Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Saturday, 30 October 2010
Props and Costume Planning
Based on our research into costumes and props, we have planned the following:
Costumes
Below is what we plan for each character to wear, along with a few images of these items.
Information about the characters mentioned can be found in this post.
'John Collins':
'Floyd Harolds':
'Ben Weylands':
This is a replica Colt Peacemaker, a traditional gun used in many Westerns, as discussed here. This is the weapon the character of Ben Weylands will use.
This is another type of revolver, it is a Colt 44 Magnum replica. Unfortunately this isn't a weapon from the time, as period-accurate pieces were difficult to find. Due to constraints, we will use this for both "Floyd Harolds" and "The Man".
The only other prop is a bowie knife which "The Man" will have strapped to his leg. A character wore a similar prop in "Unforgiven".
Costumes
Below is what we plan for each character to wear, along with a few images of these items.
Information about the characters mentioned can be found in this post.
'The Man':
- A brown suede-style jacket
- Beige trousers
- Brown cowboy boots
- Dark shirt
- Brown cowboy hat
'John Collins':
- White shirt (to symbolise purity/innocence)
- Waistcoat
- Blue jeans
- Black shoes
'Floyd Harolds':
- Light dust-coloured jacket
- Black leather boots
- Dark jeans
- Black cowboy hat
- Red shirt
'Jacob Ross' :
- Brown jacket.
- Light shirt
- Dark jeans
- Black leather boots
'Ben Weylands':
- Checked shirt
- Red Bandanna
- Brown boots
- Dark jeans
Props:
The main props needed are the firearms used in a few select scenes. From our research, we used two replica revolvers. Although rifles and repeaters were also used during this era, these proved difficult to get hold of.
This is a replica Colt Peacemaker, a traditional gun used in many Westerns, as discussed here. This is the weapon the character of Ben Weylands will use.
This is another type of revolver, it is a Colt 44 Magnum replica. Unfortunately this isn't a weapon from the time, as period-accurate pieces were difficult to find. Due to constraints, we will use this for both "Floyd Harolds" and "The Man".
The only other prop is a bowie knife which "The Man" will have strapped to his leg. A character wore a similar prop in "Unforgiven".
Finally, these are a selection of the shoes characters will be wearing.
On the right are some traditional looking cowboy boots which "The Man" will be wearing. Left are some simpler looking leather shoes worn by "John Collins".
Locations Planning
After researching the locations used in Westerns, we tried to choose locations around the local area to match the heathland and open plains seen in films such as 3:10 to Yuma.
We considered various locations around the Dorset area to use; areas like Canford Heath and Upton Heath, as well as Studland, The New Forest and Wareham Forest.
Upton Heath has areas such as this, which we think would work well for open plains/farmland, as the area looks dry and arid. The single tree gives the impression of isolation and unexplored territories/ landscapes.
Another area of Upton Heath; although the contrast and brightness have clearly been altered, there are more of the elements we are after: dry grass and clear skies, as well as a sinister-looking broken tree.
A colder looking area of Wareham forest, with visible heathland. With brighter skies, this would be a great possible location, both for woodland and heathland scenes.
We considered various locations around the Dorset area to use; areas like Canford Heath and Upton Heath, as well as Studland, The New Forest and Wareham Forest.
Upton Heath has areas such as this, which we think would work well for open plains/farmland, as the area looks dry and arid. The single tree gives the impression of isolation and unexplored territories/ landscapes.
Friday, 22 October 2010
Characters. Script, and Storyboard
After developing our story outline, we decided our trailer would feature a total of five characters.
Floyd Harolds is a notorious and brutal outlaw, leader of a ruthless gang.
John Collins is a young man on the run from Floyd Harolds and his crew, after witnessing a murder, he must travel to Silver City, and testify.
The Man is a mysterious character with no name, who saves John Collins from death, and protects him. We do not know what his motives are. This character is particularly inspired by Clint Eastwood's roleof "The Man With No Name", in the trilogy of films starring the character: A Fistful of Dollars, A Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
Ben Weyland is a member of Floyd's gang. He captures John at the beginning, and comes to the point of nearly shooting him.
Jacob Ross is another member of Floyd's gang, also trying to silence John.
We eventually came up with a script for these characters, as well as a rough screenplay, later translated into a storyboard.
Before we could begin the filming we had to first develop a means of mapping out what was to be filmed. To do this we drew up a storyboard. This is just a rough guideline as after each shot has been filmed we will view the material back and decide whether or not it worked, and discuss what to do instead.
Floyd Harolds is a notorious and brutal outlaw, leader of a ruthless gang.
John Collins is a young man on the run from Floyd Harolds and his crew, after witnessing a murder, he must travel to Silver City, and testify.
The Man is a mysterious character with no name, who saves John Collins from death, and protects him. We do not know what his motives are. This character is particularly inspired by Clint Eastwood's roleof "The Man With No Name", in the trilogy of films starring the character: A Fistful of Dollars, A Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
Ben Weyland is a member of Floyd's gang. He captures John at the beginning, and comes to the point of nearly shooting him.
Jacob Ross is another member of Floyd's gang, also trying to silence John.
We eventually came up with a script for these characters, as well as a rough screenplay, later translated into a storyboard.
Before we could begin the filming we had to first develop a means of mapping out what was to be filmed. To do this we drew up a storyboard. This is just a rough guideline as after each shot has been filmed we will view the material back and decide whether or not it worked, and discuss what to do instead.
 |
| Sheet1 |
 |
| Sheet2 |
 |
| Sheet3 |
 |
| Sheet4 |
 |
| Sheet5 |
 |
| Sheet6 |
Friday, 15 October 2010
Story Ideas
After a few hours of discussion, we had three story ideas to consider for the trailer. We kept in mind that plots for Westerns are usually fairly simple, running on themes of revenge and justice, as seen in films such as 310 to Yuma and True Grit.
Idea 1: A bounty hunter and his outlaw brother must work together to avenge their father's death.
Idea 2: An innocent man is framed for a murder he did not commit, he is forced to go on the run and work with his outlaw brother.
Idea 3: A young man is chased by outlaws, but saved by a stranger. They must work together to survive. Slowly the young man's story is revealed.
After more discussion, we decided on idea 3 simply because it would be the simplest to work with, but would still have the elements we deemed necessary in a typical Western; outlaws, the good guys and the open land. Our other ideas needed indoor locations, and more actors, which we decided could make things more diffcult than they needed to be. Keeping things as simple as possible would hopefully increase the chances of producing a professional-looking trailer.
Later on, we decided that the film needed a direction to go in- the young man could not be stuck in the open wilderness forever. Therefore we decided that the boy's eventual destination would be the town of Silver City, New Mexico, where he would be heading in order to testify in court.
Idea 1: A bounty hunter and his outlaw brother must work together to avenge their father's death.
Idea 2: An innocent man is framed for a murder he did not commit, he is forced to go on the run and work with his outlaw brother.
Idea 3: A young man is chased by outlaws, but saved by a stranger. They must work together to survive. Slowly the young man's story is revealed.
After more discussion, we decided on idea 3 simply because it would be the simplest to work with, but would still have the elements we deemed necessary in a typical Western; outlaws, the good guys and the open land. Our other ideas needed indoor locations, and more actors, which we decided could make things more diffcult than they needed to be. Keeping things as simple as possible would hopefully increase the chances of producing a professional-looking trailer.
Later on, we decided that the film needed a direction to go in- the young man could not be stuck in the open wilderness forever. Therefore we decided that the boy's eventual destination would be the town of Silver City, New Mexico, where he would be heading in order to testify in court.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)