Final Cut of Film

This is the final cut of our film which we uploaded onto youtube:
We hope to get some feedback through youtube in which we can look back on and see what could be improved upon. This feedback could help me develop through A2 so similar mistakes will not be made and our knowledge and understand will be greatly improved. Although on Youtube the video of our film is labeled speed 2 it is infact just called Speed.

Preliminary Task

Please find embeded a link to My preliminary task: The preliminary task builds a starting knowledge of shots and movements which we developed to help us create our finalised main task of the opening sequence for our thriller.
http://tomryderas.blogspot.com/

Evaluation

This is my final evaluation of my whole coursework task which was produced on prezi
My Final Evaluation Prezi

IMPORTANT NOTE: My prezi was created on Mark Northcotts prezi account as my accounts password does not work so Mark kindly let me use his account.

Thanks Mark

Final deadline edit

We have managed to edit fully and burn onto 2 discs our finished media product that has been given the name of 'Speed'. The name Speed refers to the idea that the 2 agents have little time to catch the gangs ring leader.

Changes made for final-cut

Transitions used

We use transitions in our opening sequence for continuity (to make our film flow better into each scene) these transitions give an overall better viewing experience for the audience.

With our footage that we filmed we have used a mix of straight cuts and dissolves into each shot, this makes each scene flow much more better and it looks better having a variety of cuts and fades/dissolves instead of basing most of the editing with cuts (which was our original idea)

There are some parts of our film, where in the filming process we decided to keep it a constant shot through each frame to improve the continuity so the film doesn’t look like it has been badly pieced together. Before filming we didn’t realise that it would be as difficult to get the camera in the same spot for each shot so we decided to carry on the filming. As we did this we found that our product seems to run much more smoothly than it would have done.

The only time we didn’t want it to look smooth was when we did the jump cuts, this was to emphasise the confusion that the captured man is facing, I also feel it creates a sense of nausea to the viewer, this is even more effective than we thought.

Changes made due to class feedback of rough-cut

We showed the class the rough cut of our film and made more feedback sheets so we could get the relevant information back and make changes where they were needed.

 From the feedback we received we as a group decided to change a lot of the editing in our opening sequence. To start with we deleted all the video transitions throughout the entire film so we were almost starting from a blank storyboard, this made it easier for us to edit everything properly as we weren’t rushed to edit it for a class rough cut. What we deleted was very rushed editing that consisted mainly of cross fades so we realise we defiantly needed to properly sort it out.

we decided to use more cuts to each shot to help the film run smoothly than having jumpy cuts that looked like a puzzle had been just thrown together to create a picture, these fades do create a sense of excitement in the audience as they don’t know what will be coming from the fade.

A key criticism was the loudness of the heartbeat, when played through the macs it seemed quitter than it actually was, then when it was played through the speakers in class it was much more louder (almost deafening to the members of the class) The volume of this effect also overpowered the rest of the sound in scene which in turn ruined the effect that we wanted to create. So in light of this we have changed the volume levels on the heartbeat soundtrack so it’s much quieter.

We have edited the entire film again and feel that we have made a much better improvement from our rough cut and feel we have hit the marks. The sequence when which we have an extreme close up on Arthur's eye has been edited by changing the colour slightly to a light red which brings out the centre of his eye and focuses the attention there. On top of this we edited a glow effect on to the eye. We also added an improved audio instead of the dial-up sound, the audio for this clip now links into the next shot which is a flashback and we feel is much more effective. We changed the audio in light of what we got from our audience feedback.

When we played it back we realised that audio on all the actors was not loud enough, this was also picked up by members of our class so we tried to correct this by changing the decibels, but in doing this we actually realised that we could hear the crackling sound from the camera so it spoilt the sound of the voices of the actors. We tried to re-film the audio but found this to be too complicated to do so instead we edited the audio with the generators to create effects on the voice which tackled the loudness of the actors and the crackling sound from the camera.

We also decided to cut down the length of some clips (especially the flashback sequence) due to feedback from our teacher that 10 seconds of a POV looking out of a car doesn’t tell us anything new in the last 8 seconds, which lost the audience’s attention. This is defiantly not what we want as we want the audience want to watch our film so these flashback scenes have been sorted and edited better.

Changes Made During the Filming Process

During filming we found some difficulties with shooting certain shots and angles due to the sudden change in location so we had to think quickly and improvise with the location, equipment and props we have.

Miscommunication of ideas:  The storyboard shows Arthur with a bag over his head, but we had to change this because further on in our storyboard we had a point of view of Arthur looking out the front of the car. This shot would just have been a black screen if we did it with the bag on his head and we agreed as a group that the point of view had to be included, so we decided to scrap the idea of a bag.

Shots 1 to 3 Continuity:  These are filmed as one continuous shot to help with continuity and for ease of editing.

Shot 5 Shot change:  This was originally meant to be a point of view from Agent Ryder's perspective (Me) but we have changed it to Arthur's P.O.V to show the surrounding more and the status of both agent Riley and agent Ryder. We also chose to do it like this as the point of view from agent Ryder didn’t seem to have a meaning.

Shot 6 Miscommunication of ideas: The shot is the same but without a bag on Arthur's head for the reason mentioned earlier.

Shot 11 location/practicality: We have kept the over the shoulder shot but changed the positioning of it because there was not enough space in marks garage (which wouldn’t have been a problem if we didn’t have a sudden change of location). So now the shot is filmed in front of Arthur not behind him.

 Shots 20- 27 practicality/mistakes: this sequence of shots is different to what is on the storyboard because there was a miscommunication between the 3 actors whilst Agent Ryder and Agent Riley were dragging Arthur up the drive. On top of this the angles of some shots were meant to be at a high angle and we also wanted to introduce jump cuts between these shots, but we couldn’t do this as we only had one take to film this car sequence due to the impracticality of doing this.

Another issue we faced when we came to the filming day was lighting. We couldn't find anything powerful enough to light up the room effectively and dimly so the camera could pick up a picture. We instead had to settle for the garage lights to be turned on but in doing so as a group we discussed it and on screen it creates a good Mise-en-scene.

Blog Update #4

There were last minute changes to the location of our film, as Tom Rileys garage was packed with large items (sucah as a large fridge that could not be moved) So the location was changed to Mark Northcotts garage which gave a si milar effect to the one we were aiming for, if not better.

This was the old location:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=3+Ashenhurst+Way,+Leek&hl=en&ll=53.099312,-2.023204&spn=0.000913,0.002642&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=14.745606,43.286133&vpsrc=6&hnear=3+Ashenhurst+Way,+Leek+ST13+5SB,+United+Kingdom&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=53.099311,-2.023301&panoid=YdnjTbqJ1LydlN7onMy0vQ&cbp=12,310.78,,1,-1.95
 (just down the road on the left)

This is now the new location:
 http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=3+Ashenhurst+Way,+Leek&hl=en&ll=53.099312,-2.023204&spn=0.000913,0.002642&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=14.745606,43.286133&vpsrc=6&hnear=3+Ashenhurst+Way,+Leek+ST13+5SB,+United+Kingdom&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=53.099311,-2.023301&panoid=YdnjTbqJ1LydlN7onMy0vQ&cbp=12,310.78,,1,-1.95

Blog Update #3

We did in the end manage to start filming after Christmas on the 3rd of January and then finsihed off the last bit of filming on the 16th of January.

Filming Plan and Roles and Responsibilities

Planning of filming

We weren’t able to establish a complete schedule of when we are filming due to other commitments like work which is difficult to get time off due to the places in which me and Mark work at get busier due to the Christmas period for parties, etc….

Roles and responsibilities:

Mark Northcott- Director, Cameraman, Editor

Thomas Ryder- Actor, Editor, Cameraman

Thomas riley- Actor, Editor

Arthur Scholes-Furness- Actor, Editor

We are all going to be involved in the production of the film, as well as this we will all bring props, makeup, costumes we need. Each costume the actor is wearing is their own. And each person has been told to bring their own props to contribute.

Props:

Mark will provide the rope, the sac and the car (his dad’s car which he will drive)

Tom Ryder will provide the fake blood, tape player and gun.

Riley will provide the chair and filming location (we are using his garage)

Arthur will provide the torch and watch.

Mise-en-scene

Bellow we covered the different categories of mise-en-scene and will explain the choices to define what we hope to achieve.

  Costume- Thomas Ryder/ antagonist/ Agent Ryder

· Black trousers- which look smart and formal to show knowledge and power of his character.

· White shirt (with one un-done button)- the shirt goes with the formal look whilst having the buttons partly undone it shows that his character will be getting involved with the action, but also to show that he is worn out and tired.

· Black leather shoes- This type of shoe is formal and expensive to go with the rest of the outfit to show his power and dominance in the opening sequence.

· A large watch to show Tom’s status within the film, also the watch shows his expensive life style, which in turn shows that he is good at this job as he can afford big expensive watches.

Thomas Riley/ Antagonist/ Agent Riley

· Grey suit trousers- Make Tom look formal and serious. Similar to Tom Ryder

· Black shirt (top button undone and rolled up sleeves) - The rolled up sleeves show he is the fighter and not to be messed with. (in essence he is like the bad cop)

· Black leather shoes- to complete the formal image we have given to Tom.

Adrian Northcott /Antagonist/ Unknown name throughout

· Black trousers- formal black suit trousers to match other ‘villains’ to show that he is a part of them.

 Black leather shoes- This is to match the rest of the outfit and again to make character look formal.

· White shirt-the white shirt is very simple but works for the character instead of a bright green shirt because the character looks more meaningful. It is also a colour that doesn’t stand out as he is not meant to draw the attention due to his unknown nature

· Black suit jacket- The only character to wear a full suit to show his wealth in the film and shows his success but this also shows that he is not into the ‘nitty gritty’ part of this.

· Large watch- To show success and for formal purposes.

· Black sunglasses- to hide his identity and to appear mysterious to the audience.

Arthur Scholes-Furness / Protagonist/ Mason

· Grey cotton joggers- the joggers look informal and very ordinary; this can show the vulnerability of Arthur’s character because he doesn’t look out of ordinary and mysterious. The idea of him looking ordinary is to show that he has just been taken spontaneously by the agents.

· Polo shirt- This again is ordinary and very casual everyday clothing, this stops Arthur looking suspicious.

· High tops- Casual shoes that suit the rest of the outfit, helps Arthur blend therefore he isn’t suspicious looking.

 Props:

· Chair- The chair is significant in the opening sequence because Arthur’s character spends most of the time sitting on it. It is also used as we can tie his hands behind the chair.

· Rope- the rope is used to tie Arthur to the chair which shows his vulnerability as he cannot escape and has been tied down.

· Car (Mercedes Benz) - The car is black keeping in with colours of antagonist colour, it can represent evil. It is also a smart expensive car to show that this is a serious matter.

· Tape player- Used to record Arthur speaking and used as evidence in the main part of the film.

· Gun (pistol)- the weapon used to kill Arthur’s character in the opening sequence, just to show how small Arthurs character was, and was only used as an aid for ‘the bigger picture’

· Bag (potato sac) - This type of bag is common used in a lot of thriller (and also many other genres) for effect, it will be unknown what Arthurs face looks like which is keeping in the typical convention of a thriller (the unknown)

· Fake blood- used on Arthur when he has been hit repeatedly by Thomas Riley, more realistic than ordinary make up. This is to give a stronger effect to the viewer.

Makeup:

The only make up we use is the fake blood to show realism within the film. None of the other characters have makeup on to show they are very stereotypically masculine.

Lighting:

· Interrogation room- This room will be dimly lit by a small ceiling light (we will use a large torch to create this effect) the light will be directly above Arthur to draw the viewer’s eye to him, whilst the rest will be dark to create enigma due to the shadows from the other characters. This style of lighting can be seen in many films such as Batman The Dark Night: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIj2uL2f1rE

· Car- the car will be lit by street lights and passing cars for a realistic night time drive, creates partial confusion because the setting is obvious for the viewer.

· Street- Street lights as well with possibility of security light if nothing in shot is clear. The dim light creates nothing intruding but shows that the equilibrium has been disturbed due to the events that  are occurring would look out of the ordinary in the day.

Location:

Tom Riley’s garage, this is being used because it large enough to represent an interrogation room. Also the house is the most remote therefore it looks more dangerous. The garage is a low cut ceiling and compact so this gives a sense of the unknown as the viewer doesn’t know where they have gone.. The driving scene will be filmed down and around Tom Riley’s street.

Actors/ Characters

Actors/ Character	Reason why chosen for role
Thomas Ryder	Thomas is the main controlling antagonist because he is built for the role and looks like a fighter and more controlling than Arthur.
Thomas Riley	Riley dresses more formally than Arthur in the film to make him look powerful but not as controlling as Thomas Ryder. This shows that Ryder is the “gang leader”. Riley is used for this part for that reason to appear brutal when really he is under Ryder’s control.
Adrian Northcott	We chose Adrian because he is an experienced driver and looks very professional when in the characters costume. Also he is very serious which matches the character who doesn’t mess around, this is shown in the opening sequence.
Arthur Scholes-Furness	Arthur is the protagonist because by his appearance looks very genuine with nothing to hide this suits his character because we want the audience to feel sorry for Arthur and want to help him.

Risk Assessment

Storyboard

Important Notice: the way in which me and Mark scanned the storyboard means that they are the the wrong way so instead of viewing left to right please view from right to left. Thank you

Shooting script

Scene 1- Interior, Interrogation, Night.

Shot number	Shot description	Audio and dialogue
1.	Close Up of Arthur’s head facing down	No sound or dialogue
2.	Medium shot of Arthur in the chair	Arthur gasping for air
3.	Zoom into extreme close up of Arthur’s eye	No sound or dialogue
4.	Numbers flying around his eye	Sound similar to internet dial up.

Scene 2, Interior, In car, night

5.	Point of View (Tom Ryder) Looking out front of car	Car engine sound of it driving
6.	Point of view pan pan to look round at Arthur	Car engine sound of it driving
7.	Point of view (Tom Ryder) seeing Tom Riley hit Arthur	Sound of a punch connecting
8.	Black out to show that he has just been knocked out	Emphasised heartbeat

 Scene 3, Interior, Interrogation room, Night

9.	Point of view of Arthur’s eyes blinking	Heartbeat emphasised
10.	Arthur Point of view hears Tom Ryder talking	Tom Ryder: tell us where he is?
11.	Over shoulder shot of Tom Ryder looking at Arthur who looks around	Arthur: Who are you? What am I doing here?
12.	Medium shot Arthur in chair (High angle)	Tom Riley: You know why you are here, now tell us EVERYTHING!
13.	High angle pans down to Arthur’s into Medium shot	Arthur: I don’t know anything!
14.	Pans to low angle of Arthur, Tom Riley steps from darkness into scene and in front of Arthur	Footsteps (emphasise each step)
15.	1st shot reverse shot Close up of Arthur (high angle on him)	Arthur: What do you want from me?
16.	2nd shot reverse shot (low angle on Riley) C.U	Tom Riley: Where is he Mason?
17.	3rd shot reverse shot (high angle) C.U on Arthur	Arthur: I don’t know where he is!!!!
18.	Cuts to 2 shot of Tom Riley hitting Arthur around the face	Emphasised sound of punching
19.	Similar to flash bang, white wash screen	Ringing sound of flash
20.	Fade dissolve from white screen to close up of Arthur	Ringing sound of flash

 Scene 4, Interior, Car, Night

21.	C.U. to M.S. Arthur back of the car looking around	Mumbling voices with internet dial up and excess ringing
22.	Jump cut 30 degrees to the left	Mumbling voices with internet dial up and excess ringing
23.	Jump cut 15 degrees to right	Mumbling voices with internet dial up and excess ringing
24.	Jump cut 30 degrees to right	Mumbling voices with internet dial up and excess ringing
25.	Jump cut 15 degrees to left	Mumbling voices with internet dial up and excess ringing
26.	Camera focuses (depth of field) on Arthur	Muffling voices return to normal
27.	Zoom out to 2 shot of Riley and Arthur in the car	Sound- car engine
28.	Cuts to Tom Ryder	Tom Ryder “how much longer?”
29.	Shot reverse shot,  close up of Adrian behind passenger seat	Adrian “no longer than 10”
30.	White flash after Adrian’s dialogue	Suction sound

 Scene 5, interior, Interrogation room, Night

31.	White flash fades into point of view (Arthur)	Suction ends
32.	Tom Riley is in scene- seen through an over shoulder shot and grabs Arthur by his collar	“You’re not taking this seriously are you? Do you know the consequences of your actions?”
33.	Cut to Arthur point of view	Background noise and heavy breathing
34.	Point of view (Arthur), Tom Riley hits Arthur	Connection of punch
35.	Canted angle, point of view of Arthur spitting out blood	We hear coughing and blood hitting floor
36.	Camera pans right, point of view cuts to medium shot of Riley	Coughing and grunting
37.	Point of view Arthur shouts	Arthur: “What do you want from me?”
38.	Shot reverse shot of Riley shown through an over shoulder shot, see Tom Riley punching him	Tom Riley: “Just tell us where he is!”
39.	C.U Arthur gets up and falls back in chair	Breathing heavily
40.	Black screen- same as earlier blackout	“ ”

 Scene 6, Interior and Exterior, Car and Interrogation room, Night

41.	Close up of Adrian, turns to camera	Adrian: “We are here now”
42.	Camera pans left to look out of the car, establishes the location	Car holts to stop and engine cuts out.
43.	Cuts to outside, establishing shot (High angle)	Mumbling and shouting from Arthur
44.	Jump cut 40 degrees to the right. Into high angle of Arthur been dragged into interrogation room	Tom Ryder “keep him quiet”
45.	Tracking shot inside the interrogation room right side	Dragging along ground “possibly music in background
46.	Cut to tilted shot of Arthur been pushed into chair	Silence

Scene 7, Interior, Interrogation room, Night

47.	X.C.U Arthur’s eyes	“ ”
48.	Numbers flying round his eyes.	Internet dial up
49.	zoom out away from his eye	Suction sound
50.	Medium shot of Arthur sat in chair	Gasping for air
51.	Zoom in to Arthur’s eyes extreme close up to show Arthur blinking	No sound
52.	When Arthur looks up there is a jump cuts 30 degrees to left	Arthur: “I know where he is, he’s at the shipyard”
53.	Cuts to Tom Ryder’s finger pressing stop on tape recorder (extreme close up)	Tom Ryder: “we’ve got him”
54.	Two shot Arthur and Tom Riley	Tom Riley: “We’re done here”
55.	It zooms into a close up of a door knob turning	Sound match
56.	Cut back to Arthur, medium shot of him sitting in chair	Breathing
57.	Tom Ryder walks into scene, two shot of him and Arthur, Tom Ryder pulls out a gun and puts it to Arthur’s head	Cocking of the gun
58.	Blackout	Gun shot