Truth - 1st Cut Feedback

Feedback

Person 1:  Oliver, 16

• Very good 
• Some of the cuts shaky
• Upstairs movement
• Nice dolly work
• Use of incense- smoke effect
• Camera angles were interesting 

From this feedback, I can tell that my movie opening has good camera angles but some of the cuts are shaky and would therefore need to be changed to make the shots flow together. 

Person 2:  Becky, 17

• Variety of different shots
• Continuity - good story
• Shaky camera 
• Don't know where the story would lead 

From this feedback, it is clear that where the story would continue would need to be made more obviously in the opening scenes but the story that is revealed at the opening already, is strong and makes sense.

Person 3-Mitch, 16

• Good close ups
• Shaky
• Good angles and close up shots 

From this feedback, I can tell that my close up shots are good but the stability of some of the shots would need to be redone if we were able to go back and film again.

Person 4- Ash, 17 

• Variety of shots
• Different ages of actresses good 
• letter looks realistic
• good dolly movement 

From this feedback, I can tell that my choice of actresses were good because I was able to show to age ranges in my opening and that the dolly movement in one shot was very good and fluent. 

Film Progress Update

Film Progress Update

Graphics

I created the 'Truth' title using After Effects. I found a tutorial online ( link at bottom)  which helped me,animate the title so that is moves like a type writer using the typewriter effect.  I decided to use this font ( American Typewriter) because it looks smart and is very clear to read. I decided to change the colour of the 'T' to red using a 'colour picker' ( the pipette type tool shown above" so that is it stands out and is eye catching. The red can symbolize death and looks mysterious as well. I found it quite easy creating this title because the tutorial helped me a lot and the effects are fairly simple. The most difficult part was making it all flow together correctly.

We first placed the title at the end of the opening, however we thought that it seemed too much like a trailer so we decided that it should go further in the opening so that there are shots after the titles are shown which make it appear more like an opening of a movie. 

Instead of at the end, we moved the title two clips in. This looked better and flowed much more like an opening rather than a trailer for a movie. 

We also created a Production Logo for our movie: 

 

This was created using Cinema 4D and after effects. The cogs move to give it motion and a beam of light is also shown.  

The production logo has gone at the start of the opening sequence as it is usually found there in movies. A 'dip to black' effect has been added at the end as it makes the clips flow better then if it went straight to the first shot.  

Improved shots

I improved the eye and letter shots by making some of the clips longer and some shorter. I added a heartbeat sound effect that can be heard beating against the music that is also playing. This adds tension to this section as it needs to show how Roseanne is feeling when she reads the letter. 

 

The letter exchange scene has also been improved upon to make it more natural. As before it was quite "robotic" it now flows much better like natural speech. The shots have been tightened and the dialogue is heard much better. The music playing has been turned down a lot so it is barely heard and so that the dialogue is more important. 

The scene with the stairs has been edited and looks much better. There was an unsteady camera tilt that did not look correct so it has been edited out and replace with just the Grandmother walking up the stairs, using more of a previous clip that was not originally shown. The music was edited so that as she progresses up the stairs the music gets louder as it is being played upstairs in Roseanne's office.

Another shot of Roseanne has been added nearer the start of the opening scene but at a different angle. It is much closer to Roseanne and helps the audience to begin to establish with this character. The music has only been added to the clips of Roseanne in her office as it wouldn't be able to be heard outside and so makes the audience realise that only Roseanne can hear the music playing (Diegetic sounds). The clips between the letter being pushed through the letterbox have been tightened so that it is much quicker and looks more natural. 

The black and white effect has been added to the clips except for the production logo and the title. It makes the opening fit in with the Neo Noir/ Film Noir theme of the movie. It works well with the smoke from the incense (as shown above) which is a key element in a Noir movie. 

Lastly, a dip to black effect has been added to the last clip ( of a close up version of the photograph on Roseanne's desk). This adds mystery and rounds off the opening very well.

Youtube clip link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoNIN0onunc 

Filming day evaluation

Filming Day Evaluation 

On Wednesday 22nd October 2014, we met at Bolehall Manor around 9:45 am. The actors ( Maisie and Lilian) joined us shortly afterwards. We first debriefed everyone of what was going to happen in the day. We spent roughly an hour doing this as well as setting up the set. We moved the table and chairs towards the back of the restaurant and set up the desk with office supplies together with a stereo and some more "homely" touches. We needed a photograph of Maisie (Roseanne) and her 'parents', so while she got dressed to look younger, we asked Jackie and Owen (the managers of the Manor) to play the parents in the photograph. Once this was done, we took and printed off the photo and put it in the photo-frame on the desk. It would have been smarter to have done this before the filming day as it would have been quicker but luckily it only set us back around 10 minutes off schedule. 

Once everything was set up, we were able to start filming properly. We started off by filming the Grandmother (Lilian) 'picking up the letter' from the floor by the front door and 'looking at the letter' with Roseanne's name written on it. This was easily filmed using the tripod,  however the tripod did get in the way when she picks up the letter) and didn't take very long. We then moved on to the 'walking up the stairs' scene. This was filmed at a high angle from the balcony at the top of the stairs on the landing. It only took several attempts to get the shots looking good. We moved the tripod to the corner section of the stairs so that we could get a tilt of the Grandmother holding the letter as she goes up stairs. However the tilt was fairly rough and did not flow correctly. Unfortunately we were running behind schedule at this point and did not have time to do the shot again. 

The next scenes we did were focused upstairs in Roseanne's office. We managed to film a pan of the Grandmother walking towards the desk and a match on action when she gives Roseanne the letter. We uncounted a major problem when Lilian was unable to say her lines without forgetting them or doing something wrong. Eventually we wrote everything on a whiteboard and I sat behind Maisie on the windowsill and held up the lines behind her head so as she read them it looked like she was talking and looking directly at Maisie. Once these scenes were finished we decided to have a short 20 minute tea break and Lilian went home. 

After 20 minutes, we went back to filming. We filmed the scenes where she opens the letter, reads it and walks out of the office. The close ups of the eye and letters were done with the tripod and the part where she grabs her coat and starts to walk off was done using the dolly. These scenes took around one hour to film. The last shots we did were the ones on the street and the letter being posted. These were done fairly quickly and took around 15 minutes to complete. Luckily we were finished by the time it started to rain heavily which would have affected the quality of the outside footage. We had some problems with the way the letter fell as it kept getting stuck in the box instead of dropping down to the floor as we wanted it to. Eventually we finished all the scenes,re-arranged the furniture back to its original place and packed up the equipment and went home. 

Overall the filming day was a success as we managed to get all the footage we needed with only minor slip-ups occurring. Unfortunately there were a few major shots that had errors (such as being able to see the tables and chairs we had pushed to the back in some shots) and needed replacing, but we were unable to re-film due to only have one day to film and time restrictions. 

Recce

Recce 

Exterior- Building

Our movie needed to be filmed in an old looking house, to represent the house the Grandmother and Roseanne currently lived in. We needed a place that looked old fashioned but also somewhere that had a high class. We found that Bolehall Manor Club was the perfect place to film. Bolehall Manor Club first opened as a private members only club in 1939 and was previously home to the Egyptologist Rev.MacGregor. 

Outside the Manor runs a brick wall and the street. This would be good to use for when the mysterious man is walking towards the house to post the letter for Roseanne. A medium shot of the wall could be used or a close up of the wall and street, showing the mans feet walking could be used. The red brick of the building is also very good as it can be used to symbolize death and even though the film would be in black and white, we could focus on one colour to be shown throughout e.g-red.




The steps leading towards the front door would be a good place to get a close up of the mans feet . The camera could be placed at the top and film the mans feet as he progresses up the steps at a high angle. The front door is very large and made of wood which shows its age and links back to the idea that the house is very old and grand. 


  

 Here is a close up of the letter box on the door. The black frame makes it stand out against the wood and would show the audience it is a letter box. A close up like this one could be used when the man posts the letter through the letter box. 

This is a close up photograph of the window from the outside which is currently part of the restaurant but will be transformed into Roseanne's office. The black framing of the windows again make it stand out and so a shot of this window could be used in our movie to set the scene some more.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Interior- Hallway

Once through the front door there is a separate hallway area which includes stairs going to the next floor and a door further down which gives access to the current bar. A red door separates the hallway and the area by the front door. Once again this door and area could be used when the Grandmother comes and picks up the letter from the floor below the letterbox.

This is the letterbox from the inside view. The letters would normally fall into a box (right top) that would have to be manually opened. This could be a problem with our opening as the Grandmother would have to open the box and get the letter which would take much longer. Instead it would be easier if the box was open (right bottom) as you would be able to see the letter being posted and then falling on the floor to be then picked up.

A high angle shot could be taken from here of the Grandmother carrying the letter towards the door to be taken upstairs via the main stairway. The problem with this shot is that the door has many stickers and there is a photo-frame on the wall which would get in the way of the shot.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interior-Stairs






This is a shot of the main stairs plus the extra stairs that carry on to the snooker room. This room will not be needed in our movie and so a shot like this at the base of the stairs may not be appropriate Once again there is a red colour scheme but with white edges (the banister) instead of black which will stand out when the black and white effect is added. 

This shot could be used for when the Grandmother walks up the stairs. It is taken from the extra steps by the snooker room. This would be ideal because it is high angle and would show the Grandmother gradually walking up the stairs. However it wouldn't be ideal as you can see the club-room below and it shows that its a club rather than a house which is lived in. 

This shot would be prefect to use as it shows the stairs from a high angle shot and doesn't show the snooker room door or the club-room below. It also shows further up the stairs so the Grandmother could be seen going up the stairs fully.

This is the landing at the top of the stairs, the doors on the right lead to the restaurant that would be used as Roseanne's office. This would be a good area to film however it doesn't look very tidy and there is too much red in the shot.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Interior-Restaurant/Office 

This is a long shot of the room being used as a restaurant by the club. We would most likely use this area to set up the office scene. We could move all the tables out of the way and set up an office scene by the window to use the natural light. The room is very big and so it will be easy to move the dolly around.

We would move some tables and all the chairs out of the way and keep two tables by the window to be the desk. I natural light coming from the window shines on the desk and creates a nice glow so lighting is not likely to be a problem. The curtains can be drawn to create shadows and to make the shot darker if we needed to. The tables would be set up to look like an office desk with a laptop/computer on there and general office type things.

This candle and rose could be part of the desk as the candle would provide a smoke effect as it burns and would fit in with the Noir theme, and the rose would link back to the protagonists name: Roseanne. We could emphasize the redness of the whole building and its items by using them in our shots and although the film is in black and white we could focus on the red during editing and make it significant in the shot ( to show violence and vengeance for example) .

This chair could be used by Roseanne and can be the chair she uses at the desk.It looks old fashioned and links back to the setting of the manor as a house. It could be decorated with pillows and Roseanne's coat would be on the back of it so when she goes to leave it would be easy to access.




From our Recce, we can conclude that Bolehall Manor is the best location to film. It has many elements that we can focus on e.g- the red, and is large enough for all the filming equipment (camera, tripod and dolly) to be used. It looks (and is) a manor house and if perfect to use for the house in our movie opening. There are many locations inside the manor that we can use and we are not very restricted in the places we can film. Overall this is the perfect location.

The Story line

What is a Story line?

A story line is the underlying story of what is happening to the characters in the movie. It is different to the plot as that is the sequence of events during the story, told in the order you see it on screen.

 

The Story line:

A young woman's (Roseanne) family were taken from her at a young age, by order of a corrupt,jealous business man, so she went to live with her grandmother (her mother's mother) in her Manor House. Over the years she develops skills such as computer hacking and physical endurance, while her need for vengeance grows. One day she receives a tip off from an anonymous source giving her more information about who to go to for more information about her parents death and the reasoning behind it. 

She tracks down her first target and tortures them for information which leads her to another target involved with her parent's death.Each target brings her closer and closer to the corrupt business man and each target forces her to recall things from her past that she had pushed deep inside her mind ( both happy and horrific memories). Eventually, many targets later, she ends up face to face with the man who had her parents killed on the top floor of his business tower 

She fights off his henchmen but ends up pinned against a window by the business man. She demands that he tells her why he had her parents killed. It turns out that the parents and himself were once all friends in the past, working together on business ideas, however he had fallen in love with Roseanne's mother who did not return the feelings he had due to the fact she was deeply in love with Roseanne's father.Filled with anger and jealousy, he went behind their backs and stole their idea for a world wide business which years later ,made him become rich and powerful.

 With his new found power, he hired a hit man to kill the father so that he could "rescue" the mother from her sadness of the father's death and make her fall in love with him. When the hit man turned up at their house, he killed the father but the mother got in the way and she ended up dying as well. The hit man left the scene leaving no evidence but was unaware that a young Roseanne was upstairs sleeping peacefully in her bed. 

After he tells his story, Roseanne manages to take control of him and flips him over so that he is now against the window like she was. She kicks him so hard that the glass behind him shatters and he falls to his death. She watches him fall then turns around and walks away.

Feedback - Miss Spencer

First Cut feedback

There is a clear narrative to this opening, good use of a variety of camera shots and angles, as well as a great use of a dolly shot. This is clearly a film opening, but needs some more work to polish and finish it. Here are my suggestions. I would also like you to ask some contemporaries/parents for feedback and embed the first cut into this post.

Suggested changes/improvements:

Add Institutional Logo

Add titles

I would like to see a c/u of the main protagonist at the beginning so that the audience can start identifying/ understanding her a little.

Tighten the shot on the letter - it is a little too slow.

Possibly shorten the walk up the stairs.
Tighten the letter exchange - make it a more natural pace.

Add SFX to create an atmosphere (ensure you create your own or use royalty free sound effects)

Tighten the end of the dolly shot

Are you going to add any music?

Do a colour correction to add the neo noir feel.

Role Allocation and Casting

Role Allocation

Director: Katie Limm

The film director is the person who directs the making of the film, they guide the technical crew and actors into fulfilling the directors visualization of the script, given to them/ written  with the screenwriters. An example of a famous director is Luc Besson. His most popular film is the Fifth Element (1997).




Producer and Camera Operator: Sam Hollis


The producer of a film supervise the production of the film itself. There are different types of producers such as the Line Producer is the one who manages a film's budget and maintains a strict schedule and an Executive Producer oversees finances and business matters such as budgets and contracts with actors etc. An example of a famous producer is George Lucas who is most famous for his work on the Stars       Wars and Indiana Jones movies. 

The role of the Camera Operator is just that, someone who operates the camera that records the footage needed for the film. They are responsible for physically operating the camera and maintaining camera angles throughout a given scene or shot. 



Editor: David Cuff 

  The editor is responsible for the editing together of the footage obtained from the camera      operator. They select and prepare any written, visual and audible elements of the movie        and combine them to make the movie. An example of a film editor is Thelma Schoonmaker, who was an editor for the movie Goodfellas (1990). 





Casting Roles 

Roseanne- Maisie Goodman 
 The main protagonist of the movie, an 18 year old girl who lost her parents tragically when    she was 12. She knows not why her parents were taken from her and who could have done  this to their once happy family. She lives with her Grandmother now but is no longer who she once was and has become much more of a isolated character.

Grandmother- Lilian Limm
 A minor character in the movie, a 75 year old woman with strong family values and  traditions. She found it hard at first to cope with the loss of her daughter and her son-in-law  but had to stay strong for her granddaughter when she needed her the most. 

Mysterious Man- Sam Hollis 
 A minor character in the movie, not much is known about this character except they are  male and is the one who delivers the important letter with information regarding Roseanne's  parents to her house. 

The Script

What is a script? 

A screenplay or script is a written work by screenwriters for a film. These screenplays can be original pieces of work or adaptations of existing pieces of writing. They include what the characters need to be portrayed as ( through the use of expressions ) as well as what they must do in the scene (movement, actions, and dialogue).

 

Above: An example of what a screenplay/script looks like

The Script

EXT.A WALL/STREET- DAY 

A MYSTERIOUS MAN dressed in a black coat and with a gloved hand, holds a white letter as he walks past the wall. 


INT.OFFICE-DAY

ROSEANNE(18)sits at her desk, looking at her laptop and typing. She sits upright with her hair swept to one side to show her face.


EXT.STEPS-DAY

The MYSTERIOUS MAN walks around the corner and GRADUALLY walks up the steps. 


EXT/INT.FRONT DOOR/LETTER BOX-DAY

The MYSTERIOUS MAN QUICKLY walks up to the door and posts the letter through the letterbox. The letter falls to the ground below the letterbox. 

                          ROSEANNE (V.O)  
                  It was 6 years ago today that my parents died... 
                                  (Sadly) 
                   I was only 12 at the time. 
                   

INT.HALL-DAY

FOOTSTEPS are heard as ROSEANNE'S GRANDMOTHER (75), a KIND, FORMAL woman who looks after her granddaughter in her Manor, picks up the letter. 

She looks at the letter then turns SLOWLY to head upstairs to give the letter to ROSEANNE. 


HARD CUT TO

INT.OFFICE DESK/CLOCK-2:10 PM 


JAZZ MUSIC is heard and the sound of typing from Roseanne's laptop 


INT.STAIRS-DAY

ROSEANNE'S GRANDMOTHER SLOWLY walks up the STEEP stairs with the letter in her hand, she holds the handrail for balance. 


INT.OFFICE-DAY

ROSEANNE sits at her desk as INCENSE SMOKE swirls around her face. A LOUD KNOCK is heard against her office door. 

                         

                          ROSEANNE 

                          (loudly) 

                              Come in!

The GRANDMOTHER walks towards ROSEANNE and stops at the edge of her desk. ROSEANNE turns down the stereo she had playing to focus on what her GRANDMOTHER has to say. 

                        GRANDMOTHER 

                      (handing the letter to Roseanne)

                This was just posted through the door. 
                        
                         ROSEANNE 
                      (to Grandmother) 
                              Thank you
                  

ROSEANNE takes the letter from her GRANDMOTHER, looks QUICKLY at it then places it besides her on the desk. 

                        GRANDMOTHER
                        (formally)
                I'll be downstairs if you need me

As the GRANDMOTHER turns to leave, she picks up the PHOTO FRAME on the desk and steps to the side. A SAD look is on her face as she looks at the photograph. Then she TURNS and places the PHOTO FRAME QUICKLY as ROSEANNE watches. The GRANDMOTHER then TURNS QUICKLY without even looking at ROSEANNE before she HURRIEDLY walks off.


INT.OFFICE/DESK-DAY 

The PHOTO FRAME contains a photograph of a YOUNGER ROSEANNE with her PARENTS. 

                          ROSEANNE (V.O)
                                (solemnly) 
 Today is a very difficult day for my grandmother. Due to there being no conclusive  cause of death, no real evidence ; the investigation of my parents death was as fleeting as a footstep in a snow storm.


ROSEANNE looks at the letter she had originally ignored when her GRANDMOTHER had first given it to her. Her hair falls over half of her face and HIDES her right eye. The look on her face suggests she is wondering who could have sent her a letter. 

                            ROSEANNE (V.O) 
                            (desperately) 
                We need to know what happened to them. 



The PHOTO FRAME is shown again but this time much CLOSER so details such as how everyone is SMILING shows the HAPPY atmosphere in the photograph.  

ROSEANNE faces the stereo and reaches with her hand to turn it back up again. The ORIGINAL JAZZ music has now changed to a more TENSE track. She OPENS the letter CALMLY but STRUGGLES a little as the letter is not easily taken out of the envelope, which suggests that the letter was pushed deep into the envelope by the sender. She SMILES quickly at the thought of not being able to take out the letter but hastily goes back to having a STRAIGHT FACE. She folds open the letter and begins to read. An INCREASING HEARTBEAT sound is heard throughout as she reads.  

                             ROSEANNE (V.O) 
                                    (eagerly) 
                    And I'm determined to find closure. 

Her EYES are shown as she reads the letter.

The letter starts with her name (ROSEANNE) in LARGE.  

Her EYES are again shown but with more SPEED as she continues reading the letter. 

The letter then contains the word: PARENTS, in LARGE.

Her EYES do NOT BLINK as she continues to read. 

The letter then contains the word: MURDERED, in LARGE.

Her EYES are again shown as she shown as they move across with a FAST PACE. 

The FINAL words in the letter that is focused on is the words: CORRUPT BUSINESS MAN. 


INT.OFFICE-DAY 

ROSEANNE stares at the letter for less then a second then places it back down onto the desk, she  RISES from her chair and turns to grab her coat, which was on the back of her chair, she STEPS away from the desk and she GRACEFULLY puts on her coat and walks away. 

                       ROSEANNE (V.O) 
                             (forcefully) 
                  By any means necessary.

She STRIDES towards the DOOR,PUSHES it open and walks out and begins to go down the STAIRS. 

                      ROSEANNE (V.O) 
                      (conclusively)
              Who ever you are... I will find you.


INT.OFFICE/DESK-DAY 

The PHOTO FRAME is again shown but the photograph is shown much CLOSER so that it is clear that the YOUNGER ROSEANNE and her PARENTS are much happier and that obviously the death of them CHANGED ROSEANNE to what she is now. 

The Pitch

The Pitch