BENJAMIN RICHARDSON CANDIDATE NUMBER 1853

CLAREMONT FAN COURT SCHOOL 64680

• My production team included: Matthew Heyns 1828, Finn Hanley 1824 and Sam de Bruin 1815.
• My brief was the film opening task: the titles and opening of a new fiction film (less than 2 minutes long).
• The title of our film is 'Suspect'. It explores a murder mystery in a quiet suburban neighbourhood. Three suspects are named who have never met each other before and are deemed dangerous and one of them is responsible for the death of Lottie Wilson. Although our genre is a murder mystery drama, there is also an element of comedy.
• Watch our film opening here:

Filming

There was a good balance of who filmed what in our production, due to cast members having to appear on screen at different times. I filmed the entire of the last scene (Inspector Thorne scene). I filmed using an iPhone X which has a good camera and is very easy to use. My filming turned out to be very successful as I captures a variety of different angles and shots, including close-ups and over-the-shoulder shots.

 

Editing

Matt was the chief editor in our group as he had previous experience using programmes such as Final Cut Pro. However, we all edited the production as a group so we could all contribute our own ideas and thoughts towards the editing process. I came up with ideas to do with sound and what times title credits should appear.

 

Directing

There was also a good balance of ideas from everyone in our group. Each group member contributed useful information, making the whole process easier and smoother. For example, if a group member thought a scene could be improved they would offer their thoughts on how to improve. This allowed us to produce a great final product.

EDITS: KIERAN TUCKER WALKING

One of the main edits we had to make to our film opening was the shot of Kieran walking through the park. We had to flip the shot as in the previous scene Kieran walked off to the left. Then in the park scene, Kieran entered the shot from the left, rather than the right, which would make more sense. This was a problem as it seemed as if Kieran had changed direction off camera and it made our filming seem rushed and unprofessional.

We easily overcame this problem by using editing skills. In order to make the scenes better follow on from each other, we flipped the footage using Final Cut Pro. This edit was successful as we were able to achieve our goal of making our film opening look more professional.

EDITS: INSPECTOR THORNE'S ENVELOPE

Originally, part of our final scene was Inspector Thorne opening an envelope and looking at three blank forms. These forms were meant to be the case files of the three suspects. However, the forms were never filled in and appeared blank in our film opening. We felt this made our opening look unprofessional and rushed so we decided to replace this part with something different. We added a scene of someone dragging a body in a body bag. This allowed us to axe the unrealistic, rushed scene and replace it with a more professional scene that gives more context for the murder and helps with the enigma code.

One of our cast members, Sam, filmed himself dragging another cast member through is garage. The filming was done in a way where the identities of the characters would remain anonymous as their faces were not visible. This further adds to the mystery surrounding the murder. This also fits in with the enigma code of our film.

REFLECTIONS: ALAN CORK SCENE

An important scene in our film was the Alan Cork fishing scene. In our film opening I portrayed Alan, a fisherman who has schizophrenia. It was important that I conveyed the message that he had violent tendencies and was mentally unstable and that these factors made him a suspect in the murder of Lottie Wilson.

I managed to show the audience that Alan was a fisherman through the use of props and mise-en-scene. I dressed it overalls and a bucket hat, typical fisherman attire. I also was holding a fishing rod and sitting next to a lake. In reflection, this successfully showed the audience that Alan was a typical fisherman. I then had to communicate to the audience that Alan was mentally unstable, which was more difficult to successfully manifest. I did this by using dialogue and body language. During the scene, Alan began having a conversation with himself about seeing Lottie in the park, there is clearly nobody else around so it is obvious Alan is talking to himself which is one of the main positive symptoms of schizophrenia. Furthermore, his hunched back and poor posture suggest he is not healthy.

When reflecting upon this scene, I am happy with how it tuned out. It is clear that Alan Cork is a fisherman with schizophrenia. I feel as if I was successfully able to portray what I wanted through the use of props, dialogue and mise-en-scene.

REFINEMENTS: INSPECTOR THORNE SCENE

The scene where the audience are introduced to Inspector Thorne is the final scene of our film opening and  therefore it was very important that we executed it to perfection. This is mainly because the last scene tends to be the most memorable for audiences. In the scene, Inspector Thorne is using the phone and talking about the three suspects for the murder.

Originally, we filmed Inspector Thorne opening an envelope already on his desk and observing the data of the three suspects. This scene worked, but we felt as if there was something missing and it could have been improved. In order to portray the importance and seniority of Inspector Thorne in the police force, we casted Emily Ankers as the Inspector's assistant. This showed the audience that the Inspector was important and qualified as he had his own personal assistant. Furthermore, it highlighted the severity of the murder of Lottie Wilson, as it is now evident that one of the forces best inspectors has been put on the case.

The refinement we made was that the assistant would knock on Inspector Thorne's door and deliver him the envelope, connoting the authority and important of the Inspector to the audience. I believe that this refinement was successful and improved our final scene significantly.

CHANGES: STORYLINE

Originally, we came up with the idea of creating a film opening exploring gang life in London. We were going to take inspiration from popular BBC tv show, Peaky Blinders in order to attempt to create an accurate representation of various criminal gangs in London. We thought this may be a good idea for a number of reasons:

1. We could easily film in London as we all live nearby.
2. Our group members have watched Peaky Blinders and other similar shows about gangs so we are knowledgable in that area.
3. We liked the idea of acting as criminals and felt we could portray them well.

However, after some research and reflection on our original idea, we thought that a film opening based on gangs and violence is a bit overused and mainstream. We wanted to be more original with our idea and seem more professional, so began adapting our plot. We began discussing new ideas and agreed on making a film opening that followed an enigma code, rather than an action film as we felt this may be more unique. We also believed this plot type may be more engaging for audiences as it allows them to formulate their own ideas about the storyline.

We began to find similar films and take inspiration from watching trailers and film openings on Art of the Title. Eventually, we came up with the idea of Suspect.

CONSTRUCTION: EDITING

Although Matt was our chief editor, every member in the group helped out and were present when the editing process was taking place. We used Final Cut Pro X to edit our film opening because it offers a wide range of tools and options we could use to improve our footage. For example, the ability to rotate footage round helped us significantly with the Kieran Tucker walking scene. 

Initially, we just placed all of our chosen clips into Final Cut Pro where we were able to rearrange them into an order which we liked. Once we had done this we watched over all our raw footage to make sure there were no obstructions or problems. After we decided upon the order of footage and made sure all the footage was usable, we added the music into the editor. One benefit of using Final Cut Pro is that is allowed us to easily adjust the sound. For example, we needed to make the music quieter in order to hear the dialogue. 

Overall, I was pleased with our editing process as we managed to make our film opening look professional by making different edits and changes to our raw footage.

CONSTRUCTION: FILMING

We were very efficient with our filming and managed to capture all the raw footage for our film opening in two separate sessions. We were able to take advantage of Matt's house and estate in order to film the majority of our film. All scenes were filmed here apart from the inspector scene, the final scene, which we filmed at school in the sixth form office. 

Filming - 1st July 2021

We filmed the majority of our film opening on the 1st of July. We filmed the interaction scene between Herbet and Tucker in Matt's house. Matt's house was useful when it came to this scene as it is similar to the house a successful businessman, such as Herbert, would own. We used a variety of different camera shots during the interaction between the two characters, such as over-the-shoulder shots and close-ups which enabled us to capture the reaction of the character being confronted.

We also used a tracking shot to follow Tucker once he runs away from Herbert. This enabled the audience to see what an average day in the life is for Tucker, as the camera follows him to his next encounter with Alan, the fisherman who I portrayed. 

For the Alan Cork scene, I suggested we began with a low-angle shot that slowly pans upward to reveal Tucker walking in the background, suggesting that the story follows on and the two characters are related in some way. The Alan Cork scene ends as a drone pans up capturing a birds-eye-view of the woodland area and the lake.

Filming - 3rd July 2021

Our final scene of our film opening was the inspector scene. We needed it too look like it was taking place in a police inspector's office. Therefore, we decided to use the sixth form office at school as it most resembled a modern police office with its modern furniture, noticeboards and landline. I filmed the majority of this scene as I did not appear in it. I had the idea to begin the scene with an establishing shot of the office, where the inspector was in view through the window.

I also took a range of close-ups and over-the-shoulder shots of the inspector working to suggest he is a very busy man. Point of view shots allow the audience to clearly see an important item/prop e.g. the documents that the inspector is observing. The scene ends with a wide-shot of the inspector slamming the phone down. This suggests urgency.

PLANNING: PRACTICE SHOTS AND LIGHTING TESTS

We did our initial bit of filming on 10/12/20 in the drama studio in school. We filmed an interrogation where Major Inspector Thorne was interrogating Tucker, Alan and Herbert about the murder. We did not use any of this footage as we were mainly just testing the cameras and experimenting with different lighting techniques that we could use. This session also allowed us to get a feel of our characters and get to grips with them.

This session proved to be very useful as we learnt a lot about lighting and sound. Upon viewing our footage we decided to film part of our opening outdoors and part of it indoors. Originally, the majority of our film opening was going to be filmed indoors around a table as the three suspects were being interrogated by Inspector Thorne.

We decided against this however, partly due to lighting and sound issues that we discovered as a result of this testing session. We learnt how important it is to have complete acoustic isolation as the sound from the floor above seriously impacted our work. We also learnt that we needed more than once source of lighting to avoid harsh shadows.

We also found that we can use different camera shots to create meaning, for example a low-angle shot of Herbert (Sam) would prove effective in displaying Herbert as a powerful and important businessman.

 Below are pictures taken during the filming we did on 10/12/20

PLANNING: STORYBOARD

We constructed a storyboard that briefly describes each individual scene in our film opening. Using a storyboard also helps us to map out our film opening and we can refer to it to make sure we don't miss out any scenes when filming.

 

Storyboard from BenRichardson55

PLANNING: RISK ASSESMENT

Risk Assessment	Hazard to health and safety	Risk posed to whom	Risk level	Control measure to reduce risk
Method of Transport to Location of Filming	Walking out of Claremont into Esher.  Walking from Esher back to Claremont. Travel via SW Trains to Surbiton Railway Station to go to Ben Richardson’s house for filming. Walking through Surbiton to get from Surbiton station to Ben’s house and to film on High Street	All four of us (Finn Hanley, Matt Heyns, Ben Richardson, Sam de Bruin) walking to Esher; at risk of being hit by a car. All four of us (Finn Hanley, Matt Heyns, Ben Richardson, Sam de Bruin) walking back from Esher and to Claremont; at risk of being hit by a car. All four of us (Finn Hanley, Matt Heyns, Ben Richardson, Sam de Bruin) at risk of falling through the gap between the train and the platform edge. All four of us (Finn Hanley, Matt Heyns, Ben Richardson, Sam de Bruin) walking to Ben’s house from Surbiton Railway Station; at risk of being hit by a car.	M M M M	We will be looking both ways before we cross the road, at every road we aim to cross. I believe this will minimise the risk to a large extent as it will allow us to see if any cars are driving towards us. We will be looking both ways before we cross the road, at every road we aim to cross. I believe this will minimise the risk to a large extent as it will allow us to see if any cars are driving towards us. We will make sure to take a large step when coming onto the train, whilst also looking at how big the gap is, making sure we are completely out of risk of getting stuck. We will be looking both ways before we cross the road, at every road we aim to cross. I believe this will minimise the risk to a large extent as it will allow us to see if any cars are driving towards us.
First aid issues	Trips/falls when walking during filming or getting to the filming location	All four of us.	L	We will keep a first aid kit including plasters and anti bacterial spray With us at all times.
General public theft/assualt	Theft Assault Major external incident (terrorism, natural disaster etc)	All four of us, as we are all carrying valuables; phones, AirPods, cameras, schoolwork, laptops. All actors involved in filming All actors involved in filming	H H H	All members of the group will carry a backpack with a zip securing the items inside the bag, reducing the risk of a member of the public attempting to steal from one of us. We will also be checking we have all of our valuables every 20 minutes when in a populated environment. We will walk in groups when on the High Street and will not approach other members of the public or respond to any comments intended to provoke one of us We will follow the guidelines given to us extensively and make sure we do everything we are told, reducing the risk of us being in danger in a scenario of this sort.
Accommodation eg risk assessment from centre	N/A (no overnight accommodation necessary for filming)	N/A (no overnight accommodation necessary for filming)	N/A (no overnight accommodation necessary for filming)	N/A (no overnight accommodation necessary for filming)
Major public incident	Act of terrorism given national threat level	Group could become caught up in a terrorist incident, possibly leading to them being injured of the group being separated	H	When entering an area, making sure every member of the group knows exactly where to exit if something of this levity did occur and we were forced to take an emergency exit. Make sure group members know what the national advice is for a terrorist attack First aid kit carried at all times, allowing recovery for injured student due to this major public incident