Filming Evaluation- Song- Day Three

Filming Evaluation- Song- Day Three

For the beginning of our opening, we have planned for a girl to be jogging to some music in her headphones in the woods. We discussed this and thought for it to be realistic, she would probably be jogging to a current pop track, however we aren't allowed to use copy-righted music. We researched some uncopy-righted music and there weren't any that a typical 16 year old girl would be listening to so we decided that to make the opening more legitimate and also to show more skill, we could record our own song which would avoid any copy-right issues; a lot of films also have pop soundtracks that they use during the film and then release as a single. 

Charley and Dave can both sing (and play the guitar) and we experimented firstly just having them sing individually and then choose one of them to sing the track, but then they sang together and the tones of each of their voices really complemented each other. We also thought that having and male and female voice could represent the male killer and the female victim. 

The next thing we had to do was write a song and this was probably the most problematic bit we faced because none of us had written a song before. The group kind of ignored this issue for a while until it came down to a few days before we were breaking up for Christmas and we realised we still didn't have a song. Myself, Charley and Tia tried to write a song during one of our free periods but we only came up with a first verse and chorus and we didn't think we'd be able to fit guitar chords with it. So one evening I came up with a set of lyrics for a pop song and with it a basic tune. I then recorded it and sent it to the group. We all agreed that we would just have to work with what we had and just rely on the production of the track to make it sound really good.

Charley's dad has a recording room in their house with instruments, microphones and computer software to mix songs, therefore we all met at Charley's house at 10.00am (Dave was late again) and we firstly just went over the song briefly and then discussed what we had to do that day. Unfortunately, we had to keep changing parts of the tune and so this made it hard for Dave because he wasn't too familiar with the chords or lyrics at the beginning so this took up a lot of time. 

Dave has has more experience playing the guitar than Charley so he played the tune into the microphone. First of all we had to record a reference track which was just going to be used to get our timings right and for Charley and Dave to sing to. Guy (Charley's dad) taught Tia how to use the Sony software so she was working the computer whilst Dave was playing the guitar. It took a long time to get it right though so if we were to do this again, we would have ensured that Dave had fully learnt the chords before the day so it would have been quicker. Once we had the reference track down, Tia was able to add some percussion onto the track to give it a heavier beat and this also made it more of a pop track and less acoustic so it was more ideal for someone to be running to. After finding the right drum beats and also the correct tempo, Charley and Dave were then needed to record some lyrics.

Because we were just working in a house, to sound-proof the area in which they were both singing into and to avoid getting any interference or background noise, we used Charley's duvet and held it in a semi-circle around the microphone and the person singing into it. Charley was up first because then Dave would be able to have Charley singing through the headphones and he would be able to harmonise to it. After having worked out who was singing which parts of the song, Charley sang the first two verses and then up to the end of the chorus. We then put that onto the track and then it was Dave's turn to harmonise with Charley. He then recorded the pre-chorus and the chorus along with Charley and the next two verses. After putting them together and listening to them back with the track, it sounded okay but it wasn't at the level that we wanted it. Charley decided to re-record her part but it was still out of time. By this point it was about 6:00pm and we had been going for about 8 hours straight so we had to call it a day. We hadn't finished recording the whole song with both the guitar chords (because we needed to record the bridge) and the lyrics and we also weren't happy with what we had done. Therefore, we have decided to meet after school on Wednesday to start again and re-record everything and both Charley and Dave have agreed that they will learn the song inside out so that we can maximise time on Wednesday. This day wasn't a complete waste of time because it showed us that we really need to know the song and it's also given us new ideas for when we rerecord. The mistakes we made yesterday have taught us a lesson and hopefully we will be able to record the song more quickly and more effectively, giving a better result and track to work with for editing our opening. 

Song lyrics for 'Living a Lie'

I used to stay awake with you

Talking till two

I was in love with you

But you were blocking my view

And every single time you spoke

I couldn't cope

Never wanted to let go

But now I struggle with hello

Just open your eyes 

And you will see

Now I'm flying

And I'm not crying

I'm living my life

Day to day

I want to find you now

Some place, some where, some how

I need to say goodbye 

Cos we were living a lie

Do you remember the time

You lay by my side

I couldn't call it then

Never thought that it would end

And every time you smiled at me

I could never believe

This was never meant to be

The end of you and me

Please just open up your eyes

And look at me 

Because I'm flying

And I'm not crying

I'm living my life

Day by day 

I want to find you now 

Some place, some where, some how

I need to say goodbye

Cos we were living a lie

I wish that I had known

How much we had to grow

But it's okay

I was better alone anyway

Now I'm flying 

And I'm not crying

I'm living my life

Day by day

I am flying

And I'm not crying

I'm living my life

Day by day

I want to find you now

Some place, some where, some how

I need to say goodbye

Cos we were living a lie

Filming Evalutaion- Forest- Day Two

Filming Evalutaion- Forest- Day Two

The next day of filming was the next day- Wednesday 23rd. We had planned for this filming to be the footage at the beginning of the film, the first part of the scene where the girl is running in the woods. This meant that because this filming was essentially going to be shown before the filming we had done the day before, we had to be really careful about continuity errors e.g. ensuring that everyone was wearing the same clothing and had their hair in the same way. We had a couple of issues in that Dave firstly forgot the hearing aid which meant that we couldn't do any close up shots of his ear, and also he forgot his black neck warmer meaning that his face was on show so any front-facing shots of him needed to have his hat pulled down over his face. This again was a continuity error so we will have to try and minimalise the amount of front-facing footage we use of him. 

However the first problem we came to on the day was the fact that Dave decided to cycle to Tia's house, and after oversleeping as well, he was very late in arriving. Tia, Charley and myself pressed on and filmed some establishing shots in the forest and also some shots of Tia running whilst we were waiting. Luckily the weather was far more cheerful and we were able to get some good shots of the sun shining through the trees etc. This weather will also juxtapose the next scene, emphasising how horrible it is in the killer's lair. 

When Dave did arrive we then went back into the forrest and got some other shots of Tia running and Dave in trees or hiding and watching her. As mentioned before, this was quite difficult because of the mask face but we managed to get some over the shoulder shots and some footage of him walking. Because the ground was so muddy, it limited the different angled shots that we could do without getting the camera muddy. We wanted to do a floor level shot of both Tia and Dave's feet walking/running along but we had to hold it and so we aren't too sure how steady the shot will be and weather it'll be usable. When doing a shot of Tia doing her shoe-laces up, we were stuck with a similar dilemma in that we couldn't get a steady shot because we couldn't get the trip-pod at the right angle. 

Looking back on it I'm not sure if we have enough footage but we will be able to see and work with what we've got when we start editing. Also because we haven't recorded the song yet, Tia wasn't able to run to the music/beat which would have been good but hopefully when we've recorded the song, we will be able to match the song beat to the running. 

Filming Evaluation- Castle- Day One

Filming Evaluation- Castle- Day One

The first shooting day was the 22nd of December and we were filming the majority of the footage at the castle in Sutton Valence. We had agreed that we would meet at 10 o'clock because this meant that we had the majority of the day because we knew we were going to take a few hours and we also were aware that at this time of year it starts getting dark at about 4 o'clock, so we had time constraints.

The morning of the filming, we all woke up to rain, wind and gloomy weather conditions. We had initially discussed the possibility of rain and had decided to go ahead and film anyway, however the rain was really coming down and there was a gale blowing. The group decided to proceed regardless of the awful weather conditions and to go to the castle. We all took waterproof jackets and wellies as well as several umbrellas to cover all of our things as well as the camera as there was no shelter in the castle. 

As arranged everyone met there at 10 o'clock and we took everything up to the castle. Prior to the filming day, we had individually gathered items from either shops or around our houses because we realised that we needed to make the castle look as though a murderer had been camped out there for a long period of time. It also needed to look as though it was a place equipped with the right equipment to be able to tie people up and murder them. We all took our bags of props up to the castle and Charley also brought a mattress and Dave brought his tool kit and work-table. Other props included:

• bottles 

• cans

• a white china plate and mug

• a small chess board

• dried pasta

• a can of gruel and a teaspoon

• newspapers 

• books

• logs (to make a fireplace)

• fake blood to stain certain props

• kitchen knives (stained in blood)

• toolkit with tools in it (including a mallet and hammer etc)

• cow and pigs ears

• a chest of earrings

• body bags hung up from the walls

• rope

The first task was to set up the lair. We needed to ensure that it didn't look artificial and set-up so we made it messy and unorganised. We places the mattress in one corner and poured blood onto it- this was good for about 5 minutes but then it started to soak in and look more pink than red. We should have poured the blood on when we came to film it so that the blood was red and fresh. However it could just look like it was dried up blood and to fix the colour we could always adjust the colour on Final Cut. On top of the mattress we left a crumpled up jumper, some scattered pigs ears and cow ears. The animal ears in theory were a good idea, however after having bought them and seen them on the camera after filming then, we didn't think people would know that they were ears because they were designed for dogs to eat and so had been processed and didn't look like raw ears any more. They have been filmed but we will decide how much of the ear footage we will use when we begin the edit.

Next to the mattress we scattered lots of beer bottles around to make the killer look stereotypically homeless and an alcoholic, making him seem troubled even underneath everything else. On the walls of the castle, there were rocks sticking out, providing natural shelving. We really like this because we thought that this gave the castle a more homely feel to it and we put jars, candles and cans of food on the shelves. We felt like this also exaggerated the long period of time that he had been living there. 

Dave had created some body-bags out of black bin-liners and had used string to create body curves. He had made two- a adult and a child. These were really effective but they didn't really match the shape of the two victims that the killer flashbacks about. Because one was a child and one was an adult, it may confuse viewers, so it would have been better if they were both medium-sized so that they matched mine and Charley’s body shape. 

With the body bags, we needed to hang them with rope high up, as well as a long rope to tie up the victims. However, finding places on the stone walls to be able to steadily hang some rope which could also hold a significant amount of rope was proven to be a difficult task. We tried lots of different methods to get the rope into crevasses in the walls or wrap it around sticking out bits of rock. We tried tying a tin can to the end to weigh it down as we threw it (like an anchor), but this didn't work. As a group, we spent a good 15 minutes trying to attach the rope to the wall but in the end Dave climbed between two rocks and managed to tie loops of rope onto some rocks. This was then pretty stable and managed to stay up for as long as we needed it to. 

Once all the mise-en-scene was set up, we started filming establishing shots and quick bursts of the props that we could use in editing to link the main bits of footage together. Doing this gives us more flexibility when it comes to editing because if we need to cut a bit of footage in half to get rid of some, we can insert a shot of the binoculars hanging off the wall for example, and then cut back to one of the girls. With the rain, it meant that we needed to always be under an umbrella so it required at least two people when filming (one to hold the camera and the other to be holding the umbrella up. This meant that everything took a lot more time than it should have.

For our opening, we have also included fake wounds, but these only appear after we have shots without them i.e. a before and after shot. This was fine, however it meant that we had to do all fake wounds on set at the castle, in the rain. For the severed ears, we were using wax to secure the ear down flat and cover the edges, giving the impression that it had been cut off. However, once this wax got even a little bit damp from the weather, it became harder, slippery and impossible to work with. Luckily we managed to craft my ear before it got too wet but Charley’s ear was too hard to do, especially when we realised we had began losing light. Thinking about it, we should have done the individual character filming at the beginning and the prop shots at the end in the rain, but unfortunately this problem didn't even cross our minds until it had happened. As a result, it has meant that we don't have any good close up shots of Charley’s ear. As a group we discussed how we could solve this and have said that when it comes to editing, we will just have to intersperse shots of Charley with shots of me and just imply that the same has happened to her. If it’s fast paced, we’re hoping that it shouldn't be too much of an issue. 

Another problem that we realised the night before was the fact that people aren't allowed to carry knives or tools around with them. After a lot of discussion though, we concluded that there wasn't a lot that we could do in such a short space of time and even if we had had more time, making knives wouldn't have looked as realistic as using real ones. Therefore our solution was to only get the knives out of Dave’s tool box when we were filming them, transporting them wrapped in tissue and we also figured that because the castle is right off track and the weather was so appalling, we doubted that anyone would actually come up to the castle.

Overall, the weather conditions made our day a lot harder, longer and more technical than it needed to be. If there was another day that we could all have filmed then we may have decided to postpone it, however in hindsight, the gloomy weather will create an effective juxtaposition to the sunny weather the main girl will be jogging in, as well as creating pathetic fallacy too. Looking back at the footage, we did think of other shots that may have looked good or would have been effective but we will have to make do with the rest of the good quality footage that we got. 

Deconstruction - camera angles

Within the horror genre, there are a handful of shots which make up the majority of angles within the film. The two most common shots that you'll see when the killer and victim are in the same scene together are low angles and high angles.

A high angle shot will be mostly used when someone has died or is about to die. This will be used when the victim will be about to die or has died within the scene to show them as being weak and powerless. The shot is particularly effective when they have been badly beaten and wounded in a struggled fight with the killer and as the killer is about to finish them off, you have high angle shot of the victim, usually close up of their face, to show their eyes looking up at the killer with either a spiteful look in their eyes or a deep fear as their eyes widen. However, this shot also has the ability to be used with the killer being the damsel in distress when the hero of the 'victim' group overrules the killer.  I personally really like the usage of this type of shot when the killer is the focus of the low angle because it almost gives the audience a sense of accomplishment as they bring the killer down to his/her knees.

The other common shot you'll see within a horror film will be a low angle shot of typically the killer. The killer will will be the main focus with the aid of lighting to highlight their features to make them appear even more powerful than they already are. When a low angle shot is paired with a form of POV shot, it makes the audience feel like as if they're the victim themselves. It puts the audience in the same place of vulnerability as the victim is. However, like the high angle shot, a low angle shot can also be used to subvert the conventions of the killer being strong and the victims being weak when the hero eventually overrules the killer and the camera switches to a low angle POV shot 

Practical task - typography

For my practical typography task, i have decided to make my own typography using Photoshop. This was initially a daunting task, however, after playing around with the features of Photoshop for a little bit of time, I learnt that there were some incredibly useful features I could use to make quite stunning typography.

So the way i started, was with a plain black background, and the title "senseless" written in a red font. This was the basis that I would create my font from after "rasterizing" the type, I could move onto the next step.

So the feature I'm using here is the "liquify" feature that Photoshop allows users to manipulate a single layer how they wish by dragging parts of the layer around which is what I did to make the spiky bits on the letters as well as making the letters "contract" to give a slightly warped look.

Once I was happy with how I had manipulated the type, I then added a handful of effects to the lettering which gave the letters a slightly bevelled look which adds depth to the typography.

I then decided to have a go at making my own texturing for the typography. All I did was add a .PNG file of a blood splatter and then placed it over the writing.

To make the whole thing a little neater, I used an eraser tool to remove any of the extras and left the blood splatter on top of the letters but trimmed it so it wouldn't "run" off the letters (below).

However, the blood was a little too bring in my opinion so I decided to add a satin effect to it which darkened the colour and so made the red seem a little more "blood-like".

This is the final product I was left with.

Deconstruction of Titles of Horror Films

A common theme within the titles of horror films is they are usually relatively simple. For example, they are often only one single word, such as in the examples of Saw, Scream and Sinister. These titles have a strong impact on the audience and immediately hint at a slasher horror genre, as the words chosen for the titles are related to horrific images. This can be seen in Saw through the use of a dangerous weapon as a title, in Scream as screaming often indicates terror or fear and Sinister depicts horror through the definition of the word being a adjective of something scary or creepy.

Another theme within the titles of horror films is the use of a major plot device within the film, such as in Cabin In The Woods, Orphan and The Blair Witch Project. The two latter examples also conform to the first common theme of horror titles. The titles that have strong direct links can be seen in Cabin In The Woods as the cabin the characters stay in is the main location of the film, in Orphan as the antagonist is an orphan and in The Blair Witch Project as the Blair Witch is what the students are investigating. These titles work well with the horror genre as they are straight-forward and to the point. This works well for the target audience, as often horror film fans know what type of horror they like, and having the plot in the title helps appeal to the audience. 

Practical Task - Editing

As part of the editing practical, I decided to look into altering the sound within a clip when it sounds as though it is coming from headphones. To do this, I initially filmed a short series of shots of myself writing in a notebook whilst listening to headphones. In the clip, I then take my headphones out and look around before putting them back in. 

I began by importing all of the filmed footage into a new project in Final Cut Pro.

Following this, I dragged each of the clips into the timeline and detached the audio from each of the clips and deleted for all of the clips except the footage where the headphone is taken out.

I then briefly cut the clips so that they fit properly and only the usable footage remained. 

I then imported the song that would be heard through the headphones and through out the clip. I also edited some of the footage to make it fit better with the song and so that it flowed nicely.

I then used the blade tool to cut the song in time with where the headphone comes out of my ear and gets put back in again. I then added the Low-Fi effect from the audio effects tab.

I then added the no treble effect to make the music sound more tinny and as though the music was being heard through the headphones, which was the effect I was trying to create. 

I then added more layers and continued to add effects to make the music sound more as though it was coming out of the headphones. 

This is the final draft of the edited clip:

If I were to redo the sound again, I would make it less distorted and more grainy, to really get the tinny effect of the headphones.

Practical Task - Filming Logistics

As a group, we decided that we wanted to get all of our filming done over the Christmas Holidays, so we begun by making a list of all the dates within the holidays, and then individually looking at which days we were available on. 

From this, we could then see the days which we could all do. We then decided to pick three of these days to work on our project, doing specific things with a checklist for each day of what needs to be completed, these days are Tuesday 22nd, Wednesday 23rd and Tuesday 29th.

We wanted to film at different locations for each of the days, so the 22nd would be at Sutton Valence Castle, filming the majority of our opening, on Wednesday 23rd we will be at my house in the forests filming the initial running sequence and then on the 29th at Charley's house, we are planning on writing, composing and recording a song which will feature during the scenes where I am jogging.

Tuesday 22nd 
The first day which we are going to film on is Tuesday 22nd. This day will be mainly spent at the location near Amy's house, Sutton Valence Castle. We are planning to begin setting up at 10:00am, which means that we need to meet just before this. Early morning filming will not only mean that hopefully there will be no people visiting the castle, but also we wanted our footage to have an 'early morning' feel to it, as our main character would be out on her run in the morning. Also, the natural lighting will be good in the morning, but not have a large effect of glare on the footage.
We managed to compile a finalised list of what each person needs to bring:

Charley:

• mattress 
• bedding
• wound makeup
• pigs ears
• mirror
• camera
• jeans and hoodie
• clapper board

Amy:

• hearing aid
• tripod
• bruise makeup 
• skirt and top
• mug

David:

• body bags
• all black outfit
• lots of rope
• toolbox
• table
• face mask
• headphones
• black duct tape

Me:

• sports outfit
• jar of ears
• camera
• headphones
• black beanie
• leather gloves
• vasaline 

At this location, we are also hoping to record extra footage, including establishing shots which can be used for transitions or included to provide a well rounded plot to the audience. Using the castle is a very risky location, because it is obviously weather dependent, but we plan on continuing to film whatever the weather, although this may affect some of our shots. The actual castle is the 'killers lair' and so we need to ensure that the mise-en-scene is perfect and exactly what we are picturing. This needs to be effective and so we will ensure sufficient time is spent creating the perfect lair.
Props for the lair include:

• mattress and bedding
• table of knives
• mug
• empty wrappers and packets
• torch
• pile of old clothes

At the castle, we also want to hang two of the body bags that David created. This is may be one of our biggest struggles as we are not completely sure how we can elevate the body bags and make them look realistic, so this will take up a large amount of our time finding somewhere to hang them and then ensuring they are secure and realistic.

We are planning on spending the whole morning at the castle, so will ensure we are fully equipped with drinks and snacks. Also, as Charley will need do the wound make up for both herself and Amy, we will need to ensure that we get our initial shots before their injuries as soon as possible.

Wednesday 23rd
For our second filming day, we are planning on only spending a few hours filming in the forest. Both myself and Amy are unavailable in the afternoon, so we need to ensure we work efficiently to get all the filming done as quickly as possible, without rushing it. 
In this location, we only need to film a short running sequence followed by the kidnap, which means that we can experiment and be creative with our camera angles and shots. Ideally, we want shots of me jogging on the path, but also some shots which can be used to show the audience that I am being watched, so potentially some point of view shots and over the shoulder shots of the killer. We need to be careful when filming this scene because we don't want to reveal the killer but we need to emphasise that I am being watched and exaggerate the kidnapping without making it look unrealistic.
For this day, not as much equipment is needed, as we only require my running gear, Davids all black costume and then obviously the cameras and tripods.

Tuesday 29th
Although we are not actually filming on the 29th, it is still vital as it is a big part of our film opening. We wanted to be as creative as possible with this project, and because I am listening to music when running and copyright music cannot be used, we decided to write, compose and record a song. Obviously this is a large task because it needs to sound professional, and we are lucky that we have access to full music recording and editing software and also have musically able group members, Charley and David, who can both sing and play a variety of instruments. Amy can also play the piano which will be useful. Before this day, we would have already written the music and the lyrics so that we only need to record and edit the music at Charley's house. Hopefully, this should only take the morning to complete. The song can then be edited in with our final piece so that the audience think that I am listening to this song when running. 

Sunday 3rd
Luckily, we have included a back up day into our plan, just in case our footage cannot be recorded for some reason. Before this day, we will also have re-watched all of our footage meaning we can analyse and discuss whether we are happy with our footage or need to refilm specific shots or sequences.

Practical Task- Wrist Rope Burn Tutorial

Wrist Rope Burn Tutorial

In our opening scene, we have three girls tied up with ropes around their wrists. To make this more realistic and to give the impression that the girls are in great pain and have been tied up for a significant period of time, I decided to do a practical on making wrist rope burns with make-up I had around the house. I used many different products which should create a realistic, long-lasting effect (i.e. it won't be absorbed or get rubbed off quickly) and we should hopefully be able to add this extra detail into our film opening, Senseless. 

Here is a video and step-by-step instructions of how I did it: 

Typography Practical

After completing my typography deconstruction, I decided that I wanted to keep my typography simple, but at the same time it needed to represent the genre, of our opening, which is psychological horror. 

I opened up Adobe Photoshop and familiarised myself with the interface. I changed the background of my new project to black. I then inserted our title, 'SENSELESS' and tried it with a variety of the available fonts until I found the one I think suited our opening the best. The font is 'SINHALA MN' and I then changed it to bold.

I then copied the initial 'SENSELESS' word and pasted it below so I had a replica of the original word.

Then, I strategically placed the second work behind the first, slightly to the left of it, so both words can still be read but the second one acts as a shadow. I then changed the opacity of the title at behind from 100% to 50% using the slide scale on the right hand side of the screen. I then adjusted both words until I was happy with the shadowed effect.

This is my final and completed typography. Overall, I think that the simplicity of it is really effective for our chosen genre and it could work well as our decided title for our film opening. This being said, it may be argued that it is too simple, but I think that the strong black and white contrast with the added shadow is perfect for our genre.

Typography Deconstruction

After a first glance at a selection of typography examples from a number of different films within the horror genre, the most obvious theme was the contrast between red and black. I wanted to look at different styles of typography so that I could get inspiration for the typography which I am planning on creating, potentially for our film opening.

Firstly, the font appears as a Times New Roman style font, which is also serif. This gives the title a slightly aged and archaic look, suggesting that the film may contain religious connotations. The colour red also connotes danger, fear and blood which immediately indicates to the audience the genre of film, as well as what it may contain. The use of red is effective against the black background as there is a strong contrast which exaggerates the title and focuses the attention of the audience on it. 

I then looked at The Babadook, which didn't follow the red and black trend which is associated with horror films. The use of whites and a variety of grey and black colours, connects the typography with the ideas which are included in the film, as it is similar to that of a book. The variety of greys and blacks adds depth to the title, as the edges are dark and they disperse into lighter colours, finishing with a white burst in the centre. This draws the attention to the centre of the shot, where the title is situated. Again, the serif black font adds an archaic feel to the title.

Again, the Paranormal Activity typography follows the red and black theme, although there is a bold white '3' included, which highlights that this is the third film within the Paranormal Activity films, and that all films are related and in sequence. The red is bright and offers a strong contrast against the black. The font is sans serif and looks similar to a Verdana font. Also, behind the writing there is a slight red shadow of the same words, which suggests the presence of another force hiding within the darkness, which again represents the psychological horror genre.

I also looked at the typography of Insidious 2, which again followed the same pattern of red and black, but also included the 'off white' colour. The typography is all in capital letters, and the font is Neutralised Sans Bold. The letters are slightly faded at the edge, which suggest a slightly aged feel, again presenting the ideas which may be incorporated into the film to the audience. The bold number 2, which draws the most attention initially, shows the audience that it is the sequel to the initial Insidious film. The word 'chapter' is much darker than the rest of the writing, as it is less important than the title but still needs including. On the black background, directly above the word Insidious, there is a dark green tinge, which could represent the presence of a supernatural being.

Overall, within the horror genre, the common reoccurring theme is the use of red and black, but also the film title name written in capital letters rather than the lower case. The background colour is also usually black, as this provides a strong contrast with the writing.

Filming Logistics

Filming Logistics

TDAC will be filming our scenes over the Christmas holidays. We decided that we will need three dates for filming; one to film the chase-scene in the woods, one to film the scene in Sutton Valence castle and a final one to record a song that the girl will be listening to as she's running in the woods. 

As a group, we marked individually the dates which we were available and what times specifically suits us. I then sent round the potential dates on the group chat and we narrowed it down to three; Tuesday 22nd, Tuesday 29th and Wednesday 23rd.

Tuesday 22nd

On Tuesday we are all free all day and so have decided to makes this a day for us to film at the castle. Because we want the castle scene to appear like it's morning-ish time, we have agreed to all arrive early at about 10 o'clock. When I went and took pictures of this castle, I went relatively early and there wasn't anyone there so we are hoping that there again will be no residents or people visiting the castle. (If there are, we will just have to wait until they have left because we cannot get anyone in the footage.) We have also discussed who is bringing what on that day in terms of props and costumes etc. 

Charley- Mattress, sheets (for bedding), wound make up for the cutting of ears, pigs ears (because she has a dog)
Tia- sport outfit, jar of ears
Dave-
Me-

We will do some establishing shot recording and get some extra footage that we can use for mise-en-scene or just to make the footage run more smoothly. We will also have to set up the castle to look like killers lair- this may take some time to make it look really effective. We are going to have a table of tools, a mattress with unmade bedding on it, maybe a dirty chipped mug and some wrappers so it looks like the killer has been living there for a while. We will also be hanging two body bags from a tree or somewhere in the castle with rope to resemble two girls having died and been hanged. We will spend a few hours up there filming and take lots of different angles of the locations and acting so we have lots of footage to chose from when it comes to the editing. As well as this, Charley is going to have to do the fake wounds on our ears/heads to she will have to bring all of her make up as well.


Wednesday 23rd
On Wednesday Tia and myself are only free during the day and not the evening so we are going to get to Tia's house early so we can record in her forests during the morning. We are doing the chase scene in the woods so theoretically it shouldn't take as long as recording the castle scene because there isn't as much needed to be setup. We are going to film Tia jogging in and out of the trees as well as some POV shots from the killer watching and following her. All the audience will see of the killer in this scene is a hand when he reaches out from the tree and grabs her face. Tia will need to be wearing sports gear and someone will need to bring some big over-head earphones. Dave will need to have gloves as well.


Tuesday 29th
On Tuesday we aren't doing any visual filming but instead audio; we are recording a song. Charley has a set up at her house so Charley and Dave will be recording into a microphone a song that we will have written. This will probably take the best part of a day to do because it has to sound like a legitimate track that would be in the charts so getting it right will be tricky. We will hopefully have production behind the track and music playing along but this will all be time-consuming. This is the song that will be played in Tia's earphones and we are recording our own because any songs that is current and in the charts is copyrighted.


If we have underestimated how much we have to do, we are all free on Sunday 3rd so this is our back up date to potentially finish any bits of filming which we have reviewed and think could be improved.

Pratical Task - Actors

When looking at who we should have for each character in our film opening, we felt that we were restricted and could therefore only use the people in our group. Although there was the option of casting, I felt that this would overcomplicate the process, as we would have to rely on other people to attend the filming days and follow precise orders, as we want to get the filming done as quickly and efficiently as possible. Also, we decided we wanted to film during three days over the Christmas Holidays, and felt that it would be unfair to rely on other people to attend all three of the necessary days.

Within our group of four, we have myself, Charley, Amy and David.  I decided to look at each one of us and look at which character we would fit the best and why. It was also helpful that our film opening only features four characters, as this meant we would all be a part of the acting team, but the amount of frame time we would get would vary, depending on the role. We have already decided that we wanted a male killer, so this meant that David would need to be this part, but I still wanted to look at what changes needed to be made regarding his appearance.

Within our storyboard, we have one killer, and although he is masked and is not visible to the audience for the majority of the opening, there will be shots in which his figure is seen and so we wanted to ensure that he fit in with our idea of what the killer would look like. In my deconstruction, I discovered that the killer is usually a middle aged, dark haired man, both of which David is not. Due to restricted resources meaning that we don't have any other options, we decided to use costumes to present David in a scarier and more intimidating way to the audience. We are going to do this by creating a mask which covers the lower part of his face, and then using makeup with darken his eyes. We will also put a black beanie on him so that his hair is covered, and may attempt to darken the areas which are visible.

Next, I looked at one of our two victims who are featured during a flashback. Amy fits the character appearance we were going for, as we wanted them to look like a female teenager who is portrayed as 'normal', which would add realism to who the killer is targeting. Within the opening, the areas which Amy would feature in are the short bursts of flashback of the killer torturing his previous victims. There will be shots of Amy before and after the attack to foreshadow what is to come to his latest victim.

Similar to Amy, Charley needed to have normality about her appearance, as we want the audience to fear the fact that the killer is targeting normal teenagers. Within the opening, Charley will feature in flashbacks before and after her death, as we want to emphasise how bad the killer tortured the victims. Her make up will be done to exaggerate the aftermath of her death and add a factor of gore to our opening.

Finally, I had to look at myself and analyse how suited I was to being the main victim in our opening. I looked at my hair, which is significantly different to Amy and Charley's, which meant that our killer didn't have a 'type' and his victims were varied. Within the opening scene, the kidnapping occurs whilst I am jogging in the forest. This means that I will firstly be viewed in running gear with my hair tied up, potentially looking sweaty. When taken back to the castle ruins, there will be shots of me tied up and very bruised, suggesting that the torturing phase has already begun, and the antagonist is about to kill me, which is not seen on camera.

Overall, I think that our actors are well suited to their parts, although we are able to use makeup and costumes to further emphasise the factors which are the most important for each role.