Storyboard

Establishing Shot of London and Dubai

Dolly Zoom?

Shot Reverse Shot between Conor and Bill

Panning Left

Long Shot of Bill in library

Over the shoulder shot of Matt

Close up of Bill in dialogue

Close up of Matt with lighter

Shot Reverse Shot between Bill and Matt

Title attempt #4

Our fourth attempt at titles was what we deemed to be the most successful out of our titles. We liked the bold styling of the title as it is eye-catching to the audience, simple but effective as a whole. We decided that an animation would be ideal as the bullet holes we incorporated add to the action element of the film as the audience can automatically assume its genre and so would be more intrigued to watch it.

Title attempt #3

The third attempt at a movie title involved the prominence of the title as the main feature of the title. The styling was more of a western style which we believed would not suit the conventions of the action spy genre. Ultimately we liked the bold style of the writing but not the elements which cut into the words so we would have to conform to the expectations of our designated genre.

Title attempt #2

Our second attempt at a title mainly revolved around the idea that we would focus heavily on technological aspects of the trailer. This included the idea of a cyber battle or some sort of cyber attack to our supposed spy organisation through the use of a computer, phone or other such device. The end of the title was influenced by bitcoin; the online currency which was a primary idea for our trailer as an incentive to the bad guys. The title was going to dissolve into the many circles to help highlight the prominent role of technology in the trailer.

Title attempt #1

The sort of title which we are looking to have for our film needs to be simplistic and needs to stick in the audiences memory. We used Broadway as a font because it is very basic and over emphasizes the shape of the letters involved, the simple design of the logo conforms to the stereotypes of the action/thriller film,  The films in this genre usually have a simple title so it doesn't take the audiences attention away from the content of the trailer, films such as inception use really plain designs just so the name can come up but it won't take anymore time then is needed in the TV advertisement time.

This is essential for a production company because it is their budget which they have to dip into in order to advertise their film to a wider audience, this will help them to achieve a more loyal audience as well as an idea of what age range and gender prefer the film, for example when looking for an age range they can decide who would be the most likely to watch the film based off of a trailer and then they need to aim for that rating, e.g. action films are usually a 15 as they appeal to an older audience especially with films such as die hard, fast and furious etc.

Production Feedback

Your group has been on such a fantastic journey this year and your efforts are bearing fruit.  Make sure you are video blogging production choices and stages to evidence your progress - plus this will help you in the run up to the exam in order to be able to reflect on your technical choices.

End credit #3

The last set of credits we made are predominantly for the poster but we can also use them for our end credits, for example we could use this in our coming soon part of the end credits, this would help fill valuable space and could make it look more professional. We could pull it off separately as a split second shot at the end of the trailer, we could blend it in and even if just fills up a two second segment of our film it will still show the detail we went into.

End credit #2

The next lot of end credits I did was to give all of the acclaim to the people who made the film, we used a basic end credits template and built on it using visuals from other end credits we found, we made sure that we had all the right credits given, people who worked more on specific sections were given all the credit and for the those more basic things such as the ideas where a producer would be concerned we accredited all of us

End credit #1

The first lot of end credits but probably the last to show will be this one, overall the simplicity of the design is essential as it just needs to grab the attention of the audience, the "coming soon" part of the end credits is the biggest as its there to grab attention, the crown i used above is there for the purpose of filling the background, we made up the social media to make it seem like the movie is a work in progress which is coming soon, this would help in a real life situation to get a following for the film.

Production company logo

Triptic Films is the made up production company that we created for our AS production and we thought it was appropriate to use it again for our A2 production.

Influences on production

We had various influences on our trailer as we wanted to incorporate the necessary elements you would expect to see in an action or thriller movie trailer to help. At the start of our trailer we want the main feature to help portray the plot of our movie and you would often assume a strong masculine voice to be incorporated  into an action movie. We want to ensure that we increase the pace of the trailer accordingly to help fit the mood and the tension should increase as the trailer develops to add emphasis onto the plot.

One of the major features in our trailer will be the character portrayals and relationships they have with eachother. We want to ensure that through relevant dialogue the audience can relate to the characters and their individual stories. You can see these relations between characters in movies like mission impossible or skyfall where you know who the characters are but they represent both the good and bad sides and contrasts the characteristics of the characters against eachother.

Primary shots used in the Syndicate

establishing shot - of London and Dubai in the beginning
shot - reverse shot - between bill and conor as well as bill and matt
vertical panning - of Dubai in the establishing shot
horizontal panning - of the chase scene
long shot - of the major characters
medium shot - of the characters portrayed
close up - of bill in the buildup
over the shoulder shot - of matt in the beginning
low angle shot - of zoey in the montage
high angle shot - of bill and matt in the fight scene
arc shot - between matt and bill in their fight scene
birds eye view - of bill at times

Production Targets

Make sure that everything is filmed/refilmed as soon as possible for your group to work towards and beyond your target grades.  Titles and sound are the last stages of post production and you need to spend time and care to make sure you meet the Band Four levels for these skills areas.  You have spent some much time in production - let's work towards completion now!

End credit research

End credit research

we are looking to include these sort of end credits in our trailer, we want it to look professional like these trailers have but keeps the simplicity it needs as many people aren't really interested in who the film is made by

This end credit is very much what we are looking for, it is plain and simple and the black is perfect to not draw attention away from the rest of the credits, the white credits contradict the black background well in order to bring attention to the people who made the film.

The Godzilla trailer is less like what we want as the red background grabs the attention really well, the fact that the movie is to do with radioactivity helps the red to blend in really well, As for our film it is not about anything associated with the colour red and therefore we would look for something more plain

These credits are also like the one we are looking for, they are basic but yet the most important people involved are highlighted in bold,the positions of the most important people are also highlighted but are not as eye catching as the names are what can drag people in, for example the name of a director can draw an audience.

Soundtrack research

We experimented with an iPhone app which created music. The app had various settings: guitar, piano and drums. We used the app to create a unique soundtrack that no-one else would have on their trailer.

Film log #6

Film Log Day 6 - Iceland and the Scout Hut

We needed a few shots more to allow us to have enough footage top complete the trailer. After we roughly ordered the intro it was obvious we were lacking in terms of time, so when Matt and Bill were going to Iceland for a weekend and so we wanted them to get some sots of the snowy tundra to contrast what we saw in Dubai. They were able to get some shots from a plane, a car and one from the hotel room to add more depth to the film trailer as a whole. Once they got back we filmed more of Matt and Bill in a scout hut located in Oxshott.

We filmed a few shots at the scout hut mainly involving both characters with the use of guns as to adhere to the action qualities expected in that trailer type. We got both low angle and high angle shots of the characters to portray the balance of power between the characters. We also got some medium and long shots of the protagonist as he is the central character of our film and we wanted that to be prevalent throughout the scenes.

Film log #5

Film Log Day 5 - Esher Common

For the fifth day of filming we ensured that there was a particular focus on the weapons element of our trailer as to suit with the action qualities of our trailer. We did this through the use of a couple of bb guns including an orange and black assault rifle and a black pistol. We decided that the rifle would suit the antagonist as the pistol is so often incorporated into the protagonists preferred weapons in action films. The rifle also gives the antagonist a sense of power and allows us to assume he is the bad guy from the beginning.

We filmed around Esher common as we believed it was a good location as it was away from the main paths as to allow minimal interruptions when filming as well as providing us a good source of natural lighting and it was easy to film as it was an open area. We filmed a variety of shots as we wanted to ensure we had enough shots for our trailer, this included an arc shot, some long shots, a panning shot and a closeup. We wanted to ensure that there were some action scenes between the protagonist and antagonist and thought that this would be the ideal opportunity to film it. We filmed some shots in the trees around us, especially focusing on the antagonist as the darker lighting provokes a sense of fear in the audience whilst the protagonist is shown in the lighter areas contrasting the antagonist to what we believed was a good degree.

Film log #4

Film Log Day 4 - London Establishing Shots

For the fourth day of filming we set about getting the domestic scenes of our trailer, the main location of the trailer is England and so we want to primarily focus on shots across London. We went to London Waterloo by train and ensured we got some establishing shots as we deemed that to be the most important shots we needed at the time. The first major section of London we focused on was the Parliament building as we want to include the landmarks so many people associate with London as to appeal to the audience more in our trailer. We got various different angles of the Parliament building with various shots including the background as to highlight London as a whole. We took a couple of shots on the bank opposite, mainly focusing on the horizontal style of panning. However we also got some dolly shot as to provide more variety for us to possibly use. We also got some shots from a nearby bridge to provide a higher angle which is closer to the building. Whilst we filmed this we also found a good location for a possible chase scene in which it is the water bank located opposite the parliament building and so we could incorporate the landmark in the background.

We also focused some shots on the London eye as like the Parliament building it acts to symbioses what you would want to see in London. We also focused on the panning style shot for the London eye as it gave us the necessary backgrounds we could use from the bridge for the majority of shots. We were also able to get some shots from the top of the London eye however we were hindered because by the time we got up there it was dark and so it is difficult to distinguish London. So the shots will most likely be abandoned as we want to ensure that there is even lighting throughout the trailer.

Film log #3

Film Log Day 3 - Skydiving

For the third day of filming the main aspect of it was the eventual skydive which we two of our group did, we were able to get a prolonged shot of the two characters as the skydive company provided an additional cameraman whom filmed us on the way down. However we are unsure whether it is of high quality as we would of preferred a shot from a gopro as it would of allowed us to focus primarily on what we wanted to film instead of what the cameraman was filming. Ono of the main issues with this scene if it was included is the inclusion of an instructor in the film as we had to skydive with someone professional as a requirement and so this may make the shot not usable in the final film trailer.

Before we actually went skydiving we took some time to film some other skydivers in case we wanted to place a specific focus on the skydive for our film trailer. This included them on the descent down from the plane and them landing to give us options on what to use if need be. When the cameraman was filming we were asked to give an interview and constantly update which could allow us to incorporate some adventure type qualities into our trailer.

Film log #2

For the fifth day of filming we ensured that there was a particular focus on the weapons element of our trailer as to suit with the action qualities of our trailer. We did this through the use of a couple of bb guns including an orange and black assault rifle and a black pistol. We decided that the rifle would suit the antagonist as the pistol is so often incorporated into the protagonists preferred weapons in action films. The rifle also gives the antagonist a sense of power and allows us to assume he is the bad guy from the beginning.

We filmed around Esher common as we believed it was a good location as it was away from the main paths as to allow minimal interruptions when filming as well as providing us a good source of natural lighting and it was easy to film as it was an open area. We filmed a variety of shots as we wanted to ensure we had enough shots for our trailer, this included an arc shot, some long shots, a panning shot and a closeup. We wanted to ensure that there were some action scenes between the protagonist and antagonist and thought that this would be the ideal opportunity to film it. We filmed some shots in the trees around us, especially focusing on the antagonist as the darker lighting provokes a sense of fear in the audience whilst the protagonist is shown in the lighter areas contrasting the antagonist to what we believed was a good degree.

Film log #1

For the fourth day of filming we set about getting the domestic scenes of our trailer, the main location of the trailer is England and so we want to primarily focus on shots across London. We went to London Waterloo by train and ensured we got some establishing shots as we deemed that to be the most important shots we needed at the time. The first major section of London we focused on was the Parliament building as we want to include the landmarks so many people associate with London as to appeal to the audience more in our trailer. We got various different angles of the Parliament building with various shots including the background as to highlight London as a whole. We took a couple of shots on the bank opposite, mainly focusing on the horizontal style of panning. However we also got some dolly shot as to provide more variety for us to possibly use. We also got some shots from a nearby bridge to provide a higher angle which is closer to the building. Whilst we filmed this we also found a good location for a possible chase scene in which it is the water bank located opposite the parliament building and so we could incorporate the landmark in the background.

We also focused some shots on the London eye as like the Parliament building it acts to symbioses what you would want to see in London. We also focused on the panning style shot for the London eye as it gave us the necessary backgrounds we could use from the bridge for the majority of shots. We were also able to get some shots from the top of the London eye however we were hindered because by the time we got up there it was dark and so it is difficult to distinguish London. So the shots will most likely be abandoned as we want to ensure that there is even lighting throughout the trailer.

Film vlog #3

Film vlog #2

Film vlog #1

Actor interviews

Questions:
Which character are you playing?
Why are you interested in this role?
What is your favourite genre of film?
What is your favourite Action/Thriller film?
What can you bring to this role?
Do you take inspiration from any Actors/Actresses? If so, who?

This is a compilation of our interviews with our actors/actresses that  feature in our film. We have asked them questions that are relevant to our film. 

Audience research

Action film- one of the most popular genres of film, there is a wide variety of people from all classes, age ranges and backgrounds who would enjoy the action genre. The core target audience for an action film would be young males as they are most susceptible to the appeal of violence, car chase, guns, fight scenes, and quick paced editing. Usually men would go see action films with other men as they usually have a very masculine themed story-line, you could argue that the James Bond films are an exception as they have developed over time to be accepted by both genders. Films such as fast and furious are predominantly aimed at men as the stereotypes conformed to appeal more to the violence initiated men. Usually the middle class see the action genre more as they have money left over in order to fill their media palette and they may also have more spare time, for example working class people may work more. Another reason why the majority of people who watch action films are male is because the main character of the film is usually male, this means that a male audience can relate far more to the character at hand.

Thriller films are different compared with action films, they are aimed more at both genders rather than just men and promote a sense of excitement, thrilling, tense, nerve wracking, intriguing and interesting entertainment. however the different sub genres make it difficult to nail down what specific thriller we are looking for, the action thriller films would definitely appeal more to a male dominated audience with violence and guns etc. Target audiences expect to be thrilled out of their seats by what they are about to see, if the film does not achieve this then the film will probably not be successful unless it has a very specific name to the series which is loved by many, e.g. James Bond for action films. The characters in thriller films usually need to be relate-able to the target audience and therefore have a very distinctive story-line which the audience can relate to in a way where they believe they are the character on the screen.

Stereotype expectations

In our film we plant to implement various stereotypes throughout the trailer to appeal to the audience and also allow for the them to possibly link the trailer with its chosen genre. The main features of the trailer are showcased through two main characters and so the stereotypes are obviously focused around them but also with the other characters we are including in the trailer. The protagonist is shown to represent the more sophisticated style of action hero as to fit in with the idea of him being a government agency. He will represent the typical masculine styling you expect from the protagonist in an action film as well as playing a pivotal role in explaining the storyline to the audience.

The main antagonist in our film plays a similar role to his protagonist counterpart as he represents another masculine character whom furthers the plot across the trailer and helps contrast the protagonist as an equal force. The antagonist also serves the audience in setting up and contrasting the other characters present in the trailer as he will be portrayed immediately as the threat in the trailer, this will be portrayed through a fight or chase scene between him and the protagonist. He may also subvert these stereotypes in a way as we plan on incorporating some sort of dialogue between him and the protagonist as we want to showcase the relationship these characters have as in the background of the plot they were close friends.

We will also be including the typical damsel in distress in our trailer as to portray a significant love interest to the protagonist. This character will most likely be subject to the so called evil in the trailer, so she may be abducted or in danger in some way so that it sets up the protagonist to save her if it was in the actual film. We would want the love interest to contrast the protagonists masculine and violent way in our trailer and so she would highlight the cause of the violence as she is in trouble. This helps the audience directly relate to the protagonist, personalising him more as a whole and adding greater emphasis on what he does in the trailer.

We also want to include some minor characters whom provide us the necessary background information to further the plot and showcase it to the audience. This includes the supposed leader of the Syndicate who will be constantly shown in a dark room, ensuring you cant see his facial features to keep his character an enigma but allowing the audience to automatically assume he is a bad guy. He represents a strong individual and seeing as the audience can only make out his voice prominently they would assume he is mysterious but strong willed.

The leader of our so called good corporation acts as the major source of information as he is the narrator at the start of the trailer, providing us the basic outline of the story. He also represents authority as he is shown to direct the protagonist throughout the trailer on what he should do.

Research and Planning Feedback

I can see that you are really enthusiastic about your film and your planning of it - make sure you have developed analysis of media texts to match this evidence of your capability.

Mood board

This is the mood board i have created that is of the action genre. From this mood board we can see that it is mainly males that take the lead in action films as they are portrayed as strong and determined. this helps conform to stereotypes as the man is normally seen as protective over the woman and children

There is always guns featured in action film as the antagonists are always shooting at the protagonists and vice versa. This helps us to conform to stereotypes as in action and thriller films there is always characters who have weapons, well known films such as James Bond and the bourne series revolve around the use of weapons.

Questionnaire of the thriller genre

Questionnaire of the thriller genre 

1. what's your favourite type of thriller film?

please specify ________________________________

2. what do you look for in thriller films?

please specify ________________________________

3. what stereotypical characters do you expect to see in a thriller film?

• protagonist/relate able character 
• innocent character who gets blamed
• character who has evil intent
• woman who catches the characters eye
• useless kid

other? 

please specify _________________________________

4. How do thriller movies make you feel?

• excited?
• intrigued?
• tense?
• curious?
• interested?
• engaged?

other?
please specify _________________________________

5. who do you like watching thriller films with?

parents?
siblings?
friends?
alone?
partner/spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend?

other?
please specify _________________________________

6. which setting intrigues you the most in a thriller film?

• plane
• cargo ship/boat
• train
• foreign country
• city
• streets

other?
please specify _________________________________

7. if a thriller movie is based of real events does it appeal more to you?

• yes?           
• no?
• not really?
• sometimes?

8. do you like watching the trailer of a thriller film before you see the actual film?

• yes?
• no?
• sometimes?
• maybe?

9. what's your favourite thriller film?

please specify _________________________________

Questionnaire of the action genre

Questionnaire of the action genre 

1. what's your favourite type of action film? (e.g. action/thriller)

please specify ________________________________

2. what do you look for in action films?

please specify ________________________________

3. what stereotypical characters do you expect to see in a action film?

• hero
• villain
• strong character 
• love interest
• leader of international organisation
• spy
• people to ask questions along the way

other? 

please specify _________________________________

4. How do action movies make you feel?

• excited?
• enthusiastic?
• happy?
• intrigued?
• interested?

other?
please specify _________________________________

5. who do you like watching action films with?

parents?
siblings?
friends?
alone?
partner/spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend?

other?
please specify _________________________________

6. which setting excites you the most in a action film?

• forest?
• house?
• abandoned place?
• pub?
• bathroom?
• alleyway?
• school?
• busy road?
• high rise building?
• by the ocean?
• by a river (river Thames chase scene)

other?
please specify _________________________________

7. do you like watching the trailer of a action film before you see the actual film?

• yes?
• no?
• sometimes?
• maybe?

8. what sort of character excites you the most in action films?

• protagonist
• antagonist
• character who changes sides
• love interest 
• others

other?

please specify _________________________________

9. what's your favorite action movie?

please specify _________________________________

Examples of establishing shots-Dubai

The establishing shots we got here were good to establish the United Arab Emirates as a main part of our trailer, the Burj Khalifa being the identifiable landmark in this shot

The next few shots are establishing shots based from the observation deck on the 124th floor of the Burj Khalifa, these shots are significant because it sets the scene for what the trailer involves, the fact that we catch the desert in the shots helps to emphasize where we are and therefore makes it easier to set the tone of what we will see. The reason we took more than one shot is because we wanted different length shots to greatly emphasize both how high we were and how vast the city was, the strangest thing about the city was the fact that it changed from city to desert so quickly showing how it was literally built out of the sand.

Sound research

Sound research

Music isn't the only copyright free sound we will need for our film; we will also need sound effects. Like the music, we want the sound effects to be subtle and not immediately noticeable.

The first sound effect we want is a quiet ambient noise that plays during the 'IFM Studios' image.This is simply to add sound to an otherwise needlessly silent part, and also makes it seem more professional.

Even though this year we have changed the logo of our production company to better suit the interests of the group we are still looking for some sort of background sound to make sure the opening to the trailer isn't silent. This is essential in a trailer as there needs to be constant sound whether or not that is music or other non diagetic sound such as the implementation of a sound such as a gunshot after the trailer has been filmed. This sort of sound is essential in the editing part of the trailer, we want the trailer to attract maximum attention and in order to do this we need there to be a constant running theme or sound.

Cast for "the Syndicate"

Bill- (Protagonist)

What we expect him to do- We expect him to act appropriately to the desired genre (a mix between thriller and action), stick to stereotypes about the protagonist, look the part (suit)

How we expect him to act- we expect him to act to a desired level where he has to have serious facial expressions to show the severity of the task at hand, we also expect little dialogue from this character to keep the animosity about him, we want to show chemistry between two of the characters through a shot reverse shot

How he will incorporate stereotypes into his acting- possibly help people, chase after the bad guy, relate-able character, love interest

Matt- (Rogue agent)

What we expect him to do- we expect him to stay in character (rogue agent) and to be able to express the seriousness of the role through his acting

How we expect him to act- we expect him to remain anonymous to the audience as he is the character behind the whole plot of the film, perhaps through quick glimpses of him where the camera perhaps focuses on the protagonist to keep the antagonist hidden

How he will incorporate stereotypes into his acting- less relate able, running away from the problems of what he has cause, less nice, inconsiderate, negative facial expressions,

Conor- (Antagonist)

What we expect him to do- we expect him to say largely anonymous as he is a character we're not supposed to know the identity of, we can do this by having shots below the eyes to make him less relate able to the audience, we expect a sense of professionalism about him as he is the ring leader in the rogue agents actions.

How we expect him to act- We expect him to keep a neutral serious expression on his face at all times, we need to purvey his authority in some way, he needs to say little but with a lot of power behind the way he says it

How he will incorporate stereotypes into his acting- as the main antagonist he needs to come across as the bad guy, he can do this by sounding authoritative, having bodyguards, wearing suits, no front facing shots etc.

Zoey- (Love interest)

What we expect her to do- we expect her to be able to show her feelings towards the protagonist through body language and facial expression, she won't have the biggest part in the film but it will give valuable back-story to give the protagonist an incentive to do what he does.

How we expect her to act- we expect her to act like she is in love with the main character, like nothing can separate their love, we want loving looks and romantic type of stuff

How she will incorporate stereotypes into her acting- she will use love in the most effective way possible, maybe conform to stereotypes in some ways such as being controlled by emotions but subverting them in other ways by being independent rather than frail and passive.

Billy (extra)

What we expect him to do- we expect to fill multiple roles of different characters and to die a convincing death

How we expect him to act- we expect him to fall down convincingly and to fill a part of the film and to conform to stereotypes about the genres we have chosen

How he will incorporate stereotypes into his acting- He will be the henchman character for the antagonist or an extra innocent person which the protagonist fails to save, he will conform to stereotypes about the genre depending on the role he holds

Production company research-Paramount

how its different this year

We are looking to emulate a production company such as paramount as its success is not just purely based on a specific genre rather it doesn't have one focus and therefore can help make any sort of film. Lat year our production company was Tryptic films with the candle logo which lit up, this year however we may look to recreate the logo in a fashion which is more relevant to the genre we want (action/thriller), this is different to our production last year as that was a horror film and so pictures relevant to last year won't be necessary for this year.

Paramount Pictures Corporation (commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, and formerly known as Famous Players-Lasky Corporation) is a film studio, television production company and motion picture distributor, consistently ranked as one of the "Big Six" film studios of Hollywood. It is a subsidiary of US media conglomerate Viacom. Paramount is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). It has distributed several successful film series, such as Transformers, Mission: Impossible and the Universe series.

  Paramount is the fifth oldest surviving film studio in the world after Gaumont Film Company (1895), Pathé (1896), Nordisk Film, (1906), and Universal Studios. It is the last major film studiostill headquartered in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles.

  Paramount Pictures is noteworthy for having three films that have surpassed the $1-billion-mark in worldwide box office sales:

·         Titanic (1997; $2,186,800,000)

·         Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011; $1,123,794,079)

·         Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014; $1,065,153,989)

  In 2006, Paramount became the parent of DreamWorks SKG. Soros Strategic Partners and Dune Entertainment II soon afterwards acquired controlling interest in the live-action films released through September 16, 2005, the latest film in this package was Just Like Heaven. The remaining live-action films through March 2006 remained under direct Paramount control. However, Paramount does own distribution (and other ancillary) rights to the Soros/Dune films.