Filming Day 1

Risk Assesment

Before filming we thought about the risks that may occur and a lot of them were very minimal and simply being sensible would mean these were low risks. Therefore we compiled a list of possible risks and how to overcome these.

-Samantha

Journey Planning

As we need to travel to London, we need to consider the time our journey and how to get to each place from where we are at the time

By using TFL website we were able to find the fastest route possible to where we needed to go and the train times as well so we were able to plan in advance what time we would all need to meet.

 

From the Greenwich foot tunnel we then need to get to Greenwich park. Using journey planner, from our first location we could either walk or a bus route is available however it will take around half an hour using either route.

Updated Shot List

This is an updated version of our original shot list with more detail as we have now decided on the shots we wanted, the locations and confirmed our filming dates with our actors.

Script

During the opening and the closing of our trailer, we have decided that we want to have a voice over that sounds like a voicemail. The voicemail will be left by Alexia and it is unclear who it is to. We decided that we will not give too much information about Alexia's situation during the voicemail but will present her feeling lost and alone with the idea that her life has changed.

I have written a draft script for the voice over that I will then discuss with Mia  what emotions I want her to express and record her and see how it sounds.

In the voiceover, we want Alexia to sound quite exhausted and scared, as if she has left on an impulse ((dispense))) and is unsure of what to do next.

Shot List

Here are the shots lists for our trailer, we have currently established two main locations Croydon and London for where we want filming to take place. Looking at each of the locations we have planned that each location will be easy to reach and can hopefully be done within two days and then we will allow time for re filming if required, however we wish to film in a variety of ways to allow us to have lots of footage to work with.

 - Sam

Storyboard

Here is the storyboard for our trailer

-Sam

Consent from Actors

Change in Actors

As we were planning, we decided that we are actually going to use Rasharn, originally the attacker, as Alexia's love interest instead of Daniel. This is because he is more available to film with as he goes to the same school and we also decided that as a plot twist in our film, Alexia's love interest was part of the organisation that is hunting them, however he accidentally falls in love with her. We felt that this would also be more suitable as he does Drama A Level so would be good at developing this character to show the struggle he faces between his love for Alexia and his contract with the organisation. We will also be sticking with the name Arby as it is more unusual and supports the slightly futuristic element we've chosen to portray in our storyline.

New Character Profile:

Name: Arby
Age: 18
Job: Works for the organisation that is hunting 'The Others'
Interests: Reading books, listening to music
Birthday: 15th December
Home Life: Lives alone in a small apartment in London
Height: 5ft 11"

Arby is Alexia's love interest in the film. He comes across as fairly shy and caring however faces his own struggles - the torment of loving Alexia but his obligation to the organisation meant to be hunting her. This develops his character further as he can be brave but it also allows the audience to like and dislike him throughout the film, creating more tension.

We decided to use Rasharn for this character as he does drama a level alongside Mia (Alexia) therefore is used to working with her and as they are good friends it won't be awkward when filming. As he does drama he is a good actor therefore can make the character more realistic and understands the need for commitment as this task is important to our coursework.

Ideas For Names

This is a brainstorm of ideas for names that we came up with for our film:

These were some of the names we came up with, however we found that some of these names had already been used (highlighted) for other films using IMDB (source:http://www.imdb.com/) therefore we couldn't use these for our film. This narrowed our choice to three:

• Alexia - the name of our protagonist
• Trial - introduces the idea of the fact that they were an experiment
• We are the Others - highlights some of the characters and the idea of unity 

As we didn't mind using any one of these names we decided to ask a sample of our target audience to see which they preferred.

This is a bar graph based on our results. We asked 20 people altogether and the most liked name was 'We are the Others' therefore we decided to use this for our film. 

Plot Synopsis

Alexia Hastings (our female protagonist) was genetically engineered by a non-government run organisation. She was adopted at the age of five and does not remember much from before this time apart from fragmented images and memories in her dreams. However, she was not the only one like this. Alexia has always felt different growing up as she can do things that other people can't as she has heightened senses - she's stronger, faster and smarter compared to other humans and can sometimes hear voices in her head which are the 'Others'.

The story of our film follows the journey of Alexia to find the 'Others' to find a place where she belongs. As we wanted to create an element of danger and tension within the film, the 'Others' are being hunted as they are a supposed threat, however as we thought this may lead more into the action genre, we decided to follow the journey of Alexia finding the 'Others' as this narrative sticks to the drama genre however the film could be left on a cliffhanger which would leave it open for a sequel.

Throughout her journey, Alexia also meets Charlie, whom becomes her love interest in the film. He is quite introverted yet intelligent however her meeting him, she realises puts him also in danger. This creates another struggle for the character internally as she loves him but he is safer without her therefore this is another conflict she faces. For the character development of Charlie, we wanted to portray him as shy and fairly 'geeky' to begin with and develop this throughout the film so he becomes brave and 'hero' like to surprise the audience as you wouldn't expect this.

The way in which Alexia finds out about the 'Others' is through Kaya, a waitress she meets who is like her. Kaya is slightly older and knows much more about their background and informs Alexia of the danger they are now in. This is another cause of her internal conflict as she wants to try and be normal and find her identity, protect Charlie as well as find the 'Others' in the hope it will allow her to find herself.

Ideas for Locations

After discussion on potential shots and scenes we wanted in the trailer, we came up with ideas of possible locations.As a trailer needs to include multiple locations to show a progression of time, we brainstormed ideas of the scenes we wanted and the locations we wanted them in so we had a basis to research whether we could access similar locations.




These are some images I found that resemble some locations we thought of. Some of these locations such as a hospital we know we won't have access to however we have formed ideas of how we could create a similar setting or shots that resemble different aspects of a hospital location such as the bright lights on the ceiling we found we had similar ones in one of out I.C.T rooms at school so could use this instead. Also the rooftop idea may be difficult to find however after discussion we decided we could accomplish this by using a car park rooftop however we may need to film early in the morning so it would be empty.

"The Others"

"The Others" are genetically engineered characters in our film. I have created a mind map to explain these characters further as they are a key element to our storyline and genre as well as our protagonist being classified as one of them also.

Possible Issues with Actors

When we chose our actors we needed to consider the issues that may arise. Rasharn, Beth and Mia all do drama therefore may have time taken up in rehearsals so we would need to consider when they are all available. All the actors are also doing A Levels therefore may not have a lot of free time due to the demand of these subjects. Mia and Beth also have part-time jobs so we would need to try and find a time when they're not working as well. Also because Daniel goes to a different school this may be tricky if we filmed a scene at school for example, and he may have different times for the school day so we would need to find a time when he was available also. However, to overcome this we will plan in advance when we want to film and ask the actors we need if they are free on that day and if not then change our filming schedule slightly on a day to when they are available. This shouldn't be too much of a problem as we see the actors regularly so will be able to keep the up to date with when we need them and when they are available to film.

Character Profile - Attacker

Name: Arby
Age: 19
Job: Unemployed

This is the character whom attacks Alexia making her realise she is stronger than she thinks. Although this is only a short scene in our trailer, it is vital in the character development of Alexia as it makes her realise her own strength and that she shouldn't have been able to overcome her attacker if she were a normal human.

We chose Rasharn as this character due to his height as he is taller than Mia (Alexia)  and muscular build so he looks strong which therefore makes Mia look more vulnerable. He also does A Level Drama so will be able to portray the character realistically.

Character Profile - Other

Name: Koby
Age :19

Koby is a minor charachter, who is only present in one scene of our trailer, but his storyline will be more in the actual film. We decided to show Koby as another on of 'The Others' who plays a role in Alexia discovering who she is and then uniting together.

However we wanted Kaya as the main friend of Alexia who is predominantly introducing Alexia to the people she has met on her journey.

Koby is a strong character, who has been through a lot in his life and will be a great support for Alexia, however he is only hinted as a character in the trailer as we want to focus mainly of Alexia and Arby.

Character Profile - Other

Name: Kaya Montgomery
Age:19
Nationality: British
Home town: London
Occupation: Waitress
Birthday: 1st November
Home life: Lives alone, adopted as a teenager

Height: 5ft 7"
Race: Caucasian
Eye Colour: Purple
Hair Colour: Brown
Distinguishing Features: Eyes
Style: Simple, classic, basic
Hobbies: Dance, Music




Kaya Montgomery, classed as one of 'the others', is like Alexia as she too has been genetically engineered. She went through the "changing" earlier than Alexia; this is when they begin hearing the voices of "the others", their eye colour changes and their sense become heightened. She tends to keep to herself but can be very outspoken and strong willed in challenging situations.

We chose Beth to play Kaya as she is taller and has the appearance of being wise and we wanted a young character but slightly older than our protagonist. Beth also does A Level drama so will be able to act well in the trailer so her character can be more relatable.

Character Profile - Love Interest

Charlie :

Age: 17
Occupation: Student
Job: Part time bookshop
Interests: Reading books,
Race: Caucasian

The character Charlie is the love interest of Alexia. Charlie is intelligent and brave, he is a caring guy who feels the need to protect Alexia even though he does not fully understand the scale of the situation. Charlie is hard worker who is outgoing and loves socializing with his friends. We wanted Charlie to be perceived as strong but would allow his emotional side to be shown as Charlie struggles to make Alexia understand that he wants to support her and doesn't want her to feel like she has to keep secrets from him.

We chose Daniel as our actor as he knows the other actors well so there will already be comfortable with acting as the love interest of Alexia (Mia). We have spoken to Daniel and he understands the need for commitment and how important this task is for our coursework. Daniel is a good actor so will be able to convey the emotions we want effectively.

-Samantha

Character Profile - Protagonist

Name: Alexia Hastings
Age:17
Nationality: British
Home town: London
Occupation: Student
Birthday: 19th May
Home life: Adopted as a young child

Height: 5ft 2"
Race: Caucasian
Eye Colour: Purple
Hair Colour: Blonde
Distinguishing Features: Eyes
Style: Edgy, urban, modern, simple
Hobbies: Reading, drawing




Our film is following the journey of our female protagonist, Alexia Hastings who has been genetically engineered by a non-government institution. She knows she is different as she has heightened senses compared to a human; she is smarter, faster and stronger than a normal human being and can sense when danger is near. She was adopted at a young age therefore remembers little about her life before. She is introverted and prefers to keep to herself as she finds it difficult to fit into a world where she struggles to understand her identity.

We chose Mia as our actor as we felt she looks right for the part because of her style and she does her make-up well as we wanted someone who looked slightly edgy. She is also petite and her facial features are quite dainty so it gives her a sense of innocence and vulnerability. As she does drama A-Level also we know she can act therefore making her character more realistic and believable.

Discussing our Ideas

Production Company Logo

This is the logo for our production company that I created using a drawing program 'Serif DrawPlus X5. I animated my logo so that the glint of will expand and contract. The blue colours allow the logo to appeal to all ages and genders.The glinting star adds an almost magical quality to the logo.

We got the idea for the logo by researching other production companies such as Universal or Disney and their logos to make sure mine were appropriate and looked professional.

When I had finished the initial design for the logo, I decided I wanted to animate it using Serif Drawplus X6 using stop frame animation, because from our research I had found that many professional film company logo's were animated. The animating of the logo took a long time but we are proud of the result as I feel that it has similar qualities to real media production company logo's.

We feel that out logo is appropriate for the type of films that our production company would probably make.

-Samantha

Production Company Names

After getting a group of 9 that represent my target audience, we explained to them the genre of my film and what type of films my production company would make, we asked them to decide on which name for a production company would attract them the most. We have chosen to use the most popular name as my production company name. Therefore our production company name will be Starlight Entertainment

We liked Starlight Entertainment as we felt that the name seemed to reflect the type of films that our production company would make.

-Samantha

Production Company Logo Research

For inspiration for my own film production company logo, I looked at some that already existed. The Universal logo is a well recognised studio and consists of an image of the world from space so we get the galaxy style background. The name of the company is simply one word but is memorable as it stands out on its own and fits with the image accompanying it.




This was the second logo I found. This is a smaller production company and not as well known. I liked this logo because of its simplicity again. The design fits with the word 'infinity' as it takes the form of the eight figure which is the infinity sign. The use of film reels to create the 8 shape works well as it is a film production company and the colours are quite simple and work well together. However, as the colours aren't particularly dark we could assume that this is a film company for more light hearted films such as comedies therefore as I am doing a thriller, the colour scheme may not be suitable for the genre I am doing.

Another logo I found was 'Particular productions'. Again this was a simple design with not many images going on. The colours black and white also suit the genre of my film more therefore I'd consider using this colour scheme when I designed my own. The idea of the writing disintegrating I also liked as it could add motion to the design.








From looking at different film companies logos, the general consensus is simplicity works best. If the logo is simpler then it is more easily remembered by the audience therefore more recognised.

Audience Profile

Who is your audience going to be?

Age: 14-20

Gender: Our main audience will most typically be teenage girls because they are of a similar age to the protagonist. Although the plot is an extreme of feeling different, many young teenage girls can relate to feeling odd and as if they are different from others. The romance element would also attract females predominantly, because of the age of the characters being young adults, the audience would feel as if they can relate to them more than an adult would.
Where the main characters tries to discover herself and her place in the world, this is a common theme in teenagers feeling as if they don't fit in and are unsure of who they want to be, therefore relating to our character.

Rather than being a typical Drama / Romance film, there will be elements of sci-fi with the situation of her being genetically modified and action that will be entertaining to watch, seeing a strong female character go through a journey to saver herself and the ones she loves.

My ideal audience member would be:

Name: 
Ella Foster

Age: 
16

Gender:
Female

Ethnicity: 
Caucasian

Socio-Economic Status:
Has a disposable income, perhaps a part time job or pocket money

Education: 
State school

Taste in Music:
A wide range of Pop music but especially indie pop

Taste in Film (preferred genres):
Romance, Drama, adventure, sci-fi, Dystopian and Utopian

Other interests:
Reading, socializing with friends, going to concerts

- Samantha

Audience Research

We wanted to get an understanding of what kind of genre was more popular and if there was a difference between genres using members of our target audience aged 14-20.

I researched into my target audience to what type of film genre they would prefer to watch, here are the results.

These results show that females prefer Drama and Romance whilst male audiences prefer Horror and Comedy. This will allow me to target my film at a predominantly female audience as they will most likely be the audience.

-Samantha

Film Research

To get a better idea of the audience who would watch our film as well as to establish a definitive genre and storyline for our film, I did some research into other films with a similar genre and narrative for inspiration.

As we wanted to primarily focus on the drama genre however add elements of sci-fi to make our film stand out, I looked at other films that combined these two. Similarly to our idea, a lot of these films combine the dystopia/utopian element which is the plot we were following.

1. Never Let Me Go (2010)
- Drama / Sci-fi / Romance
- 12A
- Budget: $15,000,000
- Gross Box Office : £1,473,603 (UK)

	Votes	Average
Males	53718	7.1
Females	36825	7.3
Aged under 18	783	7.6
Males under 18	209	7.5
Females under 18	558	7.7
Aged 18-29	52474	7.3
Males Aged 18-29	26489	7.2
Females Aged 18-29	25475	7.4
Aged 30-44	29385	7.0
Males Aged 30-44	20842	7.0
Females Aged 30-44	8150	7.1
Aged 45+	6583	7.1
Males Aged 45+	4922	7.1
Females Aged 45+	1563	7.3
IMDb staff	11	7.1
Top 1000 voters	470	6.3
US users	13572	7.2
Non-US users	61734	7.1
IMDb users	101767	7.2

The diagram to right is taken from IMDB and shows the user ratings for the film. The film score a weighted mean of 7.2/10 and the data shows that the best response was from females aged under 18.

2. The Host 

- Adventure / Romance / Sci-fi

- 12A

Budget: $40,000,000

Gross: $26,616,999 (USA)

           

	Votes	Average
Males	42043	5.6
Females	29724	6.5
Aged under 18	2139	7.0
Males under 18	511	6.0
Females under 18	1596	7.5
Aged 18-29	37937	6.1
Males Aged 18-29	18800	5.7
Females Aged 18-29	18745	6.6
Aged 30-44	22433	5.5
Males Aged 30-44	16388	5.4
Females Aged 30-44	5722	6.1
Aged 45+	4908	5.7
Males Aged 45+	3795	5.6
Females Aged 45+	1041	6.3
IMDb staff	8	4.6
Top 1000 voters	372	4.8
US users	11563	5.8
Non-US users	38896	5.7
IMDb users	85513	5.9

The IMDB user report for The Host shows that the best response for this film was once again females under 18. The next best response was then from females aged 18-29.

From this we can see that the typical audience for these types of films seem to be females aged under 18. Therefore I was able to gather a better understanding of the target audience for our film; we will be aiming our product at, generally, a young female audience from the ages of 14-20.