I have chosen to study media at university as I've always been a massive fan of the media sector. I've grown up watching shows and films since I was little so media as a whole has always been a big part of my life and it always will. I consider Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino as two directors that I admire because of their genuine love for cinema and crafting masterpieces. Both have influenced not only me but millions across the globe.

I understand that the course I wish to study on requires skills such as editing, Photoshop and manning a camera. These are needed to be a great media student and this course would be a perfect opportunity to get into the media sector. I aim to get into working on film and TV as I'd like to contribute to the future of film and television as I feel that everyone should experience it. 

My college course has helped tremendously as I've improved on the appropriate media skills and skills which help me in everyday life. We've done units that involve research, which has expanded my knowledge of filming techniques and theorists which in turn has made me look at the whole media industry in a different light. I've always been intrigued as to why we as consumers enjoy media as a whole. I'm always asking does class, race, gender influence an audience’s perspective? I don't think I'll ever have a definitive answer but attending university will hopefully give me the opportunity to explore this further.

I’ve recently completed work experience at A Love Supreme, the biggest fanzine of Sunderland AFC, my local football team. I worked on the social media accounts for the fanzine and I reported the news regarding Sunderland as soon I knew about it. I've also made badges for ALS which they sell to the public (I've also made some for The Pale White, an indie band from Newcastle). I've also had experience within the industry, completing an interview about Sunderland for Sky Sports News. This was beneficial to me as it improved my confidence in speaking to a large audience as I knew it’d be broadcast to the entire country. I also upload videos on my YouTube channel entitled 'Golightly Media' which helps me improves my skills as I feel I improve with every video I make. With media I personally believe hands-on experience is the only way you will improve. One example of my work is a promotional video that I completed for a local boxing club as part of my course. I was particularly proud of the video as it helped advertise the boxing club which is ultimately the goal of any promotional tool, like with my love for cinema, I thoroughly enjoy making videos as they're my own creation, and the sense of pride I feel when I click upload cannot be matched. 

Going to university has always been a dream. I'd be the first in my family to attend so it's more than a university place, it'd be a very proud moment not only for me but my family. I've always been intrigued by university life as I'd be able to move out which gives me more freedom and it'd help me develop as an adult. Meeting new people has always been something I enjoy, and this would give me the chance to discuss subjects I care about with fellow like minded people. Developing close friendships is something I feel very strongly about, as I believe that teamwork is necessary. It'd be a new chapter in my life as currently I've only lived in one city so it'd take me out my comfort zone. And I believe that you need to be taken out of your comfort zone to grow as an individual. 

The Levines: Single Camera

Script - script was originally for 'The Oddfather Part 2' but last minute I decided to change what film I'm doing, however the script currently will be adapted for the different film.

Permission Forms - these forms are for my actors to sign, these forms allow me to use their likeness in my film without any issue occurring. 

Storyboard - a storyboard is used to draw what you intend the scenes to be, this storyboard includes; the shots, the movements and the reasons for having certain things in the scene.

Prop List - my prop list lists all the props that will be used in my film, I have also given who will be providing the equipment and where it has been sourced.

Film Proposal - the proposal is used to establish what my film will be about and what characters are in. It's a small explanation of what every bit of the film will entail.

Cast List - this is the list of characters and the actors who play them.

Risk Assessment

Location Release Form

Unit 21: editing techniques assignment

The Untouchables, 1987 (Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRJ539f5Ugc)

This scene is a direct homage to Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin (1925). The original clip was famous for its montage. 45 seconds in there's a point-of-view shot from Eliot Ness' perspective looking down on the station waiting for Al Capone's accountant. The scene cuts from his POV to the clock tower, signifying the importance of time, in this scenario every second counts and if they waste time then they risk losing the accountant which is key to taking down Capone, time is on Ness' mind both literally and metaphorically. Previously, the shot also cut from Ness to a mother and her baby, this shot with no dialogue is powerful as Ness is not sure whether to help the mother with her child or to leave her and focus on his target which is ultimately more important to him but his conscience overrules him. There's also a point-of-view shot 5 minutes into the scene where Ness sees members of the Capone gang who are also waiting for the accountant but the shot also focuses on the baby, this conveys Ness' fears that the innocent baby and mother may get in the way of the impending 'battle' between the police and the Capone gang as the Capone gang will most likely stop at nothing to get the accountant, they don't care if it takes a baby to get the accountant, as long as they get him, before the shootout begins there is a close up of the Capone gang member while the shot also cuts to Ness' seemingly stares down at him, indicating that the shootout is close to kicking off.

Inglorious Basterds, 2009 (Clip: https://vimeo.com/24676836)

This scene takes place in a bar in Nazi occupied France and for context: the Basterds are meeting their contact for an upcoming mission. Near the end of the scene the Basterds' cover are blown and then a shoot out occurs, the shootout scene is hectic but features a lot of flash cutting. We see everyone in the tavern shooting in a short space of time, this creates 'tension' as throughout the entire scene before this we as the audience have been expecting the situation to boil over as the SS general has been on the Basterds' case throughout and finally it got to its boiling point and then the shootout. Because IB is a war film the shootout links in with the tropes of a war film, one main trope is excessive violence, the shootout is excessive as Hugo Stigliz viciously stabs the Nazi despite the Nazi already being dead, however this is also classic Tarantino, he is known for the over-the-top violence and times has been criticized for such. The purpose of this was to create tension and suspense, but the other purpose is for Tarantino to include a common trope that he himself is known for and the final purpose is to advance the plot while also being entertaining for the audience, because film audiences enjoy violence and will cry for blood, the editing gives the audience a thrill.

The Godfather, 1972 (Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfbYp9oaIT8)

This scene takes place during two key events (The Christening of Michael Corleone's grandchild and the murder of the enemies of the Corleone family), one immediate technique in this scene is parallel editing which is when two events are happening simultaneously but in different locations. This technique is used to build tension for the audience, as we're seeing two events on two different moral scales, the first: a mass murder which is a negative event compared to the more positive christening with the family and we as the audience wonder whether these two contrasting events change the main character, this shows how parallel editing was used to create tension with the audience as these two events which are binary opposites evoke a reaction from the audience, you don't expect those two events to occur side by side, the editing provides the audience with a bit of irony also, before the murders begin Michael is asked if he renounces Satan, and Michael replies that he does. The choice to edit this before the killings shows a sense of irony, as Michael claims to denounce Satan yet what he's going to do makes him no better than him.

Raging Bull, 1980 (Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx-kB1KKLJ0)

This scene takes place in a boxing ring where Jake LaMotta is fighting. The use of close-ups that follow create effect as we see a close-up of LaMotta taking a torrid beating, it creates effect with the audience as we wonder just how much more LaMotta can take, the editing cuts from LaMotta to his opponent Sugar Ray Robinson to contrast just how different the fight is going for these two, we see Robinson pounding LaMotta's face and we see the impact that these punches are having on LaMotta, we also see Robinson's close-up and his face shows almost a sickening smirk, almost as if he enjoys inflicting pain on his opponent but also we see that LaMotta is completely defenseless and it's almost tragic that he's allowed to continue the fight, but it shows his resilience and refusal to be hit to the ground by Robinson. The editing used conveys meaning to the audience as this shot alone shows that LaMotta has strength and he'd rather be battered and bruised than ever go down as it conveys pride as despite losing the fight, he was never floored.

Hot Fuzz, 2007 (Clip:

The Battle of Sandford begins with close-ups of all the citizens of Sandford reacting to the news that their nemesis Nicholas Angel is back in the village. The close-ups show the majority of Sandford looking visibly horrified and confused as they thought that Angel was dead, this creates tension within the scene and the audience as we know that something massive is about to go down, and combined with their reaction it implies that they know that Angel has come back with everything he's got and the usage of close-ups convey this shock perfectly, this technique has also been used to 'stretch' the scene to one minute which again manages to imply tension as the audience are not wondering if something will happen, they're wondering when something is going to happen and it causes anxiety for audiences. Following this, there's a long shot of Angel on the horse as he enters the village, the LS is used to show the viewers that Angel is the main focus of the shot and that our full attention should be on him and him alone, it also gives him an aura of superiority over the other people in the village. The shootout includes a birds-eye shot of the shopkeeper shooting down at Angel which creates suspense as the shopkeeper has the upper edge (both literally and figuratively) over Nicholas and we wonder whether this may be the end for him as he is exposed and he hasn't long to react. 

Superhero analysis - Unit 5

Question - are superhero films on the decline???

First thoughts: no, not at all. One reason for this is that the past few superhero films have made a lot of money from the box office, for example the last superhero film Spiderman: Far From Home made over 1 billion dollars from a budget of 160m dollars which shows that audience interest is still there as audiences are still coming out in their thousands to watch these films, these numbers give Marvel no incentive to stop making said films as it's clear that any Marvel related project will automatically make money as the audience have become accustomed to Marvel's high quality. The theorist Steve Neale categorized that audiences expect 'instances of repetition

However, since writing Marvel have lost the rights to Spiderman which means they'll not be making any Spiderman films for the time being, damn you Sony), regarding the audience opinion: the film received an overall 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, this shows that not only are Marvel films financially successful, but critically acclaimed.

Source(s): https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/spider_man_far_from_home, https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=spidermanhomecoming2.htm

The Oddfather Part 2 - script

Chapter 0.5: The Beginning

[Carmine Angelo is seen, holding a picture of himself and Pasquale Aprile, reminiscing over the past events]


Chapter 1: Reunion

[1 month after the events of the first film, we see Carmine Angelo walking through a street into his safe house that we saw in the first film, Angelo enters the house and the door closes]

Carmine: Where did I go so wrong? This room brings back memories, nightmares even, knowing that Pasquale spent some of the last moments of his life... here, oh how I failed you, my friend.

[The scene then cuts to an unknown figure walking through the same street and seemingly to Angelo's safe house, there's a knock at the door]

Carmine: (with a confused look), huh? Who's that? I never told anybody about this place, except for.... no, it can't be?

[Carmine picks up his gun and walks to the door, he can see someone but he can't make out whom, as he gets the closer there's background music, it gets quicker and louder, the door opens]

Pasquale: Surprise... I'm Pasquale Aprile, a gangster, and I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.

Carmine: (looking shocked), uhh.... yeah c-c-come in, we have a lot to talk about. Business has been.... slow.

Pasquale: I would love to, I never thought I'd see Murrayfield again, but I can't come in, brings back some dark memories, come outside.

Carmine: Of course, let's walk and talk.

[Carmine and Pasquale begin to walk through the street and talk about mafia business]

Carmine: We got him good, didn't we?

Pasquale: (With a smirk), yes, indeed we did. Rizzo fell for it, after laying low for so long I missed the thrill of this life, and now I have more reason than ever, let's take down John Rizzo....

Chapter 2: War is Coming

[The scene begins with a close-up of John Rizzo in his office]

John: (John is talking to someone but we do not know who) Been ever so quiet lately, hell, I'm beginning to miss Angelo and his little crew, the Testa's were a good family, shame Aprile had to go.

(The camera pans out, and it's established that he's talking to Rizzo family soldier Angelo Marianucci)

Angelo: I never had any experience with those guys until the Aprile beef, weren't you and Carmine close before?

John: Yes, I will admit. We were in a street gang called The Romans, we were both young at the time. It was headed by Anthony Testa, you know, the guy who the Testa family is named after.. Testa loved Carmine, he had Carmine handpicked to be a boss from day one, even when Testa disbanded the Romans he was sure that Carmine was going to take his spot when Testa eventually died... I was left in the dark, I felt unappreciated, so I left, and the Rizzo family was born... Pasquale was apart of this too, he was always Carmine's right hand man.

Angelo: I didn't realize there was so much history, I guess this situation was a long time coming... It's a shame, war is never good for business

John: You're right, although I know Carmine, even with the odds stacked against him, he'll never stop until he's dead, you shoot him in a dream, you best wake up and apologize.

Chapter 3: Testa comeback

[The scene cuts back to Carmine Angelo and Pasquale Aprile in a public place, Carmine is sat down and Pasquale sits close to him but not too close]

Carmine: So, how are we going to do this?  I was hit hard by Rizzo moving in on everything, all I have is numbers, I barely make enough to get by, Rizzo didn't think it was worth the hassle, he had to leave me something I guess.

Pasquale: That's true, and to tell you, I don't know. I've been laying low so mob strategy hasn't really been on my mind lately. Maybe we go in all guns blazing, whack some of them.

Carmine: Well, it would make my life harder, Rizzo would go insane. I suggest that we.... call a few friends of mine in Rizzo's circle, I still have one or two tricks up my sleeve.

Pasquale: Who? I would've assumed you were on everyone's bad side

Carmine: Angelo Marinucci and Enzo Savastano.

Pasquale: Enzo?! The guy who was with you on the day I was supposed to be clipped? You're walking a thin line, can you trust them?

Carmine: I'm not sure, but we'll make sure they do if they still have any objections. We'll have to get our hands dirty, but in this situation: we've got no choice.

Pasquale: Agreed, it's either we take Rizzo down or we die trying. Testa would've done the same thing, I wonder how he dealt with conflict back in the day.

Carmine: I wonder that too, coming up we were kept out of the loop when he was in a beef with Joseph Anastasia, we were told that he had it under control, I wish I had this under control, I wish life was easier. So, we're going to kidnap Enzo and Angelo, let's go.

[Music plays while they get up and leave]

Chapter 4: Into Action

[The scene begins with an establishing shot of a park entitled: Ezra Park, Angelo is walking]

Carmine: [In balaclava type headwear] Hello, Angelo, long time no see, eh?

Angelo: W-what the... Who are you? What do you want?

Carmine: Don't make this harder than it needs to be, just come with us, and nothing bad will happen to you, I promise.

Pasquale: [Also in mask], he's right Angelo, we've always thought you were a good man despite being with Rizzo, come on, play nice.

Angelo: What the? Are you with Gambetti...? I mean we're sorry but the drug business was rightfully ours, your guy wasn't holding his end of the bargain up, we had to take control!

Carmine: We aren't with Gambetti, that idiot to put it nicely means nothing to us, we're just friends of Rizzo. Pasquale.... let's get him

[Carmine Angelo and Pasquale Aprile capture Angelo Marinucci and knock him out, he then wakes up tied to a chair with Carmine and Pasquale unmasked]

Angelo: Where am I...? What happened....?

Pasquale: You're in hell, welcome. Now, I think you remember me, don't you not?

Angelo: Pasquale... I thought you were dead, we told Carmine to kill you.

Pasquale: You're right, but sadly for you and the entire Rizzo family, I can't be killed, and I'm not going to start now. Well, I've done enough talking, let's have Carmine come in and explain what's going to happen to you.

Carmine: Thank you Pasquale, now, we're not going to torture you.... we think. But if you go running to Rizzo then we'll have to take action, we have soldiers outside your home, you do anything, you'll be slaughtered before you can even say mozzarella.

Angelo: I guess I don't have a choice... Let's go

[Carmine Angelo and Pasquale Aprile leave Angelo Marianucci tied up and leave the room]

Chapter 5: Rizzo's Trumpet!

John: [Talking to himself] What the, where is Angelo? It's been a few days and he hasn't showed up, I have a bad feeling about this, it can't be Carmine, can it? No.... he wouldn't dare.. Or would he? That stupid son of a.... FUCK! I should've killed him and Aprile with my bare hands, but he's by himself so how did he get Ange? Unless....? No... he's alive....?

[The scene cuts to Carmine on the phone to an unknown person]

Carmine: I need your help, I need some guns... fast, I can't say much but I really need you to help. Meet me somewhere discreet, I'll text you the details later. Thanks.

[The scene then cuts to the location meet, Carmine meets his contact, the arms dealer Russell Johnson]

Russell: Never thought we'd meet like this that's for sure. Why isn't Rizzo dead yet, everyone hates him yet he's now at the top of the mafia, what happened?

Carmine: A lot, you know Pasquale stole from Joey, I was told that I had to kill him but I didn't. And if Rizzo even suspects I didn't do it he's going to go to war, which is why I'm preparing.

Russell: Can't blame you, gangsters haven't been known for their patience. Okay, that'll be one thousand.

Carmine: Thanks. Always a pleasure.

Chapter 6: Almost there 

Carmine: [Reading the Art of War, by Niccolo Machiavelli, Pasquale enters]

Pasquale: You got them?

Carmine: Of course I do, now, let's back to our 'friend', Mr Marianucci.

Pasquale: I almost forgot....

Chapter 7: First Blow

[Carmine and Pasquale go back into the room where they're keeping Angelo]

Carmine: Hey Ange, hope you've been doing well.

Angelo: How do you think I'm doing? You tied me up, you think I should thank you for that? Thank you for kidnapping me and threatening my family, thank you very much!

Pasquale: Get off your high horse, don't act like you don't deserve this. Associating with Rizzo is enough to have you killed right now, but we can't, because you're apparently useful.. for now. We don't claim to be saints because we're not, but you, you're acting like you have some sort of moral compass. Well guess what? You don't, so shut it.

Angelo: [Looking visibly shocked] Okay I'm sorry that the contract was put on you, if it means anything I didn't hate you that much Pasquale, but the rules are rules, you had to go. If we let you off, it'd send a message that anyone could get away with everything and it'd make us lose face. It was nothing personal, just business.

Carmine: The man has a point, but nobody is squeaky clean. Rules are made to be followed... and broken, we break the law on a daily basis, and people are still shocked when we don't follow even our rules? The world is full of saints and sinners. I don't know what we are.

Pasquale: We're getting sidetracked, business is more important than morals.

Angelo: Yeah yeah, you know Enzo? Savastano? Well I think you should go for him first, he takes a walk by himself sometimes, it's a good chance to start this whole thing off. He runs their drug operations, the one they took from the Gambetti family, you kill two birds with one stone. You kill a guy who wanted your friend dead, and you hit Rizzo where it hurts most, his pocket. I think

Carmine: Let's do him, he won't know what hit him. Call him and set it up

Angelo: [On the phone], Enzo...? Yeah it's Angelo, meet me at Ezra Park, I have something on Carmine. 30 minutes? Yeah, sure. See you then.

Chapter 8: The End of Enzo

[Enzo Savastano is walking through a park]

Enzo: [Humming to a song], Strange, Angelo is always the first one to a meeting. He'd be early for his own damn funeral.

Carmine: He's over there. How should we do this?

Pasquale: We'll shoot him, it may attract attention but we've done this hundreds of times before, nothing we can't handle.

Carmine: Sounds good, let's do this.

[Tense music plays, it gets faster as Carmine and Pasquale get closer]

Enzo: Where is Ang- [he gets shot]

[The music that plays while Enzo is dying is the same music from the Godfather where Michael kills Sollozzo and McCluskey]

Enzo's body is seen on the floor, the camera zooms out at his lifeless body

Carmine: I didn't think we had him, thank god we did

Pasquale: It was, Rizzo is going to go ballistic when he finds out..

Carmine: Good, let him. Then the entire Sunderland underworld will rebel against him, we'll take back the power we once had.

Chapter 9: At His Wits

[Rizzo has just listened to the radio, hearing that Enzo has been killed]

Rizzo: I should've killed him, that little rat should've gone with Pasquale. Angelo still hasn't turned up and I'm going crazy over here. I need to do this myself

[The phone rings]

Carmine: [Over the phone] hello John

Rizzo: Listen here you little rat, you're going to die, you hear me? You're done

Carmine: I don't think so, me and a friend of mine, you know him, right? Have started a rebellion against you, I think you'll be clocking out, permanently.

Rizzo: W-what do you mean? You're bluffing, you've got nothing

Carmine: I have something, rising up from the dead, unlike Enzo.

Rizzo: You think you're so special don't you? One day I'm going to get you.

Carmine: You keep thinking that, goodbye John.

Chapter 10: The Oddfather

Carmine: I want to kill John Rizzo. No ifs and or buts about it, he needs to die. It's been too long, he should've been killed instead of Enzo, but it doesn't matter.

Pasquale: Wait, we have to kill Angelo now surely? He knows too much about this, about us. He's gotta go too.

Carmine: I'll give it a thought, let's kill that rat Rizzo first. Something I've wanted to do since Moses wore short pants.

Pasquale: There's nothing more in life I want than to take his. But, I need to have a word with you, now if you will

Carmine: Sure, we've got plenty of time I suppose. Ask away

Pasquale: What shall we do when this is over? I mean, the police will be looking for us after all these killings, the senseless violence, the public won't be happy

Carmine: Since when did you care about the public...? We're gangsters, not priests, since when is it our job to have good relations with the public.

Pasquale: That's true, but I just want to know, are we back in the game? This would seem all for nothing if not

Carmine: That's what I want to say, we should go our separate ways and be done with this. The mob has treat me well, but what's it all for? You can have all the money, the power, but no freedom. How do you think John Gotti felt? He was at the top of the Gambino family but ended up in jail for life, we're lucky, we still have a chance. We'd be doing the public a favor by being rid of that punk. But we're no better.

Pasquale: I suppose, but what will I do? I mean, I'm not good at anything else apart from being a wiseguy. What can I do, be a taxi driver? What am I, Travis Bickle?

Carmine: Well, I don't know. But we're old enough, we can survive on our own, you managed to survive having a hit put out on you.

Pasquale: It doesn't feel that way. I feel like a klutz. The time for talking is over, Rizzo goes today.

Carmine: Let's do this, once we do this we'll be underworld legends. Everyone will remember us.

[Carmine and Pasquale get up and get their equipment ready, they then leave]

[One hour passes and Rizzo is out somewhere by himself]

John: Who does he think he is?? I'm the boss of Sunderland, he doesn't run this town, I do! Carmine Angelo is a nobody, without Testa he'd be nothing and a bum. He'd be on the streets begging for a note! I hate him, so so much.

[Carmine and Pasquale are walking around a known Rizzo hangout, they're desperately looking for him, it is established that they're dressed as undercover police, they have hats on making them hard to recognize from a distance]

Carmine: There he is! We'll pretend to arrest him and put 3 bullets in him.

[Carmine and Pasquale notice him slowing down, then Pasquale runs ahead]

Carmine: Pat!

Pasquale: [Coughs], John Rizzo, you are under arrest for money laundering, fraud, assault, murder, and for the crime of underestimating the Testa crime family.

John: It's you! You are going to regret this, you should've died when you were supposed to.

Pasquale: I'm dead inside anyway, nothing you can do affects me.

Carmine: Do you want to put the bullet in him, or should I?

Pasquale: I've seen enough bloodshed in my short career, you do it.

Carmine: Fine by me... John Rizzo, any last words?

John: Yes, carpe diem.

[Carmine shoots John Rizzo dead]

[The two gangsters say nothing, and just walk away]

[1 week has passed, the two gangsters meet on a beach]

Pasquale: It's been quite a week, I've been laying low ever since, what about yourself?

Carmine: There's still some heat from the cops, but to me it seems like they don't care. Nobody liked him, so like I said before, we're doing everyone a favor.

Pasquale: That is true, but we need to go our separate ways, our goal was to get rid of Rizzo, not become another one, we had some good moments together, ones I'll never forget. Also, whatever happened with Angelo...?

Carmine: I let him go, he did what he had to, even in our thing you only do what you've been told to do.

Pasquale: I didn't think you were capable of mercy, I thought he'd be gone.

Carmine: No, neither did I. But that's the thing, you never fully know what you're capable of.

Pasquale: You don't, but most importantly: I think this is the end for the Testa family, we had a good run, but it needs to end, this life isn't for anybody, let someone else think they can be untouchable, I don't care.

Carmine: I agree, it's been an honour Pat. Good luck with your life, maybe I'll see you again someday.

[They shake hands and Pasquale walks away from him]

Carmine: Amico Nostra.

Carmine: [narration] A quote that always stuck out to me was from a favourite show of mine. "I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them" and that is the case here, I've been the king of the mafia, but just as quickly I fell from the ladder. Take it from me: this isn't something you want to do. Goodbye.

Radio Drama

To begin, I listened to the radio drama 'War of the Worlds' which was

Initial assessment

Following the end of year one we were given a task over the summer to begin our pre-production for our second-year film. In the first year I had made a film called ‘The Oddfather’ which was the story of mob boss Carmine Angelo and his reluctance to have his best friend Pasquale Aprile killed after he robs another member of a different mafia family, he fights a battle against his emotions and eventually he may have to give in to fellow mob boss John Rizzo.

Currently I have completed the script which is quite long and will definitely make my film the required 15 minutes that it needs to be, it shows that I have made suitable progress in my pre-production as the script is normally the piece of pre-production that takes the longest to write so it's lifted a big weight off my shoulders and allows me to focus on other aspects of the pp. Regarding this, I still need to do the storyboard as I'm not 100% sure how I want some scenes to be acted out so completing the storyboard will be the next and logical step, then afterwards I shall focus on the smaller but just as important permission forms, where I need all the actors/locations to have signed off permission for me to use them in my film.

Before second year, I thought I was going to suffer a massive problem, I thought that some people who were in the course on first year were going to be dropping out and I thought I may not be able to do The Oddfather part 2, however everyone stayed on and the problem was avoided, however, if that problem did occur I had a plan to overcome it, I would've wrote out all the characters who wouldn't be able to be in it and still make the plot work, thankfully I didn't have to but that was my solution if a problem was to arise.

My initial ideas for the film is to shoot it in a variety of shots and a variety of locations, my reason being is that is gives the film life because if there was only one location in the film then it would be incredibly bland and mundane and people will slowly lose interest in the film if they see the same location over and over again, these locations will include 'public' places such as the beach and also 'private' locations such as my friends houses as I may use a house as sort of a hideout for my character, also the multiple locations will create tension as my character is a mobster and any open location is quite dangerous for him, so this idea will create tension as you never know what will happen. I choose locations/types of shots based on how I feel the production should be, I feel that the locations I have chose will gain mass interest and will be an enjoyable film.

The resources I require will be cameras, tripods and microphones, I shall go about getting them in one of two ways: way one would be to borrow them from my college as they lend cameras out for all their students and this is how I filmed my first year film. The second way is to 'share' with my friends, as last year too we also helped each other by lending one and another small bits of equipment that we needed which was very helpful and took the pressure off of us somewhat, this method is useful as we can all be getting on with our productions because we'll all have the equipment we need and if not we'll just ask each other if they have a certain piece. These two methods will make sure that getting equipment is easy and will require absolutely no hassle at all.

Considering it was my first time ever making a full fledged movie, this whole process was a massive learning experience to me, it certainly wasn't what I thought it would be. It was a lot more stressful, at times difficult, but ultimately when I did finish it was very rewarding and I was glad to finish it, however, there's still a lot for me to improve on. For example, the amount of 'paperwork' that was required did cause me a few headaches, obviously I knew everything we needed to do but it still did take me by surprise. I did do every bit of paperwork but it was very frustrating at times, needing to meticulously analyse every location for its positives and negatives did agitate me, writing the same thing over and over again gets to you. Overall apart from the paperwork the rest of the process wasn't stressful and I got through it with no hitches, the filming process had no issues although regarding that I was disappointed in myself because of the lack of variety of shots in my film but this comes with experience and with my next film will be a lot better shots wise as they'll look better and will have more advanced shots. I will improve this by not finishing shooting unless I am 100% satisfied with the shot, and it may annoy the actors but deep down I consider the shot more important and will do anything to get it, because not only will the second year film be longer, the marking will be a lot less lenient than first year and I will do everything I can to achieve nothing but the best.

I believe that I have improved on every aspect, because I've actually made a film now, so everything that was new to me is now something I've done, and with anything in life the only way to progress at something is to do it more, and this was a big learning experience for me. It showed how much works goes into productions, at times I felt there was too much work so I couldn't imagine how professional filmmakers feel. How I will improve is taking my time, because last year I felt that I was rushing because I wanted to get my film done as soon as possible which in turn hindered me at times, because when you're in a rush you often 'cut corners', for example there were times were I claimed I was happy with a certain shot when looking back it quite clearly isn't the standard that it should be, so overall I've improved by realising that I shouldn't rush things, I'm also more experienced with paperwork that is needed to be done so this year it shouldn't be an issue. Now I feel more confident as I've finally got used to all the aspects of pre-production and film production overall.