The Final Product

Here is the final product

Choosing the Title

Choosing the right title takes time and imagination. We needed a title which had a relation to the film, but we also wanted it to be mysterious, not obvious. We originally came up with 'The Agent of Chaos', however we felt this was too basic and obvious.

After a lot of thought, we came up with 'The Iron Arch', however we felt that this was TOO mysterious. The title needed to be something cryptic and exciting, as it is just as important as the actual film.

Finally, near the end of our editing process, we came up with the title of the film which we have decided to keep with, 'The Red-Field Protocol'. We feel this keeps with the style of the film, and the dictatorship in which it is set. It is also mysterious as the audience wonders what the Red-Field Protocol is.

Editing

The editing process was long and complicated. However the basic techniques we used are shown below.

Clicking these buttons allows us to accurately select a section of the footage we filmed before actually inserting it into the project.

Putting the footage on the time line inserted it into the project. This is when we can begin editing the footage together. Without any transitions added, the shot change is simply a cut.

We used cross-dissolve on the first section of the film, with the clouds and the radio mast. We also used it to fade between the circular object on the mast, and the lamp in the interrogation room.

For the final shot, we added a 'Dip to White' effect, which caused the shot to fade to white.

Here is what the footage looks like half way through the transition:

Finally, in order to give the effect of the radio broadcast fading in and out, and the amplified music at the end of the scene, we had to edit the audio.

We did this by increasing or decreasing the volume using the volume adjustment, coinciding it with the part of the film in which we wanted a change in audio.

Filming the Interrogation

In order to film the interrogation, we had to ensure that the misè-en-scene was right and portrayed the correct mood. To do this, we used 'red-head' lights which allowed us to control the level of lighting. The layout of the set was as shown below.

Our actress was positioned on the chair (3), surrounded by light. The light was directly in front of her. We positioned the two interrogators (1 and 2) on either side of the light, as if to frame the female character.

To get the high angle shots of the Security Camera, we filmed from the balcony shown in previous posts.

This is our director informing our actress in the rehearsal. This is important as he is in charge of ensuring the actors know what they are doing.

The Rehearsal

In order to ensure that we could use the time we had in the gym efficiently, we held a rehearsal to experiment with shots, angles, and most importantly, the movement and dialogue of the actors.

It is very important that we reviewed the footage we shot, so that once we returned to the editing room, we were not stuck with several missing or substandard shots. We took several takes to ensure this didn't happen.

Props and Costumes - Making the Film Look Realistic

In order to complete the aesthetic appeal of the film, we had to ensure that we had the right props and costumes. This is important as it adds to the realism of the film, which is the main objective. Realism keeps the audience interested and therefore they want to keep watching. We use a number of props in our film opening. One of which is an old banner, which reads "EVACUATE". This banner reveals part of the back story, and combined with the scripted radio broadcast which will be played over the image will provide a juxtaposition to the banner.

We also needed to sort out costumes so the characters look authentic. The dark clothes will also make the male characters appear more sinister and the shadows of the scene will envelope them in darkness.

We also needed a gun as the characters are supposed to be henchmen for the totalitarian dictator who will be power-hungry and controlling. It will also provide a weapon for one of the male characters who will kill the other male character.

Finding a Location

We looked at several locations for filming our project, and we considered several factors when choosing the location.

• Accessibility - Can all of our group get there?
• Availability - Can we actually film at the location?
• Aesthetics - Does the location look convincing for the scene?
• Acoustics - Do we want echoing or the sound to be clear? Is there any background noice?
• Other factors - E.G. Weather.

We decided to film the first section on a local hill, as there was a radio mast which coincided with the opening sounds of a windy, stormy day and a radio broadcast with interference. There was also fences and barbed wire which gave the impression of confinement and oppression.

After considering the mood which we wanted to portray, we decided to film the interrogation in the gym at our college. The gym has an upper level which will enable us to capture higher angles. It is also dark once the lights are switched off which allowed us to control the lighting and shadows. The gym is used during the day for sporting activities so we had to choose a time after college to film our sequence, avoiding the background noise of people playing sports and to avoid a double booking of the gym.

The final location we had to find was the double doors which our two main characters would burst through, completing the sequence. We looked at some doors in the art block however these were not sufficient. Then we decided to look at some fire escape doors in the gym and we settled on using these.

Equipment

In order to achieve a high quality film opening, we had to ensure that we used the relevant equipment. We used a Panasonic HD Video Camera to film all of the footage in the project.

We also used a Velbon Tripod to steady the camera and get smooth pans and tilts.

To record the radio broadcast we used microphones and the program 'Audacity'. We could then save the audio which we recorded and import them into the Adobe Premier Program.