Photographs From My Filming

These are some photographs of me filming my opening sequence. 

I filmed this shot as a long shot, and therefore filmed it from a distance away, this is because i wanted to get both of them in the shot fully. This would of only been possible if i had filmed them from far away, i also had to film further away because they where not lined up and one was closer to the camera, and the only way to capture them at different distances was to film them from far away. I chose not to use a tripod in this shot because I wanted it to be a bit shaky, as i wanted it to portray a home movie, and so i wanted there to be a bit of movement from the camera.

This shot again i filmed from far away because i needed to get quite a lot into the shot, i needed to get the red arrow and the two boys, i would not of been able to get all of this into a medium shot. It was important that the shot was able to capture them looking at the red arrow as it was symbolic to the video.

This is a photograph I took after filming this closeup, i thought this was an important shot to get as it was able to portray the feelings of the little boy about his brother going missing. The way he is stood and they way he is looking down implies the sadness he feels. The way he is positioned to the camera shows some distance as he is facing away from it, this creates distance between the character and the audience. 

This shot I took of the lost brother, this is the same place as the closeup of the little brother. This shot shows that in the previous shot of the little brother he is reflecting on the memories of his lost brother. This shot is a memory of the lost brother is effective, though i wish i was able to get a photograph of him when he looked happy, as in this photo he looks quite sad and this is not how it came across in the shot.

The Equipment That I Used

I used my Nikon D1300

I also used my Nikon Tripod

Here is my camera and my lens before i was about to film.

I really liked my equipment because it was very good quality. By using the tripod i was able to create the stillness i needed for particular scenes, the camera that i used was perfect as it was small and light enough for the hand held shots but it also created very good quality.

I want to use a camera that is able to capture the realistic lighting in my opening sequence. In the opening sequence I want the same lighting to be in the scene, therefore the only variable that i will change when filming is the different shot, but i am not going to change any features on the camera so that the lighting will not vary.

Story Board Plan

This is my story board plan for my new opening sequence. I think my creating a plan for my opening sequence it will help me with my filming because I have ideas for the shots I am going to do, and it will help me film more effectively. By knowing lots of the shots i need i will be able to give clear direction to the actors so they know exactly what they are doing. 

The use of the storyboard in my opening sequence

I mostly stuck to the story board plan, using the camera angles that i had planned to use 
before hand. This is because i wanted to use a variation of camera angles and using the storyboard made sure that i would do this. The story board whilst filming also abled me to describe to my actors exactly what i wanted them to do through the use of text and pictures. The use of a story board it also meant that i was able to know exactly in which location i wanted to film in, and where i wanted to place the actors. Because i changed locations quite a lot in the sequence with lots of flashing images it would of been very complicated not to have a story board. 

By using the storyboard it made sure that i did not forget any important shots that otherwise i might of missed. Because there was such a big variety of shots the use of story boards helped massively with the organization of the shoot. When it came to editing the storyboard came in extremely helpful this is because i was able to put all the shots that i had filmed in order very quickly and efficiently. Without the storyboard i would of had to figure out the order of the shots when it came to editing and it may of not made sense, but because i had the storyboard i could just organize them from that. 

Overall, the use of the storyboard helped me in every aspect of the production of my opening sequence, and without it, it may of been a much slower process and when filming it could of been disorganized. 

My Location

I filmed my opening sequence in Coleshil, Beacondsfield. I filmed it at the Coleshill Cricket Club and a house on the main road. I liked my location as it was the perfect backdrop for my shots, this is because the fact that the setting was such an open space it gives the audience a false sense of security because the setting portrays a happy day out where you would not anticipate the events that unfold.

By shooting in this location i new that i would have no problems with people getting in the shot, the sounds of cars. Because i was staying nearby to the location it allowed me to shoot at the best time of day and long hours instead of having to rush my filming. Also by staying close by it allowed me to return to the location and re-film, this meant that i got a more variety of shots.

Planning For My Shoot

Location Scouting

Coleshill Cricket Club

This location would be ideal to film my opening sequence because it is a really nice open space where filming could be very versatile. The open space means that i could get the boys to run about easily, the fact that it is quite a private place means that not a lot of people will be there which is exactly what i want. When the little boy is running alone the fact that hopefully no one will be at the cricket club will be able to fully portrayal loneliness when it comes to the boy being alone. The problem about this location is it is very far away, this means filming there would be very time consuming because i would need to travel with all the equipment. It also means that i cannot film at all different times because i would have to go there at one particular time and then film then.

Gunnersbury Triangle Nature Reserve

This is another location I may film my opening sequence at. It may be effective to film in a forest because the use of trees could be used for the little boys to hide behind and create an effective backdrop. This location is also closer to by house so I could go there often to film different clips of my opening sequence this is effective because i could film in different lights and on different days to get a variation of shots. However the problem with this location is that it may be extremely busy on days i want to film, this means that people may get in the way and i will not be able to properly film. The location also does not have many open spaces which is what i want, therefore i would only be able to film in the forest. Because i am only using natural lighting it may be quite dark because of the forest taking away the light, therefore i would have to rethink what lighting i should use.

Chisiwick Common

Chiswick Common is another idea of where i could film, this is also very near my house so i could film on many different days creating shots in different times and also could shoot on different days with different kind of weather which would create a different portrayal of memories. Chiswick common is also an open space which is what i want for the location, because it means i can get the boys to run about playing. The fact that there are hardly any trees means that i will be able to get enough light without having to use alternative light sources. However the problem with Chiswick common is that it may be extremely busy because it is in such an exposed place, i need a place where there is not a lot of people to properly portrayal loneliness when it comes to the boy being a lone.

My Characters

The Lost Brother - played by George Miller

The lost brother is a character that features in the flashbacks in my opening sequence. His face is not really shown in the opening sequence because I wanted to create mystery and suspense, this was because I wanted the audience to feel more emotionally towards he little brother and the mother. 

I decided to make the missing brother older as I thought that the audience would emotionally connect easier to a child that was a older toddler. This is because when it came to him being taken, the audience would be able to sympathize because they had got to know the boy.

The only problem with using an actor as young as him, as it may take more patience to get shots that i can use, and directing him may be harder than using an older actor. However, using someone this young hopefully will evoke emotion in the audience because of his innocence. 

The Little Brother - played by Sam Hytner

The opening sequence focuses around the little brother mostly. He is in the flash backs with his older brother and in the present tense with his mother. The opening sequence focuses around the emotions that him and his mother are feeling to the loss of their brother/son.

I wanted to use someone really young for this part, as i wanted there to be hints in the opening sequence that he understood that his brother had gone missing, but i also wanted a sense of naivety, where he doesn't completely understand. 

Again, this actor is younger than the older brother, and therefore may be even more difficult to work with, this is because directing him may be hard. However, i need someone this young to play the part to be able to convey the innocence i need. 

The Mother - played by Joanna Grayson

The mother is a character that will mostly be in scenes in the present tense. I will focus around the emotion that she is feeling after her son has gone missing. This will be the easiest person to film as she has the full range of emotions needed and will be able to connect to the part as she is a mother herself.

Using someone older and easy to direct means that it will be easier to get the exact emotion i need for my sequence. I need someone who is a middle aged women and someone that looks the stereotypical age to have two children.