The Diamond Director's commentary

Feedback

I posted the video onto a social networking website called facebook to in a sense cause publicity and get feedback of what the audience may think about this movie. Here is some of the feedback we got on facebook.

James Conibear I would've picked some more sinister music, unless you were going for a dark comedy kind of atmosphere, then I'd give the actors stronger more lively accents. Basically I don't think the tone of the actors voices suit the music choice. Also the guy should've said something before he gets up and leaves at the end. Apart from that though you've got some nice camera angles in there, I like the pov shot bit where he gets him up and punches the camera, was well done (Y).

Ciaran Grundy Use of short phrases was good. Camera action was good. Visual was good. Although for the guy getting beat up; you could of had the bad guy just point at hios men silently to give him that authority; rather than him rolling up in a slow manner. He looks like a by passer to a street crime, which reduces his character effect.

We also had some partially negative feedback;

Junaid Shafiq that was stupid when the guy open his bottle drinks it and then answers MO/, I think that was shit;'; but everything else is top class and especially the credits.'; leave it

but this is also good as it could be used to improve our movie, we count this as constructive criticism.

Here is the facebook link to the video, http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=392430470941

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In our product there are several stereotypical social groups regarding gender, lifestyle and many more. First of all our film opening shows typical men, who are stereotyped to be ruthless and mean, having no care for the surrounding, in some ways the word “macho” would come in mind for some of the characters, along with the scenes of gore, gives the representation of the male gender being dominant and more prone to the use of violence, it also connotes the idea of gang activity being carried out mainly by males.

The age of the actors used also represents the younger adult, inner-city generation who are most likely to be involved in this kind of activity. The idea that Mo has become involved in something out of his depth without realizing it suggests a level of naivety that would be present at such an age. When casting for the character Samson we focused on character ideologies to help with representation. The leader of a gang always tends to be the bigger, more intimidating looking person, so we decided Adam should play this role. The scene where Adam is smoking connotes a lack of care for his own health which is often present within such people.

There is also a mention of the factor of the lifestyle the characters are shown to have, for example the antagonist has chosen to be a gang leader or a powerful man, and moreover the protagonist is shown to be the weaker life form who is getting bossed about by the antagonist, representing gang life and civilian life, also how the gang life would always dominate the civilian so far in the movie.

Final Cut - The Diamond

How did you attract your audience?

We tried to define our film in the opening sequence. We wanted to set the tone and mood of the film in the first 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

To do this we used a number of techniques and tricks. Firstly we set the opening in the urban environment at night creating a gritty look to the film so it helps the audience know what to expect.

To push this urban gritty aspect we used 'The sound of the city' as an ongoing sound motif. Played throughout there is always the sound of the city. This is too amplify the fact that this film is based in a big city.

We tried to use sleazy lighting in our conversation sequence between Ashrial and Mohammed. We intentionally chose that location as the lighting looks similar to the effect off the neon lights used at strip clubs. This helps add some sleaze to the opening.

We also used slick camera angles and shots to show that the film will be stylised. An example of this is the fact that we use long takes in our film opening instead off fast paced short cuts. And we use a slow cut rate. The reason being is through our research we have noticed that most films use fast cut rates, so to set ours apart we used long takes and slow cut rates.

Also in fear of this being seen as a copy of other urban films featuring youths, such as Adulthood, Bullet Boy, Shifty. We made the decision to use classical music in our opening instead off urban grime or hip hop. This helps set our opening apart from other films of the same Genre.

What kind of media institution would distribute your media product and why?

From our research I found that Film4 would be the right media institution. The reason being is that they have produced low-budget British films such as In Bruges and Sexy Beast, both of which we have borrowed elements from for our film. I also think that Film4 would appreciate a film like ours much more than other studios since our film doesn't conventionally fit in with what could be called mainstream. Having produced films like Dead Man's Shoes I can confidently say that Film4 would be the right media institution to produce our film.

I would choose Screen Gems as my distributor. This is because they have distributed other low-budget British films as Snatch, The 51st State and The Cottage. And other violent films like Hostel and its predecessor. So we know they can distribute violent films aswell as low-budget British films. So I feel that they would be perfect to distribute our film. Because of the low-budget and niche audience I feel that with a limited release in the UK it would do good business that would profit from good word of mouth and be able to re-coup our budget and make a little profit similar to the way the film Shifty did.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

This is the entire screen of the editing software we were using on a Apple iMac computer system. As this was the first time I ever used Apple, it was quiet hard to get used to its layout and programme, it was much different than the usual windows, for instance it didn't have a start menu from which we are used to opening programmes, as a substitute it had a Ribbon structure layout, which has a horizontal line of icons, including programmes and browsing facilities.



As you may notice this is the left hand side window of the screen shot shown above. This is a Project browser, showing every video captured, audio captured or imported into the project, along with the multiple sequences made by the user, this is another timeline which the user may want to make when making a different layout of the video, this helps to keep the original one made intact. Along with it having toolbar features showing the duration of the captured videos, the duration used and at time do u start and end using the video on its independent timeline. It also shows how many Video and Audio layers you have used on the timeline underneath the Track column.

This is called a Timeline, this is a very important part of the video and software as this is where all the cutting and piecing is done. This is where your selected video goes. After you have put the video into the timeline you can do almost anything and everything to it, cut to get rid of the bit you don't need, stretch to get more of the audio or video from the footage if needed, add effects, add audio transitions, add video transitions to make the scene change easier on the eyes making it look more professional, speed the footage up for more chaotic and action packed scenes, or even slow it down for a stylized effect, and many more features that could be used to get the edge in movie making.

This is a window which shows the raw footage that has been capture, from here you usualy mark in and out the frames you want to put into the sequence, after doing so you click on the preview display screen and drag it down to the sequence dropping the selected frames in the place you want them to be. This is a very vital window as from this you can crop the unwanted recorded, like out takes and retakes done to reach perfection, without this the final sequence would have alot of bloopers and mistakes in it. There are quiet a fiew very helpful tools i.e. the play button at the bottom, the 2 buttons on the side, the one of the left plays the video from the start and end of the selected frames marked in and out by you, and the one on the right plays the video outside the selected frames just to make sure nothing has been forgotten. The buttons on teh far right and left are mark in and out buttons, they can also be found on the Apple keyboards.


This is a window which shows the sequence made by the user, this is also very vital to see how the sequence is so far and helps you to see anyways in which it could be altered. This is very much similar to the window showing the raw footage, the only difference being the source of the video, as one is showing the raw footage and other showing the sequence altered. The right top corner of this windows tells you where your at on the timeline of the video which is help full to see how long the video could be and how long each clip added into the sequence is.

During the whole filming process of the project, I learned a lot in terms of how to use the camera to get specific camera angles and shots, like long shot, mid long shot, close up, medium shot and many more. We mostly used medium shots for the footage where there are two people conversing, so we could show the features and movement, action and the body language of the character in question much more clearly.

To get these shots perfect, by making it shaky to give it realism but too much shaky, we used a hand held frame which gave the camera a lot more stability, causing the shot to be perfect in terms of how we wanted it to be. We also used the same harness to make long tracking shots of one of the characters walking to meet his mate, we used this to gave the element of realism, as if someone is watching over the man walking in the city centre, creating suspense.

We also used a tripod for most establishing shots and long shots, we did this so the video has a variation of both shaky and steady to show a difference, making it have more of a impact where needed, for instance tracking shots.

Also we did voice over’s for a large part of the sequence, for this we were provided with a high tech mic which we connect to our normal college cameras and record the conversations. This was very helpful as we could control every kind of audio going imported into our video, weather it being non-diegetic, like a music score, or it being diagetic, background static and traffic noise or dialogues. For the musical score we used a DJ-ing software called Fruity Loops, the score is based on a music abstract in the movie Fargo. We chose that specific type of a tune because it contradicted the whole genre off the movie giving it a juxtaposition effect. After we had recorded the Voice Over’s for the movie we had to capture the video from the camera into Final Cut Pro, after this the very hard job of aligning the Voices up with the right lip movement of the character, this was very difficult as it had to be perfect otherwise the slightest out of sync word would make the whole video not work accordingly. We chose to use Voice Over rather the natural dialogues recorded during the filming, was because of the reason that there would be too much static behind the dialogues making the dialogues fade too much into the background noise, but having it as a Voice Over and having a small amount of background puts more force on the dialogues making them have a bigger impact and increasing the clarity of all the audio in the scenes. Also we dubbed the diagetic sound, of the character “Samson” lighting his cigarette, because it gave the clip the effect of realism, causing the audience to be a part of what is happening not jus witness it in their seats.

Layers A1 and A2 include diagetic sound such as footsteps, that we recorded again to give the movie more of realistic effect, along with the Voice Over dialogues. Layers A3 and A4 have background static and the diagetic sound of the cigarette being lit, also it has the end dialogue of “Ashriel” saying, “yo if you’ve pissed this guy off you better run, I’m not even joking you better run.” Layers A6 and A7 have the musical score. Finally layers A8, A9, A10 and A11 have more diagetic sounds and some aggressive dialogues to change the mood of the movie.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Our media product is aimed at adults, hence the 18 rating we are attaching to it. The reason for this is because we use violence as a plot point.

The whole media product of ours is based on strong raw violence sequences. Our target audience would be males 18-30 because of the strong element of chaotic and violence filled behaviour of the characters, and male are stereotyped for movies of this genre, the reason for this to have such a big aspect of it being violence is because the movie is based on a fusion of genres few of them being Gangster crime.

Lock stock and two smoking barrels inspired us whilst scripting the movie, hence it is very similar it terms of the genre and the conventions it has in it, the idea of fusing genres helped us to exploit our creativity in terms of creating a very hardcore, intense text action packed and a gruesome text. Creating a movie in this of this kind, and to fully show our creativity went along with the theory of genres restricting creativity because they set conventions that could not be broken for the movie to be described in that genre, hence we had to use a fusion of different genres to complete this movie.

This caused our text to be not a mainstream text as it does not have a clear genre and narrative compared to a more main stream movie such as Good Fellas, which had a clear narrative and clear genre of it being based on Italian Mafia hence a genre of Gangster flicks.

Editing Stage (cutting process)

We have ammounted a lot of footage, so much that we have almost 25 minutes of footage on our timeline and our final piece is almost 6 minutes long. Therefore we have to cut most of our footage to meet the 2 minute 20 second limit.

The shot list for the final 6 minute edit was:

1. Black Screen, fade in to a tilting tracking shot of Mo Adel walking down the high street.
2. Long shot of Mo Adel walking down the high street.
3. Long Wide Shot of Mo Adel crossing the road.
4. Tracking Shot of Mo Adel walking down the high street.
5. Long wide establishing shot of 'Kro Bar' with Mo Adel walking into frame and sitting down.
6. Long shot of Mo Adel sitting down opposite Ashriel
7. Close-up on Mo Adel.
8. Close-up on Ashriel.
(Shot reverse shot during dialogue)
9. Tilting shot following a cigarette which will be lit by Adam.
10. Handheld camera during the scene where Dale is beaten up.
11. POV shot (Dale) of light, which is then blocked by Nathan as he picks Dale and throws him into a punch.
12. Tracking shot of Adam as he walks into the underpass.
13. Mid-shot of Adam and Nathan as they greet each other.
14. Long Shot of Bruce and Reuben as they are lurking about.
15. POV shot (Dale) as Adam talks to him. (Close-up on Adam)
16. POV shot (Adam) as he talks to Dale. (Close-up on Dale)
17. Tilting shot (Dales POV) of Adam standing up then going to kick Dale.
Freeze Frame.
18. Close-up on Mo Adel having taken in what Ashriel has told him.
(Shot reverse shot)
19. Mo Adel gets up and walks off.

Since this ammounted to 6 minutes worth of footage we had to cut some of it out. We had to think very carefully about what worked and what didn't work, in the end we decided to take out the monologue and the scenes in the underpass. Instead we have the scenes with Mohammed and Ashriel conversing together about Adam.

The scene with Adam walking into the underpass has remained, we hope that with the narration, it will add an air of ambiguity to the scene. Both by the actions of Adam and his character aswell.

This is the shot list for the 2 minute 20 version:

1. Black Screen, fade in to a tilting tracking shot of Mo Adel walking down the high street.
2. Long shot of Mo Adel walking down the high street.
3. Tracking Shot of Mo Adel walking down the high street.
4. Long shot of Mo Adel sitting down opposite Ashriel
5. Close-up on Mo Adel.
6. Close-up on Ashriel.
(Shot reverse shot during dialogue)
7. Tilting shot following a cigarette which will be lit by Adam.
8. Tracking shot of Adam as he walks into the underpass.
9. Close-up on Mo Adel having taken in what Ashriel has told him.
(Shot reverse shot)
10. Mo Adel gets up and walks off.


We have had to sacrifice several vital plot points and several key shots to fit the opening into the 2 minute 20 second time frame. However we are still happy with the result we have got.

Production Stage (Third Shoot)

Cast:

Mohammed Adel as Andrew
Ashriel King as Clint

Crew:

Reuben Gill - Cameraman
Adam Alti - Director


The Third Shoot was a different scene from the other nights. The other nights were the Samson scenes this is the Andrew Scenes.

First of all we filmed an establishing shot of Kro Bar. This was to set the scene and introduce the gritty nature of the film.

The lighting in the scene was something we loved. It looked like something sleazy, which was the desired aesthetic.

We then filmed the homage two-shot scene between Ashriel and Mohammed this looked good as they were sat in front of the red heaters which made the scene have more ambience and atmosphere.

We did several takes of the conversation, we had learnt from our mistakes and decided that we will make sure we got the shot we wanted.

Rough Edit

This is a very rough edit of the film opening, we hope that once we have tightened it up it will good. We still have to add the proper sound, and we need to re-shoot some scenes.

Editing Stage 2

We logged and captured our stuff onto Final Cut Pro.

Being a bit more experienced on Final Cut Pro, having used it previously on the first editing stage, we knew what we were doing and were able to get on with it.

The fight scenes worked quite well, we were able to edit them and they flowed well. However to create the look and feel we wanted we had speed some of the fight scenes up, this way the punches seem harder and some seems more violent.

The scene that worked the best was Dale's POV as he has been picked up and thrown into a punch, we decided to use a freezeframe at the end partnered with a fade-out dissolve to create an end to the scene. The POV scene from Dale's perspective on the lights in the underpass is effective, so is the scene where Nathan picks him up. It looks professional and is a highlight of the footage we have right now.

Problems again arose with the lighting, when we have a close-up on Dale's face as he is covered in blood the scene is particularly dark. The blood however looks good.

We edited the footage into a short cut and it looked good the fight scenes seem brutal and the camera work is good.

We still need to shoot more scenes and do a lot of editing but it is coming along nicely

Production Stage (Second Shoot)

On the second shoot, we had to choreograph the fighting to make it seem more brutal and more realistic. The location we used to shoot this was in a dark place, so we tried to shoot most of the scenes in light places.

The first scene we shot was a close-up on Samson's lips as he lights a cigarette, this looked good and we decided that we will use this as the introduction for Samson.

To film the fight, we used a handheld style, this was to emphasise the brutalness of the scene. It also contradicts the way the rest of the film opening is filmed, which is mostly stationary camera shots.

Firstly we started to film the scene where Dale is dragged into the underpass, we filmed this in a long shot reverse-tracking shot.

We then filmed a overhead shot of Dale hitting the floor, this was done for two reasons, the first being so the viewer would be able to see the pain he is in. Secondly it was done for the next shot, which would be a POV of view shot from Dale looking up at the lights in the underpass, and Nathan blocking the light and picking him up at which point he is punched back down by Bruce. This was especially hard to film since all of that is from Dale's POV. We did many takes until it looked and felt right.

We then tried to do a scene from Bruce's POV showing Dale's reaction from the punch, when looking back at it, it looked cheesy and forced.

With the beating up scene being shown in bits and not all at once, we had to do many different takes and try many different things, this way we could pick the best ones to use in the film opening.

After doing Dale's POV shot, we went on to another scene. Influenced by a scene in Reservoir Dogs. We had Reuben, Bruce and Nathan stand in a triangle and punch, push and kick Dale, while we filmed it from the outside going round them. This wasn't an easy scene to shoot because it involved very unorganized choreography, this was to add realism to the scene. They were basically given free reign to do what they wanted as we filmed it. This led to many takes being ruined by people looking at the camera, laughing or by the scene just not going the way it should have.

We then tried to do a long shot scene of the beating up. This was done by using the tripod as the beating is taking place. This looked good and is going to be used in the final edit of the film.

The second shoot was good, we didn't manage to finish filming the scene but we got some good stuff.

Editing Stage

We logged and captured the footage onto Final Cut Pro. With this we were able to properly watch the footage we got. The first thing we noticed was that a lot of the footage was dark.

We then decided that we would edit the footage anyway, that way we could see what we needed to re-shoot and how we could solve certain problems with the scenes.

The tracking shot we did, although it looked good, the camera work was too shakey and didn't have the right look that we wanted. So we are going to re-shoot the tracking shot.

We also noticed that we had violated the 180 degree angle rule which makes the film opening look amateur and cheap. So the next shoot we will have to remember not to break the 180 rule.

Another thing we had a problem with was the continuity, the scenes didn't flow right. We had a good tracking shot, but then the next scene would ruin it because it didn't flow right. So we need to rethink our shot list.

The first editing stage was good, because we got to experiment with the different effects and transitions. Some of which will be used in the final cut of the film.

Production Stage (First Shoot)

CAST:

Reuben Gill as himself
Nathan Lowe as himself
Bruce Betts as himself
Dale Broadbent as himself
Adam Alti as Samson

CREW:

Stephanie Castillion as camerawoman

Adam Alti as Director/ cameraman

Andy Fielding as Cameraman 2.

FILMING:

After finding a suitable location for our production we began the filming process. We all met up on a Saturday night in the underpass of choice to film our scene.

The first thing we did was practise the tracking shot, of Samson as he goes into the underpass, this is because as Samson is walking down into the underpass Dale has got to be beaten up, it all has to flow properly. We then filmed the tracking shot however one of the crew had gotten into the shot, ruining it. So we had to do it again, this time however the scene was shot great.

We began by choreographing the fight scenes, making sure Dale knew when to move so as not to get hit and everyone else knew when to throw the punches. We also had to choreograph the camera work into the fight to ensure the chosen shots and angles were achieved. Once everyone knew their timing and positions we shot these scenes.

After filming the fight scenes, we decided to film Dale's scene where he is dying, he is covered in blood. This scene came out great and looked realistic. On a point of interest, as we were filming that scene some people walked past and looked very scared off. When they thought they were out of hearing perimetre of us, they started talking about how Dale looked.

We are going to edit the footage and see what it looks like. We will post a rough cut soon.

Location Scouting

We decided to go on recce to help find a suitable place to film. We visited many potential sites for filming our 'Underpass' scene. All had what we were looking for in terms of the gritty and urban aesthetic. But we eventually found a suitable place to film. We decided to take the pictures in the daytime, even though our opening will take place at night, this was done to give us a better idea off what the place looks like.

Here are the pictures of the unused locations:

This is the first underpass location we went too.
We liked this because it allows us to be able to film a long shot going all the way down to the entrance of the actual underpass. However we felt this was not ideal because we are unable to see what is happening in the underpass from this angle.

We used these pictures to help us decide the scope and size of the shot and we used Andy in the picture to help us decide whether to use this location, although suitable the deciding factor behind us not using this location was the fact that we could not see into the underpass.









These pictures are from the actual underpass tunnel, they had exactly what were looking for but the downfall of it was the path leading to it not being in the right place.

These are the pictures of the Underpass we are going to use.

The reason for using this location over the previous one is simple. In the film opening there is going to be a tracking shot of Samson walking down through an underpass where a man is being beaten up, and here as you can see the action will be able to be seen as we follow Samson.

This location also allows us to utilize on the environment. We will be able to have shots of the traffic as they pass as this will juxtapose the situation, the situation being that while people go about there day to day life dangerous and terrible things are happening. We are trying to send a message or be preachy with this, we are simply trying to make the viewer realise that anything can happen at anytime.

The following are the pictures off the Underpass that will serve as our setting:

(Closer look at the underpass which we will use)

(This is in the underpass, as you can see the
Setting has the desired aesthetic)

(This is a shot of whats on the other side of the
underpass, this is a good shot as it is composed
framed and has ambiguity)

(This shot will be used as our introduction to
Samson before the tracking shot, its good
because it frames Samson and helps the viewer
identify Samson as a central character)

We will adding more pictures of our locations as the project goes on. We will also post pictures of the locations at night time, to help us see what it will look like at night.

Preliminary Task

We were very eager to start our main task, however we were required to make this video, to 'learn' everything about editing and Filming. The result being a very rushed and half complete video, however the task was to have continuity throughout the video, which we achieved.

The lack of audio is due to a technical malfunction

Treatment for Opening

The opening starts out with the title cards, with the production studio on it: ‘Turkish One Studio’. While the title cards are on there is only diagetic sound, we fade from black onto an extreme long shot of a restaurant as Andrew walks inside. We then jump cut to a mid close up shot of Andy sat down in the window with another person. The dialogue now acts in voiceover form, the voiceover is describing Samson, so as we are introduced to the Character on screen the narration is giving us more information of the character. We then fade to black and then fade from black onto Samson, as he is walking down to an underpass, this is in the form of a tracking shot, we follow him until he gets to the underpass, which is lowly lit. In the underpass, there is a man who has been beaten up, on the floor leaning against the wall (Dale), while another man is standing in front of him (Reuben). This scene now plays out in a POV shot from the man on the floor. Samson crouches down in front of the man, and reaches into Dale’s pocket and brings out a diamond. Samson smiles and stands up in front of Dale and goes to kick him in the face, but we freeze frame on the picture as the narration describes Samson.

Script decisions

Whilst writing the script, we had to take many things into account. We wouldn't be able to shoot anywhere with a lot of people and we wouldn't be able to use extravagant locations.

We chose to have the use of voice over for the conversation in the diner because that would make it easier in securing a location to film. If we have a conversation in the diner, then we have to get permission and there would undoubtedly be unforeseen problems. But by doing it as a voice over, we can still get the shot diner shot and the setting, but the majority of what takes place their will be in voice over form.

We decided to use the underpass for the introduction to Samson, because the gritty urban setting would reflect the tone off the characters and the film.

The dialogue is a big part of the film opening, we had to make sure that was is being said, is short but to the point, we used the dialogue to describe Samson, as we felt this added a uniqueness to our film opening.

The scene where Samson has his first bit of dialogue is the peak of our creativeness, as the whole scene will be in first person. The point of view shot of DALE, the person who has stolen a diamond from the employer of Samson.

This scene will hopefully reflect the brutish and violent nature of Samson and hopefully set the film up nicely.

Spec Script

INT. RESTAURANT/DINER - NIGHT

A restaurant sat on a busy high street.

Sat in the window is CLINT(23) he is sat eating some chicken and chips. He smiles as ANDREW (19) walks passed the window and into the shop.

Andrew walks inside and sits down opposite Clint. Andy is noticeably nervous, whereas Clint is relaxed.

ANDREW

I need to know about Samson.

FADE TO BLACK

EXT. UNDERPASS - NIGHT

FADE FROM BLACK

We see SAMSON (20) walking down to an underpass. He is smoking a cigarette.

CLINT

(V/O)

This doesn't have anything to

do with (Sighs) What do you need

to know?

ANDREW

(V/O)

Everything.

CLINT

(V/O)

Andy... Samson's not a person

you want around... He is very

dangerous... He has no sympathy,

no remorse... He has no qualms

about killing people.

Samson walks to the underpass where a man has been savagely beaten, leaning on the wall of the underpass, This man is called DALE. Another man is there, on his phone, this is REUBEN.

The underpass is very dirty, there is graffiti on the walls and the floor is covered in blood, Dales bloods. His face is almost pulp and as he breathes blood splurts out of his mouth.

CLINT

(V/O)

Andy stay away from him...

Samson looks down at Dale, smiling at Dale, who is coming in and out of Consciousness.

Samson stands in front of Dale.

POV: DALE'S POV, THIS GOES ON FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE SCENE.

Samson never takes his eyes of Dale

SAMSON

Is this him?

REUBEN

Yeah, He didn't put up much of

a fight.

SAMSON

They never do.

Samson crouches down in front of Dale.

SAMSON

Hey, hey wake up.

Samson slaps Dale a couple of times, and then reaches into Dales pocket and brings out a diamond. He smiles and he pockets the diamond and wipes the blood from his hands.

SAMSON

Why would you steal from

someone... who can kill you?

Dale just murmurs.

SAMSON

Well hey I don't want an

explanation... I'm gonna

enjoy this no matter what...

Samson stands up and takes of his coat, he hands it too Reuben and smiles.

SAMSON

... Your just going to have

to enjoy it too.

Samson goes to kick Dale in the face.

FREEZE FRAME OF SAMSON MIDWAY INTO KICKING DALE IN THE FACE

CLINT

(V/O)

Whatever you have done to him,

he will not stop... Don't mess

with him.

INT. RESTAURANT/DINER - NIGHT

We see Clint sat in the window seat as Andrew walks out of the Restaurant.

He walks out of shot.

THE END

Homage to restaurant scenes

In most of the films we have listed, they have restaurant scenes. We like the idea of using a restaurant as the setting for our characters as it makes them almost anonymous because they are surrounded by 'normal' people. The reason we like this idea is because our characters aren't saints. They are bad people and making them anonymous adds to the tone of the characters and the tone of the opening.

I got ideas from films that set the scene using their openings, for instance the film Fargo. With the first scene we, the audience, get the idea of how the film is going to be paced and how the dialogue will be wrote and acted.

With the first scene of Fargo, we see a conversation between Jerry Lundegaard, Carl Showalter, Gaear Grimsrud in a bar/restaurant, this scene introduces us to the characters and a kidnapping that is central to the plot. This influenced us as it was a professional way of opening a film that satisfied us in terms of plot and character development.

The next film we were heavily influenced by is Pulp Fiction, again we are introduced to the opening characters in a restaurant. The characters Ringo and Yolanda converse about robbing liquor stores, with this conversation we get a good character development.

Here are some notable scenes set in a restaurant:

Scene's for influence

Whilst writing the script I had to look at the films we had listed as influences, these films all have specific scenes that I'm going to use as the influence for my scene.

Film Scenes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWx6L8Lpe9Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI_4wvBHkrw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyR4RK0LA_E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCG6CMFbPiI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwusCDRiDwE

The main influence here are meetings, the fact that the characters are sitting down and setting the scene and plot with dialogue.

Inspiration for script

When coming up with an idea for our film opening we had to take many things into account:

1. No budget
2. No actors
3. Rules against violence (Motion picture production code... Maybe)

With this in mind it still gives us a great deal of freedom for making our film. As a group we brainstormed some ideas of films that have had a profound effect on us.

Some of those films are:

• Reservoir Dogs
• Pulp Fiction
• Fargo

This is because they were relatively low budget films and used that to their advantage, they used tricks with the camera and dialogue to make their films good, we want to emulate that into our short film.

With this in mind we have set out an outline of what we would like in our script and it is promptly being written.

We will post it as soon as possible.

First group post

We are VI group 4.

This blog will chronicle our production diary, where you can get exclusive footage and screenshots for our film. We will update as often as possible for our fans and all you who cannot wait for this film to be released.

This is our first group post. Today we looked at 3 film openings (Hancock, Four weddings and Love Actually) and we can assure you that ours will be much better than them.


http://loretoasmedia2010.blogspot.com/