The process of making a film

The process of making a film

Development and pre production

• The idea: book, play, original script rights cleared
• Development money obtained from various sources
• script developed with writer
• Producer, Director, Cast and prelimanary budget agreed
• TV & Video rights sold
• Finance, schedule, and budget approved

Production 

• set construction begins
• Costumes made
• Film unit assembles and principal photography begins
• publicity begins with a promotional campaign
• Composer starts work on the music
• Principal photography completed

Post Production and release

• Sound and picture editing computer special effects added
• Fine cut approved
• music composed and recorded
• original negative assembled
• film to censor for certification
• Advertising campaign approved and booked
• test screened
• Film is booked into cinema's
• prints of finished film are duplicated
• Film, stills and information is sent to distributors
•  advertising begins
• Premiere then cinema release of film
• Video distributed, TV screening depending on rights

Sean, Katie, Liam,

Cold Game Opening Scene

This is the opening scene to our new thriller film 'Cold Game'

Location Comparison

Location Comaprison

For our thirller film we wanted to use a similar location to the opening scene credits of "Reservoir Dogs" so we have used a pathway in Steeple Bumptead that has a similar brickwall that is seen in the opening, as you can see from the pictures there is a brick wall present in both settings. We have chosen the location in Steeple Bumpstead as it helps to create a similar setting that is seen in"Resevior Dogs" and we feel that this setting connotes the idea of a criminal lifestyle. It was also an easy location to access as most of the actors and group members could easily travel to this location.

Sean, Katie, Liam

The Cost Of Making A Film

The cost of making a film

Film Title	Cost (millions)
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End	£300
Tangled	£260
Spider-Man 3	£258
John Carter	£250
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince	£250
Avatar	£237
The Dark Knight Rises	£230
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian	£225
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest	£225
The Avengers	£220
Men in Black 3	£215
X-men: The Last Stand	£210
Superman Returns	£209
Battleship	£209
King Kong	£207

The modern films are becoming more expensive to make as technology advances and audiences expect more and more from the cinematic experience.



Sean, Katie, Liam

Thriller Timeline

The thriller genre has changed a lot over the years and this is a timeline showing a few Thriller Films that inspired us to make 'Cold Game'. It will also show have thrillers have changed in a few ways.

1960s - Physcho (Alfred Hitchcox)

Physco is a 1960 thriller film created by Alfred Hitchcox. It was the thriller of that paticular decade and had a very dark edge to it. The plot was basically  the story of a young woman who steals $40,000 from her employer's client, and subsequently encounters a young motel proprietor too long under the domination of his mother. This is one of the many films that have supposedly defined the thriller genre and used several simple camera angles. It didnt contain many effects due to the time of when the film was made. however it attracted large audiences and was seen as a hugely successful film.

1970s - Dirty Harry (Don Siegel)

Dirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan. This differs greatly to physco ten years earlier as it uses several effects for explosions, gun shots and lots more. A sadistic serial killer calling himself "Scorpio" (Andy Robinson) murders a young woman in a San Francisco swimming pool, using a high-powered rifle from a nearby roof.

1980s - Cruising (William Friedkin)

Cruising is a 1980 psychological thriller film directed by William Friedkin and starring Al Pacino. The film is loosely based on the novel of the same name, by New York Times reporter Gerald Walker, about a serial killer targeting gay men, in particular those associated with the S&M scene. This really does have great differences in the thrillr genre changing it from a scary, tense genre to a more fast paced, exciting genre.

1990s - Die Hard 2 (Renny Harlin)

Die Hard 2  is a 1990 American action film and the second in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by Renny Harlin, and stars Bruce Willis as John McClane. This franchise really changed the face of thrillers and almost leaned the thriller film to a sort of action genre, and contains several similar conventions from the action genre.

2000s - Sin City (Frank Miller)

Sin City is a noir thiller produced and directed by Frank Miller. This was a very different thriller to those of the years before it as it was a modern take on the film noir classic thrillers in the 50s and 60s. Starring the likes of Bruce Willis and Quentin Tarantino it had some great actors who have worked on thrillers in the past too. It has several thriller conventions throughout and the film and was very popular with critics and audiences alike.

2010s - Safe House (Daniel Espinoza)

This 2012 action thriller starring Denzil Washington and Ryan Reynolds is a great example of the coming together of the action and thriller genre. The conventions of both are easily visible making this excting, fast paced, suspense filled thriller one of the highest grossing of the year in the cinema. This was one of the groups favourite thrillers along with Resevoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction so we used parts of this film as an inspiration also.

Sean, Katie, Liam

Why We Chose Idea 2

When we first had the discussion about what we could do for our film, we came up with two good ideas. However eventually we decided to chose idea 2 as the final idea for our two minute opening scene in 'Cold Game'. We felt that this two minute opening scene idea was much more simple to film but it would look much better and contained better shots which fit the thriller style. Along with this the conventions of the thriller are more obvious in this idea compared to the 1st idea and therefore we felt it would be the better idea to use.

Along with this we had the right actors to create this idea well. Seeing as how we all enjoyed the film resevoir dogs we had used this as our inspiration so you will see several aspects of our opening scence that can relate to resevoir dogs more so than the first idea. Overall the fact that this idea fit the thriller genre and was easier to make was the main reason as to why we chose this idea over the first idea.

Sean, Katie, Liam

How Did Filming Go?

On The 25th of November we gathered in Steeple Bumpstead to film our 2 Minute opening scene from the new thriller 'Cold Game'. The Director Sean Carter, Cinematographers Liam Evans and Katie Meyer all assembled for the filming and were joined by the Actors - Lewis Jones, Ian Foulger, James Price and Sam Johnson for the filming of the Two Minute Scene. We feel that the filming went almost completely to plan and that we have filmed all the scenes we need to create our two minute opener.

We had a few minor problems with the camera running out of battery, and at times had differences of opininon on what type of shot should be used at a certain part, however we overcame this and worked through it to make a great opening scene.

Before the day of filming we had storyboarded the two minute opener shot by shot stating where each part would be filmed, for how long and from what angle etc. It was a very organised day and we knew exactly what we needed to do, therefore i think that this successful day of filming will show in the quality of our opening scene.

We not only successfully filmed the opening scenes but we also filmed several interviews, and behind the scenes footage on the day which we will be blogging very soon. I feel that the ideas of the group together with the hard working actors will mean that 'Cold Game' will make a great thriller.


Sean, Katie, Liam

Story Board

Below is the storyboard for the opening scene of 'Cold Game'. 

Sean, Katie, Liam

Second Location Idea

 We have decided that our Second Idea's location would be in  the streets of Steeple Bumpstead and also the Graveyard/Church of Steeple Bumpstead as we feel these two locations are perfect for the sort of scene we wish to capture, and we are hoping that the setting will really help to give the scene the sort of edge we want to capture. See the photos below for a view of the setting where we are going to film.

Sean, Katie, Liam

Spider Diagram Of Thriller Conventions

We have created this spider diagram ideas to show off the conventions of a thriller in general. We will use this diagram to remind ourselves of the conventions we may wish to put into our own film 'Cold Game'. The thriller genres conventions are all listed below and then along with that we have listed certain films that link to that convention.

Sean, Katie, Liam

Spider Diagram Of Ideas

We have created a spider diagram/ web of ideas for our production 'Cold Game'. This includes ideas for costumes, actors, setting, camera angles and inspirations etc. (see below)

Sean, Katie, Liam

Actors

 Actors

Sam Johnson 

       We picked Sam Johnson to be in our film, as he is reliable for filming and was willing to be in out film, as    he liked the idea of the plot, and has the look we wanted the mysterious man to have. Sam was also free when we needed him to film, this suited us best, as it fitted in with our filming schedule.


Ian Foulger

Ian volunteered to be in the film as he lives in the area we are going to be filming in. He fits the role perfectly as we needed a male character for the idea. He is reliable for filming and was willing to be in our film, he also liked the idea of the plot. Ian was also free when we needed him to film, this suited us best, as it fitted in with our filming schedule.

James Price
We needed another male to be in the film so James fit the role well, he lives in steeple which is the area we are going to be filming in. The fact he wasn't busy on the date of filming and we know we could rely on him to film was also a big bonus.

Lewis Jones
Lewis fit the role of one particular character we wanted in our scene and could easily help us out in the scene due to the fact he lives in the area we are wanting to film in. Along with this he is reliable and easy to contact to act in the scene




Sean, Katie, Liam

Second Idea

Second Idea
Follows one man leaving his house dressed in Suit, as man walks he meets up with second man, then the third then the fourth. All walking along in smart attire etc, resevoir dogs feel to the scene. Eventually come to a graveyard and all standing round one grave, rose drops on the grave scene ends.

we have decided to go with this idea for our final choice, this is because as a group we preferred the idea of this film better then the first. also most of our inspiration from other films are classical gangster film, so we have decided to uses similar ideas from the films that inspired us.

Music
Stevie Wonder - Skeletons

Director
Sean Carter

Filming & Editing
Sean, Katie, Liam

Cinematographer
Liam Evans, Katie Meyer

Actors
Ian Foulger
James Price
Lewie Jones
Sean Carter
Liam Evans

Setting
Steeple Bumpstead Streets
Steeple Church Graveyard

Sean, Katie, Liam

Camera Shots

 

This high angle shot can be used in several thrillers to help give the idea of weakness or can give the idea of low status so that one person can be viewed to be more powerful than another.

This over the shoulder shot is great to create an eerie tension and is perfect for thrillers when showing someone being followed.

This tracking shot is used to show the character in its surrondings, best used when someone is travelling to a certain place or walking somewhere. Can be used to show the setting aswell as the character from a side on angle.

This is an establishing shot it can be used to set the scene for a thriller and show the setting, this can be used to show the user the whole scenery etc.

For this shot we have used a Birds eye view shot, this will be used in thrillers again to give across the idea that someone is being watched or followed and can create a almost worrying scary atmosphere.

This shot is known as a point of view shot, it makes the audience feel as though they are looking through the eyes of the character and is often used in thrillers to show the audience a paticular event through their eyes.

This is known as a worms eye view shot, used to show the character from a lower angle. this can portray power or can just be used to show the character from a different angle.

                                                                                                                          


Sean, Katie, Liam
                                       

Costume Ideas

Costume Ideas

Four Boys -

The four boys will be wearing smart clothing and be in either suits or similar. for example Sam will be wearing a black skinny tie, white shirt, black trousers and black shoes to give him a more professional smart look. We feel that this will give the film a more tidy and will hopefully make the scene have a more thriller atmosphere. we have got our idea for our costumes from thriller films such as "Resivior Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction" as you can see from these films the characters are dressed up smartly in suit, which could also be a way of showing a high status.

Sean, Katie, Liam

Filming Schedule

Filming Schedule

Day 1

        Date: 25th November 2012

        Location: Steeple Bumpstead

        Time: 11:00 am

        Actors: Sam Johnson

                    Ian Foulger
                    James Price

                    Lewie Jones

        Director: Sean Carter

       Cinematographer: Liam Evans

       Filming: Liam, Sean and Katie

        Equipment: Video camera

                          Props-rose

                          costumes



Sean, Katie, Liam