Filming schedule

The dates filming took place were March 21st and April 6th. Luckily, because the sequence is relatively short and the locations minimal, we were able to get all the shots done in this time frame. The first date was the one in which I stepped in to be the actor and the second was a result of us having to reshoot and extend the running time, with a new actor being present and taking my place as the main protagonist.

- Ryan Chapman -

Consent form

Before filming began, we needed our actor to sign a consent form to confirm that we had their permission to film them and that they understood what their role would entitle, this also sorts out any legal formalities. this also allows us to post the video on Blogger and YouTube with no breach in their privacy.
~Ryan Chapman, Christina Fraser, and Peter Godwin~

Final mise decisions

In terms of mise en scene, we wanted the actor to walk in quite a slow and heavy manor to highlight the negativity in his body language, looking at his surroundings with a lack of expressionism. In a lot of the establishing shots, we positioned the actor so that he'd start off on one side of the screen and end up on the other to suggest that he doesn't stand out but merely blend with his surroundings, conveying him as less of an idolising figure and more of an average, humanising man.

- Ryan Chapman -

Final costume decisions

This is a picture of what our actor will be wearing in the film opening. The contrasting colours of black and white were important to us because it physically displays the character's conflicting personalities as well as portrays him as cold and clinical, which were all elements we wanted to address in the sequence in order to make the main protagonist more memorable. The overwhelming black aspect of the costume also embeds the idea that the character is in mourning, having connotations of both professionalism and death. The black suit also creates a sense of mystery as the suit is recognised for multiple purposes, however we used it to create a sense of mourning and remorse.

- Ryan Chapman -

Final props

Below are pictures of the two props we will be using in our film opening. The first is a Casio watch, belonging to Peter, which we thought would add sophistication and maturity to the main protagonist. We will be using a memorial leaflet regarding Mark Hitching. The second is a memorial booklet, regarding Mark Hitching, to provide context for the audience and explain the main protagonist's contemplation within the sequence.

- Ryan Chapman -

'Remorse' - shot list

Shot Number	Shot Type	Action Description	Shot Description	Equipment
1	Establishing Shot	No Action	Pans to the right to reveal the tree and bench with the memorial service programme.	Programme
2	Close Up	No Action	Pans to the right to reveal the bench in more detail.	Programme
3	Close Up	No Action	Still, shot focus' on the memorial service programme.	Programme
4	Extreme Close Up	Hand Picks up Programme	Shows the programme in more detail, includes a hand in the shot.	Programme
5	Mid-Shot	Stands in front of the bench	Focuses on the bench, cutting off the character's head.	Programme
6	Long Shot	Walking	Character walks along the path in solitude.	Programme
7	Long Shot	Walking	Character continues to walk along the path.	Programme
8	Establishing Shot	Standing over the bridge	Focuses on the bridge.	N/A
9	Close Up	Throws programme	Throws programme in the river.	Programme

We made a point of incorporating a wide variety of shot types to display our understanding of uses in camera, with the main focus being the establishing shots because the same technique was reflected in our research into openings from professional studios.

~Christina Fraser and Ryan Chapman~

Final location decisions

Originally, in regards to filming location, we planned to shoot within a local Church ground, specifically a graveyard, to help establish the dark and gritty tone we wanted to create in our film opening. However, after having looked at multiple locations that fitted our criteria and denied by the Vicars, we soon realised that we would have to adapt our script and narrative for the sake of making our filming location purposeful. We then looked back at our film's concept and discussed as a group what kind of locations would be fitting for our main protagonist whilst also conveying the drama genre in a stereotypical light (with the settings lacking vibrancy and visually informing the audience of the films mood and tone).

Below are pictures of the Church grounds in comparison to the park we used instead:

 

We wanted to have quite a realistic and naturalistic setting, for the sake of incorporating verisimilitude, so although the park and church locations are different they do share similarities. The fact that a park is usually a more common place for social interaction also helped to distinguish our main protagonist abnormal contemplation, making his behaviour all the more enigmatic and thus intriguing. To conclude, having our original preference of location denied by their rightful owners meant we had to spend extra time to change our narrative so that it fitted a more convenient and public setting, but over all I think our opening is now better, from both a  visual and symbolic perspective.

This is the bench we are going to use, it is isolated, which also symbolises the fact that Jake Schofield is now alone, without his best friend, Mark Hitching.

This is where we are planning to have a panning shot to reveal the bench, the long pathway connotes the fact that Jake Schofield now has to carry on his journey alone.

This is the bridge where Jake Schofield will contemplate his life. We thought this would be the ideal spot as it the long path leads to the bridge. Which is where the end of the sequence ends.

~ Ryan Chapman and Christina Fraser ~

Location decisions

This picture of Admirals park in Chelmsford shows the location that we decided to utilise for our film. Because the sequence is short and the park was wide in visual variety, this was the only location that we needed for the sequence. This made it very convenient and helped to ensure that we didn't run into any problems, such as going to the wrong location and, because it is a local facility, we were previously aware of where it was. This place fitted our needed requirements of a naturalistic setting, as well as sticking to our original storyboard concept of incorporating a bridge to reflect the main protagonist's high stature, looking down on the river in superiority.

- Ryan Chapman and Christina Fraser -

Health and Safety Brief

Because we're filming in public places, at this point a park and bridge, there are some health and safety regulations to consider. For example, filming on a bridge means there is a chance of falling, even if the height is minimal and thus resulting in physical pain. To avoid this, we will use precautions such as a safe proximity from the edge of the bridge and wear high visibility jackets (so that oncoming cars can see us with clarity). In the case of the park, the danger is more towards any possible psychological trauma of people in shots that do not wish to be in the film. We will therefore aim for a time slot that results in the least amount of citizens unintentionally being in the shots and feeling uncomfortable with their unexpected participation.

~ Ryan Chapman ~

Organising Sound

For our film opening we had to use non-copyrighted music from a reliable source. After a long search on the internet I found a reliable source for royalty free music. The site for the music is known as Productioncrate.com, and it has a large amount of music that is not copyrighted and is free to download. There was an entire section dedicated to different genres of music, e.g. drama and suspense. For the purpose of our film browsed the genre drama for our soundtrack.

 

After browsing the drama section I found several tracks that I thought were suitable.

After talking to the rest of the group we decide on using Let Go But Don’t Forget was the best option as it had a steady  tempo that meant that Christina could edit it so it would last much longer as it was too short.  This was the finished result.

~Peter Godwin and Christina Fraser~

How we will organise props and costumes

Having only one costume and two props, we have minimised the risk of misplacing any items that may have resulted in a lack of continuity as well as stuck to our key element of simplicity. The costume was provided by the actor, while the watch is owned by Peter. The memorial booklet, however, had to be made from scratch, as it could have been seen as disrespectful to have a legitimate one without the proper consent. With Christina having access to a picture of her brother, whom met the characteristics of Mark Hitching, as well as the required software to design the leaflet, she volunteered to design it, with myself having input into the layout and font choice, ensuring that the audience understood how this prop was relevant to the narrative.

- Ryan Chapman -

Costumes For 'Remorse'

This is the costume list for our film opening...

Jake Schofield:

Liam Hemsworth

27

• Black Trousers
• Black Blazer
• White Shirt
• Black Shoes
• Watch

We have decided to give this character a smart look because he is at the grave of his late best friend. This costume really fits into Schofield's personality because he is still mourning his best friends death and the fact that he is in an underground criminal ring means that he is always dressed smart as he is always meeting new 'clients'.


Option One

Emily Thorne:

Amy Adams

26

• Black Dress
• Red finger nails
• Black high heels

 Option Two

Emily Thorne will have this costume because, just like Jake, she is in an underground criminal ring, this means she will have to always look her best, yet classy.














~ Christina Fraser ~

How the auditon will be organised

Because our full script only contains one scene and is relatively short, we gave this full version to the auditionees ahead of time (which can be seen in the 'Script draft two' blog), in the hope that they learned the lines as best they could in the timeframe they had. Having one character in the opening meant that each person who auditioned would do so on their own and not part of a group. This was good for us because it meant we were able to focus on singular people at any given time and didn't have to alternate between people, in fear that one or two participants may not get the attention they had hoped for in order to get the part.

To get the word out, we sent emails around the sixth form, inviting all who were interested to come to a particular room at break or lunch the following week. We invited people a week prior to the audition so that they would have time to prepare, in case they wanted anymore specifics on the process and also in the hope that other students would inform any people who they thought fitted our needed criteria.

- Ryan Chapman -

Casting audition intentions and why

We planned to encourage the A level drama class to audition for the main protagonist role because, out of the peers of our age group, they are the most qualified to do so in an authentic and believable manner. To ensure a numerous amount of people to audition we also spoke to friends and family outside of sixth form in case they had something distinctive to contribute. In terms of the audition process itself, the three of us group members sat around a table and asked the participants to follow our direction, when it came to movement, so that we'd be able to see whether or not how they portrayed the character aligned with our interpretation.

- Ryan Chapman -

Script Draft Two

Fade in:

EXT. graveyard - day

Jake is sitting on a park bench, mourning over the death of his best friend.

Jake is looking down at a funeral service programme of his best friend.

JAKE SCOFIELD, a small time crook, sits lonely on a bench.

Jake (Narration)

He was my best friend. I’ve never known anyone like him. But I betrayed him.

Now I’m alone, for far too long I’ve been living in doubt… living in fear.

 

Jake is standing over the bridge looking down.

 

Jake (Narration)

When will it end? What am I supposed to do now? Nothing. I don’t deserve this life… or do I?

 

 

In this second draft we took out the character of Emily Thorne. Although we still plan to utilise her in the rest of the narrative, we agreed that introducing her this early would get rid of the enigmatic atmosphere we wanted to create, as it's a key signifier of the drama genre. We also adapted the script because we had to change the locations of the opening, after not been given permission to film in local graveyards. On top of that, we then decided that filming on a pier would be very difficult, highly impractical and wouldn't work in correlation with our lack of budgeting.

~ Christina Fraser, Ryan Chapman ~

Script Draft One

Fade in:

EXT. graveyard - day

Jake is standing over a grave, soon to be joined Emily mourning the death of his best friend.

Jake is looking down at the grave of his best friend.

JAKE SCOFIELD, a small time crook, stands mournfully over a grave.

Jake (Narration)

Mark Hitching. That was his name. He was my friend. And I killed him.

EMILY THORNE, Jake’s current girlfriend who’s driven by her career and follows her gut.

Emily Thorne enters, and links hands with Jake looking deeply into his eyes. 

Jake (Narration)

But I didn’t do it alone. For too long I’ve been living in doubt…living in fear. When will it end? What am I supposed to do now? Nothing. I don’t deserve this life…or do I?

~ Ryan Chapman and Peter Godwin ~

Ideal Celebrity Casting

For the film opening of 'Remorse' our ideal casting will be well known celebrities. This is because we are a mainstream institution. As we are a mainstream production company, we will be able to afford well known celebrities. This will help us when it comes to creating an overall better film.

Jake Schofield:

Liam Hemsworth

Liam Hemsworth is the ideal man to play Jake Schofield as he is known for his outstanding performances in other films with the same genre, films that include Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Love and Honour, and Paranoia.
He is also the right build for the role of Jake Schofield, as Schofield is a tough young man aged around 27.
The audience perception of Hemsworth is that he is a talented actor with a great deal of experience with acting. He is also very capable of showing emotion with a large success in portraying the emotion onto the audience.

Emily Thorne:

Amy Adams

Amy Adams would be the ideal woman to play Emily Thorne, she is known to portray her characters well in the drama genre, for example American Hustle, Her, and Trouble with the Curve. She is also right for the role of Emily Thorne through the way she can act deceiving yet innocent at the same time.








~Christina Fraser~

 

Mise en scene considerations

Because of the lack of budgeting and the depressing tone of the opening, we as a group wanted to keep all aspects simplistic so that our younger teenage audiences can still understand the secondary meanings behind our choices of location, props, costumes etc. Specifically with the locations, we agreed that a naturalistic setting was preferable, to connote the idea that this character had been stripped down to his bare essence and felt empty because of it. The only significant prop we use in our opening is the funeral booklet to provide a reason for the main protagonist's emotional discomfort. For the characters costume we decided a suit would be most appropriate, due to his profession being part of a well established firm as well as giving us a good reason for him to wear black. This was an important factor to us because black has connotations of darkness and death, which directly link to the topic matter we address in the opening.

Mise en scene plays a big part in every narrative, which is why we carefully considered each element of the topic, the effect it would have on our audience and whether or not it would match up with our intentions as directors.

- Ryan Chapman -  

Our first storyboard for the film opening

This is our first story board of the film opening. We made sure that all cast and crew credits were apparent and in the right chronological order for the sake of authenticity. Each shot design is accompanied with an in-depth description of what's actually in the shot, how long it is, what the following transition is, the shot type and how it's in context with the narrative. Accompanied with these elements are also non-diegetic pieces of dialogue, with the main protagonist providing vague information for the audience regarding his character and what he's currently thinking. This results in the audience empathising for him, with an example being when he states in the second shot "He was my friend...and I killed him." By providing the audience with this knowledge, they're given a better idea of the circumstances surrounding this character, as well as an establishment of the key atmosphere this film is aiming to achieve.

 

 

Doing a storyboard has helped us to visually imagine the opening and put it into context with our ideas, to see if anything needs adapting. It is also good preparation for when we actually film it, so that we know what specific shots we need to do and how they're relevant to the mood and tone we're trying to create, so that the audience can immediately identify our genre of film to be a drama.

~ Ryan Chapman ~

Location scouting

 
 
These are pictures of locations we considered before deciding on Admirals park, these met the criteria of a naturalistic setting however we found them to be less charismatic and didn't have access to the bench and bridge we wanted to incorporate for the sake of variety.

- Ryan Chapman -

Film title choice and why

Our film is called 'Remorse.' We chose this name because it's one of the main themes of the narrative and it links to the regretful and mourning tone we include within the opening. On top of this, we noticed that a lot of films of the drama genre go for similarly short names to convey the film as a more memorable product, such as 'The Departed' and 'Filth.' We went with this font as it connotes a sense of brokenness where the audience will empathise with the characters and so therefore making them believable.

- Ryan Chapman -

Film title order

• A Husky Production
• Distributed by Cave Distributions
• A film by Jon Kramer
• Alex Campion
• Remorse
• Amy Scott
• and Jeremy Blake
• Casting by Julie Staine
• Music by Hans Zime
• Production designer Mark Hoffman
• Cinematography by James Norris
• Produced by Michael Hall
• Executive producer William Renner
• Written by David Cage
• Directed by John Kramer

- Ryan Chapman -

The chosen institutional logo

Out of the three logos we as a group designed, we agreed that Christina's looked the most professional and legitimate, and considering we are a mainstream company these elements were critical in our companies presentation within the opening sequence. It is also memorable and more eye catching than the other designs, fully utilising the iconography of our company and making their involvement on the project more respectable.

This is the Official Husky Productions animated logo.


- Ryan Chapman and Christina Fraser -

Husky Productions Logo Ideas

This is the still image of the institutional logo that I have created, this is a picture of a husky in black and white, and this gives the image a huskier feeling and tone to the picture. This logo also helps identify the genre we are also making. There is a sense of mystery and grief in ‘Remorse’; this is shown through this logo.






 ~ Christina Fraser ~
 
This is our second idea for the Husky productions logo









~ Peter Godwin ~

This is my interpretation of our company logo, emphasising on the aggression and ruthlessness that's associated with both the animal and our company.




~Ryan Chapman~

 

 

This is an animated version of my logo. I have created an animated logo due to Husky Productions being a mainstream production company. Mainstream companies like Husky Productions usually have animated logo that appears on their films. this will appear at the beginning of 'Remorse'.

  

 

~Christina Fraser~

institutional logos research

In the media, the main corporations that control the global media all have a logo that stands out and creates a lasting image in the audiences head.

For example the Warner bros' logo is a golden shield with the company initials in the centre.

The MGM (Metro Goldwyn Mayer) logo has a lion in the centre which creates a memorable image for the audience and immediately associates any film with this logo with the MGM company.

Paramount studios logo is a mountain surrounded by a halo of stars which creates a lasting image in the audiences head.

~Christina Fraser~

Characters in our film opening

To shows his significance in the narrative and highlight his loneliness, the only character we have in our sequence is the main protagonist (Jake Scofield). This singularity also backs up our original concept of having a contemplating figure within the opening, so that character development can be more easily derived and gives us more reason to go into depth with his peers (especially Mark Hitching), whom heavily influence his moral choices. We have also planned on introducing other characters throughout the piece but they would be minor roles in the piece.

- Ryan Chapman + Peter Godwin-

25 word pitch

Jake Schofield, a crook, becomes part of a corrupt empire resulting in the death of his best friend, with the help of an enigmatic woman.

~ Ryan Chapman, Christina Fraser and Peter Godwin ~