The second day of filming wasn't exactly a great start for myself. Again, due to issues regarding transport to the set, I had to make my way by bike with my characters outfit in my bag. To make matters worse, I had a setback 20 minutes after leaving home with the bike needing repairs and so I was again late to filming.
Tia, Amy and Charley had taken the initiative and went ahead with filming the parts that I weren't required for in the woods, allowing me more time to get to the set and so making the most of the limited daylight hours we had available in the middle of December.
The shots that the girls had filmed whilst I was making my way to the set went great and most of them have been put to use in our first draft, along with the ones that involved the killer which we filmed after midday once I had arrived.
The second day of filming didn't quite go as well as one would have hoped. However, the day was still a success as we had managed to record just as much footage as the first day with plenty of daylight hours left.
Monday, 8 February 2016
Filming evaluation - Day 1
For the first day of filming, we filmed the flashback scenes. This involved the four of us all taking part in the sequence. The killer was portrayed by myself dressed in all black and Tia, Amy and Charley all played the roles of victims.
Due to issues revolving around transport availability, I arrived later than agreed. However, the set hadn't yet been fully set up and so there was still time to set up the props I had brought with me without eating into our filming time.
The weather for the day started off perfectly overcast which is rarely a good thing. However, we took advantage of this and filmed the main shots that required dry weather before the rain started to come down. Unfortunately, the weather took a turn for the worse as we started to do Charley's make up and without and good shelter from the rain available, we had to make do with an umbrella and some questionable makeup skills from Tia and Amy which worked surprisingly well given the circumstances.
besides the weather, there weren't any other major issues with the first day of filming as we had even planned for large amounts of rubbish to be left by ourselves and so tidied the set, filling two bin bags of discarded ears, tins of dodgy food and body bags.
All in all, the first day of filming was a relative success.
Due to issues revolving around transport availability, I arrived later than agreed. However, the set hadn't yet been fully set up and so there was still time to set up the props I had brought with me without eating into our filming time.
The weather for the day started off perfectly overcast which is rarely a good thing. However, we took advantage of this and filmed the main shots that required dry weather before the rain started to come down. Unfortunately, the weather took a turn for the worse as we started to do Charley's make up and without and good shelter from the rain available, we had to make do with an umbrella and some questionable makeup skills from Tia and Amy which worked surprisingly well given the circumstances.
besides the weather, there weren't any other major issues with the first day of filming as we had even planned for large amounts of rubbish to be left by ourselves and so tidied the set, filling two bin bags of discarded ears, tins of dodgy food and body bags.
All in all, the first day of filming was a relative success.
Evaluation of practical task - Music production
As part of the diegetic soundtrack within our product, we decided to create our own music as not only could we have the exact soundtrack we wanted, we didn't need to worry about copyrights over the soundtrack as we made the track ourselves. Myself and Charley performed the piece and it was produced and edited by Amy and Tia. The song is called "living a lie" and as opposed to being parallel to the genre, we decided that a more upbeat track would make the conclusion to the particular scene seem more abrupt and would also sound more like something a teen girl would listen to when running.
We started off by first being shown our way around the recording program by Charley's dad, who kindly lent us his studio and technical skills. And then went on to create a basic drum track which I could play along with as I can't keep time to a metronome which we realised after the first two hours of recording.
After creating the drum track, we went about recording the main guitar track for the song. This took some time but we eventually had the guitar track recorded to the standard we wanted and then set about recording the vocals.
Because we didn't have a vocal booth, a way in which we managed to reduce the background noise and vocal echos during recording, we ended up holding a duvet surrounding the microphone as a way of absorbing any vocal echos and as a shield to prevent any background noise coming from outside.
After the first day of recording, Charley and her dad sat down together and created other backing tracks, including: bass, drums, secondary guitar, strings and a synthesized organ. On top of that, they created a harmony track which enabled me to have a vocal guide to help me harmonize with Charley's voice to make the whole recording sound neater.
The product we had at the end was then exported as an Mp3 file which we could later use as a compatible file format in imovie to use as the diegetic soundtrack for when the girl is running.
The lyrics and chord progressions for the song are:
The chord progressions were:
Verse: Am, C, G, F x2
Pre chorus: G, F
chorus: C, Am, F, G, C, Am, F, Fm7
Because we didn't have a vocal booth, a way in which we managed to reduce the background noise and vocal echos during recording, we ended up holding a duvet surrounding the microphone as a way of absorbing any vocal echos and as a shield to prevent any background noise coming from outside.
After the first day of recording, Charley and her dad sat down together and created other backing tracks, including: bass, drums, secondary guitar, strings and a synthesized organ. On top of that, they created a harmony track which enabled me to have a vocal guide to help me harmonize with Charley's voice to make the whole recording sound neater.
The product we had at the end was then exported as an Mp3 file which we could later use as a compatible file format in imovie to use as the diegetic soundtrack for when the girl is running.
The lyrics and chord progressions for the song are:
Living A Lie
Verse
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
Pre chorus
Just open your eyes
And you will see
Chorus
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
Verse 2
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
Pre chorus 2
Please just open up your eyes
And look at me
Chorus
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
Middle 8
I wish that I had known
How much we had to grow
But it's okay
I was better alone anyway
Chorus
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
Verse: Am, C, G, F x2
Pre chorus: G, F
chorus: C, Am, F, G, C, Am, F, Fm7
Middle 8: G, F, Am, G, G, F, Am, G
Editing - Countdown
To make it clear the plot is flashing back in time, we wanted to include an obvious title clip with a countdown of the hours, minutes and seconds earlier.
To do this, I added in five title clips and changed the font to match the flicker of the credits earlier on in the scene. I also shortened each of them to be exactly one second long each. I then typed in the text, as can be seen below, increasing by one second each clip.
Originally, I repeated the stages I used to create the beginning titles in order to make the countdown flicker, however as a group we decided it looked better if the text remained still.
To make the countdown seem eerie and creepy, helped by the fact that it precedes an ominous and chilling scream, I added in the sound of a clock ticking. On its own, the ticking did not seem creepy or build tension, however I added an effect to create an echo and reverb that made the ticking almost haunting. I used the large room effect, which made each tick echo in the next, as opposed to just ending abruptly.
To do this, I added in five title clips and changed the font to match the flicker of the credits earlier on in the scene. I also shortened each of them to be exactly one second long each. I then typed in the text, as can be seen below, increasing by one second each clip.
Originally, I repeated the stages I used to create the beginning titles in order to make the countdown flicker, however as a group we decided it looked better if the text remained still.
To make the countdown seem eerie and creepy, helped by the fact that it precedes an ominous and chilling scream, I added in the sound of a clock ticking. On its own, the ticking did not seem creepy or build tension, however I added an effect to create an echo and reverb that made the ticking almost haunting. I used the large room effect, which made each tick echo in the next, as opposed to just ending abruptly.
Editing - Titles
We had a clear idea of what we wanted for the titles from the outset. We wanted them to appear and then flicker and look distorted before returning to their normal place.
For this piece of editing, I added in a title clip and changed the font and text to what we wanted. The first font I picked is a smooth, modern, sans serif font. I then wanted this to flash into a rougher font before flickering back.
To achieve the flicker, I opened the animation panel and adjusted the opacity at various points during the title clip. To do this, I selected the range tool and highlight an area before changing the opacity of the text with the opacity nodes.
To get the font to change, I used the blade tool to cut the clip at two points to create three separate font clips. I then changed the font of the central clip and then cut that clip into three more separate clips. I then selected each of the three shorter clips in the different font and changed their position in the frame so as to create the effect of the text moving about the page.
After this, music was added in correlation to the flicker so as to emphasise the effects it creates and the tension it builds.
For this piece of editing, I added in a title clip and changed the font and text to what we wanted. The first font I picked is a smooth, modern, sans serif font. I then wanted this to flash into a rougher font before flickering back.
To achieve the flicker, I opened the animation panel and adjusted the opacity at various points during the title clip. To do this, I selected the range tool and highlight an area before changing the opacity of the text with the opacity nodes.
To get the font to change, I used the blade tool to cut the clip at two points to create three separate font clips. I then changed the font of the central clip and then cut that clip into three more separate clips. I then selected each of the three shorter clips in the different font and changed their position in the frame so as to create the effect of the text moving about the page.
After this, music was added in correlation to the flicker so as to emphasise the effects it creates and the tension it builds.
Editing - Song
In the second part of our film opening the girl is jogging through the forest listening to music. We wanted to get the effect of the music as being from the point of view of the girl, and so originally the music was placed over the top of the footage and played at full volume without distortion, as it would be heard by the girl. However, whilst this seemed like the best option in planning, when the actual action was created, it gave the effect of a music video and not a horror opening. As a result of this, we changed the plan and decided to create the effect of the music as though it is coming through the headphones.
I completed this part of the editing.
The first shot of the girl putting her headphones in is shown, and then a second shot of the girl pressing play on her phone can be seen. As she presses play, the music comes in at full volume and undistorted. However, the scene then cuts to the girl running through the forest, and the music changes. I reduced the volume, as well as putting various effects on it to make it sound tinny and as though it was coming from the headphones. I firstly reduced the bass and increased the treble to create a tinny effect. I then added a muffled effect to make the music sound distant and as though it was not the main focus of the scene, which is what had happened when it had been played at full volume and undistorted.
As a final touch, I added various forest sounds, such as birds chirping and wind. This added depth to the sound and made the location more believable whilst creating more of an atmosphere.
Storyboard Draft - Practical Task
As our initial idea has been adapted and changed into our final idea, I decided to do another storyboard, outlining the chain of events that will occur in our final opening scene. Although what is included is near enough the same, the order has been significantly changed, and so the storyboard below highlights the changes.
Overall, we decided to change how our opening would be set out, with the castle scene first and then the kidnapping scene, because when it was the other way round, it didn't flow. There wasn't a very large build up in the running scene, but when the narrative flipped to the castle scene, the tension was already very high, so there was a sudden change in tone and suspense. We wanted this to change and so I suggested to put the castle scene first, setting the tone of the film and then having a '4 hours earlier' section, so the running scene would be foreshadowing the murder which the audience knows is going to happen. This should work much more effectively at setting the tone, but similarly the huge change in narrative and suspense won't have a great impact because the narrative is looking back on events which have already happened.
Shot 1 - shot of killer
Shot 2 - close up of victim
Shot 3 - close up of knife blade
Shot 4 - close up of hands being tied up
Shot 5 - previous victim tied up
Shot 6 - victim screaming before death
Shot 7 - victim running through forest
Shot 8 - victim getting kidnapped
Shot 9 - victim in the boot of the car
Overall, we decided to change how our opening would be set out, with the castle scene first and then the kidnapping scene, because when it was the other way round, it didn't flow. There wasn't a very large build up in the running scene, but when the narrative flipped to the castle scene, the tension was already very high, so there was a sudden change in tone and suspense. We wanted this to change and so I suggested to put the castle scene first, setting the tone of the film and then having a '4 hours earlier' section, so the running scene would be foreshadowing the murder which the audience knows is going to happen. This should work much more effectively at setting the tone, but similarly the huge change in narrative and suspense won't have a great impact because the narrative is looking back on events which have already happened.
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