Thursday, 18 December 2014

FINAL DAY OF FILMING!!!


I am so pleased to say that I have officially finished the filming process in my project. I was able to drive up to the abandoned farm and shoot the last scene of my horror film opening. unfortunately when we got there it was getting dark so we were in a hurry to get the filming done, but with the help of final cut pro I was able to increase the exposure which brightened the shot so it wasn't so dark. This is because I wanted this scene to be lighter than those before the title. This would show that the crime scene was the start of a new day and not part of the two girls playing hide and seek. I got some police tape from the school as they had some from previous years and hung it up around the farm and filmed it blowing in the wind which really helped to build up the suspense which is exactly what I wanted and i'm really glad it was that windy so I was able to film those scenes because they are just so effective. After making my fake blood I was also able to splatter it onto a pair of old ripped jeans to use as evidence. Making sure the main character was wearing exactly the same as the last to filming days I took the scarf she wore and placed it into the crime scene so that it was obvious that something had happened and that she had gone missing. The scarf was really effective as it too hung on branches and swayed in the wind really helping to build up the suspense. I also filmed some shots of the victim, but because of the lighting you weren't able to see her very well and when it came to editing I didn't find the shots very effective at all, as it made it look like the victim was still alive even though she was meant to have been killed by a murderer. I filmed one scene of katie lying in the grass so you could just see her legs sticking out which really signified that she was intact dead. However now that I've come to editing I feel as though the end of the film opening doesn't quite look right. After having received some comments from class mates I was told that my film resembles a mystery film rather than a horror. I may need to film some more shots or I made need to change the order of the shots, but I'm putting some thought into what I'm doing and am asking around for other's opinions to see what I can do to make my horror opening complete. Below is the shot of the legs sticking out of the tall grass with the 'prism' effect on, it looks very scary and intruiging.


 When it came to editing I decided I would put on an effect of the 'prism' to help add more suspense, This is a screenshot from final cut pro, with it zoomed onto the filter options and a brief description.


The following table is my filming timetable that I handed out to all those involved with the filming process that made it clear to them when we were meeting, where and what to bring or wear. It was really helpful and made the filming process a lot more organised and simple.


Day/Time Who Where What Costume Props Equipment
16th Nov,14
16:00
Katie, Amelie, Oliver, Jeremy, Gerard,
Myself
At the Weston Woods entrance We're going to be filming a few short scenes of Amelie and Katie running through the woods Amelie:
Pink Coat, Leggings, Boots, Pink top

Katie:
Boots, Scarf, Coat, Jeans, Hoodie
None. Sony Video Camera
Boom Mic
Boom Cord
Umbrellas
3 Torches


7th Dec,14 Gerard,
Katie,
Myself
Abandoned farm behind Weston Hills We're going to be filiming Katie hiding being scared and Gerard running through the farm looking for her Katie: SAME EXACT OUTFIT AS LAST FILMING

Gerard: A dark hoodie, Dark black jeans
None. Sony Video Camera
Boom Mic
Boom Cord
Umbrellas
3 Torches


17 Dec,14 Becky,
Katie,
Myself
Abandoned Farm behind Weston Hills Filming the crime scene with blood and police tape and Katie dead on the floor Katie: SAME EXACT COSTUME AS THE PREVIOUS FILMING DAYS Police Tape


Fake Blood


Katies Scarf
Sony Video Camera
Boom Mic
Boom Cord
Umbrellas
3 Torches






Second Day of Filming!

On Sunday the 7th I was able to head up to the woods again to film the rest of my nighttime scenes. This time instead of just going to the woods, I went to the abandoned farm that I had been so keen to film in. When we got there it was still a lot lighter than we needed it to be seeing as the scenes that we were shooting were going to be edited in after the scenes from the first day of shooting and to have it lighter than that just wouldn't make any logical sense. So we made sure that we didn't get the skyline in the frame. My camera man (Gerard Staines) was able to position the camera so that the light skyline didn't show in the frame making it look just as dark as when we filmed in the woods. 
We began by filming shots of the main character (katie) running in, through and around the farm looking for hiding places. Eventually it was dark enough to film an establishing shot of the farm which was on my to do list after the last day of filming which I was pleased with. 

I was also able to get some shots of the villain snooping around the woods looking menacing and trying not to make a noise that might scare Katie. At one point the freezing cold got to my sister which set the filming process back by quite a bit and she was refusing to be filmed which caused a lot of problems as she is my main and most important character and so without her the film simply wouldn't work. I was able to negotiate with her and the filming carried on smoothly without any more problems. I even accidentally caught some footage of my sister crying on camera which she has given me permission to use which I think will look really good and effective to her being lost in the woods which is exactly what I want.
I was planning on having footage of the villain and main character in the same shot together but instead I had the idea of filming the long grass blowing in the wind to which I will add the voice over of the villain attacking the main character with screaming. With the right editing and filter, I believe this shot will look really scary and will help to build the tension in the film opening.

My next day of filming will hopefully be my last, I'm going to be filming the crime scene investigation in the day time. I have the police tape and all I need is the fake blood which I am going to make and post a tutorial on how to make it soon. My goal is to have filmed this scene before the weekend so I can begin editing it as soon as possible and be able to meet the deadline.

I also managed to get some shots of the woods in the dark and by using the torch and shining it through the woods I was able to take some really spooky shots of the the twigs and branches moving in the wind. I've made it like a point of view shot from the main character's perspective as she's looking for a place to hide. The camera pans across the woods quite quickly as well which looks really good and helps to build up the tension with the dark atmospheric woods.
When editing these shots into my film opening I also managed to add in the title which I'm very please with as it is very jumpy and loud and you don't know when it's going to come up in the film which I find very effective. I've used the same 'Bad TV effect' as I did in in my film institution 'Twisted Productions' and along with some very loud static noise, I've managed to create the perfect jumpy film title. This is really effective as all the scenes before it really build up the suspense and brings the audience into the film when suddenly the title pops up and scares them all which I find to be exactly what I want in my film opening!

My goal is to be finished filming by the end of this week. I planned on filming the last of my footage on Friday the 12th which I managed and now all I have to do is finish editing.

Making fake blood

In my film, I am 100% certain that I will include fake blood, not only on my victim but also at the crime scene on pieces of ripped clothing that the victim was wearing. I researched different types of fake blood and here is my short tutorial on how to make it! This recipe didn't work as well as I hoped as in the fake blood you could see lumps of food colouring and flour so if I make it again I will find a different recipe or I'll mix it in a lot better than I did here. However, when the blood was put on the ripped jeans the lumps were no longer visible and the blood darkened which is exactly what I wanted it to do. So it was really effective and I'm very glad with the outcome.



Tuesday, 9 December 2014

Animatic

This is my animatic. It is a more accurate (time wise and editing wise) than my drawn and cartoon storyboard. It enables me to see more clearly what I want to happen in my horror film opening.

Thursday, 4 December 2014

The Film Title

Below are 6 fonts that I am considering having as my film title font. Each have certain qualities that I specifically like and will go into detail. All of these fonts represent the horror theme, some better than others. When looking at each font I would like to consider that I want the title of the film to be big and bold. Nothing too complicated and nothing that resembles a cartoon. I want my film title to be simple yet effective.


The title of this font is "I Still Know". What I really like about this font is how simple it is. It is a very sophisticated font, it looks nothing like a cartoon and I find it would look really scary with blood dripping over it which is what I plan to do in my horror opening title. I really like this font and would like to take it into deep consideration for my final choice. The sharp edges look really threatening and effective on the 'horror' theme. It stands out and is big. It's not a very bold font but I really quite like that about it. It's really creepy and could be made to look really frightening with editing of blood and smoke.



The title of this font is "DK Mothman". What I like about this font is how it looks like someone has scratched the word 'lost' into a surface or that it's been splattered onto a surface with blood. However you want to look at it, it's definitely related to the horror family. It would look even more effective if I painted it a dark bloody red and added some more splatters of blood to the corners of the frame. This is definitely a potential film title. It would be really effective if I had the text enter the page slowly, letter by letter so that it looked as though someone was painting or scratching it onto the screen. If I add some sound effects of a high pitched scratching noise they would help to build up the suspense in the film.


The title of this font is "CF Night of the Damned". I am not as fond about this font as it has a skull in the middle of the 'o'. My film has nothing to do with skulls and I fear that this title would give false ideas of skulls in my actual film which is not what I want. However, I do like the rest of the letters such as the 'T'. This letter has ink dripping off of it, I could paint this red to make it look like blood dripping from the 't' which is exactly what I want as it relates to the death in my horror opening. This is a potential font choice however, the skull in the 'o' puts it at the bottom of my choice list.


The title of this font is "Double Feature". What I really like about this font is the dripping from all of the letters. If I painted this font a dark bloody looking red, it would be really effective and link to the killing in my horror opening. However, a negative of this font is how it looks slightly 'cartoonified'. It doesn't look serious enough for me. My horror film is not aimed at children and neither is it meant to be slightly humorous so I fear that this font would imply that my horror film is for a younger audience or that it is a spoof or a comedy of a horror film. Other than this negative detail I do really like this font and the effect of the dripping.

The name of this font is "Black Asylum". I really like this font, it looks really scary and with the right background music or sound effects it could be made to look really terrifying. It's not necessarily big or bold but it is really effective when providing a horror theme. What i think would really work with this font is to have it fade in from black and for blood to slowly seep over the page making it look really horrific and creepy. This would create suspense which is exactly what I want and need in my own horror film opening.
The name of this font is "Ghoulish". What I like about it, is that it's big and bold. It would take up almost all of the frame and with the right effects it could be really good at making the audience jump if it popped up onto the page really suddenly. It's flaw is how it looks almost like a monster with the flicks at the ends of the letters. This i feel would give the audience the wrong impression, it may lead them to believe that there are monsters in this film which is definitely not what I want them to believe as it isn't true. I could however, paint the entire font a dark red and add in some special effects of smoke or mist that would really help to make it look scary. This would build up a lot of suspense which is what I want in my horror opening.

Tuesday, 25 November 2014

To do list for filming:


  • Film the main character (Katie) hiding in the abandoned farm
    • Close Ups
    • Running into the farm
    • Sneaking around looking for a place to hide
  • Film Amelie the seeker
    • Walking around the woods looking for Katie
    • Shouting for Katie
    • Running through the woods looking
    • Getting scared as she can't find Katie
  • Film the villain
    • Sneaking around the bushes
    • Sneaking around the farm
    • Hiding behind long grass
  • Film Establishing Shot
    • I want an establishing shot of the farm as Katie first walks up to it
    • I want a pan of the woods as well as Amelie walks around looking for Katie
  • Police Crime Scene Investigation
    • Establishing shot of the police tape  with blood, ripped jeans etc.
    • Close up on police tape, following the police tape across the scene
    • Close up on ripped bloody jeans, zoom out to see Katie looking into the camera glaring through the lens, aimed to make audience jump.
  • Sound effects needed
    • Katie Screaming
    • Snapping branches
    • Wind
    • Crunching leaves/walking through the woods
    • Amelie shouting for Katie
    • Trees blowing in the wind
My goal is to have at least half of this footage shot before Monday the 1st of December so I can get more editing done as soon as possible and know what more I need to film to bring out the best in my horror film opening.

Monday, 17 November 2014

First Day of Filming!

Yesterday was my first day of shooting! At 4 o'clock in the evening my Dad, Uncle, Cousins and Sister and myself walked up to Weston Woods to start shooting. It was dark by this point so we brought torches. It was also raining quite heavily so we brought coats and umbrellas to keep ourselves dry and warm. Below is my Shooting schedule so far, it told my actors where to be, at what time and what to bring. My next shooting date is yet to be scheduled as I have to work around school and work times for my actresses and their parents.


Screenshot of Amelie Counting
The filming went really well, I was able to get some really good shots even though it was almost pitch black and raining really hard. The audio was really good though because I had a microphone which I had attached to a boom pole with an extension lead plugging it in
to the camera. This way I could record the sound right next to the actresses. It was really useful to have this equipment provided for me by the school. It helped me out a great deal.

Screenshot of Katie running past
I tried to film as many scenes as I could in the time I had and how late and wet it was getting. I shot quite a few of the scenes I needed for the main story line of the opening. I filmed one of the actresses, Amelie counting in their game of hiding seek at different angles and then different shots of the other girl Katie going to hide. I took shots of her running, some tracking her as she went and some just watching her go past the camera. While filming these shots I was reminded of a shot we filmed for our preliminary task that I wanted to try filming. This was having the camera pointed at Katie while she ran towards it and then past it without noticing it was there. This shot looked really good and I'm glad that I was able to think of it from my preliminary task.

Unfortunately when filming, the microphone picked up a lot of rain noise. Looking on the internet I have found a lot of videos and blogs that tell me how I can try to turn this down, this will be really useful when I come to editing my film opening on the Macs. I am pleased with the footage I was able to get and I know that I will be able to work with it all so I'm happy.

My next plan for shooting is to shoot the crime scene where Katie is seen in the background looking really pale, bloody and dirty to represent that she's dead. I want to shoot this in the same woods but in the daylight so that it shows that it's a new day and that time has moved on since the girls were playing hide and seek. A shot that I want to also shoot is the parallel shot of the villain creeping around in the woods wearing dark clothes. This will have to be shot in the dark around the same time as the shots yesterday were filmed. Preferably when it's raining to show it's on the same night as the game of hide and seek.

For my next filming session I will need:

  • The Video Camera
  • Boom Mic
  • Extension Lead
  • Fake Blood
  • Ripped black jeans
  • A hairbrush to make Katie's hair messy
  • Mud to rub on katie
  • Police Tape
My goal is to film these scenes by the end of this week. I will most likely film on the weekend as it is when my actresses are free and able to make it to the location.



The Cabin in the Woods



This is the opening of the horror film 'The Cabin in the Woods' with my annotations added on top. It was made in the software Windows Movie Maker. It comments on the camera angles, the Editing Techniques and the sound. of a horror opening from 'The Cabin in the Woods'. 

Friday, 14 November 2014

The Happening

The Happening Timeline: Editing Sound Effects, Events, Angles, Credits
 
The happening has a lot of editing and sound effects that happen in the first four minutes. So a lot goes on really, there are many different camera angles, edits, sound effects and different views. It's a very busy film opening. At the very end of the opening you see a women stab herself with a knitting needle. This is really good at making the viewer want to continue watching so they find out why she did that to herself. This would be a good idea to add into my own horror film opening, essentially it's a cliff hanger and it's a very good one too. 
This is a shot of the subject stabbing herself with a needle at the very ending of the opening, it's a really close up shot of the woman's frightened face and the needle with her hand in the background. This creates suspense really well because the audience wonders what she's doing with this needle pointed at her neck. This is something that I should think about adding into my own horror opening, close up shots of the victims, villains and other actors witnessing the situation to show their emotions or feelings on the situation. I have ideas of showing one of the little girl's worried faces before she gets kidnapped by the dark and mysterious villain. This will help the audience to feel worried or scared for the little girl which will bring them into the film in a way which will help to build up the suspense really well.

This is another shot of the opening, it's a long shot showing the people in the park walking backwards. This is also a point of view shot. This is effective at building suspense in the opening as it shows a lot of what's going on around the two female characters. It brings the audience into the film itself as they now see what one of the characters is seeing. These types of shots are important because they work so well at creating suspense. This is another type of shot that I will think about interpreting into my own horror film opening. It will build suspense if I use the victims point of view as she gets lost and starts to worry.

Institution




There are many institutions in the world today, some examples are:

  • Warner Brother Pictures
  • Walt Disney Pictures
  • Pixar
  • Universal Studios
  • 20th Century Fox
  • Tristar
  • Paramount
  • Touchstone
  • Dreamworks
  • Columbia
  • BBC Films
  • Summit Entertainment
  • Metro Goldwyn Mayer
  • Lionsgate
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Twisted Pictures is going to be the name of my institution. I Chose it because the word twisted provides connotations of creepy, eery, messed up and frightening. My original idea for my production company is for the logo to be animated. What I want to do is to film myself drawing the logo. In the editing I want to speed up the footage of me drawing the logo and add in sound effects of birds chirping, trees swaying and the wind whistling. This.This will help to build up suspense before my film has even started. What I have chosen to incorporate in my logo is the image of a tree with all of the leaves having fallen off showing only sharp branches. The tree is what links to the word 'twisted' as trees can often be seen as twisted and haunting. Below are some examples of twisted, scary looking trees that provide inspiration for my institution logo. When filming my production logo's animation
I am going to tape a piece of plain white printer paper to a plain wooden table so that while I am drawing the logo the paper won't move around ruining the footage. I will not need to pay attention to any sound being recorded because in the editing process I can simply cut out any sound that was recorded and add in the sound effects afterwards. When filming I will place my camera on a tripod to steady the camera as I don't want the footage to be all shaky. The camera will not move at all during the filming and the angles will not change either. I want to keep the same angle throughout the whole filming process.

My second idea for my logo is to have the logo of 'Twisted Productions' look like it is being played on a bad TV. On final cut pro there is an animation that looks like a TV turning on with a bad connection therefor having gray and white fuzzy lines. After this animation I want to have the logo in the centre of the screen with a bad TV effect provided by Final Cut Pro. This will look really frightening and with the sound effect of a TV Fuzzing it will look really good and create some tension, leaving the audience on the edge of their seats waiting for the film to begin.

I will try both of my ideas and then choose the one I like the most after they are both complete. This will enable me to make sure that I have the best possible institution and Institution logo/animation possible to ensure that my audience knows that the film is going to be scary.

To the left is my first drawing of my production company/Institution. As you can see the 'T' of 'Twisted Productions' is a tree that has been twisted and looks creepy. The rest of the letters have vines and branches growing out of them to incorporate the idea of twisted trees into my logo. My other logo idea is designed on the computer using the font 'Ghastly Panic'. Using Photoshop I put the font in white on a large black background so that in Final Cut Pro it would fill the entire page.

Tuesday, 11 November 2014

The History of Horror Films

19th Century Spirit PhotographyAccording to the website www.HorrorFilmHistory.com, Horror films first began in the 1860's with what's called spirit photography which was accompanied by a narrative style from the Grand Guignol Theatre Company and drawn from Gothic literature. They tell tales of folklore and old myths and legends from Europe.

Spirit Photography - The practice of using double exposures on a camera to create ghost looking people/objects within the frame of a film
To the right is an example of Spirit Photography.
The website HorrorFilmHistory states that according to the records the first ever horror film is 'Le Manoir du Diable'. It was created by Gorges Melies in 1896. The film is a silent film and involves: bats, magic, disapearing smoke and more spooky things that one might find in a horror film. Obviously, being the first horror film one can not expect this to be particularly frightening. Compared to present day horror films this isn't scary at all. Although this film may not be seen as scary now, it would have provided the audience (in 1986) witht he same suspense and thrill as a modern horror film would to it's present day audience now.

Since then, more horror films have been produced. early examples are as follows:

    Nosferatuposter.jpg
  • The Cabinet of Dr Calgari (1919)
  • The Golem (1915/1920)
  • Dracula (1931)
  • The Monster Walks (1932)
  • The Black Cat (1934)
  • The Walking Dead (1936)
  • Buried Alive (1939)

Another well know horror film is Nosferatu which was created in 1922. The film is a well known German Expressionist film, directed by a man called F.W. Murnau. The film includes actor, Max Schreck as the vampire Count Orlok. The film was based on Bram Stoker's Dracula however without the permission needed which meant that the names of the characters and details had to be changed as Murnau was unsuccessful in obtaining the rights to the novel. The film actually had a score written for it which the orchestra would play while the film was screening. Sadly the score was lost and all that remains is other musicians improvisations or their own versions of the official sountrack to accompany the film. This shows that even some of the very first films had music to accompany them and create suspense. This makes me think more about including my own music to my horror opening which will enhance the horror element and build suspense and fright.

Monday, 3 November 2014

Location


This is the location where I have decided to shoot my horror film. It is really easy to get to, it takes about 5 minutes to walk to from my house and has a lot of different areas where different shots can be taken. Because the location is so local, transportation would not be an issue and it will be very easy to transport the equipment to and from the location. The 'abandoned farm' is also in a public location meaning that I would not have to acquire permission to shoot here. My actors/actresses are also local which means transportation would not be a problem for them either.

This is an ideal location for me because it's somewhere with a lot of hiding places which fits my storyboard/plot very well. It is also right next to the woods which means that I can shoot both the hiding scenes and the police scenes in the same location which really benefits me.

What I particularly like about this location is the paths demonstrated in the bottom right picture. It winds round a bend which would be perfect for a tracking shot of one of the little girls running to hide. It would indicate, mystery of where the path leads to which also helps to create suspense in the opening. Something else I like about the farm is the tall grass and weeds that can be seen in the photos above. This is ideal for my villain who I want to shoot snooping around in the tall grass so that he is not clearly visible.

A negative of this location is that there are not any wide open spaces where I could shoot the police crime scene. What I wanted was to have a large space in which I could put up police tape and have pieces of the victims clothing swaying in the wind. However, there are certain paths and structures that I could use to stick up the police tape, I will just have to modify the camera angles to become close ups instead of wide, panoramas.

Apart from this minor detail this location is pretty much perfect for my horror film opening. The buildings are all rusted and starting to decompose so they look very old and haunted which is perfect. It will really help to add to the horror setting and create suspense which is exactly what I want.

Target Audience

From my survey, I have come to the conclusion that I am going to aim my horror film opening to those of both genders aged 16 to 21. This is because about 58% of those who answered my survey were aged between 17-21 and I personally being a 16 year old feel as though I may also be able to contribute my own personal opinions. As a teenager, I often find my piers watching horror films because it excites them. They love getting scared and uneasy.

I personally, am not a huge fan of horror films however, when I am given the opportunity to watch one there is something that draws me to watch one! There is something about the horror genre that entices the teenage/young adult audience because they are dangerous and exciting. It's almost as if watching a horror film is proving how brave you are and that is a big reason why teenagers and young adults love watching horror films.

The reason I have chosen to focus my horror opening towards teenagers and young adults is because those younger than 16 are very rarely found watching horror films. Either because they are simply too young or because they have no interest in them. As you start to reach 21 and over you begin to mature a lot more and realise that horror films aren't actually that exciting after all.

To appeal to my target audience I will have to make my film interesting, unique and exciting. The scarier it is the better.

Horror Opening StoryBoard


This is my drawn story board of my final horror film opening. This has been made before shooting any scenes for my final opening so that I have a good idea of what shots, angles and characters that I want to get in my opening so that when the time comes to film I will know what I am doing and can be prepared. As you can see I have colour coded some different factors of my storyboard which clearly highlight the camera angles, transitioning, editing, sound and mise en scene. This way I can clearly see specific features of my film opening when I come to editing and filming.
 

Below is another version of my storyboard that I made on an online programme called ' www.Storyboardthat.com' . It is really useful as you can add in characters, backdrops, quotation bubbles and props. The website doesn't have all the props, characters or backdrops you want to have in your film but you can get a rough idea of the different scenes you want to appear in your film opening. In this storyboard you can see what characters I want, where I want them and what I want them to be doing in each shot. This will come in handy when I film my horror opening and when I start to edit it.

Thursday, 23 October 2014

Preliminary Evaluation

What would I have done differently?

In my preliminary task the main thing that I would change is the costumes. Due to our lessons only lasting one hour we were limited to an hour a day which meant that each time we would film the characters costumes had changed.  This affected the film badly as it looked strange as the characters costumes changed at least three times in the film. In order to fix this in my real horror opening I will make sure that my characters wear the same clothing and hairstyles in every shot unless a costume change is necessary. 

I would also change the amount of shots we took to make this task. When editing I felt like I was limited with the amount of shots that I had to work with. To make sure that this doesn't happen in my final horror opening I will film a lot more different shots selecting different camera angles and types of shots. This way I will have more variety to work with when it comes to editing my final film opening.

What did I like?

What I really liked about my preliminary task are the different camera shots that we used to create suspense. We used some point of view shots when opening doors, looking into classrooms and uniting rope. I found that these help to bring the audience into the film which helps add to the suspense. These point of view shots (especially the shot of panning the classroom) bring the audience to the edge of their seats. I found these shots very effective and will try to incorporate them into my final horror opening.

I also liked the music in the background. It was a few long held out notes played from a  synthesiser. The music really helped to add to the tension. I would like to use music in my final horror opening to create a similar effect. I have composed a piece of horror music for my music GCSE last year which I could possible use.

What worked well and what didn't?
 
A major factor that really worked for me was the point of view shots. I found that panning the classroom, opening the doors and untiying the rope looked really good in the final preliminary film. These shots really helped to bring the audience into the film as though they are a character in the film themselves. This helps to build the tension of the film as they are more alert and aware of the surroundings and may not be expecting something to happen. These types of shots are something that I would really like to add into my final horror opening.
 
Another factor that worked really wel for me was the fade-in and fade-out transitions. i found that these really helped to make the story flow. Along with the jump cuts that were slightly noticable because of the lack of video that we had to work with the fade outs looked really smooth and well done. I especially liked how at certain points in the preliminary task like at 26 seconds when the film fades to black. I really liked this transition as it starts a new type of shot in the film. Rather than following the main character (me) down a number of corridors the camera angle changes to a close up of my face. The fade to black really helps the audience to see this change in camera angle and see how effective it is.
 
Somthing that I would like to work on is the way the story jumps around. After I had been walking around the school for a while, looking around and then finally having heard a noise and panning the classroom the film suddenly jumps to me running accross a room to tend to Jemma to make sure that she is okay. However, I find this a very messy scene. I feel as though something needs to happen invetween these two shots. This is something that I would like to work on in my final horror piece. A way I could fix this is using a type of parallel shot showing the two characters veiws on the situation. I feel as though this will really help build up the suspension in the overall opening.
 

Preliminary Task




Monday, 20 October 2014

Sinister







            

















              9 Shots

1: The production company, in this case the production company hasn’t been set to reflect on the theme of horror in the film but in many films they use the production company to set the mood.

2: The second shot is simply a black screen. In the film there is a sound effect of a rolling film. This really helps to build up a lot of tension at the very start of the film.

3: The third shot is the very first thing you see after the credits. It is a very strong opening scene that will keep in the audiences mind for the rest of the film.


4. After having the shot of the 4 children being tied up in this second shot the children have been hung and are now suspended in midair which is when the title comes in a very scary and creepy font that looks as if it's been scratched which gives it an more creepy look.

5: This is the establishing shot which sets the scene of a new family moving into this house. It shows where the film is going to be set and where most of the story is going to happen.

6: This shot shows a close up of a main character bringing out a box which shows that it has a significance in the film and could have a greater meaning or purpose later on in the film.

7: This shot is one of the main characters in a room. This shot shows that the room the character in could have a lot of significance in the film as it has been shown in the opening.

8: This is an extreme close up of a police officers badge. This shows that it has significance in the film as it has been set out in the first two minutes of the film. It shows that during the film the police could have a significance.l

9: This shot of the police man is significant as it is the police men warning the people that are moving in that they aren't welcome and that they shouldn't count on the police's help. This has significance as it sets the film off showing that the character is investigating a murder which leads the audience to want to find out more about what is going on.
















Editing


Tuesday, 30 September 2014

Preliminary Task


The Script

Joanna:                                (Walks down K block corridor casually)

(a scream comes from K16)

Joanna:                                (reaction shot of character after the scream looking confused/worried)

Joanna:                                (lose up of opening the door on the handle)
                            (Joanna walks in, the camera is in the classroom looking at Joanna as she walks in)

                              (Point of View shotas Joanna looks round to see what the noise was)

(Muffled noise comes from behind a closed cupboard door)

                          (Pan/Tracking shotas Joanna walks around the classroom looking for the noise)

(Knocking/banging noise comes from behind the cupboard door)

                     (Point of View shot of Joanna opening the door and seeing a person tied up)

Joanna:                                (Confused reactions, worried facial expression)
                 What the hell happened?! Are you okay?! Who did this to you?! Is it safe?!

                                (looking around worried)

Jemma:  Just untie me!!

(The camera is positioned from above the two girls:
while looking around frantically, Joanna starts to untie Jemma)
Joanna:                  (point of view shot) *Unties Gemma, a pair of hands come in front of the camera holding a blindfold 
and cover up the lens (cover up Joanna’s Eyes)

(Joanna Screams as the screen goes black)


Saturday, 27 September 2014

Planning my Horror Opening

Horror Opening Ideas:


The Plot:


Costumes:

I would really like for the 3-4 little girls playing hide and seek to wear really bright, colourful and girly dresses. This would imply that the girls are happy and having inoscent fun. It would make them look harmless and just like your typical group of friends planing hide and seek.
Some examples are:



I really like the colourful frills on both of these photos.
They create the touch of girlniess and inosence that
I want to give my main characters.



Setting:

I would really like to film my horror opening in an abandoned area or building. It would be really interesting to show the girls playing in hide and seek in a place that to most people would seem really spooky and somewhere that they wouldn't like to visit. However to the girls it is a place that opens their imagination and they like to play there inoscently together without realising the haunted atmosphere the loaction has.

 Some Examples are:
all of these locations look very creepy and wouldn't be a place that i would like to visit in the dark or to play there.
They're exactly the type of place that I would like to film my horror opening at just so that I can create these
haunted, scary effects to the audience. it would keep the audience on edge as it would lead them to beleive that
something scary or bad is going to happen because of the location the film is set in.


Film Genres



Examples:
Mystery:
  • The Maze Runner
  • Inception
  • Non - Stop
  • Se7en
  • Watchmen

Action:https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWHg6h2swXyXNijnHZv4y16e9S8UpRuSR2V-Bnvq0u_y9CU_rciwj5jrkOG0f9Ua_ifMSiRwncxEiNy4zRuO4JQx5GzdAJEcoy19bjXgfMiAfHTtnsgki-yHwt5axjoXt9H-QZm7oo3fo/s1600/American_Hustle_2013_poster.jpg
  • Avengers
  • Guardians of the Galaxy
  • Captain America
  • Lucy
  • Godzilla
 
Adventure:
  • Indiana Jones
  • Harry Potter
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • The Hunger Games
  • Gladiator
 
Documentary
  • Bears
  • I know That Voice
  • Super-Size Me
  • One Direction: This Is Us
  • Catfish

 
Crime:
  • American Hustle
  • 22 Jump Street
  • Pulp Fiction
  • Sabotage
  • Fast and Furious
 
Historical:
  • 12 years a slave
  • Pompeii
  • Saving Mr. Banks
  • Lincoln
  • The King's Speech
 
Romance:
  • The fault in our stars
  • The Great Gatsby
  • The Notebook
  • About Time
  • Titanic
 
Horror:
  • The Conjuring
  • The Purge
  • World War Z
  • Carrie
  • Sinister
 
Comedy:
  • Bad Neighbours
  • Sex Tape
  • The Other Woman
  • The Lego Movie
  • Blended

Fantasy:
  • Maleficent
  • How to train your dragon
  • Man of Steel
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
  • The Twilight Saga
 
Realistic:
  • The Hunt
  • Festen
  • The Sea Inside 
  • Spartacus
  • Winter's Bone
 
Thriller
  • The Guest
  • 7500
  • Horns
  • Transcendence
  • The Imitation Game