Production - 1st Day of Shooting

We shot scene 2 of Murder Case. Went much better than expected, we put in some new shots and actors did very well. Some shots were a bit blurry, so we redid them.

Pre Production - Production Schedule

Murder Case- Production Schedule

Pre Production - The Shoot

I am hoping the shoot goes well and we have planned everything efficiently. We begin filming tonight and I think it should all go smoothly. Me and Tom have talked to the actors about them bringing some clothes, but we will be providing the bulk of the costumes and also the props. We have got a few friends helping out as extras and one as a cameraman.

Our main actor is Ryan Smith, a good friend of me and Tom's. He has acted in small performances before and he is a confident actor.

The other two actors are Danny Duckworth, a good friend of me and Tom's, and Danny's dad, Vaughn. They are both eager to give it their best so all should go smoothly.

My only worry is how the lighting will come out in the first outside street location.

Pre Production Costumes and Props

Costumes

Me and Tom both looked at what costumes Film Noir character's similar to our character's typically wear.

We took inspiration from a variety of character's and looked at how certain colours/types of clothing symbolise character's personas. Also we had constraints on the costumes, as we could only use what was available to us.

Together me and tom aqquired trilby hats, and are using blazers, shirts, ties in the shoot.

Me and Tom both have a variety of outfits we can have our characters wear

This is a very dark, predominant pin striped suit which our villain could wear.

Along with a black, white collared shirt with white tie.

The combo of mainly black and white suggests a very dark, evil character but with maybe not wholly evil motives.

Here we have a grey blazer, quite casual

Along with a white shirt and black tie

And a nice grey Trilby hat, very conventional.

Our detective may wear this outfit in one of the scenes.

Props

Tom has a small replica gun our villain will be using, very conventional.

Lighting

Part of the lighting workshop was Mr. Shepard showing us how to use key lights, back lights and fill lights to light up the shot perfectly.

Key Light

 Fill light

Using a gel to change the colour of the back light, leaving a nice pink light on the side of his face. Used to set the mood, in this case, romance

Back light

Lighting different characters, shot here is the 'baddie'

And the 'goodie'

Lighting the femme fatale (using a soft light)

Adjusting the barn doors to show a small ray of light across her face, to signify she has a secret

Lighting the henchmen, low lights and big, strong shadows

Pre Production - Certificate, Shot List, Storyboard

My Lighting Certificate - I will be lighting our film

 Shot List

Storyboard

Pre Production - Screenplay

80234427 Behind the DoorThe original script. This was too mainly reliant on the voice over so we basically completely scrapped this plot line on the next script, keeping only the elements we really liked and other people really liked.




80234706-Murder-CaseThis is the revised script, Murder Case. It is a much more dramatic plot and will surely grab people's attention. We are working throughout making small changes, making the speech more in the 40's style etc.





The Murder Case screenplay involves many conventions of Film Noir. It has a very moody, dark theme throughout with a shocking murder, shrouded in mystery. One of our characters is smoking, and all the characters will be dressed appropriately to the setting and time period. It has a much more dark, mysterious theme throughout the film than usual film noirs. In this script, there is no femme fatale involved whatsoever, however one is mentioned by Frank. This will challenge the genre as this film is much more of a mystery thriller than a romantic film noir.

Location

Tom has secured a pub in Alconbury with a nice old look to it, just what we need. He has organised a time slot for us to shoot there. Also another location we are using to shoot is a street in Great Stukley which also looks quite old and also has one of the cast's houses nearby.

Main Task - Production

Kit booked out

Actors Confirmed

All costumes organised, except maybe one hat

Props organised

Location organised

Tom went to a Bar in Alconbury and we have permission to film there Saturday Morning

Bring on production!

Main Task - Production

Script - Done (2 Drafts)
Shot List - Done
Storyboard - Done
Production Schedule - In progress
Risk Assessment - In progress

Target Audience Research

Film Noir Questionnaire

I predicted the majority of people would not be avid fans of film noir, so I worked my questionaire around that, and made it more broader so I could obtain more solid data. The majority of film noir fans were male, above 25.