Thursday 26th, I wasn't in but had previously asked for more time to film so now we have an extension until next thusday. During this lesson my group chose their music and thought about what scenes we still had to shoot and re-shoot, e.g. the scene with Mr Smith that we all feel isn't funny enough despite it being well acted.

The boys also finalised the soundtrack and have chosen these two songs both of which I approve:

Badass by ReeceA




Sound of da police by KRS




This song will be used in the opening as Daniels character Alex walks into the school.

On Wednesday the 25th we did some filming, mostly we filmed our outside shots but also some inside scenes aswell. as perusual we didn't get as much done as we would've liked but we did our best.

Here is our cast for Wednesday's filming:

Here we are outside filming in front of the 'Seagull entrance' we are filming part of out opening sequence.

 Here's some more of Andrew as our camera man as we film some more of the opening sequence.

Here's Chris and Daniel trying to encourage Alisha in her acting as we film her scene.

Here Andrew, Chris and I check through our footage and save it onto the computer.

All in all I regret not getting more done but it's no use to me lamenting that now so instead we'll just have to make sure we get more done in our next few days.

Final Concept art

Here is the final concept art for the characters and their costumes as illustrated by Andrew:

Reflection on Thursdays filming

On Thursday we began filming and filmed parts of several of our scenes here are some photographs I took of us working and some of our cast:

Here is part of our cast (mostly in costume) from left to right: Nicole, Andrew, Alisha and Chris

Heres the our group (left to right: Chris, Andrew, Olivia, Daniel)  at the computer looking at our scripts and storyboards and preparing to film.

Here are Andrew and Daniel tying their ties for their costumes.

Here's Daniel threatening Chris in our first scene (not chronologically script wise) while Andrew films

Here's Andrew posing as he gets ready to check through some of the footage we have just filmed.

And that's just a little of what we did on Thursday.

We didn't get as much done as we would've liked but it was a start and now we have a better idea of what were doing were sure our next session will be more efficient.

*All of these phots were taken by me except one hence why I am not in them but regardless I was there directing the whole time.

Production Schedule

Thursday 19th we wil be filming most of the inside shots with our cast and we will be filming in the sixth form office and in the corridors we'll probably be filming the outside shots another day perhaps the wednesday following.

We will need to have with us our lighting, cameras and we will be in costume.

Reflection 17.1.12

Today I have posted up the storyboard page by page, posted up the new script and helped put together a list of cast, costume and things needed for filming.

Storyboard

Script third draft

Here's an update to our script we've changed the ending to add some extra humour.

Hall Monitor Screenplay

ALEX

Do you want to hear my story? Are you sure, it's not for the faint of heart, it's a story of immense excitement, courage, loyalty,

and the satire/parody clause to prevent us from potential lawsuits. This is me. I'm tough. (CLENCH FIST) Charming. (CLICKS FINGERS AND POINTS) And too poor to afford 3D (PUNCHES AT THE CAMERA WHICH THEN FALLS DOWN). And this is what I do.

CUTS TO ALEX, THE HALL MONITOR IS HOLDING A KID AGAINST THE LOCKER, TWO STUDENTS ARE WATCHING IN THE BACKGROUND AND ARE MOCKING ALEX AND THE KID.

ALEX

I saw you littering!

KID

No! I swear, you've made a mistake!

ALEX

I don't make mistakes.

KID

Oh God!

CUTS TO TOM WHO IS WALKING DOWN THE CORRIDOOR,HE STOPS AS HE SEES ALEX AND SIGHS WITH A LOOK OF DISSAPOINTMENT ON HIS FACE. CUTS BACK TO ALEX WHO DOESN'T REALISE THERE IS A TEACHER BEHIND HIM.

ALEX

You don't freaking litter in MY school! You get that punk!?

TEACHER

That is quite enough!

ALEX HAS A LOOK OF PANIC ON HIS FACE, CUT TO HIM SITTING AT THE DESK IN THE TEACHERS OFFICE.

TEACHER

Listen, Alex, I understand you're trying to make a difference.

ALEX

(HALL MONITOR VOICE) I AM (PAUSES THEN REVERTS TO NATURAL VOICE) making a difference! People aren't breaking the rules nearly as much now, you saw what happened to James, he may never taste again.

TEACHER

He's having his TONSILS OUT!

ALEX

(PAUSES THINKING ABOUT WHAT THE TEACHERS SAYING, BEFORE TRYING TO REBUTTAL, NOT LIKING HOW HIS POSITION IS BEING THREATENED) But if I don't make a difference, who will.

TEACHER

The staff.

ALEX

Who else will!? This school needs a hero, (HE STANDS UP AND BEGINS TO TURN TO FACE THE DOOR) someone to look up to, aspire to. Someone needs to clean up these halls, someone needs to be.. The Hall Monitor.

TEACHER

I really don't give a shit. Just stop assaulting the students, or I'll have to report you!

CUT ON ALEX'S REACTION. CUT TO A KID RUNNING DOWN THE HALL. ALEX LOOKS IN HORROR HE UNBUTTONS HIS SHIRT TO REVEAL THE HALL MONITOR LOGO, IN A PARODY OF SUPERMAN, BEFORE SPEED WALKING OUT OF THE DOOR, HE BEGINS TO FOLLOW THE RUNNING KID, SPEED WALKING.

ALEX

Stop! No running in the hall! (THE KID RUNS OFF, HE CHANGES TO THE HALL MONITOR VOICE) We got a fighter then huh?

HE FOLLOWS THE KID, SPEED WALKING OFF SCREEN REVEALING JESSIE, ALEX'S LOVE INTREST, SHE SIGHS DREAMILY AT HIM. CUT TO ALEX STILL CHASING AFTER THE RUNNING KID. HE STOPS TO PICK UP A PIECE OF LITTER, HE LOOKS DOWN AT IT.)

ALEX

It's still warm...

(AS THE RUNNING KID APPROACHES THE END OF THE CORRIDOR A BAG STICKS OUT, THE RUNNING KID FACEPLANTS INTO THE BAG AND FALLS TO THE FLOOR. TOM COMES INTO VIEW FROM ROUND THE CORNER WITH A BORED EXPRESSION ON HIS FACE.

ALEX

Well done rookie, quick thinking.

TOM

Yeah, whatever dude. I'm going to maths.

ALEX (NARRATION)

That's Tom, he's my partner, not in bed, in cleaning up the scum in this school, he's a challenge, he doesn't care much about the system, but he's good at what he does. I have many names, Alex, Master Duncan, Justice and several names which I can't tell you because we're pushing for the 12a rating.(BEHIND HIM, THERE IS A LARGE FIGURE APPROACHING) But that doesn't matter, because I know my duty, I'm here to clean up this school. I am the- 

THE LARGE FIGURE IS FULLY BEHIND HIM, ALEX TURNS AROUND AND TAKES NOTE OF THE GIANT BOY.


ALEX
Let me guess... big brother? (THE LARGE FIGURE NODS) Great... should have seen that coming.
 THE LARGE FIGURE PUNCHES HIM AND AS HE FALLS THE HALL MONITOR THEME PLAYS AND THE HALL MONITOR LOGO FADES ONTO SCREEN.

Production Schedule: Cast and set list

We have assembled our cast, they are as such:

Alex- Daniel
Tom- Andrew
Jessie- Aleisha
Teacher- Mr Smith
Student 1- Chris
Student 2- Gabriel
Extras- James

I emailed Gabriels teachers and got him the day off of his subjects so that he can film with us and I also emailed Mr Smith and sorted out with him to clear his schedule and film with us for (most of) the day.

(Possible) Sets:

Sixth Form office
Corridor
The Bridge
Outside the school

Storyboard

The storyboard is as of yet unfinished as though ti is all drawn it still needs to be finished annotated, I have taken a picture of all of the storyboards together so you cannot see each page separately but it does show you that we've done seven pages.

Hallmonitor Costume Designs

We've not started filming yet as not all of our group are together yet and we haven't assembled all of our costume, to help us with this Andrew sketched some costume designs for us:

We tried to keep the costumes plain and basic and designed them round what we had at home so that we would have no problem with getting them on short notice. They consist of white shirt, tie, black trousers and suit shoes; we decided on this kind of formal dress as it would be the normal for the older years of school to wear.

We've also designed the costumes to reflect the characters, Alex is very neat and tidy and by the book with his short tucked in and trousers pulled up high, however Tom's is much more scruffy (his shirt out and tie not tied properly) as he cares less for the rules and is only interested in doing his job for the extra points. 

Jessie is also dressed very tidily as she likes Alex and so desires his approval and attention.

Hallmonitor Second Draft Script

Hall Monitor Screenplay

ALEX

Do you want to hear my story? Are you sure, it's not for the faint of heart, it's a story of immense excitement, courage, loyalty,

and the satire/parody clause to prevent us from potential lawsuits. This is me. I'm tough. (CLENCH FIST) Charming. (CLICKS FINGERS AND POINTS) And too poor to afford 3D (PUNCHES AT THE CAMERA WHICH THEN FALLS DOWN). And this is what I do.

CUTS TO ALEX, THE HALL MONITOR IS HOLDING A KID AGAINST THE LOCKER, TWO STUDENTS ARE WATCHING IN THE BACKGROUND AND ARE MOCKING ALEX AND THE KID.

ALEX

I saw you littering!

KID

No! I swear, you've made a mistake!

ALEX

I don't make mistakes.

KID

Oh God!

CUTS TO TOM WHO IS WALKING DOWN THE CORRIDOOR,HE STOPS AS HE SEES ALEX AND SIGHS WITH A LOOK OF DISSAPOINTMENT ON HIS FACE. CUTS BACK TO ALEX WHO DOESN'T REALISE THERE IS A TEACHER BEHIND HIM.

ALEX

You don't freaking litter in MY school! You get that punk!?

TEACHER

That is quite enough!

ALEX HAS A LOOK OF PANIC ON HIS FACE, CUT TO HIM SITTING AT THE DESK IN THE TEACHERS OFFICE.

TEACHER

Listen, Alex, I understand you're trying to make a difference.

ALEX

(HALL MONITOR VOICE) I AM (PAUSES THEN REVERTS TO NATURAL VOICE) making a difference! People aren't breaking the rules nearly as much now, you saw what happened to James, he may never taste again.

TEACHER

He's having his TONSILS OUT!

ALEX

(PAUSES THINKING ABOUT WHAT THE TEACHERS SAYING, BEFORE TRYING TO REBUTTLE, NOT LIKING HOW HIS POSITION IS BEING THREATENED) But if I don't make a difference, who will.

TEACHER

The staff.

ALEX

Who else will!? This school needs a hero, (HE STANDS UP AND BEGINS TO TURN TO FACE THE DOOR) someone to look up to, aspire to. Someone needs to clean up these halls, someone needs to be.. The Hall Monitor.

TEACHER

I really don't give a shit. Just stop assaulting the students, or I'll have to report you!

CUT ON ALEX'S REACTION. CUT TO A KID RUNNING DOWN THE HALL. ALEX LOOKS IN HORROR HE UNBUTTONS HIS SHIRT TO REVEAL THE HALL MONITOR LOGO, IN A PARODY OF SUPERMAN, BEFORE SPEED WALKING OUT OF THE DOOR, HE BEGINS TO FOLLOW THE RUNNING KID, SPEED WALKING.

ALEX

Stop! No running in the hall! (THE KID RUNS OFF, HE CHANGES TO THE HALL MONITOR VOICE) We got a fighter then huh?

HE FOLLOWS THE KID, SPEED WALKING OFF SCREEN REVEALING JESSIE, ALEX'S LOVE INTREST, SHE SIGHS DREAMILY AT HIM. CUT TO ALEX STILL CHASING AFTER THE RUNNING KID. HE STOPS TO PICK UP A PIECE OF LITTER, HE LOOKS DOWN AT IT.)

ALEX

It's still warm...

(AS THE RUNNING KID APPROACHES THE END OF THE CORRIDOR A BAG STICKS OUT, THE RUNNING KID FACEPLANTS INTO THE BAG AND FALLS TO THE FLOOR. TOM COMES INTO VIEW FROM ROUND THE CORNER WITH A BORED EXPRESSION ON HIS FACE.

ALEX

Well done rookie, quick thinking.

TOM

Yeah, whatever dude. I'm going to maths.

ALEX (NARRATION)

That's Tom, he's my partner, not in bed, in cleaning up the scum in this school, he's a challenge, he doesn't care much about the system, but he's good at what he does. I have many names, Alex, Master Duncan, Justice and several names which I can't tell you because we're pushing for the 12a rating.(BEHIND HIM, THERE IS A LARGE FIGURE APPROACHING) But that doesn't matter, because I know my duty, I'm here to clean up this school. I am the Hall Monitor!

THE LARGE FIGURE IS FULLY BEHIND HIM, GRABS HIM AND TURNS HIM ROUND, THE LARGE FIGURE PUNCHES HIM AND AS HE FALLS THE HALL MONITOR THEME PLAYS AND THE HALL MONITOR LOGO FADES ONTO SCREEN.

Action-Comedy Opening Sequence Research

The Other Guys

The Other Guys Opening scene

Starring: Will Ferrell Mark Wahlberg Derek Jeter

Directed: Adam McKay 

Written by: Adam McKay Chris Henchy

Released: 2010

Genre: Action Comedy Crime

Rating: 12A

The other guys jumps straight into the action for its opening scene beginning with a chase scene  

Genre conventions:

•  Quick comedic dialogue
• Over the top effects (e.g explosions)
• Parody of action film e.g car chase and how the heroes (despite causing ridiculous amounts of damage) are praised and loved by there city

The things I will consider taking away from this are:

• We will also parody a chase scene though ours will be on foot
• We will also use snappy humorous dialogue

Action-Comedy Opening Sequence Research

Kung Fu Panda

Kung fu panda opening sequence

Starring: Jack Black Dustin Hoffman Angelina Jolie Ian McShane Jackie Chan Seth Rogen Lucy Lui David Cross

Directed: Mark Osborne John Stevenson

Written by: Jonathan Aibel Glenn Berger  

Released: 2008

Genre: Action Adventure Animation 

Rating: Pg

Though Kung fu panda doesn't call itself a comedy I would so I have mentioned it.

The opening titles are done as an animation an though we cannot do an animation as our opening sequence as we don't have to ability we can take from theirs the way that it opens with the lead character in a fantasy of being a great hero- which in reality he is not, which is very like our character of Alex who sees himself as being far greater than he is.

• Opens with custom Dreamworks icon music that leads into film opening is playing it is classic chinese kung-fu film music
• Titles appear in middle of the screen very stylised font there is a flash and the night sky is replaced by day with the title of the film in big on it
• Pans down and voiceover begins by Jack Black (who we find out voices the main character Po) as he tells us a story of a legendary kung fu warrior in a humorous way
•  When the fight scene begins new music faster paced and more modern but still with classical chinese begins
• Lots of dramatic angle shots like extreme low shots
• The end of the opening two minutes introduces the Furious Five another set of core characters to the story, the colour of yellow is used greatly when representing them 

Genre Conventions

• Humorous dialogue
• Over dramatic action
• Hero who is unintentionally funny (in hat he is not trying to be funny)

Title Sequence Research

I researched the titles of several films of various genres of film with the particular aim of looking at typography and deciding how our titles would go on our film.

Here is a list of the films I looked at and what I will take from them:

Zombieland

 The idea I will take away from this film will be the idea of the titles interacting with the action on screen this makes the titles far more interesting and entertaining than just static or uninvolved text.


Machete

One of the things I will take away from Machete was the use of a very cool production icon that was entertaining in itself, another thing I will take away from this film was its use of colour and contrasting colours with each image being largely one solidly colour- mainly red

Dinner for schmucks

One thing I'll take away from the opening sequence of Dinner for schmucks is the way it's text is mainly very small and unobtrusive and so doesn't take away from what's happening on screen but compliments it instead, I'd like for the main titles of our film- except for the films title itself, to be largely done this way so that it doesn't detract from whats happening on screen. Also I' quite like it if the titles faded in and out like the ones in this film.

Total Recall

I don't know if there's much I'm going to take away form these titles except perhaps it's powerful use of music, due to it's music despite nothing much is really happening on screen the audience doesn't grow too bored, also it has very bold text which I like as well.

Napoleon Dynamite

One thing I liked about this title sequence was how it used a montage of clips in ever increasing speed coupled with gentle and pleasing music. also I like the way it used various mediums to show it's titles I'm not sure how much of these techniques we will sue in our opening sequence titles but I did enjoy it.

Archer

One thing I particularly like about the Archer title sequence is how it is a mock James Bond opening sequence and I wish we could have an animation sequence like this in our film opening but sadly it would be too difficult and time consuming so we can't but maybe we'll be able to fit something like this in in some other way. 

Overall I think looking at all these title sequences and focusing on the typography has been a great help to me in planning our own title sequences as though our group did have some plans for what we wanted to do I now have many more ideas and a better in depth knowledge of what ours should look like.

Production Schedule

We are considering filming mostly wednesdays but Daniel and Chris do EPQ which means they are busy all that school day so won't be able to film, we are also considering filming saturdays though we would not be able to film in school that day so we'd have to shoot all the outside shots those days.
Wednesday 4th - Begin final draft of script
Thursday 5th- Storyboarding
Monday 9th - Final Draft of Script/Storyboarding Complete
Tuesday 10th - Start filming during lessons
Wednesday 11th - Filming inside shots
Saturday 14th - Filming additional shots
Tuesday 17th - Filming further inside shots
Wednesday 18th - Filming Further inside shots

The items we will need to remember to bring will be script, costume, storyboard, lights and cameras.