Thriller update 31- quick notes

Thriller update 31- quick notes

 

 

 

 

 

In shot 11 we planned to film a tracked shot of the vigilantes feet as he moves towards the right. However we did'nt have access to a tracking dolly that will go low enoguh to capture such footage. Furthermore we wanted to convey a dark environment while still keeping the footage captured visible. To solve these problems I proposed we use my skateboard to capture the moving footage.On the skateboard we attach a torchlight and the camera. The torchlight and the camera were flat therefore there should be little shaking . In additon the torchlight will allow us to reveal certain areas of the scenery while still creating shadows; an element of thriller iconography.

 

 

What we used to capture our tracking footage while on a budget





 

The detective's revolver

Because of budget constraints we could not get access to a high quality snub nosed pistol replica, however we got around this problem by buying a blue toy snub nosed pistol instead.  I then to make it look realistic I then painted the top part of it in black acryllic paint. After that using silver paint and crunched up paper I dipped the crunched up paper in silver paint and started to paint over the parts in black. The texture of the crunched paper would cause a scratch mark on the gun making it seem like it was made out of metal.

Finally we decied not to worry about painting the handle as we found out that blue and brown show up as similar tones when a black and white filter is overlayed. We plan to capture our footage in colour and re-colour it in black and white using final cut or after effects.

 

Coloured vs Black and white side by side

 

 

 

 

 

Changes from thriller storyboard to filming

Changes from thriller storyboard to filming

 

 

 

Below is a list of changes from the storybaord and planning in our thriller film

•  A number of new shots were included to improve continutiy between shots
• The plasterboard will not feature in our film, although it was finished and fully constructed, it unfortunatley did not suit  our location.
• The high shot of shot 10 was adjusted due to lighting issues
• The over the shoulder shot of shot 13 was removed as it added more footage that wasnt needed and would potentially break the continuty between previous scenes filmed at other locations to connote one whole location.

 

Opening credit pictures

Opening credit pictures

For our thriller opening shots 5-9 will be handled slightly differently as we plan to print of off  images like the one below and tear sections of these images. We will then scan in the images and using adobe after effects we plan to animate the frame panning across a close up of the image. The images hold some significance to the narrative in our thriller i.e the image of the detective badge links in with our character Teddy Kaplin and his job role.

Using Photoshop I was able to distort an image of a LAPD detective homicide badge to give it that film noir aesthetic.
As noted before two opening credits that inspired our opening credits were the opening titles of se7en with its use of close up shots of objects and the opening for girl with the dragon tattoo which uses a similar method.

Original image

Edited

This video will help us to achieve said desired effect

Construction of the Elizabeth Short photoframe prop

Construction of the Elizabeth Short photoframe

 

 

Below is a visual process of how I constructed the photoframe that features in our thriller opening.

 

1. First I printed out an image of Elizabeth Short
2. Then I cut out the image and using an old photo frame  I found I placed the picure in it.
3. To make sure the image wasnt too small or too big first I resised the image using photoshop then with a craft knife I cut around the image to fit around the frame.
4. Finally I ripped the photo in two to add to the dark atmosphere that features in our film.

 

 

 

 

 
 

Kinetic typography test

Kinetic typography test

Above is a test for the kinect typography effect produced in adobe after effects by me.We plan to implement this feature in our thriller film but further develop on its visual effects as well as attempting to get it in sync with the speech of the monologue. Due to how long it would render a high res version I felt it would be appropriate to render a low res test version to show the effect. For our thriller we do plan to render a high to medium res typography effect depending on time.

Thriller planning update - lighting test

Thriller planning update - lighting test

Below is a picture I have taken using my phone(so the quality may be a bit poor) testing how we can use lighting to create a film noir tone. When I took the photo it was around 4:00 so it wasn't too dark or too bright. To create the light in the corner since I do not have access to a high powered lamp I used the light from my laptop to achieve this look. I hope to implement this method in my groups thriller when we film the apartment scenes.

One quick update - editing audio in final cut

Since we are going to use final cut pro to edit our film I felt that It would be appropriate to research a little about how to edit audio since a lot of the sounds used in our thriller will be non diagetic, The video above shows how to edit audio in this program and will hopefully be useful in our editing stage.

Location

Location

Location on Prezi
Above is a power point converted into Prezi documenting the locations we plan to film our thriller on.

Please remember to zoom in to read the text.

Casting and costumes

Casting and costumes

 

Cast and Costume on Prezi

Below is a prezi slide share detailing our casting choices and costume choices. Please remember to zoom in to read the finer details.

Footage review

Footage review

 

 

 

 

After viewing some footage for our thriller that was filmed on Tuesday the 13th of november, It is apparent that this footage was too dark beacause it was filmed in the dark with the hopes of conveying the dark and isolated asthectics of a noir film. However to counter this using editing software hopefully we can change the contrast and brightness of the shot so that the objects within the shot are visible.

 

 

 

Today we managed to capture two of the detective scenes as well as some early scenes in our opening however we filmed these scenes in the day and we may loose the noir feel because of this but we plan to shoot some of these scenes soon at a later time so that the shot isnt too bright to connote a happy environment or its too dark to see any visible objects. Furthermore they may be some changes between the final film in terms of shots than to the storyboard since one of the shots we filmed, the tracking shot of the detective moving towards the camera was too shaky, so we substituted this with a simple mid shot of the detective walking towards the camera with no tracking. The shakiness was caused by the bumpy texture of the pathway we standing on to get our footage.

 

Our next objective is to reshoot some of these scenes around 4: 21 just in the evening when its fairly dark but not too dark to see any objects and to also film the rest of our thriller.

 



Props and equipment

 Props and equipment

Props list on Prezi
To the right is a prezi document produced by me documenting props and equipment we will use in the production of our thriller. Please zoom in to read the text. Thank you

Our Soundtrack 3

Our Soundtrack 3

Below are video links to new sounds and music that will feature in our film opening.  All 3 tracks below were downloaded from freeplaymusic.com and are royalty free. Below the track Small Blind, will replace Gustav Mahler in the vigilante investigation scene. The reason this track was chosen as it's slow pace and high violin strings convey tension as well as a sombre and macabre environment.  I feel that the inclusion of this song in the investigation scene will easily create suspense in the scene as well as convey a noir feel.

Small blind

The track below Concussion will be played when the vigilante first notices the photo frame clue which then the audience will see a flashback onto the discovery of the note written in lipstick. I feel that the tracks distorted sounds with its subtle intro will be able to introduce a flashback in an interesting way as well as conveying a dark and deranged atmosphere. This will also help me subtly convey the idea of the protagonist the vigilante aka "Dahlia" as a deranged type of character as mentioned in some of my previous posts.

Concussion

Below is a video link for our last track to feature in our Thriller film Concussion Reprise. This track will be played in the last part of our opening when the police call of for "Dahlia" and he replies I'm ready when you are. I have chosen this track specifically for its sublet tone and big ending at the end. I feel that this track will summarise our opening with its  subtle imagery but climatic ending which ends just before the conflict between "Dahlia" and the police.


 

Concussion Reprise

Memento Mori Storyboard

Memento Mori Storyboard

Below is the storyboard to the first 2 minutes of  our thriller film If you have trouble reading my witting please refer to the planning edit post here. The storyboard has been tonally shaded rather than coloured to show how these scenes will be edited into a black and white filter.

filming schedule

 Filming schedule

Below is a schedule for filming the shots in our thriller we hope we can follow. we've bulit this schedule tailored around everyone convinence and availability as well as capturing the right lighting during the day to achieve the film noir tone without the contents of our thriller lost in the darkness.

Edit: The shots highlighted in red indicate shots that must be re captured due to lighting issues ( see footage review here)

Creating the vigilante's mask aka "Dahlia's" mask

Creating the vigilante's mask aka "Dahlia's" mask

To create the mask here was a list of materials and resources I used to develop the piece of costume

2 pairs of tights

• 1 black
• 1 cream

Scissors
Hot water
Ink pen
Paint brush

To create the mask I used these Steps below

• Step 1:   First I tied a knot at the top of the tights
• Step 2:  I then cut  off the leg parts of the tights. This made it look like a mask rather than a hat with two legs attached.
• Step 3: I then put on the black tights  first on my head and then place the cream one on top of  the black tights  which masked my human features and identity thus creating an inhuman like figure - a desired effect for my character.
• Step 4: I made a small marking on my face- this will determine where I will draw the mask's T like design.
•  Step 5: Using an ink pen I started to draw the mask's design onto the tights.
• Step 6: I then painted over the design using hot water to allow the ink to bleed and give the mask a distorted feel to it. I feel that by doing this I make this character more of a gritty type of hero as described in the "Backstories behind our two main protagonists" post.

Below is a slide documenting the process visually 

Dream casting

Dream casting

 

 

 

 

 

Below are actors who I would cast as characters in our thriller film with some justiifcations as to why I have cast them.

 

 

Nathan Fillion as "The detective" Theodore Kaplin

 

Fillion is a candaian actor aged 41 and best known for his role in the television series Firefly. The reason why chose him for the role of Kaplin is because of his strong performances in film and tv as well as his appearance.  Fillions handsome yet aged appearance would be perfect for this role as it connotes a fairly youmg cop with naive ideas worn down by time and life around him. Note his face is'nt too young to convey a sense of naivity and he doesnt have many scars or wrinkles to connote an old and cynical man. Finally fillion's hair style in the picture to the right would be perfect for a 1940's man and with a small amount of adjustments such as slicking his hair back it he could easily portray a 1940's detective. However since Fillion isnt availiable; to find someone to portay the detcetive,  I would want them to have to have short hair at least, brown preferably and not have a very young or old face.

 

 

  

Liam Nesson as "The vigilante" Dahlia

 

 

Liam Nesson is an irish actor aged 60 and known for his roles in taken and schindlers list. I've chosen him to play Dahlia for his previous work in the film darkman as darkman a strong inspiration for the development of "Dahlia" in our film. Furthermore if we made the film into a full lenght film and the character were to b e unmasked I feel that Nesson's aged face would suit the vigilantee well in depicting an extreme version of the detective. In additon according to imbd Nesson is 6 ft 4. I feel that this hieght will benefit the character greatly creating an intimerdating figure. On the other hand since we do not have acess to Nesson, it would be advisable that I find someone who's quite tall however in cirumstances in which I cannot find anyone like this since we are filming scenes in which the vigilante is by himself and isnt unmasked throughout our opening anyone who is avaliable and male is acceptable.




Natalie Portman as Elizabeth short

Natalie Portman is an american actress known for her work in the star wars trilogy and made her debut as an orphan in 1994 in the thriller film Leon. Orignallyy thinkg of chosing Nicole Kidman I have chosen Portman because of her young childlike appearance. This would benefit the character of Short as if we were to portray her as an innocent and niave type of person audiences will be able to feel more sympathy towards her as well as really establish and how twisted the murder was ,as audiences will be crushed at the sight of someone innocent dieing. This crushing and dark feeling is a feeling I feel in someways would be central our noir theme. I was orignally going to pick Kidman because of her long and wavy hair which would also connote a sense of innocent if there was a shot of her as a cadaver with her hair spread around her, however she's too old to play the role of a 22- 23 year old. Since we cannot actually cast Portman in our thriller a substitue would be to find someone who's brunette and fairly young, around 16- 23 and has medium to long hair. 

Planning edit

Planning edit

 1. Shot of a black frame 

- Non diagetic sounds - One more double

Pulpy monologue

Cut

2. Tracking mid shot of vigilante "Dahlia" as he walks towards camera
- Non diagetic sounds monologue  

Cut
  
3. High angle shot of vigilante walking under a lamp post - may not be practical

Non diagetic sounds- Monologue 

Cut

4. Establishing shot of location ( extreme long shot)

Title card logo

Cut

 5. Panning Shot of picture of 1940's LA

Name credits  Music rises in volume

Cut

6 .Panning of of picture of police badge

name credits and music continues

Cut

7 .Panning shot of picture of hollywoodland sign

Cut

8 . Panning shot of polaroid photo

Cut

9 . Panning shot of images of world war 2 

Cut

10 .high angle shot of vigilante entering building

name credits and music starts to come to a close

Note process will be shortened or lengthened depending on song duration 

Fade to black

11 .tracking shot of the vigilante's feet as he walks towards door 
Non diagetic sound vigilante's internal monologue starts

Cut

12. Long shot of long hall as vigilante looks around and enters

Cut

13 .Over the shoulder shot of vigilante as the turns around and enters the door

Cut

14 . low angle shot of vigilante walking in building
Non diagetic sound- slow fade in of Gustav Mahler- Piano Quartet in A minor, however through editing we may edit the sound to make it sound as if it is played diagetically if said effect helps to drive narrative successfully
EDIT:  NEW SONG Small Blind TO BE PLAYED INSTEAD

Cut

15 .Mid shot of vigilante as he inspects the mess on the floor

Match cut

16 .Midshot of vigilante inspecting cadaver 

Non diagetic sound- internal monologue on the subject of the discover of the body

Cut

17. Close up of vigilante as he rises up to camera frame

Match cut

18 .close up of vigilante - in present day
EDIT:  NEW SONG Small Blind TO BE FADED OUT - NON DIAGETIC

Cut

19 .Close up on vigilante different angle 

Vigilante turns  around as he turns around we see a pull focus onto the objects into the background
Non diagetic sound - internal monologue on the subject on the discovery of the note
 EDIT:  NEW SOUND Concussion TO BE PLAYED FADE IN OF SOUND - NON DIAGETIC

Cut

  

20. Close up shot of photo frame 

Match cut 

21. Close up on note written in lipstick
 EDIT: SOUNDS- COMPLETE SILENCE ( NOT THE NAME OF A SONG)

Cut

22. Mid shot of vigilante inspecting the note- camera positioned to the side of vigilante
 EDIT: 
Gustav Mahler- Piano Quartet in A minor FADES IN - NON DIAGETIC

Match cut

23. Mid shot of vigilante getting up and turning towards the camera 90 degrees - present day
Non diagetic sound- Vigilante's monologue coming to an end.

Match cut

24 .Mid shot of detective in same postion holding and empty glass

Cut

25 .Long shot of detective in his office as he moves towards his window
 Non diagetic sound- detective internal monologue begins

Cut

26 .Close up of the side of detectives face as he looks at his windows

Cut

27 .High angle shot of detectives hands looking over post Morten pictures on murder victim

Cut

28. Mid shot of detective at his desk looking concerned
Non diagetic sound - detective monologue ends
Non diagetic sound- Gustav Mahler- Piano Quartet in A minor ends

Fade to black

29 .Mid shot of vigilante holding photoframe, head down window behind him
Non diagetic sound - the police sirens and policeman voice however through editing we may edit the sound to make it sound as if it is played diagetically
Vigilante raises his head

Non diagetic sound- vigilante "I'm ready when you are"

 EDIT:  NEW SOUND Concussion Reprise  TO BE PLAYED FADE IN OF SOUND - NON DIAGETIC


NOTE: ANTYTHING HIGHLIGHTED IN RED IS AN UPDATE OF THE SOUNDS
THESE SOUNDS WILL UPLOADED TO MY BLOG SOON  

NOTE: THESE SOUNDS HAVE NOW BEEN UPLOADED - http://di-londra.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/our-soundtrack-3.html

Match cuts and what we plan to learn from them

Match cuts and what we plan to learn from them

 The Famous  "2001 A Space Odyssey" match cut  scene is an example we plan to learn from; how does the scene it use match cuts to show the passage of time effectively ? we plan to use match cuts in our opening to convey flashbacks and flash forward as well as a change of location effectively.

Backstories behind our two main protagonists

Backstories behind our two main protagonists as well as background information

Below is a document from slide containing  background information on characters and other significant figures in our thriller

Thriller planning-quick update

Thriller planning-quick update

The video above is a tutorial on how to create a pull focus camera shot on a commercial camera. Hopefully I will be able to learn form this tutorial and implement this feature of film in our opening, more specifically in the scene in which our protagonist "the vigilante" notices the not left behind for him (see script post and opening structure post).

Monologue inspirations
When writing the monologue I drew inspiration from such titles like sin city and Max Payne and how their protagonists use internal monologues to drive narrative and empahise and exaggerate emotion through the use of over the top euphemisms and metaphors and short sentences.

"I've been framed for murder and the cops are in on it. But the real enemy, the son of a bitch who killed the angel lying next to me, he's out there somewhere, out of sight, the big missing piece that'll give me how and the why and a face and a name and a soul to send screaming into hell. "- Marv from sin city One of my inspirations

Basic structure of opening

Basic structure of opening

Shot of a black frame with the non diagetic sound of a monologue

Music starts

Vigilante walking toward the camera monologue continues

Title cards with shots of various images linking in with our narrative

Vigilante enters building

Vigilante investigates buildings room 

match cut into flashback of vigilante investigating corpse

match cut back into present day investigation

match cut into clue found by vigilante the note (see previous post)

Vigilante picks up photo frame which match cuts into detective holding an empty glass

detective gives short monologue

fades back into vigilante investigation with police sirens in the background

opening ends with vigilante responding to the police after they ask him to come out with his hands up - "I'm ready when you are".

Synopsis of opening 
In the 2 minutes of our film we first see a black frame and in the background we hear our first protagonist's "The vigilante" monologue. The story follows him as he starts to investigate a derelict building  looking for any leads on the murder case he is currently investigating and the "bigger picture behind it". As he investigates he starts to remember a body that he found recently in one of la's parks, the same corpse which sent him on this investigation in the first place as he notices a clue which leads him toward this derelict building an apartment building belonging to someone he suspects knows the truth. The vigilante goes on to look for any leads in the apartment and picks up a damaged photo frame this then match cuts into the second protagonist the detective as he is holding an empty glass. The detective then gives a short monologue allowing the audience to gain some insight into his life. This then fades to black in present day in which the audience should establish that the police have arrived when we hear the sounds of sirens in the background and a man shouting "we've got you surrounded come out with your hands up", the vigilante replies "I'm ready when you are" and it cuts to black.