Evaluation Question 1

Editing Log

1st December: Rough edit together, without sound and without adobe after effects mirror sequence. 2 hours of rough editing together whilst taking notes of continuity errors which will need to be fixed in refilm.

2nd December: 2 hours. Diegetic and non-diegetic sound added to the film in order to see what first draft would appear like. Gathered feedback ready to make changes when necessary.

4th December: Adobe after effects-1:30 hours. Mirror sequences edited together using adobe after effects and added into the film in order to bring the sequence and narrative to life.

7th December: Titles and credits added to film in order to add the professional edge to the film. 1:30 hours. Final notes taken ready for re film and re edit.

11 December: Refilmed shots added to the film. 

12 December: Voiceovers recorded and added to the film. Diegetic sound also added in order to add atmosphere.

13 December: Final edit put together and checked over with group. 

Physical Costume design

This is the costumes we decided to use when filming the final draft of our film 'Of Unsound Minds'. We decided to use contrasting black, white and grey colour schemes in order to portray the good v evil characteristics of our main protagonist Rob. The grey colour of Rob's shirt shows how he has a mixture of good and evil which is portrayed through the different characters in the mirror sequences. The dead character wears black to symbolise mystery and evil within Rob's head as he is supposedly a vision of a horrible deed committed by Rob, whilst the Doctor wears white to symbolise how he is supposed to help and guide Rob through his mental struggle.

Re-filming second draft time schedule

Timings and schedule for the re-draft of 'Of Unsound Minds':

13:30-Actors and crew arrive at filming location ready to watch through first draft and take individual notes on what they would change and where improvements need to be made.
14:00- Compare notes and make a checklist of what shots need to be re-filmed in order to make the film a better quality.
14:30- Prepare filming equipment, props and costumes ready for use and have the actors learn their lines ready to be filmed.
15:30- Get changed into costumes and set up lights and camera ready for sunset and darkness outside.
16:00 (or when Sunset occurs)- Begin filming making sure that the shots are checked off on the checklist as they are done to the correct standard.
18:00- Re watch through clips one last time and make sure that the group agree that they are of the highest possible standard and if not re-film again and check
19:00- Take SD card from camera and save files onto computer in order to not lose the files, begin editing the new clips into the clips which are staying from the first draft of the film.

Reece for second draft

For the second draft of our film we have decided to change the location of filming in order to make it appear less like a drama production and also add more depth to the shots in the film. This location will allow us to shoot through doorways, creating more depth and the small enclosed space of the bathroom will have the same affect as the small dark room we were using previously. This therefore this means that the same effect will be portrayed to the audience, but in a more suitable location. This location also will be available at any time we wish to film, unlike the previous studio which we needed to book in advance and thus makes it easier to film.

Arranging a time to film with crew and actors

Feedback on second draft- Written

From this feedback we now know that re-filming in order to improve certain shots and certain areas of continuity is key to improving our film, as well as making the split personality of Rob more clear in order to make the narrative of the whole film more vivid and clear to the target audience.

'Of Unsound Minds' Second draft

Interviews for 'Of Unsound Minds' lead role

DECISION: George Bull- delivered the lines in the clearest manner with the most emotion and acting prowess. Will work well in the role as took on advice of character quickly and adapted to working in front of a camera quickly in comparison to the other two candidates.

Profile of potential actors

George Bull: Age 18, Male, Brown hair, GCSE actor, theatre production actor, school production performer.

Short film experience? First draft 'Of Unsound Minds'

Jake Curtis: Age 17, Male, Brown hair, No previous acting experience

Short Film experience: None

Joe Deighton: Age 17, Male, Blonde hair, A-Level actor, school production performer.

Short film experience? 'Smile' AS Media piece.First draft 'Of Unsound Minds'

Luke Scrivener: Age 17, Male, Brown hair, GCSE actor, School proudction performer.

Short film experience? 

'Smile' AS Media piece, First draft 'Of Unsound Minds'

Decision:

First choice: George Bull

Second choice: Luke Scrivener

Third Choice: Joe Deighton

Fourth Choice: Jake Curtis

Character profile- updated new

Rob: works in the city as a stockbroker 8am-6pm. Rob doesn't get enough sleep as he gets home at 8pm and continues to work at home until 1am. He feels he isn't successful in comparison to everyone else at work and feels if he does extra work he will be on par with them. He is having a rough period and only gets 5 hours sleep as he has to get to work at 7:30, making him stressed because of the environment he works in is very fast paced and you can't put a foot wrong as the whole businesses reputation is on the line. His schziophrenic nature leads him to situations where he is not in control and very vulnerable/scared.

Therapist/Doc: A doctor trying to comfort Rob and help him get over his mental health issues. He is very intelligent, cool, calm and collected and handles intense situations with ease and really tries to get to the bottom of Rob's problems;brings the truth out of him as he knows that he is the only person Rob can confidient and collected with. 

Personality 1/ dead person:

Unknown character who appears in mirror after appearing to have been killed by Rob. Pale, blonde man who looks weak and innocent.

Sheet of tasks to do on blog

In order to make sure that my blog was totally up to date I made a checklist of what I wanted to add in order to make sure that my blog and film could be of the best possible standard. This helped majorly with my time management as it meant I knew what I had to do and made sure that I actually did this.

Prop knife

From preparing our risk assessment we noticed that a potential hazard could be due to the knife that would need to be used in the film. In order to limit the potential harm of the knife we have decided to find a prop knife to use as is completely made of plastic, but still appears realistic in filming.

Risk Assessment

Screenplay feedback

From the feedback to our script we was able to notice that many people felt the narrative was mainly clear, but they made it clear to us that when the film comes to life through filming it should make a lot more sense. This therefore shows me and my partner that we really need make our filming a very high quality in order to completely tell the narrative effectively.

Equipment sign out list

Feedback on second Screenplay

We again went out and asked for some audience feedback for our second script. Once the audience read it, we asked them 3 questions:

1. What did you think of the narrative?
2. What did you think of the dialogue?
3. What did you think of the ending?
4. Any improvements you think could be made?

These were each of the responses to the questions.


Feedback 1:

1. Good narrative
2. Maybe a bit too much dialogue
3. Yeah it was good, ties up the story well.
4. Make the dialogue less repetitive

Feedback 2:

1. Understood it. It was clear
2. Dialogue was good
3. Ending was good
4. Wasn't clear on whether it was a thriller or a drama

Feedback 3:

1. Understood most of the narrative but some bits were unclear
2. I liked it because it definitely shows that Rob is a bit mentally unhinged. Was baffled about the character of Doc and Voices
3. Good plot twist
4. Clear up some of the dialogue, to make some parts less confusing

Feedback 4:

1. Understood the narrative after reading over
2. Very deep meaning and powerful
3. Unexpected twist, out of nowhere
4. Yes, more talking to himself as it makes it clear to the audience about his condition

From this research we were able to discover that our target audience would prefer us to cut out some unnecessary lines in order to make the dialogue of the film more concise as well as making the narrative of the film clearer. They also would like us to make it more clear the purpose of the voices of the doctor and the dead character, so therefore we need to make this more clear to our audience.

Filming schedule and weather check

Even though the weather does not directly affect the filming due to some parts of the film being set during the evening/night then we must make sure that we are filming when it is dark outside in order to give the film continuity between the time shown on the clock and the colour of the sky. Due to the sun setting at 15:53 it means that it will be dark enough between 16:15 and 16:30 and therefore this gives us enough time to travel to the filming location as it begins to get dark.

Time Schedule:

15:25- Finish school and gather equipment ready to film
15:30- Meet at the school gates ready to travel on the train to Hornchurch.
15:50- Arrive at Upminster station and get on train travelling Westbound towards Hornchurch.
16:05- Arrive home ready to film giving us time to set up before it begins to get dark.
16:15- Check that it is now dark enough to film outside and if so begin filming- film all the mirror shots first in order to make sure that the camera doesn't move so that the after effects works.
16:30-18:00- Film the duration of the film- allow plenty of time for multiple shots in case doesn't go right first time round.
18:00- Double check that all shots and lines are filmed using checklist and script. If so then tidy up equipment and put files onto the computer in order to assure that they are not lost.

'Total Film' Film review research

'Total Film' layout research:
Total Film predominantly go for a layout which has a main picture situated at the top of the page which comes down to around halfway. The photo usually has a short explanation which appears within the photo and the title of the film cutting into the bottom left section of the photo. In the top right section of the magazine another indentation to the photo is made in order to show the audience films that are similar to the main focal film- these usually come alongside a brief summary of the film mentioned. In the top left hand corner of the 1 page layout, the area of the magazine, that the review can be found, in is stated in a bold black font (this font is easy to read and has a slight curve to the letters.) Additionally, within the writing itself there is a small red box with the first letter of the article within it in order to make the page stand out even more than usual. Situated above the red box is a star rating which is paired with a small tag line in order to describe the film. The article itself also uses a pull quote just off the centre right of the page which is usually an eye catching and engaging statement from the paragraph to the left of it. Another noticeable element is the graph at the bottom left of the page which describes the predicted curve (view) rate of the film with small annotations and a red outline. This therefore shows me that when creating my own film poster I should be looking to stick to a black and red colour palette and make the font easy to read and slightly curved (possibly elephant font). Furthermore, when designing the layout I will have to make sure I accommodate space for the graph in order to make it as close to the original as possible.

'Props for 'Of Unsound Minds' draft 2

The mirror will be one of the main props in our film as will allow us to add the different personalities into the film in an abstract way.

Soap will be taken out of the cupboard by Rob in order to wash off the imaginary blood on his hands.

Knife- taken out at the end of the film in order to build suspense and suspicion amongst the audience as they do not know what Rob is going to do with this prop.

Clock will show the time that Rob gets out of bed after being unable to sleep due to hearing voices in his head.

Bed that Rob is sleeping in before awaking due to his mental illness.

Sink- where Rob goes to wash his face and calm himself down. 

Production schedule for re-filming

'Of Unsound Minds' Screenplay draft 2

‘Of Unsound Minds’ script 2

Character list-

Rob, Doc, Voices, Daniel.

Rob is unable to get to sleep and is uncomfortable in bed. He is wriggling about a lot and the camera cuts to a clock showing that it is 2AM. He looks over towards the clock and throws the duvet off of him in frustration before getting up and walking over to the bathroom.

Starts in bedroom, a character is tossing and turning in his bed trying to get to sleep. He gets up and goes to the toilet to wash his face. Goes to small toilet/bathroom Rob is standing staring into a mirror on the wall, he has his hands placed on a sink. His head is bent down and he is hunched over. Rob is in pyjamas and he looks down at his bare hands- they are normal.

Rob:

My hands, these are not my hands. My hands would not do such awful things. (pause)

My brain, this is not my brain. My brain would not allow me to think these things. (pause)

(Rob is pulling at his eyes whilst looking into the mirror) My eyes, these cannot be MY EYES. They would never see these things. Surely this person that I am, the person that I have become is not me. It cannot be.

Rob splashes his face with water and stands staring at himself in the mirror for a few seconds.

Rob:

No it isn’t me. I know that it isn’t. Nothing anyone says can make me believe that this is me. I wouldn’t ever do such a thing.

Rob’s personality changes and he becomes more fierce and resilient.

Rob:

What are you on about? This is you? It has always been you.

This is you! This the person you are now, the person you have always been. Liam and the doc are wrong this has always been you. They don’t know you. They don’t understand you- how would they understand what is going on in your head? They aren’t you.

Rob reaches for the cupboard and pulls out a fresh bar of soap. When he reappears he looks in the mirror and his appearance in the mirror has changed. The real Rob steps back in fear and begins to touch his face.

Doc:
Hello Rob. How are you today? I heard you talking to yourself what is wrong today? I don’t want you to suffer, I thought you were getting better, but maybe you do need my help after all.

Rob rubs his eyes looks down at the sink and looks back up at the mirror. The doctor has disappeared and he stands looking at himself in the mirror in disbelief.

Rob:
Why do I see these things? Doc, why do I see these things?
(No Reply)
Doc? Doc? There’s not even anything there. Why does my mind play tricks on me. This isn’t fair. Doc please don’t ignore me- I need help. Today of all days I really do need your help.
(Pause- Silence)

Rob smacks his fist against the basin and lowers his head.

Rob:
No this is not me, my brain does not work like this! I do not see these things around me. I don’t! I don’t.

Rob cripples to the floor and scrunches himself down into a ball with his head between his knees.

Voices:
1.Rob, listen you have got to stand up. Face me. Face this.

2.You are giving in Rob. We told you that you would give in. We always knew that you would give in.

3. You need to listen Rob, now is not the time to give in. Not any day, but especially not today.

Rob:

I can’t get up. I cannot face this anymore. I don’t want to face this. I don’t want to face you. I don’t want to face anything no more. No one can help me as no one understands me, I have nothing to live for no more, especially today I don’t deserve to face this.

Rob changes back to being stern. His head lifts up from his lap and you see his hand clench into a fist.

Rob:

Get up! You will get up! Do you want people to find out? Find out about us? Find out about what we did? No. I didn’t think that you would, so you need to get up now and face this.

Rob raises back to his feet and brushes himself down. He grasps the soap in his hand and starts vigorously washing away at his hands. He looks down at his hands and they are clean. He looks up in the mirror for a few seconds, you see his face become visibly weaker and he looks back down towards his hands which are now covered in blood. There is a knife covered in blood resting on the side of the sink.

Voice:

Rob Linderman- You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.

Sirens begin to echo around in Rob’s head.

Rob:
They have found us. They’ve found us Liam- I can’t do this I can’t lie to them.

Rob personality change. Stern faced and resilient.

Rob:

What are you on about? Nothing is going on, it’s all in your head- they won’t find us. They have absolutely no way of finding us.

Banging continues on the door.

Voice:

Rob Linderman you know you’re in their. Come out with your hands on your head, or we will have to act with force.

Rob:

What are you waiting for, go outside and face them

Becomes fierce

No! This is all in your head, no one is outside, no one is coming for us. No one knows what happened

Harsh banging continues in the background with the dialogue, pale person appears in the mirror talking to Rob

Victim:

What did I ever do to you Rob? Why did I deserve this? Why did you kill me?

Rob storms out of Bathroom to front door. When he opens it he expects the policemen at the door but sees a dead body lying there.

Cut to black