Recording our sound

We are going to record some of our diegetic sound separately, and then put it together with the film, because on some shots, the sound and speech is not very clear and you cannot see the characters faces, so it will be easy to match the voices with the shots.

If we record the dialogue separately, the sound will be clear and easy to understand what the character is saying, as opposed to the sound being distorted, and after recording it we can then alter it to make it the best quality possible.

For some of the dialogue, such as the missions briefing, we might put an effect on the voice, such as a computerised effect, so the voice is more technical as opposed to human. This will add to its similarity to other films of this genre, because in other spy films and science fictions, the main character often has conversations with their extremely advanced computers.

Characters

script

Mission Briefing

Spy Director: Agent Reid. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to infiltrate the facility.

Dialogue

Scientist: Sir? It’s ready, Mr. Crane.

Robert Crane: Good. Is the test subject in place?

Scientist: Yes, Mr. Crane. Everything’s Ready.

Robert Crane: Begin the first test.

Monologue

Robert Crane: All of this will be mine. They’ll never know what hit them. Britain will fall, and the world will follow. Soon, so very soon.

Mission Briefing

Spy Director: We’ve gotten you a new toy. I think you’ll like it.

Jason Reid: Do tell?

Spy Director: Your watch may seem like an ordinary digital watch. It has an alarm clock, a stopwatch, and all the usual bells and whistles. But, it is also a powerful explosive. Our inside sources have tested the formula, and have found that the raw materials are extremely volatile whilst being mixed. The labs are your best option.

Cast

Protagonist - Jason Reid will be played by Scotty Waites.
Antagonist- Robert Crane will be played by Dan Thompson.
Missions briefing voiceover will be done by Mark Taylor.

Shooting Calendar

We aim to film put entire sequence over the first two weeks. The dates shown are in November.

We aim to film with Dan on the Thursdays, Matt on the Wednesdays, and we aim to film the scenes in Middlesbrough on the Saturdays.

Analysis of Enemy Of The State

Enemy of the State analysis

The opening sequence begins with the production and “Film By” titles shown on a black screen, with some slow, quiet music in the background. The music then fades out as an establishing shot of a lake front is shown. The words “Occuquan Park, Maryland 0645 hrs” scroll on over the shot, as if written by a typewriter, accompanied by a Morse Code sound effect. There is a medium shot of both of the minor characters who are placed around the area, one stood and one sat on a bench, and this introduces the characters and shows us that these characters are going to be significant in the sequence.
The diegatic sound is the car door slamming shut and the dog barking, as the other character gets out of his car with his dog. There is a long shot from behind as he gets out, showing him in his current surroundings and setting the scene.
There is then a close up of the character in the other car, who is dressed in black, which seems to suggest that he is not a good character, and his hair is slicked back, suggesting a very formal, professional character. Also, the car window obscures half of his face, making his character more mysterious.
The first character, who stepped out of the car, is dressed in casual clothes, beiges and light colours, which do not suggest much about his character, he also looks older and more vulnerable and is smaller than the character in black. This makes the character in black seem intimidating.
There is another establishing shot of both characters stood at the lake front, and there is a conversation between both characters. The lighting in this scene is high in contrast, the lighting is high key, but the shadows on the character's faces are very dark. Shot/reverse shot is used as the characters are talking, and music slowly builds up from the point where the character in black takes hold of the other character's arm, and there is tension between the two characters. The music then continues to build up, and there is diegetic sound as the two men from the beginning inject the older character, and push him and his car into the lake, such as the sound of his body hitting the car, and the dog barking as it runs alongside the car. There is a tracking shot as the car rolls down the hill into the lake.
After this point, the music then changes pace suddenly, and becomes a lot louder and faster. The image of the lake front cuts to a high angle shot, a panoramic view of a city with a lens flare. The rest of the opening sequence consists of fast edits of surveillance shots, clips seemingly taken from CCTV cameras and bird's eye view shots of cities, roads and car chases. The surveillance shots are all quite unclear and fuzzy, and some are tinted blue or shown in only black and white. Some of the shots are not steady, but this adds to the effect created by the fast edits. The music fits in with the pace of the shots, as the music is now quite fast and built up by this point in the sequence. The diegetic sound during this part of the opening sequence are sirens, helicopter noises, shouts and the sound of car chases. During the fast edits of chase scenes, there are some low angle shots of security cameras, and a low angle shot of a man sat in a chair in a CCTV control room full on television screens. There is also the occasional panoramic view of a city or building, and these strong, clear images are a contrast to the unclear images of the surveillance. The opening sequence then ends on one of these clear, high angle city shots.

Becky Fox

Storyboard

Shooting Schedule

Props and location list

Costumes

Jason Reid - Shirt and jeans, shoes.
Robert Crane - Long black trenchcoat, black jeans, shirt and shoes, black gloves. (obvious villain/antagonist)
Scientists - White lab coats.(stereotypical)
Guards - Black clothes. (shows they are on the dark side)
Test Subject - White t-shirt, grey jogging bottoms. (nothing special, doesn't stand out, not a particulalry important character)
Extras - Casual clothes. (crowd scenes)

Props

Laboratory equipment (e.g. test tubes, flasks etc.)

Chair, computers (control room scenario)

Metal Chinese massage balls

Syringe. (fake)

Food colouring to be used with water in the laboratory.

Stopwatch.

Cloth to cover table for surgical gurney.

Locations

Brinkburn.

Brinkburn laboratories.

Media room for control room.

Middlesbrough town centre.

Titles

Explosivo Productions

Blue moon productions

A Becky Fox/Stewart Ackerley production

In Association with L.A. Productions

A film by Stewart Ackerley

Brinkburn Biological Research Centre, Teeside 0815hrs

Danny Thompson

Matt Johnson

Danni Boggart

Mark Taylor

Casting by Becky Fox

Music by Becky Fox and Stewart Ackerley

Costume Design by Becky Fox

Edited by Becky Fox and Stewart Ackerley

Produced by Stewart Ackerley

Written by Becky Fox

Corrupted Minds

Directed by Stewart Ackerley

Film Title

Corrupted Minds

Character Names

Protagonist - Jason Reid

Antagonist - Robert Crane

Pitch

The film is a spy fi/thriller. The film begins with a spy character finding out about a former colleague plotting to achieve world domination, through the forces of a virus to control the minds of the entire world’s population. During the course of the film, the spy blows up the research centre where the virus is being created, but his nemesis sets up another research centre. A female agent partners with our protagonist, but ends up being infected by the virus herself. The virus affects the majority of the population of England, and the protagonist has to stop it, before the entire world is infected. The antagonist infiltrates the spy organisation, so the film comes to a climax as the protagonist ends up in the clutches of the antagonist. There is a feud between the two characters, as we discover that they have past connections. Cue dramatic action fight scene. With lots of gadgets. The protagonist discovers an airborne antidote to the virus and then overpowers the villain. The antagonist then gets injected with a lethal dose of the antidote, which slowly, but surely, kills him.

The conventions of a spy film are a good character, and a villain, which our film includes. The protagonist character is a suave, sophisticated action hero, which is typical of the spy genre. The film is a spy-fi, so scientific elements are included, such as a virus that has been created by scientists, or more so the minions of the villain, and lots of gadgets. World domination is also a popular theme in films of this genre. As is a ridiculously evil character, and past connections between the protagonist and antagonist. There is also a female partner to the protagonist, like the Bond Girls in James Bond.

Creative ideas for filming would be including fast edits in our opening scene, and creative shots such as reflections in a mirror, or reflections in the laboratory equipment, to create a distorted image. A variety of camera shots will be used, with a lot of different angles to create the desired effect. We will use establishing shots appropriately to set the scene, and we will use depth/planar staging.

We believe that our film could be successful, because James Bond, of the same genre, has been extremely successful financially. The very first Bond film, Dr. No, was filmed on a budget of $1.2 million and made $59.6 million in the box office alone. The very latest in the series, Quantum of Solace, was filmed on an extensive budget of $843 million, however it grossed in the box office at a price of $4,356 million. Although the average spy thriller is usually the same plot with the same conventions, they are still regarded as widely popular and when lumped under the genre of Action/Adventure they often tend to be the most viewed films in cinemas, with horrors coming a close second and comedies starting to fall down in recent years. There are very few people out there that fail to enjoy a good spy thriller, as it adds a sense of escapism to their humdrum lives. The chase scenes are exciting and appeal to the men who are essentially big kids at heart and gadgetry also plays a big factor in this. The visual and sound efects offer an assault on the senses that bring cinema viewers back for more everytime. If it were not for this, spy films would not be able to get away with making multiple sequels, each of which are equally enjoyed by the audience, when most other sequels are usually met with a chorus of groans. That is why another spy film should always be welcome.

Blue Moon Productions

And again, animated "forever".

Blue Moon Productions

Becky's company logo.

Photoshop=♥

Film Certificates

Here we have researched different film certificates and given the basics of the allowances of a 15 certificate film and an 18.

15
A film with a 15 certificate has no prohibited themes, providing the treatment is appropriate to a 15 year old audience, and frequent use of strong language is accepted, but some of the strongest terms, (e.g., ‘cunt’ are only acceptable where the context of the language justifies its use. In a 15, there are no constraints on nudity in an educational or non-sexual context, but nudity in a sexual context can only be shown without much detail. The same stands for sexual activity, it may be portrayed in a 15 but without strong detail. Strong violence is allowed but cannot dwell on the infliction of pain or injury and any sexual violence must be brief. Weapons that are easily accessible should not be glamorised and dangerous techniques such as suicide or combat should not dwell on imitable detail. In terms of horror, menace and strong threat are permitted, but the strongest gory images are unlikely to be. Drug use may be shown, but the film must not encourage or promote drug misuse.

18
An 18 allows for a lot more than a 15 certificated film, but does not allow detailed portrayal of violence, dangerous acts of illegal drug use. Other things unacceptable in 18 rated films are portryals of sexual violence and more explicit images of sexual activity, unless they can be justified by the context.

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/

The rating of our film.Our film will have a 15 certificate. One of the reasons for this is that a film certificated with a 15 rating has a larger target audience, as there is a wider range of people able to see the film. Also, the cinema is very popular within the 15-17 age range, so a film rated at 18 is missing out on a large percentage of its potential market.We have no desire to show the scales of violence or nudity that is only acceptable in an 18 certificate film. The extent of violence shown in out film will not be extreme, there will be no graphic blood or violence, and the extent of nudity and drug use will be within the boundaries of a 15 certificate film.Our film is of the spy genre, and after researching other films of the same genre, such as True Lies and Enemy of the State, which are rated at 15. There are no films of this genre rated higher than a 15, and Mission Impossible III was even rated at a 12A.
Using our research and ideas, we conclude that a 15 certificate is most appropriate for our film.

antagonist's names from spy films

this list has been selected from the eeeevil villains who are british or played by british actors, former colleagues with the protagonist, and who have used either brainwashing or viruses to take over the world

Sean Ambrose (Mission: Impossible 2)
Dr. Fredericks (The Good Shepherd)
James Ross (The Fourth Protocol)
Gregor (Ronin)
Seamus O’Roarke (Ronin)
Dr. Atticus Noyle (The Manchurian Candidate)
Paul Broum (Funeral In Berlin)
Johnny Vulkan (Funeral In Berlin)
Ernst Stavro Blofeld (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service)
Alec Trevelyan (GoldenEye)
Gustav Graves (Die Another Day)
Francisco Scaramanga (The Man With The Golden Gun)
Sir Hugo Drax (Moonraker)
Elliot Carver (Tomorrow Never Dies)
Renard (The World Is Not Enough)
Gianni (Transporter 2)
Walter Burke (The Recruit)

list of protagonist's names from spy films

• John Smith (Mr and Mrs. Smith)
• Johnny English
• Morgan Sullivan (Cypher)
• Chuck Barris (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind)
• Xander Cage (xXx)
• Darius Stone (xXx 2)
• Wallace Ritchie (The Man Who Knew Too Little)
• Austin Powers
• Ethan Hunt (Mission: Impossible)
• Harry Tasker (True Lies)
• Michael Corben (If Looks Could Kill)
• James Bond
• Edward Wilson (The Good Shepherd)
• James Clayton (The Recruit)
• Jason Bourne
• Robert Clayton Dean (The Enemy of The State)
• John Preston (The Fourth Protocol)
• Sam (Ronin)
• Vincent (Ronin)
• Nathan D. Muir (Spy Game)
• Tom Bishop (Spy Game)
• Major Bennet Marco (The Manchurian Candidate)
• Harry Palmer (The IPCRESS file, Funeral In Berlin and Billion Dollar Brain)

possible locations to film

Evil HQs           (college, town centre)

Science labs    (college)

Offices              (college)

Jungle               (woodland)

Deserts             (sand Dunes)

Docks                (the marina)

Industry             (seaton - power station, ICI)

Cities    (Billingham, Stockton,Middlesbrough)

Beaches            (Seaton, Crimdon)

Luxury houses     (hotels)

Good organization’s HQ     (college)

Canyon/mine                    (the quarry, summerhill)

list of spy films

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

James Bond

Where Eagles Dare (1968)

The Good Shepherd (2006)

Munich (2005)

Jason Bourne

The Fourth Protocol (1987)

Ronin (1998)

Enemy Of The State (1998)

The Recruit (2003)

Austin Powers

Johnny English (2003)

xXx

The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997)

True Lies (1994)

If Looks Could Kill (1991)

Nikita (1990)

Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind (2002)

Mission Impossible

conventions of a spy film

Espionage

Evil organization - bent on ruling/destroying the world

Good organization - devoted to stopping the evil organization

Main villains

Ridiculous traps 

Damsel in distress

Femme fatales

Gadgets/weaponry

Realistic military themes

Fantasy completely impossible themes

Scientists

Rescue missions

Henchmen/personal bodyguards

Suave, sophisticated, well dressed heroes

Rugged, action heroes

Theft of documents/files/formulas/technology - usually something good that can be turned evil

explosions

Company Logo

This is Stewart's company logo.

Genre Decision

We have decided to do a spy thriller/spy fi.

Analysis of 1408

Analysis of the opening sequence of 1408.

 

The scene opens with the titles, which start as white on black and edited to fade away, little circles at a time. This is accompanied by non-diegetic, eerie music. The music starts as a slow rumble that appears as soon as the company logo appears on screen. It escalates into an almost fast paced rushing sound. The eerie music creates the mood for the genre of the film, by using minor chords that are held too long to be any other genre of film.

 

The music stops momentarily and is replaced by the sound of heavy rain pour off screen. The sequence fades into an establishing shot of the empty road at night with the ambient sound of the extreme rain and high winds. We then see a low angle shot of a car coming towards us, accompanied by an incoherent, high pitched sound similar to human screeching, and the diegetic sound of the car braking to a halt. The title of the film fades in out of nowhere at the same speed as the car and quickly fades away again. The title is shown with blurred edges, a method used widely by horror films about ghosts and hauntings in particular. The camera uses a side shot of the car and pans as it reverses, and the screeching heard earlier is revealed to be a religious radio programme. The use of mise en scene becomes apparent pretty quickly, as the sequence switches to a shot of John Cusack, the lead actor as mentioned in the opening credits, sat at the wheel. We also see the first prop used in the film – a torch, a very common tool in horror films and it is the early use of this prop together with the serious, almost anxious expression on his face that establishes the genre of the film. We then see a close up of the car tyre, and a shot of the car driving back in the direction it just came from the same low angle and camera position as the start.

 

We are then introduced to a new location – a hotel. The sequence fades to a shot of the car stopping outside the location and our attention is brought back to the eerie music in the background which leaves us wondering what is about to happen. There is then a mechanical shot of John walking up the bridge and another establishing shot of the hotel itself to denote the size of it. Ambient sounds of thunder is played along with the diegetic sound of the doorbell as John walks into the hotel. This whole sequence is shot POV from the innkeeper’s perspective. The location is important to the narrative as well as mise en scene as it reveals to us the meaning behind the name ‘1408’ – it is now a thought that it could be a room number. The dialogue opens with John introducing himself quite casually, especially for a horror film. He reveals his character’s name to be ‘Mike Enslin’ and the innkeeper’s wife replies “It’s such an honour to have you here.” This suggests that he is of some importance or at least considered famous as his costume is very casual. The innkeeper and his wife continues the dialogue by telling Mike about the history of the hotel, in particular the hauntings and sightings of ghosts. This is accompanied by shot reverse shot, revealing Mike’s expression to be one of fake interest. His one worded replies to the dialogue show that he doesn’t seem to care and as if he has heard it all a hundred times before. This is compounded by the Innkeeper’s attitude to their history and that they aren’t warning him about it, instead they sound as though they are proud of it and are using it as a tourist attraction – this gives us an insight into Mike’s mind and why he seems so sceptical. Throughout this dialogue we are treated to high angle POV shots filmed from in between the bars of the staircase, and POV shots of the roof and the moon outside.

 

We are introduced to the new location of the ‘haunted’ hotel room. We see the props used which include a tape recorder and a strange device, but also a cigarette and the mini bar. This shows the contrast of professionalism and business with comfort. We see the extreme close up of the cigarette with the tension building non-diegetic music in the background, but this time with the addition of piano notes with a lot of reverb. As for the camera techniques, this sequence is filmed entirely from one corner of the room, and the shots fade into each other to show the progression of time and that Mike hasn’t slept since his arrival. The music finishes to ambient birdsong and the off screen dialogue of Mike describing his night into the tape recorder. The shot changes to a side view of Mike in his car and the dialogue now on-screen over the top of an upbeat 80’s rock song on the radio – a heavy contrast to the non-diegetic music played earlier. Mike describes his night in an incredibly cynical way, paying more attention to his notes about the Innkeeper’s wife’s home made, flourless chocolate cake. This is shot with a close up view of his expressionless face, proving just how cynical he is of his stay. “On the shiver scale, I give the Weeping Beech Inn, 6 skulls. Screw it, 5 skulls.” He has rated the hotel room on how scary his stay there was. This gives us a hint as to his job, which is revealed in the next sequence, as the location changes to a bookstore front, with the camera zooming in on the advertisement of ’10 Haunted Hotels by Mike Enslin’.