In regards to the research, the group and I created a film that was influenced by the style of our favourite directors, Edgar Wright, Wes Anderson and Quentin Tarantino. Edgar Wright synchronises the action to the music; in the editing stage, we imported the soundtrack first and edited the clips based on where the action paired with the music, it is important the music syncs up with whatever is going on in the scene so the audience follow it easily, it can create a dramatic effect and emphasise the mood and tone of the scene. A lot of the scenes in ‘Stool Pigeon’ contain a soundtrack so we made sure to do this to each one. A great soundtrack can make the film memorable and create a positive response from the audience. For example, Edgar Wright has a groovy soundtrack in his film, ‘Baby Driver’, which I feel completes the movie and is an important aspect of it. ‘Bellbottoms’ by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, featured in ‘Baby Driver’, is used in the action-packed car chase scene that is highly appreciated by movie fans, everything from the use of various perspectives, music, sound effects and stunt work is perfect. We have taken this on board in the creation of our film by using catchy songs that will play in your head on repeat, various shots and angles to dramatize the scene and make it exciting, and intense action to keep the audience on edge, paired with special effects like a blood splatter to make it look realistic. 

The work of Tarantino heavily influenced our film. Tarantino commonly uses a non-linear storyline, consisting of flashbacks and forwards and different character perspectives. We wanted to create a non-linear storyline so we planned to film flashbacks that would give context behind the dialogue so the audience aren’t left feeling puzzled, such as when Stevie refers to taking his monthly blood test, it transitions to Stevie at the doctors, screaming in pain when getting injected with a needle, transitioning back to the present. Another way we incorporated aspects of a non-linear storyline was by focusing on the two main characters, Jax and Stevie, separately to give various perspectives. We wanted to develop the characters and give an insight into who they are as a person, which Tarantino also does so the audience can connect with the characters. Before Jax and Stevie come together in the film, the film firstly showcases their individual missions, set in present day. Jax is investigating in the woods, coming across henchman that he needs to take down with his nunchaku and knives. On the other hand, Stevie is investigating a residential area, where henchmen have invaded, he takes them down with his sniper and pistol. Comparing the two characters, Jax appears more brutal and brawny with his weapons, Stevie looks more professional and cautious. The locations also compliment their characters, Jax is fearless and investigating the woods at night is no problem for him. The film also shows the missions they have worked on in the past; Stevie works on a mission in a Tokyo apartment block to kill a skilled assassin, Jax tortures a hostage in Moscow. Once again, the missions compliment their playing style and their traits. Jax’s torture mission was also influenced by Tarantino, the Mr Blonde’s torture scene in ‘Reservoir Dogs’, which is one of my favourite movie scenes. The music in the scene is memorable and the way Mr Blonde dances whilst brutally torturing a police officer really shows how mad and brutal he is. Tarantino’s signature shot of a crash zoom dramatizes the scene and emphasises the character’s emotion, we used the crash zoom for zooming on the face of a henchman getting shot and the reaction of the Driver when the spies enter her home. To know how to achieve the look of a crash zoom, I watched a YouTube tutorial on it by Jermaine Grant, who shows using a medium shot zoomed into a close up shot, finished off with a motion blur effect to complete the stylistic zoom.

For the aesthetic side of things, we wanted to use Wes Anderson’s style, Robert Yeoman (cinematographer) works alongside Anderson to bring his creativity to life so I also researched into him. His distinctive style includes the use of symmetry, bright colours, camera movements that follow laterally and vertically and choosing costumes that suit the character’s persona. When colour correcting the film, I kept in mind Anderson’s aesthetic. I added a warm temperature to the characters, Stevie and the Chief. I decided to not add it to Jax’s scenes and instead add a blue hue to contrast Stevie and Jax. The cold colour for Jax highlights how daring and bold he is, whilst a warm colour for Stevie conveys a feeling of comfort and energy. The contrast between the warm and cool colours represent how the spies are polar opposites, similar to the key trope of good vs evil (Darth Vader is red and Luke Skywalker is blue). I also adjusted temperature based on the setting, a cool temperature, paired with low key lighting, would set the scene at night time, and a warm temperature, paired with high key lighting, sets the scene in the day time. For the Tokyo mission, I wanted it to have an Anderson touch of using vibrant colours as many people associate neon lights with Tokyo, so I added pink and blue highlights in the editing stage. I chose those colours because they seemed to suit the setting the best and compliment each other well, creating an aesthetically pleasing scene. We used symmetry in our film where possible to include Anderson’s aesthetic and make the shot look perfectly structured. As an example, in the Moscow torture scene when Jax is choosing a tool to use, which are all laid out on a table, we positioned the camera in an overhead shot, above the table, that fitted the frame perfectly. It was quite a struggle as we had to stand up on a chair and raise the camera above head height to get the shot, we tried many times to get it perfect. We also used Anderson’s quick pan camera movement, e.g. in the Masked Man scene, we quickly panned the camera to follow the Masked Man walking from his chair to the whiteboard, showing his evil plan, to the finale backdrop. This was a good use of blocking and staging to track the Masked Man’s movement, keep continuity and utilise space in the scene to keep the audience following and become hooked. Wes Anderson chooses costumes wisely so the audience can understand who the characters are as a person. In our planning stage, we designed the characters’ costumes based on how we want them to be perceived. For example, Stevie is a funky spy so he wears a vibrant Adidas tracksuit with red shades, a fashion style associated with the 80s. On the other hand, Jax is a dark and punk inspired spy so he wears all black, apart from his white T-shirt for contrast, and black eyeliner to appear bold. In my research of Robert Yeoman, I found that he likes to use anamorphic lenses and I really liked the look that this type of lens achieves, although we don’t have a budget to buy one, we tried to master the anamorphic lens look the best that we could. For the flashback scenes, I added a blur effect and put the opacity down to create a nostalgic glow effect when editing in Premiere Pro. It made the scene look like a distant memory and also created the anamorphic effect of a dreamy, soft finish. Anamorphic lenses can create a lens flare when capturing light; when light was directed right at the camera, I positioned the camera in the right spot so it had a lens flare and strengthened the flare in the editing stage. For example, there was a shot of a screen projector in the aerobics scene, I took a close up shot of it, the light coming from the projection made a lens flare and it created a retro look that can be associated with the 80s, complimenting Stevie and the 80s aerobics video he is working out to.

Movies that are some of our favourites to watch also influenced ‘Stool Pigeon’. In ‘Sherlock Holmes’, there are moments when time goes to a standstill and the audience enter the interworking of Holmes’s mind, with a voiceover of Holmes going through his plan, before transporting the audience back to the present. We wanted to use this to showcase Stevie’s intelligence so in the Driver’s house scene, before Stevie and Jax break in and enter, Stevie assesses the area, noting points of entry, if people are in the house and even the smell of dinner cooking, as well as locating the spare key. The film shows fast paced shots that are relevant to Stevie’s voiceover of him assessing the house, making time go to a standstill and the audience are placed inside Stevie’s mind. Another influence from ‘Sherlock Holmes’ is from the boxing match scene when he discombobulates his opponent, the audio goes to a high pitch frequency. We used this in Stevie’s first mission when he is fighting the henchman, Stevie slaps the enemy’s ears and in the editing stage, we added an audio hum and a blur effect to put you in the perspective of the enemy. A film that inspired the morning routine for Stevie and Jax, before they head to their mission, is the Fast and Furious: Hobbs and Shaw morning wake-up scene. Hobbs has a warm hue, whilst Shaw has a cool hue, contrasting the two characters, which we also used between Stevie (warm hue) and Jax (cool hue). From just the colour, it tells you a lot about the character; Shaw has cold and dull colors as if he doesn't enjoy the morning and it represents his dark personality, whilst Hobbs is the opposite, it feels amazing for him to wake up and get ready for the day. Some of the best films like ‘Pulp Fiction’ have a dance scene, we wanted to include a dance scene that would match with the traits of the character so Stevie danced to ‘Stayin’ Alive’ by the Bee Gees to represent his funky persona, Jax air guitared to ‘Love Buzz’ by Nirvana to show the influence of rock music in the design of the character, stereotypically rock fans are hard core and fearless. One of the most famous western stare offs is from a scene in ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’, which influenced the western stare off between Stevie and Jax when they first meet. We filmed clips that were similar to the ones in ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’ stare off scene, consisting of close ups of the characters’ eyes, fingers twitching and hand going to draw their weapon. We planned to do a western stare off to include a significant element of the western genre as we wanted to use styles from various genres that we enjoy watching. Other elements from genres include the Chief being styled to look like a noir detective, a nostalgic glow effect to be associated with the 80s, comedy shown in the dialogue and through actions, action-packed spy missions, a Sci-Fi look for the Tokyo mission and horror/gore in the Moscow torture mission. We felt that this would make the film exciting and never get boring, as well as the fact that this would be our final college project so we thought we should go all out.

Taking on board the responses from the primary research we conducted, we made some of our decisions based on what we gathered from the questionnaire. In one of the questions, the interviewees were asked what they associate with the colours provided, we used the results for the creation of certain scenes. We found that red was associated with power, danger and evil, black was also associated with power and evil so we thought these two colours would be best suited for the Masked Man (villain); the Masked Man is dressed in black trousers, with a black overcoat and a black shirt with a red tie. The day before filming the Caliper base scene, starring the Masked Man, I found a black skull with red eyes that I thought would be perfect to use as a prop. Responses thought that orange and yellow shows energy so for most of the scenes that Stevie appears in, a warm hue is used to display his energetic persona. Some of the responses feel that dance scenes make the movie memorable and exciting to watch, while others find it cringe worthy. Taking this into account, the dance scenes are a realistic perception of people dancing to songs, not an over the top musical dance. When asking how people mostly find out about films, they responded with finding out through trailers and social media. Therefore, we have created a trailer that will entice people to watch the film and get a gist of what it will be like so they can determine whether it’s for them. If they enjoy the trailer, they will most likely be excited for the release of the film. We have created a social media account that shares the movie posters, behind the scenes and fan art to connect with the public, publicise our movie and keep people keen to watch it.

In comparison to the planning stage, we produced a film that fits with the plan as closely as possible. The storyboard represents all the scenes that are shown in the film, we made slight changes here and there. For the Chief, we planned to make him hide in the shadows, we changed this on the day of filming as we found that a Venetian blind lighting look on the Chief would look more aesthetically pleasing. We wanted the Chief’s face to be known, it would make it easier for the audience to understand what the Chief is saying, we did not use professional audio equipment so we felt that being able to lip read what the Chief was saying was important. The Chief being in the dark may also harm the quality of the image as the camera we used isn’t a top standard film camera so it may not have coped with the lack of light. To create the Venetian blind look, there was a window in the room that looked out onto the photography studio, which has vertical blinds. I placed a professional light that shone through the window and shut the blinds slightly so only a bit of light got through. A light was also positioned in front of the Chief to soften the shadows. Venetian blind lighting is commonly used in noir films, we wanted the Chief to be inspired by this genre as it would make it appear like the old-fashioned professional detective, giving a hats off to the OG spy genre. In the morning chase scene, when the spies talked about the criminal organisation (Caliper), suggesting that they must’ve got a hold of Stevie’s DNA, we felt that it didn’t quite make sense and so there needed to be more context. To solve this, we added dialogue for Stevie to call Clint and ask what he knows about Caliper, Clint is like an intelligence officer so it seems right for him to know. Clint responds to Stevie, stating that Caliper “specialises in biotechnology” hence why they have been able to “replicate” him. This made it easier to understand why Stevie concluded that he was most definitely cloned. Another change we made were of some locations that we planned to use for filming. We made changes based on settings that were easier to access and better suited. Instead of using the drama studio for the Tokyo mission, we decided to use River’s apartment block that still had scaffolding present as we felt this better represented Tokyo. We discovered River’s apartment block would work well for the mission when we went to film the morning wakeup scene at his. However, we still used the drama studio but we used it to shoot the Caliper base scene instead. We weren’t 100% set on the location for the Caliper base scene. We had a look around the drama studio and knew that it would be a perfect fit. It is completely blacked out and a large open area, making it suitable for creating an ominous atmosphere for the villain’s base. In the introduction of the film, we planned to do a title screen inspired by ‘James Bond’ gun barrel shot. We completely scrapped this as we felt that it would be copying ‘James Bond’ too much, it’s something that is unique to the franchise and we want an intro that is somewhat original. Therefore, we decided do a take on the ‘Superbad’ intro (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20kZenGjPIg) that is of the two main characters dancing in front of a green screen, the green screen is edited out and changed to a solid colour, as well as the characters being a contrasting colour to the backdrop. The Stool Pigeon title introduction is of Stevie and Jax dancing in front of a green screen, edited into a red/blue solid colour background, which transitions to show the text ‘Stool Pigeon’ with a yellow background.

Before exporting the film, we got feedback from our tutor, Jon, who watched what we had completed so far in the editing stage. He stated that “the blood splatters need to look more realistic and blend in better with the rest of the scene. The volume of the sound effects could also be heightened so they don’t get lost with the soundtrack.” We took this on board and darkened the blood splatters so they weren’t overexposed and increased the contrast so it blended in with the background, as well as amplify the sound effects. Once the film was finished and exported, I showed my family and asked for constructive criticism. They thought that Stevie’s dance scene was too wobbly and could cause viewers motion sickness, this was as a result of walking down a steep hill and the camera being handheld. If budget allowed, we would use a dolly so the camera movement would be smooth. They also felt this scene was a bit too long and could’ve been cut shorter so the audience don’t get bored. In the chase scene, the run should’ve been quicker as it felt like the characters were jogging. In reality, if someone was being chased, they would run a lot faster. However, this does add a comedy aspect to the film as it’s not supposed to be taken seriously. For the Masked Man scene, the audio quality was poor and hard to hear because the voice was deepened and the quality before wasn’t great. To improve audio quality, we would need to use professional audio equipment like a boom mic. To assist with the poor audio quality, we added subtitles so the audience can use them if they need to understand the dialogue better and so they aren’t left feeling confused about what is happening. In the hostage scene, the clapping was out of time as we prioritised putting the sound effects in time with the music. It’s a bit off putting to hear, even though it is only a snippet. I will keep this in mind for future projects, to ensure that everything is synced up to prevent this occurring.

Moving onto the successes of the film, it managed to capture a different take on the spy genre; two spies who have opposing personalities, backgrounds and methods of operation, which creates tension between them, as shown in the western stare off. The contrast adds a layer of complexity and makes the characters interesting to watch. The film individually focuses on Stevie and Jax so the audience can connect to both, not just like one and dislike the other because the audience haven’t had the opportunity to discover what the character is about. I find a lot of films use this method and we, as the audience, root for one main character. However, we did not want to do this and felt both spies deserve to be loved by the audience. They are likeable characters, they feel real and the audience can resonate with them. Stevie and Jax aren’t ordinary spies, they have clear strengths and flaws, the film shows not only the missions they go on but a chance to look at their life away from the action, shown in some of the flashbacks, the training scene, the dance scene and the morning wakeup scene. They aren’t serious spies, they can have fun and hopefully the audience does too when watching them. The plot is engaging and entertaining, filled with twists and turns to keep the audience guessing. A major twist is Stevie and Jax discovering that Stevie has a clone, thickening the plot and creating a climax that moves the film onto the next phase, the discovery of who is behind the criminal organisation, Caliper. It is a well-structured storyline divided into three acts; first act establishes the story and develops the characters (Stevie and Jax), second act builds tension and conflict when the spies meet and the third act resolves the conflict and provides the audience with context and reasoning in the Masked Man monologue. The monologue tells the audience that the Masked Man wants to build a clone army to control the world because “the governments are corrupt and the people are rebelling,” he wants to eliminate the world’s problems by using his clone army. The Masked Man is similar to the Joker, you can somewhat sympathise with the character because they are frustrated with society and want a better world. However, they turn to violence in order to get some sort of justice for their frustration.

Another success is the action sequences are well choreographed and the scene seamlessly cuts to various shots to keep the audience’s attention. In the research stage, I looked into basic and stylistic shots and angles that I wanted to use in the film. For each action in the film, I filmed as many shots and angles that would suit so in the editing stage, I could decide what works best and use a variety of perspectives to intensify the scene. Certain shots and angles can create different emotions and moods that we want to portray, for example, an extreme close up of the spies’ eyes and hands are used in the western stare off to emphasise the feature and create a dramatic effect, a POV shot for aesthetics and to put you in the perspective of the subject, inspired by Breaking Bad's POV shots. The action scenes are paired with a catchy soundtrack to further entertain the audience and create a sense of familiarity with the setting or character. In the Caliper base scene, a suspenseful violin and piano plays to introduce the Masked Man. It transitions to the song ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ by Inxs, a heart-wrenching moment when it seems the spies have met their demise, or have they? ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ was the perfect song to bring the film to an end, it’s dramatic and the instruments have a melancholy mood that enhances the emotional impact of the scene. The soundtracks in the film is a mixture of non-diegetic sound (outside the story) and diegetic sound (in the story). The use of diegetic sound is so the character and the audience can both hear the music, the audience feel connected to the character and immersed in the same world as the character. It also conveys information about the character, for example, in the training scene, Jax listens to ‘Can You Feel My Heart’ by Bring Me The Horizon, a hard core rock song that has themes of pain and struggle, complimenting Jax’s punk style, as well as showing he is emotionally sensitive, despite putting on a fearless front in his spy missions. It makes Jax seem human and the audience can understand him. Non-diegetic sound creates tension and suspense, the action scenes are accompanied by a fast-paced, energetic soundtrack to heighten the drama and create excitement.

In conclusion, ‘Stool Pigeon’ has been a success. It is a compelling story that focuses on the protagonists, Stevie and Jax, who are working to uncover a complex discovery of Stevie being turned into a clone. The story is crafted in a way to create suspense and keep the audience on the edge of their seat. The characters are well-developed and interesting, with distinct personalities and motivations that drive the film. Considering the visual aspect of the film, it is aesthetically pleasing to watch, using vibrant colours, stylistic lighting, various perspectives, unique locations, well-thought out composition and interesting costumes and props. The film’s world is exciting and visually impressive. We have paid attention to detail, the intelligence gathering feels authentic and has an important part in the development of the storyline, it keeps the audience informed but not overloading them with too much. Also, we made sure to convey the certain message/emotion that we wanted to get across using all aspects, such as through colour, lighting, shots and angles, costumes, music, dialogue and settings. We have been able to produce a spy film that combines creativity, an interesting storyline, likeable characters, high-stake action and impressive settings. It is both a thrilling and memorable film.