Planning - Costume

In our film, the antagonists will be wearing suits and the protagonist will be wearing dark ripped jeans as well as a dark jacket. A good example of similar costumes for similar roles being successful is in the film 'heat' and the character of Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro). This fits in with the typical conventions of the thriller genre in that the antagonists wear dark clothing (black suit, black tie). Furthermore, these costumes may help to empower our target audience and mean that they are able to relate more closely to the film, which helps because two of the characters will also be of similar age to the target audience as well as myself. 

Tom Smith & Dan Elcock (Actors) in similar costume. 

Robert De Niro - Heat 

Planning - Props

The main prop in our film opening is a briefcase. This is an essential prop in our film because its what the protagonist is chasing after in our narrative and the main focus of our opening. This will be the colour black to represent the evil in the film and what the protagonist is trying to get hold of. We will also use shots such as close ups of the briefcase to draw the audiences attention to it and show the audience that this is a main part of the film opening.

Also, we will use two cars in which will help in the build up to the exchange and help to show the characters arriving and build up tension in the way that we want. The two cars will not be the main props in our film however, will be an essential part in gaining some shots that will help the narrative of the film as well as help to keep the audience intrigued. Furthermore, the props of cars and being in an empty car park will help exaggerate that they are isolated. 

Planning - Makeup

For our actors we will use foundation. This will reduce the glare on the face of the actor when being filmed, making it clearer on the camera and giving the lighting a bigger effect, or meaning that less lighting sources will be needed as there is already not many lighting sources being used. The make up will only be applied to the two main characters. This is because the biggest effect will be needed on these two to make them as clear as possible to the audience. 

Makeup can have a huge affect on the appearance of characters and therefore, can influence a film/an audiences perception of the film. This shows that makeup is very important and must be considered fully. Also, when shooting the film the setting will be dark, this means that makeup can give us an advantage in helping to notice a character and especially make the main ones stand out in a different way from the rest. 

Planning - Location Recce

Within the production stage of my film I will need a location that is:

• Accessible to me and my group.
• Create a everyday location that the audience can relate and link to.
• Allow us to create and develop certain themes and moods throughout our opening. 

The location of our filming will be in two different places, however, within the same area. One of the locations will be internally filmed (in a car park, where the exchange will occur) and one will be based externally (near a canal, where the chase will occur).

The location we have chose to film our production is Castle Quay shopping centre car park, Banbury. Our opening will be filmed after closing hours of the car park. Therefore, we will not need to worry about including footage of the public in the background. However, we will still need to gain consent of the owners to use the car park after closing hours and for filming purposes. This can be done through the use of an email.

However, the second part of our opening is set on public footpaths etc. therefore we will need to be careful not to film any of the public in our background and if we do to make sure we gain consent off of them before we use the footage. 

Location 1 - Internal (Car Park)

It will take us around fifteen minutes to arrive to our chosen location as all of my group members live nearby and we will travel by car. This also makes it convenient for our actors to get on set easily. We will most likely film over two days for around two hours each time depending on the quality of our recording and how quickly we can execute the shots that we want. If this does happen we will need to make sure we have continuity editing and that the lighting etc is the same as the previous day of filming. 

                           

Location 2 - External 

Planning - Film Opening Shot Test

This is a short video explaining the opening shot in our film opening and how we will execute it, testing it works. The camera is meant to be moved to focus up on the subject in the back of the car, who will be one of the antagonists in the film. The quality of this shot however, will be improved through the use of adequate lighting (filming at dusk instead of night & a light source) as well as the quality of camerawork and quality of camera that will be used to film.
Overall, I think this test shot was successful and we have learned what we will need to work on for it as well as how it will be filmed when recording our actual project.

Casting Conventions

In my film opening narrative there will be a main antagonist and main protagonist in the film. For these roles we will need to recruit the best actors possible for what we want. The most desirable characteristics and what we would want most from our actors are shown in this mind map;

We will use these characteristics to help appeal for our actors in our casting call out before the acting auditions take place. Therefore, from these auditions will we be able to select the best actors we have available and who meets the criteria the most for our ideal actor.

These are my ideal actor characteristics as it will create the atmosphere that we want in the film opening in the best way. For example by having the antagonist in a black suit as well as being tall it will show that he looks down up on people and it will represent him as the antagonist because he is wearing dark colours and the conventions that has. Therefore, for the protagonist we would ideally like the costume to be of light colour to symbolise he is the good person in the opening. Also, the ideal age for the protagonist will be a teenager, this is as it's our main target audience for the film. This means that the audience will be able to relate to it better and think that they could do something similar to what he is.

Casting Callouts

Within the narrative that we have created there will be four actor roles to fill. To appeal for actors in our film opening we used casting callouts to try and get the best actors possible and choose the actors that happen to best fit what we want and the roles and appearance we want them to have. To appeal for our actors, these are the casting callouts that we used before auditions.

Protagonist:
We are currently casting for a male protagonist aged between 15 and 18 to act in our film. You will need to be between the height of 5ft 10" and 6ft 1". The characteristics you will need is to be quite dominant and at audition improvise a short scene of a chase between two characters. For this role you will need to have strong athletic ability with limited disabilities and can be of any ethnicity.

Antagonist:
We are currently casting for a male antagonist who is middle aged and of a height around 6ft 2' being any ethnicity. The audition for this role would involve improvising an exchange of a briefcase between two shady characters. You must be dominant and be able to assert authority well through the use of body language. The costume for this role would involve wearing a dark suit.

                     
Others:
We are currently casting for two male henchmen to play a minor acting role in our film. The actors must be around middle aged and be of a height above six foot, as well as be able to drive. You can be of any ethnicity and have limited disabilities. In audition, you will need to improvise a dominant walk with a briefcase as well as a small car scene.

Planning - Audience

The psychographic and demographic tables which I refer and link to throughout my explanations of target audience: