'The First Reflective Main Exercise Blog Entry Thing!'

The main exercise has started and already we are beginning to see just how different it is from the Preliminary exercise. Firstly this is because of the setting; a lot more risk assessment is needed as it is outdoors and things like the weather need to be taken into account. We also require more actors, so timing and availability needs to be considered. The Preliminary exercise was also a lot easier because we had a guideline for what we had to do, whereas with this exercise we have had to completely use our own imaginations to find something to do.

We have all been assigned roles already, quite similar to the roles we had in the previous project, Ash being the Director, Deanna assisting with producing and props, Phil helping with directing and editing and myself operating the camera and editing the final film. We can see already that we will have to put in a lot more work, effort and preparation for this exercise.

The specification states that we are to produce “the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes”, which already is proving quite difficult as many of our ideas for the clip reflected the aspects of a trailer for a film. We have realised just how close the line is between filming a trailer and opening sequence, and will have to thoroughly look at all the angles we will be going with this clip. All things considered, (i.e audiences, genres, our preferences etc) we have brainstormed our ideas and come to the conclusion that we are doing a ‘Zombie film’. This is original, new and fictional, which the brief states our film should be.

As a group we have researched into the codes and conventions of zombie films and checked that our ideas would be appropriate for a ‘15’ film audience. We used websites such as www.bbfc.co.uk to check what we were and were not allowed to include in our film, such as strong language and/or violence as the theme is horror and these things will generally be included within films of this genre. We have also spoken to a few friends who are willing to participate in the production of the film.

We used the following clips as inspiration for our ideas:
- 'Zombie Land'
- 'Land of the Dead'
- '28 Days later'
- 'Dawn of the dead'
- 'Shaun of the dead'

Although our ideas are moving along fast, the paperwork for this exercise is taking a lot longer that that of the Preliminary exercise. I think this is because we didn’t realise at the start just how much there was to consider, like risk assessment, which I mentioned earlier.

I think the main ‘stumbling points’ on the SWOT analysis will be as follows:

· Although Deanna and I live on Portland and know the areas quite well, Ash and Phil do not, and neither do some of our actors. Therefore travel and navigation of the area we are meeting in and the areas we will be filming in will be down to me and Deanna. Hopefully this will not affect our filming/meeting times.

· As we are filming outside, extensive risk assessment will need to be done on the area of filming. We will be using Grove field itself and the wooded/rocky areas surrounding it, so we will have to ensure everyone is aware of their surroundings and behaves appropriately.

· We are using an open area that the public use frequently throughout the day. So, we will have to be aware of people walking across the field and as we are including a ‘gory’ bit in the film, make sure it is done when there are no people around. In case people are concerned about this section of our film, I have informed a police officer of what we will be doing as a precaution to reports from the public, should any be made.

· Finally, we have to consider the weather, as it is unpredictable. We will check weather forecasts and take precautions should the weather be bad (i.e raincoats, unberellas to cover the equipment etc).

We intend to commence filming on the 17th March.