A2 Final Production Procure

A2 Trailer Procure from Megan Hayhurst on Vimeo.

Evaluation Activity 4

Who are your audience and what have you learned from your audience feedback?

The intended outcome of our production was to grasp our audiences attention through the use of various shot types and fast action editing, also keep them intrigued as to what is happening next without giving too much information away, this leaves our audience wanting to come and see our film as soon as it is released, which is the aim of every trailer ever made. The fast action scenes that extend our audience range into hinting at the action genre, such as the shots referring back to the duct tape-kidnapping scene of Louis and Caitlin in the cellar, which was deemed successful according to our audience feedback, from within class reviews also from our social links from friends on Twitter and Vimeo another shot which builds up suspense would be the car scene, where Adam jumps out of the moving vehicle. The suspense is building, wondering where he could be going.

 

What stylistic techniques were used to create audience appeal?

In accordance to Steve Neale’s audience theory of pleasure is derived from ‘repetition and difference’ we have tried to incorporate both repetition and difference between the genre. For example, we used generic elements such as chiaroscuro lighting but we also opposed that by showing the antagonist's face in the trailer, suggesting to the audience that this a mutation of the genre they first assumed rather than a carbon copy. Just as Christian Metz  says: ‘To survive, genres mutate and join with others to form hybrid genres’ which is what we aimed to do in our production, such as the action comedy Hot Fuzz.

What media theories were utilized? Were the representations involved appropriate to the product?

This links to ‘Roland Barthes Enigma Theory’, He said there is more than one way to read text or television programme etc; he said this because every time you see something you can see it in a slightly different way. Barthes enigma code is saying that film, television programmes and posters makes the audience question something and pulls them in.

For example, murder mysteries do not often show the killer so this

makes the audience question who the killer is and creates questions

in their mind. It’s saying that the narrative establishes then you solve

 the mystery, disruption etc. this is what we have tried to create within our production.

 These recurring characters are ones such as the:

Hero (or heroine): (Adam)

Villain: the kidnapper(Louis)

The gift giver:

The sender:

The false friend: the mans wife (Caitlin)

The helper : the police woman on the phone call.

The damsel in distress: the mans wife (Caitlin)

Evaluation Activity 3

How effective is the combination of your main from louispring

Evaluation Activity 2

Evaluation Activity 1

Procure Director's Commentary from Megan Hayhurst on Vimeo.

Wix Website

http://mlh12media2011.wix.com/procurethefilmpproductions#!cast-and-characters

Procure Cast And Costumes

CAST

Main antagonist: Adam Nixon

Wife: Jess

Kidnapper: Louis Pring

COSTUME

-Adam begins in underwear then dresses, Nixon changes into his jacket

-Jess wearing typical femme-fatale clothes, dark black dress, bright red lipstick

-Louis wearing black clothes (chinos and jacket)

Tuesday, 20 November 2012 Production Company Subsidiary Logo Design As we intend to use an animated title, we decided to use a video clip, as opposed to animating stills. Rather than filming the shots ourselves, we decided to use a pre-existing video clip on YouTube. However, it took some time to find one suitable for our production. Once we had found a video similar to what we had in mind, I downloaded it with Realplayer. Once downloaded, I then edited it down to the required 6 seconds in Windows Movie Maker at home, as the clip was 18 minutes long in total. It was then exported in high definition in order to match the shots we had already filmed and uploaded to Dropbox to then be edited in Pinnacle. Once uploaded, it was spliced every 12 frames and some were deleted at random in order to produce jump cuts. A filter was then added in Magic Bullet and adjustments were made in Chroma Keyer. Finally, the Movie Trailer Complete motion title was added. Sound effects were added from Soundbible.com, as the sound from the actual clip wasn't what we required.

Production Company Subsidiary Logo Design

Production Company Subsidiary Logo Design

As we intend to use an animated title, we decided to use a video clip, as opposed to animating stills. Rather than filming the shots ourselves, we decided to use a pre-existing video clip on YouTube. However, it took some time to find one suitable for our production.

Once we had found a video similar to what we had in mind, I downloaded it with Real player.

Once downloaded, I then edited it down to the required 6 seconds in Windows Movie Maker at home, as the clip was 18 minutes long in total.

It was then exported in high definition in order to match the shots we had already filmed and uploaded to Dropbox to then be edited n Pinnacle.

Rough Cut Of Procure

Rough Cut 1 from Megan Hayhurst on Vimeo.

Procure The Film

The ultimate idea of the trailer is that it starts with a man waking up and preparing for what the audience presumes is a normal day. However as it progresses each significant event of his morning i.e. as he switches his alarm clock off it will lead to shots from a scene that will happen later on in his day. For example, the closing of his front door could lead to the gun being shot in the later scene.

The genre of the film is thriller/action, thus we will include the conventional genre elements of creating suspense, creating enigmas, fast paced jump cuts, chiaroscuro lighting and strong conventional Propp character types. The focus of the trailer is to create enigmas for the audience in order to hook them in, although it is a thriller so therefore there will be dramatic qualities to the film in the trailer we hope to make it more action based since it’s only a teaser trailer.  

The main focal marketing point for our trailer is its genre stereotypical set up, in that although it’s not a brand new idea it’s still a well-developed classic that conforms to well established conventions. However, due to the seemingly stereotypical narrative film it will therefore shock audiences through its twists and turns of which they would not have guessed from the trailer. What will also be a selling point for our film will be the fact that Hassan Khan (a highly credited director) is directing the film, therefore attracting fans of him and his films will want to come and see it. We would hope that it will be shown in all major cinemas such as Odeon and Vue due to its wide audience appeal. 

                                               

Our main target audience for our trailer is mostly male teen audience due to the heavily populated action shots which are usually associated with a male demographic. They will probably be aged 15-30 (as our film would probably get a 15 rating) and will be the typical mainstream cinema goer who shops in the mainstream shops such as Topman etc. However this won’t be an all-male target audience, although the trailer itself will be mainly male orientated, the film will have dramatic elements to it making it more appealing

Driving Shots

Drive-by Shooting: Using Your Car to Make Better Videos from Vimeo Video School on Vimeo

Production Company Subsidary Logo Design

As we intend to use an animated title, we decided to use a video clip, as opposed to animating stills. Rather than filming the shots ourselves, we decided to use a pre-existing video clip on YouTube. However, it took some time to find one suitable for our production.

Once we had found a video similar to what we had in mind, I downloaded it with Realplayer.

 

Once downloaded, I then edited it down to the required 6 seconds in Windows Movie Maker at home, as the clip was 18 minutes long in total.

It was then exported in high definition in order to match the shots we had already filmed and uploaded to Dropbox to then be edited n Pinnacle

Once uploaded, it was spliced every 12 frames and some were deleted at random in order to produce jump cuts. A filter was then added in Magic Bullet and adjustments were made in Chroma Keyer. Finally, the Movie Trailer Complete motion title was added.

Sound effects were added from Soundbible.com, as the sound from the actual clip wasn't what we required.

Rough Cut Edit Analysis

After receiving feedback about our rough cut edit, we made some changes to our production. We were also told what the best aspects of it were.

The main criticism was the fact that the story wasn’t clear. In order to make it clear, we will either add a voice over or dialogue. However, this may be difficult, as we have both a recording of a wedding ceremony and music with lyrics in our production.

There was also criticism in regards to the sound used. We will change the levels of the vows and the music, making the former louder, as it is of more use to the viewer in terms of creating meaning. We will also attempt to edit ‘Angels’ down so that only parts of the tracks without vocals are used. Failing this, I will opt for our initial idea of recording the guitar and bass parts myself in Cubase. However, we were told that lyrics did work with the institutional information, whereas for the rest of the production it is just confusing when combined with the wedding recording.

Our shots appear to be well composed and there is a variety of them, flowing smoothly due to good editing. We were told that this, along with the use of the Green Pearl filter in and saturation adjustments in Magic Bullet, made it look more professional. As well as our use of post-production special effects, we were also complimented on those created in-camera, namely the car bailout scene. However, the editing pace needs to slowly increase in order to create tension, diegetic noise needs to be added to the aforementioned scene, the earlier car scenes need lightening and more transitions need to be used.

 

 

Music Choices

Music in a trailer can be very useful in establishing mise en scene and therefore when choosing what music we were going to use in the background we had a number of choices that we had were from the free music file sharing site Soundcloud. Here are some examples of music we thought you using:

Insatsstyrka 7- Soundcloud

In this particular example it is a more an orchestral based backing track, with its low bass notes and use of violins it creates a mysterious and ominous air to it which is good for a thriller trailer. And the fact that it is not overly dramatic also is in keeping with the beginning of our piece with the ‘waking up scene’ which is not dramatic itself.

Eliminator (Epic trailer version)- Soundcloud 

In this next example the title itself suggests the nature of it with it building from quite a slow tense piece to a very dramatic and epic climax at the end. Again it is an orchestral piece with lots of violins and low bass notes which would create the air of mystery and suspense however the overly dramatic climactic ending is perhaps too dramatic for our film trailer.

Brand X Music – World Without End remix- Soundcloud

Another example of potential trailer music is this, where like the previous example it begins slowly with only a small amount of instruments and then builds to a climactic ending. However the beginning of the piece appears quite light hearted with the major style chords which is not the effect we were looking for in the beginning shots as they need to set enigmas etc. Although the ending we quite enjoyed in accordance to the running/car scenes at the end it was again a little more overdramatic than we wanted it to be.   

Summon the Wolves- Soundcloud

Teaserevan-chrisinger- Soundcloud

Risk Assessment

Whilst filming shot number 14 of a long tracking shot of man from behind as his head turns right, we had to survey the area because we were filming on derelict land riddled with scrap metal and pieces of shattered glass and rubble, so we cleared the pathway for Adam to walk through, of rubble and sharp edges the camera man has a smoother walk and the shot could be more stable.

We placed a non-slip mat on the shower basin so that Adam (Actor Tom) didn’t slip whilst filming his shots in the shower.

Car shots were filmed with precautions, the owner of the car was the only driver, we filmed on a quiet street, and we informed the residents and passers-by that we were filming our shot for media so they had no reason to worry about us or our whereabouts.

We carried one piece of equipment each whilst walking through Waterfoot to film our shots within walking distance.

Another of our locations is outside our school. This was a very low risk because the actor was out of the way of any traffic and the camera was on the pavement, so we just had to make sure that we wasn’t in the way of pedestrians and/or students coming to and from our school to cut down on background noise.

Props And Locations

The main part of the trailer is where the main character Tom is getting ready in his room. For this we needed to use a male’s bedroom and so therefore we will use Adam’s own bedroom to film these scenes. And in order to keep in with the idea that the couple were married we will use Adam’s house to film the shots of the ‘happy couple’.                      

The outside shots including the shots with the car will all be filmed on a road but they will mostly be filmed in and around Waterfoot making it easier for us to film during school time. A possible place to film the car accident scene could be King Street 

 

For the shots where Tom will be running (shot 19) we could use a road just off Cowpe Street as it is quite secluded and just large enough to fit a car down making the tracking shots more realistic.

For shot 14 when there is a tracking shot of Tom from behind we will film in the now recently knocked down mill at the bottom of Booth Road to make it seem very mysterious and ominous.

                                      

For the close up of the tape being unravelled and of Jess’s hands being tied together we are going to use a room in the school that has an enclosed and ominous feel to it. For shot 20 and 21 where we see Tom holding a gun we wanted to use a private road but unfortunately that wasn’t possible so therefore we are going to use a toy gun and sue the location of Duke Street in Waterfoot which has graffiti on the side of the wall which will look very effective in the panning shot of 20.

For shot 24 where the shot is through a car wing mirror we are going to use the location of West Street in Waterfoot.

In order to keep continuity and to make it seem realistic we are going to use Adam and Louis fake guns which both look rather convincing however, obviously for safety reasons they are not real. Since there are two main characters that both have guns Louis (Jack, the kidnapper) will use his own Red Metal BB Gun which looks something similar to the one below:

And Adam (Tom, the vigilante) will use his own black 357 revolver which looks similar to the one below:

For the opening scene we are going to need to use cardboard boxes with different words written on them such as “BOOKS” etc. to further emphasise that the couple are moving house.

For the kidnapping scenes we will also need to use some rope, duct tape and some matches in order to do the match lighting shot.

Film Producers And Distributors

Our film’s genre is a thriller/action film which in terms of film producers is a very popular genre.

Since moving away from their Disney persona, Miramax films have become an established film producer and distributor in its own right. Although Miramax don’t strictly just make thrillers they make a wide range of films. However they have recently started producing more crime/thriller/action films such as Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2010) The Debt (2010/I) and in production now Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2013). Miramax film would be a great producer to produce our film due to its well-known status in America and in particularly the semiotics of its company logo.

 The Miramax logo has your typical binary opposite of black and white which in relation to a thriller genre is perfect. The binary opposition could connote several different things and the main one being the fight between good and evil evident in our plot line with the kidnapper and the vigilante even with the addition of the femme fatale twist. The sans serif font in addition to the line straight lines also gives it that finished edge making it look more professional and elite which would really give our film a boost in terms of making it a success in the box office. 

Due to the fact that our film does not have any major stars/directors or a large budget it would be unlikely if it was to be made that Miramax would produce it due to its high status and close links to America. However there are occasions of which Miramax has distributed low-budget ‘unknown’ films such as Garden State (2004) written and directed by the upcoming Zack Braff. This is more than likely due to its high praise at film festivals and its awards at the Sundance Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Festival and US Comedy Arts Festival.

In relation to Garden Sate its initial release in the US was 16 January 2004 which is outside of the summer holiday blockbuster season that occurs between June-August, because it was a relatively low budget film there would be no competition with the Hollywood blockbusters of that year. This is a technique we would again use for our film since ours is a low budget film but we would also incorporate weather into our release date since November – December is obviously blighted by cold weather and in some cases snow and ice why would deter people from coming to see the film if they can’t even get to the cinema. In contrast to this we would also take into account that between April-June (just before the blockbuster season) it is usually good weather where people won’t want to go to cinema inside if they could be sat outside in the sun. So therefore we will hopefully release our film between January – March.  

Bad Robot Productions is an American film and television production company owned by J. J. Abrams. Although it is more responsible for television series it does also produce films. Bad Robot was originally part of Touchstone Television, but has moved with J. J. Abrams to Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Television, after his contract with Touchstone had expired in 2006. A lot of television programmes that they produce such as Lost, Alcatraz and Fringe are mostly Sci-Fi’s but they also have thriller/crime/action elements involved in them.

Bad Robot Productions have co-produced many successful films such as Cloverfield, Mission Impossible III, Star Trek and Super 8. This would therefore give our film a certain gravitas to our relatively low budget film.    

 The semiotics for this production logo suggests an unknown and uncertain outcome with the dark clouds covering the yellow sky. The dark grass also connotes an air of evil spreading across the land, which contracts the typical view of green grass which suggests hope and prosper. The robot itself looks small and dominated by the looming evil, the robot’s eyes look sad and pleading, not too dissimilar to the wife who gets kidnapped in the film. The font style is uneven and spiky which suggests an air of uncertainty and the capitalization makes a statement to the audience. 

Although it is perhaps unlikely that Bad Robot Productions would produce our films due to the fact that it a low budget film, however it is not impossible. In accordance to similar films we may also look at other production companies such as CinemaNX who have also produced low budget thrillers such as The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009). CinemaNX has, since its launch in 2007, swiftly established itself as one of the UK’s leading film financing and production groups. The CinemaNX logo is again very similar to the Miramax logo since it's format and colour scheme are the same to represent the binary opposition (Claude Levi-Strauss) of good versus evil. 

Again another production company who has produced films such as the one we have made is Rollercoaster Films who have produced one film, the highly popular Eden Lake (2008). Although it has only produced one film, that film was highly successful making $3,983,997 in the worldwide lifetime gross. Similarly to the Miramax and CinemaNX logo, the Rollercoaster Films production logo uses the binary opposite black and white however what adds interest to this particular logo is the use of film reels in place of the letter 'o' which are then connected by a film reel. Therefore reinforcing the semiotic of it being a film producer. There is also diversity in the position of the text in the logo in that the word 'films' is placed on its side so therefore adding interest to the typical black and white fixed position.

Our film is obviously not going to be able to compete with the big conglomerate Hollywood productions and therefore we will start small scale with a premiere at the Picture House in Manchester then try and get into film festivals in order to gain recognition. We will initially start with a British audience rather than an American one, although the genre and idea is very much a typically American film it will be best to start with a British audience. This will be demonstrated by the fact that we won’t use the typical green title that says “The following preview has been approved for all audiences by the Motion Picture Association of America Inc.” therefore suggesting that it is a UK not US release.

SCRIPT FOR ‘PROCURE’

INT. DAWN TOM’S BEDROOM (SHOT ONE)

TOM can be seen sleeping in his bed.

     CUT TO.

EXT. DAY OUTSIDE STREET (SHOT TWO)

TOM and JESS are seen unloading boxes whilst smiling at the camera.

TOM

I, TOM, take you JESS, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.

Then camera is then turned to reveal JACK who is also smiling into the camera.

CUT TO.

EXT. DAY EXTERIOR HOUSE (SHOT THREE)

TOM and JESS are stood together with TOM’S arm around JESS as they laugh and smile at the camera.

CUT TO.

INT. DAWN TOM’S BEDROOM (SHOT FOUR)

TOM’S hand can be seen reaching over and pressing snooze on the alarm clock.

CUT TO.

INT. DAY TOM’S HOUSE (SHOT FIVE)

TOM and JESS are seen decorating the hall and playing with paint, putting their dirty hands over each other.

JESS

I, JESS, take you TOM, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.

CUT TO.

INT. DAWN TOM’S BEDROOM (SHOT SIX)

TOM’S hand can be seen again reaching over and pressing the alarm off.

CUT TO.

INT. DAY TOM’S BATHROOM (SHOT SEVEN)

The shower can be seen turning on.

CUT TO.

INT. DAY TOM’S SHOWER (SHOT EIGHT)

TOM’S head is seen hung in the shower as the water drips over him, he looks very depressed/upset.

A dial tone can be heard.

OPERATOR

                   999, what’s your emergency?

TOM

                   Police please, it’s my wife, she’s                        been taken.

CUT TO.

INT. NIGHT JACK’S CAR (SHOT NINE)

JACK and JESS can be seen looking at each other in the car.

CUT TO.

INT. NIGHT JACK’S CAR (SHOT TEN)

JACK (inaudible)

                        I’m so sorry.

CUT TO.

INT. NIGHT JACK’S CAR (SHOT ELEVEN)

JESS looked horrified as the car door opens.

CUT TO.

EXT. NIGHT JACK’S CAR ON ROAD (SHOT TWELVE)

JESS is pulled from the car by her stomach as he lifts her into the air away from the car, by a man in a hoodie.

JESS screams and struggles.

CUT TO.

INT. DAY TOM’S SHOWER (SHOT THIRTEEN)

TOM’S hand can be seen reaching for a towel off the rail.

     CUT TO.

EXT. NIGHT OUTSIDE STREET (SHOT FOURTEEN)

TOM can be seen with his back to the camera and as the camera approaches his head turns to the right to look behind him at the camera.

CUT TO.

INT. DAWN TOM’S BEDROOM (SHOT FIFTEEN)

TOM is looking down into the drawers with a serious expression on his face as his rummages through the drawer.

TOM

                    If you’re not going to do                                 anything about it,

CUT TO.

INT. DAWN TOM’S BEDROOM (SHOT SIXTEEN)

TOM is seen pushing a tie up.

TOM (cont.)

then I will.

CUT TO.

INT. EVENING DARK ROOM (SHOT SEVENTEEN)

JACK’s hands can be seen unravelling duct tape whilst walking.

CUT TO.

INT. EVENING DARK ROOM (SHOT EIGHTEEN)

JESS'S hands can be seen tied to a chair with the kidnapper in the background but out of focus.

                                                     CUT TO.

EXT. NIGHT STREET (SHOT NINETEEN)

TOM can be seen running through the street with a very serious/determined look on his face.

                        TOM
              I don't know what you think you're                        playing at.

                                                     CUT TO.

EXT. NIGHT STREET (SHOT TWENTY)

The camera pans to TOM who is pressed up against the wall lurking around the corner with a gun held close to his chest.

                        JACK (cont.)
              Me? I'm not playing at anything.

                                                     CUT TO.

EXT. NIGHT STREET (SHOT TWENTY ONE)

A gun can be seen with a very busy street in the background.

                                                     CUT TO.

                        FADE TO BLACK.

EXT. NIGHT STREET (SHOT TWENTY TWO)

TOM’S hand is holding a gun.

                                                     CUT TO.

EXT. NIGHT STREET (SHOT TWENTY THREE)

TOM’S hand is still holding the gun whilst the hammer goes back.

                                                     CUT TO.

INT. NIGHT TOM’S CAR (SHOT TWENRY FOUR)

JESS can be seen through the car wing mirror running away in fear of TOM in the car.

                                                     CUT TO.

INT. EVENING DARK ROOM (SHOT TWENTY FIVE)

JACK strikes a match and brings it towards his face in a very dark room, as he stares at the match intently.

                                                     CUT TO.

INT. EVENING TOM’S BATHROOM (SHOT TWENTY SIX)

TOM is submerged under water in a bathtub holding his breath as he looks directly into the camera.

                                                     CUT TO.

INT. EVENING JACK’S CAR (SHOT TWENTY SEVEN)

JACK is driving the car looking out onto the road with an angry expression on his face.

                                                     CUT TO.

INT. EVENING JACK’S CAR (SHOT TWENTY EIGHT)

TOM is already tied up and is switching his focus from the road to JACK and then down towards the car door.

                                                     CUT TO.

INT. EVENING JACK’S CAR (SHOT TWENTY NINE)

TOM’S hand can be seen rooting for the door handle as he pulls it open hard.

                                                     CUT TO.

EXT. EVENING STREET (SHOT THRITY)

The passenger door opens and TOM can be seen rolling out of the car from a side on angle.

                                                     CUT TO.

EXT. EVENING STREET (SHOT THIRTY ONE)

JACK’S car can be seen driving by as TOM rolls out of it on the other side.

                                                     CUT TO.

EXT. EVENING STREET (SHOT THIRTY TWO)

JESS is seen looking distressed, as she looks left across the road.

                                                     CUT TO.

INT. TOM’S CAR (SHOT THIRTY THREE)

The camera doesn’t show TOM driving towards JESS at high speed. JESS is still looking left at this point.

CUT TO.

EXT. EVENING STREET (SHOT THIRTY FOUR)

JESS then turns right and notices the car approaching at speed and her face shows a panicked expression.

CUT TO.

INT. TOM’S CAR (SHOT THIRTY FIVE)

TOM is still driving towards JESS with speed. JESS is now looking directly at the car in fear.

CUT TO.

EXT. EVENING STREET (SHOT THIRTY SIX)

TOM’S car then collides with JESS at speed.

CUT TO.

INT. EVENING TOM’S CAR (SHOT THIRTY SEVEN)

JESS’S body can be seen rolling onto the windscreen and then off onto the body from the perspective of TOM.

FADE TO BLACK.