Production Roles - Miss Miller

When you start making a film certain things need to be allocated between several people, if you leave every job to one person then they will rush everything which will make the film look bad and lower its success however if you make it so that many people take on different tasks then all the work is distributed equally between the production roles. The main production roles that are necessary when it comes to making a film are:

• producers - Jess, Ryan and Charlie
• Directors - Charlie
• Actors - Molly Van-Wijingaarden, Ryan Samuels, Morgan Boughey and Ella Sawtell
• Directors of photography - Ryan and Charlie 
• Music producers - Ryan
• Screenplay writer - Jess
• MES co-ordinator - Jess
• Editors - Charlie and Jess 

We all discussed as a group at who would be better at doing what as we all had to do something that we had a previous interest for it to be good as if you chose someone to be screenplay writer when they wanted to do something else, it wouldn't be good enough. We distributed all the roles equally depending on what we all wanted to do.

I said to the group that I wanted to direct the film as the storyboard I had made seemed conventional enough to the other members of the group. I had a good understanding of all the shots that i thought were necessary for our film and I knew we could get them done easily and quickly as long as everyone co operated. I managed to get all the shots done to a suitable standard and the rest of the group were also happy with what I had done. The reason the group wanted to do this was because I had a better understanding of the shots that we wanted to achieve 

The actors for our group were very co operative but the level of acting could have been improved slightly. The one small problem we had was that some of the actors were not available for a lot so the first time we filmed we had to get their bits done first as that was a priority. Then one of our main actors couldn't do a lot of the filming as she couldn't for personal reasons so when we did have a chance to film we had to be quick because it got dark fast which made it hard for us to film. Having these people act was simple for us as everyone knew each other so it wasn't awkward for anyone at all.

Directors of photography was me and Ryan, Ryan wanted take charge for all the shots and i had just directed him on what to do. The reason we thought we should give it to Ryan was because he was enthusiastic about filming the sequence. Me and Ryan also work well together so he did a lot of what I asked him to do, he even came up with some suggestions for shots that could make it even more conventional to a thriller. The reason why we had two people work on this is because most of the time we need a second opinion on a shot so two people are adequate for this task. 

Music producers was an easy one to get past as Ryan was very enthusiastic on getting us all suitable music for our thriller piece, he knew the websites he would look at so that is why we gave him that task to complete. The reason why we gave this task to only one person is because it is a task better left to one, if we had a few more working on it then they might go away and get the same music which would just be a waste of time and efficiency.

We agreed that Jess should be the screenplay writer as she had come up with the narrative of our opening sequence in the first place. Jess also had some ideas to change her narrative as did we but she took most of the control in that aspect. We only kept it to one person because the narrative may get complicated if we got three people to write it and we are meant to keep the narrative simple as it is only a beginning to a thriller.

MES coordinator we gave to Jess as well because when it came to the storyboards she was the one who had included the most iconography and a good use of lighting, she even had the idea of the characters positioning and what the differences meant, so we gave that task to her. The reason why we only had one person do this was because she knew the cast better than me or Ryan so she could ask them to bring the iconography that she wanted them to have.

And finally me and Jess decided to do the editing while Ryan would find us music. We both take it in turns to do the editing, Jess does most of the fonts as that was the key thing that she created in our planning opening credits, and I merge a lot of the clips together and cut them if they are too long or if something just isn't needed. The reason why we used two people is so that we can get a second opinion on how it looks and Ryan sometimes offers his which is very helpful. This makes editing easier for both of us as we do different things that maybe one of us is better at doing than the other and can do it quickly.

I think that nearly all roles were done to a suitable standard the only thing i may suggest could have been better is the casts acting as sometimes it seems too over the top or they even seem like they just want to go home so that do it quickly. Other than that I think everything else went well as we did the editing and Ryan found the music quite quickly so getting to editing was easy for us.

Filming Schedule - miss georgiou

A filming schedule is important to have because it lets the directors or creators know what shot is or will be next to create, it gives the creator a chance to make it in a chronological order so that when it comes to editing it is quite simple. The directors can also look back at the filming schedule to know what the next shot will be as they may forget all about it. As well as directors, the actors can look at the filming schedule to understand what they have to do when they are on camera.

We followed most of the schedule when filming, we followed the order of shots that were on the paper in the correct and chronological order of the schedule as it was easy to do and very convenient for us. We followed the use of MES to a high standard with the bags, phones and the knife for the antagonist. We went to the location that was listed and all personnel that were listed were utilized in each shot. The equipment we have followed because it makes it easier to use a tripod than holding it with your hands. The date and time we had changed a bit as for us it was quite hard for us to finish all our shots on that day so we had to keep going back.

Risk assessment - Miss Georgiou

The reason we have to consider risks is because when filming a particular scene, some things could happen that were not meant to happen and this may lead to making the shot useless. It also helps so that the group can counter the problem quickly and efficiently making sure that all shots are acquired before it is time for everyone to go home or before it gets too dark making it hard for the camera to capture anything.

Before filming we have to take the hazards into account  as we may encounter one while filming and not have a clue what to do, however if we had created a risk assessment we could concur with the problem while filming. For example, if there is someone in the shot that is not meant to be in there and we accidentally forget to retake the shot, and then it comes to editing and find that that shot is the only one we have of it then we have to re shoot it which takes time, but if we had a risk assessment then we would know what to do and just stop them and say that we are doing a shot or filming a short sequence and then let them pass after we are done filming that specific shot. It's also good as it helps with planning as it lets us get over the more challenging obstacles that we may run into.

Group Storyboard - Miss Miller

Our group had all made a storyboard but now we all had to come together and decide what would be in the group storyboard that we would make for the actual shooting of the film. Our group decided that my one was the most conventional to a thriller so we made the group storyboard about my work but we incorporated Jessica's work in there as well. Ryan felt as if his work was not up to standard and didn't want to use it but he mentioned lots about sound so we kept that the same.

For the shots, we used mine as they agreed that I had a good idea of what I wanted to achieve or accomplish by the end of the filming, another reason we chose mine for the cinematography was because i made sure that the positioning of the antagonist would always be higher than Cathryn's positioning and we also used mine as the shots before the antagonist hits the scene are slow but after he makes himself present to Cathryn the shots we planned to have would be very quick thus creating a sense of panic in the sequence that element of being rushed puts the audience on edge.

As for setting or location and narrative description we used Jessica's storyboard for that as she has come up with and written a narrative for this sequence, so Jessica would have the best understanding of what would be happening between each individual shot. Me and Ryan would write and draw as she wanted them to be as it was her original story that we had made more conventional to a thriller.

For the soundtrack we used Ryan's storyboard as he was very detailed and very clear in his own storyboard so that when it came to the group one he was also very clear and precise on what he wanted for the soundtrack. Ryan had also stated that he would like to look into finding some interesting scores that we could then incorporate into our scene, he had even started looking for some before we had begun editing so sticking with his sound ideas throughout our piece will be good for our groups piece of work.

When it came to editing that was pretty much all of us as all edits in each frame were quite similar so we decided to use the ones that were more eerie or creepy as this would build up suspense for the audience. Me and Jess have offered to do the editing and Ryan will help when he has found the music to add to our scene so then he will edit it in. We also found that we had used quite a wide variety of edits in our storyboards to make it more of a thriller sequence, i would say our main inspiration would have to be se7en's opening credits sequence as this has a wide variety of edits as well as ours.

Another important element we were also similar to was the lighting as most thrillers have a good use of low key lighting in most sequences, we are trying to also add this into our sequence but we have found that it gets too dark too quickly at the moment so meeting up early is essential to making the film. The cameras will just have to be good enough for us to film because if they aren't then it might too hard for them to capture any footage.

For iconography we used Jessica's as she had much more than the rest of our group for iconography but there was one bit that we all had and that was the most important part which was the murder weapon, the knife. However the other props were needed as they would show just how helpless our character Cathryn is as she cannot defend herself with anything, which would make the audience feel more sympathy towards her, the group liked this use of iconography so we have planned to use it in our piece.

I think that this storyboard gives our group a lot of idea of what to film and how to film it. I think that we have managed to incorporate the best ideas into our piece that came from our groups storyboards and I also think that it is now more conventional than any of our own ones. If i had to change something it would probably be some of the cinematography but the group did say that most of it was conventional to a thriller so we stuck with it.

Opening scene Narration - Miss Miller

The scene begins with an eerie piece of music that connects well with the hand written credits. The shot is completely dark and then the credits introduce the production company in charge of funding the film and we are then taken to show who stars in the film as the main actors and actresses, then the directors are given their credits and this is where the audience find out where the sequence will be taking place as the black background with the hand written font in front will fade into a forest and slowly starts to emerge in the shot and will be low-key lighting. Then it introduces the title of the film for the audience that is "The Pathway" followed by this is the writer of the narrative of the film.

After this establishing shot of the forest we are then taken to an extreme long shot view of the group of girls with phones and bags as the iconography, they will be wearing casual clothes but they're brightly coloured as well, the lighting is quite bright and this lighting effect will be continuous throughout the rest of the sequence. While they are walking in the forest with the conventional forest sounds in the back ground the eerie music will die down now until you cannot hear it anymore. The camera stays on the girls but it fades to another shot of them walking up the forest, until they are all the way at the top, the girls then say good bye to one of their friends who then walks the rest of her way on her own, still with their bags and phones as the iconography. The camera then changes after to a shot of her walking away from the camera and we can that she is all alone. We then see a close up of her phone as she is walking still, the eerie music plays over the sound in the shot but the lighting is low-key again. The camera changes to a mid shot of her walking past and something snaps, she turns to see it but can't so she continues to walk. The camera then takes us to an over the shoulder shot of the killer wearing darker clothes than Cathryn and the angle is canted, the antagonist is positioned higher than her.

The next shot returns to Cathryn, who is texting on her phone, then looks up in shock at something in front of her. The eerie music from before is still going and lighting is the same as it was in the previous shot. The camera changes to an over the shoulder shot where we can see Cathryn is looking at a mysterious killer at the top of a hill in the forest. The antagonist is again positioned higher than her. It then cuts to a low angle shot of the antagonist but we cannot see his face therefore he is still mysterious. The shot then changes into a low angle where we can see Cathryn opposite the antagonist and as the antagonist lowers his right hand we see a knife in his hand, Cathryn then drops her phone in shock, the music still playing and the lighting is still the same, throughout this small encounter the edits are all linking shots of each other and the camera doesn't break the 180 rule.

The shot changes as the camera follows Cathryn in a panning style movement as she runs away from the killer, lighting is till the same and the music is still the same. We then cut a POV shot of Cathryn running with the sound of heavy breathing, she runs for a while until she gets to a tree, she then hides behind this tree in hopes she has escaped but the camera cuts back to a bit of distance from her as she peaks behind the tree, we see the killers knife slowly lower in the frame, he then slowly walks over towards her and as he is just about to reach her, the camera fades to black and that is where the opening sequence ends, after this scene it then follows Cathryn's narrative of how she may get out of the trouble she finds herself in.