T6: Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson and Sally Field (actors)
Each 3 seconds long





T7: Charles Newirth (co-producer)
3 seconds long

T8: Joe Sill (music producer)
3 seconds long

T9: Ken Ralston (Visual Effects Supervisor)
3 seconds long

T10: Joanna Johnston (costume design)
3 seconds long









T11: Alan Silvestri (music)
3 seconds long








T12: Arthur Schmidt (editor)
3 seconds long









T13: Rick Carter (production designer)
3 seconds long









T14: Don Burgess (photography)
3 seconds long









T15: Winston Groom (novel)
3 seconds long









T16: Eric Roth (screenplay)
3 seconds long









T17: Wendy Finerman, Steve Tisch and Steve Starkey (other producers)
3 seconds long








T18: Robert Zemeckis (director)
3 seconds long

 

THE CONJURING TITLES

 

 

T1: (DIRECTOR) 

Starts at 17 seconds, 4 seconds long

 

 

T2: (WRITTEN BY)

Starts at 24 seconds, 3 seconds long

 

 T3: (PRODUCERS) 

Starts at 28 seconds, 3 seconds long

 

 T4: (EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS)

Starts at 34 seconds, 3 seconds long

 

 T5: (DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY)

Starts at 37 seconds, 4 seconds long

 

 T6: (PRODUCTION DESIGNER)

Starts at 44 seconds, 3 seconds long

 

 T7: (EDITOR)

Starts at 48 seconds, 3 seconds long

 

 T8: (ACTORS NAMES)

Starts at 1 minute 14 seconds, 4 seconds long

 

 T9: (MORE ACTORS)

Starts at 1 minute 18 seconds, 4 seconds long

 

 T10: (CASTING BY)

Starts at 1 minute 24 seconds, 4 seconds long

 

 T11: (COSTUMES)

Starts at 1 minute 25 seconds, 5 seconds long

 

 T12: (MUSIC)

Starts at 1 minute 35 seconds, 4 seconds long

 

 T13: (PRODUCTION/DISTRIBUTOR)

Starts at 1 minute 39 seconds, 4 seconds long

 

 T14: (PRODUCTION COMPANY)

Starts at 1 minute 45 seconds, 3 seconds long

 

 T15: (A JAMES WAN FILM)

Starts at 1 minute 49 seconds, 4 seconds long

 

 T16: (TITLE OF FILM)

Starts at 1 minute 56 seconds, 4 seconds long