Modified Risk assessment

This post was created by Chloe , my team partner :

Here is our updated risk assessment that cosniders the risks in new locations and scenes soon to be recorded :

Modified Actors

This post was created by Chloe , my team partner :

These are the actors which will be involved in our film:

 Chloe - Chloe is a main character in the film who appears in multiple shots and is in possession of the tape once Ben gives it to her. She is clearly in some sort of business, however it is apparent that she is not as professional as Ben due to her messy outfit. She gives Sophie an evelope full of money in order to ask her to complete a job needed which clearly includes Megan.

 Ben is in a few shots in our film as he is the professional mystery businessman who is the first one in possession of the tape. He seems to be working with Chloe in order to deliver the tape to Megan who is seen as an innocent pure teenage girl. Ben is seen as very elegant and classy due to his neat suit and his posture which is very professional. The audience does not see his full face apart from his mouth, eyes and the close-up side of his face. This increases his mysterious personality and allows the audience to assume he is the antagonist. We thought that Ben would be a good person to use as he has history in acting due to his school drama talents and we also know he is reliable when we need him.

Megan is the protagonist in our film as she was in our first draft too. Her role has not changed as she is seen as a typical teenage girl due to her costume and actions. We decided that Megan would be a good feature in our film due to her being very reliable and how she acted really well in our previous draft. Due to her personality being witty and her being the correct age for the teenager she needs to be. She does not have any dialogue which makes her seem quite shy and anxious, especially when she sees the tape.


 Sophie is a new actor involved in our film. We decided to add a different character in our second draft to allow more dialogue and to let our film flow. Sophie - who plays Geraldine - is a very reliable person and her outfit choices fit in with our film. She is a good actor and we will ensure that she will be up to our standard. She is the one who is very money-orientated and is also working for Ben which makes her very mysterious and into crime. She is the go-between character and is relatable to the typical public due to her being casual instead of being dangerous or suspicious.

Modified Props

This post was created by Chloe , my team partner :

Modified - Props

 The bed is used in the film just like on the first draft. Megan (Kathleen) sits on the bed whilst listening to the tape which is significant due to the tape being the main prop in the film.


The envelope of money is also in our second draft. This is pulled out of my (Mirabell's) coat pocket before I hand it to Sophie (Geraldine). This is a convention of thriller films as money is heavily involved along with crime. As it is a large amount of money, it increases the danger and mystery that comes with it. It also allows the film to continue as it is the thing thatallows                                      Sophie(Geraldine) to complete her job.

 
The headphones are used in the film, just like on the first draft. These are a significant prop to the film as they allow Megan (Kathleen) to listen to the tape which is the most significant prop in our film. They allow the audience to understand that the tape is very important as well as the fact she is the protagonist therefore being the first seen to be listening to the tape at the end.

This is the walkman that is used so that Megan (Kathleen) can insert the tape inside. The walkman was used in our first draft and we will be using it the same way in our second draft.








This is the tape which is the most significant prop in our film as it is used in every shot and is clearly the reason for the mystery and crime apparent in the extract. It's bright colour allows the audience to identify it even from a long-shot and close-ups will be relevant. We used the tape in our first draft and will continue using it as we liked the idea of this being the main plot. It is also significant as every character is in possession of it in different scenes which makes it seem very valuable due to it never being left with nobody possessing it. It also links in with some sort of professional classy aspect due to Ben (Larreh) being the first one to handle it and he is extremely professional.

Modified Location Recce

Modified Location Recce Shots :

My House exterior.

Chloe and I decided to incorporate the location of an average household that depicts social normality which will be interrupted by the action taking place in the opening. The location also allows us to incorporate mundane objects during our title sequence in an ambiguous style. We decided to evaluate the bedroom spaces available to us as two of our scenes will utilise this type of room, as we wanted a large room which clearly depicts the age of our protagonists we decided to specifically evaluate our own bedrooms and those of our siblings. Once the location has been decided a filming schedule will be decided,created around the availability of the locations. This document will be located on my partner, Chloe Spencer's blog.

The decided locations:

After much deliberation, we decided to use my house for all shots,including exterior shots and some in the hallway and bedroom. We decided to utilise the space in my house as it is 
easily accessible to those acting in the opening and to my partner. As the main shots of the opening will be in bedrooms we evaluated the advantages of the ones located in my house.

Bedroom one Images

Bedroom one:
The two rooms we will use let in a good amount of light that can be easily manipulated with blinds and fairy lights to create the desired low-key lighting.
My own bedroom has a central bed which creates a simple layout allowing for use of the 180 degree rule which will be effective in our final piece. The props we wish to use in this location are all found in my bedroom which makes the narrative more convincing and clearly illustrates the protagonist's role as an average teenage girl.







Stairway,Hallway and Front door:

Stairway

Doorway

Hallway

Another area that will be featured in the opening will be the stairs and hallway found in my house. These locations will not play a major part in the opening but will link various scenes and will play large roles in the transitions of shots. Because of this, we wanted the stairs and hallway to appear as an average household would including props like a front door, coat hooks etc. We decided using the same house will allow for easy continuity and ensures lighting will be natural and low-key due to the many windows and few available artificial lights. The interior of these locations is light and neutral keeping the atmosphere of social normality and the ambiguity of the narrative.

Local Park:

The Park

One other location that will be featured in our opening is the local park 'Queen Elizabeth Park', we will be using this location during the exchange scene as this location is dready and creates a lowkey lit atmosphere that compliments the ambiguity of the thriller opening. The park scene will feature a bench as this illustrates the casual meeting place for the exchange which contrasts to the formal wear of the antagonist. We decided to use this location as it easily accesible for the entire group and will translate well on camera. 

The Studio 'The Office':
The last location which will be used in the opening will be the media studio which will house the scenes in the 'office' of the antagonist Larreh. The studio allows us to play with artifical lighting to achieve an interesting atmosphere which will depict the character's role in the plot. The location is easily accessible for the entire team and will allow for interesting shots and angles. The day we shoot in the location will depend on the weather as we would like there to be a dreary natural light in the scenes.

My partner Chloe checking lighting

Studio, door view

Modified Storyboard - In Depth look

An in-depth look at the storyboard for my thriller opening :

Modified storyboard

This is our modified storyboard that we created together, it shows our developed plot scene by scene :

Modified shot plan

Below is our modified shot plan which illustrates the shots we will use :

Evaluation of first draft and devlopment plans

Evaluation of first draft and devlopment plans


After several audience feedback focus groups and various feedback we decided to make changes to our orginial plot and attempt to create an opening which would be easier to follow and still incorpirate our basic initial plot ideas. The main prop and feature of our opening, the tape, will still be the fuel for the action in the opening. We took all feedback and had a 2 hour session in which we evaluated our first draft a final time before decifing which changes would be made to the plot.

We intitially chose which shots we wanted to keep in the opening and decicded which shots did not work and should be removed from the opening. We kept the characters and added one memeber of the cast after returning to our orginal casting line-up to decided which actor we would like to include in our second draft as an extra character in the opening. 

Our plot incorpirates the character of Mirabelle and Larreh more and removes the dialogue from the protaganist Kathleen's role as we felt this would result in a more effective sense of ambiguity. The plot still includes Kathleen returning home before having an unexplained tape appear. The modified plot focuses on the movement of the tape rather than what is on the tape as this allowed us to play around more with shots and character development. 

The tape is about to be listened to in the plot leaving the audience to assume what has happened and what the significance of the tape is rather than knowing what is on the tape. We decided this would be a better route for our story as it is more interesting and will translate better on film rather than becoming a very confsuing sequence. 

We have created a script and storyboard which illustrates our modified plot and will be modifying previous planning posts to ensure they corelate with the new plot. 

Modified Script

The improved script :

Scene 1: House


(Kathleen aproaches house before entering the door)

(Kathleen changes into slippers)

(Tape falls through letterbox catching Kathleen's attention)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Scene 2:  Office

(Flashback of Mirrabelle entering Larreh's office before sitting)
 
  Mirabelle: I got your call.
   
  Larreh: Thanks gor coming here so quickly, I wasn't expecting you until
    tomorrow. 

  Mirabelle: Well, it's not like we could put this off any longer.

(Larreh slides tape across the table)

  Larreh: Here's the money ... Put this with it

  Mirabelle: 42 North Street?

  Larreh: Of course *Pause* So, It's time  ...

(Mirabelle's eyes flick from the tape towards the camera, she graps tape and leans back on chair)

  Larreh: For the movement.
  
(Mirabelle exits office)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Scene 3:  Park

 (Mirabelle walks around various locations with tape)
 (Mirabelle approaches Geraldine who is sat on park bench)
 (Geraldine stands as Mirabelle gets closer, the pair stand together)

Mirrabelle: 42 North Street, she'll be there.

Geraldine: And my payment ?

 (Geraldine is handed tape and envelope)

Mirabelle: All 500 of it.

(Geraldine nods and leaves)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scene 4: House


(Kathleen picks up tape from doormat, walks upstairs and into bedroom)
(Kathleen sits on bed and opens drawer taking out walkman and headphones)
(Kathleen puts tape into walkman and presses play)

(Hand covers Kathleen's mouth pulling her away)

Kathleen: *Gasps*

Music and shots cut ... Titles Roll

Modified Costumes

This costume post includes the original costume idea for our protaganist which was written by my partner Chloe, the post included costumes which have now been modified and added as some actors and characters have been removed/changed from the opening. Below is the update costume information written by myself :

Costume

Protagonist #1

In our planning process, we have decided that our main

character (played by Megan Russell) will wear a casual 

band t-shirt and denim ensemble. This is because she is 

playing a typical teenage girl and this means that she 

must be casual and informal. This will convey to the

audience the purity and innocence and how she is not

the antagonist nor anyone who is anything but sinless and virtuous. This costume that 

she will wear contrasts with the antagonist (Larry) as his costume is anything but innocent

and it represents his danger and authority. My group decided to incorporate teenage 

characters which is clearly depicted through their costume as the age group 

surveyed most was age 15 to 18 years who wanted to be able to relate to the character.

 Antagonist #1 The costume that we have decided to use for our 

antagonist will be formal and consist of a very smart suit and

black overcoat to illustrate his authority and power which manipulates his 

role in the plot. The costume will  involve a trational British villain

costume with a white shirt, tie and black trouser combination. 

The black overcoat will be worn as it creates a more intimidating and 

interesting twist on the costume rather than confusing the costume with 

an office wear aesthetic. The costume will reflect the professional 

manner Larreh has and the status he possess. The costume will contrast 

to the casual costume of the protagonist which will clearly show a 

divide in the characters which was not achieved in our first draft.

Minor Antagonist

The costume we have chosen for the minor antagonist will be based

upon the formal wear of Larreh, as the two are colleagues. The 

female will wear a suit which still reflects the formal aspects 

of her occupation and tasks she is asked to perform in the opening.

The suit will be messy as the lack of care for the uniform will show

the character's lack of a serious mindset towards her job. As Larreh is

her boss and takes the mission seriously. The messy costume will mirror

the character's lack of authority and place in the hierarchy whilst 

suggesting she is not organized.

Minor Character - The go between

 The final character is a minor character who acts as a go-between 

 for Larreh and his workers. As she is go-between she wants to blend

 in with the ordinary public as she does not want to be seen as a 

 threat or suspicious. The costume she will wear consist of a black coat 
 and black trousers as the all black costume allows the character to blend in whilst looking mysterious and dangerous. Our character also
 The costume gives off a smart-casual vibe that allows the character to

 complete her job given to her by Larreh in an effective and unsuspicious

 manner. As she is not of a high class she does not wear a branded or formal

 costume which clearly depicts the difference in status between herself and

 Larreh and his close associates. We also decided to include a dog lead and a
 pet dog in order to blend into her surroundings.

 

Post Planning and Replanning Focus Group

Focus Group

After completing a focus group post draft one and planning I decided to review my findings to ensure my new plot reflected audience feedback and their preferences. 


 

Editing - Day Three

Editind day three

Day three was our final session of editing before uploading our first draft of our opening, we consulted our plan before uploading the remaining footage that required editing. We edited these clips to the required length before adding the chosen effects.

The scene with the mother of 'Kathleen' was finalised using the basic edit and some transitions to ensure the shots were not straight cuts that had no fluidity. We attempted to edit the audio slightly to ensure dialogue would be clear but decided this was not very effective and would have to be worked on when completing a second draft. 

We then moved onto the last shot which would complete the basic cronilogical edit creating a split screen phone conversation. The shots were placed into the correct sequence and appeared clumsy during the raw draft. We decided this would best left to develop in our second draf upload which would be created later in the coming month. 

As we were aware of improvements that could be made we decided to take on those that were realistically going to be achieved in the time we had. We decided to watch the entire draft a few times to pick out weak areas that needed minor improvements before adressing any small issues picked up in the final assessment of the draft. 

The relevant tweaks to audio and footage were made before we uploaded the draft and began to evaluate what we had created picking up on any thoughts we had for our next draft edit and reshoots we were planning already. 

Watching the draft after editing

Editing - Day Two

Editing day two

To continue our editing process we decided to upload the footage that we had filmed on day two and three of the filming process. The footage was edited using the clipping tools, transitions and effects with little advanced tools. We then turned to audio editing to ensure the footage was effectivley placed in the draft. 

We decided to create a title sequence with some stills of significant props found in the opening, the titles were created using fast paced editing accomonied by chosen audio that appealed to our audience. The titles were well recieved and could be improved when completing a second draft to ensure they are of the highest possible standard.

The editing was not yet in the final stages as we still had some filming to complete before we could submit a draft so we decided to test the next edit with our audience before refining. 
Responses were as followed :

-'Interesting audio and titles overall but a little confusing with some shot layouts.'

-'Good use of various shot types but some shots seem clumsy and of a bad quality. Maybe consider this when filming reshoots ?'

-'The titles look mint and the audio's proper nice but I don't think some of the transitions flow too well... pretty decent overall just some refining.'

-'I'm confused ... but I like the titles at the end.'

After evaluating these comments we decided to reevaluate the use of transitions and plan possible reshoots which would be finalised when a refined plan had been devised post first edit submission.

Looking for sound together

Editing - Day One

Editing day one


Our first editing session was completed during a double lesson and was completed on adobe premier pro. We decided to begin editing the footage we had completed on day one and clip to the desired length creating a simple sequence with some transitions to ensure the footage was smooth and continuous. We began the edit with our production and studio logos that we had previously created before beginning to add our previously chosen audio. We then added in the footage we had clipped and added transitions to, though there were gaps in the edit we began to consider how we would edit footage that would be created during our second filming day.

As this edit was the first edit of our first draft we began to spot areas that we would like to reshoot when we had completed an initial edit and developed ideas from this. As we had a deadline approaching we decided to focus on getting a basic sequence which was in a chronological order created before focusing on details and quality of edits. After editing the initial shots we got feedback from peers and others from our audience to see what could be improved overall, we made minor edits to ensure no scenes were jumpy, too long or too fast as this created a better quality edit. 

Chloe reffering to her blog

We then carried on to make a list of ideal edits that would be completed during our second editing session, this is as followed :

- Elongate duration of initial logos

- Ensure shot speed is suitable and does not cause overlaps and jumps in footage

- Try to insert new footage into gaps and ensure audio does not interfere with dialogue 

- Add titles over shots where suitable 

The first editing session was positive as we were able to create a sufficient working draft that had room for minor adjustments and would be effective once further footage was placed into gaps. Any problems faced in the first edit were easily fixed before we headed into the second day of filming. 

Myself editing

Filming - Day four

Filming - Day Three

Filming - Second Day

Filming - First Day

Draft - Initial Audience response

'The Movement' Draft edit'

I collected an initial response to my draft edit from many people to see how my draft opening would be recieved by a wider audience (my target audience focus group will be conducted and results explored later). Findings below :

Draft one - My thriller opening

'The Movement' - First Draft Edit

This is our first draft of our thriller opening which we have evaluated together and found various positive and negative aspects of the opening which we will ammend in our re-shoot and re-edit.

The first aspect we will change are the shaky outdoor shots which will be ammended using the tripod to ensure the shots are stable and of a higher quality. We will also be reshooting the scenes where dialogue is not of a sufficent quality and could be improved by possibly using a microphone to record the audio or select a better location for this. 

We think the titles and varied shots are effective in the opening scene and the audio is interesting alongside the shots. The use of splitscreen editing and various crossfades are somewhat well incorpirated but could be adressed futher. 

To improve during our re-shoot and re-edit we will take onboard audience feedback (which we will be organising soon) and our own views to ensure the opening is clear and of a higher standard.

Planning-Props

This planning post was created by Chloe Spencer:

Props

Tape
The tape in our extract is the main prop. This 

is because it is what fuels the narrative. It will 

appear to the audience as an unknown and peculiar object.

 When the tape plays in the walkman, it is presented as a 

vital prop in our film and therefore the dominant and 

overall ruling prop in our extract. 


Suitcase
This prop is used to get the audience to guess that 

Protagonist #2 (me) is leaving and that she has been 

forced to by the antagonist. The suitcase is vital to 

represent this situation as being significant to the 

plot and perhaps the end of it. The suitcase also 

allows Protagonist #2 (Megan) to be sympathised by 

the audience as she is clearly affected by the 

whole plot. 



Record player
The record player is the first significant prop in 

our extract which highlights importance and presents 

Protagonist #2 (Megan)'s personality as being music 

orientated. The music will be diegetic music 

(although we are actually editing this in so the 

quality will be much better). The instrumental 

music will be melancholy so the audience will be

aware that the film will not be comedic or in 

any way joyful but instead quite sombre, thrilling and mysterious.

Walkman
The walkman will be used when the tape is put on. 

The walkman will play the tape and as soon as this 

is turned on, it instantly cuts to Protagonist #2 

(Chloe) which highlights its significance in the film 

and that it allows the film to be continuous and flow. 

The walkman is clearly very significant to the extract 

as it plays the most dominant prop and allows the film 

to continue the plot.

Polaroid
Polaroid images are used at the end of the film as 

it scans through multiple photos including the suitcase, 

the tape, the post-it note and a photo of Protagonist #1 

and #2. These images allow the audience to understand the 

most significant props used as well as the destroyed 

relationship of the protagonists. Thes images will be in 

black and white which enforces the distorted and thrilling 

atmosphere to the film as well as exhilirating music being 

edited in during these images being displayed in shots.


Post-it note
The post-it note is displayed in the over the shoulder 

shot once the tape has finished. Protagonist #1 finds the

 post-it note inside the envelope once the tape has 

finished and this enforces the fact the crime Larreh 

(antagonist) is involved in which is hidden and concealed 

from everything else. The post-it note will be clearly 

shown in the over the shoulder shot and it allows the 

audience to understand that Larreh is the antagonist 

of the film and therefore place this character as the hooded man 
later on in the film.


Headphones
The headphones are shown when Protagonist #1 plays the 

walkman/tape and inserts the headphones inside. This 

enforces secrecy and that she clearly wants to keep 

this to herself. These headphones are therefore 

significant to the film as they reinforce the hidden 

situation and the audience then try and piece together 

everything. The headphones are also there blocking out 

the outside world to the protagonist which could also 

reinforce her teenage rebellious nature and that she does not 

enjoy socialising.


Bag
The bag Protagonist #1 places on her bed is very 

important to the extract as it is what carries the 

important props such as the tape, post-it note and 

envelope. The bag isn't in the shot for very long as 

she is just rummaging through it before finding the 

items. This enforces secrecy as she is clearly 

knowledgable that the envelope and other items are 

in there and because they are concealed, shows that 

she is keeping these to herself.


Bed
The bed is not a significant prop to the extract 

apart from the fact Protagonist #1 places the bag 

onto it. The bed just represents that the room she 

is in is in fact a bedroom and hers. It is 

reconigisable so that the audience can associate 

it with the room and that it is a place which 

offers comfort. This contrasts with the fact the 

atmosphere is dark and thrilling.


Envelope 
The envelope is a vital prop to our film as it is what 

conceals the tape and post-it note. On the envelope is 

written 'KATHLEEN' which enforces that Protagonist #1 

is named Kathleen and that it is her property. Because 

the envelope conceals the main props, it is also 

associated with being very vital and reinforces 

secrecy and darkness involved with the type of crime in 

the film.