Practical task- Briefcase prop

Mise-en-scene practical task: Briefcase Prop

As part of our film opening we wanted to include a ransom demand, which will be delivered in the detective's briefcase. To start off I rummaged through the house and found a briefcase, which was old and dusty however I dusted it to make it look newer, but overall it was in good condition.

During our story board planning we decided to film from inside the briefcase as a point of view shot. 

So, I took pictures from inside the case in order to establish what the frame would look like.

• On the left, the camera is upright and you can't see the case but you're able to get a clear view of what's in front and who's opening the case.
• On the right I tilted the camera upwards so part of the briefcase is still in frame so you know that you're inside the briefcase, however by doing this we are limited in what you can see, and this may hinder the action of the actor in the scene, as we would only be able to see part of their head.        

 

Next I created some documents which resembled an old police case file, which I got off the internet and filled it in. I then put it in an envelope but partially hanging out so it looked like the actor(detective) had recently been in his briefcase to look at it, but also clarifies his character. This created more naturalism to the appearance of the prop.   

In our initial scene idea, we wanted some cash that would be used as part of our prop that goes inside the briefcase.  I looked up this image of money being piled into a briefcase, and noticed that you can't really see the notes underneath the first note. So, to ensure that I didn't waste ink, I only printed a few $100 notes. 

Once I printed 100 dollar bills from the internet I cut them out.
The printer ink ran so it left it discoloured. However, I didn't think that this was much of an issue as we're going to put a filter over the footages anyway.  

Next, I cut out paper that were similar in sizes, and tied them behind the $100 notes so there were no need to print out more. This made it look like there were a lot more than there actually was. 

Lastly I arranged "diamond" jewellery to be placed next to the fake money, as part of the ransom demand.    

Next I put a black and white filter over the picture, just to see what it would be like when we put a filter over the footage during the editing process.  

After I had gotten the props together, I decided to experiment with camera angles and film the inside of the briefcase whilst it was being opened. This was done when the camera was facing upwards, allowing the camera to capture the top of the briefcase at the end and opening it up from darkness in the beginning. Overall, you can tell that you're opening something up.  

 

Evaluation

Things that went well:

• The props themselves looked good as an end product when they're all together.

Improvements:

• Next time I think that I need to make the stacks of money thicker to create the illusion of a higher quantity of cash.
• I'm concerned for the jewellery in the briefcase when it's being carried, and they may tangle or break, and to prevent this we should put it into a protective bag before the actor begins to carry it. However, it's only going to be in for a few frames, so we could just take it out.