Pre-Production Evaluation

Pre-Production Evaluation

Script

From the start, I wanted to make a movie that fits within the horror genre, as I find them very interesting and I imagine they would be fun to make. Initially, I was going to make a movie with a totally different plot to the one I ended up making, and I started a script on that. However, it featured many complex dream sequences and would be too ambitious to actually bring to life. I thought about perhaps reworking this original script, but instead scrapped the idea. I then decided to instead make a slasher film. this would be a lot more fun to film, and also a lot easier. However, I still wished to limit myself to a two man cast. Due to this, I was limited for dialogue. I decided to use this as a positive and tried to focus more on expression and body language in my movie. While nobody involved had any acting experience, I believed I could get the reactions and expressions that I wanted. Nonetheless, all of this lead to there only being seven lines of dialogue in the whole film, all said by the same character. This allowed me to also put more focus on action. Due to my film being a slasher, it needed a recognisable yet realistic villain. To play into this, the villain was a large man in black clothes and a balaclava who stays silent and mysterious throughout the film. For the victim in the movie, I cast a friend of mine who is quite young looking, making him seem vulnerable and suited to the part. He also has a very slim frame, and looks like he could be realistically overpowered by the villain. With them cast, I also had to write around them realistically. This meant that for the fight scene towards the end of the film, I wrote for The Intruder to dominate most of the fight before eventually being overthrown. I also wanted to throw a classic slasher trope into my film, so I settled on a character that seemed to be dead, actually being alive. I was worried this would come out as confusing in the film, so I tried to write it in a way where The Intruder could realistically survive his stab wound. In the end, everything came together nicely.

Location

For my film, I only needed one location, that being a large house. This wasn't going to be hard, as I had a friend with a large house who volunteered to have this as the shooting location. To see if it was appropriate, I went and took a look around. Unfortunately, my movie required an upstairs bedroom, and the only upstairs bedroom was very obviously one that belonged to an adult and not a teenager. Due to this, I had to find another location to shoot at. Luckily, another friend of mine volunteered to have his house in the movie, so I went to do a second scout. While I was there doing a location scout, I also checked for any risks and filled out a risk assessment form. This was necessary as I would not be able to shoot in an unsafe location due to the risk of any severe injuries occurring while on set. If i hadn't checked for any risks, then I would potentially be putting myself and my crew in harms way when we came to shoot the short film. Luckily, there turned out to be no real threats. The only potentially dangerous thing that could happen is during the shooting of the scene that takes place on the stairs, but we had measurements in place to make sure nothing could have went wrong, and if it did, harm would be minimal. The location turned out to be suitable, and I had permission from the owner as-well. After having consent forms filled out, everything with the new location was sorted fairly quickly.

Budget Planning

Initially, I wanted to shoot the film on a non-existant budget. This was so that i wouldn't have to go through any hassle and wouldn't have to spend personal money on something I would use once. However, I realised i would need a prop knife, since using a real one was obviously out of the question due to the amount of safety risks. Then, a previously owned balaclava had seemingly gone missing. Due to this, I was forced to purchase a prop knife on Amazon and a balaclava in a ski shop, keeping my money spent still under ten pounds. Both items, while cheap, were still very high quality. The balaclava was something that I was very happy to find for the price, as it looks like a typical burglar mask, which fits into the breaking into homes aspect of my film. Luckily, I already owned a camera, tripod, light and access to editing software so no vastly expensive purchases had to be made. Since my sister allowed me to use her camera, she also allowed me use of her SD card, which was very helpful for keeping a low budget bas they can be very expensive. Keeping track of all the purchases that I made was very important, as it let me remember what I had actually bought and it allowed me to see the total amount of money that I spent. No other pieces of equipment where needed, so I was ready to film.

Storyboard

In order to fully see how my movie would play out, I had to draw up a storyboard. This allowed me to see how things would look on screen and if they would be hard to shoot or not. My drawing is not a strong point, so I was initially worried that my storyboard would come out really unclear. However, by using the description boxes fully to my advantage, everything tuned out fine. The storyboard helped me remember everything to do when shooting, specifically when it came to all the different camera angles and shot types. I personally feel like I may have used too many over the shoulder and close up shot's, but I wanted to keep things quite simple. I would've rather used simpler shots well than attempted a really technical shoot and having it come out sloppy. The storyboard also helped my cast as it was a simple visual presentation of everything that they had to do in the movie. This was useful for when I didn't quite know how to describe to them what I wanted them to do, where I wanted them to stand and much more.

Meeting Plans

Here is the summary for the initial meeting that took place. Here we discussed the parts. Due to JF being quite tall he was cast as "The Intruder", as we could easily make him appear menacing. HF was then cast as "Chris".  We decided we would purchase the balaclava prop from a ski shop in the city centre and we would look online to purchase a realistic prop knife. Transport for everybody was arranged and costumes were confirmed to already be owned.

The filming location was confirmed after a very successful location scouting that showed that the location had everything we needed and was also a very safe location. We settled on all props that were needed and discussed food possibilities. For the food, we realized that there were many takeaway restaurants and general shops nearby, so we could easily get something to eat.

This was the final meeting before shooting took place. All of the props were finally confirmed after the arrival of the knife prop that was ordered from Amazon. We then decided to begin shooting at 3pm later that day, giving us another few hours to simply practice different scenes before everything was settled and shooting began.

Risk Assesment Form

Required Equipment

Here, I made note of all the equipment that I used during the making of my movie. Only one equipment piece was not already owned, and that was the Microphone. I was lucky to already have all of the other equipment at my disposal as it saved a lot of time and money. 

Draft Script #2

FADE IN:

INT. BEDROOM - DAY

CHRIS is on the phone to a friend in his room. He is lying on his bed while doing so. He has a confident yet relaxed tone in his voice, and is resting one hand behind his head.

CHRIS

George, yeah, you can come over later since I'm home alone. Yeah. Bring some over if you want, we just can't smoke any inside.

CHRIS pauses to listen to his phone for a little while, taking in whatever the person on the other side of the call is saying. 

CHRIS

(Sarcastically)

Yeah, the smell is too noticeable. Alright I gotta go get a bite to eat, see ya later, bye.

CHRIS hangs up the phone and throws it to the side on his bed. He sits up and lets out a sigh, then stretches both of his arms out with a yawn.  He slowly rises to his feet and then steps out of his bedroom, leaving the door open. He crosses his landing, and walks downstairs. 

INT. DOWNSTAIRS - DAY

Downstairs, CHRIS walks down his hall and enters the kitchen, a bored expression on his face. He opens the fridge, then shuts it angrily. He opens a few cupboards, but has the same reaction. 

CHRIS turns and leaves the kitchen. When he turns, THE INTRUDER is revealed to the audience, and he is hiding behind the kitchen door with a knife in his hand. 

CHRIS then turns around and walks out. He walks down the hall and to the bottom of the stairs, opposite the front door, before a slight bang is heard.

CHRIS spins around to see THE INTRUDER stood in his kitchen and holding a knife.

CHRIS backs away in shock and ends up backed into a wall. THE INTRUDER slowly walks towards CHRIS, who slides down the wall to be sat on the floor.

When THE INTRUDER is close, CHRIS darts for the stairs and avoids a grab from THE INTRUDER. CHRIS dashes up the stairs, but THE INTRUDER grabs his ankle. CHRIS quickly shakes his foot off and runs up the stairs and off-screen.

THE INTRUDER slowly walks up the stairs, then makes his way to the landing. He walks straight to the bedroom door and kicks it open.

INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT

THE INTRUDER immediately sees CHRIS hiding down the side of the bed. CHRIS stands and goes to run at the door, but is tackled to the floor by THE INTRUDER.

The pair wrestle until THE INTRUDER pulls out the knife, but CHRIS knocks it out of his hand and onto the floor besides them. 

THE INTRUDER instead puts his hands around the neck of CHRIS and starts to strangle him. CHRIS gags and struggles, but then grabs the knife from besides them.

CHRIS stabs THE INTRUDER in the hand, making him let go of his throat. CHRIS pounces on THE INTRUDER and pins him to the floor, then stabs him in the stomach and falls down onto his back.

CHRIS stands, exhausted. Breathing rapidly, he lets out a sigh of relief.

CHRIS

(Tiredly)

I guess I'm not as alone as I thought...

 CHRIS lets out another defeated sigh, then turns and goes to leave the room. A noise is heard behind him.

CHRIS spins around, but the body of THE INTRUDER is gone.

CHRIS goes to run, only to be grabbed from behind by around the neck.

CHRIS is pulled back and has the knife swung down right into his chest by THE INTRUDER.

On impact, the screen darts to black, and a scream is heard. The credits then roll up the screen.

Personnel List

In my movie, I only used a few cast-members, as my script only required two. Here are there names and contact information, which I have partially blocked out to protect their privacy. I included the rolls that they perform also, so if anyone wished to know what they are doing in my movie i can jus show them this list.

Budget Planning

I needed the balaclava and prop knife as they are the two main props used in the movie. The balaclava helps identify The Intruder, the villain of the movie. He carries a knife throughout, hence the inclusion of the prop knife. I use this as a real knife would be far too dangerous due to the fact that in the script, the knife i supposed to be held close to people and swung at them. The knife being fake heavily decreases any risk of cast members receiving injuries.

I included the microphone as a DSLR on it's own doesn't pick up sound very clearly, and while there isnt much dialogue in my film, I still want it to be clear. I also need a microphone strong enough to pick up all the gasps, screams, bangs and bumps in the song.

Location Release Form

Here, I asked for permission to film in somebody else's home. I needed this permission as the household in question was ideal for what i wanted to film, and I also had nowhere else to possibly film. Luckily, I acquired permission and was also welcomed back to film anytime incase i needed to do any retakes or get extra footage.  

Genre

Genre

My movie will work within the horror genre. My main influences are going to be slasher films due to the way they create a tense atmosphere around a seemingly unstoppable killer. My main influence is the "Scream" franchise as it often follows a set of teenage characters fighting back against a masked killer who at the end of the day, is only human. However, I decided to try and make my movie more realistic by having it simply be a man in a mask committing a home invasion, like in "The Strangers". Due to the movie being a horror, I will give it a somewhat cold colour visual, like in "Halloween" and "Friday The 13th".

Man In The Night Storyboard

Rough Draft Script #1

FADE IN:

INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT

CHRIS is on the phone to a friend in his room. He is lying on his bed while doing so.

CHRIS
Yeah George, you can come over later since I'm home alone. Yeah. Bring some over if you want, we just can't smoke any inside. Yeah, the smell is too noticeable. Alright I gotta go get a bite to eat, see ya later, bye.

CHRIS hangs up the phone and throws it to the side on his bed. He stretches his arms and then steps off his bed. He leaves the room, walks downstairs, and goes to the kitchen. He searches the fridge and cupboards, different angles show a man in the distance, inside the house. 

CHRIS puts a slice of bread in his mouth, and goes to turn out of the kitchen. Suddenly he stops, and goes to look at where the man was. Nobody is there. He turns and to see the man, brandishing a knife. CHRIS yells and runs away, heading up the stairs.

Running up the stairs, CHRIS stumbles slightly, allowing the intruder to grab his ankle. CHRIS kicks away at the mans arm and manages to break free. He sprints upstairs and slips into his dark room, then hides down the side of his bed. The intruder enters the room and is heard walking around, until the footsteps suddenly stop. CHRIS slowly rises, then sees the intruder sat in the centre of the bed. He goes to run, but the intruder pounces. 

The pair wrestle until the intruder pulls out the knife, but CHRIS knocks it out of his hand and onto the floor besides them. The intruder instead puts his hands around the neck of CHRIS and starts to strangle him. CHRIS gags and struggles then grabs the knife from besides him and stabs him in the chest. The man struggles, and CHRIS stabs him again a few times before the intruder collapses.

CHRIS stands, exhausted.

CHRIS

I guess I'm not as alone as I thought...

 CHRIS lets out a defeated sigh, then turns and goes to leave the room. A noise is heard behind him. CHRIS spins around, but the body of The Intruder is gone. CHRIS goes to run, only to be grabbed from behind by around the neck. Chris is pulled back and has the knife swung down right to his chest, only for the screen to freeze before impact, and the credits to roll across the frozen image. 

Film Characters

Chris:

Chris is an average British teenager. At age 16, his only concerns are how to have a good time. This is shown in the movie through his attempts to have a friend come to his house while his parents aren't home. This shows a sense of defiance as he is doing something his parents likely wouldn't approve it. Chris is shown as having a stereotypical "Don't Care' attitude, a common feature in many movies featuring teenage characters. While on the phone, he also mentions smoking something, but doesn't specify exactly that. This hints at drug use, which means that Chris could be quite troublesome since he is committing illegal activities in his spare time, simply for his own enjoyment.

Chris is also a very capable person, capable of defending himself in different situations. However, if overcame by fear that something could go wrong, he will likely run from his problems rather than facing them. He is also a skilled musician, owning many different instruments ranging from a keyboard to a guitar, which he likes to display in his room to attempt to impress anyone who comes in.

Visually, Chris is at an average height with a slim build. He dresses simple, often sticking to a T-Shirt and some tracksuit bottoms taking comfort over style. He has a modern haircut, showing that he does follow some style, and follows some of the norms of a teenage boy in his time.

Intruder:

The intruder is a very capable man. He can pick through locks and climb through windows with ease, despite his large stature. For reasons unknown, he breaks into people's homes at night and attempts to murder them. He does so by first breaking in during daytime to study his victim and their personality, then he attempts to sneak around the house until night, where he can commit the attack on someone who is tired and weaker. If seen before then, he will stop at nothing to end their life as soon as he can. Nothing is know about his personality besides from this.

Visually, The Intruder is a 6 foot tall man dressed in jeans, a black hoodie, a black balaclava and brandishing a knife. The knife is his weapon of choice, but he will use his hands if completely necessary. He typically works in black socks and no shoes, to ensure no footprints are left and he makes less noise, allowing him to sneak easier.

Target Audience

Target Audience/USP:
My target audience will be teenagers and young adults. This is because my short film will feature a teenager as the main protagonist. As young people, they may be able to relate to his personality and decisions. Also, horror movies are typically enjoyed more by younger generations, so I should target my film towards them since they're more likely to enjoy the genre. My main selling point would be the independent teenage lead, as they're not too common in many movies, and when they are, they're side characters. This allows me to show a new side to these teenage characters, who are often glossed over as being dependent and unable to do anything on their own.

Film Treatment

There is rather large house in a somewhat fancy looking street. The drive is empty, but the house is not. Inside Is Chris, an average 16 year old boy. Chris is lying on his bed, on the phone to a friend of his who goes by the name of George. Chris has been left home alone, and is looking to capitalize on this. Chris invites George to come to his house,and lets him know that he's home alone. Chris smiles excitedly to himself as he finalizes the plans. Then he hangs up the phone, proclaiming himself to be hungry. With a spring in his step, he hop off his bed and carelessly throws his phone down onto it, then leaves the room and heads downstairs. Chris makes a beeline towards the kitchen, immediately ransacking a cupboard upon entry. Much to his own annoyance, the cupboard is full of meals that must be cooked, and would take actual preparation. Letting out a sigh, Chris hangs his head. He slowly leaves the room, plodding into the hallway. As he turns, he doesn't notice that he isn't home alone after all. This is because there is actually an intruder in his house, hiding on the counter behind his kitchen door. The Intruder holds his breathe as he squats on the counter, a large knife in hand. As Chris walks down the hallway, The Intruder pokes his head from around the door and watches his route. Chris pauses when this happens, as The Intruder creaks loudly atop the counter. Chris' breathing hitches, and he slowly turns back to face the kitchen, only to be greeted with the sight of a large man dressed in black, wearing a balaclava and brandishing a knife. Chris freezes, fear coursing through his body. The Intruder calmly starts to approach Chris, turning the knife in his hand in an attempt to strike further fear. This works, and Chris slowly backs up into his locked front-door. Realising there is nowhere left for him to go, he slides down the wall and falls into a seated position on the floor, his eyes not straying away from The Intruder. Chris' rational thoughts come back through the fear, and he scrambles to his feet, the darts up the stairs, as they are the only place he can go. The Intruder dives around the bannister and barely grabs the ankle of Chris. He starts yanking at him in an attempt to pull him down, but Chris has an iron grip on the bannister and is refusing to let go. Chris starts to violently thrash his captured leg around as much as he can, then successfully freeing his grip. He runs up the stairs as fast as he can, barely evading The Intruder's second attempt to pull his legs out from under him. Chris reaches the top of the stairs, and instinctively dashes into his bedroom and pushes the door to be semi-shut when he enters, hoping it throws The Intruder off and fools him. The Intruder walks up the stairs slowly, taking his time since he knows that he has Chris trapped upstairs with no means of escape. He approaches the door, and opens it with a might kick. The sudden sound was a surprise to Chris, making him jump involuntarily and give his position away. Chris looks across the room from his position of lying on the floor down the side of his bed and makes eye contact with The Intruder. The pair keep the eyes locked, just staring at each other. The stare is broken by The Intruder as he suddenly leaps onto the bed, catching Chris off guard. Chris crawls backwards out of his spot in an attempt to escape, but crawls back into his wardrobe, cornering himself in the process. The Intruder steps off the bed, and comes down to squat in front of Chris. He swings the knife down suddenly, but Chris manages to grab the wrist of The Intruder and block the attack. The Intruder pushes down with power, so much so that Chris has to grab his arm with both hands. Chris manages to push the knife away, then he quickly lets go with one hand and slaps the knife from The Intruder's grip. Chris then lets go entirely and dives under the left arm of The Intruder, getting out of the corner successfully . However, The Intruder is fast to react. He grabs Chris and tackles him to the floor, planting him on his back. In a last ditch effort, The Intruder places both hands on the throat of Chris and starts strangling him, desperate to get the kill in any way possible. Chris gags, losing oxygen quickly under the iron grip on his neck. He tries to pry the hands from his throat but can't manage. Chris turns his head and sees how close he is to his bed, then gets an idea. He places a hand on the side of The Intruder's head and pushes him off him with all of his might. The Intruder topples off of Chris, and collides headfirst into the wooden bed frame. He hits hard, stunning himself in the process. Looking to take advantage of the situation, Chris dives at the knife and gets the handle in his grasp. He gets up onto his knees and looks down at it in his hands, but The Intruder is already back up. He grabs Chris from behind and gets him into a choke hold, looking to finish the job. The Intruder falls onto his back, getting the choke in harder. Chris is pulled backwards, but uses the momentum to his advantage by rolling back out of the grip of The Intruder. Chris quickly jumps on top of The Intruder and drives the knife down into his chest with one blow. Chris breathes heavily, and drop the knife to the floor shocked at what he'd done. He slowly gets to his feet, then mutters "Thank God" to himself. In shock, he goes to leave the room, before he hears another creak. He spins around fast, then sees that where The Intruder once lay, there is an open space. Where the knife was once, is an open space. Chris gasps, then goes to leave quickly. Behind him, the shadow of The Intruder takes up a whole wall, and The Intruder then emerges from the room. Chris looks at the staircase as his only way yo escape, and tries to run to it, but he took too long. the Intruder gets an arm around the neck of Chris and yanks him backwards, then drives the knife into his chest in one fatal blow. He lets go of Chris, who slumps down t the floor lifelessly. The Intruder looks down at him with no emotion, then heads down the stairs and heads straight out of the front door. He succeeded.

Film Synopsis

Working Title: Man In The Night

Film Synopsis:

A teenager called Chris is lying on his bed, on the phone to a friend. Chris plans for his friend to come to his house and hang out, since he is home alone. The plan is made and Chris hangs up the phone. He throws the phone to his side, letting it land on his bed. He hops from his bed and makes his way out of his room, heading downstairs and leaving his phone behind. Chris enters his kitchen and searches through some cupboards in search of food. After looking, he lets out a disappointed sigh and leaves the kitchen. When he turns, he doesn't notice that there is actually an intruder in his house, hiding on the counter behind his kitchen door. Chris makes it to the bottom of the stairs before stopping, convinced he just heard a noise. He turns to face the kitchen, and sees a large men dressed in black, wearing a balaclava and brandishing a knife. In a panic, he falls to the floor and backs up against his front door. The intruder starts coming towards him, increasing gradually in speed. Panicking, Chris scrambles to his feet an goes to rush up the stairs, only for his ankle to be grabbed by The Intruder. He kicks the hand away, then manages to evade a second grabbing attempt. Chris sprints upstairs to his room and looks around, realising that there isn't anywhere to hide. Chris dives across his bed and tries to crouch down along the side furthest from the door, but the Intruder is coming. The Intruder kicks the bedroom door open with force, causing Chris to jump involuntarily and give his position away. The Intruder leaps onto the bed towards Chris, causing him to crawl backwards from his bed, then accidentally corner himself. The Intruder capitalizes and goes in for the kill, but Chris manages to grab the larger mans wrist. It takes both hand, but he manages to hold the knife away and then knock it from his grip. Chris tries to escape again, but the Intruder mounts atop him and starts attempting strangulation. Chris once again manages to fight off by pushing him into his hard bed frame, then lunging at the knife. Chris gets the weapon in hand, yet ends up being caught in a choke from behind. The Intruder pulls Chris backwards, but the momentum allows Chris to break from his grip and end up sat atop The Intruder. As fast as he can, he stabs the knife down into the chest of The Intruder. Exhausted, Chris lets out many breaths before audibly thanking god. HE drops the knife and stand sup. Then limps slowly to leave his bedroom. He looks out of the window and notices it to now be dark outside. He faces his bedroom again slowly, only to notice the knife and the corpse aren't there any more. In a panic, he tries to run. A large shadow emerges from his bedroom, The Intruder is back on his feet. Chris tries to get to the stairs, but is caught from behind and immediately stabbed in the chest, fatally. The Intruder succeeded in his plan.

Logline

Logline:
An average, home alone teenager is going about his day the way he normally would. However, this all changes when the shapes in the corner of his eye become clearer, and he realizes his isn't as alone as he thought, leading to him being hunted by a masked man who forcibly entered his house.

Pre-Production Assignment

1.)   THE REQUIREMENTS OF A MOVING IMAGE PRODUCTION

FINANCING 

To make a movie, financing is crucial. All of the most basic parts of making a film requires money in order to do it. This could be anything ranging from paying people to act in your film. The more prolific the actor, the higher the paycheck will have to be. Crew members (cameramen, makeup artist etc.) will also require to be paid for their work behind the scenes. All the equipment used by aid crew will have to either be hired or paid for, and things like cameras are very expensive. If any damage is caused, then even more money will need to be sent on replacement equipment. The same could be said for props and costumes, which may be less costly, but a lot more may be needed. Also, different sets will need to be paid for, and transport between real life filming areas could be very costly depending on where they are being shot.

There are different ways movies can be financed. One of these is to be funded by a public agency, like National Lottery or being funded by the department of culture. Winning the National Lottery is rather unlikely however, and isn't an easily accessible way to obtain funding.  Creators could also ask for private investors, having people donate money to help the production of the movie if they are interested in it. An example of this is Equity Financing, where investors earn a percentage of ownership to the film, and will therefore profit from the final product. This is good as creators can have very rich people funding they idea, even if they aren't too overly interested in the actual movie. However, there is also crowdfunding, which is funding raised by members of the public with a passion for the idea of the unmade piece. This is also a positive as the movie has fans before its release, who will spend more money in order to see it when it is finished. 

An example of a film with private funding is Blood Simple (1984) by The Coen Brothers (True Grit) who used roughly 65 private investors to help them raise 750 thousand dollars. This allowed them to create their film, which went on to almost make 4 million dollars at the box office, giving them a hefty profit. 

TIMESCALES

In pre-production time management is very important. People working not the movie have lives outside of it, other its personal errands or other jobs to work. This means that not every single crew member will be available everyday, so planning must be made for when all the required crew are needed for something way in advance. Also, equipment that is rented may not be available to be rented at certain times/days due to the rental companies preferences, and the fact that they may have already rented out said equipment. Like most things, movies may have a deadline to be finished by, especially if they're being made by a big production company. This means that if time is wasted and the movie overruns, the budget and crew availability are both affected massively, hindering the production further.

An example of this is "Jaws", which suffered from delay due to the difficulties of shooting at sea. When a shot had to be reset it took many hours, causing 12 hour work days to only have 4 hours of actual filming done. The sea also contributed to damaging equipment like cameras and making crew members sick. The film took 159 days to shoot, way over the 55 day deadline.

FACILITIES

For the pre-production of a movie, it is best to have all equipment needed planned out beforehand, to avoid any last second rushing. It needs to be taken into account wether the equipment is suitable for the scene, or it needs to be replaced with a more advanced/specialist piece of equipment. It also needs to be taken into account wether the equipment should be hired or purchased Hiring is a lot cheaper, but more restricted due to it only being available at certain times and the equipment eventually needs to be moved. Costumes also should be planned ahead to make sure they are all accurate, to avoid any continuity problems in the final movie (Costume parts randomly going missing).

LOCATIONS

Before a movie can be shot, a location for the shooting must be decided. The best thing to do is to identify and recess, meaning you visit the location personally to scout it out, seeing its current state for yourself. This is because if you've only seen photos of the location, they could have been outdated and the locations appearance may have changed since. Also, appearing in person allows for a risk assessment to be done, to prevent any potential accidents while filming. Another thing to be planned beforehand is the availability of the location, as this can differ based on a variety of things ranging from bad weather, how much it costs across the year, and wether or not other people are hiring it out.

PERSONNEL

Before beginning production, all personnel must be selected. This includes all the extras that are to be used in background scenes or play minor speaking roles. This means that a lot of people need to be selected, which is time consuming and also costly as all extras still require pay. On top of this, all specific crew members like cameramen and editors need to be selected, and they need to be skilled in this line of work for the film to come out well. Any extra crew like stunt men and fight choreographers are required based on the movie genre, so they may need to be selected too. 

ADDITIONAL MATERIALS

Before filming, one of the most important things that is needed is a script. Every movie needs a script, so that it isn't an incoherent mess. Without one nobody would know what to say, what actions to perform or even where to stand. To make things clearer, a storyboard could also be used as its an easy to follow draw-up of each shot in the scene, which helps the cameramen and editors just as much as it helps the cast members. If anything from existing movies is needed (Scenes shown on TV's) then permission needs to be asked from people who worked on that piece for permission, and the same goes for copyrighted music. Using these without permission can result is many legal issues, so it's best to ask.

CODES OF PRACTICE AND REGULATIONS

What codes of practice or regulations are important when planning pre-production?  Consider the importance of extensive health and safety procedures, the importance of checking and obtaining permissions regarding copyrighted material, and the involvement of trade unions.  Why are effective and robust procedures here vital and what could be the problems if they are not?

When filming, it is very important to follow rules and regulations. This means following health and safety rules such as risk assessments is necessary, to avoid any possible injuries during filming. Things like hygiene regulations for any food onset are also important, as crew members getting sick could majorly halt production. Everyone should be treated well, both verbally and physically, to avoid any fights or arguments onset.

2.)   THE FORMATS FOR PRE-PRODUCTION PROCESS

THE PROPOSAL

A proposal is essentially the overall premise of a movie. It features the overall plot, the narrative structure, the target audience and information of the characters. This is used to see if anyone would be interested in helping with/backing the project based on its concept, and to also see if everything would work well. It is essentially the starting point for any movie.

SCRIPTING: MASTER SCENE SCRIPT

A master scene script is the industry standard script, as it is designed to be easy and accessible. This makes it easy for anyone to read, even if they may suffer from any potential learning difficulties. This script features both dialogue and description, making the story easier to follow than if it was just all dialogue. This script is split into the blocks of dialogue for the performers, a narrative description and then scene headings. This makes it easier for every member of staff to follow what is happening, and makes the script clearer when shown to investors. The scene-headings are called "Sluglines" and talk about the scene location, the time it occurs, and the interior/exterior in the scene. The narrative description begins after the scene heading, and i just the telling of the story as it happens. It should be descriptive and clear so that everyone can follow it easily, and act out accordingly. Nothing that cant be seen or heard should be mentioned, it should only be based on picture and sound as anything else would be pointless for a script and a waste of time to write out.

Commonly, one page on an MSS equals one minute of screen time is means pagers are typically 120 pages, for 2 hours worth of content. This means that however long a scene is, then it should be described well enough to take up that many pages.

Dialogue blocks consist of three different sections. This is the character name, wryly and then the dialogue. A wryly is what shows the way a line should be pronounced, depending on the emotion of the character. This is to make characters seem more natural and realistic. Names are in upper case, wrylies in lower case and dialogue in normal sentence case. Additionally, all font is commonly in size 12.

SCRIPTING: SHOOTING SCRIPT

These are scripts that are used during the production and he;p to shoot the movie. These feature things like transitions, camera angles and scene numbers, making them more friendly for the people editing the movie together. These scripts are not used for investors, just the crew and cast, so it will feature information specifically geared towards them, hence the camera angles. These can be hard to read for people not familiar with what goes into pre-production, hence the existence of the simpler MSS to use for pitches.

STORYBOARDING

Scripts can be converted into storyboards. Storyboards are essentially screenplays, complete with images of each different shot. This really helps camera workers with when to start and stop recording, and what angle to do it in. This helps to see if there would be any issues with doing certain things as-well, since its an exact plan of how everything should look when finished. They can also help in seeing how much it may cost to shoot scenes, based on location and how long each shot should actually be. This is very good to know in advance as it helps fight against chances of going over budget.

SHOOTING SCHEDULES

A shooting schedule is essentially a plan of when things are going to be shot. Different shots will be filmed on different days, depending on the locations of these shots, the equipment needed on them and what staff is available on this day of shooting. This is to ensure everything runs smoothly to ensure everything is finished on time and without stretching the budget.

OTHER PAPERWORK

What types of paperwork may be used to collect together key information?  What type of information may they contain?

One necessary paperwork is permission from owners of land and specific buildings that may needed to film. Without permission, a lot of commotion could be caused and it could potentially lead to legal problems. There should also be documents of the risk assessments that were carried out.

3.)   THE FUNCTIONS OF PRE-PRODUCTION

When preparing a script, it is expected that they go through numerous drafts, showing a change over time as ideas change. It should always be the strongest possible script in the final piece, as theres no way to change it after its finished filming. Professional script editors can be consulted to see any potential errors, such as certain things not quite making sense. Multiple writers can work on one script as-well, allowing it to have numerous insights and ideas all put forward, allowing for a more compelling script to be written. During production, certain locations can be reconsidered and then replaced with a more suitable or safer location, likewise, props and costumes may be changed during production, due to quality issues or idea changes. The changing of ideas allows for a comparison between old ideas and new, to see if the change would even be for the better or not. This is why a lot of costumes have concept art and drafts, to see what idea would suit the situation best.

4.)   THE PURPOSE OF PRE-PRODUCTION

The purpose of pre-production is so everything goes smoothly once the actual production begins. This includes how it goes legally (laws and regulations of staff treatment) and in terms of the shooting. Other legal requirements could be health and safety paperwork, permissions to film on owned locations, permission to use copyrighted images and sounds, and pay for everyone involved. There will need to be public liability in place, meaning responsibility will be taken if a member of the public is harmed by your filming. Without any of these in place, you could suffer from fines, being sued, and even have your whole project legally shut down.

Pre-production also helps plan the movie around the set target audience. This means it needs to be made age appropriate, also when it is rated by the BBFC it isn't rated different to how it was intended. For example, if someone was making a children's movie but had it feature inappropriate language and violence, it would be rated too high for any child to see, making it completely miss the mark. 

Assignment One

Comedy Codes And Conventions

Comedy movies commonly follow a set theme, that isn't too hard to notice. They can seem quite formulaic in some instances, using a lot of different cliches. For my comparison, I chose to do Shaun Of The Dead and Pineapple Express, in order to compare the conventions used in two action comedies that were shot in different countries and in different years. Using these movies, I will look to identify the common conventions used in their genre.

Reference One

Shaun Of The Dead

The establishing shot to the movie Shaun Of The Dead shows the setting to be a pub. This is expected from a comedy movie as they will commonly use social places that many viewers will likely have visited before in their life, due to the movie being an 18, and being marketed at adults. This creates a sense of comfort to the audience as the setting is familiar and also seems natural, thus humanising the characters and making them feel more realistic. Realistic characters make them overall more likeable, instead of just being perfect and one note. Comedy characters are commonly flawed, and the majority of characters in Shaun Of The Dead are flawed. The titular character, Shaun, is immature and lazy. These flaws are used commonly in comedy films worldwide, to make a relatable character that can use their flaw to be humorous also. Shaun is shown as flawed from the beginning, as his girlfriend Liz is addressing his flaws to him and complaining how he won't take their relationship more seriously. This allows the audience to see the character like a real person, making him more likeable and thus easier to laugh with in-jokes later in the movie. The scene allows viewers to focus on the dialogue by only using Diegetic sounds, having music playing in the actual bar instead of being added over the top. This is used commonly in comedy movies, but non-diegetic is used commonly as well. The use of diegetic sounds makes the setting in the scene more realistic and feel more welcoming as a whole.

Pineapple Express

In Pineapple Express, the first time we see the main character Dale is when he is driving his car around the streets of California. This scene has Dale listening to the radio, which is playing Electric Avenue by Eddie Grant. This is a diegetic sound, but it flows into non-diegetic when showing Dale doing his job, which is shown alongside the driving scene. This helps to keep the music flowing no matter what is being shown, something that not many movies do, making this outside of the expected codes and conventions of a comedy movie. This scene features a lot of fast cuts, making the movie seem energetic. There is even use of speed-up and slow-motion techniques, making things move faster so that the audience does not grow bored. The use of the slow motion was used almost in a way that mocks action movies, as Dale threw on a large laboratory coat. Dale uses many one-liners and insults during his job as a Process Server. The use of these lines is to make Dale seem as likeable as possible quite early in the movie, by having him seem humorous and carefree. However, Dale is only shown as a flawed character when he is back in his car, talking on the phone about his relationship with a high school girl. While legal, many would perhaps frown upon this, once again showing the use of a flawed main character, even if the flaw is very different and perhaps greater. While a risk is taken using such a topic, it opens up a lot of potential dark humour, something the target audience of people 15 and above will likely be looking for. 

Reference Two

Shaun Of The Dead

The movie centres around Shaun and his group, a common theme in comedy movies. Many of them follow a theme of one or two main characters with recurring side characters, something Shaun Of The Dead uses as well. This allows there to be another different personalities and motivations for the audience relate to, while also allowing characters to play off of each-other for comedic effect. The main character Shaun commonly does this with his best friend named Ed. The character Ed follows a common archetype used in Comedy films by being a typically unintelligent man. This is mainly played for jokes and different types of comedy. Ed could be considered a sort of Binary Opposite to Shaun. Shaun is employed, and Ed is not. This is one of many differences between the pair, and it doubles to show how much lazier Ed is shown that Shaun as he also shows no intentions of getting a job. Ed is also presented as being dirty and messy, whereas Shaun is shown at-least making himself presentable and tidying up after himself. Even though they share a lot of similarities, Shaun is still intelligent. The binary opposites theory of Levi Strauss is that two-man characters in a book or film with have opposing personalities, and that is very much the case here, except in comedies it is played for laughs. Shaun and Ed have disagreements throughout the movie, with Shaun often being more ethical and Ed just thinking of himself. While the two are ultimately still friends, they still share conflict. Ed's immaturity and idiocy also get Shaun and the rest of the group into trouble, most notably a scene in which he uses a very loud slot machine while the group hide in the bar, surrounded by zombies. 

Pineapple Express

In Pineapple Express, the two main characters are the aforementioned Dale and his drug dealer Saul. When they are first shown together, Dale is wearing a suit whereas Saul is in his pyjamas, and sat in his messy and small apartment. By appearance alone, the pair are already opposites, due to the difference in clothing and their overall presentation of themselves. Dale looks like a typical working man, whereas Saul looks like a slacker, and overall doesn't have an inviting look about him. While interacting with each-other, Dale comes off as quite awkward whereas Saul is pushy and excitable, almost as if he's desperate for Dale to like him. These behaviours make the character fit into being an opposite to Dale, therefore fitting this usual trope of main comedy characters. The duo in this movie also has a conflict between each other, leading to disagreements and arguments, yet they ultimately come out of it is as strong friends, stronger than they were earlier in the movie. This is used very often in "Buddy" comedies, as part of a larger message of friendship. This wasn't particularly used in Shaun Of The Dead, giving an example of when a movie acts outside of its usual conventions and what would generally be expected of the movie. 

Reference Three

Shaun Of The Dead

Many props that are used in Shaun Of The Dead are very expected and typical to the genre of the movie. Since the main setting of the movie is a pub, many characters consume alcohol throughout the movie. This allows the characters to further seem relatable and realistic. The alcohol use is also an adult theme, making it fit for the target adult audience. The movie also has use of a shotgun, firearms are a common thing in many comedies, specifically the action blends. The weapon is used in part of the Chekhov's Gun theory, having it shown earlier in the movie and having characters question if it actually works. Later in the movie, the gun is successfully used to save the characters lives in a very violent manner, another strong adult theme. 

Pineapple Express

In Pineapple Express, the two main characters commonly use marijuana throughout. This is a strong adult theme, making it suited to its target audience. It also sets up jokes surrounding the prop, making it appeal to fans of "Stoner Comedies" as well as an average audience. Drug use is used commonly throughout comedies, helping this movie fit with its common codes and conventions.

Narrative Theory

Both of these movies follow Todorov's Equilibrium theory, which states that all movies start with an Equilibrium, where everything is normal for the characters. However, there is then a disruption, changing the normal life. After recognition of the disruption, there is an attempt to repair the damage which then comes full circle to the forming of the New Equilibrium. 

Shaun Of The Dead

In Shaun Of The Dead, the Equilibrium is that everything is normal and Shaun gets by just hanging out with best friend Ed. The disruption is a disease that is causing people to die and then come back to life as Zombies. The characters realise when they are attacked and then warned by different news outlets, and they attempt to repair the situation by hiding out in a pub until the government does something about the outbreak. New Equilibrium is found when the army shows up and clear out all Zombies, and Shaun gets back with his girlfriend and moves in with her in a New Equilibrium.

Pineapple Express

In the movie Pineapple Express, the Equilibrium is main character Dale just going through life by doing his job and doing a lot of drugs to have a good time. However a disruption comes when he witnessed the murder of a crime boss, and the murderer sees that he has witnessed it. He recognizes it as an issue when people are sent to track him down, so he and his drug dealer Saul go on the run. They soon try to repair the situation by engaging in a large gunfight with the crime organization, establishing a New Equilibrium when they’ve defeated the criminals and left somewhat unscathed.

Superhero Movies Codes And Conventions

Superhero movies, while popular, are considered to be very formulaic, cliché and oftentimes generic. They follow a lot of the same premises and many are even shot the same. To talk about the common codes and conventions that are used within the Superhero genre, I will talk about two films. One film is The Avengers and the other is Guardians Of The Galaxy.

Reference One

The Avengers

The movie The Avengers is set primarily in Manhattan, New York City. Many different superhero movies are set in popular American cities, New York being a very common one. This is done as many viewers of the movies will be familiar with the cities and all of the different tourist attractions that could be featured, which often get damaged or destroyed in the movies. Use of settings that audiences are familiar with makes the property damage seem more important, as they are familiar with its significance. For example, if the Statue Of Liberty were to be damaged in one of these movies, it would have a much larger effect than damage to a small house as people are familiar with it. The familiarity also adds a sense of comfort during some scenes, as they can relate to what may be happening. The setting also fits the target audience of the movie, which is a family film. This is because the setting doesn’t have anything inappropriate for any younger viewers, whereas if it was set in a pub, it wouldn’t fit the demographic. In the movie, Manhattan is the location of the “Avengers Headquarters”. Headquarters are a common thing in Superhero movies, even if they’re something more subtle like Spider-Man’s Bedroom, used in “Spider-Man: Homecoming”. 

Guardians Of The Galaxy

In Guardians Of The Galaxy, there are many different settings ranging from space, fictional planets and even Earth. This shows that Guardians Of The Galaxy follows a consistent theme by using Earth but also shows many common Sci-Fi elements with its use of outer space. This is common in some superhero movies, but less common than other settings, especially for the heroes to be here. The headquarters for the Guardians is a spaceship as-well, fitting with the setting and keeping things consistent whilst also subverting expectations from what the audience might have thought they would use. The space setting works well for this movie as Guardians is aimed at a slightly older demographic, or just more hardcore Marvel fans in general due to the featured heroes obscurity before the movie was made. This allows them to show off different complex settings without worry about younger audience members being confused.

Reference Two

The Avengers

In The Avengers, there is strong binary opposites at play. The main one is the team of heroes vs the movies main villain, Loki. Loki is cited as a “God Of Mischief” and is a very evil and brooding character. When compared to the positive and good-willed heroes, he is very different. This allowed ye audience to distinguish different morals, and root for the heroes easier. Commonly in hero movies, there is a personal connection between the hero and the villain. One Avenger is Thor, the “God Of Thunder” and the brother of Loki. This allows a more personal feud to be at play, and it makes the motives of the villain more believable, thus making him easier to dislike. The villain having a personal problem with a beloved hero makes the audience feel more involved as well, since things feel like they’re on a more realistic level. 

Guardians Of The Galaxy

In this movie, the main binary opposites are between the actual heroes. Each character comes together almost accidentally, with the two main heroes even against each-other at the start, but they then come together to form the team. The team are visually very opposing to each other as well. The leader is a white male human, his love interest is a green female alien. There is also a muscular alien man, an intelligent genetically modified raccoon and a living tree. These characters are all very eye-catching due to them all having an immensely unique look, making them all very distinguishable. Nobody looks generic, which sets this apart from the common codes and conventions of superhero characters just wearing a mask and a cape with a spandex outfit. The villain is visually an opposite in the movie as well, as he wears large black armor and has a dark blue skin. He appears very dark and his pallet isn’t very broad, especially when in comparison to the colorful and vibrant heroes. This is something common, as it helps the villain to be easily distinguishable from a still image alone. The personal connection between the heroes and the villain in this movie is that the villain, Ronan, killed the family of the muscular alien, Drax. Drax is presented as a lovable and funny character, so him having a personal feud with the villain will make him hated by audiences and also make the heroes easier to get behind.

Reference Three

The Avengers

Props used in this movie revolve strongly around different gadgets or fantasy style weapons. For example, a particularly famous prop in the movie would be the shield of the character Captain America. The shield is a weapon made of a metal from space that makes it indestructible. This gadget/weapon fits perfectly into the common codes and conventions of this genre, as it fits in both fantasy and sci-fi, which have a lot borrowed from them to make Superhero movies. The same could be said for Thor’s magical hammer that enables him to fly and also shoots lightning.

Guardians Of The Galaxy

In this movie, the props are more Sci-Fi based, due to the space setting. One of the main heroes, Star Lord, commonly uses many futuristic gadgets. He uses laser blasters as his weapon of choice and regularly flies around via use of rockets on his shoes. While in space he has a protective oxygen mask also. These gadgets fit the sub-genre of the film very much, and also the overall superhero genre by being an item that doesn’t exist in real life, making the person wielding the gadgets seem important and unique.

Narrative Structure

The Avengers
The Avengers (italics) follows the Todorov Narrative theory as well. The Equilibrium is when the powerful energy source known as the Tesseract is safe in hands of the government. Disruption comes when Loki steals the power source from said government. The realization is when Loki uses the energy source to open a portal that beams alien armies to Manhattan and starts wreaking havoc. An attempt to repair the situation is made by forming the superhero team of The Avengers to face off with Loki, defeat him and his alien forces and then get the energy source back. They succeed and form a new Equilibrium by having the Tesseract placed safely back where it came from and Loki is sent to his home planet to be held imprisoned. The plot also uses the Tesseract as a MacGuffin, since the entire plot revolves around who is in possession of the item, and the movie ends when it is safely back into the heroes possession.

Guardians Of The Galaxy

This movie also follows Todorovs Narrative, making this very common in this superhero genre. The Equilibrium is Star Lord traveling the galaxy and commuting theft, having fun along the way. However, when he steals an item known as an Infinity Stone, a disruption is caused as many villains, namely Ronan, attempt to stop Star Lord and retrieve the item for themselves. Star Lord is joined by his new team, The Guardians Of The Galaxy, who help him defeat Ronan to repair the problem, and then they start a new Equilibrium by passing the stone to an intergalactic government known as the Nova Corps. The use of the stone is once again a MacGuffin, having the whole plot point revolve around this item.