SUMMARY - The Making & Commentary

Here is a video which summarises the Making of the film and runs a commentary over the original video. Some parts have been put in slow motion so more description could be fit in.

CAUTION: YOU MAY NEED TO TURN THE VOLUME UP TO HEAR THE COMMENTARY CLEARLY.

Final Product COMPLETED - THE RED-FIELD PROTOCOL

Here is the completed Edit and final Product of our Video Production Media Coursework for AS.

THE RED-FIELD PROTOCOL

Completed by:

Angus Bentham (my-self)

Jessica Lyon

Lauren Simpkin

Andrew McFadden

(Other Cast-names are made up to make it seem more Authentic)

FAKE: MATTHEW SMITH (Made-up name)

FAKE: JAMES CLARKE (Made-up name)

Title

We chose this title as it had a more Cryptic sound to it. The 'Red-Field' part of the title could be a hint to some kind of massacre, where much blood is spilled. The word 'Protocol', suggests some kind of Militaristic Initiative or Project which is to be executed without Mercy or Sympathy. We didn't think it was necessary to have the title entirely fit into context of the opening, because a lot of the time we don't even discover why a film is called what it is until much further on into the plot. The Film, 'Gladiator' Directed by Ridley Scott, does not even have a reference of Gladiators until much further into the film, before it becomes the focus or driving force of the plot.

We had the Title Bleach in from a dip to white that was edited in Adobe Premiere, to make it have a more interesting appearance and not look boring. This was also accompanied by a Metallic sound and the continuation of drumming on the soundtrack.

Technologies - Camera and Tripod

We used Advanced, Modern, Contemporary technology to produce this film opening, including an advanced HD Panasonic Video Camera and a High Quality Tripod.

TRIPOD

 Here is a close up of the Tripod we used. It's height could be adjusted to anywhere between 2ft and over 6ft. It's panning capabilities were really efficient, so we could get very subtle,gradual and barely noticeable pans, as well as Fast-Action Dramatic Whip-Pans, if we wanted.

This Photograph shows the full tripod, with adjustable pieces along the legs for the height. Here it is standing at about 5ft.

This Tripod was used for all the Radio Mast Shots, and for the Interrogation Scene. The Shaky-Cam moment at the end of the opening was filmed without using this tripod, but rather it was a hand-held shot.











CAMERA

This photograph shows the side of the camera. It had been attached to the Tripod.

This photograph shows Lauren Simpkin (Producer and Camera Operator) preparing the Camera for a test shoot.

Here is another side-shot of the Camera, showing it's other side. It had an adjustable Focus Pull dial at the front, attached to the lens. The Camera was DIGITAL and used a 7GB SD Card to store the Video Footage we collected.

Here is another Photograph of the Panasonic HD Camera.

Technologies - Microphone & Sound Mixing

Here are some Photographs of the SOUND RECORDING equipment we used to record the Radio Broadcast at the Beginning.

Attract & Address Audience

Here is a screenshot of comments we received on the film opening, after it was uploaded to YouTube.

Target Audience

Our target Audience would probably be 16-24 year old's, the most common target audience for modern Hollywood Films. At this age, people are willing to go and see films at the cinema; they may be students or have an active teenage social life, therefore entertainment is an important part of every day life. We do however expect our audience to be the more mature teenagers and adults as there is little or no comedy within it and much of it's cinematographic style is meant to be artistic, but not to the extent of this being an art-house film.

Overall I would expect this film to receive a 12/15 age-certificate from a company like the BBFC (British Board for Film Classification). If the film were to continue there would be many scenes of devastation and war as seen in the Concept Art I created in the post about Genre.

 

Representation of Social Groups - Gender

We did look into the ways which we could represent social groups for this film opening so we decided to cast the interrogation victim as a girl, she would be subject to the interrogators that were to be Males. The representation of Gender is conventional here, as she is sat on a chair; therefore she is lower than the male characters in terms of space-relationship.

We also stayed loyal to the convention of the hero being a male, saving the female victim. Andrew, who was thought to be on the side of the other interrogator, turns around and shoots him, providing a twist in the storyline and allowing an action-style close the opening.

The villains are all male and the voice at the start, on the radio, is an authoritative male voice. We considered voicing this broadcast as a gentle females voice at-fist, to juxtapose it against the imagery and make it look more ironic/subjugating/brainwashing.

Genre Confirmation - Post-Apocalyptic/Sci-fi

We took interesting elements from films which we thought linked well and stayed within the Dystopia/Post-apocalyptic genre. Our film is set 10 years in the future (from 2012 to 2022), and it is implied that some kind of event has happened which has lead the world into some kind of dark age, with a Martial Force attempting to bring order through sinister methods.

The influences for Genre included, 'Schindlers List', '1984' and 'V for Vendetta'. These all have sinister imagery for inspiration in visualisation. 1984 and V for Vendetta in particular were good inspiration as these were also Science Fiction Films.

Here is some Digital Art I made to illustrate some of the events which have happened in the back-story. This was created on PhotoPlus 0.9, an art programme very similar to Photoshop (if not more primitive). I used a Graphics Tablet to create this image, twisting the appearance of the original photograph so it looks Chaotic.

Special Effects

There were no spectacular special effects added into this video as it went through post-production. We included some minor adjustments to certain clips, such as the one where a character is running across a hill, with bellowing smoke towering over them, far in the distance. This was meant to be the terrorist attack which had been carried out, mentioned in the Radio Speech and has been suggested that it was carried out by Jessica's character.

We used colour adjustments in Adobe Premiere to make the scene look more fiery. The actual columns of smoke rising behind the hill in this scene is real, but it is just steam rising from a Power-Station in St-Helens, early in the Morning of January 28th 2012. Lot'f of stock footage was taken of this effect but in the end we could only pick one, to keep the video short.

One thing we thought had a good effect in this shot was the transformation of the figure into a silhouette, this makes it look much more enigmatic and therefore more dramatic.

Soundtrack - Music in the Opening.

The soundtracks in this were not original scores.

The Music is from 'Modern Warfare 2', an Activision Game produced by Sledged Hammer Games and Infinity Ward. Hanz Zimmer produced the score.

This music was selected as it created the right atmosphere, suggesting that something under-cover, enigmatic, or low-profile and Militaristic has happened. This Enigmatic score was well suited to the visuals of the film opening.

Playing quitely throughout the moment where Jessica is sitting in the hall, waiting for the Interrogators to enter, we also included Mozart's Lacrimosa. This however, has been slowed down to 20% of it's original speed, so it sounds completely different and is barely recognisable.

Interrogation Scene - Camera Techniques

The Camera techniques in this scene are also kept simple, there are a lot of still shots and not much shaky cam until the last few seconds. We used a dolly/moving tripod for some of the shots but most of them had to be cut out, to shorten the length of the video. We had one shot of the dolly crossing the 180 degree line just in case we broke the 180 degree rule at any point.

 This is an extreme close-up of Jessica's eye. She is looking down so her actual eye is not visible, holding back her personality/character from the audience.

It might have been more effective to get an even more extreme close up of here eye, to accentuate it further.

 This Security-Cam shot was filmed using the same HD Camera but then altered in Adobe After-Effects to have a static effect and an outline with a Frame, Words, Numbers, a logo and a 'REC' Notice.

The Flashing Red-Dot was created using 'Key-Frames' in After Effetcs. The boxing within the frame was designed on paint and altered in Adobe Photo-Shop, before being exported into this scene.

This shaky-cam shot needed to increase the tension and suspense after Andrew had Shot the other Interrogator who I acted as. He is helping her get her freedom, and escape the force of authority which a captured her.

This shaky-cam moment is meant to contrast with the slow-paced nature of everything which came before it.

Interrogation Scene - Props

There was one main prop for this part of the Opening, which is the Gun, held by Andrew (Interrogator 2).
This Gun was not exactly what we were looking for, as I thought it would be better to have a modern pistol with an attached silencer. Instead we stuck with what was available; a Western-style Revolver.
We kept the gun hidden in darkness throughout the scene so it is not obviously an out of place prop. Even when it gets pointed directly into the Camera, it is still not clear that the prop is out of place in the setting/genre.
It was interesting to use Adobe After Effects and get a Lens-Flare Flash from the Pistol, making it look more authentic, as if it really fired.

For this shot below, we wanted to portray a divided personality. We did this though lighting so it implies that he is going to change sides. With half his face in shadow, his imminent betrayel is justified, cinematographically.

This was inspired by a shot from one of Don Siegel's 'Dirty Harry' Movies, with the Gun pointing right out into the Audience for Dramatic Effect.

Interrogation Scene - Cinematography

The Cinematography was also very basic in this scene of the opening. We wanted to capture an interesting frame-composition in each shot to keep the audience focused on the screen. So we kept things simple. Much of the Frame Composition inspired by the Story-Board.
In one shot, we considered trying out a method of symmetrical framing, with Jessica in the Middle, below the Light, and with the two interrogators on either side, surrounding her.

This style of framing has been used by Stanley Kubrick in many of his films and was inspirational for this particular shot.

Kubrick's 'Full Metal Jacket'


Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey'


Kubrick's 'The Shining'

Interrogation Scene - Lighting

For the Interrogation scene, we had to be very selective about the light. We wanted the faces of the Interrogators to remain unknown and shrouded in darkness, this way they would seem more Enigmatic and Intimidating. There is just a highlight of light around my face, in a similar shape to a crescent moon, as I am one of the interrogators, so I needed to look dehumanised.

The first appearance of Marlon Brando in 'Apocalypse Now' was part of the inspiration for this shot, as only part of his face is visible, leaving the character to look more mysterious.

I was one of the Interrogators, and after I got shot I made sure I fell out of the pool of light in which the interrogation took place and into the surrounding darkness, this was to make the death seem more dramatic.

Interrogation Scene - Mise-en-scene

ROOM
The room for the interrogation is the College Sports Hall. We wanted a Large Space, with all lights out except for the interrogation light, so the Victim (Jessica Lyon) Could be Surrounded by Darkness. The Floor is party disappointing because the sports courts can be seen on the floor. We were not able to cover these using something like a Turf, so we continued do without anything. It has, however, created a nice cinematographic effect in terms of parallel lines. They are lined across the floor to create an interesting perspective, as Jessica sits in the interrogation seat.

COSTUMES
The Clothing had to be all Black, so the interrogators could blend into the darkness and so that Jessica looks like she has just committed an attack of some kind. We would have proffered official looking uniforms with Logos and Badges, and to have the interrogators walk in with Batons.

SET-LAYOUT
We had Jess sit on a chair facing towards the interrogation light, this way it was clear that she was to be subject to whoever the incoming characters are, which would be the Interrogators.

TRANSITION - Radio Scene to Interrogation Scene

In accordance with the Screenplay and Story-Board, the Radio Scene transits to the Interrogation Scene via a Dissolve. This Dissolve, importantly, is from one circular object to another; a circular Radio Mast object, to the interrogation light of the next scene. The Shot of the Light is already enlarged greatly using 'Adobe Premiere', but I do feel the shapes could have been more similar in size, as the Light seems smaller in comparison to the Radio Dish. Either way, it has turned out fine in my opinion.

Radio Scene - Camera Techniques

The Camera was mostly still in the shots of this opening. The Camera was panning on the opening shots of clouds, and then on some of the shots of the Radio Mast there is a gradual pan. There was one shot before the scene transits from the Hill to the Interrogation Scene, where the Sun is shot within a Padlock. This is to symbolise an entrapment of freedom and hope. And as the Voice says "Freedom", the light dyes down. It is a pessimistic look on the world within the film.

Radio Scene - Props

There was one prop in particular which was important in the Radio Scene; the old, shredded 'EVACUATE' Banner. This was one of the first things created for the Opening, with the purpose of making our Films Back-story more concrete. It suggests that something has happened in the world of the film, to make people scarce and divided. Parallel in sound to this Post-Apocalyptic Imagery is the words of the Radio Presenter, who says there was "chaos which took place across the country 10 years ago".

The Imagery was partly inspired by '28 days later', as the protagonist is wondering through the streets of london and discovers a news paper which says there has been an evacuation following some kind of crisis.

Above: Newspaper from '28 days later'.

Radio Scene - Cinematography

The Cinematography for the Radio Scene was very basic, I wanted to capture a montage of interesting shots which would keep the attention of the audience, as things would not look bad. There is no intentional Shaky-Cam effect in this part and the main focus was to establish the world of the Film. The Build up is slow, as we progress towards a more climactic Ending. We wanted also, to contrast the outside world, with the interrogation scene which would follow, but also make them both look imposing.

In the Process of making this opening, I discovered a Film technique called 'Foreshortening'. This technique is accomplished when you zoom in, to give a similar effect of a telephoto lens, and make it look as if a foreground, middle-ground and background are closer together than they really are. This effect is also disorientating for the Audience as they listen to the Radio Monolgue.

Here is an example of Foreshortening in our opening:

Radio Scene - Lighting

For this Radio Scene, we really had to consider making a strong impact, holding the attention of the audience throughout the rest of the opening. For this, we filmed the Radio Masts in early Morning, to create a more interesting visual atmosphere. We also Made sure that there was a lot of shadow, and that the Radio Masts were shot in low-angle, so they look more intimidating, along-side the authoritative voice on the Radio.

This screenshot shows the dark shadows of the Radio Mast.

Sound Recording - Radio Monologue

For the Radio Broadcast we wanted a voice with an authoritative tone, to set the scene in an Authoritarian State, or Militarised Country. It is hinted that whatever Authority is in charge has an Empire, with the dialogue line "You are listening to Imperium FM". This word was discovered when I used Google translate to find the Latin word for Empire.

This Radio Broadcast was recorded in a Sound Recording Room, and is the Voice of Stephen Brennan.