Trailer Music

As our editing is coming along, we have had to fit sound to the trailer. We have taken inspiration from 'The Gallows', a film with a similar teen target audience. In this trailer the footage is fast paced - like our own - and as creepy, typical horror music would not fit here they have used a remix of 'Smells like Teen Spirit', a song which meet their stereotypical teen audience. We have similarly decided to choose a recognisable but slowed down song, and have chosen 'Don't You (Forget About Me)', iconic to The Breakfast Club. This homage to a classic teen film is exciting for the audience and also adds a creepier tone to the trailer itself as the song is not how it usually would sound, setting the audience on edge. It is a cover, so regarding copyright we have tried to contact the person who has uploaded the cover to the internet to get his permission to use it.

Filming Progress

Our filming has progressed hugely as we have began to figure out ways to overcome our biggest problems. One issue which hindered our filming massively was featuring people who worked, and therefore actors often had conflicting schedules. To fix this problem, we have changed the people in the trailer and are using younger actors who do not work and therefore are more available. Another issue was our location, which looked very effective but was not weather resistant and difficult to get all the equipment to. We have decided instead to use the schools drama studio, with some shots of outside the location to give the appearance the characters are inside when they are not. Due to these changes, we have been able to get footage much easier and have began editing it to fit together.

Little White Lies Magazine

Little White Lies is a London-based film magazine which is distributed internationally by TCOLondon since 2005. It began when lifestyle magazine 'Adrenalin' went bankrupt, and a group of people decided to turn Danny Miller's (a student) degree project into a magazine. The Guardian referred to it as 'the best designed magazine on the shelf'. The publishers (Faber and Faber) also released a book 'What I Love About Movies' which is a collection of responses from various people involved in the industry such as Quentin Tarantino and Ryan Gosling when asked what their favourite thing about films is. The company is fully functioning, with a professional website, instagram page, twitter, youtube and facebook account and an option to subscribe for £29. It is a bi-monthly publication and has a readership of 45,000. The magazine was described as being 'at the vanguard of the independent publishing movement'.
This magazine is much more niche and appeals to an artistic demographic rather than a mainstream one. It features a print / sketch of the main actor featured, and sometimes the title of the film like this one does. This particular magazine front cover features Brad Pitt, however there are a whole host of actors some of who are not as famous or successful as Brad Pitt. There are no taglines or smaller stories on the front cover, which breaks convention of a magazine. There is also no mention of any other film which is inside which again breaks convention of a film magazine, which generally have as many films as possible on the front to attract a large audience. On all the editions there is a white circle at the top with the title and tagline in them, which makes it identifiable to a knowing audience. Within the magazine there are three sections - the lead review, a series of feature articles and a review section. 

Ancillary Task Research

We have began looking at other students ancillary products to get an idea what we will need to produce and the standard it needs to meet. We looked at a magazine front cover which was a level 3 and a poster which was a level 4, and I have learnt a lot form this task. The front cover used one image which was framed well and very effective, however the poster got more marks because of their use of different images and their IT skills when editing them, which is something to bare in mind. Both were very good, and the main issues were in meeting the conventions of the product they were. The magazine front cover for example had quite a small title which does not meet the typicality of that specific magazine, and the other stories within the magazine were not large enough. The poster was not clear which type of poster it was as it featured a credit block but no release date so it could have been a teaser poster or a film poster. This is something I will need to focus on to make my own products effective.

Character Poster

I could not find a character poster for The Woman in Black, and this is the closest I could find for the sequel. This is common in the horror genre as the characters are not the focus point like they are in most films, and instead the scary thing which is there or that will happen is what the plot revolves around. This poster features a child and theoretically this is the character it is starring however there is a shadow which appears in the shape of the woman, and this becomes the focus point which shows the audience what the film is really about. She is much bigger than the boy and he seems to be cowering from her, showing she is someone to be frightened of and implying she is a large problem a small boy cannot overcome. The rest of the poster is black, so the attention is kept on the little boy looking fearful and this makes the genre of the film very clear to the audience and also makes them want to know exactly what is scary about this, sparking their interest to go and watch the film. There is writing and it differs from the first film and is much simpler, which keeps the attention on the characters, but it is in white so the audience clearly see it and know the films name. There is a credit block and a release date which helps when selling a film as it offers further details for those who are interested by the poster. The target audience is again not definite however horrors are generally aimed at young adults and this will appeal to them as it looks like it will scare - which is the primary reason we go to watch films of this genre.

DVD release poster

I could not find the DVD release poster for The Woman in Black however this is the one for the sequel Angel of Death. The main variation of this poster and the rest of the poster campaign is that this features reviews from expert witnesses. This encourages people who did not see the film at the cinema to buy the DVD as well as people who are well known and trusted agree that it is good. The reviews on this film focus on how scary the film is, which means that they are promising the audience that they will feel fear, confirming the genre is horror. There is a little boy as the focus point and he looks terrified, while a shadow of a woman looms over him. This gives away what the scary point of this film is however entices the audience to buy it and see this woman properly, and find out why the boy is so scared. The text is large and attention grabbing, maybe to remind people of the film before this in the series and gain fans of that film as potential buyers, as well as to inform people what film it is they are interested in. The age rating is also on this poster, probably so the target audience is clearly identified and no one too young attempts to buy this film as it may be too scary for them to watch.

Main Poster

The main poster was released after the teaser poster, and it offers more details on the film. Again Daniel Radcliffe is the main feature point in this poster, with him as the main image and his name at the top of the poster. The Woman in Black is written in the same eerie font as on the teaser poster which connotes supernatural. The tag line is different now and offers more information about the film itself as 'fear her curse' tells the viewer that the storyline will be based around a curse, presumably the woman in blacks curse. In the background you can see more than in the teaser trailer, and this time a shadowy figure can be seen in the fog, as can a haunted looking house. The colours are again black and white, which makes the poster look scary and makes it clear the film is from the horror genre. There is an appearance of fog being around this character which makes it seem creepy and also sets the mood expected for the film. There is also a credit block this time which shows this is not a teaser trailer and more information is being divulged.  

Teaser Poster

This is the teaser poster for The Woman in Black and following convention it reveals very little about the plot of the film. The Woman in Black focused heavily on the fact Daniel Radcliffe was in their film and therefore have broken convention and included his name, however they haven't included a whole credit block. For this reason the poster consists mainly of his face, as they are trying to appeal his fans and fans of Harry Potter who are eager to see the main character act in something else. The film title and tag line also feature on the poster and they help give a very supernatural feel to it, particularly the title which appears to be glowing. The tag line asked if the audience believes in ghosts which gives them an idea what the film will be about but not a very clear one, and this writing is actually on top of an image which appears to be a ghost. This makes the question seem almost stupid as the person looking at the poster can see the ghost, and this creates a sense of realism around the film and the storyline which will come. The overall tone of the poster is dark and mysterious due to the colours used which are black, and white on both characters skin. The pale tone of his skin contrasts with the black background, maybe implying he is good against this darkness. It also however makes him appear ghost like himself and the audience could question his character and who he is in the film. This film appears to appeal to teenagers and young adults as it is clearly established as a horror film. It also attempts to appeal to Harry Potter fans who vary in age, and this can be supported by the lack of features which specifically target any age group.

Film Posters

I have begun looking at posters created for films so I can get an idea what to make for my ancillary product. Film posters are generally designed to create a buzz around a film which is going to be released soon, and throughout the advertising campaign different posters are released with more information on than the last. Film posters have artistic value and allow the designer to be creative. They can become as iconic as the film and people buy film posters to hang in their house, which means they have to be visually pleasing, as well as attention grabbing. Posters need to inform the reader of the films plot, release date, name and actors in it as well as make the film appear interesting and are often referred to as 'a movie in a glance' because of this.

There are four main types of film posters - teaser posters, main posters, DVD release posters and character posters. These are released at different points in the advertising campaign, with the teaser trailer being first. This is released before production has finished to spike interest in the film and generate buzz, and maybe draw attention to any interactive advertising being used for the same reason. Once the film is finished, the main campaign begins and the main poster and character posters are released. The main poster is seen on billboards and in public places, while character posters are often not as commonly seen however often sold as merchandise. Character posters are used primarily if the characters are the main focus point of the film or if a famous actor is starring - with horror films they are not as common. Main posters are created to encourage people to go to the cinema and see this film, and after the cinema screening has finished the DVD release posters replace these. They're usually similar, however the DVD release poster will feature experts opinions or ratings on the film to encourage people to buy the DVD even if they did not care enough to go to the cinema initially.

Feedback on our first shoot

We have begun filming recently and while our shot ideas are generally good and work in reality, we have come across some problems. The first one was using the equipment, but this was easy to overcome as it came with practice. Once capturing all our shot which we are filming in school, we watched them back on the Macs. Our first issue was one of the shots was not very effective and would not match up with the shot which it is supposed too, so we will have to rethink this one. Other than that, the actual action and shot types were effective, however we discovered we had not moved items which were in the background which makes the film appear much less professional as it is messy. We also realised we will have to darken these shots considerably to make them fit our genre, but this is a problem we can fix with editing. We are going to do these shots again, this time removing items we do not want featured in the shot and hopefully this will be much more effective.

25 Word Pitch

"A girl is murdered and her stalker knows it was one of her friends and decides to torture them to find out which one"

Pitch Feedback

We did our pitch to our class and received feedback from them. It was said that we created a good sense of the plot and the idea was good, however music needs to be added to create more of an impact. This is something we need to consider very soon as if we struggle to find music now, it may be an issue when creating our trailer. We should also have included a clear target audience, because while it was hinted at it was not said clearly. 

Camera Workshop

We went to our local film festival during a media lesson and we went to a workshop on camera work. It was with Robert Foster, a BAFTA winning cameraman who specialises in lighting and we have learnt a lot about filming our products from him.

• Lighting is very important when filming to ensure a high quality filming and is essential in setting the mood for the scene
• Filming in the dark generally requires high budget lighting to make the scene look effective
• The lighting varies from inside to outside and both give different feeling to the shot, and this can be changed using filters
• Colour temperature is very important when creating a shot
• Lighting can be used to add and remove shadows for effect
• Camera angles are very important for setting the mood and tone of a film 
• Continuity of lighting is important and has to be the same throughout

Production Schedule

We have printed off our shooting script and rescheduled it into days and which shots will need to be shot together. We also wrote next to them what outfit the actors will be wearing. We will film the trailer over two weeks roughly, with further shots being redone after if necessary. We have not yet decided what the exact dates will be due to everyone's personal schedules.

Health and Safety

Week 1 – School

Slamming a locker – This could result in trapping someones hand in the locker, damaging school property, and it could also disrupt lessons as it is in school. We can avoid this happening by being careful when slamming the locker and if this results in the volume not being loud and effective enough, it can be turned up in necessary when editing. We will also have to turn it up during editing ad if it is too loud it will make a lot of noise which will disrupt the lessons around us. We can also avoid this by waiting until lessons are not taking place and use a locker that is as out of the way as possible, while ensuring the camera is not in the way of people who may want to pass.

Using the sixth form room – This again may disturb students who are working and the equipment could be in the way or damaged. We can stop this from happening by filming during tutor time when no lessons are on and ensuring that everyone in the room is aware we're filming and careful around the equipment.

Using a car in school car park – We will need permission to leave school and should ask a member of staff to sign paper so it is clear we are allowed to be there. In the shot we are going to slam the boot of the car, and therefore a hand could be trapped in the car boot and to stop this from happening we need to make sure the boot is shut carefully to ensure the person is not hurt and the car is not damaged. We will need permission to use the car and will make sure that the owner is present so we know they are happy with everything that is happening. Due to the shot taking place in  car park, we need to be aware of traffic around us and we will therefore have someone watching and make sure everyone is aware of the danger. There are two shots which will involve the car, one which the character is carrying books and we should make sure these are not heavy so they do not strain themselves, and the second shot features a person in the boot which is a huge health and safety issue, and the boot should be reopened as soon as possible and the person should be entirely comfortable. The weather is also an issue as the shot will be outside, as rain could damage equipment and the quality go the shot may be compromised. This can be avoided by checking the weather schedule, and also rescheduling if necessary. The person in the boot is also covered in fake blood, which they could be allergic too and will stain clothes, so we need to do a patch test and also ensure the person is okay with their clothes being used in this way.

Using a spade – The spade may be heavy so the person carrying it must be comfortable with the weight, and also aware of others around them as it will be shot in school. We will also need permission from the school as the spade could be seen as a weapon, and we should get written proof of this. We will also make sure people are aware it is for a media lesson and this will limit the people around the person filming in order to ensure other students safety.

Day 2 – Bedroom / Living Room / Cinema / Town Centre

Things on the floor in the bedroom – This may be a trip hazard so we will need to ensure everyone is aware of their surroundings and careful. We are also going to have the girls doing each others hair, and therefore hot appliances may be an issue. We can solve this by not actually turning them on and just pretending, as they could burn someone or even the things surrounding them. Laptops and phones will also be in the shot and we have to be careful about them overheating, which we can do by using them as little as possible. Pizza boxes will also be around the room to create the impression of a girly sleepover, and people may have allergies which we will have to check beforehand.

Outside bedroom – This is another shot outside and this present two large issues - neighbours and the weather. If it is raining we can use an umbrella to protect the equipment and we can check beforehand to minimise the chances of us being caught in the rain. If we choose to go ahead in the rain, we should have a dry set of clothes for the actors as they will be cold and wet. To avoid alarming neighbours, we will let them know we are filming for a media project and try to keep the noise to a minimum. 

Wine – This is also a large issue as our actors are seventeen. This will mean they are underage. To avoid breaking the law, we will not have them drink and we will also ensure they are all comfortable to be surrounded by alcohol. We could even not use real alcohol to ensure we haven't done anything illegal or to make people feel uncomfortable. Selling the wine if also an issue as it will stain, so we will stress that people should be careful. Again, there may also be noise which will disrupt the neighbours, so we will let them know beforehand.

Pushing someone – We do not want the person being pushed to actually fall and be out of control as they may be hurt, therefore we will make sure the push is staged and they both know how hard the pressure will be.

Hair pulling – Again this may hurt the actor, so we need to ensure that they are both aware how hard the hair pull will be and that they are both okay with this happening.

Knife – We are going to use a knife as a prop and this could be dangerous. We need to make sure everyone feels comfortable around this and we will ensure the person using it is responsible and will not use it as a real weapon. We can have a blunt knife to ensure safety in case the knife is dropped.

Cinema/ town centre – These shots will be outside so our first issue is the general public. We will put up signs letting people know we are filming and what we are filming for, as well as carrying smart cards as a form of ID in case we are approached. Another issue will be the brands and the businesses in the shots, and we will have to strategically set the scene in a way which doesn't include logos. We will also let businesses know we are filming beforehand to be polite and answer any questions. Another issue with filming outside is the weather which we will have to check beforehand, and there will again be food involved and we will have to make sure no one have any allergies.

Day 3 – Abandoned house

House – The house may not be stable and may have trip hazards within and therefore a check will have to take place before we take people into it. We will also have to check there is a way to get people and props into the house, and we will have to check that when ensuring it is safe. We will also need to get the owners permission and we should get this written down with any terms they want to add. As the house is abandoned, there may be no lighting so we need to make  sure we take enough lighting to make the shots effective. Other people may also approach the house as it is in the middle of no where, and therefore we need to have a responsible adult with us and tell our parents where we are. Most importantly, we need to make sure everyone is responsible within the house.

Tying people to chairs – The inability to use their hands may be a safety concern as the chair may tip and the rope may hurt their wrists and they also will not be able to use their hands for themselves. We can avoid this being an issue by making sure we have stable chairs and a flat floor and we will also untie their wrists between shots so it does not last for too long.

Rope around neck – This is also a major issue as the person could not be able to breathe, and the rope may burn them. We can do this by not actually tying the rope and be as gentle as possible. We will also make the shot as short as possible and make sure the actor is okay with this. If not, we can just show the stalker with the rope rather than the actual act.

Knife – We are going to use a knife as a prop and this could be dangerous. We need to make sure everyone feels comfortable around this and we will ensure the person using it is responsible and will not use it as a real weapon. We can have a blunt knife to ensure safety in case the knife is dropped.

Tipping over chair – The actor may be hurt or uncomfortable and the chairs could be damaged. The floor may also not be clean and this may make the actors uncomfortable. To avoid this we will film quickly and tie the actor once the chair is on the floor rather than tipping the chair back. We will also need to make sure the floor is clean to keep the shooting hygienic.

Forcing someone to drink – The person may choke during filming and therefore the person could not be too forceful and we should ensure actor is comfortable.

Stabbing someone with scissors = The person could be genuinely harmed and we therefore need to ensure the scissors are not sharp and the person using them is sensible. The shot will stop before the scissors are dangerously close.

Plier - The person could be genuinely harmed and therefore the stalker character must be sensible and the shot should be stopped before pliers are dangerously close.

Bat - The person could again be genuinely harmed so the stalker must be sensible and stop shot before the bat could actually harm the actor.

Fake blood – People in the film could be allergic to the ingredients in the blood and it could also be a slip hazard on the floor. We will need to do a patch test before putting it on people and ensure everyone is aware and sensible around the blood on the floor. The owner of the house may object to the blood on the floor and we will need to get the owners permission before putting it anywhere.

Running – The person may trip so we will need to make sure they are careful and while checking the house we will need to ensure floor is stable.

Name of my Film

We have started brainstorming ideas for the name of our film and we have decided we want it to be a girls name. We think this will be effective and it makes sense - the film is all based around a dead female. It also adds mystery as it was a girl who killed her best friend, and until you have watched the film you are unsure as to which girl is which, and who the name belongs too. 

• Amelia
• Lily - connotations of funeral flowers
• Victoria 
• Scarlett - connotations of blood and danger
• Ruby - connotations of blood and danger
• Rosie - innocent and victim sounding

Mood Board

Follow Becky's board Horror Film Mood Board on Pinterest.

Cinematography - Stanley Kubrick

First Look at Health and Safety

Problem 1: Bringing props into school

• Props may be too big to transport if you get the bus
• Some props may be against school rules
• Some things may be dangerous although not necessarily obviously dangerous (e.g. a glass bottle)
• Some things may upset or offend people around you

Problem 2: Filming in school

• Safeguarding - be careful who is in the shot
• Be sure not to disturb lessons
• Hard to control the environment e.g. noise or people in the background
• Need permission from senior team
• Reflections may be seen in the glass

Problem 3: Using children in the trailer

• Need written permission from guardian
• May need a child license if time is needed out of school
• Children may not take instructions as they are meant/ be uncooperative
• The content must be age appropriate both so the filming does not scare the child and because they may want to watch the completed product
• There are limits on how many hours they can film

Problem 4: Filming in an abandoned building

• Need to be sure who owns the building and have their permission
• Ensure it is safe to enter (structurally safe)
• Other people approaching the building while you are filming may be unsafe
• It may be illegal to enter the building
• It may not accessible for parents or emergency services if something goes wrong
• Not everyone involved may be sensible in the area

Problem 5: Filming in a town centre

• Must be careful what brands and labels are included in the shot
• Less control over the environment
• Should let owners of a company know before shooting and also people in the area

Problem 6: Travelling by bus

• Equipment is large and may be inconvenient to travel with
• Equipment may be stolen, lost or damaged

Problem 7: Atmospheric night shots

• Other people may harm you or steal the equipment
• Danger of darkness e.g. tripping, loosing items
• May disturb others or alarm others
• Shots may be compromised by the lack of lighting

Shooting Script

Storyboard

Draft Storyboard

Audience Research - Online Survey

I created an online survey to gather answers to different questions as this form of customer research allows different styles of answers than a paper questionnaire. It also reaches a wider audience, as it is available to fill in online where anyone can do it.

Again most of the people who answered the questionnaire were in the 17-18 bracket which limits the research as there is only really one age groups opinions. However, more 14-15 year olds answered the online survey, which does offer us more range in the target demographic who we know the opinions of.

Most of the people who filled in the survey online were female, which counteracts the fact slightly more males filled in our questionnaire, and overall we have the opinions of both genders. 

The majority of the people who answered do watch horror films which is useful, however some don't and therefore wouldn't fit our target audience. Their opinions may be useful anyway as we can figure out what scares people whether they watch horror films or not.

This question has complicated answers. The analysis shows the overall results regarding where they were positioned overall out of everyone's answers. This comes out as people liking films based around families and romantic subplots. However, when you look at which answer was rated the most popular the most often, it is supernatural elements. None of these things feature heavily in our film, so we may have to bring out the 'love' element with the stalker further to add that element to it. 

This question revealed that our target audience like supernatural films and psychological thrillers, and our film could fit into the psychological thriller genre as it is filled with plot twists and mystery. It fits into the teen horror genre much better however, and this was the third most popular answer.

Most of the people who filled in the online survey watch horror films once a month, and then yearly. This shows our target audience do not regularly watch horror films and that we are not appealing to die-hard horror fans.

Most people answered yes to this question and this is something we were planning on including, so this is positive for us and means our idea would be appealing to our target audience.

The Woman in Black is the most popular film according to this question, and the least popular The Exorcist. This could reflect our target audiences age and the fact they do not religiously watch horror films, as the most popular ones are generally the more modern films.

Most people agreed blood and gore is what scares them most in a film and this is something we can try and incorporate into our trailer by focusing on the torture part of the film.

Nearly everyone agreed that plot twists are something they look for in horror films which is good as our proposed film trailer is filled with them.

My Target Audience

Hammer Films

Advertising Company

My media company will be called Enigma Productions. This is fitting for the fact they advertise horror film as Enigma is mysterious and sounds very ominous however it is still professional sounding.  It will be an advertising company which production companies can hire to create the advertising campaign for their film. It will predominately feature mainstream horror films made on a low budget, and will advertise domestic films which are classified as British.

Copyright

The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 covers all designers or creators rights to control how their material is used, regardless of whether it is literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, sounds or films. It is an automatic right when work is created as long as it is original and shows a degree of labour, skill or judgement. The work may not necessarily belong to the person who created it, for example if the person who created it did it for their employer they will be the 'first owner of copyright'. Copyright can be sold or go in someone else's name if there is a previous contractual agreement. The duration of the copyright varies for different types of media, but for films it is stated to be:
'70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the last principal director, author or composer dies. If the work is of unknown authorship: 70 years from end of the calendar year of creation, or if made available to the public in that time, 70 years from the end of the year the film was first made available.'
It is against the law to copy the work, lend copies to the public, show the work in public or adapt the work without permission. To avoid breaking these laws I will use only my own material, and if I need to use music I will check the copyright laws regarding it.

Censorship and Regulation

Censorship: the suppression of speech, public communication or other information which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, politically incorrect or inconvenient as determined by governments, media outlets, authorities or other groups or institutions.

Regulation: a rule or directive made and maintained by an authority.

Regulations change throughout time as societies views on what is appropriate change. This is clear in the film 'The Wild One' which was banned from Britain for promoting 'hooliganism' at a time where Britain featured a rigid social structure. It was banned for fourteen years, but is now rated a PG. This shows the changing times in Britain and the changing views of the public.

Censorship is also used when scenes are darkened or shots changed to remove content which is deemed inappropriate. This is seen in 'Women in Love' where the censor decided a full length shot is used with two naked man, who had feelings for each other, and were naked. This was deemed inappropriate for the time (1969) but because it was considered a 'brilliant film' they suggested the scene was darkened so the nudity was not as clear. The director obliged and the film was released.

The Woman in Black is a unique example of censorship and classification. It cut out six seconds of the footage, and darkened particular scenes, in order to qualify for its 12A rating however is commonly believed to be rated too low. It received 134 complaints, which was the most for the last four years except Black Swan which received a 15 classification despite its graphic sex scenes and self harm scenes. With The Woman in Black the issue was found with the loss of a child and supernatural themes. The BBFC argued that this complaint was due to a lack of understanding in the classification system and what each rating actually means. They have however began looking into the effect of gore and violence on children, the sexualisation of women and language all of which they believe need tightened up on.

I don't believe my film will require any censorship as I  have rated it a 15 and it does not have anything that would be considered any stronger than this. If I had attempted to have the film rated a 12 the scenes featuring violence may need to have been cut and the use of weapons reconsidered. 
  

Legal Requirements of Film Making

When filming many things have to be taken into consideration as there are laws in place about the requirements which need to be met in order to film in certain locations or to distribute certain footage. When filming I need to consider:

-Laws regarding filming others

Generally if you can see someone's face on camera you need their permission which can be an issue if your are filming in the street:
'by virtue of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998 everybody has a right to a respect for their private and family life, their home and their correspondence.'
This reveals that people have the right to privacy and therefore it is up to the director whether the footage is a breech of this right or not. If so the footage can be cut, or the person censored out of it. This rule is much more strict for people in the public eye or for children, so for my film this should not be too much of an issue.

'the Data Protection Act 1998 applies to any person or company “processing” anything within the definition of “personal data”. The Court has confirmed that storing, developing and printing photographs amounts to “processing” so by extension recording and exploiting video footage is also likely to be caught within the definition.'
This issue can be solved by getting peoples permission if they are on the camera, or by putting up signs saying filming is taking place so to avoid the area if there is a problem with them being on camera. It can also be avoided if the person is not identifiable in the image they appear in.

Defamation is also a problem when film making as you must be careful to not create any false meaning in the footage when editing. This could offend people who are within the film and create the wrong impression of individuals. To avoid this I should take care that I am not manipulating the image at all and that I have not filmed anywhere which could be considered a sensitive or private area.

-Laws regarding the locations I film at

'Buildings are protected by copyright under English law but there is a specific exception under section 62 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 which permits you to take a photograph or film of a building without infringing its copyright. This means that you do not require the permission of the owners of the copyright in a building to make a film or take a photograph of it.'
This shows that I am able to film the outside of buildings generally without permission, although I do not believe any of me settings require me to do this. If I wanted to reproduce a 3D copy of a building, I need the owners permission but again I do not believe this is necessary for the locations in my own film.

You are also allowed to 'create graphic work' based on a building which means if you film a public building you are allowed to edit the footage and create a graphic work. This again is not relevant to my film but when it comes to shooting my ideas may change.

Private land rules still apply however, even if the building itself if public you cannot position yourself on private land as this would be breaking the law. To avoid this some research may need to go into the locations at which I plan on filming at to ensure I am allowed to go everywhere I plan to. If somewhere I need to go is classified as private then I would need to either rethink my locations or ask the owner for permission, and in doing so they are entitled to give me conditions and things I can and cannot do with the footage.

I also need to consider branding and trademarks which may appear in my film, and this is important as I do plan on filming in a cinema or a shopping centre, which will feature brand names. I may need to gain  their permission if their logo is in the footage which I include in my product. I also need to consider what certain buildings represent and how this may affect copyright laws and also how the footage comes across in my final product. Light displays and signs can also be copyrighted so this is again something which could be relevant if I am filming in a shopping centre particularly. To avoid this I may need to consider the shot types which I use and whether the inclusion of any brands or signs could be avoided. 

-Insurance

In order to film in public you need proof of Public Liability Insurance and the price of this varies depending on the size of the productions, the locations and the photography involved, but generally will be around £2 million. This can be done through companies such as Towergate Underwriting Entertainment in London.

-Minimum wage regulations

The National Minimum Wage act is the least amount of money people can be paid an hour to work for you. This does not apply for people who are gaining work experience, who are charity volunteers, who are business undertaking or who are private volunteers. This mean to us the minimum wage act does not apply as our cast will be made up of volunteers.

-Statutory obligations

There are a lot of statutory obligations that come with filming however most of them do not apply to my film due to the nature of it and the locations which I am choosing to use. If there is any filming outside, cabling may be an issue and the area needs to be safe for everyone, however the main obligations come in with the use of weapons within the film. Weapons will only be used in private locations so permission from the council is not necessary, but we must have permission from the building owner and the actors involved in the scenes. We will have to complete a health and safety assessment of each location to ensure that everyone is kept safe during filming.

-Child performance licenses

The child performance licenses apply to anyone in compulsory school age, which all our actors are as you have to be in school until you are eighteen. It requires notice of 21 days and it requires documentation from both the producer and the child's guardian. The child must then be supervised by the guardian during their time our of school. This however will be avoided as we are not going to take people out of school and will instead film in our free time, which they will not need permission for.