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Main task - Gambino

             

Set in early 90's New York City, Gambino is based on the downfall of the Gambino Crime Family when one of their members, Sammy Gravano, decided to cooperate with the FBI.

The film follows Commissioner Goodman as he works with the mole, Gravano, to gather evidence against Gambino. All's going well until Gravano goes missing and Gambino starts targeting not only Goodman, but the people closest to him as well.

Main task - Director's Commentary

Above is a director's commentary I made about our film "Gambino". It links in with questions 1 and 5 in the evaluation.

Main task - Final script and storyboards

Final storyboard and script from Peter Bamforth

Main task - Editing analysis

Editing analysis from Peter Bamforth

Above is analysis of some of the editing that went into creating 'Gambino'.

Main Task - Music and sound

For our film we wanted music that built tension and was reflective of the situation (quite mysterious). We looked on royalty free music sites such as incompetech.com but could not find anything that fit our expectations.

Therefore, we went on YouTube and searched for "tense music". We discovered a great song called "The War For Earth" by an unknown composer. We decided this song would fit our film perfectly so we messaged the creator, asking for permission to use it (screenshot above).

Also, for our film we needed some selective sound effects, specifically, car doors opening and shutting. We recorded this by taking my camera and microphone outside and placing them close to the sounds we wanted to record. We waited until there was silence, e.g. no passing traffic, and then recorded the sounds. These sound effects gave us more freedom whilst editing because it meant we decided what could and couldn't be heard by the audience.

Secondly, these sounds emphasise certain actions, such as the car boot opening to reveal the kidnapped man inside.

Main Task - Shot list plan

Along with the initial storyboards we also drew up a shotlist with ideas for potential shots. We knew the location and the basics of our film so drawing a shotlist would help when creating our final storyboard.

One thing we want to get across to the audience in the film is that Gambino is an important and powerful character. The way we planned to portray this is through the use of a low angle shot looking up at him when he makes his first appearance at the top of the airplane's steps. This shows him to be powerful and superior to all of the other characters.

Also, we wanted to capture the emotions of the characters. When the victim's hood is removed we want his disorientation and fear to be shown, therefore a close up could be used to demonstrate these expressions clearly. 

Main Task - Actors

For the opening of our thriller we required seven actors; 2 bodyguards, the 'boss' (Gambino), 2 associates, the victim and the detective. To find actors we asked friends about their acting experiences and availability. We needed our actors to have flexible and good availability because we had to organise a date to film at Brooklands museum and that date would be final. After discussing experiences and availability we chose seven actors and allocated them appropriate roles, this was partly based on their appearance and skills. Because there is no dialogue in the film, apart from the phone call, the actor's voices were crucial.

To help organise the actors we created a whatsapp group. This helped us to efficiently organise when and where we would meet at location, how we were going to get there, costumes and what would be required of the actors on the day.

Main Task - Draft storyboard and script

To the left is a sheet of rough notes we used to jot down ideas for the opening titles.

Here we came up with the idea of some titles being revealed when a vehicle drives by. (Bottom left)

Below is the first draft of our storyboard. It depicts the journey to the exchange point which could be edited to be split screen (top right). It also shows the positioning of the actors and the last shot which consists of the camera zooming out from the 'evidence board'. Also, the final box is an idea of the font we may use for the film's title, "Gambino", with the 'G' being a reversed question mark to represent the film's mystery.

To the left is a draft of the script for the phone call that's going to be bridged across the opening production company titles and the journey at the start of the film.

We also listed some possible backing music.

Main Task - Props and costumes

Below are the costumes we designed for the characters in our film. Bodyguard 3 and 4 are the Associates. Gambino wears a suit to show how serious he is and that he is a business man. The bodyguards wear camouflage trousers and a black top to make them look like soldiers/military, equipped with weapons, this shows them to be dangerous and skilled. The victim/hostage wears a hood to keep their identity concealed and show how they've been taken against their will. Finally, the Associates dressed smart casual to show they mean business but are relaxed about their line of work, even though it's dangerous. This show's they're experienced.

Main Task - Basic planning

This is a basic plan of how we wanted our main task to play out:



This is a very basic plan of how we envision the location and characters to be like to help us when storyboarding and scripting:

Main Task - Organising the location

We decided that Brooklands Museum would be the best location for our film because we could use a plane which would be great mise-en-scene. However, we needed to organise when and where we could film. We contacted the museum's Commercial Manager, Valerie Mills, by phone where we discussed what we were hoping to film. She kindly agreed to let us use the area and then helped us organise a time and date in subsequent emails:

Main Task - Possible locations

BROOKLANDS MUSEUM

  DESBOROUGH ISLAND

  SAINSBURYS MULTI-STORY CAR PARK

Main Task - Chosen idea mind map

We decided we wanted our thriller opening to be based on an exchange between two gangs and wanted some of it to be seen from a detective's point of view (taking pictures from afar, a 'stakeout'). With this idea now in mind we made another mind map of possible elements we wanted to include in the film. Sounds, characters, costumes, locations, props and working titles were all put forward. After we had completed this it gave us a much clearer idea of what we were working towards. We used this mind map as a basis to work from when story boarding and scripting.

Main Task - Initial ideas

When we were given the brief of the main task we decided to use a mind map to get our very first thoughts and ideas onto paper. We looked into possible locations and plots and this helped us build an image of what we wanted our film to be like. The mind map was also a great tool because it let us all give our own suggestions then merge all of the best bits of these suggestions together. Finally, it let us gather opinions on potential ideas so that we could scrap the ideas that just would not work or weren't good enough.

Preliminary Task Feedback

--- It was clear that on the whole people enjoyed our task and that it met the requirements by using a variety of shots and making it original and engaging. However, there were some areas for improvement. From the feedback it was clear that we should look to improve our setting. We could of used somewhere which had more relevance to the scene, such as a basement or more isolated location, this would reflect how there was a secret and dangerous event taking place. Also, we should aim to make sure all of our shots are fluent and fit in with the general feel of the film.