review of the test shoot

 Our idea has translated very well into film. We have managed to create an engaging opening title sequence. that was well edited, with the sound being removed. 

Our test shoot exceeded the 2 minute time period and went up to about 2 minutes and 37 seconds. This means we will have to cut out or shorten some certain scenes and focus on the main elements of the idea more. 

The pace was slightly dragged out at the start and snappy at the end. so we have to make it flow a bit more smoothly. 

The idea is clear throughout the shots, but they will be even more once we do it 'for real' next time.

The angles and camera movement have worked out better than we expected and we didn't really have to adjust any apart from a few. We might develop some shot slightly more advanced.

We didn't have to delete any shoot from the test shoot. we wanted to see how long the whole sequence would be if we shoot it. And from this we learned we have to make it shorter. 

we are not sure how the dialogue will work in the actual opening sequence, so that is one of the things we have to focus on more, from now on. and figure out what the characters will say and how...

The camera angles worked well and figuring out how the man and the victim will act when they meet for the first time, their movement works very well and we know what we want ours actors to do. 

this exercise has helped our group very much, now we know we have to shorten the duration, cut out or down some shots and make the theme more obvious to the audience. and we also have to work on working out the dialogues for the characters. 

BTS:

planning our test shoot

step 1: your idea, that you chose as a group

step 2: an outline of what happens

step 3: actors you need and props/ props substitutes you need to bring in 

step 4: what location/locations you'll be using 

step 5: the roles of each group member 

step 1: our opening title sequence is based on the character of Jeffrey Epstein. A young girl (the victim) is escorted from a translation to the abusers home by a chaperone, who's another young girl. 

step 2: she comes out the train station and the chaperone is waiting for her in the car that is driven by a private driver, he then drives both of the young girls to a mansion in the countryside. There an older man is waiting for them on his terrace and the girl (victim) has no idea of the true intentions of their meeting. 

step 3: we need 4 characters in total. We have a max. of 3 characters in individual shots. We will use two of our classmates for actors and either me and Pandora will step in when necessary. 

step 4: we will be doing our test shoot on school grounds and on the school's property. 

step 5: me and Pandora are going to use a phone for capturing the shots. and telling our 'actors' what to do, so then we can work out the shots that we will actually include in our opening title sequence and also so we know how long the title sequence will take. 

catch up lesson.

Today we had a catch up lesson in class, Amy was on teams, because she's currently in France. 

We finally decided on the locations where we are going to film our sequence. And the car that we are going to use and that we are going to film the girl arriving at a train station.

For the final location we have decided to film on the terrace of the main house in Hurtwood. The terrace overlooks the Surrey Hills and gives us a nice view. 

We will have to set up the terrace to make it more presentable and add some outdoor furniture outside. 

The terrace is where the (victim) girl will meet the older man (who's a sexual predator). 

For the car we are going to use Cosmo's Porsche Cayenne. (Cosmo is our headmaster at Hurtwood).

We finalised our cast list, and decided on some backups:

-Ezra (theatre teacher)- for the character representing Jeffrey Epstein (I have also sent him an email for him to confirm) 

*as a backup for this role: Andy Johnson (theatre teacher)

-For the victim girl we casted Georgie Spencer 

-For the chaperone girl we casted Freya Kerr

*we have two back ups for these roles: (two girls from our school) David, Gianna 

We chose Ockley railway station in Surrey for the girl (victim) to arrive at.

STORYBOARD

 

This is an animated storyboard that was created by Pandora to represent our shots, angles, storyline and locations.

'Real Life' research

research made by Amy Purhouse

'Real Life' research: 

• Jeffrey Epstein 
• convicted sex offender 
• Started his career as a math teacher in NYC
• 1970s went to work at the investment bank Bear Sterns 
• 1982 founded J.Epstein and Co
• 1992 he owned the largest private residence in Manhattan
• Known to associate with politicians and celebs in the public eye 

2005

A 14 year old girl reported that Epstein had molested her in his private mansion in Palm Beach 

2006

Police charge Epstein and his two assistants with multiple counts of unlawful sex acts with a minor

2008

Pleads guilty

2015

Virginia Roberts in court and talks about how Epstein forced her to have sex with Prince Andrew and Alan Dershowitz when she was underaged.

2019

Was arrested on July 6 on charges of sex trafficking. Accused of having payed dozens of 14 year old girls to engage is sexual acts with him from 2002-2005

• Found dead in his cell on August 10, 2019 
• Cause of death: Suicide, but conspiracies are made

Epstein had stated that any encounters he had were consensual and he didn't know that they were under they age of 18. Therefore he had pledged not guilty in the trafficking charges

Anouska De Georgiou 

• survivor
• fell trough Epstein's circle of abuse through close friends 
• She wads a teenage model in London in the 1990's
• She met Epstein in London for the first time ( being flown to his private property)
• The grooming was 'subtle', 'persistent' and  'persuasive'
• "If you're a young person walking into a mansion or someone's island and all the people who are present are acting as though this is OK and you're the only one who thinks it's weird, it's hard to say something' -Anouska 

Rachel Benavidez 

• Survivor
•  Fresh out of massage school when she was recruited by Maxwell 
• to put her training to work at a ranch in the New Mexico desert owned by Epstein
• Soon she was directed to massage Epstein
• Turned into a few years of abuse with Epstein
• “He provided me with promises of continuing education and a clientele that's a world-class clientele. And that's kind of how he lured his tentacles into me.”-Benavidez . 

research into similar products

 blog research done by Amy Purhouse

Epstein story idea 

Research into similar products: 

Film: Indecent Proposal, 1993

Director: Adrian Lyne 

synopsis: A married couple's relationship is put into trouble by a stranger who offers the wife 1 million dollars to spend the night with him. The couple go from being economically stable to then their finances take a nosedive.

what I noticed : 

When filming a scene where you can tell that they are upper class-man, the lighting is typically very white and very soft. Suggesting a dream like environment. The camera is steady demonstrating stability in the environment. The background is very blurred out focusing on the two main characters and emphasising the characters accessories. Here in this scene it is obvious that a rich atmosphere is trying to be created. For our scene where the chaperon meets Epstein, the background lighting could be soft indicating a rich environment and a dream state. 

In this scene, they aren't dressed as people who have a lot of money. The lighting is less white and more grey possibly indicating that they lost some of their money. The camera is sort of shaky and moves quite a lot suggesting instability. You can see use of the rule of thirds, this  helps keep the viewer drawn to the character and emphasises their importance. 

The use of the blurry twinkling lights in the background highlight the 'godlike' image the man has. The lights bring out the main person ( the stranger ( man) ). 

Here you can see the girl talking to the man  and is being enticed by him. The camera being slightly angled up showing that the girl is looking up to the man shows the authority he has over her. It also demonstrates her vulnerability. For our scene this would be useful to use to show the chaperon's vulnerability towards Epstein. We can emphasise that Epstein isn't a good character by using different camera angles.

BBFC-the British Board Of Film Classifications

BBFC-the British Board Of Film Classifications

-age ratings trust you

 

Regulation boards

 

-Regulations= laws and rules

-it is an organization that is in charge of setting the rules that control a certain set of product in a specific industry

-the BBFC- The British Board Of Film Classifications-regulates the film industry (only) in Britain 

-they regulate what can and can’t be shown in films in the United Kingdom 

-they give out the age certificates 

-any film that is due to be released in the cinema or on DVD has to go through the BBFC to get an age certificate

 

UK mainstream film certificates in the UK-

-U: anyone can see/suitable for all age groups

-PG: anyone can see/suitable for all age groups

-12A:only cinema release/suitable for children under the age of 12, but only with adult supervision 

-12: only on DVD

-15: to see these films you have to be over the age of 15

-18: to see these films you have to be over the age of 18

 

 

Things that the BBFC consider when they set age certificates:

-Scenes including violence (of any kind)

-Scenes including sex and nudity

-Scenes including obscene/unsuitable language 

-Scenes with discriminatory language

-Scenes of self-harm

-Scenes of criminal activity (of any kind)

-Scenes with dangerous behaviour e.g. jumping of a bridge

-Scenes of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes

-Scenes involving child actors/ characters

-Strobe lighting

 

The BBFC also consider context:

-For example cartoons and animated films will be able to get a lower age certificate despite the violence in them, because it usually not realistic.

 

They consider how an issue is handled in films:

-for example Drug use:

A film that might show abuse of drugs in a not so negative light will get a certificate (18), but if the drug use is very minimal or it’s shown as a very negative thing, then in this case it might get a lower age certificate (for example 15)

 

The BBFC tend to be more stricter with the age certificates when it comes to DVD, then when it’s a cinema release

 

If a film company is not happy with the certificate the film got, they have the option to reedit the film and resubmit for a review. 

This happens a lot with Horror movies. 

 

 

The opening sequence that me and my group are creating would receive and age certificate 15.

-mainly because of the strange/inappropriate behaviour of one of the main characters.

-also because of the involvement of underaged girls in a sex trafficking organisation

-and also because there may be some references to drug abuse and sex