BBFC

Before a film is released to the public, it first has to be given a classification, which acts as an advisory for viewers as to who the film is most suitable for. The body that classifies films for release in the UK is the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification). The BBFC is made up of examiners who watch the unrated film from start to finish and give it one of seven ratings. These ratings are U, PG, 12, 12A, 15, 18 and R18. The BBFC has a set list of guidelines that help them to decide which rating to give a particular film. These guidelines take into consideration the levels of imitable behaviour, strong language, sexual references/nudity, drug use and horror within the work among others, as well as the context in which they are portrayed (among others).

 

In my opinion, my 5-minute short film should be classified as a 12, as although there is a hanging scene within the film, the screen will fade to black before the actual hanging takes place, and does not dwell on the ‘details’ of the situation. Another point for concern is the violence that appears when the suspect (played by Lewis Pickering), is arrested/charged and attempts to resist police officers, however, this is mild and contains no material which may be considered ‘harmful’.

Also since the film is silent, there is no strong language that could offend any viewers, no drug use, no sexual references/nudity and no discrimination, making the 12 classification appropriate for my short film.  

Mise-en-Scene

When creating my 5-minute short film, one of the most important techniques that I will use is mise-en-scene. This encompasses costume, lighting, actors, make up, props and settings.

The mise-en scene in my film is as follows:

COSTUME

The costumes worn by the various characters in my short film are used to establish the time period and setting of the piece (i.e. early 1900’s England). The various costumes include:

A trenchcoat and hat for the main character. This is both a stereotypical and conventional of old film noir style mysteries, and adds an authenticity to the film in terms of genre, it also adds a certain amount of suave and sophistication to the character, as below:

   

The initial victim will be wearing bed clothes. This not only helps to show time of day within the scene that she appears in, but also connotes vulnerability due to the thin fabric. Showing this vulnerability within a young girl in films nearly always connotes that the girl is likely to run into some sort of trouble through the course of the film (in this case, she is murdered.)

The final victim in the short film is the detective’s wife, she will wear a flowery dress. I have selected this costume for the character because flowers typically connote beauty and love. This love is taken away when she is killed in the final scene of the film, sparking a vendetta for the main character.

The villain will wear a red waistcoat, (which unfortunately will not be seen due to the film being black and white) shirt and smart trousers. This connotes a well-respected man of high social status. The colour red also represents majesty and most importantly, blood. This tells the audience that the character is likely to be an antagonist.

LIGHTING

The lighting throughout my short film will be mainly natural and low key, particularly when a murder is nearing, as the night typically connotes some form of disaster and also increases tension.

Another prominent form of lighting within my short film is the 'lighning flash' in the second scene. This was done used to signify a storm, which in itself is foreboding (as it connotes that a disaster is about to occur), and increases tension.   

ACTORS

• Sophie Wetherall-Initial Victim (Lillian Andrews)
• Keith Wetherall-Main Character- Ex-Detective (Milton Andrews)

• Lewis Pickering-Main Suspect (Frank Myers)

• Robert Wetherall (myself)- Main Villain (Edward Andrews)

• Lynne Wetherall- Main Character's Wife (Violet Andrews)

MINOR CHARACTERS 

• Unnamed Characters- Keith Wetherall

• Executioner- Kane Guichard (Formerly Sophie Clarke)

I chose these actors as they are easily accessible to me and are able to portray the various emotional and physical states required, which is essential as without speech, the actors must use mime and body language to convey their ‘message’. For example the suspect needs to be quite aggressive to show that he is unhappy with the situation that he has been put in, while the initial victim needs to look vulnerable, as she is the first victim. Another deciding factor in me choosing my sister as the initial victim is that she is a young girl, which adds to the element of vulnerability required as well as making the scene very foreboding (i.e. the audience knows that something bad is going to happen to her.

The main character’s actor was chosen after deciding that my mother would play the final victim. I had always had an idea that the final victim would be someone close to the detective, sparking a vendetta against the killer and leaving the film on a cliff-hanger and creating an enigma. (I.e. what will happen next?). I chose my father as the detective knowing that since the two are married in real life and already have that pre-existing love, the detective’s emotions in the final scene after he finds his wife dead, would be more authentic.

MAKE UP

I will not use any make up in this film, as I want to make it as aesthetically ‘pure’ and realistic as possible, and also this avoids the risk of over-enhancing any of the characters. This keeps the film totally ‘real’ and allows the audience to see the ’true character’ (i.e. without any additions)

PROPS

There are two main props that I will use within my five minute short film. These being the murder weapon (a handkerchief) and a ‘calling card’, which is left at each murder scene.

I decided to use a handkerchief as the murder weapon as in the early 1900’s, what I would call ‘low trace’ weapons were hard to come by (e.g. guns were too loud and would most certainly have left no end of witnesses at a murder scene, and knives would have blood all over them),so the weapon of choice for many killers around the time was a simple handkerchief, which were both common, and leave little residual evidence apart from saliva (which could be argued to be from the murderer sneezing as the technology to prove otherwise had not been invented yet. I also chose to use a handkerchief because it adds a ‘sophistication’ to the killings, rather than the all-out brutality seen in many modern weapons such as guns and knives.

The idea for the ‘calling card’ came from my watching many crime dramas involving serial killers, in which most left these so that they could be recognised and feared by the public, mostly to prove a point and seek attention.

SETTINGS

I had to choose my settings carefully, as if they were too modern, the film wouldn’t look authentic. My main film location is Lincoln, as the city contains a lot of old architecture and is steeped in history, however, I also filmed in Kirton Lindsey at the old mill, a derelict building on the outskirts, which, in the film, will be the house of the initial victim.  This was to connote that the following scenes would lead to a dereliction of the detectives emotions leaving him on the verge of a mental ‘collapse’. I also chose this building because it is somewhat reminiscent of the desired time period for the film (early 1900's).

Synopsis

Retired ex detective Milton Andrews visits his daughter at her home, only to find her dead. While investigating the murder, he discovers that a piece of evidence found at the scene is similar to one found at the scene of a cold case that he investigated several months before. The prime suspect of this old cold case is arrested and charged with the murder of Milton’s daughter, and is hanged for his crimes. However, when Milton returns home, he discovers a strange envelope containing a piece of card similar to the evidence found at the scene of both the old cold case and the murder of his daughter, however this time, the card has a picture of Milton’s wife in a church. Milton rushes over to his local church to find his wife lying motionless in the centre of the aisle. Milton swears revenge on the true villain, beginning a vendetta of his own.  

Blurb Ideas

The blurb for often appears on the back of a digipak, and is designed to encourage the user to watch the film. However, it mustn't contain so much information that the  reader no longer needs to watch the film.

Although I am not required to produce a digipak as part of the unit specification, as I am producing a short film, a blurb is a good idea to allow readers of this blog to gain an idea of what I am planning:

My initial thoughts in terms of a blurb are as follows:



Blurb Idea 1

The year, 1902

The peaceful city of Lincoln is being terrorised by a brutal serial killer, the likes of which have not been seen in decades. But when ex-detective Milton Andrews (Played by Keith Wetherall) stumbles across the body of his young daughter on a routine family visit, he must face the traumas of his old career to discover the killer before it’s too late, and then maybe the city, the victims and his daughter can…

 

                            Rest In Peace

Risk Assessment

In every media production, a risk assessment has to be carried out in order to ensure that all cast and crew on set are aware of any potential dangers and of how to avert injury to themselves and others. For example, water getting into the cameras circuitry is a serious problem as it could cause the camera to be seriously damaged as well as cause electrocution, which, it the worst case, could lead to death. These safety risks can be averted by putting a rain cover over the camera when filming in heavy rain. My initial risk assessment is below:

 

Risk assessment short film from trebor1796

Shot List

Here is a list of the shots that make up my 5 minute short film.

Shooting Schedule

Shooting schedule from trebor1796

Storyboard- First Draft

Here is my first storyboard draft

 The above shots arre of the first part of the film, entitled 'The Chase Begins', in this part, we witness the murder of the first victim.

In the second part of the film, entitled 'Arrest and Interrogation' (above), we see the prime suspect being arrested and questioned by the main character.

The final part of the film (above), entitled 'The Plot Thickens', the man suspect is hanged for murder. However, when the detective's wife is found murdered a the church along with the same calling card found at the initial murder,, it is revealed that  the end of the story is only the beginning...

THE MOST IMPORTANT SHOTS

 This is the shot of the initial murder, this shot sets up the entire film in terms of the investigation and hanging of the suspect.

After the arrest of the suspect, it is revealed that the true antagonist has been watching from the shadows. This will be an extreme close up on the mouth of the villain, showing a sinister grin.

These two shots show the hanging of the suspect.

The detective runs into the church to find his wife dead in the centre of the aisle. This, and the shot below, turn the entire investigation into a personal vendetta.



This shot is a close-up  focusing on the eyes of the main character, looking upset, angry and vengeful at the death of his wife. The film will then end on a cliffhanger, leaving the audience with an enigma, making the audience wonder what will happen next.



Storyboard- Initial Ideas

Here are my initial ideas for my 5 minute short film using post-it notes.

Progress update: Filming

Today I have filmed the scene in which the initial victim (Played by Sophie Wetherall) is murdered. In this scene, the villain (played by myself) enters the bedroom and approaches the victim's bed, casting a dark and obinous shadow. The victim wakes up, looks around the room, and is then killed.   The location for this scene is Sophie's bedroom, as I thought this would give the scene a more realistic look than if it was played in a different room.

The filming for this scene went well, however, it required a number of takes to get right, (which is expected of most scenes) as Sophie has a tendency to laugh in moments intended to be serious. Eventually though, the scene was completed. Upon reviewing the scene in the editing software, however, I discovered that the camera movement was a little shaky, and as such I have decided to re-film the scene at a later date.

The second scene that I filmed tonight was a short scene where we see a flash of lightning through the window of the victim's bedroom. This was done using the flash from my personal still camera, which I took outside whilst my mother operated the camera from within the bedroom, as I instructed her from outside. Upon reviewing the scene in the editing software, the 'lighning flash' turned out better than I had expected, but once again, the camera movement was shaky, so I will re-film this scene at a later date.