Storyboard - Draft

Transit - Final Cut

Transit - Audience

Age: 16 - 18 (teenagers/young adults)
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: British white & black
Media Interests: Kidulthood/Adulthood, Top Boy, Misfits, Attack the Block
Social Class: Working class/lower middle class

Why does this social class/audience identify with this film?
The plot revolves around a young black male who ends up in a situation that is out of his comfort zone and control. This is a situation that many young people can find themselves in due to having a lack of authority or being forced in to something. There are also more and more young people getting caught up in gangs and drug rings, which is perhaps what is in the bag that John is carrying but it remains an enigma. Thus young people may be able to relate to this situation as it becomes more and more common amongst their social circles, especially that of the working class. Young black males are also often under the media eye because of the supposedly 'criminal' activities that some may choose to take part in (e.g. the London Riots, even though there were many white youths, if not more, than young black youths). This could be seen as playing off of generic conventions seen in media productions such as "Kidulthood" and "Top Boy" which could help to identify the audience with the film because many young people are often judged by the upper classes as rebellious thugs when the truth is actually very far from this. The location could also be similar to the sort of run down estates/industrial areas that groups of youths loiter and cause trouble so this could help the target demographic identify with the film. 

Thriller - Rough Cut

I am pleased with the range of camera shots and angles, especially the added use of panning (0:27)/tracking (1:10) with the use of a tripod. I am also happy with the way it has been edited together smoothly, there aren't any really rough cuts. I sourced the soundtrack and added a stinger towards the end (1:43-1:59), I'm pleased with how they work together to create tension and suspense when added to the video, it also helps to set the pace. The shots of the feet walking can be linked to the research that I did. For example, the murder scene in "The Witness" and the opening scene of Bill walking in "Kill Bill', we also made a reference to "Animal Kingdom" by having the van with both doors open, deserted. The extreme close up shot was inspired by the similar shots used in "Taxi Driver".

Some of the shots were harder to edit together because we had shot them in a way that was difficult to continue on, in particular the lift scene (1:44-1:55). I tried to make the overall edit look quite dirty but I still feel that there could be more to add to it to make it seem even more dystopian. I think we could have improved certain aspects of the edit by recording more footage as this would have allowed us to make continuity and the flow better. I felt that the ending did leave a cliffhanger and was effective but the reactions of the main character did not seem worried enough when he found the dead girl, this takes away a little from the emotional connection to the audience.

Shooting Schedule

Times and Dates of our Filming Sessions

Saturday the 12th of January 2013 - 9:30am to 4:00pm

We planned this day because it gave us a large amount of time to get a majority of the filming finished. Also we had discussed the best possible times with the manager at Anglia Square car park and it was agreed that Saturday would be an appropriate and convenient time for the security team too.
Actors Required: Ell (playing Hanna), Sol (playing John) and Richard (playing Bill)
Equipment Used: Canon DSLR, Nikon DSLR, tripod

Wednesday the 16th of January 2013 - 8:30am to 11:00am

We planned to use the morning double media lesson to try and get closer to finishing the initial filming.

Actors Required: Sol (playing John) and Richard (playing Bill)
Equipment Used: Canon DSLR, Nikon DSLR, tripod

Wednesday the 23rd of January 2013 - 9:00am to 11:00am

We had used this time to finish filming. After using this time I noticed some continuity errors; therefore we had to plan a little more time to re do some of the shots in which the errors were noticeable.

Actors Required: Sol (playing John) and Richard (playing Bill)
Equipment Used: Canon DSLR, Nikon DSLR, tripod

Tuesday the 5th of February 2013 - 12:20pm to 3:00pm

This time was used to go over the shots that needed re-doing due to continuity errors or other factors that effected the quality of the overall film.
Actors Required: Sol (playing John)
Equipment Used: Canon DSLR, Nikon DSLR, tripod

Character Profile - John

Character Name: John
Actor Name: Sol Goss
Character Type: Antagonist

John is an adolescent who has been caught up in dodgy dealings with an organisation. He is simply the messenger; his only purpose being to deliver the black bag that contains unknown items to an ambiguous young woman that goes by the name of Hanna. The bag that John wears acts an enigma, creating a sense of mystery amongst the audience as the events that take place within the opening revolve around the contents of the bag.

John is the antagonist as the audience follow him through the labyrinth of the deserted car park; therefore the audience are able to begin to engage with the character. John appears confident but is also portrayed as vulnerable due to the inexperience of being in this kind of situation as well as being the youngest out of the three characters. His vulnerability can be shown by the insignificance he poses when compared to the massive structure of the car park, being a claustrophobic location and a generic convention it also creates the impression that the character is going into a place that he may well never come back out of. The body language that John shows could be interpreted to connote that he is street smart and is independent, although his isolation adds to the vulnerability.

When thinking about the character of John we looked at several British Dramas that depicted the lives of youths living in similar locations to that of Anglia Square. We found that the character of 'Sam' from 'KiDULTHOOD' and 'AdULTHOOD' had a similar personality and appearance to John. This is because he does what he can (including crime, which applies directly to John as he is involved in shady dealings) in order to make a name for himself and to get enough money to live comfortably, but in doing so gets himself into trouble and realises that he is way in over his head. The UK TV drama Top Boy was also another link for John, as each of the characters are dressed similarly to John. Some of the characters also end up in trouble with higher up organisations/gangs and have to fight their way out of trouble, this could be linked with the trouble that John ends up in with the larger powers of Bill and whoever Hanna is linked to.

'Sam' from "KiDULTHOOD" and "AdULTHOOD", shown wearing a hoody, similar to that of John.

"Top Boy"

'Top Boy"

Transit - Possible Soundtracks (to be added to)

Possible Soundtracks

This song is Angel by Massive Attack and is already one of our intertextual references because of the location in which the video is shot. This particular track has been used in several thriller films and TV series because of its deep dark undertones. For example, in the film 'Snatch' the soundtrack is used alongside the image of a burning caravan, containing a mother of one of the characters.  The video takes place in a sinister, grimy looking car park that is quite similar to Anglia Square, the lighting also helps to create suspense as there are a lot of shadows. The track itself contains some very deep bass, this helps to create a dark mood that is important to some thrillers. I liked the sinister tones of the track and so I tried to find songs/sounds that used similar instruments and conveyed the same kind of dark mood by slowly building up the volume and tension.



The song helps to convey some of the emotion during this scene and shows the dark mood associated with the events happening and also the possibility of a reaction from Mickey.

3 Possible Soundtracks (one will be used for the final production)

http://www.audionetwork.com/production-music/dangerous-knowledge_36824.aspx - Titled: Dangerous Knowledge 3

http://www.audionetwork.com/production-music/crisis-matter_58005.aspx - Titled: Crisis Matter 2

http://www.audionetwork.com/production-music/for-whom-the-bell-tolls_57088.aspx - Titled: For Whom the Bell Tolls 3