Production Shoot: 27/10/12

Saturday 27^th October 

Today, we found a river bed that acted as a nice location for some environment focused shots to get across a post apocalyptic feel, as the sky was very grey and it began to rain. We managed to capture the rain and the mood came across well, but because of the rain we had to shield the camera from it to avoid any damage. We could have waited for the rain to die down or perhaps use an effect in Pinnacle which would have been easier perhaps. We have decided that next time, should it rain, that we will use an umbrella to keep the camera out of the rain; this is simpler and more effective, although sound may be affected by the impact of the rain on the umbrella.

At the river bed I was filmed with Tom mostly as our characters were looking across the water and we also tried to film some dialogue where me and Tom improvised some lines together.

We then continued to the factory where we filmed some good action shots of us running for the action portion of the trailer and some other miscellaneous shots. This went smoothly as we had planned it out before hand and stuck to the shot list, as well as our previous use of this location. We could have possibly filmed more if we wanted to but we felt enough footage had been filmed.

Here I was again being filmed mostly as me and Tom are the main focus of the trailer, we filmed some POV running shots with the steady cam that look very professional and action movie-esque. This meant that today we managed to film a good variety of shots and locations, meaning that it was a successful day overall.

Planning: Institutional Information

A few studios that have done Post-Apocalyptic films

Silver Pictures: an American film production company who produced Book of Eli. All movies after Ricochet have been distributed by Warner Bros and its subsidiary New Line Cinema, which we could use as our distributors due to their links with Silver Pictures.

Their logo is very enigmatic, using a futuristic square shape. The silver logo on a black background helps it to stand out, as well as connoting modernity, which seems to be important to their image as a contemporary film production company – this can be seen more clearly in their logo animation, as CGI is used to create a futuristic, city-like landscape; showing that the studio is looking to the future. Furthermore, the layout of all the individual squares is complex as they are all different. This complexity could show that they are willing to take on huge, big budget productions that are at the cutting edge of technology and cinema i.e. CGI, post production techniques, sound engineering etc.

The animated logo sequence:

2929 Entertainment: has a hand in many different media outlets e.g. film and television production, film distribution, theatrical exhibition, home entertainment, television, and syndication. They produced the Post-Apocalyptic film ‘The Road’.

This logo is more traditional, and doesn’t hint at much, apart from possibly the target symbol which resembles a reticule which subtly hints that they produce action-orientated films. The colours used are also quite varied, with blue, black, orange and white which may connote they have lots of variety in the productions they have worked on. This is true if you look at the many films they have produced from many different genres.

Original Film: produced I Am Legend among many other blockbusters such as xXx, Evan Almighty and Fast 5 which shows they have a very good track record of big films. On their website they state this “Original: A Commercial, Film, TV, Digital and Music Video company housing Cannes Gold Lion winning directors, editors, and motion graphic artists that creates innovative content across all forms of media… and of course, in an original way.”  http://www.originalfilm.com/

The logo is similar to Silver Pictures’ in the colour scheme and tone it has employed, using a black background with a silver, sans-serif font. Although it is more detailed, in that it has used a gradient, metallic colour which makes it look as if light has been shined onto it, and it looks more professional than just a standard grey or silver.

Overall, we think Silver Pictures are the best production company for our film, as they have a good track record and links with Warner Bros. who are one of the big American distributors allowing us to reach a worldwide audience, with the actual film, our trailer and advertisement. Their logo is also quite enigmatic, and futuristic, which fits well with our film as it is Post-Apocalyptic, and set in an ‘alternative future’; which is what Book of Eli is also about.

George Miller

George Miller produced the Mad Max Trilogy of films, which are some of the best renowned and respected films in the Post-Apocalyptic genre. He co-founded Kennedy Miller Mitchell Productions, where he made this trilogy and it became the most successful film production company in Australia. They have produced other big budget films such as Babe and Happy Feet which have both been critically and commercially well received.

 

Hughes Brothers

The Hughes Brothers directed and co- produced the Book of Eli with Silver Pictures, which would make the creative and co-operative process with them much more hassle free, as they have worked together before, and achieved a good result. They have also worked with Warner Bros. before, which would also make distribution to a wide audience a much smoother process.

Planning: Make Up

We will use make-up to really make the war veteran (Max), and the journalist (Tom) look believable to the audience. For Tom we plan to make him look more ‘beat up’ and hence changed by the conditions he has been in, this will connote he has stayed there for a while. For the War veteran on the other hand, he will appear filthy, beaten up and connoting he has been in the blast area for a while.

Pictures of us applying the special effects make up:

Instructions taken from Ehow: Instructions

Fake Wounds

1. Place 1/2 tsp. of petroleum jelly into a 4 oz. mixing bowl, and add red food coloring to it. Mix the petroleum jelly and the food coloring together with a toothpick until mixed.

2. Add 1/2 tsp. of cocoa powder into the jelly mixture. The cocoa powder will darken the mixture to make the wound seem fresh.

3. Tear one square of toilet paper into two to four sections, depending on the size of the wound. Place one piece of toilet paper against the skin, and cover it with the red jelly-cocoa mixture using a Popsicle stick.

4. Slightly pinch the edges and sides of the paper with the thumb and index fingers to mold the wound. Use the toothpick to slightly lift areas in the center.

Fake Bruises

1. Create a bruise that is 2 to 3 inches in diameter by patting one light layer of red eyeshadow onto the skin using a foundation sponge. Make an irregular circular shape on the skin's surface for a realistic look.

2. Cover the red eye shadow with one layer of brown eye shadow. Apply the color evenly over the painted area, while permitting 1/2 inch of the red eye shadow to remain on the outer edges.

3. Add a layer of purple eye shadow in the center of the bruise, 1/2 inch in from the brown eye shadow. Lightly spread out the purple eye shadow to the edges, over the brown, with your fingers.

Fake Cuts

Wet the end of a black eyeliner pencil, and draw a line across the desired area of the skin.

Trace over the black eyeliner line with red lipstick. A true red or brick red will work best. Using the tips of your index fingers, spread the lipstick out from the center to the outer edges.

Blot one light layer of purple eye shadow over the red lipstick with a foundation sponge. This will create an "infected" cut look.

Place fake blood from a costume store down the center of the cut, if a fresh cut look is desired.

Fight scene: fake blood http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Fake-Blood

Planning: Title, Font and Logo Ideas

Title

Possible names for our film so far have been ‘Burning in the Skies’ which resembles the nuclear missiles and explosions tearing through the sky, also signifying the end of time. ‘Burning Jacobs Ladder’ was another name we had as Jacobs ladder was a ladder to heaven which the Patriarch Jacob dreamt about, therefore the burning can symbolise the severed connection from heaven as well as connoting the nuclear explosions once again. ‘Crack the Sky’ was the other possible name we came up with as nuclear war has effects on the atmosphere and the disruption it has had on civilization.

Other names in which we came up with, but aren’t using are ‘Beyond the dying light, fading light, fifteen winters, 23:57, minutes to midnight, the birth and death of a day, shadow of the sun, solitary wasteland and shadow of the day’

We found this font, called 'A Bite', on urbanfonts.com and decided for the following reasons that it would the ideal font choice for our title, Dust, and would furthermore be put into our trailer, website and poster. First of all, the fonts salient features are congruent with, and also reinforces, our post apocalyptic genre; the letters are degraded and are beset with abrasions, smudges ad marks, making it appear as if it has been corroded - as if by radiation etc. We prompted for black lettering to correspond with the dark, mature themes in our production, whilst also rejecting sans serif as we believed it didn't fit the title very well and it didn't link very well to our production - aside from the incorporation of some biblical elements (the bible does generally have gothic typography) but we concluded that the link would be too tenuous for most to pick up. One problem that arose from our chose to use black coloured text was that it was always embedded in a white background when saved as a separate individual file which, when applied to Pinnacle when editing the trailer, abruptly ended the feel of a well polished trailer and effectually ruined the finale with an 'amateur and scruffy' finish. So, to get around this, we had to construct the final shots of the trailer to have a background as close to white as possible so that the title could fade in and immerse with the background.

As for the actual title- 'Dust' - it was a fitting choice since, ultimately, in death everyone and everything becomes dust and reverts back to their/its most microscopic components and obviously in a world following a cataclysm, most is dead. In addition, from the inception of the post apocalyptic genre, we were immediately interested in scriptural quotes as a slogan, given their instrumentally profound, and sometimes ambiguous, effects on people as well as the tendency of more people being attracted to religion when desperate, such as what we can assume would happen in a global catastrophe - it incites hope. This actually ended up how we decided the title as this planted the seed for the discovery of our chosen quote and from there we chose the word dust from it given the aforementioned connotations. Overall, it is an optimal choice for a title given the correspondence with our production whilst also being quite catchy.


At one point we liked the idea of the slogan dissipating in the trailer, leaving just the word dust which would then enlarge, centre and become the title. However, this proved too much for Pinnacle and the idea was lost.

Production Logo

For our production logo, we have had ideas of having the progression of man from apes with it ending in a man with a gas mask on. This would then show how we have evolved from apes towards men but, the gas mask would suggest that we have progressed into war or inhospitable conditions due to the connotations linking towards gas mask  Therefore this links well with the genre of our film with it being a post-apocalyptic. If we used this logo idea, a possible title of our film could be ‘Revolution’, but with the ‘R’ added as if it was added or graffiti’d on.

Another idea for a production logo is that it shows a man removing his face with something else inside of it. This is quite surreal and disturbing as the face is merely acting as mask for something controlling it deeper inside. Not only does it evoke a neurotic and dark nature but it is also open to multiple interpretations that can all essentially correspond with the film genre we are making; the dark nature of it would link well with our film trailer, but would also be able to link to other films easily due to it having no distinctive links with other genres. If this logo idea is used, we could use the title ’big empty’, ‘host’, or ‘writer’s bloc productions’ etc. as they can all relate to the logo in some way. The ‘writers bloc’ also plays on ironic humour slightly as it suggests the production group are lacking imaginative and fresh ideas, yet they have mustered up an entire feature with an accompanying trailer.



The finished logo

After a number of circulated ideas, drafts and disagreement, as a group we finally opted for this design and name pictured above. After seeing a similar design in impertinent booklet on APD of a person removing there face as though it was on a hinge to reveal an empty blackness inside, we were inspired to make something similar. It had quite an effect on me so by replicating it, to some degree, we would have a quite profoundly surreal, dark and yet obscure enough to derive equivocal meaning for the consumer; that can all essentially correspond with the film genre we are making; the dark nature of it would link well with our film trailer.

Not only does the picture of person removing their own façade to reveal an empty black void not only evoke a neurotic and dark ambience, but it also raises questions about the voids purpose - what is it? why is it there? One interpretation is that it is a dark volition, it is the malice of man hidden away by our facial features. This would definitely correspond with our film genre as it is that dark will of mankind that causes the apocalypse in the first place! However, that doesn't go to say it can't link with other genres as interpretations of it can fit many others, even, hypothetically, ones without dark or mature themes as long as the logo is augmented to reflect the genre such as other production logos do i.e. such as the Warner Bros. animation in The Matrix Trilogy appearing as code in the movie or Dreamworks animation for the Shrek series.
 
We chose the name 'Writer's Bloc' for our production mostly due to its play on the words and it being more phonetically pleasing and understandable than one word names; some ideas were also rejected because they are already used. For example, we had the idea of The Big Empty, inspired by a fictional landmark in Fallout but unfortunately discovered that there was already a production named The Big Empty thus, to reduce confusion or copyright claims (in a hypothetical real world context where we are a real company), we looked for alternatives. In the end, Writer's Bloc was the optimal choice. We are technically a coalition of persons with a common purpose, 'a bloc', and assuredly we do a lot of writing in order to produce the film so the name makes sense. 'Writers bloc’ also plays on ironic humour and play-on-words as, due to similarities with the term writers block, it suggests our production group are lacking fresh, innovative and imaginative and ideas, yet we would have mustered up an entire feature with an accompanying trailer; this furthermore makes the name more memorable as it has a unique and peculiar quality to it that most production companies lack. And finally, the title corresponds with the design as the person is devoid of anything in his head, where a person suffering from writer's block will be devoid, or struggle at least, with ideas - so it is basically an artistic representation of Writer's Block as well.  

Fonts 
http://www.urbanfonts.com/fonts/Futurex_Apocalypse.htm

Planning: Requests For Usage of Copyright Material

Here, we have requested use of a copyrighted nuclear warning script produced by the BBC and read by the actor Harry Shearer. 

Template of letter we have sent to several artists requesting the use of their work in our trailer:

Dear Richard Morris,

My name is Tom Mallinson and I am currently studying A level Media, amongst other subjects, at Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School Sixth Form in Rossendale, Lancashire. At present, my group and I have been tasked with creating a trailer that we soon decided should be a post-apocalyptic thriller. During the storyboarding process we all agreed that the use of the song ‘’whatever song’’ by ‘’whoever’’ would be the optimum accompaniment to the trailer as it will create the ideal melancholic ambience we are seeking/ as it will embody the grit and action that we plan to implement in a fast paced action montage subsequently followed by a crescendo. This will also exhibit the degree of planning we have put into this coursework and prove we aren’t just throwing in just any song into the mix. This is where we need you. The mark scheme highlights that no copyrighted music is allowed in the production, other than music that has been permitted by the publishers and has been shown to do so. So ultimately, in accordance with the mark scheme rules, this email is just myself, and my group, formally enquiring over permission to use the aforementioned song in ‘’whatever section of the trailer’’ in our A2 level coursework trailer. Of course, we will mention the songs contribution to our final piece with full regards to copyright owners and publishers. In the event that your company does not govern the rights of usage for this said song then any help in navigating us in the right direction would be highly appreciated.

Thank you for your time to read this e-mail.

Yours faithfully,

Tom Mallinson.

Here, as you can see, we have edited the email appropriately to the band explaining why we like their sound, and how it fits in with our trailer:

Date: Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 3:06 PM

Subject:

To: info@ifthesetreescouldtalk.com

Dear If These Trees Could Talk (Booking/Management),

I am Kieran Brooks and I am currently studying A level Media, amongst other subjects, at Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School Sixth Form in Rossendale, Lancashire. At present, my group and I have been tasked with creating a trailer that we soon decided should be a post-apocalyptic thriller. During the storyboarding process we all agreed that the use of the song "Malabar Front" would be the optimum accompaniment to the trailer as it will create the ideal melancholic ambience we are seeking at the beginning of the song whilst also embodying the grit and action, that we plan to implement into quickly paced montages in the trailer, with the songs stirring guitar and drum pieces. This will also exhibit the degree of planning we have put into this coursework and prove we aren’t just throwing in just any song into the mix. This is where we need you.

The mark scheme highlights that no copyrighted music is allowed in the production, other than music that has been permitted by the publishers and has been shown to do so. So ultimately, in accordance with the mark scheme rules, this email is just myself, and my group, formally enquiring over permission to use the aforementioned song during the middle and end sequence in our A2 level coursework trailer. Of course, we will mention the songs contribution to our final piece with full regards to copyright owners and publishers. In the event that your company does not govern the rights of usage for this said song then any help in navigating us in the right direction would be highly appreciated.

Thank you for your time to read this e-mail.

Yours faithfully,
Kieran Brooks, Tom Mallinson and Max Lake

This is the response they gave us, saying they are happy for us to use their song.

As you can see from the above, we appropriately credited and informed them of the completion of our trailer. Therefore sticking to our end of the deal.

We also contacted the publisher rights for The Ink Spots classic ''I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire'', EMI Publishing. After a conversation with the Andre Carroll, the music licensing assistant of the company, we were informed that a fee of £200 would be attached if we exhibited our work on any public area, such as Vimeo. This of course didn't meet our needs as we have to publish our work onto Vimeo upon completion so regrettably we had to abandon the idea to use mellow 40's blues to both accentuate the melancholy of events in the film whilst also contrasting from the action.