Recces

On our first recce, we travelled to the agreed-upon location of Canary Wharf DLR station in order to do some preliminary filming on the DLR. However, as we stepped onto the train and began to unpack our tripod and camera, a TFL official stopped us and informed us that, without a permit, we were not allowed to do any filming. We switched train and stayed on a little while longer going for an empty carriage in which to get some filming done but it just got busier and busier, despite being in the afternoon of a Sunday.

Back in the classroom, we decided we would go out again the next week, and recce the still urban but hopefully more deserted route of London Bridge to Lewisham. However, this turned out to be as busy as the DLR, so we decided we had to change location completely. We decided that we would film somewhere in the city but not on public transport. After much deliberation we decided upon London Bridge and did a recce there which was fairly successful and seemed to be a good location which we could transfer our script to. Here is a video of the recce we took, showing how we transposed some of the shots from the train to fit the now street-based location. We have done a voiceover over the top, noting what we need to improve when we film it:

Storyboard

DLR Reccy 1

Having taken the DLR route (through Canary Wharf) which is where we intend to film our sequence, I now have a better idea of what to expect. The DLR itself was not monumentally busy, meaning it should be easy enough to film on board the train. However, we may not be able to achieve our desired effect of having the train empty unless we go later at night, when the line is presumably emptier than it was in the afternoon, as there will be no difference in the light (now that the nights are earlier). The stations themselves are also not particularly busy, and there are some particularly cinematic locations surrounding the DLR such as Canary Wharf, which I have taken a few shots of with my camera to gain an understanding of what filming will be like.

Film Plot Overview

Our film follows the story of Frank, a young assassin who operates on the streets of south London. In the opening scene, he is shown working in his normal fashion: he receives the time and place from anonymous contacts, and makes his appearance before meeting another contact instructing him on who to target. However, due to the nature of this particular task - he is told only to target someone with a 'red hat' - and the fact that he had come unprepared, due to a tight schedule, for a busy platform due to a football game, he executes the wrong target. After the finger of blame is pointed to him by his employer, and the police begin to target him for murder, Frank takes to the streets in an attempt to avoid confronting those who are after him. However, staying in a run-down one bedroom apartment in Lewisham with blood on his hands, Frank must also confront his inner demons. While his life is spiralling out of control and he is slowly losing his grip on life, he comes across, by chance, Vincent, a friend from his past. Like Frank, Vincent is highly vulnerable: he produces heroin for a brutal drug dealer. The two attempt to reform themselves and make an honest living - Frank working in a car garage, and Vincent in a local primary school. However, Vincent's past comes back to him and his violent boss leaves him hospitalised after attempting to have him shot to death in the street for abandoning his business. Seeking vengeance, Frank confronts and brutally murders Vincent's boss and henchmen. However, those who had contracted Frank in the film's opening, and subsequently the police, find him out. Before the police arrive, the anonymous man who Frank had met on the DLR in the opening of the film finds him by the Thames Barrier. Frank is shot from behind, though is still able to confront and shoot his anonymous employer to death. The police arrive at the scene and a wounded Frank jumps into the river to avoid detection as the film ends, his fate being left ambiguous.

Deptford Bridge + DLR Photos

These pictures were taken of the cityscapes surrounding the DLR. It is easy to see how they would look impressively cinematic in our film, especially at night time when we would be able to capture the lighting and reflection of the buildings.

These are all pictures of the DLR station. It seems to have a good view over the streets in Deptford, which we may be able to use to add impressive aesthetics to our film.

Though the stairs of the station will not take up much of the film, these pictures demonstrate how it is an impressive, cinematic location and could make the film more visually thrilling, especially when it is darker and there are artificial lights.

Props & Actors

Props

We need a book to use for when the main character discovers the book left on the seat next to him. We have discussed what book we are going to use and we have decided on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. There needs to be a note put inside it and placed in such a way that it will easily fall out when the main character picks up the book. It should be a second-hand, somewhat tattered copy of the book and not brand-new looking.

Actors

If we could get anybody for the role of the main character, my first choice would be Ryan Gosling. This is because he is a versatile actor who can play gritty roles and yet demand sympathy from the audience in the role of the protagonist. Of course, our film is set in England, and I don't know if Gosling would be able to affect an accent but I think he would fit the role well otherwise. Here is a picture of him in one of his latest roles in Drive:

For the role of the murderer we have chosen Callum as we believe he could portray his character very well.

For the role of the man who sits down next to the main character briefly on the DLR, I think an actor like  Anton Yelchin would be good because I think that the character should look young and quite innocent from what little we see of him - as if he is an young man with potential who has just entered into a world of crime.

For the part of the mysterious man on the train, we have chosen Ollie Brenmann because he has acting experience with roles such as this one.

For the role of the man in the suit who tells the main character who the a target is, I think an actor such as George Clooney would be perfect. It's not a big role so I don't imagine that he would accept the role but it would be good to have someone that, in a suit, would look strangely suave and handsome yet also like he could be dangerous and could be quite ruthless.

For the role of the man on the platform, we have chosen Gus Grant, due to the fact that he will physically resemble the character we had in mind a lot.

I would ideally cast Chloe Grace Moretz in the role of the young girl who is killed by the main character.  She looks young and innocent which would emphasise the emotional conflict that the main character has to surmount in order to carry out his hit.

The character of the young teenage girl will be played by Alice Alphonse. We have chosen her because we believe that she has the most physical resemblance to the character we imagined in our heads.

Shot List

Click through to see full size.

Costume

l I imagine the main character as being dressed in a white shirt, leather jacket and chinos. I hope that the leather jacket  show he has a somewhat tough veneer, yet the white shirt and chinos will show that he is still essentially a normal guy and deserving of some sympathy from the audience.

l I think the man on the train should be dressed in a tweed jacket and smart trousers. I hope this will convey the organisation of the hit and subvert the gritty stereotype of crime.

l I think the man on the platform should be dressed in a smart suit, although with one distinguishable piece of clothing that makes him stand out. This man is again part of this well organised crime but one thing about him makes him seem different to the other commuters etc.

l I think the girl should be dressed in a green duffel coat and of course a red hat.

Today's Production Meeting

Today, we started putting our finished shot list into a table, however we had to stop briefly to discuss how we wanted to finish the opening because we hadn't actually completed the plot yet. In the end, we completed about half of the shot list as well as adding a few shots to it. For homework we redrew our story boards, incorporating the new shots.

Film Opening Ideas

In order to come up with an idea for our film opening, my classmates and I each came up with two ideas which we then shared with each other. From these we came up with a final idea.

The concepts I came up with are as follows:

The first was three simultaneous story-lines which all centred around drugs. A man is shown sitting at a café and is approached by a second man. The second man is shown tucking a package into a newspaper and he sits down opposite the man in the café. He says nothing and slides the newspaper over towards the first man. We then cut to two teenagers walking down a road. A police siren is heard and one of the boys looks very concerned. He darts into a nearby public toilet.We then cut to a woman snorting a line of white powder. She then rings somebody and asks for "some more". We show here waiting for a few hours before she goes to leave. However, just as she is about to leave somebody knocks slowly and ominously on the door.

The second began with an establishing shot of an office before centring on one employee. He is about 30 and is an average-looking man. He is shown interacting briefly with a fairly attractive woman also working in the office who is about the same age as him. We then cut to the end of the day and the man and woman are leaving together. They say goodbye and go separate ways. As soon as the woman is out of sight, a look of urgency comes across the man's face and he begins walking briskly. We show him making his way towards a destination whilst simultaneously showing the woman catching the bus home. Through this it is made clear to the audience that the man has gone a different route to the woman's house. He is shown outside, assembling a large camera with a telephoto lens like a rifle. He then darts behind the house as the camera cuts to a shot of the woman entering the bathroom on the top floor. As she looks at herself in the mirror, she hears the faint sound of a camera shutter and looks round in alarm. She then hears three more shutter sounds, each louder than the previous one. Finally we hear a gunshot.

I think my ideas were solid but need developing, especially the first one. I would also need to think about how exactly I would film them, as filming some of the shots in the second idea could be tricky.

My two classmates also shared their ideas. I thought that Kayleigh's first idea was very suspenseful (if a little clichéd) and would be a safe option to go with, especially as it would be relatively straightforward to film. I really like Kayleigh's second idea, with the masks being very unnerving (very Eyes Wide Shut-esque) and the dramatic irony as well. Again, it would be quite straightforward to shoot and would allow easy manipulation of lighting and sound.

I thought that both of Christoph's ideas were really interesting. The ambiguity and how the audience is left in the dark in the first one is really intriguing. It still keeps the viewer's interest, however, as there is a lot going on and the action is intense. It could potentially be quite difficult to film and get all the elements such as sound right as it is so dense but it is certainly doable. The second idea really stood out for all of us and is the idea we eventually we decided to go with as the basis for our opening. I really love the location as the DLR around the canary wharf area at night can look really beautiful. It was also very suspenseful and left the viewer with a great deal of intrigue and an urge to find out more. Hopefully it will turn out to be a thrilling, aesthetically competent, fluent opening.