Research and planning

Research and planning

Introduction

You should know the drill by now but for those of you that don't this year, we've been tasked with making a 5-minute short film. As well as that we must create a film poster to go along with the film and then make a review for one of the other group's films. In this section, I'll show every bit of research and planning that goes into the film. We've all been assigned teams of 3-4 to help with the film making process. I feel it's fair to say that I have the best group by far consisting of Leo, Maddy, the beautiful Jordan Sollof and yours truly, I'm really excited to see what we can come up with

When I go back and make corrections the updates will be highlighted in green.
The parts that I change and are outdated will be highlighted in red.

11/9/17- Thunderbirds are go!

Last year's blog research

One thing I noticed after comparing my blog from last year and the previous year 13 is that my blog had way too much text and not enough pictures or videos, this makes it seem really long-winded and boring.

George Hutchinson last year was very good at condensing his work into short and concise videos. Another thing that George was really good at was adding in his personality to the blog, he did this primarily through the videos but by also adding small detail such as funny movie quotes scattered throughout and having "old school jams" that you can listen to while you read. I attempted to do this last year but it kinda got lost in the masses of redundant text.

Also from looking at Charlotte Holland, I saw that actually writing out all the drafts on paper and showing the evolution of ideas is key as it shows that you're on a journey of improvement.

Another thing she did well was to add in lots of colour as this brightens up the blog a bit but also makes it a bit clearer when going back and reading it.

The last thing I picked out from Charlotte's blog is that there was a lot of target audience research with lots of graphs and then deeper analysis to show how it will help them or what it means.

Short film research

Because we're making a 5-minute short film this year we needed to do research into short films to find what they do well and the things that they don't do so well with.

One film I watched is 'Brent' I didn't enjoy the film itself too much but one thing they did well was covering up the low budget I'm assuming they had. The scene where I think they did this best was when he shoots himself. As seen below they didn't have access to good CGI blood so they made it a little less obvious, they did this by making the scene happen at night, being a very quick shot that lasts probably a second and by not having it as a close-up in centre frame.
Watch Brent here

Another film I watched was 'The Introvert', in this film they paid close attention to the Mise-En-Scene. In the bedroom scene, there are multiple awards on the bedside table but only one of them was shown in any detail. Small details like that can really add a lot of depth and development to a character without having to explain every minor detail. The background detail was one of the best parts of 'Children Of Men' as it gave you an insight into the character's backstory without having some other characters start talking about it in a way that seems really out of place.

Watch The Introvert here

The third short film I watched was called 'The Most Beautiful Thing' one thing I really like about this is the attention to sound. Because the girl is deaf the diegetic sound takes a backseat while the romantic montage happens because she can't hear the director decided to have the sound be a non-factor for the audience as it is for her. One thing that I feel I don't pay enough attention to is sound and that is the main thing that let down all of last years films so we need to be sure to pay extra close attention this time around.

Watch The Most Beautiful Thing here

My own ideas

Before coming up with our final idea in the group I decided that I want to come up with some ideas on my own. 

As I've mentioned before one of my favourite films in recent memory is Whiplash, the reason I liked this film so much was because the idea of someone becoming obsessed with something to the point where it takes over their life. This is a concept that I'd like to explore as I think someone becoming completely engulfed by their passion has a lot of potential and it can also co-inside with other ideas. I also think there's a poetic irony in someone ruining their life with something they love. Doing this would also be fairly different from previous films as they've mostly been just psychological thrillers which I know we're all getting bored of.

Another idea I had is that it's the final day on Earth (the reason for this isn't really important) and a family of four (two parents and two siblings.) It would be a drama where the four of them are all conflicting with each other in some way or another but they decide to come together to spend their last day on Earth as a family. This would have to work the same way that 12 Angry Men did where the whole film pretty much takes place in one room and relies heavily on good dialogue. The problem with this idea is that one of the things that we're assessed on is a good range of camera shots and this idea doesn't really allow for that. Despite that, I still think that this would be an interesting concept to explore.

18/9/17-We're gonna need a bigger blog...
Because we came up with so many great ideas!

Group ideas

There are two main ideas which I've brainstormed below.

The lucid dream idea is based on the premise of a 'Black Mirror' episode where there's a guy testing a game and he basically ends up thinking that he's left the game but in reality he's still playing. It kind of works like 'Inception' having a dream within a dream. It would start as a romance almost, with the protagonist living out his life with his wife and as the story progresses until he begins imagining his wife drowning.The end would reveal that he's been living in his own dream world the whole time to relive his life with his wife who has recently passed away. The ending depends on the way that we choose to have him control the dream. If we decided to have him dream with the assistance of a machine or a chip then the ending could leave him in a coma or brain damaged. However, if we decide to have it so that he can just control the dreams on his own he would just be really depressed and possibly end up killing himself. 

This second idea is based around the idea of having a businessman discover his roots. It would start with showing how he doesn't quite fit in with the people around him or just hinting at his interest in the rainforest.We would then see him somehow discover that he has ties to this tribe and the short would be about his journey attempting to reconnect with his roots. We are considering if we should add in another character that he has known all his life and they are secretly also from his tribe. Once he and his potential companion final get to where the tribe should be located they find that the rainforest has been torn down and replaced with new housing.

As we got closer to the final idea we decided to come together and talk about the near complete version.

23/9/17- The night of many light bulbs

Tonight 'The Gang' decided to get in a Skype call to finalize the idea and smooth out any rough patches as seen below.

In order to explain the idea and how we got there in a comprehensible way, I'll have to make another video.

25/9/17-Characters and narratives and theorists oh, my!

Treatment (only a first draft)

The film starts with a shot of LUCY HENDERSON (Maddy) talking to two unnamed characters whose identity is hidden from the audience and only go by THE OBSERVERS (Jordan and Cameron). After The Observers are done speaking they walk away and leave Lucy, she then bumps into GARY HENDERSON (Leo). From there we see the two fall in love and through a montage of the key memories the two share. We then see them both in the morning two and a half years into their relationship in the week building to Lucy's birthday. As she's running late Lucy drops a pile of her folders and in the rush doesn't have time to pick them all up. Taking the day to work from home Gary decides to make a collage of all of their memories together that the audience has already seen. As we look at the photos we see short clips from the day each photo was taken. Gary begins to notice that there are two people that seem to pop up in every one of the photos, this begins to raise his suspicions. He then finds a file that has his history of being a paedophile and little updates about his rehabilitation. When his wife comes home he challenges her about the folder and the people in the pictures. She starts to break and tell him the truth about how he's part of a government program that aims to wipe the minds and put them back into the real world with a new identity. This makes Gary furious and he tries to attack Lucy, at this point, there is a loud constant banging at the door forcing Gary to open the door. When Gary opens the door The Observers are standing there, then cuts to black. The next scene is The Observers talking to Lucy about the next person that she has to pretend to be in love with. The ending shot mirrors the opening shot with Lucy standing between The Observers with their backs to the camera.

12/10/17

After looking at the first draft of the treatment I decided that I'd go back make some annotations and then add redraft it before we as a group write the final one. One of the main issues that I noticed is that it didn't look much like a treatment as it talks about camera shots and whatnot. Also the treatment is really short which means that the story wasn't developed enough. The explanation of major plot points was poor and the idea hadn't been fully developed meaning there were plot holes among other issues. There was also minor details that were wrong that needed to be remedied. 

Treatment (second draft)

Set in the year 2027 in the middle of London, Lucy is talking to two unknown men with the sounds of the street drowning them out. Once the conversation is finished the two gentlemen and Lucy go their separate ways. Upon turning the corner, Lucy bumps into Gary Henderson getting his morning coffee. As soon as the two lock eyes it's love at first sight and they begin to make many beautiful memories together.
Approaching Lucy's birthday the two try to spend their morning together but unfortunately have to hurry away to their jobs. At work, Gary goes into his boss' office to speak to him, however, after seeing that he isn't there he takes a seat and waits. While waiting, a picture of the boss' family catches his attention. The boss enters from behind and immediately enquirers what Gary wants, Gary asks to have his wife's birthday off of work and his boss agrees. Deciding to get started on Lucy's present early Gary begins looking through the photos the two took together. After a while, he begins to notice that there are two men that appear in every picture he has of the two together. Fearing for his wife's safety he calls Lucy and tells her to get home as fast as possible and lock the doors. He attempts to find out who these men are by doing a reverse image search online. Instead of answering his questions about the identity of the two men, the search leads to more questions as it uncovers something about Gary that he never knew. He finds a few old news stories of how a man identical to him was convicted of sexual assault on a minor, the only difference between himself and the paedophile is the name. Angered, sickened and confused all at the same time, Gary gets up from his desk and without saying a word unsteadily stumbles out of his office and makes his way home.
As he barges into his home, his wife visibly distressed asks what the emergency is and why she had to rush home, his response is the name of the man who shares his face. He keeps repeating this name over and over each time louder than the last. Until he starts getting violent towards his wife pinning her against the wall, questioning her about everything until three loud bangs at the door pull Gary away to answer. As he opens the door there are two men standing opposite to him dressed in suits. It's the men from the photos. And then black.
The two men reunited with Lucy walk along a corridor filling her in on the details of the next job she has to do. The three then look on and watch as the next convict gets his memory wiped and implanted with a new identity.

If you're more of a fan of audiobooks I've got you covered.

Final treatment

Set in the year 2027 in the middle of London a blonde woman named ‘Lucy’ is walking down the street talking on her phone, as she comes round the corner she bumps into a well-dressed gentleman in a suit called ‘Gary Henderson’. It’s love at first sight as the two stand looking longingly into each other eyes and begin to make many beautiful memories together culminating in marriage.

After two years the two have begun to fall into a repetitive routine of waking up, eating breakfast, brushing their teeth and getting dressed. Gary then leaves the house and goes into work where he speaks to his receptionist who asks about his headaches. The receptionist then tells him that Lucy dropped off some new tablets for him to take. He then goes into his office and begins making a collage of pictures of the two for Lucy’s birthday. After sifting through them for a while he notices that there are two men that appear in every single picture. Out of curiosity he does a reverse image search to try and figure out who they are. What he actually finds horrifies him and he leaves work straight away.

From the door Gary can be heard shouting for Lucy to answer the door, when she opens he comes in and begins rambling about two strange men and how they must leave because they are in danger. After going back and forth on this for a while the argument begins to escalate as Gary begins to become aggressive. Lucy presses a button out of the view of Gary, the sound of the outside gate slamming and footsteps approaching the door interrupt the silence outside. Lucy slaps Gary really pushing him over the edge and making him erupt into a fit of rage. There is a subtle knock in the background as Lucy tells Gary how he has wasted two years of her life and she then tries to leave. Another knock as Lucy walks around the corner heading towards the door, Gary grabs her and throws her against the wall and begins to choke her. Begging for Gary to release her, Lucy continues to try and fight her way out of the choke. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK, Gary looks to his right and slowly lessens his grip. He then begins the slow walk towards the door as Lucy falls to the floor behind him. He reaches for the handle and cautiously opens the door. “Hello Mr. Fester” The Observers stand opposing him

Gary opens his eyes to find himself tied up in a car and with Lucy in the front seat. She begins to tell him everything, revealing how he is simply part of an experiment and their marriage means nothing to her. She tells him about all the eyes watching him over the last two years and explains the headaches and the pills. She then gets out of the car and tell The Observers to take him away. The cars drives off into the darkness…

Another cute little Skype chat

Tonight we did another Skype call to finish talking about all the little detail we needed to finish. We talked about everything I've put below up to the character profiles. 

Character research

Gary Henderson
One of the inspirations for Gary Henderson is Brad Pitt's character in 'Seven', David Mills. We were inspired by him because he is a detective and this is similar to the way that Gary has to do some investigating to find out about his past from his wife's belongings. Another thing that makes the two similar is they love that they share for their respective wives. The way that Kevin Spacey decides to hurt Brad Pitt the worst is to decapitate his wife, this links to Gary because when he finds out the truth at the end of the film the reason that he gets so angry is because he finds out that his whole marriage is a lie and that his wife never loved him.

Speaking of Brad Pitt, ever seen fight club? Well if you haven't Brad Pitt plays a character that is the alter ego of Edward Norton's character which ol' Eddie boy isn't aware of.  Gary doesn't know about the other side of himself which is his past being a paedophile. There different because Edward sees Bead as a whole other person whereas Gary isn't even aware that this other side of him exists.\

Lucy Henderson- 19th October 38 years old
One character that inspired Lucy is Rosamund Pike's character in 'Gone Girl' Amy Dunne. The main thing we drew from this character is how she was getting revenge on her husband for cheating on her by framing him for her murder. Lucy, on the other hand, is pretending to be in love with Gary in order to rehabilitate him. Amy in 'Gone Girl' needed to come up with an elaborate plan in order to convince everyone that she had been murdered by her husband but she also needed to pretend to be in love with him as she was planning everything so he wouldn't suspect anything. Lucy has to do the same by pretending to be in love with Gary so that he doesn't suspect anything about his previous life.

The Observers
The Observers weren't really inspired by anything because we just came up with the idea of them always being in the background. But if I were to say they were inspired by something just for the sake of it, I would say that they were inspired by the Men In Black (which they're making another one of by the way, without Will Smith. You think they would've learned from Independence Day that  you can't make a Will Smith movie without Will Smith.) Anyway, they're not inspired by the main two, but more so by the idea of The Men In Black. The Observers are part of a government program that needs to remain secret and have to wipe the minds of convicts so they can start their new life. So I'd say they're like the Men In Black without all the alien stuff, kinda, not really but sorta.

Narrative references

Black Mirror- Shut Up and Dance:
The most obvious narrative comparison is from this episode of Black Mirror where the story follows Kenny as the protagonist the whole time making the audience have sympathy for him until the very end where it's revealed that he's a paedophile. This is the same as how the audience should become invested in Gary and his marriage but then it's revealed that Gary's a paedophile and the whole relationship is a sham. I feel like it should be noted we didn't just straight up steal the idea we just thought of this link after. The major difference between the two is that Kenny is a paedophile that hasn't been caught yet and he's being blackmailed whereas Gary has been caught and convicted but is now being rehabilitated, he just doesn't know it. It should be made clear that nothing graphic will be shown it will just be mentioned in passing. This isn't a main part of the film this is just to have the added shock factor and it will make the audience hate him.

Gone Girl:
This link is a little more subtle than the one above but it goes as follows, in Gone Girl, Amy wants to get revenge on her husband because he cheated on her, she gets her revenge by framing him for her murder. To do this she needs to come up with an elaborate plan and pretend to be in love with him still whilst she plans this. Lucy also has to pretend to love Gary and come up with an elaborate plan to make sure that Gary never finds out about his past.

Memento:

Now this link is really loose but it was the only one that I could think of so I can almost guarantee that I'll come back and change this, but for now, here goes. In 'Memento' the protagonist can't remember his past because he has short-term memory loss, because of this he has to remind himself of certain things by getting tattoos and keeping notes on hand. Gary also can't remember his past so he also needs to find reminders such as Lucy's file on him. The main difference is that Gary doesn't know that he can't remember his past because it's been wipe and therefore he isn't making a conscious effort to remember it.

Theorists comments

Genre

John Fiske
John's theory is that genres only exist for producers and the audience to put films in a category so they have easily identifiable traits and conventions. He says that modern western audiences need order and can't receive a piece of work unless it's associated with a set of conventions. This applies to our short film because I wouldn't call our film either a drama or a romance but because it has conventions of both we have to put in those genres so that audiences know what to expect.

Daniel Chandler 
Daniel's theory is that genres put directors in boxes so they're unable to put their own twist on things, meaning that when doing a drama you can't really put comedy aspects or comedic moments in it. The reason this fits in with our film is because as I stated above I don't believe that our film traditionally fits into any one genre. This means that other aspects that we have outside the drama genre will seem out of place which restricts what we can actually add without confusing the audience too much. This means that we have to stay somewhat within the confines of the drama genre with slight romance aspects.

Barry Kieth Grant
Barry's theory is that there is only a set amount of genres but an endless amount of sub-genres which ultimately define what the film is. Most people argue that sub-genres divide and categorise films more than just the larger genres which makes it easier for audiences to understand and expect what the films about. Similarly, Barry that the sub-genre is what really establishes what the film truly is and helps to find it's niche. This applies to our film because we could call it a romantic political thriller which fits a lot better than just the drama genre. Our film isn't a traditional romance film and it isn't a traditional drama either.

Audience
Stuart Hall
Stuart's theory is that there are multiple readings into a piece of work such as some might say that 'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia' is a clever commentary on modern social constructs and culture through the use of comedy, while others would say that it's offensive and childish. This links to our film because it opens up the debate of whether or not it's justified to experiment on prisoners meaning that people could view Gary as the protagonist the whole time despite being a paedophile whereas others might see it as the government are in the wrong for testing on prisoners.

Katz and Blumler
Katz and Blumler's theory is that audiences don't passively consume the media they watch but instead take an active role interpreting and integrating it into their lives. They also suggest that they choose specific media to fulfil their needs so they dictate what media they watch and therefore impacts what is produced. This help with our short film because it tells us that we need to think more about who we target and why they would consume our product over other short films.

Narrative
Roland Barthes
Roland believes that one or more of his five codes that will explain the meaning of every bit of media. One of these codes applies to our film, that code is the 'enigma code'. This code refers to a mystery within a text that is never clearly explained but clues are given and hinted at frequently. This code also states that enigmas leave the audience wanting more, however, unanswered enigmas frustrate audiences. This applies to our film because there is the mystery of the observers and Gary's past that is continually hinted at but never outright stated.

Group responsibilities

We decided that the responsibilities don't really matter what roles we say we have because we'll all do a bit of everything, this was just really for the sake of doing another group video (If it did matter I can assure you that I wouldn't be doing sound). Although I might try to get us to redo this because I've come up with a better idea of doing it as if we're planning a heist. But it's not really that important so I don't see that happening but hey, 'Stranger Things' have happened.
15/10/17-Boom (shot list)

Shot list

The actual shots will be in black while the explanation of each shot will be in blue. Basically this section is listing every shot and then 

Scene one - The Meeting.

1. Low angle shot of observers feet walking. (This is done as to not reveal the identity and create the motif of keeping them secret for the rest of the film.)
2. Over the shoulder shot of the observers out of focus (This is once again done to hide the Observers identity)
3. Over the shoulder of the observers where Lucy is in focus. (This shot is the reveal of Lucy to the audience.)
4. Close up of the two parties shaking hands. (This shot is done to plant a seed that there is something suspicious about Lucy that the audience should be wary of.)
5. Medium shot of Lucy walking towards the camera and The Observers walking away. (This shot is done to show the two going their separate ways once again hiding the Observers identity.)
6. Close up of Lucy walking while on the phone. (This is Lucy trying to look inconspicuous as after the meeting.)
7. Wide shot of coffee shop and the street Lucy is walking up. (This wide shot is the reveal of Gary somewhat hidden away in at the side in the shadows somewhat hinting at the dark side that he possesses.)
8. Wide shot of Lucy and Gary bumping into each other. (This is where they meet and the two fall in love we see them look into each others eyes to replicate 'love at first sight' if you believe in such a thing.)
9. Two shot of Gary and Lucy introducing themselves. slowly panning round the tow then fading to black. (This introduction signifies the beginning of a new chapter in both of their lives.)

Scene two - The Romantic Montage.

1. Medium shot of Gary and Lucy shopping.
2. Two shot of Gary and Lucy on a date eating.
3. Wide shot of Gary and Lucy on bikes in London.
4. Wide shot of Gary and Lucy walking in the forest.
5. Two shot of Gary and Lucy watching TV.
6. Wide shot of Gary proposing to Lucy in front of a Christmas tree.
7. Medium shot of Gary and Lucy getting married.

(The purpose of this scene as a whole is to show the passing of time and their relationship through time.)

Scene three - Morning Routine.

1. Close up of alarm clock going off. x3
2. High angle of Gary and Lucy in bed. x3
3. Birds eye view of making tea. x3
4. Gary point of view shot of Lucy handing him breakfast. x3
5. Two shot of Gary and Lucy brushing teeth in mirror. x3
6. Close up of Gary doing his tie in the mirror. x3
7. High angle of Gary grabbing keys. x3
8. Medium panning shot following Gary as he leaves for work.

(All of these shots are to signify the fact that they've been together for a long time as to where they've established a routine together.)

Scene four - The Office Scene.

1. Over the shoulder shot that transitions into a medium shot as Gary walks towards his boss' office. (This shot act as a smooth transition from Gary leaving his house to entering the office.)
2. Low angle medium shot of Gary entering boss' office with the boss in the foreground. (To make it seem more like a active office you first see the boss on the phone with Gary entering behind.)
3. Medium of Gary and the boss talking. (To set the positions if the characters in the conversations.)
4. Over the shoulder shot showing Gary staring into the distance. (Showing that Gary isn't focusing on the boss and that his attention has been caught by something else.)
5. Point of view shot of Gary's perspective to show what he's staring at. (Reveals what Gary is looking at, being the picture on the boss' desk.)
6. Close up shot of Gary's reaction as he snaps out of his stare and begins to talk. (Shows Gary
   re-entering the conversation and asking for what he wants.)
7. Over the shoulder showing the boss.
8. Medium of Gary and the boss shaking hands.

Scene five - The office Scene Continued.

1. Medium shot of Gary on his computer at his desk.
2. Close up of Gary looking at his computer screen. (This shows that Gary's just noticed that somethings off with the pictures that he's looking at.)
3. Eye-line match to a close up of what Gary was looking at. (This is the reveal of the Observers in the background of the pictures.)
4. Medium shot of Gary reacting to a photo.
5. Close up of the picture.
6. Reaction cut to a close up of Gary.
7. Flashes of Gary's memories returning. x3 (This shows him remembering the part of his memory that has been wiped.)
8. Close up to Gary's reaction.
9. Close up of the computer showing a reverse image search. (This is him trying to find who the Observers are.)
10. Reaction cut to show close up of Gary's face.
11. Close up of new article on the monitor. (This is the reveal that Gary is part of a government experiment.)

Scene six - The Argument Scene.

1. Close up of Lucy looking at a computer. (Shows her watching the CCTV of Gary coming in the house.)
2. (Start of long continuous shot.) Over the shoulder of what Lucy sees. The shot then follows Lucy down the hallway into the kitchen. Tracks Gary to the doorway and transitions into close up of him. The camera then turns to show Lucy's reaction and moves backwards with her closely following. The camera the fully rotates round the two talking and backs into a wide. Lucy then comes towards the camera making it a close up while Gary can still been seen in the background to the right slightly out of focus. Camera then backs away and lowers down to reveal a button which Lucy the presses. (This shows how Gary comes in being panicked and worried for both of their safety. He then changes to anger as he begins to realise whats going on  and becomes more aggressive.)
3. Close up looking in through the window showing the continuing argument leading to the slap. (This allows the audience to hear the observers outside closing the gate and walking to the door.)
4. (Start of another long shot) Cuts back into the room on the slap with a medium shot of the two. Camera then starts moving back with Lucy closely following. Shot then transitions into a close up over Gary's shoulder of Lucy's face. The camera then pans as Gary walks towards the door transitioning into a close up of the door. (This shows the acceleration of the argument to the climax which is him choking Lucy against the wall and then the knock at the door.)
5. Over the shoulder shot showing Gary's reaction.
6. Close up of The Observers in the doorway. (This is the last shot of the film so we wanted it to be impactful and finally be the reveal of the Observers.)

18/10/17-You talkin' to me? (Knowing your audience)

Audience research

To better understand what our audience want we decided to do some target research to make sure that the people that we're actually trying to target want to watch our film. We want to make sure that they want to see the conventions that we're including or other things such as now if they think that now is a good time to release a political thriller. Below I'll list all the questions that I will ask people to find our target audience and then get a better idea of what they want from our film. After I've asked my questions I'll put my result into charts or graphs so they are easier to interpret and understand. My group all used the same questions but we asked different people and may have used different sample sizes to make sure that we all have our own data.

Questions

1. What age rating do you think is  appropriate to explore the idea of convict rehabilitation?
2. With politics currently being the main focus of the media, do you think now is a good time to release a political drama?
3. Should the ending of the film be a cliffhanger of should there be a resolution?
4. Do you think that the sub-genre of romance could hinder or benefit the film?
5. In a montage would you rather hear music that compliments the visuals or diegetic sound from the actual clips?
6. Would you prefer a male or female protagonist?
7. What sort of things would you expect to see in a political drama?

Graphs

Question 1: 

Question 2:

Question 3:

Question 4:

Question 5:

Question 6:

Question 7:

What this tells us

Question 1-Most people said that the appropriate age to explore the themes that we are is 15, no one said 12 which tells us that that isn't really an option for us as we would have to eliminate some parts that people would find inappropriate for them. Some people said 18 however, with the majority voting 15 I think that we should make this our target age group.

Question 2- All but three people said that now is a good time to release a political drama because they are relevant and it's what people want right now. After further questioning those who said no answered that way because they think that people might want something different as politics may be a little over saturated at this point so people might be bored of seeing it.

Question 3- This question gave us a 50/50 split meaning that this hasn't really helped us come any closer to coming up with a conclusion to the film. Because of this we have decided to do both in a way, Gary's story is resolved in the way that it concludes and we see it end. However, it is a cliffhanger because we see the start of a new cycle that we don't see conclude so it leaves it open as to whether the program actually works or not. 

Question 4- People primarily said that a romantic subplot would benefit the film as just having a single genre could get stale for five minutes. Also, this would allow the audience to see the characters from another perspective that they otherwise wouldn't, this helps with character development as we have more of the character to explore and grow to give them a proper arc.
Question 5- 100% of the people asked said that they would prefer music that fits with the montage instead of having the actual diegetic sound that matches it. This is because something like a montage comes across as a bit awkward without any music playing as it would be silent for the most part without it. If we really wanted to we could have both the music and the diegetic sound however, that runs the risk of the diegetic sound being drowned out by the music or vice versa. But as no one really wanted to hear the diegetic noise so we're not going to do that.
Question 6- The majority of those asked said that they would prefer to see a female lead as that's not as common and it would make our film stand out a little more than the rest. Although in the minority it's clear that some people still want a male protagonist, luckily this still fits with what we were planning on doing as we want to make the audience believe that Gary is the protagonist but then they find out that it's actually been Lucy the whole time.
Question 7- As political thrillers aren't as common as some other genres people don't really know what to expect so the answers aren't really anything to go off. Most people just said that it has to relate to politics in some way or another. Other people said that it needs to be about some politician or a political change that is currently in place or going on such as Brexit. Like I said before people didn't really know what to say but ours fits with my findings anyway because ours is about changing the rehabilitation system.

BBFC age certification

As part of my target audience research I've decided to look into the BBFC age certification as well to see what would be the appropriate age to show the film to. For each age bracket I'm going to look at the different things that put them in that bracket and some examples of films with that certification.

First I'm going to look at the specific classification considerations as a whole and then I will look at what is allowed within each age rating and then some examples of films that earned each rating and why they got that rating.

Obviously the more of these that you include the less likely you are to receive a lower age rating because younger audiences copy this behaviour which the BBFC don't wan to be held accountable for, for obvious reasons. They will be more lenient if you use any of these things out of necessity such as if you are doing a historical film and need to reflect the thoughts and beliefs of the period. Also if you handle any of these topics in a more lighthearted way you are more likely to get a lower age rating which is why comedies usually get lower ratings than other more serious genres such as drama and thriller which is something that we need to take into account. There is a very low tolerance for any film that is seen to endorse or promote any of these behaviours meaning that the parts of the film that does this will probably have to be changed or removed completely.

U- Universal

Universal or suitable for all means that the movie needs to have content in it that is appropriate for all ages aged 4 and above. The film needs to be in a positive framework and have a overall positive message.

Discrimination
Discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable unless clearly disapproved of.

Drugs
References to illegal drugs or drug misuse must be infrequent and innocuous, or have a clear educational purpose or anti-drug message suitable for young children.

Imitable behaviour
Potentially dangerous or anti-social behaviour which young children may copy must be clearly disapproved of. No emphasis on realistic or easily accessible weapons.

Language
Infrequent use only of very mild bad language.

Nudity
Occasional nudity, with no sexual context.

Sex
Only very mild sexual behaviour (for example, kissing) and references to such behaviour.

Threat
Scary or potentially unsettling sequences should be mild, brief and unlikely to cause undue anxiety to young children. The outcome should be reassuring.

Violence
Violence will generally be very mild. Mild violence may be acceptable if it is justified by context (for example, comedic, animated, wholly unrealistic)

Example:

The Incredibles

I decided to look at one of my favourite films of all time 'The Incredibles' gift well and truly from God. After looking on the BBFC website I found that this film only had two of the specific classification considerations which were threat and violence. The reason that the film oearned a universal rating despite those two things is because it was in a lighthearted way and because the film is animated which means they can get away with slightly more than they could otherwise.

PG-Parental Guidance 

Parental Guidance films shouldn't unsettle any children aged 8 and above however, all children may view these films as long as they are accompanied by an adult. Adults should consider if the content may upset younger or more sensitive children.

Discrimination
Discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable unless clearly disapproved of, or in an educational or historical context, or in a particularly dated work with no likely appeal to children. Discrimination by a character with whom children can readily identify is unlikely to be acceptable.

Drugs
References to illegal drugs or drug misuse must be innocuous or carry a suitable anti-drug message.

Imitable behaviour
No detail of potentially dangerous behaviour which young children are likely to copy, if that behaviour is presented as safe or fun. No glamorisation of realistic or easily accessible weapons such as knives. No focus on anti-social behaviour which young children are likely to copy.

Language

Mild bad language only. Aggressive or very frequent use of mild bad language may result in a work being passed at a higher category.

Nudity

There may be nudity with no sexual context.

Sex
Sexual activity may be implied, but should be discreet and infrequent. Mild sex references and innuendo only.

Threat
Frightening sequences or situations where characters are in danger should not be prolonged or intense. Fantasy settings may be a mitigating factor.

Violence
Violence will usually be mild. However there may be moderate violence, without detail, if justified by its context (for example, history, comedy or fantasy).

Example:

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Another classic. After looking on the BBFC website I found that the reason this film received a PG rating was because of threat. This is because of the continuous horror throughout the film such as the skeletons and ghosts, also because of the scene where they kidnap santa. Once again this film gets off lightly because the threat is handled in a comical way and it is animated also. I thought as the last two films I've looked at are animated I'd look at one slightly more real.

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Another certified banger. Once again looking on the BBFC website I found it was the violence and language that got this one the PG rating. The language is fairly mild and infrequent and it isn't delivered in an overly aggressive way. The violence however, I have absolutely no idea how this film was classed as a PG there is fistfights, gunfights, chases. someone being CUT IN HALF by a propeller and people literally having their skin melt of their faces and liquify. I guess this was seen as justified because otherwise this would've had no chance as passing as a PG. Or maybe it was seen as comical because of how over the top it is.

12-12A

Films that are 12A and 12 need to be suitable for those aged 12 and above (obviously). No one under the age of 12 can go and see a 12A film in the cinema, UNLESS they are accompanied by an adult. These adults need to consider whether or not films rated 12A would be appropriate for their children.

Discrimination

Discriminatory language or behaviour must not be endorsed by the work as a whole. Aggressive discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to be acceptable unless clearly condemned.

Drugs

Misuse of drugs must be infrequent and should not be glamorised or give instructional detail.

Imitable Behaviour

No promotion of potentially dangerous behaviour which children are likely to copy. No glamorisation of realistic or easily accessible weapons such as knives. No endorsement of anti-social behaviour.

Language

There may be moderate language. Strong language may be permitted, depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language, its frequency within the work as a whole and any special contextual justification.

Nudity

There may be nudity, but in a sexual context it must be brief and discreet.

Sex

Sexual activity may be briefly and discreetly portrayed. Moderate sex references are permitted, but frequent crude references are unlikely to be acceptable.

Threat

There may be moderate physical and psychological threat and horror sequences. Although some scenes may be disturbing, the overall tone should not be. Horror sequences should not be frequent or sustained.

Violence

There may be moderate violence but it should not dwell on detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood, but occasional gory moments may be permitted if justified by the context. Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and discreetly indicated, and its depiction must be justified by context.

Example:

Star wars the Last Jedi

The last Jedi got unfairly slammed by some critics, I thought that it was pretty good apart from the one part with Leia, if you've see it you should know the part I'm talking about. But other than that it was pretty good overall and I thought it was good that it was different, finally breathing a breath of fresh air into the franchise. (I'm so ready for the ancillary task) Anyway that's besides the point, the point is I was looking at a website, can you guess what website it was? WRONG! It was the BBFC website. Well anyway I found that the 12 age rating is because of the violence, threat and language. The language was tamed and infrequent at best, there was mild threat and the violence is only shown briefly and there is hardly any blood. Also all of the content is justified by the context as it is all science-fiction.

15

This ones pretty simple, no one under the age of 15 can watch or buy these movies. 

Discrimination

The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour, although there may be racist, homophobic or other discriminatory themes and language.

Drugs

Drug taking may be shown but the work as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse (for example, through instructional detail). The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.

Imitable behaviour

Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Whether the depiction of easily accessible weapons is acceptable will depend on factors such as realism, context and setting.

Language

There may be strong language. Very strong language may be permitted, depending on the manner in which it is used, who is using the language, its frequency within the work as a whole and any special contextual justification.

Nudity

There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context. There may be nudity in a sexual context but usually without strong detail.

Sex

Sexual activity may be portrayed, but usually without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.

Threat

There may be strong threat and horror. A sustained focus on sadistic or sexual threat is unlikely to be acceptable.

Violence

Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but the depiction of sexual violence must be discreet and justified by context.

Example:

The Hangover

After looking at the infamous BBFC website I found the things that earned The Hangover the 15 age rating, and they are as follows; language, drugs, sex, nudity and violence. The violence is done in a comical manner and there is no gore whatsoever. The language is fairly strong and pretty frequent throughout but is also used comically. The sex and nudity are once again done for comical reasons also however, it is full frontal and no attempt is made to obscure it. There is reference to drugs and a scene that shows the use of cocaine. If they hadn't delivered all of these aspects in a comical way then the film most certainly would've received an 18 rating however, they are more lenient on comedies as they clearly don't endorse the behaviour as its the butt of the jokes.

18

Once again pretty straight forward, if you're not 18 then you can't see it nor buy it. With 18s it's pretty much no holds barred, almost everything goes. The same rules apply that if it could harm the viewer in anyway then it won't be shown and if it breaks the law. The sex and nudity needs to serve a purpose such as to educate, if it is for arousal then it's unlikely to be shown in cinemas. 

Example:

Taxi Driver

The BBFC website says that Taxi Driver earned the 18 rating because a whole number of things being; language, sex, violence and threat. Throughout the film there is frequent references to child prostitution although nothing is ever shown, just implied. There is constant bad language but what do you expect from a movie set in New York. As for violence and threat, there are multiple killings as well as lots of blood. All of these themes were handled in a very serious and real manner which is why Taxi Driver earned an 18.

If you feel like checking out the BBFC website you can do so by clicking here.

24/10/17- Do you like jazz?

Music is a key component to any great film, it sometimes goes unnoticed but it's absence is far more noticeable and jarring. Having no music of the wrong music can completely ruin a scene and then go on to ruin the whole film if you're not careful. This is why it's essential for us to find the right music for the main scenes which are; the memories, the morning routine and the final scene. 

The memories
The music that we want for this scene needs to be romantic but we don't want anything over the top as we want it to be background to the memories not to steal the focus of the scene. This comes down to finding the right music for the scene as to not ruin it. I've decided to watch some romantic scenes from other films to find the type of music that they used and then go from there.

Cover- Baby it's you- BarkStudioSessions

The morning routine

Fly Like An Eagle- Steve Miller Band

I was watching Mindhunter, a new series on Netflix there was a scene that perfectly captured what I wanted for the morning routine scene. This scene perfectly fit my vision for the scene and I had to show the rest of the group straight away.

18/10/17- Who, what, when, where, why? (super sorry I couldn't find the gif but the picture will just have to do for now.)

Character profiles (Who?)

Gary Henderson

General Information
Forename: Gary
Surname: Henderson
Age: 44
Race: White British
Gender: Male
Relationship status: Married
Spouse: Lucy Henderson

Physical Appearance
Height: 5 foot 9
Eye colour: Blue
Hair colour: Brown
Distinguishing features: None

Personality
Is seen by others as: Kind and caring but also a little weird and creepy at times
How he thinks others view him: As an outsider
How he sees himself: Confident and hard working
Relationship traits: Clingy, obsessive and possessive
Long-term goals: Start a family

Lucy Henderson

General Information 
Forename: Lucy
Surname: Henderson
Age: 38
Race: White British
Gender: Female
Relationship status: Married
Spouse: Gary Henderson

Physical Appearance
Height: 5 foot 4
Eye colour: Blue
Hair colour: Blonde
Distinguishing features: None

Personality
Is seen by others as: Intelligent and driven
How she thinks others view her: Successful
How she sees herself: Efficient and meticulous
Relationship traits: Affectionate, organised and secretive
Long-term goals: To complete her assignment at work

The Observers

General Information
Forename: Unknown
Surname: Unknown
Age: 30-40
Race: White British
Relationship status: Unknown
Spouse: Unknown

Physical Appearance
Height: Unknown
Eye colour: Unknown
Hair colour: Brown
Distinguishing features: Glasses

Personality 
Is seen by others as: Unknown
How they think others view them: Unknown
How they view themselves: Unknown
Relationship  traits: Unknown
Long term goals: Unknown

Genre research (What?)

The genre that we have chosen make our film is a political drama, we have chosen this because it's an interesting genre that hasn't been completely oversaturated. The goal of the drama genre is to use the storylines to move the audience emotionally by showing the development of the characters over time. There also needs to be a climax at the end that has some sort of realisation. For a political drama, the storyline needs to be based on the government or a driven by political decision. The reason that our film will be a political thriller is because the main plot point is the decision to experiment on prisoners and try to rehabilitate them by wiping their memory. 

Some conventions that I have identified by watching some other political dramas, such as 'House of Cards' are that they have to be based around something political, obviously but they have to take a unique stance on a well-known issue or explore a lesser known issue. What to do with prisoners has been debated widely so we've decided to take it into the future so that we can offer a different option on what to do with them. 
Having just a political drama would be boring so we added in a romantic subplot that delves into the relationship between two characters. 

Don't want too much as talking between the characters as it's unnecessary and leads to too much exposition. For example, we don't need to say why the government has decided to change to this method of rehabilitation or go into detail about the history of the program as it isn't essential for the story that we're telling. We show that there is a history and a future to the program through action as we show at the end that it's a cycle and they know what to do at each stage. Spending too much time laying the foundation of the plot would end up taking away for the story instead of adding to it, so we've decided to cut down time talking about the past significantly. 

(This part shouldn't be in red but for some reason, blogger won't let me update it to black because it's broken and the furthest thing from user-friendly possible.)

Something that I also found was that if you solely focus on the political aspect then the audience can become disengaged and lose interest so it's important to have another focus fo the film, this supports our idea of having the romantic subplot and a focus on the character of Gary. If we didn't focus on Gary and his response to the new programme then the film wouldn't have the same impact on the audience as they wouldn't care about the character nearly as much and then, therefore, there wouldn't be anywhere near as big of a pay off when the truth is revealed.

Filming schedule (When?)

Sunday the 12th of November- Today we filmed the opening scene with 'The Observers' and 'Lucy' and then the meeting of 'Lucy' and 'Gary' meet at Tom Tom coffee house. We also did some of the memories for when the two start to go on dates and what not. There weren't really any mistakes the only problem was there was a lot of time wasted travelling around.

Friday the 17th of November-Today we filmed the morning scene of the two together, this was pretty easy but there was one shot that we couldn't do because sir hasn't ordered the props yet but we will do this part and possibly others when we go to back to Maddy's next.

Friday the 24th of November-When we first got to Maddy's we filmed the bit with the alarm clock that we couldn't do last time which was really quick, it was a bit of a pain having to reset the alarm each time but that wasn't a major issue. We then wanted to film the wedding bit at the church but we had to wait a bit because couldn't find the dress but that wasn't that big of an issue either. The real issue is when we actually got to the church, when putting on the dress Maddy needed help doing it up and there were hooks on the back that Jordan struggled to figure out how they worked, so that took like 15 minutes which wasn't too bad as that gave me time to figure out what shot to use. The real kicker was when Maddy took of the dress and we found that the dress had a zip all along. Are you kidding me? 15 minutes when it could've been done in 15 seconds. It's time like this when you really begin to regret a lot of your life choices. We then got back to Maddy's house where we filmed the argument scene, we didn't really know what we were doing because we didn't like the storyboards so this ended up wasting a lot of time meaning that we rushed the end.

Monday the 27th of November- We looked  back at the footage and decided that we need to re-film it because it wasn't really what we wanted because we rushed it.  However, this worked out for us because we decided to use longer takes and more moving shots because the stagnant shots kinda took away from the argument as it slowed it down.

Friday the 8th of December- Today will forever be known from this point on as the day from hell. Today couldn't have been worse, the day before we asked for the shoulder mount so that we could film the scene the way that we wanted to and we were told that we could come and get it. As Jordan and I come in to get it we then find out that another group has been holding on to the shoulder mount for over a week which is generally frowned upon and is poor media etiquette when there's only one to go around. But it doesn't stop there we get on the train only to find that someone has jumped in front of the train at Stratford meaning that there were major delays, Leo was stuck at Leytonstone and Jordan and I were on a train that constantly stopping and starting until we got to Leytonstone where we were held up or a good while. Maddy was at Westfield this whole time which ended up being for 2 hours because she got there early. When we finally got there the one location that we needed to film was closed off to the public so we settled for doing the engagement scene in front of a Christmasy backdrop. When we pulled the camera out to film this scene Jordan found a massive battery in his back which we shortly discovered it came from the microphone, this is important for later on. We then had to make the journey back to Maddy's house which took a train and a bus which isn't that bad but by that point, we were all quite tired so we would have rather not had to go that far but because we're dedicated we put up with it. Now what happened at Maddy's was possibly the most infuriating part of the day because it turns out the camera that we had didn't have the piece that covers the microphone battery. why didn't we have that piece? I hear you ask, well one of the other groups (not naming names) had a "mishap" with the camera which lead to that piece falling off and now no one knows where it is to this very day. Update 9/12/17 I've since spoken to a representative from the group and I have been informed that they still have the piece and I told them where it was from and they said that they'll fix it. Because the microphone wouldn't work without this piece we couldn't film anything. This was a 6 hour day, I repeat SIX HOURS!!!!! And we filmed one shot that lasted a total of about 1-2 seconds. So I guess you could say that we had a very productive day, you'd be lying but you could say it I guess, if you really wanted to.

Wednesday the 13th of December- I was ill when the group filmed on this day but because I wasn't in the scene I said that they could do it without me although I would've liked to have been there to do some directing but it couldn't be done. The scene as a whole ended up being 2 minutes when it's supposed to be a quite uninteresting and uneventful scene so we've decided that we will probably cut parts out of it just so the film doesn't end up being 7 minutes long.

Thursday the 14th of December- Today was the final day of filming for real this time, we went to Maddy's for the forth time but this time, we were prepared. We knew what we were doing, we had all the equipment, we left school early to film. Everything was perfect. We narrowly avoided a major mistake of not turning the microphone which gave Jordan PTSD from last year. Everything went smoothly and there were no actual issues but most importantly, I can now shave!!!!! Finally after 2 months I can shave and get a haircut. This is well and truly the best day of my life, you honestly don't understand, I've been waiting for this day for ages, it feels like I've been waiting for this my whole life.

Friday the 15th of  December- So quick update we're actually not done because we made a couple of mistakes one of them was pretty bad because there was a sot where you could see the Jordan's reflection in the window and Maddy decided that her acting wasn't up to par. So we're going back and I couldn't be any less excited. 

Friday the 22nd of December- Today was amazing we had two hours to do the filming but, like the professionals we are, we did it in one and a half. There is really nothing to complain about here, everything went perfectly and now were on to the editing stage.

And now for the reshoots...

We showed our film to a couple of people to see what they thought of it and this is what they told us:

• The office scene doesn't look enough like someones personal office (too generic and bland)
• The headache was too out of place so more need to happen before hand or they need to be referenced so that there's more explanation behind them.
• The ending scene does't explain enough about what happened so we need to add to the current scene or add another scene entirely.

Tuesday the 16th of January- Today, would you believe that we've had even more mic problems. We planned on re-doing the office scene after the feedback that we got but we couldn't get hold of a mic so we have to shoot this part tomorrow. We then decided to wait until another group had finished filming and take their mic and go straight to Maddy's to film the scene of taking the pills in the morning to plant the seeds of the headaches and then film the new ending scene in the car. Filming for all of this went pretty smoothly despite the camera nearly running out of battery near the end but we got every shot that we wanted. 22/1/18- After looking back at the footage today we realised that you can see Maddy's reflection in the oven of one of the shots of Leo taking the tablets. We found a way to edit around this and fix it but it was a momentary heart attack thinking that we might have to go all the way back again for the 100th time.

Wednesday the 17th of January- Today we completely re did the entire office scene in a new location making it much more believable and adding in minor details such as the note about the headaches. The filming process was slowed because the group decided to use Daniel Thomas as a actor and he is possibly the worst person to work with in the whole entire world. What also slowed us down was Maddy not showing up to help us but despite both of those things we still managed to get it done.

Settings (Where?)

House:

One of the main locations for the film will be inside what should be Lucy and Gary's house so we obviously needed to find a house that would look like a couple with no children and decent paying jobs would have. Now realistically we had 4 options for the house being Jordan's, Leo's, Maddy's and mine. I have pictures of each and I'm going to discuss whether or not I think they would be a good fit and then say which one we decided on as a group. 

Jordan's house

Jordan's house is a good option because it looks like a house that people around the age group of Gary and Lucy would've designed however it isn't really as modern as I think they would have it. Also the front room doesn't seem to let in as much light as I would want so it might be difficult to film there as we would have to bring our own white lights. But other than that great house and a real contender.

Leo's house

Leo's house is another contender as it looks like something that the two would've designed however most of the walls are covered by personal pictures of Leo and his family which would mean that we would have to take those down and replace them with framed pictures of Gary and Lucy because the walls would look to barren otherwise. Also it looks like there'd be a similar problem to what we had with Jordan's being that the lighting only comes from one window so it could be difficult to get the lighting right.

Maddy's house

Maddy's house is what I believe to be the best option because it's a nice long room that connects to the dining room which give us lots of space to play around with, there is light coming in from both sides. On top of all that the house looks pretty modern and something that they would've designed themselves.

My (nan's) house

So where do we start? I guess we do with the one positive first, theres lighting coming in from both sides of the room which means that in the daytime we don't need to bring our own white lights. Now firstly this house looks like it was designed in the 60s which is the complete opposite to the way that they would've designed their house. Also same problem with the barren walls because they are currently covered by weird pictures of me and my family. Also my nan is a big fan of elephants so there is a lot of elephant memorabilia around which would realistically need to be moved. Really when it comes down to it, this is an old persons house and the complete opposite to what we need.

The decision

I stand by my opinion stated above, I believe that Maddy's house is the best option to use as it is basically everything that we want and spacing wise it's the best choice as it will just give us more freedom. And after speaking to my group we collectively decided... Maddy's was the best. No surprises there, that's what I expected and that's what I was hoping for.

Office:

After searching for ages and ages we finally decided to give up searching for an office outside of school because we just ran into too many problems, because of this we decided to swallow our pride and film in school which is something that we desperately tried to avoid. 

Why? (Storyboard)

(I know it doesn't fit with the theme but here's the script.)

The end

I've finally finished my research and planning so I'll now be moving on to my ancillary task. Below I've made a check list of everything that I've included in my blog.

• Research into last years blogs
• Research into short films
• Creating my own ideas
• Coming up with group ideas
• Treatment first and second draft
• Final treatment
• Character research
• Narrative references
• Theorist comments for genre, narrative and audience
• Group responsibilities
• Shot lost 
• Audience research 
• BBFC age certification
• Music 
• Character profiles
• Genre research 
• Filming schedule 
• Settings
• Storyboard 
• Script