Mobile Phone Short Film Production

Treatment

Film Title:

The Exchange

Genre: Drama

Plot Synopsis:

It’s in the year 2026 and mobile phones users are not in the know that phones and other electronic devices are being hacked and used to record everybody’s movement and speech. The government is failing to act and data from the devices is being used to blackmail individuals, leading to stories being published in the media. An insider will meet up with a blogger and will hand over a device and the evidence which could blow the whole thing.

Character Breakdown:

Blogger - Who will be handed the evidence and pay money in exchange.

Insider - The one who meets the blogger and hand over the evidence.

Target Audience:

-16-30 age range

-Tech enthusiasts

-People who like Drama

Audio:

Shotgun Mic/Boom


Storyboards

To create the storyboards for the film I searched on Google for 'storyboard templates', had a pick of which one I thought would be the best to use and printed a few copies out.

The images were hand drawn into each frame with a desription of the scene under each frame.


Shot List (no particular order):
Medium Shots
Side Shots
Close Ups
Long Shots
Two Shots
Extreme Long Shot







Recce

Location: Green Park, Bath

Photos:


Advantages:

• Quiet area (not really any people there during the time).
• Fits the requirements for the plot synopsis.

Disadvantages:

• Close to construction work so could lead to possible background noise.
• Potentially poor weather conditions.

Day of Filming

The filming took place at Green Park on Wednesday 28th January. Aaron Hopper was playing the role of the Blogger, Ben Oakes was playing as the Insider. And Shan Doherty made a last appearance as someone spying on the two during the conversation.

Ben and Aaron reading the script.

Rehearsal before the upcoming shot.


Self-Evaluation

Pros/What Went Well

• The location was local and easy to get to.
• All of what was needed was easy to find and use.
• I mostly got exactly what I wanted for the final film from the camera angles and the actors.
• Managed to get nice and sharp shots.

Cons/What Didn't Go Well

• Even though the actors spoke up, there was to much wind. Meaning the microphone struggled to hear what they were saying.
• Shan had no idea how to 'stare in disbelief'. In this case expectations weren't met by reality.
• Between each clip were changes in background noise. Meaning I had to apply an 'Exponential Fade' transition between the clips' audio to help it sound smoother all together.

During the filming, some of the shots were a bit out of focus. Could have been down to the light coming onto the back of Ben's head.

Skills Development

I didn't feel there was much new that I have learnt. Hence that I have had previous experience from previous college task and whilst in past education and spare time. I also know how to work my way around editing tools that are new or relatively new to me.

Although if there's one skill I would say I've developed, it would be how to deal with background noise and use audio transitions to make it sound more smooth.

How did Pre-Production effect Production/Post-Production?

I don't feel there's anything to this really. I felt Production/Post-Production met nearly all of the requirement from Pre-Production.

The Final Film

Peer Assessment 

Aaron Hooper:

• Great acting from everyone in film
• Good use of music
• Effects used on title fitted perfectly with the music
• Nice story, especially with the small twist at the end
• Great variety of camera shots and angles

Kerri McKenna:

• Really well put together shots
• Some of the shots were out of focus though
• I really like the second shot
• The bit when Shan comes in, at first I wasn’t really sure what was happening, but then I saw the other too walking away from each other, maybe you could of got Shan sat a little closer to them.
• The title sequences are really good.
• Overall, really good film, well done!

John Brennan-Craddock:

•  Great acting 
• The music was very fitting to the themes of the film
• Great twist at the end
• The talking was hard to hear in some places

Shan Doherty:

There were some issues with continuity, where people appeared in shots. Also some of the dialogue was a bit quiet. The shots were good and in focus and the scenery was nice.

Abi Ringham:

• Good use of shots
• Nice location
• Storyline fits well
• Dodgy sound
• Some shots are blurry
• Titles & Credits made it look professional.

Ruben Goodman:

• Good use of music
• All shots were good quality 
• Wide range of shots
• Could not hear some of it
• Good script

The Abandoned Work

Before this version of the project was started. There was another piece of work that was done.

The reason why I chose to abandon this work was because I was not happy with how it was set out. I also didn't feel it met the requirements of what the brief was originally after. To add to it, it would NOT be something I would be proud to film, nor would it be something I would be proud to show off.

But after going through this process in the project, I feel like it has helped me develop the skills to find time and come up with alternatives that will fit in with the requirements that the brief was looking for. Also, this helped me learn from my mistakes and to make me think twice before getting to carried away with the project so that the materials for it won't be irrelevant to the brief.