So this post will be the whole record of the film opening project, which involves two characters created in class meeting at a location we were given.
CHARACTER CREATION
Firstly, I should establish the character creation, and who I managed to make. First, we were given a sheet with pictures of famous people, yet still obscure enough that they couldn't be identified by anyone in the class.
I chose a man in his 50s, who reminded me of Ted Cruz.
I decided to make him a murderer/mercenary called Theodore Cruel, who has committed over 50 murders without ever being caught. He's in his mid 30s (he looks older than he is), has been divorced and has an 8 year old daughter who is his whole world.
The other character created in the group I'm in was a man called Michael Blake, based off of Kenny Sansom, an ex-football player who is currently homeless, and "losing the battle with alcohol."
The character was a 48 year old actor on Emmerdale who fell on hard times, especially after his wife and two kids left him. He drinks to try and get through his depression, yet also goes to the club most nights, and wakes up to the worst hangovers. He is also an outspoken moaner, who always complains about how bad he has it.
LOCATIONS
The location we were given was a "shopping street", so we immediately started thinking of places to film the opening.
Firstly, we considered the main high street in Norwich. It seemed to embody the shopping street setting fairly well.
Yet, there would be some issues. During the night, when we plan to film, there would be a fair amount of security, which would not look too kindly upon two teenagers filming a fake murder. If we did decide to use this as our final location, we could've asked some shop owners if they were ok with us filming outside their shop/s. Also, the sound might be a bit echo-y, which would not be ideal, especially with one of my personal goals after the Wedding project being to improve audio quality.
Secondly, we considered St Benedicts Street in Norwich. It has a wealth of small businesses, shops and restaurants, so it would fit the setting fairly well.
However, there would be some issues; one would be that it's fairly tucked away, so there might be some issues with getting the actors, equipment, etc all there. Also, due to the busy night life, we would always have to deal with people getting in shot or concerned as to why we had a knife and were filming a fake murder.
Secondly, we considered St Benedicts Street in Norwich. It has a wealth of small businesses, shops and restaurants, so it would fit the setting fairly well.
Eventually, we ended up going more local and choosing just outside the main supermarket in Wymondham.
There's an alley that leads to the library to the left of this image, which is where around half of the filming will be done. The alley has some fairly good sound, but we should bring a good quality microphone to get less reverb/echo.
CASTING
The character Jordan created purely of the picture of Kenny Sansom. Jordan had to centre the detailed description around the single picture given to produce the character profile.
He was a heavy alcoholic who had to deal with the pressure of his wife and children leaving him. He spends the little money he has left on alcohol which helps him deal with his depression. He's forty-eight years old and depressed.
To recreate this character role we went with James Vardigans to play the role. James is sixteen years old but looks a lot older then he is. James has acting experience which will improve the two minute film. I think he'll be perfect to re-create the role set above.
My character, based round Mitt Romney, also started as a single picture to create a background story on the character. I've made him a thirty-eight year old serial killer with 52 confirmed murders. He's never been captured and is always on the run. His daughter begs for him to stop killing with the worry in her mind of her dad being taken from her. He would only accept death if it was for the sacrifice of his daughter.
For this character we decided to use Charlie Bird. He's a tall sixteen year old who also looks a lot older then his actual age. He also has acting experience so will be a perfect candidate for the role.
PROPS
As James is playing a homeless character there is a certain dress code he needs to follow. Ideally we would like James to wear old tattered cloths to fit the role of a tramp. We would also need to supply James with a sheet of cardboard and a blanket so he really suites the role ahead of him.
Charlie, the second actor, requires a knife and mask. This will make the movie more realistic and build in a dramatic affect for the audience. Charlie also needs to wear a hoodie so his identity is hidden at all times as he is a serial killer.
PLOT
As already confirmed above we will be using an alley on the side of the co-op in Wymondham Town Centre to film the two minute clip. The alley is dark and adds affect to the clip which will intensify the overall experience. Below are some bullet points summarising the plot of the opening.
James Vardigans = Kenny Sansom
Charlie Bird = Theodore Cruel
- James prepares his sleeping arrangements in the alleyway
- James then falls asleep in the alleyway
- Charlie is then pictured murdering and then walking away from his latest murder
- Charlie then walks further and raises his mask, revealing his identity, then continues walking
- Charlie gets to the alley and then walks down the alleyway where the tramp is
- Charlie then trips over a sleeping James
- Charlie turns and shouts 'WATCH IT!'
- James is awoken due to the shouting
- James stands up and retaliates by saying 'OR WHAT?'
- The next shot is zoomed in on an angry Charlie
- Charlie then pulls a knife from his pocket to scare James
- James reaction is then shown on the camera to show the sudden fear.
- Charlie takes a step forward to show a threat towards James. Knife posed to show his threat
- James turns and runs in fear
- The camera shows James running and as he turn the shot fades out.
FILMING SCHEDULE
I filmed on Saturday, the 26th of September. It was filmed in three main locations; on the street outside Co-Op, outside the Heritage Museum, and down the alley near the other two locations.
There were issues while filming, namely a group of teenagers who were very loud, and eventually got arrested just before we started filming. After that, I made sure to film fairly obviously, so that if there was any issues with the authorities, we could easily explain what was going on. In light of this, the prop was also downgraded to a much less potentially dangerous prop.
The lighting in certain areas we initially planned to film in were also poor, but the substitutes we found were even better, especially with the alley's orange lighting giving a more dramatic effect.
One final change I made was to add a tiny bit extra to the beginning, to extend the runtime of the intro and to flesh out one of the characters a bit more.
FINAL VIDEO
https://youtu.be/7iS1nPZ13PM
The video above... isn't the final one. <gasp>
It's still a preliminary, and I still need to go out and film some more.
Namely, I need to film some establishing shots of the shopping street; right now, the only indication of the setting being a shopping street is one shot of Charlie's character walking in front of Co-Op.
[UPDATE]
The video is finished! :D I was unhappy with the edit that Jordan did (and how he wasn't concerned with the project but shhhhh), so I took initiative and edited the WHOLE VIDEO. Yay :3
I edited it in iMovie, and had to use 3 separate projects and then bring them together for the final video. But alas, it is a final result I am happy with.
However, I feel like my music mixing could do with some work. Apart from that, I'm happy :D
See you later!
~ Noah C :D
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