Version 1.0.0

First addition of the opening sequence. A lots of improvements to be made to this video:

• Actors Glasses (continuity error)
• Less exposing shots of building (close up, restricts the audiences view of the building)
• More credits (music, director)
• 'CHALK' credit needs to be improved
• take out unnecessary aerial shot

My Chosen Actor

For my video I only have one character, which is obviously only one actor, which makes the whole video less complicated. His name is Victor Yakovlev and I believe he is the right person for the job, although this may be stereotyping, I think he has a combat/mysterious face which is perfect for the genre of the video(action/thriller). I have also considered other actors such as York So and Richard Taylor but I thought that there did not suit the character very well. I thought that it would be good to go against the stereotype and use a girl as the main, 'hero', action character but then realised that Victor is more keeping to the genre.

VICTOR YAKOVLEV

RICHARD TAYLOR

YORK SO

Character's Costume

This video is hopefully very suspenseful and I would want the audience to be engaged constantly. To make sure that the video is kept tense I must think about my costume appropriately, at first I was thinking about military camouflage gear, camo trousers, camo jacket, etc. Then I thought that this would bring the viewer to a sudden understanding and the tense would drop because they now know that this character is some sort of solider. So I thought about something which would hold the tension and still keep the audience hocked because once they were introduced to this character they would want to know who he was and why he was in this situation. My final decision for Victor Yakovlev's costume is:

JACKET: Something in the area of a trench coat or duster coat in black.

TROUSERS: Chinos or Chords, in a dark cream/brown colour.

SHIRT: A normal white shirt.

TIE: Whatever tie is available to use.

SHOES: Casual fashionable shoes.

What Props I will use

For this video I didn't need many props. The only prop I needed for this video was a handgun. It would  have to be a functional handgun that would have the ability to reload.

This prop will benefit the video because it will show the reader that this character is a spy or secret agent. It will also create a more exciting feeling for the start of the film seeing a gun, it may also create some tension and suspense.

After deciding to use this prop I realised that it was very important to sure it looked very realistic otherwise that one moment can destroy the whole video. So to make sure it is perfectly realistic I did some research in how a real gun is reloaded and how it sounds and looks when it is reloaded.

Would a thriller have a strong audience to support it?

The audience to most thriller/action films are looking for exciting dramatic content. I did some planning into my audience because I want to see how popular the genre 'Thriller' and 'Action' are and who visits the cinema the most, as to target my film at as big a audience as possible.

After some research I found some secondary material which showed the popularity of different genres. It stated the genre's percent of releases by number and percent of Box Office Gross, together I used these two figures to help me understand how successful a action/thriller film could be. It shows that the action genre is quite popular, however thriller isn't as popular with it's highest score of 5%. I think this helps me plan my film in that I don't want to focus too heavily on a genre of thriller and actually involve a stronger side towards action because it may get more attention and the diagram shows that it turns over a higher Box Office Gross. 

I've also thought about who is the best audience for me and what would give the best chance of my film being successful. Some factors I have thought about when planning my audience has been gender and age.

This table that I also discovered through secondary research has helped me understand the general audience for UK cinemas in terms of gender and age. Considering that my film will probably be rated a 15+ I have ignored the 7-14 section of the table. However it is very interesting to see that most of the UK cinema audience consists of young adults, aged 15-24 and particularly males. This information has been helpful for me because it has helped me realise that I must aim my film at a young audience, particular males because then I have a higher chance of it being watched in cinemas by as many people as possible.

I also looked at some of the films I researched to help get any ideas and things to avoid and use.I looked into how the filmed did in different location to see if the audience for my film would be successful in the UK. On the opening weekend of The Italian Job grossed: £2,294,027 in the UK where as it grossed: $19,457,944 in the USA. The UK had 428 screens and the USA had 2,633 screens. Obviously there is a massive difference in The Italian Jobs success but this can be to do to various factors, such as the size of the USA to the UK but I think that this shows that if I can, i should try and distribute my film over to the USA to be screened.

Deciding on Music for my 2 minute Video

 I think that this soundtrack is too dramatic for the opening to a film. This soundtrack would be more appropriate for a flighting scene.

 I think that this soundtrack is better because the music isn't as dramatic but still engages the audience and has a good feel to it. It is also good because the tune changes just at the right point where the 'dead' body is shown.

 

 I think that this soundtrack is very good because it starts off very quietly and builds it's self up. The only problem is that it gets a little bit too dramatic but that may not be a problem because I might decided to make it this dramatic. At 20 seconds the music jolts, this could be an ideal point for when Victor open his eyes as its very dramatic (but only for a second). It would emphasise the sudden movement of the characters eyes opening and would surprise the viewer as until that point it looks like he is dead.

 

This one is OK but it never really kicks off and I just personally don't have a connection with it and for that reason I wont be using it.

 

 I really liked this one until the bass dropped and i thought it gave it a very 'superhero' feel to it and i don't want that in my film. Basically it isn't the right because my genre is action and this is more superhero style.

 

 I think this one could work but i would have to make my video very dramatic very quickly which may not look realistic in this storyline. The pace of the track maybe just a little too quick. However I will try it on the first edit to see what it feels like. If it doesn't work then I will change it for another track.

 

Lastly i also think some of these may be good for the video but i think that i may do the video with varryious soundtracks to see which one works the best

Equipment Used

Test Shots

I decided that it would be sensible to take some test shots of the opening scene. I tried many shots using the drone and other shots from inside the tunnels which was very technical because I had to get the aperture, exposure and ISO right. Here are some of the shots I took:



Obviously there are many improvements that I can make with these video, which is why I decided to do them in the first place. Apart from the use of the drone all the these shots were taken handheld, so any problems with shaky video isn't a issue because for the real shots I will be using either a steadicam, tripod or slider. 

So starting with the close up shots of the actor I have noticed that it is a little too dark for my liking. Although it's in a dark area I would like the audience to be able to see the actor's face and the shock of him opening his eyes.

I think that for the shot of the bush moving in the wind should be taken on a slider because without one the shot is very boring and amateur. At the same time I do not want to make it confusing so I have decided that the shot will be taken from the position of the actor, then hopefully I will be seen from the POV of the character.

I was quite happy with the outcome of the shots of the actor getting up and cocking his gun. I think that the light looked good, just the actor in the light and him looking out into it with everything else in darkness. Although in for the final shots I will be using either a slider or tripod to give it that more refined look and feel. Lastly I will definitely use accurate sound effects for the cocking of the gun, me doing it in the video was just to get a picture of what it would be like.

For the low angled shot I will definitely be using a slider to get that dynamic look on the stinging natal and to get it as low to the ground as possible because the tripod wouldn't get low at all and the steadicam is just the wrong mount to use for this shot. I think i might make this shot last longer because I really liked the look of the natal moving after the actor had walked past it.

Now the shot of the actor coming out of the tunnel and going through the bush. I thought this shot was good because of the changing of the focus but like all the shots, it was shaky. I think that I'll have to spit this shot up in to two, the first half using a tripod and the second half using a steadicam to get the over the shoulder shot and the follow cam shot.

The shot of the branch isn't very good at all, I wont use this location or the camera angle. I will still use the branch idea to show the actors name.

Lastly the shots with the drone. I was happy with the result of these shots but there was a lot to improve on, firstly the front lights on the drone will need to be covered so that they don't show in the shot. Secondly I will have to make the drone fly out in a way that it can show the title of the film.