Planning- Risk Assesment

We carried out a risk assessment to allow us to prevent any accidents or problems occurring during our filming period. We thought of any risks that could potentially put our equipment or actors at risk. We thought about all of our different locations and any danger they may carry whilst we are filming for our trailer.

Research- Elephant film trailer analysis

Elephant film trailer analysis

I decided to research the 'Elephant' film trailer as the plot is based on a school shooting is very similar to the story line of our film trailer. I thought it would be beneficial for me to research another physiological thriller involving a school shooting as it would help me include the key conventions of a school shooting and give us inspiration for our own trailer.
0.05 -In this first shot there is a  wide establishing shot of two white cars driving down a rural road in which they collide with each other. They have used an establishing shot to let the audience get to know the setting and the sort of area the film is set in.

 0.12- This is a mid shot of a young teenage boy and a middle aged man inside the vehicle. The young boy is snatching the keys out of the ignition to prevent the man from dink driving. This is a counter type as it is stereo typically usually the teenager who would drink drives not the middle aged man.

0.14-After a fade to black the film logo 'HBO FILMS' features on the film. We are also going to put out film logo at the beginning of our trailer so the audience can establish us as a company and any films we have previously filmed. This is a generic convention of any film trailer.

0.17-Next there is a mid shot of a young teenage boy playing the piano this is a counter type of the typical teenager who goes out drinking so doesn't represent the stereotype of his age. The music continues after the shot also so add effect to the trailer.

0.24-Then the directors name comes up on the screen which helps people identify other successful films relating to the director. This is an essential convention of a phycological thriller and in our film we are going to include the director, editor and producer.

In this shot you have a dark gloomy shot with low lighting in which you can see two figures one the young boy from the previous shot and next to him a teenage girl. The corridors they are walking down look empty and deserted this immediately tells the audience somethings not right as theres not happy students chatting in the corridors like a normal school day. In our film we have used a similar effect in which we are including a montage of lonely, empty corridors.

Then it cuts to a shot of the boy walking down the corridor by himself however the lighting gets brighter from the last shot. These shots are used as establishing shots to help set the scene of the school in which where the school shooting is going to happen

This shot shows 3 girls back walking down the corridor it shows them with a midshot of their backs. This isn't a classic convention of a physiological thriller as its more a convention of a teen angst film where 3 mean girls walk down the corridor and everyone is scared of them.


This is a mid shot of two boys standing in the corridor shaking hands which is quite stereotypical of teenage people as this is how they are likely to communicate with each other. It also shows how this school day is like normal at this point.

This scene shows a typical school sports day this connotes the typical school day which shows innocence of children and competitiveness. This is further setting the scene of a normal school day before everything gets turned upside down and the atmosphere changes.

Here in this shot it shows the three girls standing in the corridor staring at the young boy who features in a close up. This is very stereotypically of teenage girls to stand giggling to their friends when a handsome boy walks past.

In this mid shot there are two teenagers kissing which is a usual stereotype for people there age. It also regularly happens in schools. It is also quite dim dingy lighting which might suggest something bad is going to happen.

Here is a wide shot of inside the classroom with bright lighting. This shot could be significant as it shows its just a normal school day to these children and how there lives are going to be turned upside down. The emotions on the children faces also look content at this point which helps connotes their innocence.

Reviews on the screen in the trailer allow the audience to see what reviews the film has received and how may stars it has been awarded which also contributes to if they decide to go and watch the film or not.

This is the shot where the audience will realise something bad is going to happen. There are two men in army clothing walking towards the school with large heavy bags which could have weapons inside.  In our trailer we are also going to use a character in similar clothing with a gun inside a large bag.

Next is a close up shot of two teenagers a boy and a girl, you can clearly see their features and they look like stereotypical teenagers. Although their face expressions shows something isn't right, this therefore helps to connote the phycological thriller genre.

Here is a wide shot inside the school where two teenagers are running and clearly are in a panic. The lighting is dim which makes the mood more tense and shows something is wrong.

The title of the film appears on the screen. It is in a very large bold font which shows synergy across all social media platforms and posters the film has which makes people recognise it.

This is a mid shot of a typical teenage boy in a bright lit shot. He is talking to a girl and this is stereotypical of a boy of this age who attends high school.

In this shot the credits role, which include the director and producers. They have used a white font and large capital letters which fit with the trailer and the posters made for the film. For our film trailer were also going to use a recognisable font throughout so synergy is created for our film which makes it more recognisable for audiences.

Planning- Titles and Connotations.

Our title of our film is called 'The Final Bell' We chose to use this as our film title as it fits with the setting of our film and connotes the genre of physiological thriller. The final bell connotes physiological thriller as it gives away what is going to happen in our trailer, for example when the bell goes in school its the final one before the shooting and marks the point where the audience knows that is going to happen next.

We had a lot of different initial ideas for our film title;
Shooting
Last Bell
Gunshot

We looked at many other different school shooting films in our research to help our film follow the connotations of the other film titles.

Research- Production company research logo

Planning- Possible Locations

Setting- Outside School Exit

This is a photo we took with our iPhone 8 which has excellent camera quality. This is the first setting we are going to include in our trailer. We are going to film the scenes for our trailer after school so it will be eerie and will create a more tense atmosphere as the school will be empty and dark. We choose to use this location as it is outside of the school which helps set the scene for the school shooting.

Setting- Looking out to school field

We chose to include this shot in our filming as it is an open space where we can film our antagonist running away after he has committed the school shooting. It is also a prime location to shoot a lot of children in the distance playing on the film which connotes their innocence and youthfulness. When we film this shot it will be dark and gloomy so you will only be able to see the silhouettes of the school buildings which helps to create a more tense atmosphere.




Below are the images of the corridors we are going to include in our montage. We are going to use fast pace editing to create a montage of empty corridors. We are going to include lots of different empty corridors in our montage. This will therefore help to set the atmosphere of the school, which is going to be empty eerie and spooky. From our research we have discovered lots of physiological thrillers feature fast pace montages of  the setting to show the distortion and confusion of the antagonist mind and how they have physiological problems which make them commit the crime. A film that includes a montage is split where they use fast pace editing near the end to connote confusion and problems physiologically. I found this from my research of trailer analysis of split.

Setting- High angle of empty corridors

Setting- Empty Corridors

Setting- School Social Areas

Setting- School social areas.

Setting- School Canteen.

         

Planning- Choosing the Cast

Planning- Production Company Logo

Final Production Company Logo

This is our production company logo, we combined two logos together as we have merged groups and established a collaboration company. Last year myself and my group created the Oscar statue logo so we replaced the image making the I with our statue to merge our groups together. We chose to use this as our production company logo as it reflects our production company because people will be able to relate our film to the Oscars. The Oscars are awards that you win when your film is nominated for best British film or similar, so it portrays that our film is up to a high standard.

To make our production company logo we used the programme photo shop to create the sophisticated logo. We used an image of an Oscar and we manipulated to get it to look the way we desired and made it our own. We changed the colour and fonts a few times until we got it the way we imagined it to be. As a group we all helped design and brainstorm for the logo.The word giant was used in the production company logo as it shows how big our film is and how successful it could potentially be. Below are the two separate logos last year.

Previous Years Logo

Previous Years Logo

Planning- Storyboard initial ideas

As a group we created a story board with our plot ideas, we used a storyboard as this is a creative way for us to plan our film ideas. We included the different variety of shots we are going to use whilst filming. (There is a fade to black after every shot)

Shot 1- This is a wide shot that we are going to film of the Richie hall within our school Longsands Academy. This is one of our mai n scenes as this is where the school shooting is going to take place. It also helps to set the scene of the genre of physiological thriller as the audience will be able to link the props like the gun for example to the school setting in immediately in the head will know the storyline.

Shot 2- This is going to a wide shot of empty corridors, this will help to build suspense for the audience and further help to set the scene. It will give the trailer an eery atmosphere which will add to the suspense.

Shot 3- Next we are going to use a wide shot of lockers which is adding to the setting of the empty school atmosphere which will make the audience tense to know what happens next.

Shot 4- In this shot we are going to have a close up of our fake gun which we are going to include in our trailer. This will help connote the physiological thriller trailer and tell the audience that something bad is going to happen next. They use a similar shot to this in the film elephant that I analysise in my research and I thought it was very effected.

Shot 5- Here we are going to film a wide shot of Richie hall to show where the event is going to happen later on in the trailer to help set the scene.

Shot 6-This is a close up shot of a hand cocking a gun, this will create mystery and tension as the audience will want to know who the antagonist is. This is a typical camera shot for a physiological thriller which I have found out in my research of the elephant trailer.

Planning- Pitch and Feedback

Link to our pitch: https://youtu.be/w1W7WD0VuNw

Feedback we received from the class and teachers.
After we presented our pitch to our class and teachers we received feedback which we will adapt our film to help improve it

• Initially we rated our film an 18 certificate however we were advised to make our film an 15 certificate as it didn't include as much graphic content as most 18 rated films do nowadays. As we are no including any blood and gore in our films it will be suitable for an 15 audience.
• We were also advised to check with school superiors to allow us to bring a plastic gun into school without causing confusion and chaos. We will also film our trailer after school to ensure no children are involved in the filming by accident.
• For our film we are using a year 10 drama class as actors in our films and we have been advised to gain the correct authority to allow to film the children. Without permission we will not be able to include them in our film.
• Another piece of vital feedback we were given was that school shootings are a sensitive subject so we were advised to stay sensible with what we film, and to ensure our characters know the nature of our film and make sure they are comftable with it.

Planning- Pitch Powerpoint

Powerpoint presentation for our pitch

As a group we started our planning by initially creating the powerpoint below. We all contributed our ideas together to put together the ideas for our film. We then presented our pitch to our class and teachers to enable us to receive feedback to allow our initially film ideas to become better.

This was our initial idea for a title however since the creation of this PowerPoint we have now changed the name to be 'The Final Bell' as we feel this has

Research- Codes and Conventions

Physiological Thriller

Themes

• Reality- The quality of being real. characters often determined what is true and what is not within the narrative.

• Perception- A characters own perception of the world around them through their senses. Which is also often misperceived.

• Identity- The definition of a person, they are often confused about their identities, and doubt who they are or try to discover themselves.

• Existence/Purpose- An aim or goal someone strives towards to achieve and understand the reason for their existence.

• Mind- The human consciousness, including personality, thought reason, personality, intelligence and emotion.

 Conventions
Low key lighting

Quick Cuts

Shadows

Tension Music

Changes in the angle of shots

Montage of shots

Protagonist/Antagonist