Week 12: 15th October – 22nd October:

Plans for this week:

The plans for this week were the filming and post production

 

Achievements for the week:

The achievements for this week were numerous first of all we were lucky enough to be able to get the good camera for a few days which allowed us to film in wide-screen. The filming took us about 3 afternoons which was much longer then I had originally thought it would take. I then spent long long hours editing for about 3 days or so. Cory did the sound tracks and then we compiled in after effects with the text and credits put over the top. Then we made a DVD menu. Good times

 

Plans for next week:

Sleep and present.

Week 11: 8th October – 15th October

Plans for the week:

The plans for the week were to get the script, props round and costumes organised as well as actors.

Achievements for the week:

This was a very productive week. First after the critique we went to a series of op shops and found some 70’s style costumes this was when we decided to do a 70’s cop film. So we e picked up our costumes. After this we worked on the script and got this done in about two days. We also needed props such as guns etc which were quite difficult to find. Once these props were found they were organized. We also found the locations for the scenes.

Plans for next week:

Film, edit, add sound etc.

Week 10: 1st Oct – 8th October

Plans for this week:

 

The plans for the week were to film and get as much editing as we could done before the critique.

Achievements for the week:

Well ran into some problems here. First we had booked the good camera but that fell through. And then on another day we had planned and were beginning to film it started raining heavily. It was here we decided we may not get a night time scene done especially as working conflicts with working on the weekend especially at night when we need to film. So we decided to make some slides for the presentation and explain what we have done. It was here we decided to try and film something different.

 

Plans for next week:

Have new ideas planned, script done, props found, costumes done etc.

Week 9: 17th September – 1st October

Plans for this week

The plans for this week were testing lighting conditions with the good camera, as well as investigating some actors for the short film.

Achievements for the week:

Due to not being able to borrow the good camera this week we weren’t able to do all the testing we wanted to. However Mitchell and Hugh had borrowed the camera, so we were able to some small tests and night and found that it worked really well in low light conditions. I also thought of a few actors to use and decided that one of us could act as the student which meant we only really needed to find someone to be the field reporter, the news reporter and the hunter. For the hunter I decided that either Paul who was tall and fitted the character or Dave who was shorter but built. We also decided that Peter would be a good news reporter and Mitchell could be a field reporter.

Plans for next week:

Film and Edit

Week 8: 10th September – 17th September

Plans for this week:

 

The plans for this week were completing yet some more equipment and lighting tests as well as organising some of the props in the film

Achievements for the week:

The achievements for the week were doing additional lighting tests with the 10,000,000 candle power spot light. This spot light was very good at producing light but it was found that with the standard camera this still wasn’t enough. Filming was also attempted with motorbike high beams being used which was good but it seemed the camera overall was the issue. The props for Faunus (name of the script). It was now realized that the semi professional camera from Willy may be the only option to film this effectively.

 

Plans for next week:

See about getting this camera and testing the low light conditions of it. Also to find actors and show them the script.

Week 7 : 3rd Sept – 10th of Sept:

Plans for this week:

 

The plans for this week was really getting the film completed as well as scouting filming locations. This week was also the critique so a the presentation had to be completed.

 

Achievements for the week:

This week was the presentation week so Cory and I presented a slide show which explained our ideas for our direction as well as possible threats etc. of our short film. Which went fairly well. This week we did a bit of scouting which included Cory and me walking through the Toowong walking tracks at night to get a feel of the atmosphere. Also I took some photos of some places that could be used. This week the script was also finally finished which meant we can focus on testing the equipment etc.

Plans for next week:

The plans for next week are the testing of equipment and lighting.

Week 6: 27th of August – 3rd of September:

Plans for the week:

 

The plan for this week was to finish the slides for the presentation and also to finish the script for the short film.

Achievements for the week:

The slides for the short film were completed and were just summarized versions of the project plan. The script was also started at this stage. It was here that I decided what a general breakdown of the scenes could be. These were as follows

• News room and in field reporter.

• Car park set the scene

• Forest Path setting characters relationship

• Begin to slowly introduce stranger occurrences

• 1st sighting

• Chase

• Final Encounter

With these scenes ideas filling in content into each scene. This was much more difficult then it was originally thought. Especially when you have to think about scene shots and other problems. So while it was the plan to to finish the script at this point it didn’t happen. It was decided from the beginning that putting a lot of work on the script would be a good idea. It was also a more time consuming phase and strips were constantly changed when Cory and I showed each other our versions.

 

Plans for next week:

The plans for the next week was finishing the script as well as location scouting.

 

Week 5: 20th of August - 27th of August

Plans for the week:

The plan for this week is to complete the project plan for the subject

 

Achievements for the week:

In order to complete this Project plan Cory and I divided the tasks. I completed the following sections

1: Outputs, Clients, Outcomes

2: Quality specification

3. External Factors

While Cory worked on

4. Expectation management

5. Work plan

6. Resource requirements (time and money)

 

Here are the results of the sections that I completed over this time.

 1: Outputs, Clients, Outcomes

Outputs:
The output of our Studio VI is a high quality short film to be submitted into the Trop Fest Film festival. The short film will be in the genre of a suspense/horror set in a forest at night. It will feature a gripping storyline, great camera work and an overall chilling feel. The short film will fit within the Trop Fest Guidelines including the Trop Fest signature item which is 8. This 5 minute short film will also be on a professionally presented DVD including a custom made DVD Cover, Menu’s etc.

Clients:
The clients for this project include Trop Fest which should the film go well would create excellent opportunities. Other clients would be any possible employer that would be viewing our portfolios such as editing companies specializing in pre-production and post production, short film producers, multimedia companies and project managers.

Outcomes:
There are a variety of different outcomes for our project as listed below:

Personal:
Learning a variety of skills about short film making
Project Management skills

External:
Impress the trop fest judges and achieving a top 10 place in the competition
To get a job and impress possible employers

The outcomes that can be achieved through doing this project are varied between the professional competition side and the personal outcomes of working on a project.

2: Quality specification

Description of Requirements: The requirements of this short film are defined by the constraints of the Trop Fest Festival. The constraints of the Trop Fest Festival are detailed below:

“The film must have had no prior public screenings; must be less than seven minutes and must contain the Tropfest Signature Item (TSI).”
(http://www.tropinc.com/sonytropfest/tsi.aspx)

Along with the inclusion of the Trop Fest requirements the overall quality of the short film has to be of the very highest as this competition includes very experienced directors actors, editors and cameramen to name a few. In order to achieve this quality several aspects need to be focused upon as detailed in the LeftLion guide to making short films. (http://www.leftlion.co.uk/articles.cfm/id/901)

The Script
Crew and Equipment
Cast
Locations
Props and Production Design
Schedule and Shoot
Post Production

By having a high quality of all of the above criteria then this short film will be a film worthy of attracting the attention of both possible clients and the Trop Fest Judges. We want viewers to be affected

Possible Scenario:
Situation: The Judges are viewing our Short Film at the festival.
The judges upon seeing this film will immediately notice the quality of the DVD cover, upon viewing the film they will pick up upon quality of the locations of the shoot being a heavily forested area. Upon seeing the actors respond to each other and build of each others emotions they will pick up upon the quality of the actors in our short film, and be impressed by the post productions features of the film.

3. External Factors

There are varying external factors which can influence the production of a short film. These will be divided into the categories of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats and Risks.

Strengths: Group work is a one of our group’s strength as we have worked through many different studios. Having access to borrow semi professional cameras also lowers the cost of producing the project. Being able to borrow existing films and having access to a variety of suspense/horror games helps with idea generation and filming techniques such as creating tension. The use of university resources such as computers and well as editing software reduces the cost of having to buy the software. Experience in the use of sound design, graphic design and digital video production and advanced animation gives a sound knowledge in a variety of different media’s to work to our advantage.

Weaknesses: Time is a main weakness as there is only a small amount of time to finish the production. We haven’t done much directing which will be a learning curve in dealing and getting our vision across to the actors. Filming at night will also form its own challenges as lighting now becomes a major issue. Due to the lack of funds for the film the creating of overly complex or out there shots will also prove to be difficult.

Opportunities: The opportunities for this project include getting our names out as film makers. Also judging how we stack up against some experienced directors. The additional opportunities in our portfolios would also be great for job opportunities. The opportunities to talk to lecturers with experience in audio and film also allows for some great advice to be given to give an edge over some other entries. Having seen lots of horror films and games also allows us to improve upon old techniques to make well blended mix of suspense and horror and bring something new to the genre.

Threats: The main threats are the other entries into Trop Fest. This is especially the case for finalists and professional entries into the competition. Experienced cinematographers, directors normally have access to experienced actors which make the film look more realistic and exciting. With more experience and with professionals they also have access to more money, while money isn’t crucial it still helps in the creation of films.

Risks: There are various risks in the creation of this project. These include the lighting of the short film, the time limit as well as any possible data loss.

Mitigation Strategies: In order to deal with these problems a variety of strategies will be set up these include doing lots of lighting tests to ensure a high quality film, using the experience of lectures and tutors in order to stay competitive in the competition and utilizing the effectiveness of storyboards and milestone plans will help deal with the issue of time constraints.

 

With Cory completing his parts we combined them together.  These achievements matches the goals that we had specified in this time. Ready for the submission the slides were also completed.

 

 Plans for next week:

The plans for next week are completing the script and to start searching for locations to shoot the short film.

 

Week 4: 13th of August - 20th of August

 

Plans for the week:

This week I plan to not gain genre information but also to start getting some project plan documentation completed. As time management is sometimes as issue for me even starting give me the motivation to keep working on it.

Achievements for the week:

I had done some research on the horror/suspense genre and this is a link to a useful site I found.

http://www.visualwriter.com/ScriptDr/Advanced/Genre.htm

This site had a variety of info on some different genre’s including horror.

Having been suggested the Trop Fest competition this was also researched.

http://www.tropfest.com/

 

I also started the report. It’s only a small start but it outlines all the categories that need to be answered as well

 

 

Project Plan

Harrison Rhodes, Cory Hawkins

Due 27^th of August

 

1: Outputs, Clients, Outcomes

 

Outputs: The output of our Studio VI is a high quality short film to be submitted into the Trop Fest Film festival. The short film will be in the style of a suspense/horror set in a forest at night. This 5 minute short film will include the Trop Fest signature item which is ___.

 

Clients: The clients for this project include Trop Fest which should the film go well would create excellent opportunities. Also ourselves as it would provide a great benefit to our portfolio’s which can create a variety of job opportunities.

 

Outcomes: The outcomes is to win the Trop Fest festival and learn a variety of new skills about short film making, from the creation of the script all the way through to the editing of film,

 

 

2: Quality specification

The quality of this short film is a very high priority. Only the best short films stand a chance in Trop Fest so the quality of this short film is essential. Because the filming is done primarily at night time.

 

3. External Factors

 

4. Expectation management

 

5. Work plan

 

6. Resource requirements (time and money)

 

Plan for next week:

The plan for the next week is just to have more of this report done.

Week 3: 6th of August – 13th of August:

Plans for this week:

The plan for this week was to have have the was to definitely finalise the ideas for the short film and also to find out a bit about the genre we planned on running with. Also to work out a little about the characters who were going to be in the short film.

 

Achievements for the week:

By this Stage I had thought of a few ideas about the direction for the film such as doing a comedy or a Garden State kind of film. But still hadn’t decided on a final ideas. The reason this was different to the plan was because we had just been brainstorming different ideas and nothing had clicked yet. But some research was done into the short film making process. Here are some links which have been found around that.

 

http://www.leftlion.co.uk/articles.cfm/id/901

The above article has information about the different steps which are involved in creating a short film.

The script

• Crew and equipment
• Cast
• Locations
• Props and production design
• Schedule and shoot
• Post production

 

This site is a great resource with lots of useful information especially about creating high quality short films on a budget. It also has techniques for each section mentioned above. I also searched for other websites based around this but was not able to find many good ones at all except for the above.

I also went to the video store this week and rented out Leunig Animated which was a series of weird very short films. It was here that once again I was thinking about animation but then remembered why I decided not to do animation in the first place.

Cory and I also met up later in the week to have a meeting. We began talking about games and in this conversation and began talking about the game FEAR. Which was one of the few games that managed to freak me out. We then decided that doing a horror/suspense film would be interesting and fun to do. Coming to this we thought about locations to possibly film in the surrounding areas and came up with the walking tracks around Toowong which is in forestry. We also decided night could be a cool time to do the filming. We wanted to go with a horror movie where the evil character acts similar enemies in FEAR who suddenly appear or disappear. We thought of two characters as well a hunter and a film student.

 

Plans for the following week:

The plans for the following week are to research the genre in more detail as well as well as beginning some of the script.