Filming

I have organized filming for sunday, so i should have a practice version of the original idea by monday to put together and look at before I decide whether to change it to a sniper thing or leave it.

Sniper?

Mr Bonney suggested using a sniper, rather than a soldier, and thinking about it i would prefer it, as it would be easier to get camouflage and a uniform as the camouflage netting stuff is quite easy to get and i wouldn't have to focus on the face but on the eyes. It would also build the tension and i could use more shots that show the gun, his eyes, the trigger and stuff. 

Film Posters

I have started thinking about making a film poster, and have looked at other war film posters like The Kingdom, Full Metal Jacket, Black Hawk Down, Platoon, We Were Soldiers,  Dead Presidents, Quiet American, The Deer Hunter and Hamburger Hill. Their all Vietnam-based except The Kingdom and Black Hawk Down which  are based on the Iraq war and Somalia. 

• The Platoon poster is quite simple which is good and has a quote "The first casualty of war is innocence." and then the logo and something featured in the film. I like this poster because of its simplicity and effectiveness.
• The We Were Soldiers poster is a bit more complicated, looking very serious with Mel Gibson looking straight into the camera and having clips from the film around the picture. I don't think it's a great poster because there's a lot going on in the poster with out much flow to it, it seems a bit random. I like the close-up of the face though. 
• I like the Dead Presidents poster because its weird and  doesn't really seem like a war film poster, it seems more like a thriller or horror film, with just the face of the main character looking really evil and disturbing, i like the contrast of white and black in it because its simple and makes you feel uneasy.
• The Hamburger Hill poster is much more like a war film because it shows a group of soldiers looking happy and like they've just come out of fighting, its not as good as the other film posters but still an good example for a war film poster.
• The Full Metal Jacket poster is quite simple and i think in a way parodies the Platoon poster, with the helmet and the quote at the top "In Vietnam the wind doesn't blow, it sucks" again it's simple but makes you want to see the film.
• I like the Black Hawk Down poster because it shows the main character looking war-torn and the colours are dirty browns and yellows which are like the desert-like streets and he's in a helicopter which is from the film. It's still quite simple, not giving away too much.
• I like the Kingdom poster because its got a split page, the bottom half with the title and credits and the top half with main characters in action in a clip from the film. It's quite modern and different to most war films which is good.

Finishing off, sounds, costumes, props, brief outline...

For the costume i will try to borrow someones old CCF uniform and i will cut it up making it look worn and dirty, a grey vest for underneath because the Vietnam soldiers didn't really have armour and stuff just helmets, boots and basic uniform. I am using a friends BB gun for the gun which looks quite realistic so should be able to be shown close-up.

The sound will mainly be diagetic in my own footage like rustling leaves, gun sounds, heavy breathing, things that the main character is meant to hear. Some of the sounds will have to be added in afterwards, because i can't record real gun sounds and things really, but could use a boom mic for the rustling leaves. In the actual credits the sound will be non-diagetic as it will be a voice over with newsreels and music. The music I'd like to be tinny like music on propaganda films and the voice over very American and like a news reader explaining the controversy over the Vietnam war.

The brief outline of my film is just the main character walking through the bushes and looking nervous and cautious, then he hears gunfire, loads his gun, aims and then just as he fires it cuts into the title, and then that disappears and the credits come in, which will be a kind of timeline with jungle shapes like trees, and stuff like tanks, helicopters, moving out of it in the style of The Kingdom and the voice over will be over the top.

Full Metal Jacket Trailer

Black Hawk Down Trailer

The Kingdom Trailer

Full Metal Jacket

Full Metal Jacket was the most helpful film that I watched as it is relevant to the Vietnam War and furthered the idea of a war film in a different perspective as Full Metal Jacket is in the perspective of someone reluctant to fight and is a Journalist reporting the events to other soldiers and the commanding officers. The way it shows the training of the soldiers before they go to Vietnam and makes you understand how hard it is to train to be a soldier, with Private Pyle who is particularly tormented by the drill sergeant, physically and psycho-logically and eventually goes insane and shoots the drill sergeant and then himself. This scene is particularly hard hitting as it makes you realize the other effects of war. I also like effects used in Full Metal Jacket, for example the smoke in one scene used to cover the in-coming Vietcong, the shot used in this is in the perspective of a soldier manning a mounted machine gun shooting blindly into the smoke. I like the ideas in Full Metal Jacket as they are simple, but effective making it quite hard to watch but also very captivating, for example the use of a young girl as a sniper in a building where the Marines question whether to leave her to suffer or kill her.

Black Hawk Down

Black Hawk Down was inspiring because of the action and how real everything seems when you watch it, the explosions and guns and even the actual combat all seem real and makes you really sympathize and feel supportive towards the US Marines. I like the camera angles and movement used in action scenes, as it often shows panoramic views of the streets ahead of them which could have enemies’ in. which leaves you very much on edge, expecting the enemy to attack them. The way everything is contrasted with the dull sandy beige colour of the uniforms and streets is interesting as it draws you into the film because you’re always looking for the different colours which are the guns and enemies. There are also point of view shots of soldiers running which I like the idea of as it shows the soldier and the scenery in a new way making it look more sinister and threatening.

The Kingdom Analysis

The Kingdom was the main inspiration for the way I want my opening credits as I like the idea of the sweeping camera showing the credits along a timeline with a voice over explaining the event leading up to the events in The Kingdom between Saudi Arabia and the United States. The timeline has opaque shapes and symbols related to the film like tanks, oil wells and jets etc. I also like the idea of new reels relative to the events in The Kingdom and how the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was set up, giving a brief history explaining what lead up to The Kingdom. In the Kingdom, the camera angles and movements are interesting, and a few examples especially which got my attention was a shot through the curtains of a house, slightly distorting the two people talking inside, which made you feel weird and know that they were talking about something bad before the conversation properly starts. There’s also a scene in a car which shows people talking and in one case it shows Special Agent Ronald Fluery from behind with him turning to look at the passenger talking to him. These camera angles mixed with the lighting effects helped as the darkness is made to seem like safety rather than light like in most films. I like this idea and would like to try it in the opening, making the main character seem safer in shady areas of jungle. The storyline also inspired me as it shows conflict from a different point of view, The Kingdom in the point of view of four Special Agents from the FBI investigating a bombing.