Casting

In my opening the boy will be shown but only for a short period of time. He is the only character i am going to use as the opening to be centred more on the genre and what is happening.

For my opening i need a young boy preferably with short hair. I fell it is easier to use my younger brother Tom.
Costume: When the shots are taken in the opening they are going to be very short shots and mainly close ups or extreme close ups of his face. Therefore costume isn't essential so just a coloured t-shirt is fine. Possibly cut at the top, to enhance the genre.

Actor Profile:
Name: Tom Cugnoni
Age: 10, born on 2nd November 2004
Gender: Male
Physicality: quite tall and a fairly skinny phisique
Why in this role: I feel it is easiest as he is my brother. I have conferred with him what i need him to do and he is all ok with it. In fairness, he hasn't got any previous acting skills, but suits the role well as I needed a child for it.

Audience research

I asked many people, via Vox Pox videos and then I have edited them together to create a single video. With this research I can get an idea of peoples perceptions and what they think of topic around my film opening.

Prop List+ script

Props needed
- The derelict house
- Woodlands

Equipment
- DSLR Video recorder to collect footage in opening
- Lighting to add when nesseccary
- Tri-pod to set the camcorder up

 Script
In terms of the script there is no diegetic sound in the opening of my film therefore the actor that I end up choosing wont require a script. The boy wont say anything during the opening minutes as if it did it would end the tension.

 

 

2- minute film opening: Target audience

The main target audience for my film would be around 16-30. This is because its a psychological thriller so isn't suitable for younger people to watch. The typical person who would watch this film would be a teenager who is into horror films. The sub genre of psychological may pose interest in what actually happens after the 2 minutes. Once my opening is finished it will be uploaded to YouTube and will be available on my blog and accessed on the internet.

Location Research

Quite luckily in my village I have the perfect location setting to fit the genre. Behind my house in Ashwellthorpe there is a large woods. Therefore I can access it anytime I want. Also along the road from my house (400 meters) there is an old house which is abandoned on its own as the owner died. This could be used to great effect. Quite fortunately it is directly in front of the woods. I feel I can use these as a derelict house and vast woodlands are normally associated in horror especially. In the woods filming at dusk will great a scary and intimidating atmosphere. With the trees, paths (etc.)
The derelict house will probably wont be use loads however helps convey the scary/horror felling.

 

The lower woods is accessible to the public and covers a large area. Therefore I can get in a range of filming. I live to the bottom left in an old cottage in front of the woods.



Birds-eye-view of the Filming location

Photos of location- will follow in due course.

 

2 minute opening in detail (extention of plot synopsis)

In the first 2-minutes not much is to be given away. The boy in the 2 minute opening is having a fear of what he can hear from the woods behind his house. This needs to be stated in my 2 minute opening and made apparent. At the start there needs to be an establishing shot. To meet the conventions the woods will create the horror atmosphere along with the derelict house. A droning noise should kick in to build suspense when in the woods . The interruptions occur with the sound troubling his mind. This is also where the credits hit the screen. Very short 1 second shots of his mind and face occur. This continues and it goes back to the boy and his emotion. (close up) More shots of the woods and movements happened in accordance. Then the noise occurs and we see the boy in bed, the screen goes fuzzed then the name appears.

This is an initial plan so may change as I develop my thoughts and add new parts in.

The name of my Opening, thoughts and ideas

This a hard task, however I feel it is good to get down initial thoughts. Using the main topics associated with a psycho-horror Mind, Troma, Confusion and life Events and occurrence

The noise of life?, No escape, unknown but there, recurring noise of life

Coursework plot synopsis (development of idea's)

 

 

 

this is my initial plot synopsis of my film. These where read out randomly in class to get a brief view of everyone's thoughts and ideas. Then we got into small sub-groups to go through the synopsis, discuss and add any improvements.

 

Jamie's Feedback

 

- Sound should play a big part of the suspense- music maybe?

-Dialogue or not? No dialogue could work well (or a little dialogue)

-This is generally good, well-thought out and should be simple to execute. Establishing the genre will be achieved incredibly easily.

 

This activity has helped me develop my ideas on what the 2 minutes will ultimately include. The next step is to sort out 1. Cast (if needed in the actual 2 minutes) and 2. Audience and Location research. (I will use the location where I live Ashwellthorpe.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Character influence on success of films (profiles)

Name: Johan Hill
Born: 20th December 1983 ( aged 31) , in Los Angeles, USA
Personality: He is a very funny and comical man in general. In Superbad, he plays a very rude, bad behaved teenager. Predominantly saying swear words his character comes across very well. This is down to his acting skills and ability to play the role.
Physicality: When in his teens/young adulthood he was big and fairly fat. However, films have exploited this in their films. More recently he has lost weight (as seen in picture)
Relationships: Isabelle McNally is his girlfriend

Johan is a two time academy award nominee, and has won many awards for his acting. Most popularly, he has been in 21 and 22 Jump street ( a huge success) and Superbad. (2007)

        

Name: Johnny Depp

Born: 9th June 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky, USA

Personality: A nice man in general, seems to be laid back. Quote from His co-star on pirates of the Caribbean: the curse of the Black Pearl Zoe Sandala says '' He is the shyest person I have ever met. The moment the camera is turned on, these characters that are within him come out and take control. Then when the director yells, 'Cut!' 

Physicality: fairly tall, slim.

Relationships: Husband to Amber Heard (actor/model)

Johnny Depp is perhaps one of the most versatile actors of his day and age in Hollywood (IDMb) and in 2012 he was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest paid actor, with 75 Million!

Name: Robert Downey Jr.
Born: 4th April 1965
Personality: He has had previous drug addictions, abuse and as a result arrests and other problems during his early life his life. Therefore he is dedicated to his job and must have spirit.  However this hasn't made him less of a star. He seems a calm person in photos that i have seen.
Physicality: He isn't that tall (5ft 8) however he is quite toned and strong (as seen in the fight scene in Sherlock Holmes)
Relationship: Susan Downey (american film producer)

He has been in so many top films. Downey has starred in six movies that have each grossed over $500 million at the box office worldwide. Two of those films, The Avengers and Iron Man 3, each earned over $1 billion. This shows how he (as an actor) can provide major success for films.

proffessionally made film opening analysis- Lethal Weapon (1987) Opening Scene (action/ thriller)

Not much is given away in the first 2 minutes. Credits/text appears in a big blue font with a black background. Then an establishing shot comes up of an urban environment or large city. This is a typical convention of an action/ thriller. Although I wont be using the action genre in my film. This opening shows that not much has to happen, but it can still be effective. especially, establishing shots and using text.

Student made short film analysis Awake - Psycological Horror Film Opening (psychological Horror)

This seems like a well though out opening and is done very well. Conventions of the genre are shown. For example, a graveyard at the start, being in a dream (typical of a psycho-horror) and a dark and glommy room. The sound effects and shots are short and suit the tension and anxiety within the house. I am thinking of doing a psycho-horror for my 2 minute film opening. This has given me some ideas to play with for the future. Including the main genre conventions.

Mind map from genre of my coursework and further idea's

 

 

 

I originally had an idea which cropped up in the Half term. It was based on a boy and a woods near my house. I have translated my thoughts on to the mind map with the main genre being horror with some sub-genres too.

 

 

Also after looking at the student made films I think I will go with the Horror genre. The previous AS media productions have been quite successful especially carnage. (which I posted earlier on in the course) 

 

 



Todays lesson (film pitch)

In today's lesson were put into groups to propose a pitch. This is done in proffesional film making when coming up with new ideas. They are done to persuade or convince the company/people investing money that your idea will work and is the best.( eg. Dragons Den)
Miss gave us 4 cards in our group.

Henry 72
Sally
a Gun (prop)
Rom/com

from this we had to pitch our film on the basis of the cards.

Our pitch of the film
From the cards provided we came up with the plot for the film and what process to pitch it in. We decided to call it Faded. This is because  Henry's memories of his life are coming back as he is suffering from dementia.
It starts off with Henry (72 years old) has dementia. He is retelling stories from the past. There is a female voice asking him questions, we assume its his wife. The comedy side comes in as he is with his fiancé Sally who is his partner in crime as they threaten people with guns as they run away from a bank. The funny thing is they always mess up. Henry see's an old man in the care home with the same gun.

The plot twist comes in as he is actually telling the story to his wife ( henry has forgotten her due to the dementia) Ultimately the romantic part is that he has forgotten everything else apart from his experiences with his wife. This is the most significant part.

This helps us for the future as when we pitch are individual film opening ideas it needs to be concise and express the plot.

Big Fish micro-analysis

The narrative of big fish is a very important accept. It is use to great effect. Flashbacks and past experiences are used.  This is used very cleverly. They are used to tell the story. Mainly it shows the father and son. It goes back to the father when he was young and his experiences and then back to reality when he is slowly dyeing. It can get complicated at times but it comes across well in emotions and affections shown. Especially at the end where all of the experiences/happenings of his life all go past him and he goes back to the lake.

There are lots of emotions involved during the course of the film. At the start when him and his friends go to the haunted house to find out how they will die. This puts an apprehensive look on the situation. However the young boy doesn't see anything in the eye. Conveying an emotion that he is special possibly. Later on there are joyful, happy emotions of the man in his young adult hood. For example, finding the village with lively people. Also at the circus where he is transfixed by the girl.
 In contrast, later on in the film sad motions are expressed. While the man is dyeing reflection takes place. However everything has changed for the worst. For example, when he went back to see the village it was derelict and the girl he met (when she was young) was older. This brings sadness and reflection in terms of emotions. This is because we can relate this happening because of him dyeing. During the final stages of his life (where he is in hospital and the son is at his bedside) Emotions of celebration and joy are expressed. His entire life passes him while his son carries him back to the lake.
 



Wallace & Gromit - Cracking Contraptions - Shopper (proffesional example)

This is a very popular example of the well-known Wallace and Gromit. So many pictures have been taken its not noticeable. You can tell the characters are made out of plastercine as there are thumb marks. It is done so well its almost seamless. It has been such a success and is loved by many people

Group film opening recreation (mock-umentary)

Mock-umentary (recreation)

Intro and outline of project
Me and my group have been set the task to do a mock-umentary on a boy that can't pronounce or say any vowels.
Plot synopsis
The opening will basically consist of a narration talking about Jack in between interviews with his family, friends and teachers.

Firstly, a mock-umentary (genre) is basically mocking a documentary so is not real-life, factual or informative. It is meant to be a funny, humorous and different version.

We had to do a mock-umentary on a boy who cant say (pronounce) or write any vowels (a,e,i,o,u) This was quite a challenging task to work on.

Before filming began of the opening of the mock-umentary different research methods where essential to use to research and plan....
-Location  Research

Our main location was a normal High school (Wymondham High Academy)

·        Music room (for interviews)

·        School grounds (south block for footage in-between)

Cast list

Jack: Johnathan Briggs

Jacks father: Henry wright
Jacks friend: Kerry Hardesty
Jacks Councillor: Mrs. Preston

Character profile:

Jack is an ordinary 17 year old boy apart from the fact he cannot say words that begin with vowels, can’t write vowels and even struggles to use words with vowels in them. He lives alone with his father, Mr. Goff. The believed caused of jack’s condition was a significant amount of pressure put on him to learn to talk at an early age from his mother and there is rumours about an incident involving over exposure to the television show ‘Countdown’.

Actor profile:

Name: Jonathan Briggs

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Role: Jack Goff (lead role)

Previous experience: Acting in other media student’s media projects more than a few times and no other prior experience.

Why we chose him: Jonny is a person of a naturally awkward and nervous disposition which reflects the character well and really helps in portraying the character Jack and his difficulty speaking. We also wanted someone who would fit the age well, which Jonny does, as well as being a full time sixth form student and being in appropriate costume at all times within school, this made Jonny an obvious choice for this role. While we did consider other actors such as Rory Pratt who have had more experience, time and convenience dictated that we use Jonny as well as the role being more suited to someone like him as opposed to a more confident actor and we used this to our advantage.

haracter Profile: Jacks friend

Lauren has been friends with Jack since they were eight, they went to school together from primary till 6^th form and their families have become quite close.

Ever since Jack developed this disorder Lauren had been one of the few that stuck by him. They’re both in the same year group and the most classes together, so their support towards each other is great. Lauren is achieving average grades, she’s popular among her peers and is very likable, she’s never tried to be something she’s not and has been incredibly understanding of Jacks case in the past 3 years he developed in it. Lauren believes everyone has the potential to be successful and believes Jack is no different.

Actor Profile:

Name: Kerry Hardesty

Gender: female

Age: 17

Why?: Kerry is a bubbly and confident person who fits the role well. Has fairly good acting skills and can improvise when needed.

Character profile: Jacks father

The father is aged around his mid-forties, and has brought up Jack on his own since the age of 5, when Jack’s mother left the family due to unconfirmed circumstances, with rumours of her being sent into an insane asylum due to her uncontrollable addiction to countdown. Mr.Goff is a man with an unclear orphanage background, and usually keeps himself to himself, especially in regards to his son’s condition. He appears to support his son in defeating his condition, but secretely sees it as burden on his abnormal lifestyle.

Actor Profile: Henry Wright 

Gender: Male                                  

Age: 17

Why? Henry Wright is suitable for the role as he has been in previous drama productions (acting) so is familiar with acting. It is an interview situation and a script has been provided, however he is a confident actor so can elaborate if needed. He also is in the second year of his A-level in media.

Character Profile: Jacks Teacher/councilor

Miss Pawlowski has been a guidance for Jack for the past year at sixth form. She’s 26 years old and started counselling at Forest Oak Academy the same year as Jack joined and they formed a bond when Jack endured a panic attack half-way through the first month of school and went to see her for advice.

She is married and has a baby with down syndrome so she can empaphise towards Jack and leads a maternal role in his life since his mother left. He see’s her two times a week for a 20-minute meeting where they discuss how Jack’s feeling and how they can move forward.

Actor Profile: Mrs. Preston

Age: 30-40

Gender: Female

Why? Mrs. Preston is a teacher of history. Doesn’t have much experience in drama roles. However, suits the role well.



Storyboard