Pre-Production

Synopsis of the Whole Film

The film follows Nick, starring James Lyons, through an emotional journey in which he attempts to save the life of his dying daughter, starring Kelly Brown, by funding a lifesaving operation. He is a successful businessman and this financial goal is easily achievable for him, until he allows the stress of his daughter’s illness to interfere with the quality of his work and he is fired from his role in the company.

From this, his life begins to spiral out of control as he uses the controversial drug trade and other illegal methods to fund his daughters operation but after becoming addicted to the substances he formerly sold, he was incapable of prioritizing his savings. His daughter ultimately passes away which results in a prolonged battle with schizophrenia and eventually the dramatic ending.

Synopsis of the Title Sequence

The main character, Nick, starring James Lyons, will be shown running in various locations. He will also be shown panicking over the voices that he can hear whilst he’s running. As Nick is running, there will be scenes which reveal the titles and will be superimposed in the editing process. At the end of the title sequence, Nick is shown contemplating shooting himself as Raoul enters the shot, and the audience feel obliged to watch the whole film to discover which character dies. At this moment, the screen will black out and the title of the film will appear on a black screen.  

We decided to create a timeline to depict the timings of each element within our title sequence so that we could be more aware of the time during the filming process. We separated the audio elements from the visual aspects but ensured that the timings correlated with each other.

We based the majority of our decisions on previous, successful crime title sequences. This is evident as we will include a screen black out at the end of the sequence and will display the title of the film, similarly to the sequence of Goodfellas. We were also influenced by the weaponry revelation towards the end in the title sequence of Goodfella, as we incorporated this element of mystery through out our title sequence and disclosed the gun at the end.

We have also been inspired by the method that the film Pulp Fiction used to included the opening credits as we will also displayed the text on a black screen to separate what appears to be real events, from a surreal superimposed section of text.



To ensure that our group had a clear idea of which shot was in what location, we created a shot list so that during the filming process, we had a clear reference as to what shots are needed to complete our title sequence.

We thought that shooting lots of short shots in numerous locations would convey a fast paced atmosphere and portray a sense of movement due to the fact that the character will be seen in various locations.

Location	Scene No.	Shot No.	Description
Kings Langley Blackwell road	1	1	Establishing shot of the path where NICK is going to be running
Kings Langley Blackwell road	1	2	CU of feet seen running over and away from the camera. Non-Diegetic music starts as foot plants
Kings Langley Blackwell road	1	3	MCU of NICK seen running past the camera with RAOUL following.
Kings Langley Blackwell road	1	4	LS  tracking the two character from a high angle shot
Kings Langley Blackwell road	1	5	LS NICK followed by RAOUL round a corner, panning from right to left.
Kings Langley Blackwell road	1	6	MS Follow feet of running characters
Kings Langley Blackwell road	1	7	CU Shot of faces whilst running
Kings Langley Blackwell road	1	8	MS Shot of feet whilst running
Kings Langley Blackwell road	1	9	CU Shot of faces whilst running
Kings Langley Blackwell road	1	10	POV shot from NICK running
Kings Langley Blackwell road	1	11	LS Tracking shot of NICK running then stops and watches him running away
Kings Langley Blackwell road	1	12	NICK stops running and seen in CU deciding route
Kings Langley Common Lane	1	13	LS Panning of NICK running down road into woods
Kings Langley Common Lane  (woods)	1	14	Music fades out. MS NICK sits down, takes out picture and gun
Kings Langley Common Lane (Woods)	1	15	CU of NICK’s face, looking very emotional at the picture.
Kings Langley Common Lane (Woods)	1	16	MS of NICK sitting down contemplating, whilst RAOUL rounds the corner, NICK looks.
Black Out with a Gunshot followed by Title

To further install our idea, we decided to draw a storyboard which depicts the movement of the characters and the technical details. We have also included a description of what has been depicted in the storyboard.

It’s important to perform a risk assessment so that we are prepared for the filming stage and this can be achieved in the knowledge that everyone is safe. Listing all potential hazards also ensures that everyone is aware of the dangers and also what can be done to prevent it.

Based on the preliminary task, it became apparent that some members weren’t aware of what they were responsible for, so we decided to state whose responsibility it was for each element of the Mise En Scene for our project:

We also decided to create a crew list describing the roles of each member of the project for each scene, and any additional props or equipment that is required.

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In order to prepare for the filming process we photographed the locations which we were going to use as our set and later analyzed various aspects of that location and the effects that it could have on the film. This is the conclusions that we made:

Focus Group Meeting

As a group we decided to pitch the basic idea of our film, and record their opinion specifically on the concept of the title sequence that we had generated. We targeted both genders and various ages to ensure that the film would appeal to the largest possible audience.

From this meeting, our group have decided to make some adjustments to our title sequences, particularly the ending as it became apparent during this meeting that our target audience unanimously felt that revealing the suicide at the end would deter them from watching the film as they already knew the ending. Based on this opinion, our group have decided to end the title sequences with Nick still holding a gun and the screen cutting out at the sound of a gun shot, but incorporate another character, Raoul, into the title sequence so that the audience don't know whether Nick shot himself or Raoul. 

History of the Crime Genre

Establishing the background to the crime genre could be considered as essential in understanding the foundations of such a genre and applying that knowledge to the project.

From my reseach into this genre I have found that films with a crime genre were developed during the early years of the silent era from the following webste: http://www.filmsite.org/crimefilms.html. It also describes of how the first significant film with a crime genre was The Musketeers of Pg Valley produced by D. W. Griffith based on a story of organised crime. Josef von Sternberg's Underworld (1927) with George Bancroft and Clive Brook, often considered as the first modern crime film, had many standard conventions and was shot from the gangster's point of view.

During the sound era and the 1930s, crime films became a more entertaining and popular way to attract an audience to the theatres. The real-life events of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929, the existence of real-life gangsters (e.g., Al Capone), the rise of contemporary organized crime and escalation of urban violence helped to encourage the attraction towards this genre as well.

The talkies era accounted for the real rise of crime films, because this genre couldn't come to life without sound (machine gun fire, screeching brakes, screams, chases through city streets and squealing car tires). The perfection of sound technology and mobile cameras also aided their progression. The first "all-talking" film was The Lights of New York (1928) which enhanced the urban crime dramas of the time with crackling dialogue and exciting sound effects of squealing getaway car tires and gunshots.

Each film which glorified the criminal act of a main character ultimately met their doom in the final scenes of these films, due to censors' demands that these characters receive moral retribution for their crimes.

Film noir’s were introduced in the early 1940s based on the text from the following website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_noir and consisted of a crime drama, which commonly emphasize the cynical attitudes and sexual motivations of such criminal characters.

The more modern crime films have maintained the basic principles of previous films as they usually highlight the life of a criminal figure or a victim(s) of a criminal act. It commonly glorifies the rise and fall of a particular criminal(s), gang, bank robber, murderer or lawbreakers in personal power struggles or conflict with law and order figures, an underling or competitive colleague, or a rival gang. Headline-grabbing situations, real-life gangsters, or crime reports have often been used in crime films. Crime films are usually set in large, crowded cities, to represent the world of a criminal: dark nightclubs or streets with lurid neon signs, fast cars, and piles of cash, sleazy bars, contraband, seedy living quarters or rooming houses. Exotic locales for crimes often add an element of adventure and wealth.

According to the following website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_film the crime genre has developed numerous subgenres over the years consisting of:

Crime comedies - a hybrid of crime and comedy films. Mafia comedies look at organized crime from a comical standpoint. Humor often comes from the incompetence of the criminals or dark comedy. Examples include Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, In Bruges, Fargo and Mafia!

Crime horrors – a horror film in which crime plays a major part. Examples include From Hell and the Hannibal Lecter film series (Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, Hannibal Rising).

Crime thrillers – a thriller film in which crime plays a large part. Examples include Seven, Witness, Memories of Murder and Running Scared.

Detective films – a film which depicts a professional private detective hired to solve a crime, usually a murder or missing persons case, in such films as The Maltese Falcon (1941), The Big Sleep (1946), Kiss Me Deadly (1955), Harper (1966), The Long Goodbye (1973), Chinatown (1974), Twilight (1998).

Heist films – a film which deals with a group of criminals attempting to perform a theft or robbery, as well as the possible consequences that follow. Heist films that are lighter in tone are called "Caper films". Examples include The Killing, Oceans 11, Dog Day Afternoon, The Sting and Reservoir Dogs.

Legal dramas – a film which is not usually concerned with the actual crime, but more of the trial in the aftermath. Examples include Awaara, 12 Angry Men and A Time To Kill.

Mob films – a film which focuses on characters who are involved seriously with the Mafia. Notable mob films include: Goodfellas, The Godfather, Once Upon a Time in America, Road to Perdition, Bugsy, Angels with Dirty Faces, Little Caesar, Donnie Brasco, The Untouchables, The Public Enemy, Casino, Scarface, and The Departed.

Prison films – a film which commonly follows the life of the protagonists in prison. Examples include The Shawshank Redemption and Escape from Alcatraz.

True crime – a film which is based on a real event, although details of the event may be altered for the purposes of storytelling. Examples include Bonnie & Clyde, Dog Day Afternoon, Goodfellas, Public Enemies.