2. Film Script
One of the main changes my script underwent was the removal of most of the first act. The reason for this was it contained the sub plot of why the character Fin gets the brain chip
implanted in the first place. Originally it was going to be because he needed money to pay of a loan. This included a whole scene of him going to college and explaining to his friend his
predicament. His friend then sends him a link to a websitre advertising C.A.L.L.I explaining they were paying for test subjects. This scene was actually filmed but later ended up on the
cutting room floor. What origianlly followed was a sequence of Fin going to this company and having the brain chip implanted which would then lead directly into the 2nd act. However it
quickly became apparent that this would be extremly complex to film and would take a lot of time that I didn’t have at that point.
The other thing that was becoming apparent was that entire sub plot was un neccasary and in fact the film would likely be better without it both for pacing and storytelling reasons. This is
why I removed this entire first section of the script coming up with an opening narration instead and then linking that directly into the second act. I think this was in hindsight a better idea
as the opening narration allowed me to initially make it seem like the audience was being addressed directly which is a good way to make them connect with the character and put
themselves In his shoes.
3. Shot List
Black screen White text appears saying "Artificial Intelligence
is dangerous, You have been warned."
Stock Footage Shots of Humans walking on a street, followed
by monkeys to represent evolution. Then cut to
shots of warefare followed by shots of the
space shuttle and Steve Jobs to represent
innovation.
Over the shoulder shot, blurred We see the character fin reading a lettert but
the shot is out of focus to make the text on
screen easier to read.
Close up shot, blurred We see the character of Fin leaving his house
and walking away.
Shot Type Description
4. Shot List Long Shot. Fin walking down an alleyway, suddenly the shot
jumps foreward as the brain chip activates.
Medium shot from behind. We see fin collapse on the floor from behind.
POV Shot. We see what everything looks like from Fins angle as
he is collapsed on the floor. His vision is suddenly
taken up by a large HUD graphic as he picks himself
up.
Long shot from side. Fin has picked himself up and has continued walking
down the alleyway turning left onto the street.
POV Shot. We see the boot up sequance is completed and the
HUD changes becoming more complex as the AI and
Fin start talking.
Side Shot –Medium to long. We see Fin finish his conversation and walk of.
Timelapse Cut to timelapse of sky to show passage of time.
Medium-close up from left. Shot of Fin removing a drink from the microwave.
POV Same action as the previous clip just from a different
view.
Side shot -Medium Fin excersing by doing push ups
POV Same action from previous clip but with HUD
graphics to illustrate A.I actions and conversation.
Timelapse Timelapse of sky to once again show the passage of
time.
Close Up of face and hands typing mixed
together with different opacity levels.
Shot of Fin typing and a close up of his face as he is
doing it. (These shots will be mixed with each as they will fade
in an out of each other. This technique is called the disolve and
is used in many other types of montages in films.)
5. Shot List
Black screen. The opening shot of this scene consists of just a
black screen with audio of the A.I trying to wake
Fin up.
Close up of Fins head Fin wakes up jumping in shock
POV CALLI is responding to Fins complaints on having to
wake up and we can see that what she is saying is
appearing on screen in text format in the top right
hand corner.
Medium Shot of Fin laying down. Fin gives in relectantly getting up and leaving.
Establishing shot of college We see Fin walking towards the college front
entrance.
Medium shot of college front doors. We see Fin walking through the front dor.
Medium shot of stairwell. Fin is walking up the stairs. From behind the camera
enters Dan who pushes over Fin hard before walking
of. Fin has fallen over obviously hurting himself badly.
Close up of Fin on the floor Fin is looking angry and he pulls himself up using a
handrail obove him. As he does this the camera Pans
up towards the handrail.
Medium shot of Fins desk in classroom. The shot is
framed to be slightly of centre. (Rule Of Thirds)
Fin enters the shot and sits down and starts ranting
about Dan.
Close up side shot of Fins face Action continues from previous shot.
Medium shot of Fins face –Front facing Fin is shocked that CALLI has suggested that he kill
Dan.
6. Shot List
Close up side shot of FIns Head Action conitnues from previous shot.
Medium shot of Fins face –Front facing Fin is shocked and confused about what Calli is
saying.
Medium shot of Fin from the side. CALLI takes control of Fins body causing Fin great
pain.
Multiple jump cuts from same angle of previous
one.
Fin is fighting CALLI for control however he is
loosing.
POV Shot Fin facing Dan from the other side of a coridoor.
Over the Shoulder shot Fin can be seen over Dans shoulder from a
distance.
Medium shot of Dan. Dan walks down the coridoor towards Fin. Fin
warns him to stay back but he is ignored.
Medium shot from the side of Dan and Fin Fin grabs onto Dans neck and begins to strangle
him. As soon as he does this the screen goes black.
CLose up flashing Jump cut shots. We see Fin continue to strangle Dan.
POV Whilst this is happening the HUD is glitching. It is
clear that CALLI is malfunctioning.
Close up of Fins Hands Close up of Fin strangling Dan followed by a neck
snap and cut to black.
Medium shot of Fins face Fin slouches back against the wall in shock from
what he has done.
Close up of Fin lighing on the floor. Fin perks up as he hears CALLI ask him were does
he want to hide the body.
CREDITS CREDITS
7. Story Development
Title: C.A.L.L.I
Genre: Science Fiction Visual Conventions
The first and in my opinion most important visual convention that I will be utilising is the use of a Go Pro to get POV shots from my character. Having this perspective in this film is
extremely important to me as it directly links in with making my audience connect with the character as they will be seeing many things through the character Finn’s own eyes. This will
mean I effectively have a multi-cam setup for this production as I will also require a main camera as well. Having a POV camera is also extremely important to the overall visual style of the
film which in turn helps bring to life the character of C.A.L.L.I. Because the character of C.A.L.L.I is essentially a computer program she doesn’t have a physical presence on screen. My
solution to this is to create some kind of HUD overlay over the POV footage that the protagonist Fin can see and which is used by C.A.L.L.I to display information for him.
Linking back to my research on visual conventions of the Sci-Fi genre or of film in general, one thing I will attempt to utilize is the Rule Of Thirds. This is the idea that instead of being the
centre focus of a shot, the character is positioned slightly of centre which helps create more tension in a scene. In this project I want to have full control of the camera and its movement
so that the image I have in my mind of how I want to film to look will end up being what the final product looks like. Also I think that through the use of techniques such as handheld
videography, rule of thirds and the use of an 2:31:1 anamorphic aspect ratio will hopefully give my film a very cinematic look.
Finally the other visual convention I wish to utilize is the use of cool harsh blue tones on the POV scenes. There is deeper meaning to this though and it will not be done just for the sake of
colour grading that I talked about in my research. The colour blue is overused in many modern Sci-Fi films and TV shows and in my opinion looks very boring. This is why the colour will
only be used in the POV shots of my film and for a reason. This reason is that the protagonists eyesight has essentially also become a screen on which he can view C.A.L.L.I’s graphical user
interface. Now modern computer monitors and screens emit a type of invisible blue light that supposedly interferes with our circadian rhythms and can confuse our sleep patterns. That is
why many studies suggest you should stop looking at screens at least an hour before bed. In my opinion the blue colour tones on C.A.L.L.I’s hood could be evocative of this. I also believe
that it could have a hidden meaning which is to show how disruptive and intrusive C.A.L.L.I’S HUD is. This in turn is supposed to be evocative of real world technology and its intrusiveness
such as the ability to always stay connected to the internet through the use of smartphones and how we are constantly being bombarded with information. Also since the technology of
C.A.L.L.I is supposed to be a natural progression from the technology we have now it links in with the moral of the story. This moral is that we should be very cautious about the dangers
of advanced technology particularly artificial intelligence and the impact it could have on us both as a society and on the very nature of humans.
Connecting the audience to the character.
One part of my film that I conceived early on was a section at the start that explained my characters motivations for getting the C.A.L.L.I brain chip implanted. Originally it was going to be
because he was in need of money and a company were offering to pay for test subject to try out this brain implant. This is in the script and will likely be filmed however those scenes may
end up on the cutting room floor as I don’t believe that they are really necessary to the overall plot and that they slow down the pacing. I think a much better idea would be to simplify the
plot and introduce the character as having already had the brain chip implanted therefore I can leave some aspects of the characters background mysterious which I believe makes the
character more interesting. Instead what I might do is open with a narrator addressing what appears to be the audience themselves, telling them congratulations for having the brain chip
implanted then switching to third person and showing the character Fin. This in my opinion would be a better way of connecting the audience to the character by telling them that they
are the character thereby making Fins character an embodiment of the audience themselves. This would allow for the audience to easily insert themselves into the film making the events
that happen feel all the more frightening and realistic.
8. Story Development Title: C.A.L.L.I
Genre: Science Fiction
Act 1
Act 2
Act 3
Act 1 consists of the opening scene of my film as well as establishing my character and his motivations. The opening scene will consist of stock footage and text
upon screen with an opening narration to show various states of human evolution. It will then show the title card then the narrator will directly address the
audience as if they are watching from the point of view of the character. This whole opening section is meant to be really profound and atmospheric so the
tone should be very calm and relaxing. We then cut to my character Fin who is reading from a letter which is ordering him to make monthly repayments for a
loan. He then leaves his home and goes to college were he complains to his friend that he needs the money. His friend then sends him a link to a website
advertising a computer brain implant called C.A.L.L.I. He says that they are offering money for test subjects. Fin then goes and gets this brain chip implanted.
(Everything highlighted in blue might end up being deleted from the film. The reason I am considering doing this is because It could negatively effect pacing
and I think the film may work better without these scenes.)
In this act Fin has had the brain chip implanted. He is walking down the street waiting for it to activate. Eventually it does and the experience is extremely
uncomfortable and disorientating at first as his body adapts to it. Fin is amazed and somewhat sceptical at first as to C.A.L.L.I’s abilities as well as somewhat
taken aback by them especially when a HUD interface appears in his vision. We then see Fin going about his daily life and C.A.L.L.I providing him assistance
with that. However Fin is finding it all very tiring and wishes to sleep. C.A.L.L.I however doesn’t want him to. She says that it is her function to help improve his
day to life and to optimise his time. She states that it would be unproductive of Fin to remain asleep therefore she cannot allow that. Fin reluctantly agrees to
get up expressing his annoyance.
Act 3 is the final act of my film. We see Fin walking into college. He gets pushed over hard by someone called Dan who has clearly been giving him trouble
before as this makes Fin extremely angry. Due to a combination of anger and his tiredness he over reacts expressing his desire to kill that person despite not
really meaning it. C.A.L.L.I misinterprets this however believing that killing him would be the best course of action. Shocked Fin refuses but again C.A.L.L.I
counteracts saying it is her function to improve his life and that other person is clearly degrading it. Fin once again refuses but C.A.L.L.I decides she won’t let
him. She takes control of the motor cortex part of his brain which is responsible for muscle movement. This causes Fin great pain as he is being forced to move
against his will and he can’t stop it. He ends up intercepting Dan walking down a corridor. Confused at his strange behaviour Dan starts to walk towards him.
Fin warns him to keep back but it does no good. Controlling Fins body C.A.L.L.I forces Fin to grab Dan by the throat strangling him so hard he suffocates. After
this is done C.A.L.L.I seemingly releases control of Fins body and he sinks to the floor horrified and what has just happened. C.A.L.L.I then notifies him of
nearby locations he could hide the body. The video cuts to black as she asks if he would like to view them? Then the ends credits roll.
9. Locations
My film will be primarily take place in two locations. These will be inside college, outside college and at my house. One thing I have said
before about this film is that I wanted every aspect to have meaning therefore I am not simply using these locations as they are a
convenient place to film I am using them because it is written into my script and is therefore necessary for the plot of my film. The only
exception to that rule are a few scenes that may have to be filmed inside the green screen studio however that cannot be helped.
There will be a few shots that will primarily be
used to establish the location. Some may
consist of the character walking across the
shot. This would normally be a problem when
filming in public however if there are people
around (providing they don't start staring at
the camera and interrupting the shots) it could
help add to the authenticity of the shot.
The scenes shot throughout the house will
be in various locations to show the
character going about his daily life. This
also does a good job of making the
character seem real if we see their home
and how they live.
Other locations may
include public places such
as high streets, parks and
roads. If so then I will have
to look at getting
permission from
authorities to film in these
places.
10. Location
of alleyway that my character is walking
down when the brain chip activates.
Location of the street that the character
walks down at the end of the scene.
11. Locations
Using google maps I am able to annotate and show were I want to film in college and talk
about why.
This area has a good view of the
front of the college as well as
the logo on the bus park wall.
This will be good for use as a
primary establishing shot of the
location were the scene takes
place.
One of the scenes takes place in the classroom. This is so that I can show
the character doing work and going about his daily life. This is done not only
to build up the character but also as a compilation to show the character of
the A.I C.A.L.L.I assisting Fin as is its function. I also want to add variety to
my shots. Since many of the college scenes take place in corridors it makes
sense to change it up and use a classroom for a scene instead.
I will also film an establishing
shot closer to the actual front
entrance of the college that way
I can get a shot of the character
actually walking into the
building. For pacing reasons I
may decide to omit this shot
from the final film however I
have it should I wish to use it.
There are 2 scenes
set here in a stairwell.
I have multiple
reasons why I want to
film it here other then
just because It adds
variety. One reason is
because there are
more interesting
angles I can film from
as well as more space
then compared to a
regular long corridor.
My next reason is
that the stairwells in
college tend to be a
common place for
people to congregate
and hold
conversations. My
final reason is that
there are many
windows in this
location so providing I
am filming near one,
the lighting should be
really good.
This ground level corridor is
were the climax of my film will
take place. The reason why I
want it to take place here is
because it is a very long
uninterrupted corridor with no
natural light. This means it is
quite dark and thus has the
perfect atmosphere for the
scene. It also tends to be quiet
during lesson time meaning
there hopefully won’t be many
interruptions.
12. Health & Safety Risk Assessment
Potential Issue Avoiding the Issue
The Cannon C100 is a very heavy camera and I will be filming freehand so carrying it around
unsupported all day could be very physically intensive and could cause issues such as strained
muscles or bruised hands.
Make sure to take regular breaks. If I have someone else to share the responsibility the camera
then we could do it in shifts however that would mean also sharing the role of camera man
meaning that it will be more difficult to get the shots that I want.
We will be filming on the street so we will have to be careful of passers by as well as vehicles when
we are near the road.
It may be ideal to film at quiet times of the day on a street that isn't a main road. This will minimize
the risk of us being hit by passing vehicles or accidently hurting passers by.
Passers by are a potential health and safety risk for other reasons. We don't know who these
people are or if we are trust worthy. There is always a risk that we may be attacked or mugged
especially since we will be working with very expensive equipment worth thousands of pounds.
Again it may be ideal to film in a quiet location in broad daylight. I think we should also consider the
reputation of the location we are filming in as if it's a bad on then it perhaps won't be a good idea
to film there.
Confined spaces due to indoor filming may be an issue as people could end up knocking over
ornaments or tripping over wires or cables breaking equipment.
Make sure the enviroment we are filming in is a clean, tidy and organised one and that we thing
very carefully about were we film are shots so that there is minimal risk of breakage to object or
equipment. Also we should make sure that there are as few as possible wires trailing on the floor
and if there are then make sure they are clearly marked.
Stress induced illness due to overworking our selves to the point of exhaustion due to time
pressure and stress.
This is becoming a very real possability due to how fast deadlines are aproaching and how much
work we have to complete before then. To avoid this I will have to make sure that during shooting
sessions the cast and crew are not being worked to breaking point. I think it would be a good thing
to make sure people are aware of the support services the college offers for things like this.
People have adverse medical conditions that may make being a part of the production hard for
them. This could include things like asthma, disabilities or mental health issues.
Again I need to make sure people are aware of the support services that the college offers. In terms
of what I can do personally first I should asatain wether someone with these issues should
participate in the production at all for there own safety.
Since we will operating electrical equipment with Lithium Ion batteries there is always a fire hazard
risk and therefore a risk of burns and smoke inhalation.
Make sure we are using equipment that has ben PAT tested so that we know the electrical
components are safe. Also in the event of a worse case scenario make sure we know where we can
obtain a fire extinguisher in our indoor filming locations. At college there is usually one in every
classroom. At home there is one on the cuboard roof above the overn in the kitchen.
Any filming near water could cause equipment damage or if deep enough drowning. Since the equipment is expensive we need to be really careful about this type of thing. A solution
would be to make sure we have a minimum distance of 2 meters between the equipment and any
drinks on set. If we are filming near deep water then things like life rafts coud be useful. However
this will not be needed as my film doesn't require us to film near deep water.
Different weather patterns have different risks to them. If it starts raining whilst we are filming
outdoors it could damage the camera. If it gets too hot and we are in the sun for long periods it
could cause people to develop heatstroke or it could cause damage to the equipment either from
the ambient temperature being too high or it cause some of the plastics to melt.
We need to make sure we are checking the weather forecast for the days we are filming on and
making informed decisions based on that information. For example if it looks to be overcast with a
possibility of rain it might be a good idea to not film outside. Equally so if the temperatures outside
are extremely high then it might be a good idea to wait until it has cooled down.
13. FMP Timeframe and organization
11-17th March 18-24th March 25-31st March 1st April-7th April 8th-14th April
This week will be used
for pre production
planning and script
writing. I also need to
figure out the logistics
of my production as
well as casting.
Due to me not having much time to
work on my project over the
previous weekend I will be using this
week as overflow for my production
planning and documents. By Thursday
afternoon my script must be completed.
Over the following weekend I will be
helping Luke to film his project and I
may start filming on mine.
This week will be used
purely for production
on my film. This
includes shooting,
starting draft edits or
any photoshop/
secondary production
works that needs to
be done.
This will also be purely
a production week
that will involve
actually shooting my
film. Editing will
become more
prevalent as the week
progresses and I finish
shooting my film.
This week I will
hopefully have most
of my shooting done
and I will be mostly
editing an early draft
of my film. I will also
be using this week as
contingency time for
shooting if anything
goes wrong.
15th–28th April: Easter Holidays
Since I won't be at college over the
Easter holidays I won't be able to
do any practical production work
such as editing as it is better to use
the college Macs to do that.
Therefore these 2 weeks will allow
me to use this time for me to get
caught up and finish of any of the
necessary production documents as
well as plan ahead for the coming
weeks so that I can get this project
finished.
29th April-5th May 6th-12th May 13th-19th May
End of
Production
20th May-10th June
Editing and production work, final draft to be completed by the 19th
of May
This week will be the final week of the FMP were we will be evaluating
my work. Final submissions for all work due on the 10th June.
End of
Project
This Schedule was made on the 11th of March and is purely a production schedule and does not include previous elements of the project such as initial
research and problem solving.
14. Equipment Location Facilities
Cannon C100 My house, Car Avenue/ Elmet Avenue,
Sherburn In Elmet.
York College, exterior/ Construction/
engineering corridor/stairwell +Room 2F064.
Sound Recording Studio.
C100 Camera Monitor My house, Car Avenue/ Elmet
Avenue, Sherburn In Elmet.
York College, exterior/
Construction/ engineering corridor/stairwell
+Room 2F064.
Green Screen Studio.
Spare SD card and spare batteries. My house, Car Avenue/
Elmet Avenue, Sherburn In Elmet.
York College,
exterior/ Construction/ engineering
corridor/stairwell +Room 2F064.
Classroom with iMac for editing.
Tripod My house,
Car Avenue/ Elmet Avenue, Sherburn In Elmet.
(May not be needed as I'm considering filming
freehand)
Empty House for filming in.
Go Pro Hero 3 My house, Car
Avenue/ Elmet Avenue, Sherburn In Elmet.
Empty Classroom for filming in.
Go Pro Head mount for Hero 3 My house, Car
Avenue/ Elmet Avenue, Sherburn In Elmet.
Empty street for filming on.
Computer Capable of Editing.
College iMac or my PC.
My house, Car
Avenue/ Elmet Avenue, Sherburn In Elmet.
York College, Room 2F064.
Empty Stairwell and corridor for filming on.
22. Personal & Cast List
As I have previously stated this production will be the first one I have done were I will not be acting in it. The reason for this
is because I want to be in control of the camera as I have a very specific vision of how I want the film to be shot and how I
want it to look. This means I have to cast other people in my film to play the characters. This will present several challenges
that I will have to plan for so that they effect production in the most minimal way possible.
The most obvious initial challenge will be availability of personal. If it turns out one of my actors becomes unavailable for
whatever reason I have made sure that I have a backup cast in place so that if necessary an actor can be replaced. However
should the need for that occur then it will still significantly change how the production looks. The reason I cast certain
people is because they are the best representations of how I imagined these characters in my head and should the cast
change that won't be the case. The visual style of the production will likely change itself. The reason for this is because I am
the only person that I trust to successfully portray the role of Fin Tellart. It is a tricky role to portray since most of the
characters dialogue is of him talking to a computer chip in his head.
This means that during shooting unless I have someone read the lines of C.A.L.L.I off camera the actor needs to have a two
way conversation with themselves. This means it could be very tricky for them to get the tone of the scene correct if they
have no one to play off. If it turns out to be me that plays that role then I will have to find a replacement cameraman. Since
I am on screen that would then make it harder to direct them in order to make sure they get the shots right. There is also
an element of initiative that a Camera man must use as you never truly know what a shot is going to look like until you are
there. I would have to find someone who is capable of that. My first choice would be Luke Simpson as I have worked with
him before and I have seen first hand how he uses his own initiative when getting shots and how good he is.
In terms of the team size. There will be two filming days and 2 audio recording days. The first filming day will consist of just
two people, myself and Andreas. My reasoning for keeping the team to a minimal size on this day is because we will be
filming on location at my house and on the surrounding streets. By having just the two of us it keeps things like logistics
simple and costs low as the only real problem will be figuring out how Andreas would get to the location. The solution to
that is simply either use public transport or get a lift from his parents. For that filming day anymore then two people will be
unnecessary anyway as there is only one character in the scenes that we will be filming so the only other person needed is
a camera operator which is me anyway.
The 2nd filming day will likely be more complex as it includes scenes with multiple characters which will increase the team
size to four people. Me as the Camera Operator, Andreas reprising his role as Fin, Luke Simpson as the bully Dan and Jay
Berkin as Chris. These 3 characters are never in one scene together the maximum being two characters per scene. However
even when not in a scene together the other actors will still have to be on standby as they could be called on to film at any
minute.
Prime Cast Character
Andreas Mina Fin Tellart
Sydney Read-Measures Voice of C.A.L.L.I
Luke Simpson Dan Wilkinson (The Bully)
Jay Berkin Chris (Scenes may be cut)
Camera man, editor, director
& Producer:
Josh Eastham
Backup Cast Character
Josh Eastham Fin Tellart
Cait Temple Voice of C.A.L.L.I
Daniel Taylor Dan Wilkinson (The
Bully)
If prime actor is unavailable
scene will definitely be cut.
Chris (Scenes may be
cut)
Camera man Luke Simpson
Editor, Director
& Producer:
Josh Eastham
The first audio recording day will consist of 3 people in the
studio. Myself as the sound operator, Sydney Read-Measures to
record her lines as C.A.L.L.I and Andreas Mina to help read lines
from the script.
The 2nd audio recording day will consist of just myself in a studio
recording lines for the opening narrations.
23. Graphics, Costumes, Props and Post Production
Prop wise things will be kept to a minimum. The reason for this is because my film mostly relies on the characters and their interactions with each other to move the plot along rather then
their interactions with different objects. The only physical prop that my characters need to interact with is in fact a Mug which the character Fin is seen removing from a microwave followed
by C.A.L.L.I warning him that it is too hot to drink. Minimising the use of prop was not a conciouse decision and only came about as a result of the story not requiring it. One thing I do want
to pay close attention to is the costume. Because the film is set 20 years in the future I don't want to have any item of clothing in my film that makes it obviouse that the year is really 2019.
Of course in 10 years fashion and clothing styles will of course change but what I mean is that I want to avoid clothes with printed pictures, designed or logos on them. This will help avoid
any issues with brands demanding license fee's since there logos are being displayed on video. It will also mean the audience is more focused on the characters themselves rather then
being distracted by what they are wearing. For the main character Fin, I will be keeping his costume relatively simple as that makes it easier to maintain continuity when the actor is having
to wear the same thing on multiple days when filming. For the main character Fin I envision something standard and relatively casual such as blue Jeans, A red top and some sort of jacket.
The blue and red provide a nice contrast in colors which I think will look good on screen.
The character of Dan who bully's Fin will be very difficult to create a good costume for even though he doesn't appear on screen much. The reason for this is because I envisioned Dan as
the type of person that wears sports wear a lot. However most sports wear items have logos on them which is what I want to avoid. One solution to this would be to be very creative about
how I shoot this character and from what angles. However this imposes all sorts of restrictions on shot types and angles that might not be exactly suited to the scene I am filming. Another
solution would be to source some unbranded sports wear for my actor however this will come at an additional cost.
For the graphical elements on my production. For C.A.L.L.I's GUI, I have been
inspired by modern UI HUD designs such as those that get projected onto the
windscreens of some cars as well as UI designs from science fiction films and TV
series. For me to portray this on screen I will attempt to recreate these types of
graphics in photoshop then import the PSD layers into Premier and add them to
the video. I will then use keyframing techniques to give them movement followed
by finally adding sound effects. This will allow me to create a basic type of effect.
If I had longer I would like to spend a lot more time doing this. For the more
complex graphical elements I may have to source some free to use premade VFX
or some VFX templates online as they may be the only way to give the graphics a
truly polished feel. I would like to avoid this if possible but I may have to end up
doing that.
For the font I want something thin and straight with non rounded edges but is still
easy to read. The reason I am going for this minimalist design is because I believe
it looks clean, sleek and futuristic which is what the style of this film is all about.
Early concepts of the title card which are on the following slide had a more worn
out weathered appeal to at that gave it a much more dystopian feel however I
realized that this didn't really fit with the overall tone of the film.
24. Post Production
Post production is arguably the most important part of my project as it is what brings my vision to life on screen. This project will be different from previous ones I have done in that I will
be trying out various techniques that I haven't before in order to create a higher quality more cinematic piece than what I have done before. The first thing that is key to this is the aspect
ratio. In my planning for previous project I have talked about doing them in a 2:35:1 anamorphic aspect ratio in order to give it a more cinematic look and feel. However I've never ended
up doing this as once I had my footage and was ready to import it into Premier I didn't believe that the Cannon 600D footage looked good enough to do that. I was worried that if I did
then the video would look bloated and stretched out unnaturally. I was also not as familiar with how to set sequences up in Premier then I am now. This time I have decided to be brave
and just go for it as I really want this to look like a high quality polished piece of work. This sleekness and smoothness that I want to evoke has a deeper meaning in that it is supposed to
represent the sleekness and smoothness of high technology. The fact that I have filmed using a much higher quality camera, the C100 helps my confidence with using this aspect ratio.
When filming the C100 has guidelines along the top and bottom of the camera monitor which allow you to frame your shots in the correct way so that if you do decide to edit in a
cinematic aspect ratio your subject won't be cut of by the black bars.
One thing I am worried about is the color grading. The opening titles of my film requires the use of stock footage for storytelling purposes. This will be accompanied by white text on
screen which will be in a very thin font. This may cause problems with how readable it is as in some places it may be difficult to distinguish it from the background footage. The obvious
solution to this would be to color grade the footage with an adjustment layer to make the text easier to read. The problem with this is that the footage isn't just one clip it is several clips
each one consisting of different environments with varying lighting conditions and background colors. This may mean I will have to color correct individual footage to make it look right
instead of just using an adjustment layer over all of them. However if I do that there is still no guarantee it will work as it may end up being very visually jarring going from one clip to the
other if the colors are noticeably different. I may have this issue with the footage I have shot as well since I am using two very different cameras, the Cannon C100 and a Go Pro Hero 3.
The C100 footage tends to have very muted cool looking tones, this might have something to do with camera settings and I will adjust them to see if that makes a difference however that
cool, muted tone look is something I am going for throughout my film as it is a good representation of the tone and style of my film. This may clash with the Go Pro which tends to film in
a very wide angle with very bright tones. Again I will attempt to adjust the settings of the Go Pro but from my experience with it so far I don't see myself having much look with doing that.
I will try using adjustment layers but I have a feeling it will come down to grading each individual clip in a very specific way in order to make sure they fit in with each other without
clashing. One thing I will do with the grading is use a red hue in the scenes were the character is in pain in order to demonstrate what he is feeling in a subliminal way.
The use of sound is something I want to focus on a lot more during this production. Before I've tended to focus on visuals and the sound has been a second thought however this time it
will be different as I believe the use of sound is as crucial as the visuals to really sell the idea of a sentiant computer chip that is implanted inside my characters brain. For example one
major thing will be the voice of C.A.L.L.I herself. The character will be voiced by an actress however that won't be enough to create the desired "synthetic voice" effect that I will need.
During my production experiments I played around with some audio effects in premier and came up with the idea of using a flanger effect along with a slight reverb that made the voice
sound slightly synthetic. I believe that once I have found the correct voice actress to play the character he talent combines with the digital effects will really make the character of C.A.L.L.I
come alive. I will also need to source sound effects that can accompany the futuristic HUD that C.A.L.L.I displays herself on. I think that without these sounds the HUD won't stand out
very well and that with them the effects will feel far more substantial.
One issue I may have is background niose especially when we are filming in public places. If this cannot be solved then I may have to record some sound effects using pholey techniques
then replace the original soundtrack with the new one. This may mean that my actors will have to re record dialogue in a studio lip syncing it to the original footage. Whilst this could be
extremly difficult with proper pracetice and rehersal it could be done. As for recording the narration at the start one thing I will do is add more bass to the recording to give it an overall
more cinematic and substancial feel. I think that this will work really nicely with a calm atmospheric and futuristic soundtrack to open the film. Unfortunatly I do not have the skill or time
to compose such a piece myself so I will likely be sourcing a copyright free soundtrack from the internet. The soundtrack will then go on to be more upbeat and futuristic when C.A.L.L.I
first activates. It will then get progressively darker as the plot progresses and thinks start to go wrong. It will then revert back to an up beat Sci-Fi tone for the end credits of the film.
25. Camera settings and Framing
I will shoot my film on the Cannon C100 camera in 1080p at 60 frames per second. Since I am filming in these settings it gives me the perfect chance to use an
Anamorphic editing sequence setup in Premier in order to give my film a cinematic look and feel.
My attempt at over the shoulder
shots:
My attempt at utilizing the Rule of
Thirds:
My
attempt
at getting
POV
shots
with a Go
Pro:
Below is are examples of the different shot types and framing techniques I have used in
my film. I will follow this slide up with a section in my evaluation to talk about why I
wanted to utalize these types of shots, how I think they turned out in hindsight and
what I could do to improve in future projects.
My attempt at the dissolve
technique:
26. FMP Timeframe and organization
11-17th March 18-24th March 25-31st March 1st April-7th April 8th-14th April
This week will be used
for pre production
planning and script
writing. I also need to
figure out the logistics
of my production as
well as casting.
Due to me not having much time to
work on my project over the
previous weekend I will be using this
week as overflow for my production
planning and documents. By Thursday
afternoon my script must be completed.
Over the following weekend I will be
helping Luke to film his project and I
may start filming on mine.
This week will be used
purely for production
on my film. This
includes shooting,
starting draft edits or
any photoshop/
secondary production
works that needs to
be done.
This will also be purely
a production week
that will involve
actually shooting my
film. Editing will
become more
prevalent as the week
progresses and I finish
shooting my film.
This week I will
hopefully have most
of my shooting done
and I will be mostly
editing an early draft
of my film. I will also
be using this week as
contingency time for
shooting if anything
goes wrong.
15th–28th April: Easter Holidays
Since I won't be at college over the
Easter holidays I won't be able to
do any practical production work
such as editing as it is better to use
the college Macs to do that.
Therefore these 2 weeks will allow
me to use this time for me to get
caught up and finish of any of the
necessary production documents as
well as plan ahead for the coming
weeks so that I can get this project
finished.
29th April-5th May 6th-12th May 13th-19th May
End of
Production
20th May-10th June
Editing and production work, final draft to be completed by the 19th
of May
This week will be the final week of the FMP were we will be evaluating
my work. Final submissions for all work due on the 10th June.
End of
Project
This Schedule was made on the 11th of March and is purely a production schedule and does not include previous elements of the project such as initial
research and problem solving.
27. The use of sound is something I want to focus on a lot more during this production. Before I've tended to focus on visuals and the sound has been a second thought however this time it
will be different as I believe the use of sound is as crucial as the visuals to really sell the idea of a sentiant computer chip that is implanted inside my characters brain. For example one
major thing will be the voice of C.A.L.L.I herself. The character will be voiced by an actress however that won't be enough to create the desired "synthetic voice" effect that I will need.
During my production experiments I played around with some audio effects in premier and came up with the idea of using a flanger effect along with a slight reverb that made the voice
sound slightly synthetic. I believe that once I have found the correct voice actress to play the character he talent combines with the digital effects will really make the character of C.A.L.L.I
come alive. I will also need to source sound effects that can accompany the futuristic HUD that C.A.L.L.I displays herself on. I think that without these sounds the HUD won't stand out
very well and that with them the effects will feel far more substantial.
One issue I may have is background niose especially when we are filming in public places. If this cannot be solved then I may have to record some sound effects using pholey techniques
then replace the original soundtrack with the new one. This may mean that my actors will have to re record dialogue in a studio lip syncing it to the original footage. Whilst this could be
extremly difficult with proper pracetice and rehersal it could be done. As for recording the narration at the start one thing I will do is add more bass to the recording to give it an overall
more cinematic and substancial feel. I think that this will work really nicely with a calm atmospheric and futuristic soundtrack to open the film. Unfortunatly I do not have the skill or time
to compose such a piece myself so I will likely be sourcing a copyright free soundtrack from the internet. The soundtrack will then go on to be more upbeat and futuristic when C.A.L.L.I
first activates. It will then get progressively darker as the plot progresses and thinks start to go wrong. It will then revert back to an up beat Sci-Fi tone for the end credits of the film.
Finance
January
Management Logs
February March April May
This is a brief summary of each stage of my production from a management point of view done on a monthly basis since we began in January.
We began our FMP projects
towards the end of this month.
By this I had the idea of what I
wanted to do mostly formed in
my head. The last week of
January was used to develop it
and write my Proposal
Documents. Once I had done
this I needed to consider how
certain elements of my
production would work and
what research I would have to
do to develop this.
This month I began my
research into what I would
need for my project making
sure to include primary and
secondary sources as well as
looking at existing practitioners
that have inspired me to do
this project. This month also
consisted of me doing my
problem solving documents
and looking at possible
contingency's and backup plans
should things go wrong.
I suffered a lot of setbacks this
month due to a dead hard
drive which meant I lost a lot
of the work I had just done on
my problem solving.
Fortunately I was able to
salvage an older backup from
somewhere however I had to
Re do the majority of the
document. This month we also
started our planning however
this also got pushed foreword
into the following month due
to the setback that occurred.
By the start of this month I had
my princaple cast sorted and
we began our first day of
filming on the 2nd April. This
was a succesful day as we got
everything we needed to
filmed that day. This meant
that whilst waiting for the next
filming day I could begin
editing the footage I already
had. I was able to use the
easter holidays to catch up on
work I was running behind on.
This month consisted of
recording the final footage and
audio for my project and then
just editing. I put the final
touches on my project and
exported the final sequance on
Thursday the 22nd. I also went
back to some of my previous
documents and made some
improvements and changes in
order to better them. We also
began work on our evaluations
so they are ready to hand in on
the 7th of June.
28. Color schemes, Concept art, Style sheets and photographyEarly title card and poster concept:
How someone
with the brain
implant see's
the world:
My film is set in the near future were my main character is a student struggling
with money problems. To solve his problems he volunteers himself to be a test
subject for a human brain implant that’s grants the test subject a personal A.I
Assistant. However things take a sinister turn when the A.I's program cannot
correctly process human emotions and things start to spiral out of control.
This concept image depicts how someone would see the world through their own
eyes with the brain implant. I wanted to show that they are constantly being
bombarded by information hence the intrusive heads up display. One element of
this image is the desaturated blue colour grading. I was inspired to do this by the
film The Matrix which has a green colour grading in the scenes set inside the
Matrix. This was done to represent the green hue that monochromatic moniters of
the time had. In my project I use a blue colour grading which represents the blue
light emmited by modern screens that affects peoples circadian rhythms.
Original Image:
Edited Image with
color grading:
29. Planning Reflection
This is why it is extremely important to have a contingency plan that you can add to when something new crops up. That way in future project you can take a look at your plan
from last time and use it as a base model to improve upon each time making it more and more foolproof. The thing I would say I have learned the most during this planning
stage is how to manage other people. This is because whilst I have had to manage other people in previous projects it has only usually been one person that is playing a
character. I then have to manage myself as I am usually playing the leading role. This time I am not playing any characters other then a narrator which just requires a voice
recording session. This means that I am relying mostly on others to play the characters and this project has the largest cast I have ever worked with so it requires meticulous
micromanagement in order to make sure that people will be were they need to be and on time. At the same time I've also learned to take a step back and let other use there
own intuition which can sometimes have a positive effect as I have before fallen into the trap of being too controlling and pestering people too much. This knowledge will be
very applicable when it comes to actually directing my film as that involves utilizing many of the same interpersonal and organization skills that I have learned."
Reflecting on my planning most of the points I would like to make I have talked about in my weekly reflections. Therefore I will be paraphrasing certain points and elaborating on some. One
thing I think I did a good job on is my production schedule. The reason I say this is because on previous projects this has been something that has helped me immensely before when it comes
to staying on task and on schedule over the weeks of the production. I think this is because If I have a set goal each week it really brings home the amount of work I have to do in order to
complete the project. If I can see it laid out like this then it is really motivational as I know that If I don’t achieve these goals it is going to be extremely difficult to catch up again in the
amount of time I have left. There is another logistical factor to this as well. As well as keeping the whole project on task It can also help to keep individual tasks on schedule such as specific
shooting days. Things like shot lists, and call sheets give me an idea of how things should progress on certain days and how long it should take to do certain tasks. I think it would be helpful if
I were to review my planning every week during production. Therefore I will be able to remind myself of certain ways of doing things or other plans that I have laid out for myself to use
during this project. It will also be good if I could go back each week and improve my planning as well so that I can add bits to it that I may have overlooked and have come to light during
production. This will be helpful to also log during my weekly reflections and my evaluation as I can talk about why I think I neglected this? How it affected production? And what I can do to
improve?
I've definitely had things go wrong because of poor planning before. These would usually be simple things that whilst not serious enough to severely effect the production became extremely
annoying and frustrating to deal with. Mainly because I was frustrated at myself for allowing it to happen. These include things like forgetting to book the studio or equipment when I needed
it so that when I it was unavailable. One time during a media project in high school I had asked someone to help me film something on a specific day however I neglected to press them into
checking there timetable to see if they were available. They weren't and I was left without help when I needed it. This could have been avoided if I had asked them to check because then I
would have known they weren't and I would have been able to organize something else. I don't think anything could go wrong just yet because of poor planning simply because I am not yet
at that crucial production phase. I think once I am I may start to see gaps in my planning that could cause problems. I think the most likely thing that could go wrong is organizational and
logistical things. The reason I say this is because in my experience whilst you can plan for these things you can never truly predict what events will transpire on the day and how people will
react. I can think of many examples when this has been the case both for my projects and for other projects that friends have done. One major issue is when you are filming in public and
people think it's funny to get in the way of your shot and do stupid stuff in front of the camera therefore ruining your shot. You always need to have backup locations in case this happens.
This was something that was necessary when filming Andreas's project as we were filming in front of college and we had to change locations to someplace less busy so that we could film
without interruptions
