CCTV Sample

I had said in my planning stages that I would maybe want to have at a certain point in the film so kind of CCTV footage and this is a very very rough shot of the kind of footage that will be used to show the CCTV angle so yeah it's not much but it's an idea....

I wouldn't watch this film with the sound on it is better without...

Where I am at Now

So filming has begun and while the progress seems to be slow good things take time. What I am planning on doing next is to have the rest of what I need for my rough edit shot this weekend and it should hopefully all be ready to begin editing on Monday. It has been difficult doing the filming because of the weather conditions which have not been great with all the snow it was difficult to know what to do filming wise but luckily there has been some rain and that has gotten ride of a lot of the ice and snow which means that I can resume filming outside and not have to worry to much about the continutiy. There is also just a few problems with my main actor who is working and so sometimes there are schedualing problems but these will all be sorted and the footage should be expected on Monday so that editing can begin. What is shot so far will probably used as a montage and just different transition pieces that will really make the film look documented... So more to follow soon....

An Observation

An Observation

In the recent production of the film version of Les Miserables there are a lot of times when the camera movement seemed to come incredibly close to breaking the 180 degree rule but it did create an interesting affect. Also there was a lot of use of depth of field and how the camera would zoom in on one character and then the background would fade and you wouldn’t be able to see clearly what was going on in the background.

I am also thinking about the shooting in the snow which means that in March when there is a reshoot there might not be any snow so what to do??? So I guess what will have to be done is to shoot the scene as planned and then just try and not get too much snow in the frame.

Note to Self...

Note to Self:

Could have for the security style footage Conrad on the train station platform and have the camera on the opposite platform and then have different close ups and zooms. Could also have a shot from above on the bridge of Conrad and it is looking down on him.

Letter Head and Press Pass

Here Finally is the Press Pass and Letter Head that I made for the company which Conrad works for. They will need editing as in the letter head has to have an actual letter on it and the press pass is missing a photo but I will finish these later on.

Filming Has Begun

This is a blog post in which I am pleased to announce that filming has begun. I have mainly focused so far on a way of showing the passage of time which will give the film more interesting transitions. I am hopefully going to add some of the footage onto my blog tonight.

Revised Script

New Script Outline

Scene 1: Conrad: Help… Who’s there??.... What do you want from me??... I don’t know what you want??? (This part will be filmed in the Web Cam style so there isn't someone helping Conrad the camera is set up and he is talking into it.)

Then a transition occurs so Conrad is seen in the scene where he is still getting ready to go.

Scene 2: Robert Conrad here (the date) Looking forward to going off to a warm place and getting away from the cold winter months not sure what I am going to find feel a little nervous but I got to get out there and just see how it goes. (Agian shot web cam)

Scene 3: Conrad: Well it’s now (the date) and I have just seen the news obviously it’s terrible what’s happening out there and it has just made me really want to go and see how the people are surviving and whether there is any hope for the future. ( over the shoulder turns to talk to the person behind the camera)

Scene 4: Conrad: Hello there again it’s Robert still here I am just packing up my stuff leaving tomorrow very excited not to just get there and do my job what I have been trained to do. So yeah just going over things again make sure I haven’t forgotten anything not entirely sure what I’ll need either cause no one really knows what it’s like out there do they ?? (security footage style)

Scene 5: Conrad: Just looking over some files to see what I am going to be looking in to and what I need to take with me and just getting ready. (talking into camera helped by someone else)

Scene 6: Conrad: I am just having this final goodbye for now the next time I see you I’ll hopefully be in Syria…. Over and Out…. (web cam footage and tracking shot)

How to open the film

How to open the film?

I have recently been talking over the opening of my film and how to maintain this sense of realism that there needs to be to make the film more effective. My teacher then suggested that I should open the film by using a hostage video. As if in the film Robert Conrad would be kidnapped and then his captures would be taunting Conrad by making him film himself and give this report. This links to my research because in many crime films there has to be this connection built between the protagonist and the audience when the audience see the protagonist in a difficult situation and they then feel that they want the protagonist to succeed. It also helps show links with research because it is a time when there is obviously a crime committed against Conrad. Once the audience has seen that Conrad is in a difficult position there would be a scene transition to show where Conrad was before. It is kind of in the style of Rendition when the film opens with the end first and the rest of the film is set in trying to explore how the story ended that way. And there is this question of time and how it passes and what happened because in the film Rendition there are multiple story lines that are occurring so it is important to have some kind of time recognition. In the film Rendition the way that they show how the stories combine is that they repeat the scene and then the two scenes happen at the same time but I will probably not be able to do that but it is something worth thinking about.

How to make the film:

Start with the webcam and Conrad talking into as if he is terrified and then pause or cut the scene to the titles a caption which says Road to Damascus and then go straight into the footage of Conrad preparing himself for the task ahead.

Could use the Blair Witch Project style of filming have a kind of found footage section and add a voice over onto the footage.

But could still have a time lapse that would show Conrad going to bed and then see the sun rising on the next day the day that he is going to go away on.  http://www.ehow.com/how_2317274_make-timelapse-video-digital-video.html

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/how-to-make-time-lapse-video-ultimate-guide/

Note to Self:

Person of interest American TV show which shows surveillance footage and interesting idea potentially for my film. Could also have the man walking away into the “sunset” with the dog.

A little more Information

Where I am at now:

I have recently added onto my blog a little preview of what the film is going to be about. What I added was shot on a web cam to show that there will be this way that Robert Conrad will be documenting himself and that what the audience sees is very personal and it is all about how he is feeling the emotional preparation for what he is about to do. This is different to my research because in the films that I watched there is usually the idea that the audience has a hard time relating to the character because they can never really get inside the characters head. It could be considered that what the audiences sees is the equivalent to Michael Corleone’s conversations with Kay where that is the only real time when the audience can have a better understanding of who Michael is.  

What I am going to do next is this weekend I am going to hopefully work on my filming and different experiments from shooting the footage from different angles and just getting lots of shots of Robert and his monologue style of conversation.

Easy A Shots

These are a few shots of the film Easy A where the main character is documenting herself on a webcam. I have added these to kind of show the kind of different angles that I am going to use when showing Robert Conrad who at times is documenting himself. This idea of also holding up signs to show what the character are talking about might also be used in my film by the reporter holding up different news reports that I am going to potentially print out and use to show that this is the scenario that Conrad is reporting on but also to show maybe the people who Conrad is trying to report on....

Basic Footage

I have just added a little snip bit from my film in which Robert Conrad has introduced himself and told the audience how he is feeling. This is just very rough basic shot and it was just so that people could see a kind of style that the film is going in.

Basic Footage

News Link

http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/01/14/syria-army-using-new-type-cluster-munition

This is a link to a news article that kind of inspired me because it is really interesting and it has the reinforced idea of the Human Rights issues in Syria this kind of weapon controversy could be what Robert Conrad is trying to report on in my docufiction

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21192100

Since starting the filming and the research of this project it turns out that more has happened on the situatuion that the docufiction is based on and so I thought I would add this article as another one to help with the topic of this docufiction. Also in the film Conrad was going to get kidnapped later on in the film and so this article could show maybe a basis of one way Conrad got kidnapped and event to base that on for the docufiction.....

http://archive.org/details/911_and_the_British_Broadcasting_Conspiracy

Website about a documentary made to do with the BBC coverage of the 9/11 problems and the conspiracy theories that surround them. Also this would maybe be one to watch because it is about the war on terror which touches with what I am trying to do. What will be shown in the docufiction.

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/watch-online/

This is a link to a site that has many different documentaries and they are broken in to categories should look at the war and military ones and then the ones that are about people also there are some about conspiracy theories which might also be worth looking at.

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/inside-iraq-the-untold-stories/

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/exit-afghanistan/

Worth looking at this one too potentially because it is about the people of Iraq so the victims stuck in the conflict which is what Conrad is trying to do in the Docufiction.

The second one is also similar to the idea of what life is like in a war zone.

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/life-death-war-zone/

This is a link about a documentary which is about the medical care in Iraq and I think is meant to show what it is like to live in a war zone which is what Conrad is talking about.

Supersize Me (watch opening to show how to establish content for something.)

Catfish worth looking into maybe to show what it is like to document someone…..

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/ground-zero-syria/

This is a documentary that is actually about Syria which would be worth looking at. It is about the Rebel forces and how they are fighting and then how there are civilians trapped in the kind of cross fire but still have to carry on and survive.

Easy A - Idea

One film that I have recently watched is Easy A and this is at first probably a really random film to mention but I do mention it because the film is about a young girl and something that she did then she documented on the internet as a kind of web blog which I thought was clever and the style of that web confession thing is a lot like my film the moments when Robert Conrad is talking to the camera those moments would be like the character Olive in Easy A.

Edited Script Outline

An important part of the crime genre films and often documentaries is the idea of exposing a different side to every story and so this is why I have added the different articles because these are all both about what is going to happen in the film but also the motivation as I have said there could be this theme of rivalry between two reporters and each competing for the top spot. So I have added the use off the articles into Box 3 on my story board because this will be a part of the conversation in which Robert will be surrounded by different news sources and how he is going to react to these different situations...

Lyse Doucet - Rivalry

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/correspondents/lysedoucet/

This is the same articale that was posted a few minutes ago and this focuses on the reporter and gives her credit and says that she has a kind of reputation what could be brought up in the docufiction potentially is that the reporter is trying to defeat the woman and be able to be her equal...

Press Pass

This is a picture that is taken from the internet and it shows the style that I used to make my press pass which I will hopefully be able to add soon but there is problems loading pictures on to the blog. This press pass is important because it is a piece of iconography of the journalist and that it allows access into different places but the audience must ask whether the places that the character gains access to are really worth getting the access for.

Another News Story

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20824292

This is another article that is quite a bit older than the some of the other articles which shows that sometimes for certain parts of the world especially the western world there is a loss of interest in different news stories which could add to the characters motivation the fact that they are doing something that no one else is doing and that people have lost interest in even though it is an on-going and just as important event.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21007519

But then there is the issue that it is not the same subject being talked about there has to be a completely new angle as if people don't have as much interest in the conflict itself maybe but now there is more a focus on the people because there is problems with human rights which is something that there is an element of in my DOCUFICTION so it will be interesting to try and involve a small aspect of the journalists empathy for the people.

News Articles

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/syrian-military-attacks-near-damascus-death-toll/1/242211.html

As the topic that I have chosen to make my film about is quite a current one I have decided that it would be useful to look into current news stories so that my docuficition can have some elements of truth and so I found this article that was just written today that shows some of the deaths that have occured and it was written close to the source of the action also because my film is about a journalist this makes up a large part of the characters persona so it is important to see what the journalist kind of gets up to during the day. Also this article is about the death of children and innocent people and so this could help to show that this unneccasary death of innocent people is the motivation for Robert the character to go out and give a voice to the people....

Docufiction Link

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Docufiction

This is a link to a wikipedia page that my teacher pointed out to show research about Docufiction which is the type of film that I am going to make.

Docufiction

Docufiction

This is just a post to say that the type of film I am planning to make is a  docufiction not a real story.

Cinema Verite

http://www.parlez-vous.com/misc/realism.htm

This is just another page that has some research about Cinema Verite which is the kind of more technical aspect of the film making because I am making a fictional film but with the influence of a more documentary style.

Documentary

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_film

Attached is a link to a wikipedia page that is about documentaries and the history of them. It is very interesting because it shows that there a forms of documentaries that have an active invovlment from the director and then there are some which are about how the documentary is just an observation of something and it can be relatively basic like someone getting on a train or someone leaving work.  There is also a part of the page that talks about the French influence of documentaires.

An Idea

An idea I had is that in my film I could have a scene where there is a bit of filming that turns into a still image so there is a contrast between the two. And the image would move from one person’s hand to another right at the end of the scene to show that there is more to this journalists commentary then meets the eye.


( Updated on January 31st 2013)
Also something that I would potentially like to experiment with is kind of horror film footage. The idea of like the Blair witch project and that there is found footage or a film crew that has gone into film the events and then there is interaction with the film crew which kind of breaks the boundary of having different film and it being an imaginary thing with little interaction with the audience to having a form of interaction making it more personal and realistic.

Props

For my film I have made a few props. I made a mock press pass and a letter head thing which Robert Conrad would need for his preparations to go to Syria and things he would need for his visa application.

Passport

https://www.gov.uk/browse/citizenship/passports

Here is a link that shows what needs to be done to get hold of a passport. This is important to my film becasues the man is going to be trying to travel to Syria and it will be done legally so there needs to be an explanation of the character preparing to go with the legal documents needed. The fact that the character is entering the country legally is to explain to the audience that the character is the protagonist and that he is not the antaagonist. It also shows that everything in the film began above board and legal but it could so quickly change once the reporter arrives in Syria. The idea that the journalist might need to escape a certain situation but he won't be able to without the passport because it would be illegal or perhaps it might show that one of the people the reporter meets needs the passport to get out of the country and they potentially steal the document which is a sign of betrayal in the film which is common to the crime genre because in the genre there is for example the Godfather where Freddo goes against the family and suffers the consequences or The Good Shepherd where the professor is the traitor and he suffers the consequences which does not sit well with the protagonist.

Syria Visa

http://www.syriapath.net/misc/syrian-visa/

This is another website that has information on traveling to Syria.

Syrian Visa

http://www.visafirst.com/en/gb_syrian_tourist_visa_faq.asp?usr_ctry=236#faq2

For my film I need quite a bit of factual information so that the film is accurate and believable. My teacher suggested that I look up what would need to be done to get a Syrian Visa and so here is a link about the frequently asked questions on what needs to be done to get the visa ....

Script Outline

Box 1 - no speech just background music 

Box 2 - Robert Conrad introduces himself and describes the work that he is doing ....

Box 3 - Robert looks at the news reports and mutters to camera man that what is happening is terrible what happens at this point is that Robert is looking at the news clips but he also  looks at different articles that are written online and from perhaps the newspaper he works for....

Box 4 - Robert talks into camera about what the preparations he had to make where passport etc. 

Box 5 - Robert is talking and explaining what he is packing 

Box 6 - Robert looks at his files and sees that there is research to be done 

Box 7 - Robert says his good byes 

Box 8 - Again another time to say good bye 

Production Companies

Production Companies :

Paramount - The Godfather 

Paramount - Four Brothers 

Imagine Entertainment - J Edgar 

Universal - The Good Shepherd 

Weinstien Company -  Lucky Number Slevin 

Anonymous Content - Rendition 

Goskino - Battleship Potemkin 

What my research has shown is that the production companies that make the films that I researched are all relatively big and well known production companies and if they aren’t then they are not as well know companies which  is kind of ironic it is almost as if the production companies range from two different sides f a spectrum. The film that I am basing my film on is called Invisible Children which is not one that I have put up an analysis of but will hopefully be able to get done it I can find the film and it does not have a listed production company so if my film where produced it would probably be through an independent film production company rather than through the typical large scale production companies.

Title

I posted on my blog a few days ago that I could really do with some input into what I wanted my film to be named now my research suggested that I should go with a one word title but then Mr Earl suggested that I name my film Road To Damascus and even though it’s three words long I think that it is a brilliant title so that’s what I am calling my film Thank You Mr Earl  

Blog Evaluation

Blog Evaluation 

I as went and looked over my blog again I have realized that I have got the basics down I have my storyboard and a rough layout of the scenario which is what I needed to have on. Now I don’t have on my blog a script and this is because I am making a fake documentary so it needs to have a kind of natural feel about it so later on I am going to a layout of what will be covered in each of the different scenes and I am going to lay it out as the storyboards are covered so the numbers will correspond to the storyboard. 

Another thing that I think I need to clarify is what production companies make these kind of  films that I have been researching and so I am going to add a blog post about that later too. 

Again I am also going to try and add some more pictures and possibly videos to my blog so that it is a more multi media set up rather then as text heavy as it is now. 

I am also going to try and start filming soon so there will hopefully be some footage for people to see.

As it stands I think that there is some improvements to be made on my blog but I think that I am generally on the right line .....  

Title

My research has helped me realise that the best and most effective title would be a one or two word title so if you have any suggestions i would love to hear them ....

Story Boards

Production Schedule

Props : 

Most scene won’t need any but there might be the use of hous hold items and also some files showing the work that the journalist is doing....

Filming Locations :

House, Shildon, and possibly the airport and maybe even some road scenes 

Actor :

Andrew Wade 

Possible Filming dates : ( updated schedule to follow)

7-12 January 

14-19 January 

21-23 January 

Scenario and link to research

So in my last blog I kind of just roughly outlined what I am planning to do for my final project but here I hope to give you a more detailed description... 

In my film there is going to be a focus on one actor which will be a journalist who is preparing to go to syria to report on the situation there and this will be the main focus of the opening sequence there will be a lot of the man talking into the camera and discussing how he feels and what is going on in his mind and what he has to do to get ready to go off on his mission. 

The rest of the film if I had the resources to make it would consist of going to Syria and meeting the people there and just basically giving a really in depth view of what is going on in the country and how the people are surviving in the war zone. The film would probably also have moments of conflict between the main character wanting to stay and document and the characters boss telling him to come home and that the project was a waste of time which would inspire a rebellious nature in the main character and make him want to stay and help the people of the country. To make the film really thought provoking and emotional the film would probably end with the main characters death. 

I have decided to make my film this way because my researched showed that a main character who is kind of obscure and different from the norm is a really great plot line because people want to try and understand great people and they often can’t so it is best to make a character who is hard to relate to and goes through some kind of change.

I also learnt that patriotism to a certain country is a powerful plot line because it adds to this idea of not being able to understand people because no one can really understand this idea of true patriotism because people are selfish and can’t imagine the sacrifices for one country. 

I will hopefully have the story boards up soon ......