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.