Second draft of Ancillary Text #2- DPS

I have started to establish a house style of the same font 'Franklin Gothic Demi' as well as the red, blue and black colour scheme.

First draft of ancillary text #2- Film review DPS

This is the first draft of my film review DPS which has my main photo and page numbers on.

Third draft of ancillary text poster

I have now added a rough image of my second character, Harry

Second draft of ancillary poster text

This is my second draft of my ancillary text poster for my short film. I have added the cast and crew list to the bottom, release date, institution logos as well as a tagline to my poster in line with the conventions that I researched. I have used the same logo that appears in my short film, this shows continutity of house style between my two texts.

Next, I need to add two pictures of my other cast members and then my poster is finished.

Filming Diary

My brief appearance in the short film

Whilst Harry Campbell played the role of Harry, I stepped in after there was a slight problem with footage- I wanted to film an eyeline match of placing the knife down but this was tricky to do if I was filming.

To get around the issue, I had to wear the costume to shoot an extremely brief scene placing the knife down on the birdtable. Whilst this is a very small and brief element of my film, it shows how very carefully each shot must be directed to create as much verisimilitude as possible throughout my media text.

Title of short film

I had several ideas for the title of my short film.

The working title was 'Under Pressure' as this related to the character Carl pressuring Harry to sell drugs to his film but I felt it was to vague and generic and didn't fit that well with the style of film I wanted to create. In addition, a film with this title starring Charlie Sheen already existed and I didn't want to confuse the viewers of the film. 

My final two ideas for the title were 'This Time Around' and 'End of The Line'. 

This Time Around was chosen as it was the title of the song that I used over the credits and I felt this was a subtle link, much like the links with the other lyrics I am using in my film such as 'bloodstains' and 'she was struck down'. It could also relate to how 'this time around' Harry finally gets his revenge on Carl.

Despite the convincing argument to choose TTA, I chose 'End of the Line' as the title of my short film for several reasons. Firstly, metaphorically it relates to the presence of drugs in the film with the reference to 'the line'. This was subtle and I felt it worked well, especially when considered together with the fact 2 characters reach the literal 'end of the line' in death- Carl and Lauren. This was clever use of foreshadowing, a feature that is prevalent in my short film.

Short film magazine review conventions

Film review conventions- Jack Campbell A2 Media from s0016845

Drawn drafts of my ancillary texts- Poster and DPS

Props used on filming day 3

Filming Day 3 required several props to pull off correctly and make convincing and dramatic use of mise-en-scene.

A full list follows:

Chair and 'rope'- to tie Harry up with in the garage
Punching bag- punched for dramatic effect by Carl- already in the garage
Screwdriver, rod and bits of wood- Add to the mise-en-scene of the garage. The 'bit of wood' is also crucial to the plot: it is used to smash the light and plunge the room into darkness and this is when Carl is stabbed
Bloodied knife- The knife (bloodied with tomato ketchup) is a convention of crime/horror/thriller short films and this is a vital prop as it is the murder weapon

Make up- Make up was used to create bruising and bleeding to the face of the character Harry after his altercation with Carl.

Rag to clean prints off the knife: Harry uses a rag he finds in the garden of Carl's house to clean his fingerprints off the knife

Mobile phone: To call his sister who unbeknownst to him is dead.

Weather forecast: Updated for filming days 2 and 3

Text message screenshots

I used text messaging and Facebook messaging to organise my actors for the filming that I undertook on certain days.

I used Facebook messenger to ask Lauren to be in my short film and describe some of the things she would have to do for the film.

I needed to shoot pictures for my Ancillary texts with Lauren in so I messaged her the night before asking if she was free the following day. As you can see, we organised to take the pictures at college during that day as it was easier than doing it after college.

On the first day of filming, which was after college from 4.30pm to around 6.30ish we organised Lauren getting picked up from my house by her dad as well as the transport of getting to my house after college. 

Here we were discussing the costume that Lauren needed to wear to college for the Ancillary texts photoshoot. I said that Lauren needed to wear similar clothes to the film shoot we did a few days previously.

This was organising the last day of shooting, which featured my Dad as the character Carl. He arrived at around half two, we then set up the scene and then proceeded to film the required footage for around 90 mins.

Cast photos and details

My short film has 3 main characters in it:

Lauren- 'The sister'

Harry- 'The brother' or 'the boy'

Carl- 'The man'

Lauren- played by Lauren Schofield

The character Lauren is the sister of Harry and discovers the drugs in the kitchen of the house. She confronts her brother, however she ends up dead after Carl presumably sends someone to shut her up so she doesn't report his illegal operation. The actor Lauren is my friend from college.

Harry- Played by Harry Campbell

The character Harry is the brother of Lauren and has been roped into selling drugs to his friends by the evil drug baron Carl. His best friend died due to the drugs he was forced to sell. When Lauren destroys the drugs he was going to sell, Harry has to meet Carl with no money but Carl takes him hostage after falsely telling him he was free to leave with some money to leave him alone after he briefly stunned him with a hammer. He awakes in a garage however after a scuffle stabs Carl and escapes, only to ring his sister who won't answer as she is dead. Harry is played by Harry Campbell, my younger brother. This is especially convenient as I can re-film scenes whenever I need to as I live with him. 

Carl- Played by Damian Campbell

Carl is a drug baron who has wormed his way into Harry's life making him sell drugs to his friends for profit. Carl reacts violently by taking Harry hostage, but ends up being stabbed in the dark in the penultimate, fatal garage scene. Carl is played by Damian Campbell, my father. Much like Harry, this is especially convenient as I can arrange to film scenes whenever I need to at short notice

Updated music choices for my short film

To add to the dramatic effect that I want more short film to have, I have chosen a soundtrack that will compliment the finished product. This is a work in progress and I may decide to change or remove songs from this list, however I think these song choices are adequate and go well with the short film.

Michael Jackson- Smooth Criminal

I chose this song to be playing on the car radio of Carl's car as well as when he drives out on specific lyrics in the song.

'bloodstains' and 'she was struck down' are the two lyrics that play in the fast paced edited sequence when he is driving the car towards the industrial estate, These lyrics subtly foreshadow the two major events in the short film- Carl's death by stabbing from Harry, which creates 'bloodstains' on the knife and 'she was struck down' foreshadows Lauren's mysterious death where she is revealed to have been struck down, perhaps by a 'Smooth Criminal'- the lyric that plays as Carl is driving away from the area. I felt this was subtle and added to the dramatic effect I wanted to create.

Michael Jackson- This Time Around

I chose this song to play as the credits scroll down as it has themes of revenge and standing up to people who try to bully you.

This is reflected in the lyrics 

'This time around I'll never get bit

Though you really wanna fix me

This time around you're making me sick

Though you really wanna get me

Somebody's out

Somebody's out to get me

They really wanna fix me, hit me

But this time around I'm taking no s...

Though you really wanna get me

You really wanna get me

He really thought he really had

Had a hold on me

He really thought he really had

They thought they really had control of me

He really thought he really had

Control of me

He really thought he really had

They thought they really could control me'

These lyrics reminded me of the situation between Carl and Harry- Carl 'really thought he really had a hold on me (Harry)' however he didn't as Harry killed him in the end. The track is harsh sounding and I feel that it brings closure to the short film, especially after the mysterious ending of Lauren dying.

Hunger of the Pine- Alt-J

I chose this song as it has a really melancholic and reflective sound and I thought it would emphasise the mysterious ending that contains two deaths. In this case, the lyrics aren't that significant, more the sound of the song.

Soundtrack:

I chose these three soundtrack songs from 'Fesliyanstudios' YouTube channel as they sounded really good and built suspense, emphasised drama and create a panicked, frenzied tone. They are to be used in several scenes, such as the discovery of the drugs, the confrontation at the estate and the murder of both Carl and Lauren. 

Location #1 and pictures

The first and last location that will feature in my short film is the kitchen of the sister and brother. I chose this location as it was both a good meeting point for my characters and it was accessible as I could film there any time I needed too as the kitchen was the kitchen in my house. This also shows how the characters featured in my short film are just normal, everyday people as this is a domestic setting that all the audience will associate with and this will make them empathise with the characters more.

When I was filming in the kitchen, there was a lighting issue as the natural light had subsided so I had to use the lights in the kitchen to illuminate the scene. The finished shots came out slightly darker than the rest, however they were still clear and actually fitted in with the tense atmosphere of the scene.

Pictures of Location #2- The Industrial Estate

These are 3 images taken directly from my short film which show one of my locations in action. The mise-en-scene at this location was particularly clever as it gave off an atmosphere of eeriness and fitted in with the crime genre as abandoned areas are often used throughout media for 'dodgy' events, for example the TV show Hollyoaks uses an abandoned petrol station for events like those in my short film. This is showing that I followed media conventions when devising the locations for my product.

The 'Petrol Station' in Hollyoaks

First draft of poster

Background for ancillary text

 

This is the background I created for my poster ancillary text.

 

I did this by adding the maximum ammount of noise on the Filters menu onto to a plain grey background to create a speckled 'TV static' effect as it is similar to the titles used in my short film and a TV effect I have used in it too

 

Updated list of props

My short film required a selection of props to compliment the story that was being told. I have updated the list of props that I used as I changed a scene in my short film which means that I didn't end up using some props and used some new ones that I didn't originally plan to use. 

Drugs:

To create the allusion of drugs that I needed for my short film I used self raising flour and tied it up in a small plastic bag to make it look like the drugs my character Lauren finds in the film.



Car:

I needed to use a car in my film, so I made use of one of my actors car. This was very convenient and meant that I didn't have to hire a car which would have cost money and would have run the risk of being damaged. 



Hammer, rod and knife:

These 3 replaced the Gun as my weapon in the film as I felt that purchasing a gun was a unnecessary measure when other household props would perhaps be more realistic and convenient for me when producing the film. 




Tomato ketchup:

I decided to use tomato ketchup to bloody the knife for when it falls to the ground. This was cheaper, easier and tastier than using fake blood as it is a ready accessible household item. 

Make up:

Make up was used to create bruising to the face of one of the actors for the dramatic purposes of the short film.

Updated script featuring new end scene

Due to health and safety concerns, practical issues as well as making sure the short film had continuity the last scene that involved a 'running  over' stunt was scrapped and rewritten to be safer to film as there was less risk of accidental harm to the actors and it would be more practical to film as the location of the garage is readily available compared to an industrial estate which is normally busy with workers.

Demographics

This is the social demographic table that analyses the social status of the audience with regard to what they do as an oppucation and income. I have decided to target my product at students as it is a melodramatic crime-thriller short film which will be available on Web 2.0 like YouTube and Social Media such as FaceBook and Twitter. Students fall into the category of E as they often rely on their parents or carers to provide for them and only ever have casual or part time jobs to fit in with their studies.

This table has told me that I should make sure the price of my short film is affordable, which it will be as I will upload it for free on YouTube sponsored by advertising as well as affordable merchandise like Cups, T shirts and DVD's ect. This is vital to make sure that the product makes enough money as if any related merchandise is too expensive, it will not be able to reach my target demographic as they would have been 'priced out' by the cost of the merchandise. In the day and age we are currently in it is much more cost effective and efficient to be able to target one's message to the people with the greatest propensity to make a purchase, rather than just attempting to advertise to the entire world.

Locations used #2

The second location that I used was an industrial estate for the scenes involving the characters Carl and Harry, where they fight and Carl bundles Harry into his car.

The original loaction I was planning to use was a disused quarry much like the picture below.



I was forced to change the location for several reasons. Firstly, finding a quarry like the one above and getting permission to use the area would be difficult, lengthy and would halt production. Secondly, there would be an increased risk to health and safety of the actors involved due to the rocky surroundings. Thirdly, a scene invloving the car may have damaged the car due to the rocky terrain. In addition, positioning the tripod would have been difficult and would have impaired the quality of the footage.

To avoid this, I decided to film at an public industrial estate, so I wouldn't need to get permission. I filmed on a Sunday, as to avoid any workmen, vehicles and noise that would come from the area.

I found a industrial area nearby on Google Maps that was useable for the shooting of my short film.

Down the road, to the right, there was a free area that fitted the mise-en-scene of my shot as it appeared disused and had some outstanding ready-made props such as dumpsters, strewn rubbish and had an overall metallic, industrial feel.

I will upload shots of the location in action once the editing of my short film is completed.

Shooting plans for my three film days

 

 

 

Representation of youth and moral panic

Photos of my female cast member being used for my ancillary texts

 

This shot is blurry and poorly framed as it was the first shot I took.

 

Similarly, this shot seems blurry and poorly framed.

 

This shot is not blurry however it is still usable despite the poor framing. Within the space avaliable,

it was hard to frame the shots accurately. I sometimes knelt down or sat on a chair to get a better angle.

 

This photo is quite blurry.

This photo is quite blurry and too dark because we turned the lighting down as the other shots were sometimes too bright.

 

This shot is better than some of the other ones due to the framing.

 

This shot is slightly blurry and framed poorly.

 

This shot is good despite the slight bit of green at the top, it is framed and lit better than some of the

other pictures I took.

This shot is slightly blurry and framed poorly

 

This shot is also slightly blurry and framed poorly

 

This shot is too dark but we created the idea of biting the nails to show the tension that takes place

during the short film.

 

This shot is better but still sligtly off centre

 

This shot is framed much better than the previous shot I took.

 

The framing is good, but the camera shook and made the image come out blurry.

 

This shot is the best of the 'biting nails' collection. It is lit and framed well and will probably

be used in my film magazine review ancillary text.

This is the first shot with the suitcase prop, the framing of the shot could be improved upon.

This shot is framed better but the pose and reflection on the glasses means the photo is not one I

am consideting for use.

 

This one is sligthly off centre, but definately salvagable with the right editing. If I could take the

images, I may take some without glasses as they can reflect light back. This may cause continuity issues however as she wears glasses in the short film.

 

 

This shot is good but it could be framed in a better way.

 

This shot shows the expression I wanted Lauren to portray well, but the framing could be improved

upon.

 

This shot is good and I like the pose as it conveys the emotion I wanted to replicate in my ancillary.

 

This shot is also slightly blurry and framed poorly

 

This shot is also slightly blurry and the framing could be improved.

 

Despite the reflection from the glasses, this is a competent shot and one that I may use in my work.

These are the the original photos I took of my female cast member, Lauren, for my ancillary texts. Some of these shots are framed badly, are blurry or too dark and light so this means I have to discard these and not use them in my texts. I asked Lauren to portray a scared, concerned character in relation to the theme of my short film. The idea of the suitcase prop was related to the character 'running away' from her troubles, and these photos may be used in my magazine ancillary text.