Costume research

When researching the costume my main character should have I found that you either go from one extreme to the other. What I mean by this is that in 'The Book of Eli' he's id wrapped up in many layers in order to keep warm and for protection. In '28 days later' and 'I am Legend' you can see they don't have many items of clothes on and Will Smiths only sense of protection is his weapon. I feel that depending on the type of apocalypse your film has, will depend on what type of costume your main character will wear. I personally think that I will place my main character into a costume similar to I am Legend as they have similar aspect in how the apocalypse started.

Location planning

In order to get a good idea of what locations suited the post apocalyptic genre I first had to study some post apocalyptic films. The film I studied the most was The Book of Eli.. In its opening scene it has a dense very dark green forest. This helped to set an ominous vibe throughout the scene. I felt that because my film has taken so much inspiration from The Book of Eli that a forest setting would be good as well.

However when my group and I started planning where to film we also had the idea of filming in an abandoned building just like the buildings the characters in 28 days later and up in. we look at places like clipstone pit or the B&B just near the Fox and Crown in Mansfield. However we chose to do most of our filming in the woods near the A38.

Film producers and their websites

Movie websites from Betsy-Jo Warren

Practice shots and framing

These are the shots me and a group member filmed whilst trying to practice framing, zooming and keeping a camera in focus at different distances. We kept every shot within the theme of post apocalyptic in case one turned out well and would have the potential to be used within my final film opening

Weather for filming

This was the weather forecast for the week we wanted to film. As you can see it was a cloudy day which is what we wanted in order to create that dull lifeless tone throughout my film. However I knew that we wouldn't be able to film in the rain so that was our deadline to get all of the shots done.

Film opening storyboards

I was commissioned to create storyboards analysing different film openings, Mad Max and Wall.e being post apocalyptic, this being important as that is my chosen genre. These will help me when creating my post apocalyptic film opening as I have a structure to follow and can see if there are key codes and conventions to follow.

Storyboard

This storyboard shows each shot that me and my group planned to film, This was so that when it came to filming, we would know exactly what we needed to do. Eliminating the risk of changing our ideas and not including the needed codes and conventions, and not filming all of what we need.

My Mood Board

My mood board depicts a dystopian society, filled with destruction and the different moral codes in which society holds as its unspoken law. Costume is long and dark in order for people to blend in with the shadows and to keep warm. The gun represents the fact that nobody trusts each other anymore as everybody has something you might need. The boots I feel are important as they represent the main characters journey, and also show that they are worn out as no one can go out and buy new ones anymore, shoes are very valuable, as walking is their only form of transportation. I feel that this mood board allows me to broaden my ideas for my film opening and reminds me to add all the codes and conventions I can.

Post Apocalyptic Film Opening- Initial Ideas

The first thing me and my group did was look at the codes and conventions of  post apocalyptic movies and what makes them so successful. We all agreed that an ominous character and a dystopian  world that promises salvation was a common theme within all post apocalyptic films. An example of this would be The Book of Eli as there is a safe haven rumoured about which Eli has made it his mission to go to as he needs to protect the Book.

At the start of this project my group and I had two main ideas, the first was based off of the beginning of I Am Legend, where a virus had broke out and caused a deadly disease to infect the planet.
Our Idea was to have the main characters father working on a cure, but be killed by one of his test subjects, his son would carry on the research and go out looking for the final ingredient to the cure.

The second idea was to have the main character looking for a new society as he had heard about a new utopia over in the east, he would travel there only based on hope, however avoiding the gangs of people that have banded together in the hope of ruling this new world.

Chosen idea
My group and I decided to choose the first idea as it seemed much more original and had the potential to have a SiFi sub-genre opening up more shots to film. It also allowed us to show off more skills which would be effective within the post apocalyptic genre.

YouGov Profiles- The Book of Eli

These profiles show the average person that enjoys post apocalyptic films and what type of personality they have. The aim of this is to find out what my target audience is and what they like to see.

These profiles are based on people who like The Book of Eli

The average favourite foods are, steak and kidney pudding, Gammon and eggs and Jam tarts

The Road YouGov Profiles- The Road

These profiles show the average person that enjoys post apocalyptic films and what type of personality they have. The aim of this is to find out what my target audience is and what they like to see.

These profiles are based off of the people who like The Road

The average favourite foods are, potato salad, chocolate pudding and banana split. 

YouGov Profiles- 28 Days Later

These profiles show the average person that enjoys post apocalyptic films and what type of personality they have. The aim of this is to find out what my target audience is and what they like to see.

These profiles are based on the people who like 28 Days Later.

The average favourite food is, Tortellini, Chicken Vindaloo and omlettes 

YouGov Profiles- I am Legend

These profiles show the average person that enjoys post apocalyptic films and what type of personality they have. The aim of this is to find out what my target audience is and what they like to see.

These profiles are based on people who like the film I am Legend.

The examples of favourite foods are pigs in blankets, stir frys, and an English breakfast

Foley sound design

A Foley artist is a person who creates sound effects that will be added to a film during post production. They include sounds such as footsteps, paper folding and doors opening and closing. These sounds are avoided when in the filming process and are added in afterward in the editing stage. This is so that the sound can be controlled more and used as effectively as possible.

Foley artists are needed so that the sounds can be matched up to the picture and will not sound computer made and fake. Because this sound is recorded separately it is easier to control and can be manipulated, for example the volume can be made loader or muted for added effect.

Jack Foley was the developer of many sound effect techniques within the filmmaking industry. His most famous method of creating false sound was to do it live into a microphone, while the artists watch what the director has filmed. Thy create the sound to be as close as possible to the sound the actors would have made. To do this they will smash glass and take footsteps, sometimes even punch hanging meat in order to create a punching sound. Individuals within this industry are called 'Foley Artists'.

Nowadays, many simple sound effects are done without Foley Artists. They can be stored electronically and placed into the picture by the sound editing crew on an engineer keyboard. Done wrong and this type of Foley sound will be boring and repetitive as the audience will hear the same sounds over and over again. However this is a much more cheaper alternative to hiring Foley Artists.

Naming Camera Angles

All of these Stills have been taken from post apocalyptic based films and can be used as references for when I film my own film opening.