Film Name and Font research

I have looked into lots of different films of similar genres at their title fonts in order to choose a font to suit my film.

This is the font that I have chosen:

I think that this is best choice as it represents the style of film I am creating and fits well with the opening scene. The text is easy to read and will be clear over the quite dark feel of the film.

For my research into the film name I found that films with one or two word titles had the most impact for marketing such a 'Jurassic World' and 'Skyfall'. Therefore I decided to have a short title for my film.

I chose the title of 'The Deal' as it creates enigma as it doesn't explain anything about the plot and it could be any kind of deal. The fact that by the end of the opening scene you still don't know what the deal was for, creates a hook for people to continue watching and be intrigued by the film.

UPDATE:

This is how the title of the film looked when the final draft was exported. The short title really works with the style of film and even in this still frame it creates enigma. Who are these characters? What are they dealing? 

Music Research

This shows my music archive as I have purchased the rights to use it in my creative productions. Some of the tracks include separate tracks of the songs broken down into their different stems so I can in effect rearrange the music to fit the pace of my film which give me more flexibility.

There were 3 styles of music that I needed for my opening scene for the three distinct sections.
The conversation at the beginning and when the deal takes place. The running action passage in the woods and the suspense filled timer countdown.

To make it sound as if there was a unique soundtrack composed for the opening scene, I decided to use stems form the same score broken down at different times so that the music would flow between all the sections seamlessly.

SFX research

One of the main sound effects that I needed was one for the device being fired. I went through my SFX archive and used some from Video Copilots Motion Pulse bundle and added them together to make my final sound.

This is the final sound effect that I created.

The second main sound effect that I needed was the one for Diego's impaling. For this I used different sounds from the Triune Films Fight sound effects pack.

For the other sound effects I recorded then all on location after the light had faded and we couldn't film anymore. I recorded a track of me running around in the car park and in the woods as well as some impacts.

Risk Assessment

These are the risk assessments for all three of the shoot days. They have been checked and crew/ actors will be briefed on them when they arrive on the location.

Shooting Schedule/ Shot List

 My three different shoot days were planned and the shots that I was going to get within the time limit of each day.

To complete my shot list I used the app 'ShotLister' for iPad so on the shoot day it would give ne a list of shots and tell me if I was behind schedule. It would also prompt we with the storyboard images and tell me what lens to use. Also it will show me whether to use sticks or handheld.

Planned Shots for the First Shoot:

Second Shoot:

Third Shoot:

Evaluation of Storyboard

The final storyboard was used on set as reference however it ended up being overshadowed by the very detail shot list that was available on the iPad during shooting. From the storyboard we were able to adapt it when planning out our shots whilst walking around the chosen location. Without the storyboard it wouldn't have been as easy to get the film style and look across. Scans from the storyboard drawings were used inside the app of shotlister for reference on the shot list, so that framing could easily be remembered and subsequently portrayed well.

Code and Conventions

The conventions associated with action comedy films are:
-Fights
-Killings: death of loved ones
-Strong motive (preventing massive destruction)
-Hi tech equipment
-Located in a big modern city
-Weapons
-Relationships
-One smart character and one slower (funnier) character
-Awkward comedy moments
-Connection with characters

I researched these typical codes and conventions of action comedies by watching a range of film in this genre.
These films included Limitless, Knight and Day, Kickass and Johnny English. These films all had themes and conventions in common so I compiled a list of different the conventions that were present in order to incorporate them into my film opening and storyline to create a familiar and recognisable genre.
This I created a spider diagram in order to collate my finding and then compared this to singular action and separate comedy films to film conventions specific to the combined genre. The spider diagram helped to display my thought process and single out specific conventions so that they could be condensed and written into a short list which can be worked into my film opening. This list will almost be a checklist for me when I have mapping out the timeline and writing the script so that it is a clear action/comedy genre.

Props Research

I decided that the Leaders bodyguard needed to have a gun too show there perceived advantage over the younger boys in power. I decided to choose a small sub machine gun for Diego to use as it matched his role and charater.

I used this prop which I already had as after its original paint job it looked like a real weapon.

For the 'device' that martin uses I needed to find or make a prop with a opening to shoot from swell as a screen to display the countdown which I would add in post production. I found one of my old Camcorders in the house so I decided to modify it to look like a home made weapon that could have been made by Martin. To make this prop I used some blue tape and some spare wire I had in my workshop. I was very simple to make but I had a screen for the countdown to be edited onto and it had an opening (lens) for the shock wave to be fired from.

In many blockbuster action films weapons are transported in silver cases. So I decided for the boys to have the device in a silver case. Money in films is also transported in briefcases so I chose a black briefcase I owned for the Leader to hand over.

Final List of Props needed:
Silver Case
Black Case
Device
Gun
Pick Up Truck
Sunglasses
Cigarettes
Fake Blood
Breadsticks

Storyboard talk through

Script

Here is the Script for the opening scene.


When I got to the shoot day I made a few changes to the script but overall the structure stayed the same.

Timeline of Opening Scene

Location

I Decided after a lot of research that Galleywood common would be the safest place to film the opening scene of The Deal. This was because it would be secluded at the time of filming and we wouldn't have as many issues as filming in the city with the gun props and the cameras.

The wide tree and the stump shown in pictures 3-4 were the perfect set up for the impaling scene on the storyboard. Whereas the script and storyboard woulds have to be adapted for use in town or a different park.

The only problem we would face when filming in the car park is that if it was busy it would ruin the secluded deserted look the film was going for. Therefore to overcome this we would film in the middle of the day during standard working hours were the common would be at its quietest.

The gravel car park offered the exact look that I was hoping for, for the film as it looked discrete and mysterious.

Title Research

-In order to start my titles research I watched the opening scenes of many blockbuster action films as this was the genre of my film.
-By watching a lot of these different films I noticed that all the titles appeared in the same order apart from the film title.
-In Limitless the film title is the first that appears but in others I watched the film name could appear at the end of the titles or after the actors names.
-For my film I chose to have the film title appear after the actors names as it best suited my dramatic opening idea.
-In my research I also found that the titles would appear for approximately 3 seconds each time regardless of how many names were displayed at one.
-Therefore for my film opening I am going to have each title lasting for the same duration (roughly 3 seconds) as best I can when cut with the music and the moving shots.

-The order of titles that I determined were:

Steele Productions and Paramount Pictures Present

Nathan Henton

Adam Francis

Oliver Steele

Eddie Hamblin

The Deal

Music 
Ben Worley

Casting
Jack Sorphitude

Costume Designer
Graham Wallace

Editor
Andy Bloom

Production Designer
James Watson

Director of Photography
Oliver Steele

Producer
Becky Brown

Screenplay
William Freeman

Written and Directed by
Alexander Steele

Feedback of Film Pitch

This is a small sample of the feedback I was given for my initial film pitch. The positives to take from  the feedback is the fact that my idea wasn't confusing and everyones feedback showed that they had a clear idea on genre, audience and the general storyline which means that the film will appeal to a wide audience.

Pointers that I can take for future presentations are to include films which gave me inspiration and also to present ideas from where I would find inspiration for the title of the film.

Pitch of Initial Ideas

Mood Board

This mood board was to show the initial ideas for my film and where all my inspiration came from. Doing a mood board helped me collate all of my ideas and inspirations in one place so that I could remember then in order to incorporate them into my film opening

Initial Ideas/ Planning

His this shows me creating the powerpoint and developing the initial idea of my film after the genre had been decided.