What Did I Learn From The Test Shoot?

The test shoot was really useful to do as it helped to give us an idea of how our sequence is goingto look, as well high-lighting any key issues we need to consider and enabling us to have the time to learn from any mistakes made, and i learnt a lot;
* Plan plan plan - if you know exactley what you are doing then it is SOO much more time efficient, and its gives you extra time at the end to experiment
* Things always take longer than you think they will
* Getting the lighting perfect is hard and can be very time consuming- but it's worth it!
* I learnt the art of fake blood making, and bruising people with eye shadow
* Juat because you're indoors, doesn't mean you don't have to worry about sound (ie-builders next door)
* ...and i learnt never to believe Danni when she says its only a "short walk" :P

TEST SHOOT

Yesturday we had the test shoot, and i was really happy with how it went. We went to Danni's house to shoot and did 8 hours in total, from 10am - 6pm. The first 4 hours it was just me, Danni and Tom. We set up our location (which took longer than expected, because in order to block out all the light coming into the shed we had to tape black towels to the outside of the windows), we played around with different fake blood recipes, we completed our storyboard and shooting script, filmed the first scene that we didn't need actors for and just about had time left for lunch.
Once the actors had arrived they got into costume, and we did their make up. Throughout the shoot we all had a go at doing everything; directing, sound technition, and production assistant, as we felt this was the fairest way to do it, and it was the most fun because it meant we weren't doing the same thing all day.
I was so impressed with the actors we used, and think that they were a really good choice. I am really looking forward to seeing the footage, and finding out what we need to change to make our sequence even more amazing!

GROUPS!

We have now been given our groups. I am going to be working with Tom Deason and Danni Andrean. I am really happy about this, as i get on well with both of them and i know we can work effectivly as a team. We have come up with lots of ideas already, and are really keen to get started and begin filming. It's going to be so fun! Have a look at our group blog to see how we're coming along :)

Preliminary Exercise - Sonny Jim

Preliminary Exercise - Evaluation Questions

Preliminary Exercise
1) Who did you work with and how did you manage the tasks between you?
In my group was Ben, Selina, Mel, Daniel and me. We all partook in the planning which worked well, however when it came to the filming we all stuck to our individual jobs. This is so that there was no confusion in changing around after every shot and it also made us quicker and more efficient as a team. I was the production assistant, Selina directed, Mel was the sound technician and Ben and Daniel acted. When it came to the editing Ben was physically doing it however we were all telling him what to do, and what to pout where - so we all had a fair input into how it turned out.

2) How did you plan your sequence? What process did you use?
We tried to keep our idea straightforward right from the start as we knew we had little time. We soon decided it would be a simple conversation between a teacher and a pupil. We then talked about location and realised we needed somewhere quiet where we wouldn’t be bothered by the other classes in the school, consequently we decided on the media block because it would be only our class in there and the other groups would be away filming therefore we wouldn’t be disturbed. When drawing up a story board and we decided that in it there should be a range on shot distances and types so its not just boring MS shot-reverse-shot over and over. Therefore we included BCUs, POV shots and different angles. After this Ben worked on the script, while we worked on the shooting script making sure that we filmed the shots in the most sensible order i.e. shooting all the corridor shots first, all of Ben’s CUs together etc.

3) What technology did you use to complete the task, and how did you use it?
To film our sequence we used a cannon HV30 camcorder, a tripod, and a microphone. We also used a white board in the place as a clapper board, to keep use organised and aware of how many takes we'd done and what shot we were up to. To edit it we used Adobe premier pro. The shots were all captured before hand for us. We mostly used the razor tool which allowed us to cut and move the clips we wanted easily.

4) What factors did you have to take into account when planning, shooting and editing?
We had 1 hour to plan, 1 hour to shoot and 1 hour to edit - the a big factor that we need to consider and monitor was time. When planning, we made sure we took into account the brief, as we needed to make sure we fulfilled it as best we could. We knew we had to keep it simple, because of the time limit, but we still wanted it to be interesting and enjoyable to watch. Therefore we used a wide range of shot distance and types - but still tried to keep the flow and smoothness of it all the way through. Additionally we needed to consider the location, because we didn't want people disturbing us, or work in the same room as another group. Therefore we did a location recce, and did a walk through when we were there. When shooting there was also a lot to consider in addition to the time. This is because shots don't always turn out how you imagine them and so we changed the some of the shots, including the master shot, so the camera was in a slightly different position to where we originally planned in the storyboard -to make our piece look better. Also more than one group wanted to use the corridor. Luckily we got to use it first - but when we were filming in the room, the other groups were filming in the corridor, and they were making a lot of noise so we kept having to stop and ask them to be quiet. When editing we decided the best way to do it would be to separate all our different shots first to make it all more organised and clearer, this took longer than we thought, but once it was done it felt more ordered and less of a daunting task. It was very hard to get the match on action right, though I think we managed to in the end. The other thing that was challenging was getting the dialogue to flow still. We didn't just want all of our shots to be over-the-shoulder shots, because we thought it would be boring so we had POV and reaction shot, but this did make our job a bit harder when editing.

5) How successful was your sequence? Please identify what worked well, and with hindsight, what would you improve/do differently?
I do think that our sequence was pretty successful and I personally was very happy with how it turned out. We demonstrated that we could successfully complete some of the expected criteria such as match on action, and we did the whole sequence without breaking the 180 degree rule. It is an interesting and original sequence where one character enters a room, walks over to another character and exchanges a few lines of dialogue. Nevertheless our sequence was not perfect. We did not manage to achieve shot-reverse-shot very successfully. We had a lot of footage from different angles, but when editing it together it didn't work. If we were going to do this again we would have Ben's character sitting down when he came into the room. This would mean that both characters would be at the same level, making it far easier to shoot and achieve shot-reverse-shot.

6) What have you learnt from completing the task? Looking ahead, how will this learning be significant when completing the rest of your foundation coursework, do you think?
I definitely learnt a lot from doing this preliminary task. I learnt about sound and how eliminating background noise is so important. Additionally I learnt about directing, and I am glad we faced a few problems in this shoot and it didn't turn out perfectly because I can keep them in mind when shooting our actual sequence, so as not to make these mistakes when it really matters. Additionally as I hadn't used the editing equipment for over a year, I was pleased to be reminded to how it all works. This now means that I can work quicker and more efficiently on editing for our real piece. I will remember the extra knowledge I have gained from this task when making the real thing, as I'm sure it will come in useful, so I am really glad we got the chance to do this.

Film Posters

Film Posters
I decided to do some research into film posters and what makes a successful one, as we will eventually create a DVD cover for our opening and cover use the same techniques as posters.
Halloween

When looking at this film poster, I can see that it is very striking, and very effective for many reasons. The image is of a pumpkin face, with an orange hand holding a dagger, on a black background. The eyes and nose of the pumpkin are filled with flames, giving the face a menacing evil look. The colour and texture of the image are the same as a pumpkin (directly linking to the film title), but the shape looks like it could be a mask of some sort, leading us to believe that in the film, the killer’s identity could be hidden. The black background definitely gives it a deathly, horror feel and it draws our eye even more to the bright, haunting pumpkin face and knife.

The font used in this poster, is simple and easy to read yet still very striking. It is white which completely contrasts with the black background, and the title has an orange outline to tie in with the image. From the title itself ‘Halloween’ we can immediately assume that it is a horror as Halloween is probably the scariest night of the year. Additionally the tagline ‘the night HE came home’ is very harrowing and spooky. The capitalisation of the word ‘he’ emphasises it, implying that we know who ‘he’ is already. This also adds to his significance, making it seem like ‘he’ is known, powerful and that we should be frightened of him therefore making it more alarming.

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind Trailer

Here is the trialer for 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' one of the films we watched on our movie day. It gives you the basic set up for the story and shows you clips of some of the many random scenes that happen in seemingly bizarre locations, during the huge montage the lasts nearly the whole film.

Movie Days

During half term myslef and my close firends Amelia Conway and Laura Allen (who both also do media) decided we needed to broaded our knowledge of films, and we decided the best way to do so was to watch lots! We took some of our favourites, some from familt collections and some borrowed from and recogmended by the school. All together we watch 8, in 24 hours!
Walk the Line, Mulholland Drive, Eternsal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Magdalene Sisters, The Shining, The Object of my Affection, Kill Bill vol 1, Kill Bill vol 2.
It was a really funcouple of days and i actually enjoyed all of the films - but some i liked more than others.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind I found particularly interesting. At first I found it very confusing, but in the end everything is revealed and in order and I thought it was really clever. The entire middle part of the film is a montage - this really kept me gripped to it as I didn't want to miss anything. Additionally it kept the pace going really well, and their was never a dull moment.
The Shining I had never seen before, and i was quite anxious to watch as I had been told by many people that it is one of the scariest movies ever. I did find it a very scary film, however I really enjoyed it. The suspence and tension that was built up was amazing, and again it made the film very gripping as you became completely engrossed in the story.
The Magdalene Sister was a very powerful film in my opinion. This was probably my favourite out of the ones that we watched. It was very realisitally done - it wasn't all bright and shiny like it was all filmed on a Hollywood film set, and i think this made it all the more believable, shocking and engaging. You really felt for every main character and resented the nuns for how badly they treated them. I found it very moving and touching film.

Horror Timeline

Films have changed dramatically over the years, not just because of technology but because of audience expectations and feeling at the time. The best genre to look at for this is Horror. From Hitchcocks suspence movies in the 60s, to the modern psycological horrors - every decade produced classic horror films but all were very different.
Horror Timeline
1960s
The Birds
Psycho
Peeping Tom

1970s
The Exorcist
The Omen
Halloween
Texas Chain Saw Massacre

1980s
Friday 13th
Nightmare on Elm Street
Polterguist

1990s
I know what you did last Summer
Scream
Silence of the Lambs

2000s
Dawn of the Dead
The Grudge
Saw 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5

SCRIPTS

I have done some research into scripts as I felt it might help me when writing the script for our final coursework piece. I found many useful websites on this such as;
screenwriting.info
expertvillage.com/video-series/2794_movie-script.htm

There are many elements to remember to include when script writing:

Scene Heading - A short description of the location and time of day of a scene, also known as a "slugline." E.g.: EXT. SUBURBAN HOUSE - DAY would denote that the action takes place outside suburban house during the day time.
Action - When any character speaks, his or her name appears on the line preceding the dialogue
Dialogue
Parenthetical - an inflection to a speech noted by a writer
Extensions - A technical note placed directly to the right of the Character name that denotes how the character's voice is heard. For example, O.S. is an extension that stands for Off-Screen
Transition – It denoting an editing transition. E.g. DISSOLVE TO: means the action seems to blur and refocus into another scene, and is generally used to denote a passage of time, memory or dream.
Shot - What the camera sees. E.g. WIDE SHOT would mean that we see every character that appears in the scene, all at once

Here is a script from the opening of ‘Mean Girls’ (2004);


Cady’s Dad

This is your lunch, ok? Now, I put a dollar in their so you can buy some milk. You can ask one of the big kids where to do that.

Cady’s Mum

Do you remember your phone number? I wrote it down for you, just in case. Put it in your pocket, I don’t want you to loose it. Ok? You ready?

Cady

I think so

Cady’s Dad

It’s Cady’s big day.

Cady (a narrator)

I guess it’s natural for parents to cry on their kids first day of school. But, you know, this usually happens when the kid is five. I’m 16, and until today, I was home-schooled. I know what you’re thinking, “home-schooled kids are freaks”…

X-Y-L-O-C-A-R-P.Xylocarp.

Or that we're weirdly religious

or something.

And on the third day, God created the Remington bolt-action rifle so that Man could fight the dinosaurs. And the homosexuals.

- Amen.

- Amen.

But my family's totally normal. Except for the fact that both myparents are research zoologists and we've spent the last years in Africa. I had a great life. But then my mom got offered tenureat Northwestern University. So it was goodbye Africa

and hello high school.

I find this script really useful, as it does everything and opening script should do. It introduces 3 of the main characters – with all the focus being on Cady we can immediately assume she is the central character. The genre is signified clearly because there are funny lines and she is on her way to high school. Therefore we know it’s a high school/teen comedy. The comedy comes from her parents babying her even though she is 16. As she is not in shot at first, the audience could think they are talking to a 5 year old, they way they say she should ‘buy some milk’ and ‘ask the big kids’ so it is very funny when it is revealed that she is 16, and very clever script writing. It’s definitely an engaging opening sequence because it is funny right from the start which always catches people’s attention and draws the audience in. As well as this we want to find out a bout her going to high school, whether she’ll fit in or not, so we’re eager to know more. Furthermore it completely sets up a storyline for the film, but a storyline where the out come could not be easily predicted at all. So from the opening, the audience will know where the film is going however it is not all boring or predictable, hence holding the audiences attention.

TOP TIPS FOR A GOOD OPENING SEQUENCE

* Show Credits, titles, sponsors and associated brands
* Launch recognisable music or a sound track that can be associated with the film, and the genre and tone of the film.
* Engage the audience, make them interested and eager to watch to rest of the film, draw them into the story.
* Indicate the genre by using audience expectations of it and in themes, characters, iconography, setting, music and sounds.
* Introduce main characters, give information as to their job, relationships, lifestyle
* Introduce the setting
* Establish the time period by hair, make up, mise-en-scene
* Hint at the story give small pieces of information or evidence about what is to come.
* Give a sense of the speed of the film and the storyline.
*Create narrative structure

The Sixth Sense Opening

Opening Sequences – The Sixth Sense

As opening sequences is what we are doing, I decided to look closely at some opening sequences from famous films. The ‘The Sixth Sense’ is a psychological horror film, written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan in 1999. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

It begins with a black screen. The credits are in a white simple font. They fade in and fade out, and the music subtly gets louder and quieter as this happens. As the writing fades in and out, the white colour gets a cloudy, ghostly look to it. The music matches this; it is very slow paced, eerie music that really creates a creepy atmosphere with an unnatural, spiritual feel to it. These credits continue for the first 3 minutes, building up the tension and the atmosphere so that when the film does start we are already on edge and completely engrossed in what’s to come. The first shot is of a light bulb, surrounded by darkness. This also adds to the tension as we are not quite sure where this is, or what its significance is.

The next shot is down in a basement or wine cellar. The camera is placed behind the rack of wine, giving it a stalker feel, like there is something lurking in the shadows watching. We then hear a creaking as someone comes down the stairs which further add to the tension as we don’t know who it is. This creaking is diegetic sound as those present in the ‘film world’ can hear it. As the scene goes on we realise it’s a woman in her late 30’s early 40’s presumably the owner of the house. She comes towards the wine rack the camera is placed behind, bends down and peers at the wines, the rack framing her face perfectly. At 3:46 we hear another diegetic sound, similar to a pin dropping, which you may think is very quiet but compared to the previous silence is very significant and frightening. The woman jumpily turns around and looks around the room. At 3:52 we see a long shot of her from behind the stairs banisters, further enhancing the impression she is being watched but also emphasising how alone and isolated she is in the darkness of the cellar, with no one to turn to for help.

We then see her run back up the stairs. At 4:00 we see a shot of a mantle piece, on it are candles and lots of cards that look like they’ve been made by children, with simple drawings and glitter. We can also hear the woman footsteps coming closer, another example of diegetic sound. Once the woman is back on the ground level of the house another character is introduced which is Bruce Willis’ character, we can assume they are in a relationship.

At 4:56 we see a very interesting shot. From the dialogue we have found out that Willis’ character has been given a frame “in recognition of his outstanding achievement in the field of child psychology”. The shot is looking into the frame he was awarded, in it we can see the reflection of their faces as she reads it too him. Now we can see things beginning to be explained; she says ‘I’ve never told you but you sound a little like doctor Zeuss when your drunk’ Implying they’ve known each other a long time, we can now assume they are married. We’ve also found out his job, he’s a child psychologist which could indicate why there are so many cards made by children in his home.

Although this is far long than the 2 minute opening I will be creating in a group, I think that it is still very useful. The build up of suspense is very well done and even though in the first 2 minutes we are still in the credits and even up to 5 minutes not a huge amount has happened in my opinion it is a very tense scene. A bit more about the characters is constantly being revealed as the scene goes on, their relationship, their job both of which we can assume will be significant to the plot of the film. Additionally tiny hints as to what might happen and the nature of the film are being exposed; e.g. the woman’s jump when she hears the pin drop sound. All of these factors are crucial for a successful opening sequence.

Budgets

This is a sample page from a motion picture budget;

Budgeting is a hugely important part of producing a film. When the script is still being developed, a rough budget will be made to convince producers and studios to give them the ‘go ahead’. During the pre-production stages a more detailed budget will be drawn up to ensure financing – this can sometimes be more 150 pages long! A budget is divided into 4 sections;
1) Above-the-line (creative talent),
2) Below-the-line (production costs),
3) Post-production (editing, visual effects)
4) Other (insurance etc)

There are many different elements that need to be accounted for and people that need to be paid;
Story rights: The right to produce a film based on a play or novel.
Screenplay: An A-list screenwriter can be paid a lot to write the first drafts of a script.
Dialog writer
Director: Usually a director's salary is about 7% of the final budget.
Cast: An A-list actor can ask for millions of £/$. However the rest of the cast are often being paid only the Screen Actors Guild minimum.
Production costs: The cost of shooting the film including sets, wardrobe, location filming, hotels and transportation.
Visual effects: (if required)
Music: The top film composers can also ask for millions.

Films often go over budget but technically they are ‘not allowed’ to do so. The Titanic is a very famous example of this, where the director James Cameron went way over on the budget but offered his fee to the studio. This is an example I found of the above for the film Spider man 2;
Story rights: $20 million
Screenplay: $10 million
Producers: $15 million
Director: Sam Raimi $10 million
Cast: $30 million
Tobey Maguire: $18 million
Kirsten Dunst: $7 million
Alfred Molina: $3 million
Rest of cast: $3 million
Production costs: $45 million
Visual effects: $65 million
Music: $5 million
Composer (Danny Elfman): $2 million.
Total: $200 million!

We are shooting our 2 minute opening to a film on a very low budget, so there are a lot of things we need to take into account. First of all we need to think about actors. Obviously we will not be paying anyone to act in it so we need to ask family and friends, drama students would be good. However it is important we choose people we can trust and who will be reliable, because if an actor doesn’t show up, it would completely bring film to a holt.

Secondly we need to consider the setting and location we will film in, and this has the greatest affect on the mise-en-scene and overall look. Again we will need to do things for free so filming in parks, woods, gardens, friend’s houses or school would be best.

The look of the actor is a huge factor and really adds to the overall look of the opening, and therefore it adds greatly to the effectiveness of our piece. Consequently costume, hair and makeup should all be kept relatively simple. This is not just because a simple, plain look is best and easiest when it comes to continuity, but also because all the clothes and make up will have to come from our group members, friends and family, as will the makeup artist and hair stylist, as we have no money to hire anything or anyone.

Horrors, particularly slashers are known for having great special affects. However we need to stay away from trying to re create gory, bloody scenes as it will just make our piece look very amateur. This is because we have very limited special affects therefore fake blood and fake wounds will have to be used, which will be very obvious and maybe funny to the audience. If we do decided to do a horror, this will definitely not be our desired affect.

Sound

ADR
ADR stands for Automated/ Automatic Dialog Replacement. Dialog that cannot be taken from production tracks must be re-recorded the process is called looping or ADR. This initially meant recording an actor who spoke lines in sync to "loops" of the image which were repeated alongwith matching parts of the recording tape. Although ADR is faster it is still a long meticulous job. An actor watches the image over and over while listening to the original production track on headphones as a guide. The actor then re-performs each line to match the lip movements. Actors vary in their ability to record it in sync and to recapture the emotional tone of their original performance

Diegetic sound
This is sound that is present in the “film's world”, anything that the characters are meant to hear for example a scream, creaking floor boards or a car engine.

Non Diegetic Sound
This is all the sounds that we as the audience can hear, but the characters in the film cant such as a narrator’s voice over or music.

On Screen
This is the sound that we can hear and we can see where it’s coming from because it’s happening in the shot.

Off Screen
Off Screens sounds are sounds we can hear but we cant see the source of them, we cant see what’s making the sounds as it’s happening out of shot, for example a scream or a knock at the door.

Foley Track
A sound effects technique for synchronous effects or live effects. The Foley technique is named after Jack Foley, a sound editor at Universal Studios. Foley artists enhance and create sounds to be added after filming. For example if the actors knock on the door wasn’t loud enough in the shot they would ask the Foley artists to enhance it.

Sound Bridges
When sound (music or dialogue) overlaps from when changing scenes. For example the dialogue in the previous scene is still being played at the beginning of the next scene, or the music from the next scene begins to play at the end on the previous scene. This creates a better fluency for the film and makes it less choppy.

Synchronous Sound
This is also known as Parallel sound. It is Music that matches with the action. For example frightening music during a frightening scene, funny, silly music in a comedic scene.

Asynchronous Sound
Also known as Contrapuntal Sound. Music that contrast with the action, for example happy, funny music playing in torturous, scary scenes.

Characters (costume and make up)

Vivian Ward

Vivian Ward is the confident, funny, gorgeous, quirky prostitute played by Julia Roberts in the film ‘Pretty Woman’ (1990). She is hired by businessman Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) to escort him to some high class social events; a world away from her everyday life, here we see her vulnerability exposed as she feels completely out of place, as she doesn’t fit in and fears people are looking down on her. Vivian is one of cinemas most well loved and easily identifiable characters, and hair, make up and costume played a huge role in this. For the first scene the costume of a blue mini skirt, over the knee boots and that iconic blonde bob wig we instant recognise and associate as Vivian from Pretty woman, and this look is replicated by many as a distinguished film character costume.

James Bond

James Bond is one of the most recognisable and well known film characters of all time! He is intelligent, suave, handsome, smooth, sophisticated and dangerous. Whether he has brown or blonde hair as long as he is wearing a tuxedo and holding a slick black gun and a martini glass, we’ll know it’s him. This simple, yet eye catching costume is very effective as it makes the character immediately recognisable to the audience, which is a key factor in keeping support and continuity as so far there have been 6 different actors playing Bond in 22 different movies spanning over 5 decades.

The Shining - Opening Credits

The Shining - Opening Credits

For our coursework we are making and opening sequence to a film, and credits are included in this. Therefore I have looked at ‘The Shining’s opening credits as example and inspiration as it is thought of by many as the scariest ever horror film. The film was made in 1980 directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the novel by Stephen King
It starts off with a forward tracking establishing shot looking out over a large lake with mountains either side of it. It then cuts to a birds eye view shot of a dense forest, with a road running through it with one car on it. The music begins straight away even though there are no credits yet. It is very low pitched with a slow tempo, and has an eerie, creepy feel to it. The camera follows the car, always slightly behind as it drives along the long winding road with masses of uninhabited landscape either side of it. This gives the impression they are being followed, and the wide stretch of land surrounding them emphasises their isolation and shows how alone they are, a long way from anywhere or anyone.
The credits are simple just like the opening sequence itself. They are not in a spiky font or dripping with blood, they are just pale blue, plain and easy to read. In my opinion I think this mirrors the significance of the film - How at the beginning they are just a normal family and Jack Terrence (played by Jack Nicholson) is just a normal guy – it plays on how anyone, even the people you love and who love you can turn against you, and go insane. However despite the simplicity of the credits, I think this opening sequence is still very scary and the music plays a big role in this. The creepy low pitch tune gets slightly louder and then a high pitched, whiny score is put in its place this has a strong ghostly feel to it as it sounds like distant screams and howls giving the audience an idea as to the nature of the film. At 2:34 we then see an image of the hotel, it is at the bottom of a mountain further stressing the sense of seclusion about the setting of the film.
Obviously we cannot do birds eye views shots of vast forests and remote mountain hotels like The Shining, however I do think there is a lot we can take from this as an effective horror opening. Firstly the point that stands out for me is that it doesn’t have to be fast paced and gory right away, the opening can be more subtle and still be just as scary. Also I think the change in pitch of music works really well in keeping a long sequence interesting and this clip also shows that both very high and very low pitch music can be very effective in horrors. Additionally I think the sense of isolation is very disturbing with no one around to help you, and I think this can be just as well achieves on ground level