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MEST 2: Progress report

Work completed since 6 January

• Mise en scene, locations, costume, props, casting, cinematography/visuals
• Redraft of script (worked with whole group)

Any incomplete pre-production tasks

• None

Next steps/Action plan

• Photoshoot on 27th Jan
• Location filming, e.g. establishing shots etc
• Getting a soundtrack sorted
• Getting props and costumes sorted

Date filming will be complete

• 20th February

Requirements for photoshoot next week

• Characters/Subjects needed for photoshoot are available and able to come
• Costumes and props need to be sorted (e.g blood/murder weapon)

MEST 2: Double page spread feature

Transgression: Fulfil your deepest, darkest desires  

Four young film makers dare to challenge society through a camera lens.

Dark, intense, yet grippingly and breathtakingly mesmerising; something that is quite frankly rare and not what you would expect from an indie, ragtag cast/crew of ethnically diverse Greenford students. 

Jason is the newest member of an ordinary group of teenagers, but when he comes up with the idea of a "spin the bottle" game, the young friends are thrown into a journey that they have only imagined in their minds. Is Jason to be trusted? Are they playing a simple game or are they in fact playing with their lives? The screenplay is written and produced by an enthusiastically skilful writer Ladan Abdulle who masterfully presents to the audience the horrors of society and the inevitable yet hidden capacity for evil of the human mind through the eyes of a seemingly normal teenager. 

With its overly stylized use of violence, music, and striking imagery; Transgression is a brutal yet slick film that represents a fully realized vision of art house suspense, drama and action. Transgression has the talented young director Sunny Hassan at it's helm who masterfully creates a screenplay with great visual flair, in the style of Nicolas Winding Refn, with a little natural gruesome trauma and suspense but still retaining the beautiful iridescent cinematography. 

Along with it's low profile yet amazingly talented crew behind the camera, the film utilises and brings to the spot light many new rising stars in the acting industry; Izaaz Sayed, who plays the leading character Jason has charisma and a presence that is very subtlety layered with psychological estrangements that the audience do not realise until it is too late. His Oscar winning performance in Hassan's "The Equation" was one that left audiences around the globe on the edge of their seats and the doubtful critics speechless.

Combined with the strikingly golden imagery and the mellifluous sound design by Mandev Seahra and Rashida Dowding, movie goers will be comfortably numb with nostalgia until they are ultimately hit with a train wreck of shattering emotions that leaves them breathless and wanting more with every whisper of dialogue.

Without a doubt, this latest indie film is on it's way to become an absolute cult classic. It is the way that the visuals, sound and narrative come together on the silver screen that is both alluring and captivating to the audience.

MEST 2: Research and Planning

Research 

The main title is clearly presented in the centre of the image and takes up the majority of the space to really stand out to the audience. This is very efficient in anchoring the target audience and making them read the brochure and get straight to the point of what it is that they are advertising.

The main central image is right in the middle and presented uniquely in this brochure. It's different and stylised an a way that it invokes the reader's attention to the detail and urges them to see the image with a different perspective. This is very unusual as the image is not clear at all and is edited with different colours but put into the text, this distorted effect breaks key conventions of making the central image clear and presentable and relates to the kind of reader that it is aimed it. The image is edited in a way to follow the colour scheme of the BFI logo which makes the brochure much more consistent to the branding.

Brochure Front Covers

This cover very effectively uses designs and vectors of film iconography which I would love to use.

This brochure uses an edit on the front cover which creates a very distorted and trance-like illusion effect which I would like to use as it fits our main plot. 

This brochure has a very minimalistic and clean look to it and the use of the cuts in angled lines is very unique which would be effective in my cover.

The over exaggerated expressions help to engage the audience and I think this is something that I would like to use in my cover with my photoshoot.

Contents Pages

I would like to use the medium body shot of the main person with a prop over his shoulder, facing away from the camera but has a very strong and intimidating posture. Along with scattered different pages of the magazine inside which the main person overlaps.

I would also consider to use this but unlike the previous one, this has a much more of a tighter focus on the main character with a slight blurring vignette. I love the pose that the main character has as well as the facial expression along with the incorporation of the prop. The rest of the contents is very clean and structured which is in stark contrast to the person. 

I would consider using this idea of having a medium shot of the character but instead of covering the entire page, he is restricted to a small square of the page, which he is actually coming out of and over lapping the contents page title. This is very surreal and fits with our plot line.

This is very unique again as the main character takes up the entirety of the page, holding a prop aimed directly at the camera which I would consider using as I think it is very effective in grabbing the audience and making them feel as if they are in the scene themselves. However, the contents page is coloured in contrast to the black and white and also stands out.

Planning

1) Create a spider diagram or bullet point list of all the things your target audience might be interested in. How can you use this information to create a main feature about your film that will appeal to your target audience?

• Our genre is going to be focused on a suspenseful, drama/thriller. There will need to be an idea of violence and blood iconography especially considering the rating
• Our target audience are teenagers and young adults so the style and design must be trendy but also clean yet simple as many people don't like to be overloaded with information.
• The main character must be displayed as this will engage the audience
• The writing must be clear and concise but not long as if it were an essay which will not at all anchor the audience and if it does it will probably bore them.
• The images of the feature will have to be dramatic and fit the tone of the plot line.
• LOGO - Watch Dogs

2) Produce an A5 sketch of your front cover including the key conventions and design tricks you have studied in existing programmes and then planned in planning task 1 above.

3) Produce an A4 sketch of your double-page spread contents page. In terms of the text for your contents page, you will need to find out the names of the films of other groups in your class. The other films in the class will make up the rest of your contents page.

4) Create a spider diagram or bullet point list of ideas for your double-page spread feature. Write a list of potential headlines and sub-headings for the article you choose to go with.

• Spin the wheels of fate
• This life is an illusion
• Fulfil your darkest intentions
• The main feature will focus on our script and the general idea
• Also it will focus on the concept and the crew behind the film. Sort of like a Behind the Scenes

5) Produce an A4 landscape sketch of your double page spread design now you have chosen the subject matter.

MEST 2: Print brief

Photoshoot

Which of your main characters will appear on the front cover of your programme?
The main character that will appear on my front cover will either be Jason or Grace. I'm hoping to show the different sides of Jason but I feel like this would be a lot more cliche and also could possibly give away the plotline. So, I feel like if I was to focus on Grace as well, and create a type of "missing" poster, it would help to create many enigma codes and also be something that's unique to draw the audience in.

What image or images do you need for the contents page?
The image that I think would be effective for the contents page is an image of Jason's back to the camera with a cricket bat held behind his back. The cricket bat being the actual murder weapon.

What image or images will you use for the double-page spread?
The image for the double page spread will have medium or long shots of every other character in the production

Write a shot list for the photoshoot. Make sure you plan a variety of camera shots you will look to capture - medium shots, close-ups etc.

• Close up of facial expressions, some with serious and also with crazy features to show the damaged personality of the character
• Close up/Medium shot of the character resting his chin in his hand stained with blood 
• Long shot with the cricket bat
• Medium shots of the character holding the bat to his head
• Low angled shot which to make him look a lot more intimidating

What costume, props or make-up will you require for the photoshoot?
Jason will have to be in his normal casual costume where he is wearing clothes that resemble his attitude and personality, such as t shirt/jeans/hoodie/trainers. There will also be the use of a cricket bat which is the murder weapon in the actual storyline. In terms of make up, there will only be the need for red paint for blood.

How will you make sure you have everything prepared for the photoshoot on Wednesday 20 January?
Talk to the person playing Jason and see if he is free during the photoshoot periods or if he is free after school. Bring in lighting equipment and the cricket bat props.

MEST 2: Pre-production

Project Schedule

Script

First Draft
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1o-GAb37AM1WJNyPciUq9EFK-DzlvAntgYHadXD-EI6U/edit

Second Draft

https://docs.google.com/document/d/10AFnZB-hkvjCBb4ibwZEg7bqwOzC3pLAdKtIOE-jc2c/edit

Shot list

First draft

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2H4eXhrZX_7aWwwZUZTdzBmVmc/view?usp=sharing

Second draft

https://docs.google.com/document/d/14dI320WocDlgzf6rY2jnBm42ms_iHIjxG6OygfiphjM/

Storyboard

  

 

Mise en scene

Cinematography/Inspirations

Gone Girl, in terms of the mentally disturbed protagonist and the general psychological .

In terms of cinematography and actual filming styles:

House of Cards, different depths and variety of things being in focus/ out focus, foreground/background etc
Whiplash, use of colours and palettes
Drive, use of colours and palettes, and general cinematography, possible use of soundtrack
Run Lola Run, use of solid colour tint overlays which helps to drive the narrative and multiple personality or narratives of characters.
Trance, use of editing in post production to create disorientating effects etc
Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim, Hot Fuzz), possible use of the "montage" stylised cutting of scenes.

Casting

The characters with the most focus during the 3 minute extract will be Grace and Jason. Atousa will be playing Grace. Izaaz will be playing Jason. Lucia, Tyra and Devon will be played by Saanya, Hena and Tejas

Locations

Rooftop
This location is essentially where the teenagers are hanging out. The location that we decided on and hope to film at is Mandev's roof which is ideal for the whole abandoned look and would also be great as it is spacious for our filming needs.

Woods
A quiet and reserved area such as the woods near a park will be needed for the scene where Jason kills Grace. The area that was suggested by Ladan was Brent Valley Park, the entrance from Ruislip Road near the Greenford Lidl. This is essentially very open and also shows our setting of open and generally a green woodland area.

Props

The props needed are a baseball bat which could be substituted later if we don't find one. Also a bottle will be needed as it is the central part of story line. 

Possible props, cigarettes, beer/alcohol containers?

Costume and Make up

Normal clothing because the characters are all teenagers, make up will be needed for the violence and the blood when Grace is killed.

Jason - Typical guy outfit (jeans, t shirt, hoodie, trainers) extremely casual almost bordering on the sense of lazy. Generally needs to have a very "rugged" and not caring look to his attire. This generally to show the idea of how he reflects himself as disorganised and unlike normal stylish guys.

Devin - A bit more stylish but also casual, shows his a lot more trendy and generically up beat personality. He's a lot more of a laid back but cultured guy and likes to show it.

Lucia - Fashionable and trendy attire, as she's considered and seen by her peers as a "popular girl". This has to be portrayed appropriately through her costume. It must still hold to the casual theme of teenagers.

Grace - She's a lot more of a shy and reserved girl who doesn't care too much about how she presents herself. She still wants to look good so that she can fit in with her peers and so tries her best to reflect her personality of being a nice and shy person through her costume. 

Tyra - Laid back and but generally a much more perspective person who isn't easily fooled. She's shown as very casual and chilled. Use of hoodies would be good to show this and matched with trainers and t shirts.

Lighting

Generally, we will use natural day lighting but can use some high key lighting to create dramatic emphasis if need be. Lighting will have to be essential to create a vivid colour palette that resembles an indie film such as Drive.

Tutorial notes and feedback

• Upload all documents to our blogs
• Re-draft script
• Re-do storyboard
• Re-do shot list
• Location scouting 
• Costumes (Signifies for each character)