Feedback from Rough Cut

Planning – Feedback from Rough Cut

After creating the rough cut I showed to various peers of multiple ages to see what the feedback would be.

Positives

• Music goes well
• Good title font
• Titles appear in and out in time
• Piano focusing is good
• Theme clearly established
• Production logo is brilliant
• Sound works well
• Good mise-en-scene and props
• Odd jump cuts on the gate but it works well
• Front/side/back of car shot is good

Negatives

Book shot could shorten to just zoom in

• I decided that this feedback was fair as the two book shots could be easily shortened. In the editing suite I removed the initial shot of the book so now it just zooms in. The means the film doesn’t slow down as much and gives fewer details away about the book as the audience sees less of it.

Should the production logo blast away?

• After trying various different endings for the production logo I eventually decided to keep the blast away affect at the end. This is because it brings the titles more alive and also adds a sense of excitement to otherwise more tedious titles.

Remove slow drive in shot

• I completely agreed with this feedback so I removed the shot of the car driving slowly

Text over numbers unclear

• I took this into consideration and moved the text so it only appeared in a shot where it was fully visible

Put the pacing steps shot before the laptop closes

• This was an editing error that had not noticed and after it was pointed out I put the pacing before the laptop closing. This is because it means that when the laptop closes it is the end of that dining room scene so to have pacing in the dining room again made little sense

Cut some of the shots after the A young Film text near the end

• These shots in question were the shots showing the various newspaper headlines linking together to foreshadow an overarching plot. I decided to cut down these shots because on reflection they did last too long

Remove zoom out of opportunity at the end

• I also decided to follow this feedback because the final shot I was not happy with but I hadn’t considered taking it out. It still has the transition from the words opportunity to the title card but without the zoom out, as the zoom doesn’t add anything to the opening.

Overall the feedback was very useful as it highlighted good aspects that I could focus on for my evaluation and also helped me greatly tighten up the editing procedure and make it more slick.

Film Treatment 3 - The Final Product

Film Treatment 3 – Final Product

Working Title –Red Tape, Absolute Advantage, ROI, Capital Gains, Ghosting, Ghost Trader, Laisse-Faire, FT-100, Opportunity, The Opportunity Project

Writers name and contact information – Ben Young, benjaminyoung9@gmail.com

Logline – “No digital honour amongst digital thieves”

Characters

Prisoner 241-10

The Opportunity Project Members:

Brice Greene

Michael Kovic

Elyse Ramsey

Gavin Burns

Grif Simmons

The Agency:

Detective Free

Detective Galloway

Director Hendricks

Who, What, When, Why and Where:

A group of stockbrokers plan to make billions off the banks in the stock market and distribute the wealth amongst the public. They find a hidden secret backdoor in the market that if publicised would bring about the end of the corruption and trillion dollar making schemes of governments and banks. It is set in 2011 during a stock market that the public and the media were not even aware of because it was covered up by the Agency. The stockbrokers discover the secret and attempt to make it public by finding the USB stick in which the evidence for the backdoor exists. The Agency is alerted to the broker’s quest and begin to try and divert them and distract them. When one broker threatens to go public with the information they have another broker sides with the agency and helps to track down the remaining brokers and eventually torturing ad killing them. When there is only one broker left to find the Agency kill the broker on their side and focus their efforts on finding the last one. After a high speed chase in which the broker evades the agency but accidentally kills one the agency members, who turns out to be the director in disguise. When the broker searches the director for a gun so he can defend himself he finds the fabled USB. The Agency decide to send him to prison for murder than to reveal their existence by killing him.  A journalist finds out that there is a high profile stock broker in a maximum security prison and arranges a meeting. Prisoner 241-10 tells the journalist the whole story and this film is from the narrative point of 241-10. In the final act 241-10 finishes his tale and the journalist is warned to leave the prison quickly and make himself safe and publish the story. He is told of the location of the hidden USB. 241-10 is then escorted back to a cell then taken down a different path by different guards, the path to death row. The journalist gets in his car and makes for a Mexican border town. The final shot is a series of blacked out SUV’s setting off after him a few minutes after.

Sound Effects

I decided to use sound effects during the construction of my film opening because it would enhance the experience and bring the film more to life. Also because my exterior footage sound was unusable because of windy conditions it would allow me to, post production, insert driving sound effects. These driving sound effects would work well with the film opening as it would build tension and make the film seem more realistic, rather than having just silence.

The service I decided to use to source sound effects is freeSFX, a website that would provide me with hundreds of sound effects and an effective search mechanism allowing me to find exactly what I need. It downloads the sound effects straight from the browser in a high quality Mp3 format, this meant that my sound effects should be of a high quality.

I also plan to use sound effects that are non diegetic, glass smashing when not seen on screen for example. It is my plan to use dramatic sound effects like glass smashing to enhance the visuals on screen as it will be sudden and dramatic. It would also match some conventional films like The Big Short which uses sound effects to emphasise events.

Planning - Script

Planning – Script

SFX – PRODUCTION LOGO

MUSIC BEGINS TO PLAY

INT. DINING ROOM – DAY

Man places a music book on the piano

FADE TO:

SFX – PRODUCTION LOGO

CUTS TO:

EXT. COUNTRYSIDE ROADS – DAY

Car drives past at a reasonable speed, shows car driving at increasing pace

CUTS TO:

INT. DINING ROOM – DAY

Man is playing piano

FADES TO:

EXT. COUNTRY LANES – DAY

Car is speeding down a lane and it is driving past as it goes past fences and gates

CUTS TO:

EXT. OUTSIDE OF MANSION – AFTERNOON

Mansion gates open, car drives through them.

FADES TO:

INT. DINING ROOM – AFTERNOON

Laptop opened and USB stick inserted

CUTS TO:

Pours large glass of whisky

FADES TO:

Series of online spreadsheets and stock market readings shown on computer

CUTS TO:

USB stick taken out and placed in envelope

CUTS TO:

Newspapers and books showing stock market crashes are shown and highlighted

FADES TO:

Film title written in centre of newspaper pile

First Version of Product (Not Final Product)

This is the first version of my product, after the rough cut but before changes and before feedback.

Planning - Sound Design

Planning – Sound Design

The sound I used in my product was mixed together using audacity. I combined a song which I acquired copyright access to and two other non copyrighted short sound bridges. The copyrighted song was called Contact Redux and I contacted the band that made it to see if I could get permission, they replied with this email.

Because of the access given by the band I was able to incorporate that song into my product. Using pieces of copyright free audio sound bridges I created a short soundtrack that hopefully complements the video, the soundtrack has been edited in tandem with the video, when the car is driving quickly and the gates open to reveal an imposing mansion the music gets more dramatic but then when the shots are of financial images it calms down again. Towards the very end of the video when it is coming o its title screen I used a piece of copyright free music from myfreesounds.com to increase the tension and add a sense of gravitas to the title.

Film Treatment Second Edition(Not Used in Final Product)

Film Treatment 2

Working Title –Red Tape, Absolute Advantage, ROI, Capital Gains, Ghosting, Ghost Trader, Laisse-Faire, FT-100, Opportunity

Writers name and contact information – Ben Young, benjaminyoung9@gmail.com

Logline – “No honour amongst thieves”

Characters:

Butler – Carl

Stockbrokers – Anton, Lex, Tim, Clair, Stephan,

Conmen – Chris, Josh

Secret Police Detective – Cameron

Who, What, When, Why and Where:

A group of stockbrokers plan to scam the market by creating a false company, and to make the public buy shares, they are set to make billions. Secretly 2 con men have infiltrated the group in the hope to make a fortune but will they stand up to the economic and personal challenges that lie ahead. Also inside the group is a police detective who has trying to find a way to take down the group of glorified thieves. It is set in 2008 during the market crash in a mansion in the North Yorkshire Moors, a place the brokers they think is safe – but there is a mysterious figure making strange preparations for the evening.

ACT 1 –We start with a mysterious setting. A mansion in the middle of nowhere in North Yorkshire. A butler is preparing the table and getting things ready in the kitchen for a gathering of guests. We see one guest arriving via car through the forests and narrow lanes. When the guest arrives he is greeted by a mysterious figure, the head of the organisation. He sits down at the table and the remaining guests arrive. It turns out that these guests are all stockbrokers, all planning an elaborate scheme to make billions is just one night via stock manipulation. What they don’t know is that 2 conmen and one undercover police detective have infiltrated them. The meal starts and the brokers begin polite conversation, a few have been blackmailed into assisting into this crime. After the meal they retire to the converted gymnasium, it has been converted into a trading floor with monitor’s everywhere. The plans for the stock heist are drawn up and explained and they begin.

ACT 2 – The heist is underway, they are creating fake businesses and IPO’s which are being launched. They are driving the price of the stock up and in contact with other less important brokers who are helping them out. The conmen are starting to feel out of their depth as they are struggling with managing their side of the scam. They give themselves away to the detective as they mention one of their friends who the detective arrested a few months prior. The detective confronts them and tells them that they can help him take down the other brokers, but he does not reveal that he is with the police.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why I did not use this treatment

I decided not to use this final treatment in my product as it was more an explanation of what I filmed, rather than an idea that I then used to film. It also quite complex to film an opening that makes this treatment understandable. Like the first treatment it is too ambitious. But I used this treatment as the base for the final product so it was useful as a stepping stone that also taught me to keep it simple and make it an idea that could be conveyed in an opening sequence.

Equipment List

Planning – Equipment List

Tripod x 1

I extensively used the tripod for a multitude of shots to keep them steady and well positioned throughout tumultuous weather conditions. The tripod was set at various height levels due to the adjustable legs allowing for shot variety, I utilised the tripod on every shoot I took part on.

DSLR Camera x 2

I used two cameras because it meant that I had a backup and I didn’t have to change lens’ exposing the filter to dust as each camera had a differing lens. Both cameras came on every shoot and they were the crux of every production I did.

50mm lens x 1

 This lens was mainly utilised for close up shots and shots with a wider depth of field. This lens was used in interior shots as I had no reason to use the zoom function.

200mm lens x 1

Mainly used in the exterior shots as I was able to get a safe distance away from the car but still create the effect of the camera being close to the car using the zoom function. This lens also allowed me to make more landscaping shots as I was able to create a wider scene from a long distance away

SD card x 2

Used to keep the data recorded on the camera, I had one for each camera again as a backup device.

Battery Charger and Batteries for the DSLR’s x 2

Useful in keeping the cameras powered and also I used two batteries as I was able to change them when one ran out, meaning that during a shoot if one battery went flat I had a spare