AS Media Post Apocalyptic Film Opening

This is my Post Apocalyptic film opening. The plot is about a man named Nathan who has been set on a journey to find the ingredients for a cure to a deadly disease that has wiped out the planet. Throughout my film opening he reminisces and looks back on the life he used to have as he thinks about one of his passed relatives who has left him voice recordings of his scientific research.

My aim for this film was to create a dull, dystopian tone to emphasise the death and loss surrounding my main character. However I also wanted to depict his internal feelings into the world surrounding him. I wanted to take the phrase, when you're happy you see the world in colour' into a literal meaning and drain the colour out of his world.

I decided to almost crosscut between the security camera scene and my main character as I wanted it to seem like a flash back, I left the scientist up for interpretation as I felt that not every character gets developed within the first three minutes of a film. I also wanted to give off the impression that maybe he was the one who started the disease and is not creating a cure at the time he was being filmed. I believe this added to my eerie tone throughout my film opening as you don't know who to trust, just like the society within this new apocalyptic world.

I used the security camera scene twice as I thought the shots of him walking into his lab with intention and walking out of his lab symbolised the start and end of something, not only his research but also life as we know it.

I am proud of my final product and I believe it includes many elements of a post apocalyptic genre. If I was to execute this project again I would focus on adding more complex edits as I feel the ones I have used are quite basic and I would make sure I film as many shots as I can whilst film as I then wont have to go out and do a reshoot.

Editing

These are screen shots of my film opening whilst editing it. as you can see I have printed it out and Labelled where I feel titles and edits should go. This helped my when continuing on with my editing as I had my Storyboard and this to follow in order to make my film the best I could make it.

Script writing

This Is the script for the voiceover in my film opening. I wrote it when filming some shots with a group member of mine. He used my notebook in order to film a clip of him writing into the book which will be used to show the scientist writing his findings into his notebook. When he was writing I told him to write a post apocalyptic story that we could take inspiration from. He wrote about humans and animals loosing hair and growing strong and how the population dies over an extended period of time. After he wrote the story I loved the dark aspects about it and knew it would be perfect as a voiceover. So I sat and wrote a script based on what he had wrote. 

Mise en scene planning

I wanted to add a gun into my opening scene so that I could emphasise the despair within this post apocalyptic world. I took inspiration from I am Legend as all he carries round for protection is a gun. To an audience member this means that whatever is out there it is not a threat to him when he is out in the open as he is not hesitant whilst walking around. I wanted my main character to embody the same mind set as I feel that is what will make him seem like the stereotypical protagonist within this genre. However I also picked a light coloured gun to fit with that black and white dullness but also so that the audience would be able to see it in contrast with my main characters dark clothes.

In order to learn the codes and conventions of a post apocalyptic film, I had to watch I am Legend, The Book of Eli, 28 Days later and The Road. I took most of the inspiration for my film from the book of Eli. In this film the main character uses headphones to listen to music which is sentimental to him. I wanted to provoke this emotion from my audience and because of this I chose to use headphones within my film opening whilst listening to a relatives voice (voiceover). These are the head phones I have planned to use throughout my  Film opening. It is important to use them as I need to demonstrate that my character is listening to the voiceover throughout the film. I chose white as It would be a contrast to his black costume and would represent how his only piece of hope is from the words he is listening to and from the person who is saying them.

This was the photo that I used within my film opening. Before going out to film I knew that I would need a photo for the main character to look back on and help to provoke the emotions of loss towards the audience. It was important for me to be able to draw this emotion out of an audience member as I would get them more invested. I also took inspiration from the flashbacks Within the Road as it makes it clear the main character is reminiscing over his past. I thought that looking at a picture of a loved one would receive the same reaction.

Actors and Characters

My main character was played by Ramy Ben Fredj. His goal throughout the film is to find the ingredients for the cure to the disease that started the apocalypse. The ingredients he needs have been left to him from a passed relative. He listens to the voice recordings that he made in order to keep his sanity and remember what he had in his old life. This character was based off of Eli form The Book of Eli as they both have a purpose that will save themselves and the human race.

The scientist, is the man on the tapes that my main character listens to. He is played by Tom Langford. This scientist has created a disease and is now trying to find a cure before it spreads, however what he doesn't know is that it does. I took inspiration from watching the opening to 28 days later as there is a mad scientist that has test subjects
in that as well.

Costume Planning

Costume planning from Betsy-Jo Warren

Reece Shots

 This is one of my Reece shots from the forest I decided to film at, I felt that this patch of water was a great place to film with the GoPro as the water wasn't too deep that it would destroy the camera. It also would give the appearance of dirty water helping the audience believe that we are in the apocalypse and luxuries are hard to come by. The shot of just the main actors hands would help with the mystery of the character, as we see his body parts before we see his face.

This is another Reece shot for the location I decided to film at, I chose this spot as the orange contrasted with the main characters black costume and depicts the fact that the only beauty left in the world is nature, the overcast sky also gives the scene an ominous feel to it as something has not been quite right since the apocalypse started.

This is the pathway I decided the main character would walk down. I chose this because I loved how he was being framed by trees on both of his sides.