Concerning Women - Revised

Enigma Entertainment is pleased to announce to the female community that there is potentially another female role in the upcoming film 'Osiris Unbound'. The woman in question features in a short scene where they are pursued by Crucifix Agents, before being brutally murdered. Although it is only a minor role, we believe that it is a breakthrough in Enigma Entertainment's production style, as women have never before been cast in an Enigma Production. The woman has been cast as Philip Smith's sister - Eleanor, and though it may appear to be bias casting, we chose the actress especially for her revolutionary acting style and her fortunate position of being on the same holiday to the Isle of Wight as Philip, so they were able to capture a number of shots there. Unfortunately there will be no further female roles available in the film, as addressed in the initial announcement concerning women. Apologies.

Preparing the music for 'Osiris Unbound'

Early on in the development of our sophomore motion picture we made the conscious choice to reunite with our 'resident' composer James Richardson, notable for his elongated fingers perfect for playing the piano and of course his elongated chin. His work on our film last year was acclaimed and so there was no other option than to request his input once again. The key difference this time, however, is that the music has been composed prior to shooting of the trailer. This was done for a number of reasons. Firstly, to speed up the post-production process (as last year the opening was already edited and there was somewhat of a rush for our composer to come up with a soundtrack) and to provide inspiration for our shots and editing - as with trailers the use of music is key in establishing and maintaining the pace of the action. We asked James to use the same sort of style he had done so well previously but also to experiment with other ideas. Below is the initial demo for the trailer soundtrack, which we were very pleased with. We have, however, requested the reworking of some parts in order to fit our envisioned structure of the trailer. The last part of the music will also have to be faster paced though this could be easily achieved with added percussion and strings. We also intend to utilise the musical skills of some of our other cast members such as Lee Davidson who is a master of the guitar and Richard Young, who is proficient on the drums.

Reusing unused footage from Sins of the Martyr

During production of our AS opening, we were so engrossed in the narrative and possibilities of producing a full film that we set our aims on completing our short film - a continuation of the opening sequence to 'Sins of the Martyr'. Despite a considerable amount of footage being shot and edited, we ultimately decided to abandon plans for the full feature due to time constraints and lack of cast availability in addition to a decline in our lack of interest as we wished to move on to other projects.

However it would be foolish to completely scrap this existing material so we made the choice to incorporate what had been shot into our A2 trailer. We even used a lot of this footage to put together the announcement teaser - which would have been less interesting if there had not been any footage to use. Due to the cast, characters and subject material the existing footage will fit seamlessly alongside the new sequences that we plan to shoot and take the pressure off us regarding accumulating enough footage for editing, though we still intend to film a huge amount in order to maintain the look and feel of an expensive production - which means, inevitably, that a lot of it won't make it into the final product.

Shooting over the Summer

While our outline for the trailer had not been fully envisioned until the start of this term, we has the very basic concept of genre and tone and were aware that we would require a wide range of footage. Thus we made sure we exploited our summer effectively in order to aid the production of the trailer. Both myself and my colleague, Philip, were to go on holiday during the summer; myself to the far reaches of the world, in Australia, and Philip to Paris and also the Isle of Wight.

While we were away we brought filming equipment. Being the owner of our main camera, I captured my footage using the Panasonic HDC-S90, which featured an anti-shake feature and would maintain our established look. However due to my family's incompetence with capturing effective shots, I also brought along a mini gorilla tripod - an ingenious contraption whose legs are flexible, so can wrap around most stationary objects. This was highly useful in capturing shots of myself without the awkwardness of family members filming me. For the landscape shots I simply filmed it handheld, employing the anti-shake feature.  Philip, however, was left only with two options; his cameraphone, the Galaxy Note, which could capture very high quality high definiton but at the expense of stability, a fault exascerbated by his shaky hands (and which he brought with him to Paris), and his sister's iPod Touch 5G which could produce excellent images with perfect stability to boot.

With only a basic idea of what was going to happen in our trailer we weren't ready to record any significant scenes or any dialogue, but instead capture many establishing shots and action shots, with our locations being optimum spots due to the famous landmarks and breathtaking landscapes. In Paris Philip had the advantage of filming such famous places as the Arc de Triomphe and the Pere Lechaise cemetery, while I had some stunning cliffs in Australia and a few shots in an airport, and the Isle of Wight had a castle and an exciting multi-coloured sand beach. There were a few short shots filmed of various members of our cast running or jumping - shots which could easily be intercut as parts of action sequences to speed up the ending to our trailer. One of the problems with the footage is that only select members of the cast were able to be in each shot, so there are no full group shots in Australia or Paris, but this is only a minor issue, and it still looks very high budget. While much of this footage will probably end up on the cutting room floor due to the somewhat irrelevance to our film's narrative, (and the shakiness in the case of the Paris shots) what will be used, however, will immensely add to the production value of the trailer due to the exciting international locations which demonstrate the lengths to which we have gone to produce it.

Shot List

The rough list of shots to film, as seen in the storyboard animatic:

- Establishing shot of landscape.
- Wide shot of Thorne
- Wide shot of silhouetted figure in forest
- Wide shot of ruined abbey.
- Shot of Thorne in shower.
- Shot of Thorne in corn fields.
- Enigma Entertainment logo appears.
- Shot of balaclava mercenaries capturing Thorne.
- Agent Davidson opens car boot.
- Wide shot of Rothen in forest.
- Two shot of Rothen and Zubasu.
- Anke appears briefly on screen.
- Close up of Zubasu.
- Close up of Davidson loading gun.
- Close up of Ricky on computer.
- Extreme close up of Thorne with gun.
- Mid shot of Thorne with knife.
- Mid shot of Zubasu with gun in Highgate Cemetery.
- Wide shot of Thorne and Rothen on a suspended log with Thorne holding a gun.
- Close up of Thorne with gun pointing at Rothen.
- Close up of Rothen with a gun in his face.
- 'This Year' appears on screen.
- Shot of car driving towards man with gun.
- 'From Nicholas Ashurst and Philip Smith' appears on screen.
- Mid shot of Thorne with hands up.
- 'The Acclaimed Directors of Sins of the Martyr' appears on screen.
- Shot of Thorne holding Davidson's body.
- 'Nicholas Ashurst' appears on screen.
- Close up of Davidson with many gunmen behind him.
- 'James Richardson' appears on screen.
- Fast paced montage of action shots.
- Close up of Thorne lying behind a log.
- Close up of Thorne and Rothen's looking into each others' eyes.
- 'Osiris Unbound'
- 'Coming Soon'

Storyboard Animatic

Initial Script

Below is the (very cheesy) planned dialogue and narration that will accompany the trailer. Obviously lines will change or be removed once we enter the recording stages and decide what fits best or sounds more appropriate.

THORNE: "I knew a man...a long time ago... he stood up...he fought for those worth dying for..."

RICK: "What happened to him?"

THORNE: "That man is dead...he's not coming back...after all this time I haven't the strength to be part of this fight anymore..."

ENIGMA ENTERTAINMENT LOGO

DAVIDSON: "Lucas Thorne...it's time to wake up...get yourself back in the game"

THORNE: "What would you have me do?"

ROTHEN: "Find it"

GATES: "I've never seen anything like this...it's all connected!"

DAVIDSON: "The weapon has been compromised...OSIRIS is unbound"

ROTHEN: "Shall we begin?"

FROM THE VISIONARIES BEHIND 'SINS OF THE MARTYR'

ROTHEN: "“In all my years I've never met another so alike…we’re both destined for the same hell…just I’m willing to watch the world crumble along the way”

NICHOLAS ASHURST

THORNE: "It was never supposed to end like this"

DAVIDSON: "I gave you my word...I would stand by your side...

THORNE: "...until the end"

JAMES RICHARDSON

RICK: "If we're gonna go, we have to go now!"

THORNE: "I must be the one to finish this!"

and LEE DAVIDSON

ROTHEN: "Your honour...valour...strength...what have they amounted to? ...nothing.

ROTHEN: "I am a god!" :P

O S I R I S   U N B O U N D

(MISCELLANEOUS DIALOGUE)

"Nooooooooo"

"Oh my god!"

"Run!"

"I trusted you!" 

OSIRIS UNBOUND Sneak Peak #1

Composer Profile

Our composer is James Richardson, a seasoned veteran on the music front. We are truly blessed to have such a talented individual such as James to compose for us. Not only is he brilliant at composing, but his piano playing skills are unparalleled even by the likes of Lang Lang and Billy Joel.
James's composition technique favours the classical genre, as this was a genre that he enjoyed for many years, and indeed still has a passion for. Some of his favoured classical composers include Rachmininoff and Beethoven, who are his inspiration. He generally composes for the piano, this is how he started out, but he does have plenty of experience composing for other classical instruments, including the cello, which is an instrument that features in his score for the opening sequence.
James has composed for a film for us before, where his track ran the length of the film . In fact, he also played the lead role in that film, and played the piece at one point in it! He worked with us more recently on the opening two minutes for our hit film 'Sins of the Martyr.
James has worked with us on multiple occasions and we have a great working relationship with him, so  he knows exactly what we want, and he'll get it right every time.

Costume Design - Agent Davidson

These are some of the sort of costumes that we plan on using for the character of Agent Davidson. We like the look of these costumes as they are stylish but not too showy. It's not the undertops that we are looking at, but the jackets, as the undertops look a bit too much on the fashion side, which isn't really suitable for Davidson's character. The first jacket looks more covert, and the sort of thing that an agent might wear to avoid being seen, but as an audience it could be seen as suspicious. Of course, in real life it wouldn't seem as suspicious, but in movies the audience has a hieghtened sense of danger. The second jacket is more natural, and the sort of jacket that Davidson would wear just on an average day, which is also a feel we want to get at, as the mission isn't meant to be as serious as it gets. Perhaps a mixture of these two looks would be relevant, so we'll see what we can find.

Casting - Agent Davidson

After a series of gruelling auditions for the iconic role of Agent Davidson, we finally settled on the little-known, yet talented actor Lee Davidson, who ironically has the same surname as the lead character in the film, and even more of a coincidence, his first name is the L.E.E without the dots between them!

Lee Davidson

My co-worker and I have a very good working relationship with Lee, and have worked with him on many occasions, most recently on our Preliminary Task and Sins of the Marytr where he proved to be very adept at fight sequences. We have also worked with him on stage in a play called 'The Nero Complex', which can be viewed below. In this he portrayed the iconic role of Praetorius, and really brought a new dynamic to songs such as 'The Lady is a Tramp' and 'Life's a Happy Song'. The raw emotion that was balanced with the delicate poetry offered something special that not many actors can master.

 He has also had training in martial arts and enjoys sport, lending him perfectly to the role. Another reason for our decision was that he was by far the most muscle bound of all the people auditioning for the role, and that's the kind of thing we need for our action hero. It is clear to see that even from this early stage, Lee will bring his own into the character of Agent Davidson, and his performance will be something to be remembered.

Feedback

Well done for completing the questionnaire and beginning the filming diary. This should regularly be added to as the blog should be the record of all of the hard work you are putting in outside of lesson times.  Remember you can also upload any online tutorials you have watched, along with an explanation of what you have learned from them.

Targets:
Storyboard
Regularly updated filming diary, with discussion of what went well, what the challenges were, which scenes you shot etc

REMEMBER All filming to be completed by 20th December

The Camera

28mm Wide angle Shooting
40x Intelligent Zoom
26x Optical Zoom
1080p Full HD
5.0 Megapixels
Optional 3D conversion
SD Card Memory
Capable of taking stills
Microphone slot
Image Stabilisation



This is the camera that we are using to film our opening two minutes with. It's my personal camera that I use all the time and it has never failed me, so I thought that this would work well for our opening two minutes. It films in full HD, which should make it look pretty decent, and this was the main appeal for this camera. It also has a microphone slot, so we don't have to rely on the internal microphone. The zoom is also good, and so we can get some shots from far away and it would still be very good quality.

Soundtrack Ideas

We have decided that we will hire out our good friend, James Richardson, to compose the music for our soundtrack this year. I will be posting a composer profile shortly. We have a few initial ideas for what we want the soundtrack to sound like, and the general idea is that it will start slowly with a piano part, and then it will build up slowly, before a sweeping ending. James's composition technique favours this structure, as he is good at this style of composing. The beginning of the trailer is almost an emotional beginning, showing the character Lucas Thorne in retirement and thinking about his past, before being thrown back into action. The opening of the music must reflect this, with a calm and slightly reminiscent theme, to match the visuals of beaches and Thorne in an emotional state. There must then be a break in the music before the characters are thrown into the intense action of the film. Below are a few examples of the sort of structure I am hoping for.

Location Scouting - St Dunstan-in-the-East

Last year whilst location scouting for Sins of the Martyr we found a pretty amazing location, which we saved for the trailer this year. Here is the production diary:

Box Office Successes of All Male Casts

SUCCESSES
The Expendables (2010)

Budget: $80 million
International Box Office: $274,470,394

Black Hawk Down (2002)

Budget: $92 million
International Box Office: $172,989,651

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Budget: $1.5 million
International Box Office: $14,661,007!

In fact, the only female cast members in the film are as follows:
Linda Kaye as Shocked Woman
Suzanne Celeste as Shot Woman

FAILURES

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Budget: $25 million
International Box Office: $28 million :(

Screenshots: Day I of Shooting

Questionnaire B

After our first questionnaire we decided to ask more open ended questions to get a wider response:

Which genres most appeal to you as a moviegoer?
- Action
- Romance
- Comedy
- Adventure
- Science Fiction
- Fantasy
- Horror
- Other (specify)

Did you enjoy the general tone of our opening sequence to 'Sins of the Martyr'?

Do you wish to see more of the same or see us explore something different?

Of the following elements, what do you feel is the most important?
- Action
- Music
- Cinematography
- Story & Dialogue
- Other (specify)

Compared to our opening sequence to 'Sins of the Martyr', which of these elements do you feel could be improved upon?

Do you prefer trailers to explore the storyline of the film or showcase the action?

Do you have any suggestions for things you would like to see in our trailer?

Concerning Women

In recent weeks we have come under fire due to the controversy surrounding the absence of any female characters in our new film. Thus we have composed a letter of apology to the female gender.

Dear Women,

We understand your concern regarding the lack of representation of your gender in Enigma Entertainment's upcoming feature 'Osiris Unbound'. We can see that this would be frustrating as we are some of the most acclaimed directors working in the industry today and serving under us would grant you unparallelled prestige. Therefore our decision to neglect your kind could, through the eyes of the uninformed, appear as imposing a glass ceiling upon your careers. However, we only had good intentions at heart.

We believe we are incapable of portraying women authentically due to our lack of experience as females, therefore it would be in your best interests that this film remain all-male, through and through.

Yours misogynistically,
Nicholas Ashurst and Philip Smith

Shooting Log: Day I

Our day began at 9:15, when we boarded the train to London Waterloo. Unfortunately Lee Davidson was unable to attend the shoot due to prior commitments, so on the train we made some last minute adjustments to the scene, so it became a scene with just Philip and myself. On the train on the way up we ran through the schedule with our cast and crew, detailing where we were to go in London and what we were going to film. The basic plan was to film a meeting on Parliament Hill between Philip and myself, and then film an action sequence in Highgate Cemetery. If we had time we planned to go to Camden Market to film some inserts there. It was due to rain, but we thought that that would just add to the atmosphere of the film, especially in the cemetery. The only problem we foresaw was the camera getting wet, but we had an umbrella at the ready.

At 10:00 we arrived at Waterloo station, and at first were slightly confused concerning the underground map, however eventually we found our way onto the Northern line to Belsize Park station, which was the closest to Hampstead Heath. If all went to plan we wouldn't have to take another train to the cemetery, as our shoot would carry us across the heath. However, we got slightly lost on the heath. The paths from the station to the heath were confusing, and when we got to the heath we weren't sure where the Parliament Hill part was, as the rain obscured our view considerably. We filmed a shot of James walking across a field that looked moderately desolated which could be used to intercut, and then carried on searching. The group morale sank at this time due to the heavy rainfall and the lack of productivity.

It was about 12:30 or so that we finally located Parliament Hill, but to our severe disappointment the view was terrible due to the rain. The camera couldn't even pick up a few of the famous landmarks that you could only just see with the naked eye through the rain. We filmed a few shots of Philip and myself sitting on a bench, and talking, but we were behind schedule because of the rain. It had become a bigger problem than anticipated. After these shots we decided it was essential to bring the morale up, so we took a detour to Camden Town for a KFC bargain bucket.

Around 13:00 we arrived at Camden Town KFC, being able to find our way off the heath significantly faster than finding our way on. KFC was crowded and we were forced to sit on uncomfortable stools, but the group morale was raised and the vegetarian James proclaimed: 'That was the best KFC I've ever had!' We decided to put our filming at Highgate Cemetery on hold indefinitely, as we decided that would be almost as miserable as filming on the heath, so instead we resolved to filming a few shots around Camden Town. We filmed a couple of shots of me running, and then found the infamous Cyberdog shop, where we filmed a couple of shots of Zubin walking around. After filming a number of shots here we had a discussion as to where to go next, and we decided that, seeming as the rain had stopped, it would be alright to film at Highgate Cemetery.

After much confusion on trains and buses, we arrived at Highgate Cemetery at approximately 15:45, where we were greeted by the most delightful old gatekeeper with much enthusiasm. After a ten minute lecture on the history and heritage of the site, we moved into the cemetery and pulled out Zubin's spray painted BB gun to film some action sequences. This became a race against the clock, as the Cemetery closed at 17:00 and all visitors had to head for the gate at 16:45. We had around 45 minutes to film as many action shots as possible, forcing us to be as efficient as possible. Fortunately, it seemed to be the most productive 45 minutes of filming we'd ever done, probably because of the time restrictions. We filmed a number of shots of people shooting guns, pointing guns, chasing, fighting, looking at gravestones, posing, pausing for breath and more! Although it would have been nice to have had longer to create a rounded scene, this was not possible, so we made the most with what time we had.

At  17:00 we headed home, after a gruelling day of filming. We didn't do everything which we would have liked to get done, but this was mainly due to the bad weather getting us lost, obscuring shots and lowering group morale. Without the weather we would have had a far more productive day, but unfortunately it was out of our control. This day was one of the few days which we were able to film an action sequence in Highgate Cemetery as it was an inset day, so no one would be around. The lack of productivity was largely out of our control, but we still got a fair number of shots that will be highly useful in the final cut of the trailer, even if they weren't exactly what we were hoping for when we began.

Feedback

Well done; your blog is looking very detailed in terms of research and you are moving on to focus on the planning aspect. Make sure you address my last targets - I can't see the post explaining why you have chosen not to include female characters.

To complete over half term:
Initial storyboard and shotlist.
Filming diary begun, the material you begin to film over half term.evidencing

Casting - Zubasu

Zubin Parekh

Zubin knows his artform, and he knows it's drama. We are so lucky to have Zubin acting in our film, and he will play a pivotal role in the leading assassin for Crucifix. At the end of the trailer we will reveal that his character - Zubasu - actually has a twin, so there will be twice as much excitement with twice as much muscle power.  We chose Zubin for this part as he is better at the physical side of drama then the vocal part. He was the most physically able of all the actors who came to play the part, and seeming as the assassin needs to be just that, he was perfect. I have worked with him on previous occasions, in films such as 'The Piano' and 'Global Warming: World at Risk', and on both occasions he most certainly delivered. I have known him for a very long time and we have a very strong working relationship. He doesn't understand the technicalities of film making very well, so he leaves that up to us and just does as he is asked to do. He focuses on what he does best.  Zubin will do great things in this production.

Inset Day Filming

We have found a conveniently situated inset day on 16th October, which we hope to use to film a large chunk of our trailer in London. This day is perfect, as we want as few people around as possible for our filming in Highgate Cemetery, as we'll be using fake guns and don't want to alarm other visitors. If they see us filming a fight scene they might get worried and inform the police, who could arrest us, and this wouldn't be ideal. Therefore the inset day is the perfect day to film this, as very few people will be visiting Highgate Cemetery midday on a Wednesday in the middle of October. It is due to rain on that day as well, so even fewer people will be visiting, however this could make for a very atmospheric scene, as long as the camera doesn't get wet.

Questionnaire Response

Here are the results of our questionnaire, they will be highly useful in tailoring our film to make sure that as many people as possible get what they want out of it. A lot of our creative decisions will be based off these results.

What is your favourite type of action sequence?

 - Chases                                                                  46%

 - Fight Sequences                                                    36%

 - Shoot-outs                                                             18%

 - Other (Please Specify)                                           0%

What is the most important element of an action film?

 - Action Sequences                                                  54%

 - The battle between good and evil                          6%

 - A good-looking, muscular protagonist                   20%

 - Stunning locations                                                  20%

Which of these films do you prefer in relation to fighting style?

 - Sherlock Holmes (2009)                                        10%

 - Bourne Identity                                                      84%

 - The Dark Knight                                                    6%

What trait do you value most in an action film protagonist?

 - Muscle and gunpower                                             24%

 - Technique and cunning                                           46%

 - Good looks                                                              20%

 - Uses militaristic semantics                                       10%

What sort of locations do you prefer in action films?

 - Iconic buildings                                                        72%

 - Iconic landscapes                                                      15%

 - Small scale locations with their own personality       13%

 - Large scale landscapes                                              0%

In an action film would you sacrifice realism for spectacle?

 - Yes                                                                            97%

 - No                                                                              3%

What do you expect to take away with you from an action film?

 - A profound moral message                                         5%

 - An enjoyable spectacle                                               75%

 - An inspiration to achieve greatness                             5%

 - A jealousy for the life of the protagonist                     15%

Questionnaire - Action Film

We have created a questionnaire in order to find out what people want out of an action film, and what they would enjoy. We haven't given much choice for the questions because we would like to see what they would chose out of the options available, in order to narrow down our creative choices.

What is your favourite type of action sequence?
 - Chases
 - Fight Sequences
 - Shoot-outs
 - Other (Please Specify)

What is the most important element of an action film?
 - Action Sequences
 - The battle between good and evil
 - A good-looking, muscular protagonist
 - Stunning locations

Which of these films do you prefer in relation to fighting style?
 - Sherlock Holmes (2009)
 - Bourne Identity
 - The Dark Knight

What trait do you value most in an action film protagonist?
 - Muscle and gunpower
 - Technique and cunning
 - Good looks
 - Uses militaristic semantics

What sort of locations do you prefer in action films?
 - Iconic buildings
 - Iconic landscapes
 - Small scale locations with their own personality
 - Large scale landscapes

In an action film would you sacrifice realism for spectacle?
 - Yes
 - No

What do you expect to take away with you from an action film?
 - A profound moral message
 - An enjoyable spectacle
 - An inspiration to achieve greatness
 - A jealousy for the life of the protagonist

Film Classification - U

When a new film is released, it undergoes a process known as film classification, that gives the audiences an idea of the sort of audience that is recommeded for the film. For example, more violent, swear-heavy films would have a higher rating, as they are not suitable for a young audience. In Britain, films are classified by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). In the following series of posts I will go through each of the ratings and talk about what makes a film that rating, and what sort of audience it would attract.

This is the lowest film classificational; it stands for 'Universal' - a universal audience. This means that anyone can watch it, from babies to elderly people, however they tend to be aimed for a very young audience. A lot of U rated films are animation and almost all of them are aimed at the 5-7 audience. There are a few exceptions, such as a few of the Star Wars films are U rated, however they are aimed for a very wide audience. This film classification is very much for family films, and you do not get many thrillers that are made for this age group, especially not serious thrillers, because of their dependance on threat and violence. I don't think our film is rated for a universal audience as it is aimed at a 16-25 audience who may think that watching a U rated is childish, and it would reduce our audience.