Getting footage and photos

This week through half term is the week for shooting the footage and taking pictures for the ancillary tasks. We have also been doing work leading up to now in Final Cut Pro and After Effects to learn some basic skills which I will be demonstrating in the final production and documenting later on.

I had arranged the shooting of the music video for Friday 29th of October, because it was the only date we could get the primary location for. Unfortunately, for currently unknown reasons, I was unable to obtain camera and lighting equipment from Mr Dowson and thus have not been able to do any shhoting for the main task. I have however been able to take several photos for ancillary tasks, which I will put together in the next few weeks

Shooting for the video will have to be rescheduled....

storyboarding and ancillary task drafts

Awaiting scanner availability to upload scanned drawings

These are my drafts and storyboards for all 3 tasks.

Update on planning

Haven't updated the blog since my treatment sheet revision because lessons this week were all about Final Cut Pro and stuff. I've confirmed the locations for shooting as the old pool building and my lounge, for the funeral shots I'm yet to work something out but I'll approach someone this week about the use of a coffin, the graveyard I'll have to talk to Mr Dowson abotu his suggestions.

Actors and props are sorted, I've got as many airsoft rifles as I need, I've got sets of camo gear. Enemy clothing I have loads of pairs of other camoflage trousers and hoodies, and I can source desert scarves from a couple of the actors. Smart clothing the actors can provide and guitars are gonna be provided by the 2 guitarists.

Actors I have myself and a friend of mine as the soldiers, 3 more friends to act as the terrorists, I'll use either my girlfriend or half sister and little sister for the would be wife and child. Me and 3 other friends will be used for the band shots. I'll use all of the aforementioned actors plus a few spare crew members for the funeral scene.

For crew I've got a friend who has a lto of experience with photography as cameraman, who I will show the shots I want beforehand, so it'll be my ideas and his shooting, purely because I'm more suited to the role (he has long hair and a beard). I have another friend, who will also be one of the guitarists, to act as prop manager. The cameraman and propr manager will be helping with the lighting, with me playing a role in the positioning and levels of light needed for various shots.

This week of lessons is storyboarding, so I'll upload those as and when the scanner starts being usable

Treatment sheet-next draft

After spending Fridays leson with Mr Dowson analysing my treatment sheet I need to make a few changes to it, mainly adding shot lengths and timings of the song to it

Music video treatment sheet shot by shot
2 characters in the Land Rover laughing and whistling whistled part	Duration: 10-15 seconds (before song starts)
Black screen, white writing, quote through the snare intro.   Quote is 'War does not determine who is right, only who is left'	Duration: 11 seconds (0:00-0:11)
2/3 characters in camoflage in the back of a blacked out Land Rover, checking weapons during the initial guitar part	Duration: 30 seconds (0:11-0:40) (cutting to and from)
Shot of guitarist playing initial guitar part	Duration: 30 seconds (0:11-0:40) (cutting to and from)
Characters kicking through door  and starting a CQB run of the building as the verse starts	Duration: 5 seconds (0:40-0:45)
Shot from in front of the soldiers, leading to close up showing their stone-faced expressions over the line 'all fear has been aborted'	Duration: 7 seconds (0:45-0:52)
Band shot of whole band playing	Duration: 6 seconds (0:52-0:58)
Shot of one of the soldiers executing or thereatening at gunpoint an enemy combatant, executing him just before the shot cuts	Duration: 11 seconds (0:58-1:09)
Shots of building being clared continued, more action type shots, other enemies shot, through to  the start of the second verse, cutting to and from band shots	Duration: 35 seconds (1:10-1:45) (split to 6x6 second shots)
Shots of would-be family, wife with daughter, during first few lines of second verse, skype call with soldier	Duration: 20 seconds (1:45-2:05)
Band shots of whole band playing and more shots of progressing through the building, shooting a few more targets	Duration: 15 seconds (2:05-2:20)
Characters seem to reach the objective, clear area, laptop set up, radio back to HQ, stop to talk, band playing behind objective	Duration: 30 seconds (2:20-2:50)
One of the main characters gets shot, other character chases then shoots the assailant, more band shots where the injured is visible in front of the band	Duration: 25 seconds (2:50-3:15)       5x5 seconds
Shot of remaining character going back to try and save the injured one, who mouths piano section and dies in his arms at 3:38	Duration: 20 seconds (3:15-3:38)
Remaining character in military best dress knocking on door of injured soldiers family, and her bursting into tears	Duration: 10 seconds (3:40-3:50)
Injured character dies in survivors arms                   [disintegrate effect] over the line 'I'm free'	Duration:  10 seconds (3:50-4:00)
Guitarist playing song on casket as it is lowered during funeral service, cutting to and from shots of wife, daughter, other soldier and others	Duration:  30 seconds (4:00-4:30)
Other character walking away from the funeral, wistling over the whistled part, looking back toward the ceremony	Duration: 20 seconds (4:30-4:50)

Actors, crew and props

I also need to plan for actors to be used in my production, i will need characters for:

• 2 soldiers
• 1 enemy
• 1 spouse
• 1 young child
• A group of people for the funeral

I will also need some crew to help with the shooting process:

• Several camera-people
• 2-3 lighting crew
• Someone to manage props

And for props I will need:

• 2-3 rifles (airsoft)
• 2-3 camoflage shirts and trousers
• 2 pairs of black boots
• 1 set of clothing for enemy (desert camo trousers and a brown shirt probably)
• Smart type clothing
• Casket

Planning type stuff (mainly location)

Treamtent sheet done, so the next stage is the planning of stuff like locations, actors and props
For location, I will need;

• The building the soldiers are clearing
• The family home
• The back of the Land Rover
• The funeral

My ideas for each one are;
Building

• The abandoned pool building at Fort Regent, because it is old, derelict, empty and generally has similar conditions to a building soldiers on duty might have to clear
• The old Jersey Milk building, because it is derelict, abandoned and has similar conditions to a building soldiers might clear
• The abandoned Pontins holiday resort, because it is old, weathered, derelict, vandalised and again, looks liek a building soldiers might be clearing

Family home

• My own home, because as it is inhabited by a family with 3 children it will look similar to a regular family home, to encourage verisimilitude
• My girlfriends home, because it also has a lived in look, but somewhat cosier than my own home, and again would encourage verisimilitude

Back of Land Rover

Not really a lot of location scouting needed here, it has to be the back of a blacked out Land Rover. Luckily, because of my role withing CCF, and in the past with Marine Cadets, I know several people who have blacked out Land Rovers whose permission I can ask to use for the small scene it's needed for

The funeral

This is going to be done in two sections, the first will be the section of the solo played as the coffin sinks into the ground, which i'll use the green screen for. The second will need me to fins a suitable location, probably a quite large graveyeard, to stand actors around, and either photoshop or green screen in the casket and the open grave.

Initial treatment sheet

Music video treatment sheet shot by shot

2 characters in the Land Rover laughing and whistling a rhythm

Black screen, white writing, quote through the snare intro.   Quote is 'War does not determine who is right, only who is left'

2/3 characters in camoflage in the back of a blacked out Land Rover, checking weapons during the initial guitar part

Shot of guitarist playing initial guitar part

Characters kicking through door  and starting a CQB run of the building as the verse starts

Shot from in front of the soldiers, showing their stone-faced expressions over the line 'all fear has been aborted'

Band shot of whole band playing

Shot of one of the soldiers executing or thereatening at gunpoint an enemy combatant

Shots of building being clared continued through to the start of the second verse

Shots of would-be family, wife with daughter, during first few lines of second verse

Band shot of whole band playing

More shots of progressing through the building

One of the main characters gets shot by an enemy, who the other one then shoots

Shot of one character going on a rampage through the rest of the building, far more angry body language

Shot of remaining character going back to try and save the injured one

Remaining character in military best dress knocking on door of injured soldiers family, and her bursting into tears

Injured character dies [ disintegrate effect] over the line 'I'm free'

Guitarist playing song on casket as it is lowered

Other character walking away from the funeral wistling

Planning begins

On Friday we spent the lesson discussing the planning stage of the project, and what we needed to produce as part of it. There's a list of about 10 things we need to mention through this section:

• Construction documentary
• Treatment sheet
• Location planning
• Casting
• Organising props
• Storyboarding
• Animatic storyboard

Yesterday we were told to all start the treatment sheet, and the construction documentary, and that we need to post every day, and then I forgot, so two posts today (hopefully)