Music and Titles.

We have added the music and titles to our finished film. The music we used is 'still Dre' by Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg which fits in with the gangster/ drug genre really well. The titles we used are from an internet font website and it is an easy-to-read graffiti style font called Toy Soldiers and this also works really well with this kind of genreThis is the font we are using.

Editing.

We have finished editing the final part of our film and it all looks better now that it has all what we wanted to put into it. we are in the process of adding music and titles to the film and have chosen a font from the internet which suits our genre really well. We also think that the song 'Still Dre' By Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg will work well with our genre.

Finished filming!

Last week we finished filming the last of the footage we needed. We managed to use all the locations we wanted and also managed to play around with camera angles and shots. In this part of the sequence, we had the main drug dealer meeting the 'Delivery Boy'. Their meeting involves the drug dealer refusing to give Billy the money and Billy being fatally stabbed. All of this was filmed in and around Redcliffe Hill underpass.

Films that influenced our choice of genre.

Shifty is a good example of a low budget drug/crime film and includes some of the conventions that we want to include.

More Editing.

We have completed editing our clips from our last session of filming and we are confident that we know exactly what we need to include when shooting our last few seconds of the sequence. After watching the sequence together we were able to take out more clips we decided didn't belong in the sequence. We have also played our choices of music with what we have and are still deciding which best suits our film. During our filming we took a wider range of shots and were able to pick some out of a variety that we could edit together and make them look continuous, then discard of the ones that didn't work with the rest of the film. Overall we are looking forward to editing in our last lot of filming and believe that so far it has been a success.

More Filming.

Last week we continued film our opening sequence. We completed the scenes where our main character skateboards to his destination. This is where he will hand over the drugs package and unfortunately be involved in a fatal stabbing. The stabbing will take place in a derelict underpass and we will film this part of the sequence in the next few days. During last weeks filming, we shot some of our clips from different angles so we were able to experiment more with editing, and also so that we could improve on our continuity skills and create a more fast pace piece of film. Some of the shots worked and some didn't, and the variety gave us more of a choice to choose the perfect clips to use.

Generic conventions of urban/drug related crime films.

Some of the conventions of our chosen genre are:

Urban Locations (dereliction and built up areas)

Youths,

Drugs/Alcohol,

Music related to the genre (rap/hip hop, metal)

Slang/ Expletive words or phrases,

Informal clothing,

A strong sense of masculinity.

Location stills.

This is a still of one of the locations we filmed our sequence at: Dean Lane Skate Park in Southville, Bristol. When we answer our evaluation questions, you will see this location featured in the 9 stills we will post on the blog. We chose this location because it has a very raw, realist look and feel to it that is coherent to the kind of genre we are going for with the opening sequence. There are derelict buildings around it that also cohere with the urban grittiness we want to add.

This is an example of the kind of underpass we will use for the stabbing scene of our opening sequence.

Changes to the Story Board.

We have already made some changes to the story board considering the drug dealer delivering a package in a car. We had to change this to the drug dealer delivering the package on foot. We have also decided to change one of the settings. We are moving the setting of the part where the 'delivery boy' gets shot from a drak room to an underpass which is quite derelict and deserted. We are also changing the shooting to a stabbing, to make it seem more realistic in modern day britain. It would also seem unrealistic to do a shooting because we are shooting the film in broad daylight and it would be difficult to find a realistic gun and sound effect that would work well with the rest of the movie.

Music.

We have decided a short-list of songs that we could use in the final piece. We played the music along with the material we have so far to check it matched the character, genre and speed correctly.
1) Down with the sickness by Disturbed.
2) Forgot about Dre by Dr Dre and Eminem.
3) Still DRE by Snoop Dogg ft Dr Dre.

Editing our first material.

We have completed the editing of the clips we have so far and it all looks cohesive and relevant to our storyline and genre. There is one clip we have to re-film but it would only take a short amount of time of our next filming slot which is on the 4th March 2010. We have got a match on action and a two shot. The rest of the clips run together quite well. We are now planning to find music that will match the genre, character and speed of the film.

1st Day of Filming.

On the 26th of February, we began filming the opening to our film. We had to change an element of the storyboard where the drug dealer turned up to the setting in a car. Seeing as our plans to borrow a friends car didn't work out we just used a scene where the drug dealer came by foot. This worked just as well and fits in with the genre. The filming went surprisingly well considering the windy weather and unstable tripod. There were no interferences such as people walking past or loud noises that would effect future filming. The only thing we need to consider re-filming is the first shot as we were just starting to get the hang of the camera. So all in all the first day of filming was very successful.

Some responses to the questionnaire.

Do you like crime film?
Yes
If so, name 3 you enjoyed in this category?
Shawshank, shifty
Do you prefer crime movies found at art-house or multiplex cinemas?
Multiplex
Do you find a protagonist is needed to complete a crime film?
Yes
Do you prefer urban or rural settings?
Urban
What is the best certificate for a crime film?
15
Do you prefer mystery/crime or action/crime films?
Mystery
Do you like it when there are characters in a movie you can relate to?
Yes
Are there any elements in crime movies that you find unrealistic?
Bloody murder
If so, how would you improve those elements to make them more realistic?
More action