RISK ASSESSMENT

DAY 1 - 3rd January 2013 

Filming in a basement: 

• Lighting is going to be an issue as there is no natural light in the basement. 
• May not be enough space to film as it is quite confined, also the shots I want to film may also be altered depending on the space available.

Dealing with these problems:

I can easily create more light in the space, but also, I can use the lack of lighting to my advantage as the scene is supposed to look dreary and dark. 

DAY 2 - 4th January 2013 

Filming in someone's corridor and dining room: 

• May get in the way of people living in the house. 
• Again space may be an issue as these areas may be a little confined depending on the different shots. 
• Lighting isn't an issue as there is a lot of natural light within the space however there isn't long periods of decent natural light during winter months. 

Dealing with these problems:

As there is only one day of filming plus one of the residents of the house will be acting in it, I don't feel that it will be too much of an issue however it is just as a precaution my main aim will be to get the filming done quickly and efficiently to make full use of the house. Filming at a decent time before it gets too dark will also have to be a main priority. 

SHOT LIST - 'stevie's wonders'

1) Begins with an extreme close up of Steven, zooms out, slowly revealing the setting and circumstances (tied up in a basement) 

2) Mid shot 

3) Side angle shot, showing side of his face.

4) Back to mid shot of shot two

5) Extreme close up, showing his hands tied behind his back. 

6) Returns to mid shot of shot 4 

7) Reaction shot, close up 

8) Close up of Steven untying his hands and chucking the rope at the floor

9) Close up of Steven ripping off gaffa tape and shouting at his mother 

10) Panning shot of Steven walking up the stairs 

11) Mid shot of Steven's feet on stairs 

12) Panning shot of Steven's dining room 

13) Close up of plate with director's credit 

SCRIPT FOR FILM OPENING

This is the final script I will be using for filming on the 3rd and 4th of January. In comparison to other film openings I have looked at for research, there is little dialogue, the majority being the voice over at the beginning which will be added during post production. 

SCRIPT

Stevie - Steven. C

Stevie's Mother - Patricia. T

(Stevie, looking distressed, dusty and messy with duct tape on his mouth is tied to a chair in a basement)

Voice in Stevie's head: 

'Day 2...trapped down here...tied to this chair...'

'I have a feeling my team are dead, which means its just me left, god' 

'Ah, it smells down here... is that mould?' 

'I have been frantically trying to untie my hands for hours, not yet been successful'  

'I can't hear any signs of life...I think its only a matter of time before...' 

Stevie's Mother: "Steeeveeennn, dinner's ready...Come out of the basement... You are spending too much time playing down there. Come on, sweetie." 

(Stevie pulls his hands free, rips duct tape of his mouth)

Stevie: "MUUUUM. You ruin everything!!! -sighs- " 

(Stevie gets off chair, begins to walk up the stairs) 

Stevie's Mother: (faintly) "Don't be like that, honey." 

(Steven walks out of basement and into his dining room where his mother gives him his dinner, ruffles his hair and brushes the dirt off his shirt) 

(Steven then sighs and stares at his dinner then looks up at the camera with the same distressed face)

DIGITAL STORYBOARDING

DIGITAL STORYBOARDING SCREENSHOTS

TITLES PLANNING

TITLES PLANNING 
For the opening sequence, this would be the ideal potential crew for this film, based on previous work they have carried out and certain styles and genres that are evident within the work they produce. 

Distributor - Fox Searchlight Pictures

Fox Searchlight Pictures, established in 1994, is an American film division of Fox Entertainment Group alongside the larger Fox studio 20th Century Fox. It specializes in independent and British films, alongside dramedy and horror as well as non-English-language films, and is variously involved with the production and/or distribution of these films.

Production Company - Dune Entertainment III 

Dune Entertainment is a motion picture financing and production company affiliated with 20th Century Fox. They have made many films in the similar genre to mine (action/comedy), creating films like 'I Love You, Beth Cooper', 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid', 'The Watch' etc. 

Opening Director Credit - 'An Alice Rudwick Film' 

Actor Credit - 'Steven Chambers' 

Film Title - 'stevie's wonders' 

Casting Director - Jory Weitz

A producer and renound casting director for many of the films I have gotten inspiration on. In each of these films, I feel he has got the actors exactly right for each of the roles. Examples - 'Napoloen Dynamite', 'Nacho Libre', 'The Big Empty' 

Music - Composed by Matthew Jones 
My friend who will be writing the music. 

Production Design - David Doemberg

Production designer David Doernberg, who brought a sensitive, finely crafted and observant touch to many excellent independent films, died in New York in March. Once I had realised this, I had considered taking him out of the titles to keep the reality of the titles however his work has been an inspiration working on films like 'Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist', 'Junebug', 'Gummo'.  

Editor - Munn Powell 
Again an editor that has created films I have sought inspiration from. Munn Powell's films include Gentlemen Broncos, Napoleon Dynamite, and The Sasquatch Gang.

Director Of Photography - Eric Steelberg
Eric Steelberg, a 32-year-old cinematographer who lensed two of the year’s finest and most visually-beautiful films, “500 Days of Summer” and “Up in the Air”, both of which are insant-classics. Everything he films is a work of art and adding the the list of inspiring film makers. 

Writer - Diablo Cody 

Final Director Credit - Alice Rudwick 

INITIAL PLANNING - FILM OPENING

Film Opening Planning
Film Title -  Stevie's Wonders
Summary - A teenage boy, obsessed with violent action and mystery films becomes consumed by trying to solve his own mystery. Little does he know he is digging a little too deep when this hobby becomes part of something bigger when he discovers a mafia boss has control of his little town. 

Genre - Comedy/Action  
Target audience - Under 25's, probably students rather than an older audience.
Location - Dreary basement, very homely dining room - showing the contrast between the life he has and the life he wished he had. 


I want the film opening to initially shocking the audience, and providing suspense. I intend to use a deceiving, seemingly non-linear narrative, by getting the audience to ask particular questions, like who is he? Why is he there? etc. The comedy will be provided through the sudden change in genre from what seems like thriller to a teenage comedy.  through the very brief dialogue, the audience should get an idea of who and what this character is like. Everything about the opening scene and titles will be done to deceive the audience into thinking the film is something it isn't. 
Originally when planning my film, I wanted to include a predominately adult cast as I think it would bring a greater sense of reality into the film opening. However, because of the genre and plot, the main protagonist needs to be a teenage boy. The cast for the opening is just going to be the boy and his mother, however you do not get to see the mother's face, just her torso, voice and hands. This not only keeps the focus on his character but also emphasizes the importance of seeing the world through his eyes, showing the insignificance of her character to him. Although we can also see this through the dialogue, this is a much more subtle way of projecting their relationship. 

ANALYSING OPENING TITLES - Indiana Jones

Indiana Jones - Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)- Steven Spielberg

• Beginning of film is playing as the opening credits show. 
• The action/adventure genre is apparent through the setting and the action. 
• Indiana Jones is shown through a range of close up shots, immediately highlighting the fact he is the main protagonist. 
• The audience also get an idea of his characters bravery and slight mystery. Not only does he stride around with an elevated power-house attitude but the fact that you don't see his face until after the titles adds to the mysterious elements of his persona. 
• Many diegetic sounds used in the scene highlight the fact that the setting is dangerous and it is a bad place to be. The two other men are scared whilst the solitary character in Jones contrasts with them. 
• Also the use of iconic costumes, theme music and weapon choice for Indiana builds up the character. 

ANALYSING OPENING TITLES - Pride & Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice (2005) - Joe Wright

• The opening slightly introduces the female character of Lizzie Bennet, letting the audience know she is the main protagonist. The fact she is reading shows she's intellectual and educated. 
• Initially the opening begins with bird song which plays before the title sequence and then as the rural setting is introduced there is emphasis on the calm, tranquil setting. It then changes as the sun comes up, the music ties in to the setting and interestingly the first piano note plays as the sun rises. The music ties in with the setting through non-diegetic piano.
• As Lizzie walks, a long tracking shot is used which introduces the audience to the Bennet house by splitting away from her and moves through the house, its as if you as individuals in the audience are walking around their house. These elongated tracking shots are iconic in Wright's films. 
• The large house indicates that they are wealthy and of slight economic importance.  The maids are shown, and even though she is dressed modestly, the audience is not confused with her class. 
• The mess on the table is predominantly female, being bonnets and dresses which gives the audience an insight into the characters. 

ANALYSING OPENING TITLES - Jaws

Jaws (1975) - Steven Spielberg 

• The film opens with a tense opening sequence, which begins with two iconic minor notes which immediately builds tension with the audience. 
• the first interesting shot from this opening is the point of view shot of something moving in the water. Accompanied with the tense theme music which begins to build up as the title 'JAWS' shows, the audience already can tell that it is a villain.
• The second interesting shot is a tracking shot of two people running along the beach. The accompanying diegetic sounds of the beach highlighting the sounds of the ocean and water which may again create a tense atmosphere as you know something bad will happen in the sea just from the title sequence and music from before. 
• The third example of camera movement is the shot as she is being attacked from under the water. The shot shows half of her body above the water and just her reaction as she is being killed. The camera follows her body as she is being killed.
• The camera follows her body as it flails around in the water, effectively filling the audience with horror as the death is so sudden and horrific. 
• Another way tension is built effectively in this type of shot is through the editing. The shot-reverse-shot which shows the girl above the water and then shows the point of view shot of the 'thing' coming up to get her from under the water. 
• The shot below the surface alarms the viewer as along with the unsettling accompaniment of the theme music as the villain gets closer.

ANALYSING OPENING TITLES - An Angel At My Table

An Angel At My Table (1990) - Jane Campion 

• An Angel at My Table is a 1990 New Zealand-Australian-British film directed by Jane Campion. The film is based on Janet Frame's three autobiographies, To the Is-Land (1982), An Angel at My Table (1984), and The Envoy from Mirror City(1984). 
• The opening begins with simple, yellow and black titles. Accompanying this, simple and quite archaic folk music plays throughout the titles.  
• Generally, the titles follow the usual structure of most films, however there are a few titles added such as 'Composer' and 'Sound Design' which wouldn't necessarily be seen in modern mainstream cinema. 
• The opening shots are mostly point of view shots of a baby looking at a mother and then their view as the mother picks her up and hugs her. Initially these interesting shots look quite dated, but I think they not only add the the character and quirkiness of the film but also allow the audience to grasp that it is a past event. 
• There is also no music at this point but it is replaced with diagetic sound of a baby gurgling and laughing, mostly this enhances the reality for the audience. 
• The next shot is the one shown below, showing a very wide shot of the New Zealand country side. The shot, taken on a crane, slowly moves down as the girl gets closer to the camera however this movement is incredibly subtle. 
• I think the most important part of this shot is the vivid contrast between the two different elements in the shots. Firstly you have the beautiful hills and long path and along it there is a girl. As the camera gets closer you see a short, chubby child with incredibly vibrant orange curly hair. She seems incredibly out of place which initially  creates some surprise within the audience and also foreshadows negativity in her life. 
• The music begins again as the crane moves down closer to her face, and a voice over also begins; revealing to the audience a little more about her character.

ANALYSING OPENING TITLES - Once Upon a Time in the West

Once Upon a Time in the West - (1968) - Sergio Leone 

• Once Upon a Time in the West is a 1968 Italian epic spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone for Paramount Pictures.
• The interesting thing to note is that the filmmakers are using the different sounds to build tension. There’s no dialogue or music, but the sculpting of sound is as important as the visuals to create the mood and to set the scene; buzzing flies, dripping water, telegraph ticker, knuckles cracking, birds, train whistle, etc. It’s so long that the audience almost becomes frustrated at the slow, subdued pace. 
• Leone chose to substitute music with amplified sound effects. The sequence is so elongated that the audience almost becomes frustrated at the slow, subdued pace. 
• Impressively the use of animated titles was incredibly difficult especially before digital editing and unlike anything seen around the time. The transitions across the screen incorporate them into the scene.  
• The titles are used imaginatively during the shots, setting it apart from other titles. 
• The camera angles and shots at the beginning already show the men to be the antagonists. This is firstly shown by the very slow pan across the train station room, showing all three of the men standing still in various doorways. The slow pan emphasizes the tension and shows that there is something wrong. Also, the use of low angle shots represents their status.
• Snakey, the character who sits in the chair, is shown to be a very sinister character. When he captures the fly in the barrel, he listens to it buzzing and grins. This shows the nature of this character, he likes to have power and is fairly corrupt. 
• The opening scene does a very good job of establishing the location and genre, there is no doubt that this is a western film. This is done by the use of classic iconography of the western genre. 
• An example of this would be the stand-off at the end of the scene, a common sequence in western films. Another would be the harmonica music played by the protagonist in the scene, music that reflects not only the location but is used in other western films.