First day of filming

We have filmed the shots for the scene with the girl. We differed from the original plan due to costume and prop restrictions, but still keeping in context to our storyline. The army character was replaced with a more secret agent kind of guy, who kidnaps the girl rather than executing her. This is a good idea to keep the film's certificate down a bit and to add an extra character to the main film where she could be important. We shot several shots from different angles and I am pleased with the results. We could not film some of the required scenes due to intense sunshine causing glare on the building's windows, which are a main part of the sequence. We will continue filming tomorrow and on monday, then see if more is required.

Tricky Shots

This is a video compilation of the tricky shots practise for our film project. We are pretty pleased with the results.

Individual title sequence analysis X-men first class

http://www.watchthetitles.com/articles/00223-X_Men_First_Class

This film is similar to ours as it is the same genre and the same theme of massive super-human uprising. The sequence features a DNA strand and different kinds of cromosomes. This highlights the fact that the film is about people who are genetically different from normal humans this relates to our film on the super human spectrum.

The films title sequence is also set out like an old 1960s medical document or documentery setting the theme of originations for the film. this is the setting for the film giving the veiwer an idea of how the film will be presented.

the title features the iconic 'X' that is acociated with the xmen franchise. However this version is simple and looks unimpressive in comparison to other Xmen titles suggesting that the characters in the film are just weaker, less impressive versions of themselfs.

Current status

We have found a place to film the window and raid scenes for the film, and we can do the rest in the town centre. I stil need to finish the shotlist on the Mac but that is unavailable right now. We are planning to start filming on monday, as this is the best opportunity. Props and costumes will be brought in on monday to do this with. John will be behind the camera with me as the main character and Zach as the antagonist. I will post a review of filming sessions after they take place with pictures from the film. Then we will need to edit the film but that is still a way off.

planning props and costumes

who's getting what

leather jacket - James
Tight Jeans - Zach
Suede trainers - Zach
Plain polo - Zach

Suit- Ryan

fake guns - Zach
Fake Cigarettes - Ryan
Mop and bucket - All of us
Helments/Uniforms- All of us

Individual analysis of a title sequence (The avengers)

The first shot in this title sequence shows the directors name on captain america's shield.

We are then shown more names on the back of captain americas shield. The theme of attaching the peoples names to items that the characters own(e.g. Thor's hammer, Hawkeye's bow e.t.c) is repeated throughout the opening scene.

This effect is used to relate to the film the audience are watching and build up excitement for the film. It also shows the audience the characters that are going to appear in the film and tell them any big names they may not have known about, which creates excitement.

The music in the title is dramatic and suspense building. It also matches the theme tune which helps build action for the film. This suggests that the film is full of action because superhero/action films conventionally have epic, suspense building theme tunes. 

 

The font used to show the names is block capitals. This shows that this is going to be a very action-like film because the letters signify importance and power, which would be different in a horror film, which would use more creepy writing, or a romance which is more likely to use fancy writing.

script research

script template

 

"THE THING" Screenplay by Bill Lancaster Based on the story "WHO GOES THERE" by John W. Campbell. Jr. SECOND DRAFT March 4, 1981 CAST MACREADY 35. Helicopter pilot. Likes chess. Hates the cold. The pay is good. GARRY 46. The station manager. Stiff. Ex-army officer. Wears a handgun. CHILDS 33. Six-four. Two-fifty. Black. A mechanic. Can be jolly. But don't mess. BLAIR 50. Sensitive. Intelligent. Unassuming. An assistant biologist. DR. COPPER 45. Professional. A decent man. A good doctor. PALMER 27. Second string chopper pilot. Crack mechanic. Long hair. Slight sixties acid damage. NAULS 22. The cook. Bright. Black. Irreverent. But kindhearted. Roller skates. NORRIS 44. Stocky. Rugged looking. A geophysicist. An incipient heart condition. BENNINGS 38. A meteorologist. Dutiful. An old pro. CLARK 24. The dog handler. Likes it here. Good at his job. SANCHEZ 21. The radio operator. Hates it here. Lousy at his job. In the winter of 1982 these men were commissioned by the United States National Science Foundation to gather data concerning the physical and natural sciences on the continent of Antarctica. THE MAIN COMPOUND OF U.S. OUTPOST #31 The interior is a cramped and never ending maze of hallways, passageways and doors which connect the many rooms and compartments within the compound. Sturdy, but prefabricated materials have been used in its construction. There is a laboratory. An infirmary. A kitchen and mess hall. A communications room and sleeping quarters. Other cubicles are for storage and supplies. The most spacious area of the building, and the main center of activity, is the Rec Room. Of the many entrance ways to this room can be seen the small work chambers with their sophisticated computers and other scientific equipment. The below quarter houses the generator and still other compartments for storage. A long underground tunnel connects the main compound to the dog kennel. FADE IN: A STARRY BLACKNESS From out of the billions, the smallest of specks drives slowly forward. It closes; getting larger; its features becoming more identifiable: a vessel. Flip-flopping; out of control. Its stern roaring with flame. It passes; its blue fire surging into the screen. "THE THING" A thundering... FADE TO: BLIND AND FERAL WHITENESS ...Glacial desert... gusts of snow... superimpose: ANTARCTICA 1982 WINTER A SOUND Loud and strident. A helicopter streaks across frame. It travels precariously close to the ground; its chassis battered and swayed by the wind. INT. COPTER Red dials beam on the faces of two men. One carries a rifle and searches the horizon with binoculars. The other pilots. Their unkempt faces, their blazing eyes notate a wildness. They bark at each other in some Scandinavian tongue. Two men arguing like mad and desperate children. The man with the binoculars sights something. EXT. HORIZON - BINOCULARS' POV - A DOG It turns and snarls at the craft some fifteen hundred yards to its rear. Then whirls and gallops off. A gun blast kicks up snow at its heels. 

Title sequence Storyboard

I have created the storyboard for the title sequence that follows the first scene I storyboarded. Images are here:

This makes the whole thing over two minutes long, as it needs to be.

my production logo (draft)

The storyboard

The storyboard 

This is the storyboard I drew for the first scene that has been scanned and posted below.

This is the first stage of development and last for half of the allotted two minutes. I will post the second half later. I have created a shotlist for this storyboard, we will decide on the title sequence later.

Research into similar films(Shutter island)

Shutter Island - http://www.shutterisland.com/#/home

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iaYLCiq5RM

This is similar to our film because it conceals what is really happening to give a mysterious storyline and entice the audience. The story worked very well and used a lot of psychological aspects to mess with the audiences head, so it would be useful for us to take ideas from this film. This film follows a detective following the disappearance of a convict of a mental asylum. As he digs deeper into the case he discovers more about the mysterious island and its inhabitants.

Research into similar films(Limitless)

     

Limitless

This film is the same genre as our films and also uses the idea of unleashing the power of the brain to create a interesting story. It was relatively successful at the box office and so gives our film a good reason to be funded. Limitless follows the story of Eddie Morra who is a failing author. He is introduced to a new drug which unlocks the full potentoial of the brain and allows Eddie to succeed well in life, until a mafia like group begin to hunt him down. This shows obvious similarities to our films storyline e.g. unlocking full power of the brain.

Research into similar films(The butterfly effect)

The butterfly effect

This is similar to our film because it uses psychology to create mystery and wonder in the film. This film would be useful to our film because we could follow the conventions the film uses to play with the mind of the reader.

Treatment(full film)

Title duration audience synopsis suggested elements what makes film stand out

Title:
Omniscient

Duration:
100 minutes

Audience:
Teenage-Young adult(14-30). Mainly christian/no religion. All races. Appeals to both males and females, likely to appeal to social groups. Similar films that our audience will enjoy include x-men, limitless, Jumper e.t.c as these films are similar in genre and storyline.

Synopsis:
A young male teenager discovers the full potential of the human brain, which grants him an array of abilities which he labels 'super powers'. However his new found intellect is not all good, as a secret government agency hunt him down and threaten to capture and use him for sadistic experiments. The hero meets a girl who shares his powers, and is led to a whole colony of people, just like him. He teams up with these new super humans to rise up and destroy the agency threatening his life. However, things go wrong as the girl who led him to the colony is captured by the agency. None of his new found super hero allies helps get her back and he takes it upon himself to save the girl. He infiltrates the headquarters of the government agency and saves the girl, using his powers to outsmart his opponents, he gathers evidence of the agency from the headquarters and threatens to expose the agency if they continue to pursue him. The agency leave him alone and the hero is allowed to live normally in society.

Elements:
It's a new take on the superhero franchise which replaces the paradigm of capes and costumes with a darker, more realistic touch.

Treatment (first two minutes)

Treatment

Title, Duration, Audience, Synopsis, suggested elements, what makes a film stand out.

Title: Omniscience

Duration: 2 minutes

Audience: 14 yrs onward, suitable for all religions and races, appeals to both males and females likely to appeal to social groups. it wil also appeal to people who have show interest in films like X-men, Jumper, Looper e.c.t. Is worthy of a 15 age certificate.

Synopsis: Spyke is stood at a window of a tall building staring outwards over the city. We do not see his face yet. The shot cuts to a group of armed soldiers running down a corridor. Again we see Spyke staring out of the window from the side moving round him. The soldiers gather around a door on the corridor. We see Spyke's face from the front with the door of the room he is in blurred in the background. The one soldier nods and another soldier knocks on the door they are stood around. There is a knock at Spyke's door as the focus switches from his face to the door. The soldier makes a hand signal and they kick the door down and charge through to find a scared girl trying to hide. They scan her with a handheld device, confirm that she is "one of them" and shoot her. Spyke's door opens to reveal a janitor walking in with a mop and bucket, who tells Spyke to leave, which he does without a word.

Suggested elements: A new take on the superhero franchise which replaces the paradigm of capes and costumes with a darker more realistic slant.

Idea for first two minutes

The scene starts off on a quiet, peaceful street scene. Suddenly, military officers burst onto the scene, yelling commands and running towards a building. cut to the hero running away from the military, pulling a girl with him. He turns a corner and is cut off by military soldiers, he tries a different way but again is cut off. He darts off into a room, but there is no escape. As the soldiers close in on him he shields the girl from them. One of the soldiers stares menacingly at him aims his gun and fires. As he fires, the camera whites out and flashes back a few days. At this point our hero is living a normal life. He provides a narration of his life to explain to the audience who he is. The camera zooms out towards space to show a satellite footage of him. The scene is now a military board room and the main bad guy locates the hero as his target. The opening credit sequence now cuts in, using satellite images to reveal the names of people.

production titles

list of production company names

Inner workings productions
Analysis productions
Ocular productions
Minds eye productions
Kineses productions
Psychic productions
Hyperdrive productions
Void productions
Black light productions

possible production logo.

Internal Workings

prop and costume list

Props and costumes list.

for the character Stan Matthew

plain polo
leather jacket
suede trainers
tight jeans




for the character Commander Richards

hat (army style)
camo uniform
badges ( awards)
simple black shoes

or

suit
dark sunglasses

props

fake guns
cigarette
mop and bucket
army helmets / uniforms

Character profile -Bad guy

Name:Commander Richards

Age:34

Gender: Male

This character started his military career young at the age of 16. He worked his way up from the bottom to become a highly respected military official. Through his career, he makes many enemies, and one of his enemies hires a few hitmen to kill his family. After this tragic event he becomes cold and arrogant. He transforms into a much more hate driven person and uses his hatred to help his efforts in war, and eventually impresses his superiors so much he is seen fit to command an elite squad tasked with the location and destruction of a breed of 'mutants' (Which includes the hero of the story). His commanding dominance is never challenged by anyone and people quiver at the very sight of him. His great height and excellent posture make him seem much taller than all his accomplices. He is often seen barking orders and never publicly shows any sign of affection or emotion.

Similar characters:

Roland Cox(Jumper)

Colonel Miles Quartich(Avatar)

Possible production logo

character profile

Character profile

name: Spyke Lleven

Age: 19

gender: Male

description: Spyke looks , acts , and feels like a normal member of society . he is the kind of person that does something to society , but wouldn't be missed (on a whole on actual input into the world) if he wasn't there. he's a very private person , looking on the floor while walking , seemingly avoiding human contact , however does have that select few he talks to. He wears old jeans , trainers , a t-shirt and a distinctive leatehr jacket. he has very simple hair , just brown , messy , and sweeped to the right , long fringe.

similar characters: peter parker

                              clarke kent

                              eddie morra ( before the pill)

                              bruce banner

                             



Ideas for first two minutes of film

Ideas for the first two minutes of the film.

 

1. the central character is in a room , on his own , looking through a window , he is narrating over the scene , giving a le A ittle bit of backstory to develop the storyline ( however leaves the story open to peoples own imagination so they are left wanting more) police / army swat team are then shown gathering on a place (that the viewer believes is his location) and as they burst in , they realise it is a different place with a different person , the character then reveals that the arm is hunting "his people" however he never reveals who "his people" actually are , leading to the cliffhanger.the title sequence is running together with this scene
2. it starts with the main character having a flashback to getting chased through a woodland by the army , he is reliving the story and telling it to a group of "his army" who he reveals are going to take out the people chasing them. title here is before the scene
3.  scene shows main character by his enemies , and him planning out how to get away from the situation , and he does so , exacly how he planned , and then as he is walking away , his final words are "want to know how i can do that ? it's a long story" then opening credits.
4. the central character is running away from the swat teams , however is apprehended by what is represented as the main bad guy , and as he is the bad guy shouts "we got him!" as the titles come in.
5. the central character getting tortured by the main bad guy in an abandoned warehouse , the question througout this is the bad guys question for "the secret" , and the main character starts to tell this secret , just as the opening credits roll.