Research and Planning: Script

We decided to keep our script short due to the fact that in our test shoot we had a large amount of dialogue and it didn't sound natural. Therefore we only had 4 lines of dialogue:

Lara: I think we should break up

Michael: What?

Lara: We can still be friends though, right?

Michael: Umm, yeah yeah okay then...

We thought it would be much easier to convey the awkwardness of the situation with a long silence than to have conversation that sounded forced and unnatural. Out old script from the test shoot had about 30 lines of dialogue. We feel that our new sequence is a lot better and one of the reasons for this is the reduced amount of dialogue.

Research and Planning: Font Styles

These are some film references, of which fonts we took influence from:

Submarine (2010)

Scott Pilgrim VS The World (2010)

We chose these films because they take a simple Sans Serif font. However, these titles have coloured backgrounds, rather than integrated titles which we will be using.

We want our titles to be overlayed on and, in some cases, integrated within the shots. We will also be using a simple Sans Serif font like the above sequences. Overall, we want the style of our titles to be quite simplistic so that they don't draw attention away from what is happening within the shots. The titles will all be black and white and they will mostly be stationary. We will place them somewhere in the frame that does not get in the way of what's happening in the shot.

Research and Planning: Grading

Following the main shoot we now have to grade our sequence. We want grading similar to our film references.

Submarine uses increased contrast with shots graded to a certain colour.

About Time has realistic grading that serves to improve and bring up the shots

Overall, we want our film to have a warm feel so we will subtly bring out the reds a bit. We will also increase the contrast to make the shots look nicer and more vibrant. This is how films of our genre are typically graded. We don't want the grading to be very noticeable but hopefully it will improve how all the shots look.

Construction: Storyboard And Shootboard For Main Shoot

This is our storyboard for our main shoot.

We included how many shots there were, actors, setting, props and shot type.

The shot type was indicated by the colours of the shot where we used a key:

The shootboard was useful for us, as it allowed us to plan ahead and work out any errors in our narrative, prior to shooting.

While storyboarding, each shot type had its own colour post-it note so we were able to identify where we had too many of one shot type or if there weren't enough shots of a certain type. Using post-it notes was also useful because it was very easy to rearrange shots if we felt that some shots didn't belong where we had put them and we could easily add or remove them as needed. Because we were using post-it notes, not a lot of detail was needed when drawing the shots. We were able to draw each shot very basically and we could then see each one at a glance and easily know which shot was being represented.

Representation: Costumes

There are only two characters in our opening and the setting is very normal so our costumes are not complicated. Michael will be wearing a white polo shirt with a stripy jumper. He will also be wearing jeans with a black belt and brown shoes. Finally, he will have a schoolbag slung over one shoulder as the he is walking back from college.

Lara is wearing black jeans, white converse, a plain t-shirt and a parka. She will also have a bag on her back. She will be wearing earrings and will have makeup on and have her nails painted.
Both of these costumes are fairly typical of teenagers. They are also not particularly attention-grabbing or interesting as they are not the focus of the scene.

 

Fairly simple outfits with schoolbags - 21 Jump Street

Representation: Setting

To dress the setting according to representation of the genre and mood of the scene we must take props and lighting into account.

Firstly, we wanted to dress the room to show that it belongs to a teenage boy. This was made quite easy for us because the room we are filming in is already a teenage boy's room.

Conventions of the teenage boy's room which were already fulfilled:

• Band posters
• Instruments: Electric guitar, drum kit, amps
• Boy's clothes thrown around the room
• Unmade bed
• Laptop
• Desk with school books and stationary for work

Therefore, we did not have much dressing of the set to do inside, apart from moving iconic props, like band posters, into shot when they are not. We got inspiration from Kick-
Ass for this aspect of our representation.

Opening of Shaun of the Dead

Secondly, we tried to fulfil regional identity by showing that it is set in Britain. In our first set of inside the bedroom, we showed the nationality through English band posters and through the British accents of the actors. In our second location, we film in the street outside the house, showcasing the traditionally British terraced and semi-detached housing which is typical of London houses. Our film reference for this representation of setting is Shaun of the Dead.