Opening Titles

Production Credits

The opening of my 5 minutes was originally just a blackout with the sound of crowds cheering Corey's name. After re-watching the opening of 'Dogtown and Z-Boys' I decide to add opening titles of productions companies rather than just a blackout. I took inspiration from Dogtown and Z-Boys by having the same logo but 'Max Allum Presents' rather than 'Sony Pictures Classics'. I also decided to keep the Vans "Off the wall" Productions as this is the type of company that would most likely produce this movie, with it being a documentary about an iconic skateboarding figure much like Dogtown and Z-Boys is.

Filming Day 9

Filming Day 9

Today I was once again filming shots for my opening sequence. I wanted a match on action shot of Corey skating down a steep hill, with him skating towards and then away from the camera.  This was to include more shots of Corey in action as currently the sequence is filled with many images and videos of him but not many of him actually skateboarding. When skating towards the camera I made sure to be down low, taking inspiration from the shot below in Dogtown and The Z-Boys. 

I additionally got a shot for the ending of my five minutes where the title 'The Corey Skelton Story' will appear. The shot is of Coreys head from a side profile and is in a silhouette, all you can see in the background is the clouds.  

Twitter

Twitter

I created a Twitter page for Corey Skelton so that I could use a print screen for the opening montage of my documentary. In photoshop I layered Justin Bieber's following and followers over the top to look as if Corey is really famous with lots of fans. I have tweeted from it as Corey several times to give the appearance of a real account; I can also use these tweets within my opening. For example I used one of them for a quote, which I have now added to my opening, which is something, used in Dogtown and the Z boys'.

Filming Days 7 + 8 (Extra Shots)

Filming Days 7 + 8 (Extra Shots)

On these two days (Tuesday 12th and 19th of November) I filmed extra shots to add the opening montage of my documentary. These are all short clips to help fill the time left by the long images.

On day 7 I went back to the Skatepark and got two clips, one of Rick Dean cheering on Corey from the side of the ramp, and another of Corey celebrating with Stanley. Later that day I then got a shot of Corey drinking a Pepsi as it is likely he would be sponsored by them.

I Filmed at my house on the 19th using my computer a skateboard and a Cross runner. The computer scene was to show Corey studying skateboarding showing how he cares and is interested in his craft. I got a low angle shot of Corey, looking up from the skateboard as Iu thought this looked an interesting shot. I finally also got a clip of Corey training using the cross trainer showing that he is a fit and healthy athlete.

Target Demographic

Target Demographic

I created a PowerPoint to show my target demographic, this includes; age, gender, social class, psychodynamics, and a mood board. The mood board contained food drink, music and hobbies, which my target audience would also enjoy. 

Props

Props

Not many props were needed as I was doing a documentary however the ones I did use were important.

Skateboard

The skateboard was a necessary prop as Corey Skelton is a skateboarder so it was important to show him on it and using it. I had a skateboard already so I did not need to get one. 

BMX

There are also a few shots of Corey Skelton on a BMX to show he didn't just skateboard. Once again I already a BMX so it was not hard to organise these shots.

Helmet

Before Corey attempted his final shot he is seen wearing a helmet to show that it was more dangerous and higher risk than his usual stunts. I borrowed the helmet off of my step brother as he had one. The fact that it was pink matched Corey's glasses and personality as he is quite outlandish wearing a lot of bright colours.

Alcohol

I asked my mum to borrow the bottle of Jack Daniels as well as the empty bottle of Bacardi which I filled up with water in order to be able to drink it. At first the alcohol was just going to be used as tool to show Corey celebrating, but then that's when I got the idea it could be used as the reason he died. I then got shots of him drinking in a secluded area before stunts. The camera was shown as hidden around the corner with the cameraman filming secretly as Corey had hidden his drinking from the public.

Time management

Production Schedule

This is my production schedule for both the shooting and editing of my documentary up until my first cut.

Date	Pre Production	Filming	Post Production
05/09/2013	Planning
10/09/2013	PowerPoint
13/09/2013	Storyboard
17/09/2013	Animatic
20/09/2013	Shotlist
24/09/2013	Preparing to Film
24/09/2013		Ware Skatepark
26/09/2013			Editing
28/09/2013		Jimmy's House
01/10/2013		My House
03/10/2013
08/10/2013		School
10/10/2013		Drama Studio	Editing
15/10/2013		Extra Filming
17/10/2013			Editing
22/10/2013			Editing
24/10/2013			Editing
29/10/2013			Editing
31/10/2013			First Cut

I have made sure to stick to this closely filming on both Tuesdays and Saturdays and then editing it together on Thursdays. I have not yet gone off schedule however I may need to when it comes to re-shoots after the feedback from my first draft. 

First cut feedback

First Cut Feedback

After showing my first cut to te class I gained feedback from both them and my teacher. This included both positive and negative and how I can improve it. 

Positive

The positive feedback that I received was that the storyline was very clear and it was easy for the audience to follow, all my shots were steady and appropriate for where they were placed. I was also praised for the interview of 'Stanley Mink', the continuity throughout the piece as well as the music especially the ending music with the spray painter.

Negative

However the one of the comments made was that there should be more variation of the music as it went on for too long and became too repetitive. I was advised on checking some sound for te speaking as sometimes the volume was not continuous. The pace of the piece is something that needs to be corrected as the still images went on for too long. More footage and variety of shots are needed to make it into more of a montage style. Finally the ending needs to be improved with a better final title rather than the spray painting of 'Corey Skelon R.I.P'.

First Cut

First cut

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR45ddGmfA8

For Tuesday the 22nd of October a first draft of my documentary had to be handed in and presented to the class in order to gain feedback and make improvements. Above is a link to my 5 minute documentary opening.

Filming Day 6

Filming Day 6

The last set of important shots I needed was the vox pops of female fans. I decided to have two pairs of two girls, filming one inside and one outside. With the inside pair (Ellie and Amber) saying how they loved Corey and the outside pair (Mollie and Liana) saying they were his number one fans. I decided to just get these shots around school, rather than down town as I felt it was not needed. I had the issue of making sure the shots did not look like they were in a school or in the same place, I feel as if i achieved that. I also had issues with lighting as it was particularly bright that day. I felt it was important to show female fans being interviewed aswell as male to show how Corey was popular with everyone.

Filming Day 5

Filming Day 5

Filming today was done at the drama studio as I was filming the interview of Rick Dean (Corey's manager) played by Billy Turner. I used the screen as a backdrop and some lights to light up te studio. The shot was ment to look like Rick was inside a studio. He sat at the desk and said his lines, like for Stanley I got shots of the interview at all different angles to follow documentary conventions and to gain more variation in shots. I also used this as an oppourtunity to get a picture of Rick and Corey together to show that they were close. Rick was important in telling the audience who Corey is and what he did. He then went into further detail than Stanley when explaining the crash. Rick also introduced the idea of Corey's drinking being the cause of the crash.

Rick Dean will be at two seperate points during the opening and if it was a full documentary would keep reoccurring. It would be as if he acts as the narrator as there is not one. The film would keep referring to him when it would begin focusing on another aspect of Corey's life.

Filming Day 4

Filming Day 4

Today I filmed shots of a Corey Skelton fan spray painting 'Corey Skelon R.I.P'. At first I went location scouting, as no where was suitable to spray paint on I decided to do it on a piece of cardboard. I shot the sequence from a bird’s eye view and will increase the speed when editing. The shot is for the end of my 5-minute opening as an opening title. This mixed with the sad music should create a powerful image of a fan paying homage to Corey and his life.

I also shot that same fan with the VOX pop fan holding the sign outside their window in respect to Corey Skelton.

Costumes

Costumes

Corey Skelton

For Corey's costume he needs to look like he's a young fun and enthusiastic skater. This is why I chose to make him wear a backwards snapback, pink sunglasses, a Hawaiian shirt, light blue jeans and some vans.

 Rick Dean

Rick Dean is Corey's manager so will need to look smart, but as   Corey's profession is pretty casual Rick will have this considered in his outfit. This means he wears a suit with a blazer (possibly tie) with a casual Hawaiian shirt.

Stanley Mink

As a stunt coordinator Stanley will be wearing dirty greasy clothes as his job is to fix and make sure the stunts go to plan. I've imagined him to be as if he is a mechanic with a cap and a toothpick.

I made sure all the outfits my characters were wearing were made out of clothes that Billy, Jimmy and I all owned and could easily get. For example I would of liked Jimmy's character to be wearing dirty overalls like in the image above. However none of us had any or knew where we would be able to get some from, this is why I settled on a dirty hoody Jimmy had managed to get from his dad as he usually wears it to work.

Images to use in documentary

Filming Day 3

Filming Day 3

 Today I filmed the interview with Stanley Mink (Jimmy) in Jimmy's garage. The scene involves him talking about the jump and what went wrong that day. I shot the scene in three parts, with each section being from a different camera angle. I did this, as it is what happens during interview scenes in documentaries in order for it not to go on too long with just the camera in the same place, which could become uninteresting for the viewer. Jimmy's garage was used as the location for the interview as there are lots of tools and equipment in there, this is something that would match the character of Stanley as he was Corey's stunt coordinator and his 'handy man'. During the interview he is leaning up against some equipment to make sure it is shown in the shot. I felt an interview with Stanley was necessary as it follows documentary conventions with him being soo close to Corey. Because the documentary can not interview Corey it has to interview people that knew him more than anyone such as Stanley and Rick.

Filming Day 2

Filming Day 2

For my second day of filming I went to shoot the vox pop of the male fan. As Corey Skelton is not a real person I used my stepbrother and used him to perform the lines 'Dude, I can't wait for the jump it's going to be so gnarly. COREY ROCKS! Of course he'll make it!'. I shot the scene in my garden with a tall bush as the background. I made sure he was a young boy wearing a cap and trendy clothes as this would be want a fan of Corey's would be like. I also shot it outdoors as his fans would mostly be outdoors as they would also be into extreme sports too. For a vox pop they would not be in a house anyway as they would have just been stopped and asked for the interview. I wanted a vox pop to show how popular Corey Skelton was and how enthusiastic his fans were about him. I used a vox pop as it is a typical convention of a ducumentary. With him talking about the jump Corey was about to do the interview was a great Segway into the interview of Stanley Mink speaking about the incident.

Locations

Locations:

 For my production I will have 5 main locations, as well as a few others where just a picture or short clip was taken. The main locations will be where the individual interviews take place as well as the majority of the Corey clips that will be filmed at the skate park. I feel it is important to get a mix of locations as it is a documentary showing Corey's life and should not be in just a few locations.

       School                  Jimmy's Garage       My Garden     Drama Studio         Ware Skatepark

Characters

Characters:

Corey Skelton:

Stanly Mink:

Rick Dean:

Male Fan:

Female Fans:

Filming Day 1

Filming Day 1

Today on the 24th of September was my first day of filming in which I went down to the local skatepark to get shots of Corey Skelton skating. I managed to get I several photos as well as videos including: shots of him on top of the ramps ready to go, celebrating with Stanly, fans reaching up to him, him walking in and showing the camera his hometown skatepark aswell as others. This is also when I got the idea of having shots of Corey secretly drinking. At first the alcohol was going to be used to show him celebrating but then I decide it would be a good angle to show him drinking as a way to try and calm his nerves. As the film is about Corey it is important I get a lot of shots of him so he is all throughout the piece. However he will be dead at the time of the documentary so I can't have any interviews with him only found footage.

 

I directed both Jimmy and Billy as they helped me with starring in and filming the clips. I wanted to get a clip of Corey grinding down a ledge at the skate park, however I could not do this myself so it was difficult to get. I found a solution by putting my shoes onto my hands and my jeans on my arms, getting the shot from down low at the skateboard level you could only see the shoes on the board creating the illusion that I was actually skating down the ledge. This can be seen in the image.