Final Planning Vlog

Props and Costume

Where to get the costumes?

• Charity shops
  
• Borrow from extra's cast
  
• Cheap clothes stores

Dave, Gary, and Extras.

The "Angel"

The "Devil"

Props

In the case a poker table cannot be found, a green velvet or felt cloth could be put over a round table instead.

Eyeliner pencil for body art. This is to create the swirling patterns that run up the Angel and Devil's arms.

Small stickers to define detail on the body art. Easy to peel off and will look good on CU shots. Light colours for Angel, black and sharper flowers for Devil.

Possible Locations

The first choice location for 'Poker's Advocate' is Drama room 1. It has lighting equipment that will give the frames clear visuals. The black floor and curtains gives a dynamic background and pulls focus to the actors and poker game rather than the set. This mise-en-scene will allow the atmosphere of the film be made mainly by sound and music.

The following are possible locations in the case that the drama room is unavailable. We could use these small rooms for close up shots as you don't see the background. If we don't have the drama room for mid-shots, display boards could be borrowed and we would drape black cloth over them to mimic the drama room.

This small room is useful for filming CU and ECU shots as less of the set is seen. The enclosed space with the setting boards will create a feeling of claustrophobia that could mimic the panic in the character Dave.

Setting boards could create a corridor and with lighting equipment, it could mimic the entrance to an underground poker room. The lighting would be used to produce the feeling of obscurity.

The round tables in the sixth form common room are ideal for the poker table as a real one is not accessible.

The protagonist Dave could enter the game room via lift, with a CU of his eyes watching the numbers on the lift decrease as he gets to the game room. However this shot would distract the audience from the main point of the film which is the poker game.

From the top library, this would be a good shot for a birds eye view of the players entering the poker game room.

Final Story Board (Digital)

Draft Scripts

(Click to enlarge)

Script 1

Script 2

Draft Storyboard

In our group, several draft versions were done individually before creating out digitilised storyboard.
(Read top row, then go back to left of row beneath) CLICK TO ENLARGE

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Ideas for DVD extras...

1. Video Diary of group meetings, ideas, and "The making of..." our project.
2. Blooper reel! Also show how the serious problems during filming were resolved.
3. Interviews from those in the group to talk about progress, opinions, the general project.
4. Recordings of feedback from friends, family, cast extras that have seen the finished (or unfinished) project. Feedback during the filming would be good to find faults and improvements.

Film Opening Project Proposal Form

Title of Project: Poker’s Advocate

Names of Students Involved and Roles Allocated:
Jack Blinman – Director, Cameraman, DEALER.
Matt Laverack – Editor, Cameraman, DAVE.
Jemma Rowlston – Writer, Cameraman, ANGEL.
Sonia Wan – Props & Costume, Cameraman, DEVIL.

(Editorial tasks are also shared out)

Estimated Time Allocated to Production: 1 week 3 days
Dates of Production: N/A

Estimated Time Allocated to Post Production: 2 weeks 2 days
Dates of Post Production: N/A

Brief Synopsis of Project:
(Dave has a brain tumour. The audience is not told this, but it is represented in the throbbing pain in his head, shown via acting and sound effects as well as the hallucinations in form of an Angel and Devil.)
We find Dave playing a high stakes underground poker game with an array of players. The opening begins with a black screen, then sound bridges poker chips and background music into several extreme close ups of Dave and the poker players. The scene is set at the end of the movie, and acts as a prequel. Here Dave is about to lose the game with his life in the pot. You see his hallucinations briefly before he loses. After this the titles come in with sliding card tricks and simple fade in title fonts.


Equipment Required and Dates required.

(Dates N/A at the moment)
Camera
Tripod
Lighting
Microphone
Editing MAC

Locations: Drama 1 room (and all the lighting equipment in it.)

Costume and Props:
Poker Set
Poker Table
Cowboy Hat
Chairs
Drinking Glasses
Character Costume – jewellery, black tank top, casual clothing (refer to character brief).
Angel and Devil make up set – Eye shadows, red lipstick, glittery black, red, silver, baby blue eye pencil.

Casting (including extras)
Dave – Matt Laverack
Dealer – Jack Blinman
Angel – Jemma Rowlston
Devil – Sonia Wan

Luke – Luke Goodliffe
Holly – Kathryn Thomas or Jodie Glassenbury or Sarah Owen UNDECIDED
Gary – Alex Greenwood (unconfirmed)
Leo – Alex Gray (uncomfirmed)

Further comments:
Extra lighting may be needed, however unconfirmed. There will also need to be decisions made on how the spotlighting will be directed.

"Action + stupidity = Decent!"

Character briefs

Dave: The “average bloke caught in an interesting situation”. He is stubborn, like “Marty McDown” when called a chicken. He is easily tempted and does not know what to do with life. He is a character to be sympathised and easy to relate to.

Gary: The “cocky-twat”. He and Dave eventually have the last game. He is confident of winning, and has a substantial amount of money. He wears a cowboy hat and open-collared shirt. Most likely has facial hair and does the eyebrow-lift often.

Luke: Little to know about him. Casual wear.

Holly: The “Rich girl with too much time”. She is from a middle/high class family and monitored a lot by parents as a child so rebels as she grows up. She has a lot of money so is not afraid of losing. Wears pearls, dresses, cardigan, and (preferable) has curled hair – obvious “rich girl” look.

Leo: The “Buff-Big man”. Says little, but shows a lot of confident expressions and occasional smirks. Possibly wears shades, gold chains, skin-head, black tank top etc.

More Possible Plot Lines

Main character - Dave.

Theme - Getting involved in a high stakes Poker Game

Dave was introduced to poker by a friend ages 16. He fell in love with the game but never played it till later on in his life. This leads to a gambling problem and this last game that had his life in the pot. This plot is shot with mostly flashbacks of his life rather than the actual game.

Dave is an average guy who hears about the game. His drink gets spiked and he starts seeing hallucinations. There is a big pot, and the other players are working together to get him. He realises this and has to win the pot. This plot is shot with great emphasis on Dave's dizziness and hallucinations, and how the game is almost suffocating.

Dave has no friends or family members to rely on. He finds out he has a brain tumour and needs a way to pay for the operation. He's not that smart - choses poker as his only finance. With great confidence, he begins but this dwindles and eventually leads to the game of his life. This plot is shot with focus on the game and the player's reactions; tight extreme close ups, voiceover narrations, pacey music to make the poker game more interesting.

Research Points

Relevant things to research include...

Poker/Casino film conventions

• Camera shots: The types and pace of them.


• Editing: Fast cuts and use of transitions.


• Sound: Types of music used for different scenes. E.g. Modern, jazz, slow and rythmic beats for tension.


• Mise-en-scene: Lighting of the set, costumes for underground poker (not the posh James Bond kind :P), style and tone of langauge used.

Poker/Casino related films to analyse

'21' (2008): stylised filming of Blackjack that creates a pacey and more tense atmosphere to the film. Extreme and tight close shots are relevant and inspiring.
Opening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnlDNBoZ1_Y&feature=related

'High Stakes Poker' - real game play: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_vYW4wwOOk

'Rounders' (1998) - style is slower, close ups on expressions relevant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r69UXzsoLz0

Others

Lock. Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Casino Royal
Texas Hold 'em Rules and Hands: http://www.texasholdem-poker.com/handrank

Film Opening Intro

Brief
The task is to create a the titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a mazimum of two minutes.
All video and audio material must be original, produced by candidate(s), with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source.
Group work is limited to a maximum of four candidates.

My group also includes Jemma Rowlston, Jack Blinman, and Matt Laverack.

Initial Ideas

Genre: Mystery, Action, Casino, Comedy.

Possible Plot(s):

• A man has become obsessed with gambling somehow and ends up in an underground game of poker, with high stakes.
• The man may hallucinate - possibly have a brain tumour or aneurysms.
• Dramatic effect - Angel and Devil to represent conflicting consciousness.

Camera angles/shot ideas:

• Start titles with tight close ups on cards sliding onto table - different cards tricks with each title.
• Strong use of charatcer narration - husky voice!
• Narrator could call out the cards to make the game clearly to those who do not play poker.
• If using Angel and Devil idea - characters blend in from darkness. Panning shot of players at table. Second panning shot with angel and devil suddenly draped around the protagonist.

Characters and Costume

• Protagonist has an "ordinary bloke stuck in an abnormal and unwanted situation" kind of aura. Perhaps a kind of pathetic person that audeince can either sympathise or hate.
• The representation of consciences - Angel vs Devil or Dark character vs White. Costumes primarily of make up rather than props. Angel could be a wise, elderly man dressed in white and the devil could be a young child dressed in black. Or they could be represented by plain red/silver, black/white masks and the nature of these characters are shown solely through positioning and the tone of voice.