Behind the Scene Post

 On Friday we shot our thriller. I think it was a new experience for everyone in our team and we really enjoyed being on a set filming and directing our actors.  To begin with we had to set up all the lighting and this took a bit longer then expected as we had to find the perfect amount so that the camera could get a really clear view of the set from all angles.

I think the way we directed the actors went smoothly this was important as it meant everyone on set both behind and in front of the camera was aware of what needed doing and what had already been done. We tried to focus on being clear as to what we wanted to achieve so the actors understood their jobs.  I also think we did well working together as a group, we all took turns directing and being in charge of the camera and this meant we all got a real insight into what different roles filming day can consist of.

The thing that we did struggle with was getting all our shots that we needed, by the end of the day we had everything but there were times that we weren’t 100 per cent sure with what we still had to do. I think we had our shot list out and ready but we got a bit caught up in all the chaos that filming brings that we didn’t tick off and continue to check our shots. We did solve this by talking as a group and working out what still needed to be done so that by the end we did have everything we wanted to get but we probably wasted a bit of time discussing when we could have made it easier on ourselves from the get go. 

We actually ended up changing our characters slightly on the day. Initially we had two special forces men storming in to the room, however having dressed our characters we realised that one of the male actors looked a lot more suspicious and intimidating then we were initially expecting therefore as a group we actually thought instead of changing the costume why don’t we change the character’s job. So we decided because our whole scene is based on grenades and top-secret missions that we would change him from a special- forces man to a terrorist. We then had one special -forces man storming in like we had planned and instead the other character playing the terrorist who was guarding the victim who was attached to the grenade.  This was a last minute decision but we all agreed that this change in characters meant our thriller became even stronger as we had three men who were playing such different roles. Giving us more diversity and making our thriller that much more gripping and nail biting.

Lastly we decided not to have our victim spit out the grenade pin instead we had the duct tape ripped of his mouth as we planned by the special forces man but then he says “you have killed us” and the scene cuts out. We decided in a way this makes our ending more tense and it acts as the ultimate climax of our opening scene.

The afternoon before our shoot I went out and brought a white shirt from the clothes section of the co-op as we had a last minute panic as the white shirt we ordered didn’t arrive. The morning of our shoot we arrived early to go and collect a few of our costumes from the costume department at school, this was easy to do as we had already organised and discussed what we needed so all we had to do was collect them.

Before our shoot we got all our props together and brought them to the studio where we were filming. We took some time deciding where we wanted all the props to be placed so that our thriller looked as good as we could make it. Once on set we had to focus on the lighting this is probably what took the most time to do as we kept having to adjust it to make the set look good.  Having set up our props and design we then rearranged a few bits for instance the barbed wire we had, we ended up moving that around a bit. We found once you are looking through the lens of the camera you become more aware of what looks good where.

To begin with as well as the lighting it took time talking to the actors and letting them know what the day would involve. The most difficult element in our shoot for our group was probably releasing our main characters did not all fit the role we initially intended them to. This meant the morning of the shoot once we saw them all dressed we had to change the characters one of actors played. But we were happy with the outcome as it fitted our thriller better than before. The most difficult element for me was probably trying to get everyone on set on the same page it was hard making sure our actors knew what they needed to do and when.

For me the most enjoyable part was when we had all three actors on set in costume and makeup and I just liked the feel of the studio. It was really fun as we all took turns directing and filming our thriller so we got to experience a taster of what you do in the real film industry.

As a group I believe we did do well especially when it came to filming day. We all worked together and helped each other to film our opening scene and overall I am really pleased with what we managed to achieve. 

Similar Media Products

Similar in Plot:

Terminator 2 – is about a terminator sent back in time to save the life of an innocent boy and his mother.

Special Forces – similar plot in that it is all about a group of special-forces French soldiers on a desperate hostage mission in the Afghanistan/Pakistani area.

The Dark Knight – The new district attorney Harvey Dent successfully begins to round up the criminals that harass the people of Gotham City, until the joker appears in Gotham, creating more chaos. Batman struggles against the Joker in trying to keep the people safe. However on the way innocent people do die.

Taken- Former CIA agent reluctantly lets his 17 year old daughter go to France with her best friend. He soon learns an Albanian gang has kidnapped her, he rushes to go save her and as a former CIA agent he uses all his skills to try and rescue her.

Olympus has fallen- When the White house (secret service code “Olympus”) is captured by a terrorist mastermind and the president is kidnapped – former Presidential Secret service Agent Mike Banning finds himself trapped within the building.

 

Characters

Narcos – similar character Pablo Escobar and drug enforcement agencies. These replicate the Special Forces man in my thriller as well as the Spanish Villain who mirrors someone of similar age and gender to be working for Pablo.

Call of Duty (video game) – The characters are very similar to the Spanish villain in my thriller as they all dress in dark colours and almost all the time have a gun on them.

Rainbow 6 Siege – The characters are split into two categories attackers and defenders. Likewise in my thriller there is both that actor who we assume to be the villain and the defender who is the Special Forces man trying to rescue our victim.

Captain Phillips- In this film there is the one main kidnapper whom is Somalia and in my thriller we have the one Villain who has taken our

The kingdom- Terrorist attack in America where families and FBI agents. FBI agent Ronald Fleury is similar to our Special Forces man in that he is on a mission to find those responsible for the bombing.

Extra: TV programme Hawaii 5O has lots of different episodes but are all set in locations such as deserted factory’s, warehouses and empty dockyards.

Terminator 2 (Dyson’s sacrifice) similar to our guy who is unable to escape from the bomb. 

Acid Factory – 5 people trapped where two are hostages and three are kidnappers the location is almost identical to ours.

The role of a director

The director is largely in charge of the creative side for instance the visualising and defining the style as well as structure of the film. They have a crucial role as they act as a link between the creative, technical and production teams.

A director is responsible for turning the script into actual images and sounds on the screen. This is often a huge amount of pressure as that one person, determind’s weather the film is a success or failure.  Sometimes the director is hired to write the film’s script or they come after an early draft from there they develop a vision and try to create it.

Not only do they have all this to do but they are in charge of the technical aspects like the lighting, sound, camera, design and special effects.

Then in post-production, Directors work with the editors to get the final version of the film. Throughout all of this they have to try and keep to the budget and schedule.

Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg has a net worth of 3.6billion USD. He stands as one of the most successful directors, producer and screenwriters. When Steven was younger he was just an amateur film maker however his talent was made clear when he became one of the youngest television directors for Universal in the late 1960’s.

He has won three Oscars and received many honours. In 2015 Spielberg was awarded the presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honour.   

Steven Spielberg has created some of the all-time best films for instance…

Jaws, The colour Purple, Jurassic Park, E.T, War horse and so many more.

 However one of the most amazing films was Schindler’s list he directed this film himself and was inspired by his Jewish heritage. He did not want to just create a “Hollywood film”. Having grossed $321 million from this film he donated all his profits to charity.

Having read all about Spielberg’s  incredible life and all he has managed to achieve I am left amazed as to what one man can do and how much of an impact his films have made on so many people.  

Special forces research

Special forces: The units of a country’s armed forces that undertake covert, counter terrorist, and other specialized operations.

I decided as two of our three actors in our thriller are men who are meant to be in the special forces I wanted to research a bit more about what pursuing a career in such a job entails. I am hoping by looking into more detail It will give me a better understanding of how the actors in my thriller can perform the role as accurately as possible.

The special forces are trained to perform unconventional missions. I learnt that to pursue this career you have to begin by tackling an intensive ten  week boot camp that consists of gruelling tasks that only the fittest and most driven will get through. In these camps you are made to run six miles every  morning just to eat.

In the united states to be eligible you must have things such as be a male between 20-30 years of age, a high school graduate, score a ridiculously high number of 240 on the army physical fitness test and be eligible for a “secret” security clearance. This is just a few of many things I found when researching what has to be done.

Overall it made me realise how extreme this job really is and that only the best get in. 

Shot list

We created a shot list for our thriller: 

What is a shot list?

A shot list is a diagram which contains all the shots you want to include in your film however the shots are not in filming order.

It acts as a checklist so that when you film your film or in our case an opening scene to a thriller you have a clear idea as to what direction you are going in . It also helps save time on the day of the shoot as you can look at the shots you have done and as a group be clear what shots still need to be shot.

The reason we use shot lists is to guarantee that every part of the script is assigned a shot, without this it is easy to forget a shot, particularly because on filming day everyone is running around the set with props and dealing with actors. A shot list means you are much less likely to forget any shots.

Confirming actors part one

We have chosen who we want to use for our main actor. We are using Gabe Jackson who is an A2 student he is a strong actor and therefore will be able to play the role well. He has confirmed he can act in it.

confirming actors part two

For the two special forced men we are using Mike who is an adult therefore looks professional and experienced and we also have Adam therefore together they can look intimidating towards our victim making  our scene realistic. 

Finalised scene outline

To begin with we have a man who is tied to a chair we initially wanted to use a water pipe (the ones you see in a factory) however we had to change our plan as this was too difficult to create. At the beginning of our shoot he is unconscious and he gradually wakes up and comes around, as he does this the camera shows us the grenade which is tied behind the man’s body. Gradually he becomes more and more aware of his surroundings noticing that the grenade is in his hands so whilst trying to struggle he has to be careful as to not set the grenade off. We then hear the background noise of the factory for instance machinery and muffled foreign voices soon after this comes the gunshots from above him. The man’s mouth is taped shut with duct tape so that when he tries to scream for help we just hear muffled breathing. The camera pans around the room showing us oil drums, dirt and old pots of paint everywhere with rope on the ground we are also wanting to have more than one grenade covered in nails to help create the scene.

To end with we have a special forces team of two they are banging on the door oblivious to what is on the other side and the man again tries to shout and warn him but he slams open the door and we see them storm in however being cautious as they enter then one special forces man goes over to the victim to remove the tape covering his mouth, which then unfortunately leaves the victim to 

spit out a pin which sets the grenade off. We see all three men in the room and a close up of their shocked and concerned facial expressions then the scene blacks out. 

Finalising costumes part one

Organising costumes:

Costumes: As a group we have finalised the order for our costumes and purchased two body Armour bullet proof vests and black trousers for the police men and a neon yellow fluorescent safety vest. 

Finalising costumes part two

We have the main character wearing an old shirt as well as just plain black trousers. These will get slightly torn up and destroyed for when we film so that it looks like he is a victim who has had a struggle to try and escape  before getting tied up. 

Props part five

Guns: Ideally we want to use two guns for our two special forces men initially we thought we were going to have them as police but we realised using special forces men will make our thriller appear more serious and they are more likely to deal with hand grenades in this type of situation. Our school has two guns which we will be able to use.

Props part four

From our school we have borrowed a few props. We spoke to a teacher who works in the theater department and he gave us some help with what is available. 

Here is the email confirming this.