Post Apocalyptic Planning: Make Up

For the film, we required Jake, our main character, to have a sort of "dirty, rugged" look about him. For this, we needed to use different types of dark coloured make up to give his character this "Survivor" look.



In the end, we resulted with this final "dirty" look that we felt properly emphasised the idea of this character surviving every day in harsh conditions that often leave him rugged and dirty.

Post Apocalyptic Planning: Locations

The wooden cabin

For the piece that we will be creating, we require a "wooden cabin" type building to shoot the majority of the shots in. This "wooden cabin" is going to be the location in which the Protagonist wakes up and is met by a mysterious character who seems to have brought him there.

We have chosen the location we are going to use for this scene.

We will be shooting these scenes in the Wooden Cabin in the back garden of one of the members of our group.



We felt that this location was perfect for what we wanted to shoot as it showcased the homely elements of the wooden cabin but still kept the mystery of the location due to the bland colourings of the walls and the emptiness of the scene itself.

(Dartboard was removed from the scene whilst shooting as it went against the mise en scene that we required)

Barren Fields / Forests





For the opening, we also required barren fields and forested areas. For this, we chose certain public parks such as Brierly Park as we felt that the forests and fields there, along with the conditions brought on by the weather, would be perfect for shooting in order to make the scene look empty and abandoned.



As shown by Google maps, Brierly Forest park is made up of fields and forested areas that are perfect for us to shoot various scenes of the opening in.

Post Apocalyptic Planning: Progress of Script Writing

For the piece that we are creating, we require scripts for the different sections of the opening; inside the flashback and outside of it.

Below, I have posted the rough idea of the script that will we use as a guideline within the piece in accordance to dialogue.

First scene in the wooden cabin:

(Jake awakens and begins to search around the room he is in in confusion but appears to be injured, he lies back onto the table that he woke on and rests)

(Mysterious character enters the room)

Mysterious character: Ah, so you're finally awake, I've been waiting for you.

Joey: (confused) Where am I? Who are you?

Mysterious Character: (Not paying attention to Joey at all (messing around in a draw etc.)) That will all become clear soon, but first, I'd like to know what you can remember.

Joey: What I can remember? I can remember the apocalypse like it was yesterday, explosions, quakes, the whole thing. I was so scared, my family...

(Looks blank for a second in thought)

Joey: I was lucky to get into the bunker when I could, three days we were in there waiting for everything to calm down. So many people died in there...

(Close up on Jakes face)

- Enter Flashback -

Flashback:

Joey: For the past three months I believe; I've been doing my best to survive; I've been doing my best to search for survivors, to search for an explanation as to why this all happened. I've been searching for help. Its been so hard, but what made it harder was that one day, the last day I remember, I felt like I was being constantly followed. Anytime I turned to look for what was following me though, there was never anything.

(Close up on Joey by the fire)

Joey: Then that night, I was settling down to rest for the night and I heard a rustling in the bushes behind me and then from there, I don't remember anything, its all black.

(A bag goes over Joeys head and the scene fades to black)

- Exits Flashback -

Post Flashback:

(Fades back in to a close up on Joeys face)

Joey: (Slightly angered) And then the next thing I know,  I wake up here with some random geezer asking me questions. You still haven't answered my question, who the hell are you and why am I here?

Mysterious Character: I think it's time I explained this whole thing to you. Come with me.

(Both characters exit the room)

- Scene End -



Post Apocalyptic Planning: Film Opening Pitch

We presented our pitch to a group of an idea and were given feedback and extra ideas that we could use within the piece. The video of this is shown below.



Post Apocalyptic Planning: Costume planning for Opening

For the piece that we are going to create, it is crucial that we have costumes that fit the characters within the opening.

There are to be two main characters within the opening that are both surviving within this post apocalyptic world but are part of different groups and we wish to make this apparent within their clothing.

The "real" main character is going to be an lone survivor who has been searching for the past few months for other survivors or someone who can explain as to why the apocalypse happened.

We want to dress this character in more green and brown colours of clothing that will show that he has had to keep himself hidden within different environments just in case he is not alone.

He will be dressed in:

- Some form of hat

- Some form of jacket (Thick parka / Army Jacket)

-Dark coloured trousers

- Heavy-wearing boots

- A rucksack

- A walking staff or stick (optional)

I have placed a rough idea of what the characters clothing will look like below.

The more "mysterious" character will be dressed in the same sort of colours to show that he too has been trying to keep hidden within the environment when required.

However, we wish to dress this second character in lighter clothing to show to the audience that, as the storyline suggests, he is part of a separate group of survivors that are working together to find other survivors etc. and this requires him to move around more frequently and quickly and so he needs lighter clothing.

We plan to dress this character in:

- A long, lightweight parka (not shown in example)

- dark shirt or t-shirt

- Dark trousers

- Heavy - wearing boots

Below, once again, I have placed a rough example of what this character will be dressed like.

Post Apocalyptic Planning: Weather forecasts for the Filming Day

We have planned to begin, and hopefully conclude, filming on Sunday 16th November and so I require to research into the weather forecasts for that day to prepare for the weather that we are faced with.

The weather forecast given by (http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/forecast/gcrn5r3ub#?fcTime=1416009600) has shown the below results:

This shows that the weather on the day that we plan to film on is going to consist of rainy weather.

I believe that this will add to the idea in the film that the worlds weather systems are slightly out of sync in relation to how they used to be.

This also shows me that the sun will be setting at 16:09, meaning that we will be able to film any scenes that require dark conditions at an earlier time which will allow our filming to be an efficient process that we can carry out at a relatively fast pace, whilst also ensuring that we have all the shots that we require.

Post Apocalyptic Planning: Sound design and soundtracks

Within the opening that we plan to create, we will require different forms of sound that will need to be non-copyright. In order to do this, we may use some forms of Foley sound as well as researching into non-copyright soundtracks.

Sound effects

For the piece, we require a sort of bass sound to hit as the main title screen for the film is shown. I have researched into different ways of making bass sounds and have come up with a couple of ideas that we could use.

Vocal Creation of a bass sound

One way in which we could create this bass sound is by having a member of our group physically make a deep "boom" type sound into a microphone and use editing software in order to manipulate it to perfection.

Using a bass drum

A second way of creating this sound would be by simply using a bass drum and recording the sound it makes to place into our piece.

Soundtracks

For the piece, we require a soundtrack that suggests to the viewers that the world is almost "empty" and "mysterious", despite the fact that it is the same world that they have always lived in. Below I have posted a selection of these tracks:



I have chosen Far Out Man - Jingle Punks as the soundtrack that is most likely to be used within our opening. I feel it is the most perfect of the three tracks that we found and will fit perfectly within the storyline of our piece.