Sound

I have thus far not been able to find any music that I feel is suitable enough or good enough for our opening after extensive research on copyright-free music sights. I do have an idea of the kind of thing that I am looking for but I haven't been able to find any copyright-free examples of it. This song (although copyrighted) gives quite a good example of the thing I am envisaging: from 3:28 to 4:25. I will continue to search for more music that we will actually be able to use.

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.

Title Sequence Research

I have looked at two title sequences of films vaguely similar to ours to look at the the graphics used and the timings.

The timings are listed here:

Juno Title Sequence

·      00:15 – Fox Searchlight Pictures

·      00:21 – A Mandate Pictures/Mr. Mudd Production

·      00:26 – A Jason Reitman Film

·      00:30 – Juno

·      00:40 – Ellen Page

·      00:44 – Michael Cera

·      00:49 – Jennifer Garner

·      00:57 – Jason Bateman

·      01:02 – Allison Janney

·      01:06 – J.K. Simmons

·      01:11 – Olivia Thirlby

·      01:18 – Casting by Mindy Marin, C.S.A. and Kara Lipson

·      01:22 – Costume Designer – Monique Prudhomme

·      01:27 – Music by Mateo Messina, Songs by Kimya Dawson

·      01:33 – Music Supervisors – Peter Afterman and Margaret Yen

·      01:40 – Co-Producers – Jim Miller, Kelli Konop, Brad van Arragon

·      01:44 – Film Editor – Dana E. Glauberman

·      01:49 – Production Designer – Steve Saklad

·      01:54 – Director of Photography – Eric Steelberg

·      01:59 – Exec. Producers – Joe Drake, Nathan Kahane, Daniel Dubiecki

·      02:05 – Produced by Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Mason Novick, Russell Smith

·      02:10 – Written by Diablo Cody

·      02:18 – Directed by Jason Reitman

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Title Sequence

·      00:20 – Universal Pictures Presents

·      00:24 – A Marc Platt, Big Talk Films and Closed on Mondays Production

·      00:31 – Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

·      00:34 – Michael Cera

·      00:37 – Mary Elizabeth Winstead

·      00:39 – Kieran Culkin

·      00:41 – Chris Evans

·      00:44 – Anna Kendrick

·      00:47 – Brie Larson

·      00:50 – Alison Pill

·      00:52 – Aubrey Plaza

·      00:55 – Brandon Routh

·      00:58 – Jason Schwartzman

·      01:01 – Johnny Simmons

·      01:03 – Mark Webber

·      01:06 – Mae Whitman

·      01:09 – Ellen Wong

·      01:11 – Satya Bhabha, Keita Saito, Shota Saito

·      01:14 – Casting by Allison Jones, Robin Cook, C.S.A. and Jennifer Euston, C.S.A.

·      01:17 – Music composed by Nigel Godrich

·      01:19 – Music Supervisor – Kathy Nelson

·      01:22 – Co-Producers – Joe Nozemack, Lisa Gitter, Steven V. Scavelli

·      01:25 – Costume Designer – Laura Jean Shannon

·      01:27 – Visual Effects Supervisor – Frazer Churchill

·      01:30 – Jonathon Amos, Paul Machliss

·      01:33 – Production Designer – Marcus Rowland

·      01:35 – Director of Photography – Bill Pope, A.S.C

·      01:38 – Exec. Producers – Ronaldo Vasconcellos, J.Miles Dale

·      01:40 – Exec. Producers – Jared Leboff, Adam Siegel

·      01:43 – Produced by Marc Platt, Eric Glitter

·      01:46 – Produced by Nira Park, Edgar Wright

·      01:48 – Based on the Oni Press Graphic Novels by Bryan Lee O’Malley

·      01:51 – Screenplay by Michael Bacall and Edgar Wright

·      02:00 – Directed by Edgar Wright

From this, I have learnt that there are often a large amount of credits to fit into what is generally a two minute slot. In the case of Juno, the credits even fill a slot longer than two minutes, so we will need to use less credits than them for our two minute opening. It is also clear that all the various departments are given credits individually, rather than displaying lots of credits all at once, so we must make sure to do that also.

Classifying Our Film

I have been researching film classification this week by looking at the British Board of Film Classification website and reading their definitions and criteria for various classifications.

From the subject matter of our film, it will probably fit into anything from 12A to 18. From looking at the BBFC's criteria for a 12A/12 classification, I don't think that our film will be suitable for this classification. This is because I believe that, if we were to make the entire film, there would be a lot of strong language used. Furthermore, the BBFC says that to qualify for a 12A/12 classification, violence must not "dwell on detail" and there should be "no emphasis on injuries or blood". I think this would be too restrictive and we would not be able to shock and thrill audiences well enough if these restrictions were in place.

Equally, I don't think an 18 rating would be necessary. With, an 18 rating, one is able to put almost anything in their film, with the only exceptions being incredibly explicit sexual content and potentially socially harmful images such as sexualised violence which glamourises and eroticises violence. I think that the 15 classification would be more of a happy medium between 12A/12 and 18.

The 15 classification is not only the most suitable for our film, but also the most accessible. The primary cinema audience is 15-25 year olds so the 15 classification allows this entire age group to see the film. At the same time, it differs from a 12 rating or lower as it does not patronise the viewer and still makes them think that the film will have some grittiness and realism to it. I think with a 15 classification, we could show everything we want to show in the film while still getting the right audience.

To illustrate this, I will look at each category of controversy that the BBFC states qualifies a film as a 15.

Discrimination
"The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour."
We do not intend to put any discriminatory language in our production. However, if we do decide to put any in, it will definitely not be endorsed and will be presented as negative.

Drugs
"Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example, aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable."
I envisage that there could be some drug-taking later on in our film but it will not be stylised and will probably be used for the purpose of characterisation.

Horror
"Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic or sexualised."
As the film deals with assassination and murder, there will be quite a strong degree of threat throughout the film, but it will definitely not be presented as sadistic or sexualised.

Imitable Behaviour
"Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised."
There will be very little imitable behaviour in our film, as most of the violence will be carried out by members of professional crime syndicates who will have means of killing that are not easily accessible or easily copied.

Language
"There may be frequent use of strong language (for example, ‘fuck’). The strongest terms (for example, ‘cunt’) may be acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable."
As our film will include a variety of unsavoury, "gritty" individuals, there will be frequent use of strong language but it should all be somewhat justified by the context. It will not be too aggressive, nor excessively strong.

Nudity
"Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a non-sexual or educational context."
Sex
"Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail. There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour, but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable."
There may be a sex scene later on in our film and references to sex. There will probably be some nudity in the sex scene but it will not be excessively prolonged, nor excessively detailed. The sex itself will also not be excessively detailed or prolonged.

Theme
"No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is appropriate for 15 year olds."
The mature themes of violence and probably sex will be present in our film, but we will present thing in a way that I am sure 15 year olds will be able to cope with.

Violence
"Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and have a strong contextual justification."
There will be quite a lot of violence in the film, but it will be from medium-strong intensity. It will not be sexualised nor will it be excessively gory.

It is worth thinking about the possibility of our film fitting into any niche audiences. The themes of our film are fairly mainstream and so the film will probably just fit into the mainstream audience that generally go to see thrillers. However, as it is filmed around London, this may entice Londoners in particular to go and see it as they may find it more absorbing to watch a thriller based around their hometown.