Editing week 2.

Today we edited a sufficient amount of our short film. We also came to the conclusion of having flashbacks at parts where there wasn't much dialogue of the characters. We experimented with a variety of effects as well as desaturation and cross stretch along with increasing speed and muting sounds within the scenes. Tomorrow we hope to continue with editing.

Editing problems.

We are now approaching the second week of editing however have encountered some problems. Through some of the scenes there is an overlap of sound from the surrounding areas of the park which means we are unable to hear what the characters are communicating. We are now unsure if we should film these scenes again as we will lose continuity or if we should use a VoiceOver. Tomorrow hopefully we will decide what needs to be done as the editing deadline is approaching swiftly and filming at this point is not ideal.

Filming the short film.

Today me and my group member together with our 4 actors filmed all the scenes of our short film. Having delayed this a week due to the actors being unavailable today all scenes of our short film have been completed. Whilst filming, the actors suggested ways in which we could alter the scenes of our storyboard to make it seem much more realistic with a clear storyline, therefore we have changed some scenes as well as locations and this will be shown in our film. Moreover as the script was quite brief our actors were happy to improvise as much as they could. During the course of the next 2 weeks we hope to start editing as well as finishing this before the deadline. Over all we all had a great day filming and are looking forward to the finished product!

Creative account - research and planning.

Pre-production script.

This is our script which has now been finalised and will be used when filming our short film. as well as this breif guide we will inform our actors to improvise when playing their parts as this will demonstrate a wide use of emotions and will give the characters an opportunity to thoroughly engage in the storyline performing to their full potential.

 

Script for Drive2Death

Alisha walks past bullies.

Bully 1: Oi you!

Bully 2: Err Look at her

All bullies: (Laugh) Come here!

Alisha looks towards the bullies and shivers

All bullies walk towards Alisha

Bully 2: Got some p?

Alisha: Leave me alone

Bullies mutter under their breath as Alisha walks away

Alisha is with her boyfriend in the park

Alisha hugs her boyfriend and has a scared look on her face

Alisha’s boyfriend: What’s wrong babygirl?

Alisha moves back and sighs

Alisha: This has been happening for a while now, and I just didn’t know how to tell you.

Alisha’s boyfriend: Just tell me what happened

Alisha: Basically, I was on my way to see you when some boys started to harass me

Alisha’s boyfriend: What the hell! What did they do? Who were they?!

Alisha: They called me and were harassing me for money. I don’t know who they are

Alisha’s boyfriend: What the hell! Why didn’t you call me?

Alisha: Coz you’re never there for me, that’s why!

Alisha’s boyfriend: Oh, so this is my fault? You’re such a bloody drama queen.

Alisha: Oh whatever! I knew you wouldn’t understand. I don’t even know why I told you

Alisha walks away, gets her phone out and exits the park

She walks on down the road without watching where she is going

She then bumps into Kevin

Kevin: Oh sorry, are you okay?

Alisha: Yeah, just got a lot going on at the moment

Kevin: Trust, we all do (.) You can tell me about it if you want to

Alisha: No, I don’t really want to talk about it

Kevin: Well you can take my number and just drop me a text if you ever wanna

Alisha: Alright. Give me your number then

Kevin and Alisha exchange numbers

An hour later at the bus stop

Alisha receives a call from Kevin

Alisha: Hello…

Half An Hour Later Alisha puts down the phone from Kevin

Alisha: Alwite ill chat to you later, bye.

Alisha’s expressions change from happy to slightly tense

Alisha holds her head as she screams in frustration of having flashbacks of all the bullying

Bully 1: Yoo!

Alisha: Do I know you?

Bully1: Don’t talk to me like that

Bully 1 kisses his teeth

Bully 1: Oi you b****!

Alisha walks away

Alisha: monologue- No one truly understands what I’m going through, I just wish someone could feel the pain I feel.

Kevin walks through the park as he texts Alisha

Alisha meets up with her boyfriend on the street and begins to sort things out between them

Alisha’s boyfriend: I didn’t mean to offend you the other day I’m sorry babe I should have understand and supported you

Alisha receives a text from Kevin

Alisha looks scared to what her boyfriend is going to think and her boyfriend stares at her in confusion

Alisha’s boyfriend: who texed you?

Alisha: It’s no one babe

Alisha’s boyfriend: don’t lie to me; your face says it all. So tell me!

Alisha: okay sighs there’s this boy

Alisha’s boyfriend: what boy?

Alisha: well you know after me and you had that argument I bumped into some boy and he was just tryna cheer me up so we exchanged numbers

Takes a deep breath as her boyfriend begins to get angry

He’s just a friend I promise

Alisha’s boyfriend: I don’t care who he is, no one comes near you. Do you fukn understand

Alisha: there’s more to the story then that

Flashbacks in Alisha’s head from scene 1 to 3 as she tells the story

Alisha: I know I should have told you before I’m really sorry

Alisha’s boyfriend: oh so you think sorry ganna solve everything?

Alisha: ermm pauses I’ve got a little plan

Alisha’s boyfriend: go on id love to hear this

Alisha: we could set Kevin up if you’re up for it

Alisha’s boyfriend nods his head in a mischievous way as he smiles and Alisha texts Kevin.

Kevin receives a text from Alisha as he is walking through Wanstead flats saying ‘meet me in half an hour at the park, cant w8 lots of love Alisha xoxo’

Alisha gets flashbacks of the bullying again as she is walking down the road and then again at the end of the road as Alisha begins to frustrate.

Kevin is sitting on the bench in the park waiting for Alisha

Alisha then arrives and sits next to Kevin on the bench

Kevin: so how come you decided to link up

Alisha: well you don’t seem like a bad guy, so why not

Both characters seem happy as they talk and Alisha texts her boyfriend saying

‘where in the park babe xx’

Alisha’s boyfriend heads/runs towards the park

Kevin slowly leans in to kiss Alisha as Alisha’s boyfriend enters

the park and looks around to find Alisha and Kevin.

 

Once Alisha’s boyfriend spots where Alisha and Kevin are he creeps up from behind, takes his knife out and stabs Kevin from the back.

Pre-production: team meetings.

This document details all the team meetings we have carried out through the process of our pre-production leading up to the last week in which we are going to film.

Equipment booking.

Today we booked the equipment for filming our short film. We have booked this for Friday and hope to finish all our filming over the weekend.

Pre-production: The production schedule weekend:

 

The following document details our production schedule for the weekend in which most of our filming will be carried out!

 

 

Pre-production: The Production schedule – weekdays:

The document below details our production schedule for the weekdays in which we will film as and when our actors are available.

Reece - Pre-Production.

Reece:

Location:

·         Wanstead flats.

·         Abbots park Leyton.

·         Bullying scene (school/college environment).

·         Any bus stop.

·         Rest of the scenes will take place on various streets.

 

Wanstead flats:

Having visited our chosen location for shooting our short film it gave us more of an accurate picture of the feeling of the environment we will be filming in and how this would adversely impact our film. Meaning the effect of filming in such an environment in contrast with the overall idea and intended consequence we hope the viewers will feel. Of course in the picture the location looks bright and attractive however as the weather changes and the time we plan to film, the look of the scene will automatically change. Once we viewed the location it was much easier to visualise where the characters will be placed and when filming how it would all combine together. In this particular scene the main character – Kevin will be walking through and the scenes would reflect his emotions at the time, having an area of this appearance would give the film a much more effective feel in the sense that it creates anticipation when viewed by the audience as Kevin will be alone and the overgrown trees add to this making it that much more nominal. The camera shots at this point would be a tracking shot as the character is walking, as we have shown in the storyboard page 5 scene numbers 5-6.

 

Abbots Park:

This location is where the majority of our filming will take place. The specific scenes of Alisha and Kevin meeting as well as the murder of Kevin right at the end, such a location demonstrates the reality of such events as they often take place at discrete areas with couples – specifically teenagers meeting in parks which are seen to be calm and relaxed places for them to converse with one another and often enjoy intimate moments. This specific area will be used in our film a great deal and will mark some of the most pivot moments. As depicted in our case studies from our inspirations quiet areas are the targeted hotspot for murder scenes to take place. Therefore having chosen a park would reflect this and contribute to showing the reality of what is being displayed overall impacting the effect this has on the audience. Using an area which is quite accessible for almost everyone would make them conscious and aware of what may take place within it. The image above is of the entrance to the park and this is where the specific scene of the murder will begin to commence. We thought it would be best to position Alisha’s boyfriend at the entrance so we can capture his expressions and emotions as he looks for both other characters in order to execute his move. Not only this but having such a camera focus would improve the suspense and tension between the viewers and the events taking place. What we had in mind was that tension and suspense leads to audience members becoming more aware and focused on the issue being shown and the approximate severity of what is being shown. This has come from experience when me and other members of the team have come across reality films such as the one in our case studies – my murder.

This is another close-up of the location in which the scene where the murderer will be looking around to find the victim – Kevin will take place. We hope to build up the tension at this point as it is the main point which the whole short film is anticipating and therefore the camera shots will be various such as longshot once he arrives, mid-shot when he slowly pulls the knife out, close-up when he is looking for Alisha and Kevin and finally an extreme close-up when he finds them. We need to watch out for any potential hazards such as small children running around and other obstacles such as members of the public who wish not to be filmed however apart from this there are not many health and safety implications we are liable to face.

 

Within the park this is the particular area in which we will be filming the scenes where Alisha and Kevin meet. At first Kevin will be alone and the filming will reflect his emotions as he will be feeling ecstatic to meet Alisha assuming the feeling is mutual however once she arrives and they get talking he will become more relaxed. At this point he will be using his phone to text Alisha and we will show his emotions while this is happening through close-ups and mid-shots. Once Alisha is at the scene there will be many shot reverse shots as both characters are speaking. Finally Kevin will assume Alisha is interested in him as much as he is and will attempt to place a kiss on her lips and what he doesn’t know is while they were talking Alisha is texting her boyfriend letting him know of their where about. At this point we will show a close-up of her texting and then the various scenes of her boyfriend on his way to the park will take place in a separate location. Using a bench area establishes the relaxation and intimacy Kevin feels towards Alisha as they both will be alone and having the murder take place while this is happening will show how Kevin was unquestionably unaware of the likelihood of such events taking place. This contributes to showing the “honey trap killing” and how secretive it is. After the murder the scene will end straight at that point, ending the film.

College (bullying scenes):

The scenes of Alisha being intimidated by other students are also a major part of the short film. As the scene will be repeated in the form of continuous flashbacks it is important that we are able to film this correctly and accurately. At this point Alisha will be seen leaving college however when approached by two members of the college whom she has straining relationships with things take a turn for the worse when she is unable to handle the pressure leading to her resulting to the extreme lengths of a honey trap killing. Using this environment adds to the realism of the film as such events do actually take place within the environment of peers and can lead to devastating effects on the individual if not tackled. You can then agree that the film promotes two aspects of the events which take place in today’s society both of which need to be tackled. One being bullying and the idea that this needs to stop and the second being not to result to the lengths of the honey trap killing as well as raising awareness of what goes on between different social groups and the role technology plays towards this. Again the issue of making sure we are not filming anyone if they are not willing to will arise in the filming of this scene other than that filming should go according to plan.

      A bus stop of the similar looks to this will be used to film the scenes once Alisha has left her boyfriend when he is unable to understand the pressure and trouble she is facing through her daily college life and how much this is having an impact on her mentally and emotionally. The actress will be sitting down with her phone and this is also the scene at which point Kevin calls Alisha and the camera shots will reflect her emotions when he calls such as the close-up to the phone.

 Remainder of the scenes such as when Alisha first comes into contact with Kevin and when she meets her boyfriend at various times will take place on a variety of roads which are of convenience to the actors and the camera crew. Filming these scenes will require us to ensure continuity however there is no set location for this as using any road will near enough create the same effect we need.