Churchill Productions - Risk Assessment

Churchill Productions - Location scouting

For the main setting for the shoot we decided on filming at my house and partly at the field behind it. It posed as a useful area due to its openness and distance away from the neighbors, giving us more freedom in what we were filming and avoiding disturbing them too.

For the setting of the first scenes, taking place in the present time, the modern office look worked well in confirming to the audience the difference in time for each of the settings.

For the first scenes taking place in the past, during the beginning of the second world war, the old fashioned wooden hut created a perfect scene for the home of a at first innocent man during the late 1930's.

For the last scenes taking place in the past tense an empty field was used as the scene of a battlefield. The large empty field also allowed for us to be out of view of anyone other than the cast and crew.

Churchill Productions - Edit decision list

Each scene in the past will be colour corrected, each past scene will be blue scaled to give the impression that the scene is from the past. This will differentiate the past scenes from the scenes in the present 

Wartime music from World War II will be added at the star for the introduction 

Christopher Fritz's monologue will be added and spoken out loud when he is writing in the trench  

Age 15 certificate, title of the film opening and the image of our Company Logo will fade in from the start and fade out after 10 seconds. Audience will beware of what they are watching and if three are adult theme throughout the film 

Scenes from the present will fade to darkness then afde in to reveal scenes from the past

Titles for the year the scene is in will appear at the bottom of the screen 

Churchill Production - Plan for shoot

Planning for shoots:

To create an authentic looking piece, various elements are required to build this. this can be created through the use of make-up, costumes and hair. All of these will contribute in making the audience believe they are watching something from the past, it will grasp the audiences attention and ensure they believe they are watching something from the Second  World War

The actor playing the soldier can made-up to make them appear like they are fighting a war. This effect can be achieved through the use of make up to create the impression that the soldier has fought in dirt, make-up can create this impression. In addition, the use of fake blood can be used to make the soldier appear damaged, it gives the impression that the soldier has been hurt in the war. the desired effect will be like the image to the left
The make-up will be purchased prior to the shoots and applied on the day before we begin filming.  

Furthermore, the use of props will be required to make the piece appear authentic. A Second World War rifle will be needed, a rifle will be required that was was used in the war to add similitude to our piece. I will make the audience believe that our film is set in the war because the rifle featured was used during WWII





To add to the authenticity of the soldiers character, he will also be provided with a M9 pistol prop. Similar to the rifle, the pistol adds similitude with the Second World War. It will make the audience believe they are watching from the perspective of 1939.

Next, a uniform from the Second World War is needed. these uniforms are synonymous with the army and WWII therefore, it will make the audience believe they are watching a soldier from the past.
The uniform will have bland and avery dark colours, this is done to connote to the soldiers dark past. The darker and dull colours on his uniform will suggest to the audience that the character is untrustworthy, dark colours are often used in the media to tell the audience that this character is evil or treacherous.
Furthermore, the uniform is  dark could because it has similitude with the war. No uniform was brightly coloured on the battle field during the Second World War.



The actor who is from the present will be wearing casual clothes, no special costume is required because their character is set in present day. The audience needs to believe that this character is set in 2017, it also ensures that the audience knows the difference between the character from 1939 and 2017.

An old book will be featured throughout the film opening during the scenes in the present. The book needs to be withered to give the impression that it was written decades ago. Furthermore, the book needs to look like it is expensive because it contains secrets and documentations from someones life. An expensive looking book is used a lot is films about reminiscent and it has become a cliche with this genre 

A World War II medal is needed for the award ceremony scene. The medal is needed to show the soldier was awarded for his services, the medal also needs to be from WWII because the film opening is set in this period

Another requirement for our piece os a field. Various outside scenes will be shot in a field, the field will be open and will give the impression that the audience is watching from the perspective of 1939. In addition, there will be no visible buildings therefore the audience will believe these scene are in the past. Fields were commonly used in the war for trench warfare, thus a field will create a similitude with warfare in the Second World War 

A number of scenes will be shot in a bar, all these scenes will be from the present and not from the Second World War. In these shots, the actor from the present will be reading from the memoirs inside the bar. A bar often connotes to modern times and doesn't relate to the Second World War, the audience will know when scenes are in the present. 

Furthermore, various films have used the shot where someone read to the audience from a book in a bar. A bar was required to recreate this cinematic cliche 

The soldier's hair will need to be changed to make him appear like he's from the 1940's. The hair will need to be changed so its appropriate for the time, in this instance, its for the 1940's. Changing the hair to something similar to the above image will make the audience believe they are watching a character from the past. It immerses the audience into the performance 

As a soldier, the character will take pride into appearance. This is being recreated in the way we have made the soldier appear.
This look can be achieved through the use of hair products, specifically products such as hair gel 

Equipment to Assist in Production-Filming Equipment 

Camera     

Tripod    

Dolly    

H1N Recorder 

Further Items Needed 

-Food and Water

-A bag to transport the filming equipment and the props

The planning for shoots is important as it provides the directors/producers with information regarding the shoots. The directors will need to know what they will need while shooting our piece, the requirements are stated above and the directors can follow this list. It gives them a clearer idea of what is required exactly. Furthermore, it informs the cast and directors of what they will need to bring to the shoot

Planning Film opening - company logo

Final Logo design

Film opening- initial ideas

Initial  ideas

Horror-Forrest chase (panicking traveller and axe wielding killer)

Action- Russian hacker (hacker tries to gain access into FBI but gets captured by police)

Sci-fi- Alien invasion (aliens attack a school and have to be captured by the alien busters)

*Autobiography- Old war story (veteran speaks about his past war experiences)

(Callum) Noir- Following a detective as he reflects on his personal and work life

The beginning of the short film will start with the main character (Fritz Christen) Fritz will start with introducing himself and explaining what kind of stories he'll be talking about from his past (with a German accent). He'll welcome the audience as if they're in front of him and asking them to take a seat with him. The camera will slowly pan around him showing the man in full. He'll start to slowly speak (due to his old age) about his first engagement into war. 

After he begins one of his stories a short flashback will start going along with what he's saying. The first story will be about how he was drafted into war and taken from his home and wife (which the flash back will illustrate). The second story will be about his first battle engagement where he was stuck in the trenches and unable to get up. 

The story will be ended with Fritz telling about how at the end of the war he received medals for his bravery during the war. The flash back will appear showing him and a general pinning medals to his jacket and then saluting. He will then tell the audience to leave him as he's tired and wants to sleep, the camera will slowly move backwards away from him as the scene darkens and finally turns black and a quiet voice is heard saying "The battle may have ended, but the war goes on" and then the credits role showing the name of the film and a photograph of Fritz.

Comments:
Hard to film flash backs
Character for the veteran
Filming trench scene
Unique story
Large cast needed
Time scale difficulties

Evaluation

From the comments I decided to change the reading character from being Fritz to being Fritz's grandson as it would've been difficult to find someone that looks to be that age. I changed to end of the film to the grandson reading that his grandfather was awarded medals for war crimes and decides to burn the book at the end. The scenes after the medal awarding flash back will show the room empty with a breeze and then the book will be shown being burnt.

In the end we chose to go with the biography short film about the WW2 soldier story. We chose this idea as we thought that it could be fleshed out the most. The film idea uses a lot of different editing and filming techniques when it comes to the flash back scenes as they would have to be interchanged smoothly from the present to the far past.


Callum's idea

The idea I have created is a horror, the idea is very generic however it is simple and effective. the film will begin with establishing shots of the scene, it will combine a  range of shots which would include wide and close up shots of the scene. the main character will enter the frame wondering aimlessly, it is possible that he/she is looking for someone however, they have got lost looking for something. the character is unaware but they are being watched by someone, their identity will remain ambiguous  until the end. the audience won't get a clear view of the watcher until later in the film 

as the story progresses, the main character will still be wondering around looking for something. the areas in which this will be shot will be abandoned, therefore the character will be alone for most of the film. the character will receive a call from the person they are looking for, this lost character will tell them to go to an isolated area because that's where the are waiting

upon arrival, the main character is confused-the area is secluded and their friend is not there. the character attempts to leave but the watcher prevents them from going anywhere. the watcher is masked and carrying a weapon. the watcher attacks them and the main character and the realise that the watcher is their friend- the friend has led them into a trap

Synopsis 

The story takes place in a modern era but uses flashbacks to tell the main story of the war character being talked about by the young male character. Flashbacks show the story as the narrator tells the audience what he's reading from the book. The book tells the story of Fritz who was the grandfather of the reader. The grandson finds out what his grandfather really did during the war and experiences a fierce breakdown. 


Ending scene: Slow motion rage scene. Breaking glass and ripping book. Character runs into the field as camera goes into low angle, screen fades and title appears



Title ideas:
The Edge of Weeping
The First End
The Hollow Fable







Script

[Camera goes into room]
Joe- Welcome to my humble abode. My name is Joe Fritz, I hear you're interested in the history of my family. Come in and listen to my voice, relax and have a seat.
[Camera moves the the right of the room]
[Joe presents the book in his hands]
Joe- This book holds the secrets of my grandfathers legacy. 
[Joe opens book as the camera moves back to the middle of the room]
Flash back begins with Fritz's mother reading his letter Joe- His first words say "Mother, I have been drafted for out countries service. I must fight for our land, goodbye and farewell". 
Joe- The war brought many things with it, anger, sadness, fear but my grandfather knew that his duty was to give his life for his country.
[Camera pans in onto expression of Joe, Joe has one tear falling]
[Flash back of trench warfare, narration over the scene as camera zooms in]
Joe- Young men being taken by dictators to be slain, humanity was a term forgotten by the world
[3 Second pause]
Joe- Wait, these don't seem to be the same as what he told me.
[Joe's expression changes to a frown, Joe closes the book violently]
Joe- Have these lies been passed down this long?
[Flash back of soldier execution, the screen turns black and the time is shown approaching NOON. The camera pans from in front of the two towards their backs and cuts off as the shot is fired]
Joe- (whispers) how could he...
[Grips chair violently]  Joe- How can evil be praised for heroism!
[Joe stands up and searches for the book, rips the book]
[Joe throws his glass at the ground, slow motion]
[Joe runs outside, the scene changes to the field]
[After title screen comes up, short pause, screen comes back up to a small fire with the book burning inside]
SOUND- Heavy orchestra  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWTZcZRwQSo



Patryk   Brief synopsis      

Callum   Treatment (colour treatment, editing)    

Patryk   Sample script    

Callum    Story board 
Patryk    Location scouting sheet

Patryk    Site plans 

Patryk    Risk assessments
Callum     Planning for shoots ---- requirements for ---hair and
make-up, costumes, props and locate
Callum   Shoot plan – to cover make-up, costume lighting   
shot types and influential imagery

  Callum    Talent release forms

  Patryk    Location release form

  Patryk     Call sheets                                                    

  Callum    Shoot list
  Callum     Resultant footage
  Patryk    Edit decision list
  Patryk      Production schedule