P3: CREATE A PRODUCTION PLAN FOR AUDIO-VISUAL CONTENT USING SPECIAL EFFECTS
Brief
I have chosen to create a film sequence as I feel I would be able to easily create a structured storyline where I could incorporate a visual and special effect.
Running Time
I imagine the time of my piece to be 1 to 2 minutes long, as it is only a film sequence.
What I intend to make
My sequence is to be set in a corridor and is inspired by the concepts of nightmares, where anything can happen. Amy, a teenage girl, is living her worst nightmare. She is trapped and lost inside an old building at night. Something unknown is after her and she must find a way out. She runs, but the corridor becomes infinite no matter how fast she runs. Amy looks for ways to escape as the corridor begins to tip and shake. She falls and tumbles around, as the walls become the floor. With time appearing to be running out, she runs towards a door and swings it open. To her surprise, the door opens to a cliff drop where the bottom can't be seen. Each door she opens reveals a different landscape or world, and she must find the most appropriate one to escape into. As it is a short film sequence, the full explanation can not be shown but if in the presentation of a full film, it is about a girl who has had a accident that puts her in a coma and is put into a strange spiral of nightmares that she has to battle through to be able to wake up.
Target Audience
The target audience for my film sequence is for both male and females in the age range of 12 to 20 years olds. I have chosen this age range as the sequence does not follow horror elements that would scare anyone but would not possibly be understandable for people under the age of 12. My focus is working and middle class audiences, who are either in education or have recently been in education because they would be able to relate to the main character by age, job and class. The nationality for my audience could potentially be mixed as there is little dialogue, making my sequence understandable for a wide range of people. However, the character Amy is British so the film sequence would possibly appeal to a British audience greater than any other nationality. My target audience may have interests about concepts of nightmares and the experiences of living in a dream like fantasy. With fast paced and haunting scenes, the sequence will appeal to fans of the genre action and thriller. Nightmares happen to everyone to my sequence could relate to a wide range of people, who may have experienced a similar dream. The sequence would also appeal to audiences interested in mysteries, with the factors of enigma, purposely leaving the audience wondering what will happen to the character.
Imaginary Enitity
Age: 12 - 30 Gender: Female Status: Working Class Job: In education Interests: Fantasy thriller films and cliff hanger, mysteries.
Mood Board
This mood board shows the gender, age and mixed nationality for my target audience, although it is slanted greater towards girls because of the single female lead. As there is no dialogue, the film sequence should be to some extent understandable to people of different languages. I would like to have a erie, blue filter on the film sequence to create a cold sense to relate to the thriller genre and add to the illusion. With these illusions, depending on the quality of my finished product, I feel I could target a niche audience also.
Visual Effects
The visual effect I hope to achieve is the illusion of a infinite corridor as the character is stuck in a nightmare. This will be purely based on the visual effect of chroma key. To achieve this, I will position a green screen across a door in the corridor to be able to edit this to give the look that the corridor is never ending and the walls are tipping. As well as the corridor illusion, I would like to have green screens behind a door so it will look like opening a door to somewhere that isn't realistic but follows the theme of being a dream, as dreams have no restrictions. To do this, I will use a green screen panel and layer over a video on the green screen in the post production of my sequence, to combine with the original frame. This will hopefully produce the visual image of a landscape behind the door.
Special Effects
I would like to use special effect makeup, which consists of black face paint, shadowed powder pallet and fake blood. The black face paint would be used to outline the appearance of black eye on my character, and the powder would be layered over to blend and enhances the bruising. As a nightmare, the character is dreaming she is injured and possibly has a head injury, which would result in seeing things blurry and distorted. I would like to achieve this appearance of having fake blood on the actress' face.
Script
Draft Script
Final Version
The changes I made in the script was a further description of the location the character, so it will help me to achieve the full look of the film sequence when it comes to filming. I also defined the actions of the character, so a greater story is told of her stress and confusion when trapped in a dream.
P4: INCORPORATE VISUAL EFFECTS INTO THE PRODUCTION PLAN
Storyboard
Slideshow of Storyboard To see each shot on the storyboard, click the numbers below.
Conducting Recce
The Netherhall Sixth form media department corridor is the best and most practical location to film my sequence, especially to conduct the illusion of a infinite corridor. This is because the corridor is long, leaving lots of room and opportunities for different shots. The background setting is also quite simple which would make it easier for myself to edit the visual effects in the post production stage. I also like how the lights are in the centre in a line and the direction of the light reflection on the ceiling and on the floor. This I feel will look good when trying to achieve a never ending visual effect. I have chosen to film in this location as my film sequence is set in a dream like atmosphere and as the character is at a age to be in education, it makes sense that her nightmare is set in a school location. To attach the green screen, the doors are suitable to create the visual effect for the sequence.
Budget Considerations
Budget for a short, independent film
Detailed Budget Plan
Actual Budget
As a media student, I am lucky to have most of the resources easily accessible and of no charge. The only resource I need to buy myself is the SFX makeup from Claire's for £3.00, which is feasible. However, I am aware that if I was apart of a independent film, the quality of the visual and special effects would need to be more realistic. This means that a higher budget would be needed to buy professional SFX makeup and hire SFX artists. I would also need to hire a location, as I would not be able to film on a school location for free.
M1: DISCUSS THE ISSUES AND RISKS FOR THE PROPOSED MULTIPLE EFFECTS
Evaluate the Feasibility of the Visual and Special Effects
Risk Assessment
The feasibility of the risks I have listed are relatively low, due to the skills of the production team and the morality while on location filming. For example, the lights that will be used for the green screen will likely not overheat because the crew who will be handling them will specifically be media students who have knowledge and skills to set them up correctly. Also, the film sequence is not largely practical which means the lights will only be needed for a short period. I realise that the feasibility of tripping over the wires could be lower than I have presented in my risk assessment, as from a practical point of view, there will be no wires where the actress will be performing and as in one location, the crew will be mostly stationary through the production and positioned away from any wiring. The evaluation of possible resources I need in my production include chairs, which may be needed to stand on to put up the green screen correctly. Requiring these resources will be easy as there are classrooms in the doors of the corridor that contain plenty of chairs to use, which are stable and are practical to stand on. The risk of the green screen falling over is possible as the green screen will only be taped to the doors and folded. However, it is very unlikely and will not bring anyone any harm. The feasibility of there being a stunt accident is low as the actions I would like my actress to perform are not extreme or difficult and do not require extreme skills. To avoid any accidents, the solution is also feasible as I will make sure the actress practises the move so she feels comfortable performing it and will reduce any injuries. I noticed while on my recce that there are lockers that the actress could hit herself on so I have decided to have the actress avoid those and have a choreographed routine that will not require going near the lockers. I only have four risks that I have labelled on a minimum risk level as I am filming on a school location, which I think is a safe environment and there are no massive dangers.
Permission to Film
I think to gain permission to film in this location will be feasible as I am requesting permission from my teacher, who is the subject leader for Media Studies, and obviously knows me as a student. Whereas, if I was requesting permission to film in a different location to a stranger or a company, the feasibility of this would change, possibly due to legal considerations or budgets, depending on whether I would need to pay to hire the location.
Permission To Use Effects On Location
The feasibility of getting permission to use the visual effect equipment is high, as the green screens I will be using are from the media studio and as a media student, I think I will be granted permission to use these resources as I have been taught how to use them.
Legalisation To Use Effects On Location
As I am nearing the production stage, I have realised there are some legal issues that need to be assessed. I am going to be filming on school property, meaning there will be school staff, teachers and pupils that possibly will be present also. This could bring up privacy issues, following the Human Rights Act 1998, and if I include anyone in my video who I didn't have permission from, this would be invading their privacy and rights to not be involved. To avoid this, I will only film when the corridor is empty and have scheduled to film after school where there will be less people around.
I am also required to look into the legalisation for using effects on location. As part of my film sequence includes special effect makeup, I have made sure the makeup I plan to use is safe and appropriate for the specific actress. This will avoid any risks of rashes and burns as consequences of applying the makeup.
Working Within the Scope of the Risk Assessment and Health and Safety Guidelines
Permission required to film and use effects on location or in studio
From the evidence above, I have been given permission to film in the location of the Media Department corridor. This permission also allows me to perform the special and visual effects for my film sequence on this location, as I stated in my email specifically what I will be filming on location.
The skills the production team would need to gain these permissions
The production team would need skills of setting up equipment correctly and knowledge of complying with health and safety. If the production team did not have this, I believe I would not have gained these permissions as we wouldn't be trusted to film safely. They would also need to be reliable to show up on the filming dates and punctual to arrive on time, or the time slots I have requested to film in will not be used up to its full time.
The process the team have gone through to gain these permissions
My production have seen my storyboard and I have explained the different shots as well as the flow of the film sequence I would like to achieve. This therefore increases the feasibility of the production teams skills and made the permission more possible as I have a media students as my crew.
The financial cost of permission and the time needed to gain permissions
As I was filming on school property as a student, I was not required to pay any amounts to film on location. I am aware that if I did not have the option to film in school or was not a student and in fact was a independent filmmaker, I would most likely have to pay to hire out a studio or part of location. In case I was denied permission to film in the school, I left enough time to search for another location and to await a response. I received a response within less than a day, allowing me to film in the media department corridor and makes the film sequence more feasible, as I can continue on a greater schedule.
The regulations governing control of substances, hazardous substances and health even if not using these
As my film sequence does not include any hazardous substances, these regulations do not apply to me. However, I feel it is important to be aware of them, especially for future projects. For example, if I was to perform special effects that involve explosives (pyrotechnics), I would need to follow the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 as well as the Management of Health at Work Regulations 1999. The requirements of these act would be to conduct a suitable, detailed risk assessment and determine the control measures to avoid the risks. Health and safety legalisation also include considering fire precautions and emergency procedures. The person in charge of the pyrotechnics are responsible for the following in making sure the effect is planned, all materials are fit for purpose and emergency measures.
How the producer intends to work within the scope of the risk assessment and what procedures they will follow to make sure cast and crew are safe.
As producer, I have the responsibility to ensure everyone's safety is the top priority. One of the ways to make this feasible, I have made a risk assessment that highlights the possible dangers and risks with added solutions that will prevent these risks from happening. I intend to be taking the risk assessment with my crew on the filming dates to have as a guide when setting up, so the environment we will be working in is the safest it can be. I have briefly talked with my crew about the possible hazards and how we will avoid them, while explaining step by step of the plan for that day of shooting. On the day of shooting, I intend to have a meeting with all of the cast and crew to follow the health and safety guidelines, that is heavily based on common sense, and outline the risk assessment and schedules in-depth before we begin.
D1: EVALUATE THE VIABILITY OF THE PROPOSED USE OF THE MULTIPLE EFFECTS
Evaluate the Viability of Special and Visual Effects
Part One
These are the time code topics of the video: The viability of your risk assessment - Will everyone be really safe? 00:00:00 to 00:30 Is anyone really in any danger? 00:31:07 to 00:43:12 What did you discover when on the recce? 00:43:09 to 00:01:48
The viability of your solutions to your risk - Are they realistic? 00:01:48 to 00:02:45
The viability of the resources you have - Do you have everything you need to make it? 00:02:45 to 00:03:42
The viability of the costs involved and whether I can afford them - Have you considered the costs properly? 00:03:45 to 00:05:00
The viability of your permission - Have you missed something? 00:05:04 to 00:06:25 Do you have concerns that someone might be annoyed at your presence? 00:06:26 to 00:07:18 Have you done everything you can to make sure you have all the right permissions? 00:07:18 to 00:08:13 Could anyone object after seeing the finished film? 00:08:13 to 00:09:08
The viability of production team and whether they have the skills to carry out the shoot - Have you really assessed everyones skills? 00:09:08 to 00:09:46 Do they all know what they are doing before the shoot starts? 00:09:46 to 00:10:12 Do you have any concerns about anyone? 00:10:12 to 00:10:58 What should you be concerned about cast/ crew wise? 00:10:58 to 00:11:43 Will he performances really work? 00:11:43 to 00:12:23
The viability of whether or not your sequence is feasible to make look realistic - Is it totally believable? 00:12:24 to 00:13:16
Part Two
Have you really thought about how this is going to look? 00:13:16 to 00:13:54 Will it be fit for broadcast? 00:13:54 to 00:15:35
The viability of the aesthetics - Will it look pleasing enough? 00:15:35 to 00:16:53 How do you think it will look to you? 00:16:53 to 00:17:40 Have you really given enough thought to the aesthetics? 00:17:40 to 00:19:11 Will it be good enough quality? 00:19:11 to 00:20:10 Will the sound be ok? 00:20:10 to 00:21:12
The viability of fitness for purpose - Will it meet the requirements of the unit? 00:21:12 to 00:22:13 Will it meet your expectations? 00:22:13 to 00:22:48 Will it meet the brief and be believable to a paying audience and the client? 00:22:48 to 00:24:02
The viability of the footage you intend to collect - Will you have everything you need? 00:24:02 to 24:54 Will it cut together? 00:24:54 to 25:35 Have you really thought about how the end product will look? 00:25:35 to 26:45