Filming Review.

Saturday 16th February 2008.

Due to other commitments Jack and Sarah could not make filming on Saturday afternoon. So me and Nadia took the opportunity to film the setting on a bright and Sunny Day. This is so we can produce a contrast of the mood set by the weather. Sense of security is created on a sunny, bright day whereas a Foggy day creates an uneasy atmosphere where mood is dampened.
We took many shots of the setting and used our initiative and created bright child like writing on a wall to show the kidnapees vulnerability and innocence.


Wednesday 20h February 2008

Travelled to Royston via train and car (Kate drove :D), Luckily we had picked a foggy, cold morning and so created a creepy atmosphere to shoot our filming. We started with some simple panning shots of the field and farm like setting we were using. The setting provided us wuith odd, but interesting props generally scattered around the building fore example Boot, Bootles, Glasses etc. We used two windows of the barn to attach either end of our rope to. In our rope we created nooses for the dolls and a spare (for the hostage). We had to be careful as there was still a bit of broken glass present in the windows. We made sure we kept clear of the broken glass i the window panes. By one of the windows we had a paving stone sitting in the corner amongst the hay. We used this for the hostage (Nadia) to sit on. This allowed her to be seen easier by the camera as she wasn't in amongst all the straw, she stood out as she was slightly above it. It gave the idea that she wasn't supposed to be there. She wasn't supposed to fit in. We 'fluffed up' the hay surrounding the paving stone to try and hide it slightly. We tried to use a small windmill type object in the field but as there was not a lot of wind on that day we had to push it round ourselves which didn't last long! The sound it made when it swung round was a creepy clunking sound but we couldn't get it which was annoying.
We filmed the walking feet along the path and through to the barn. This went well but we had to be careful not to get the wrong footing when filming.

Rough Cut Footage.

First Rough cut.

Feedback below.

Action Plan.

As of 28th February 2008.

Produce/finish Rough cut finish.
Produce/ finish Soundtrack.
Finish editing final piece, Shot transitions, Special effects.
Rolling titles to be incorporated.
Diegetic sounds to be created. Phonetically? such as footsteps.

Finish incomplete blog entries.

Response to Feedback.

Editing:
Make shots shorter. - Not had enough time to cut/edit footage. However shots will be short with rapid transitions, which creates a typical thriller convention of suspense.

Camerawork:
Effective panning shots. - We used these to set the mysterious location.

Sound: / - None yet, however we will use lots of diegetic sound. For example foot steps. Also will will in corporate the sound of a heart beat throughout. A heartbeat for every shot/transition. Shows speed of shot.

Mise en Scene:
Good use of derelict setting. - The fog allowed us to create more suspense of the unknown, also have shots of the same setting on a bright sunny day. These shots will be used in contrast to one another.
Props helped to create curiosity.- The use of dolls creates an uneasy atmosphere. Exploring a typical thriller convention of contrasting safe and familiar things with danger.
Location is mysterious- Set in an abandoned barn. Ideal location for thriller setting. Luckily on our planned day to shoot, there was low lying fog, which was a bonus!
Props set sinister atmosphere.- As afor mentioned.

Storyline:
Could be about Kidnap?- The Storyline is about kidnap, however you never see the girl being kidnapped. Which also makes you wonder how she got there.

Narrative:
A lot of mystery.
Starts web of intrigue.
Good contrast with "the normal" and "the weird". - Typical thriller convention of using safe normal things and turning them sinister.
Shots of dolls are cool but hard to understand why they are there. - All shots currently placed out of order, however we used the dolls as a web of intrigue as to what will happen next as there is a free loose beside them for the girl?
I like the writing on the wall. - We wanted to give messages to the viewer. So messages in bright/big writing emphasises the kidnappee's immense and vulnerabitily.

Needs to be edited properly. - So far cut up shots, editing comes next.
Shots needed to be shorter with quick transitions.- As afor mentioned shots will be short with rapid transitions. they will link with a diegetic sound of a heartbeat created on garage band using a drum kit.

Feedback On Roughcut

Editing:
Make shots shorter.

Camerawork:
Effective panning shots

Sound: /

Mise en Scene:
Good use of derelict setting.
Props helped to create curiosity.
Location is mysterious
Props set sinister atmosphere.

Storyline:
Could be about Kidnapp?

Narrative:
A lot of mystery.
Starts web of intrigue
Good contrast with "the normal" and "the weird".
Shots of dolls are cool but hard to understand why they are there.
I like the writing on the wall.

Needs to be edited properly.
Shots needed to be shorter with quick transitions.

schedule

Date of filming: Saturday 16, and Monday 18.

Props need to bring: camera, knives, dolls, axe, wearing outfits, rope, duck tape, alphabet spaghetti, haribo, and a chair for the girl to be tied up on.

Shot List

- Opens with the view of a girls hand tied to a chair arm.
Close up of the girls hand
Approximately 2 seconds

- Close up of a girls foot tied to a chair leg.
Approximately 2 seconds

- View of the side of a girls eye looking round. Taking up half of the screen.
The other half of the screen is what is behind the girl. Dolls hanging from nooses.
Focus moves from the girl (close up) to adjusting to a long shot looking at what is behind her
Slow transformation from close to far.
Approximately 5 seconds

- A bowl of alphabet soup is scattered over a table in the room.
A close up shot of the soup with the letters arranged to spell 'Murder'
Approximately 5 seconds

- A close up of a decapitated dolls face.
Approximately 2 seconds

- Dolls are hanging from the nooses again.
The camera pans along the line of hanging dolls until it comes to a free noose.
Stops on the empty noose
Wide shot, might not need to use tripod.
Approximately 5 seconds

- The camera then pans down until the girl is seen looking up at the free noose.
Camera stops on the girls forehead, with her eyes looking upwards
Portrait view, wide shot, use tripod.
Approximately 4 seconds

-A close up of the girls eyes. She blinks, opens her eyes then closes here eyes.
Close up view
Approximately 4 seconds

Links into the flashback through bright setting of soft brush

Stalking scenes will have a light non-diegetic soundtrack with them, then we will also leave in the diegetic sound to create more of a realistic environment.

- Two girls walk into 'Evolution'.
Camera: (long shot) half the view is hidden behind a tree (gives idea of someone watching).
Approximately 3 seconds

- Newspaper view. Girls walking by as the newspaper covers the bottom half of the screen.
Newspaper moves with the girls.
Long shot, wide shot, moving with the girls, don't use tripod.
Gives idea of someone hiding and watching them.
Approximately 5/6 seconds

- The two girls are walking away down a street into the distance.
Use tripod, long shot, wide shot.
Gives the sense that they are going home as are walking away from the busy street.
Approximately 5 seconds

- View from the bridge.
Shot from above watching the girls exit from under the bridge.
Don't use tripod.
Birdseye view, wide shot, moving to keep the focus on the two girls.
Approximately 6/7 seconds

- Close up of the two girls faces smiling and talking as they walk along by the river.
Portrait view, not essential to use tripod.
Approximately 3/4 seconds

- Pictures of girls printing or coming out of camera

Flashback ends and return to the room with the girl. Girls eyes open.

-The camera pans out from the girls eyes to show her tied to the chair and gagged
Use tripod
Approximately 5/6 seconds

-Shows another table with a doll on top. It has been stabbed with a knife and is pretty torn apart. Wide screen.
Approximately 3/4 seconds

-Focus is drawn to the door. A shadow can be seen as the door opens of a figure opening the door.
Approximately 6/7 seconds

Our Animatic.

SHOT:
1. Shows the girls hand tied up to the chair creating suspense as you can not see her hand.

2. You see the setting off where she is being kept e.g. broken glass, indicating that it is unsafe.

3. You see another part of her tied up, her foot, creating mystery.

4. Now the plot kicks in as you see the victim, who is a vulnerable female character, and you can see the hanging dolls behind her showing that there is somethings else going on.

5. Next you see a close up of one of the dolls which shows that here is going to be a twist in the plot and creates confusion on the viewers behalf as it is not just and ordinary kidnapping.

6. A wide shot of more dolls creating fear of the unknown.

7. An empty noose creating suspense as the viewers assume it is for the girl.

8.a close up of half of the girls face showing fear in her eyes also creating fear for the audience.

9.A subtle message written in the alphabet spaghetti, 'murder'.

10. FLASH BACK: A stalking scene, where the stalker is following them, hiding behind trees. "The Gaze"

11.Special effect, Footage made to look like Polaroids. this is where our names will be shown. they will over lap. this is as if the stalker is taking photos.

12.Another scene, where the girls are walking home and are being watched.

13.close up of the girls happy faces, flashback. unaware they are being followed.This makes a non linear storing line emphasisng the confusion.

14. Back to the derelict building where the girl is being held, has just cut back from the flashback.

15. The final shot is of a mysterious shadow that bursts through the door, creating mystery and suspense . 'Fear of the unknown.'

Props.

These are some pictures of the props that we are going to be using in our opening title, most of these are going to be used in the derelict house scene, where the girl has been kidnapped and being held.

Duck tape, this is what the girl is going to be tied up with.



Rope, also what the girl is being tied up with.


















Knives.















Screw Driver.














Dolls.


















Axe.

Thriller rough shots (first day of filming)

This was our first day of filming our test footage in the "stalking" scene of our opening.

The purpose of these shots is to help us decide upon the most effective use of filming
E.g - setting, costume, props, and camera angles.

Costume

As we are trying to create a safe and happy mise en scene in this footage, we felt that a more extreme use of costume would be effective. E.g - bright feminine, colors, stripy socks, Tutu, sparkly make up.

We had created a good atmosphere to film in by choosing to film in the center of bustling town on a bright afternoon. Helping us to develop our safe and happy mise en scene. We also decided to film the two girls wandering into evolution as it was a fairly bright and colorful shop and aided with our feminen mise en scene.

Although the busy town center helped to aid our mise en scene we often had problems with public obstructing our shots. To avoid this problem we might have to make our selves completly aware of passers by in the area.

As we were trying to create a sense of the two girls in our shot being watched, we filmed shots from behind objects like trees,lamp posts. We used a Newspaper in one shot to help give a sense of sombody following and watching the two characters.

We felt this shot worked rather well,however more accurate filming is requried to maxamise the effectiveness of this shot.

We felt simular to our bridge shot. The camera needs to be placed at a higher level for the audience to clearly notice it as a bridge.

We filmed one shot of our stalker capturing pictures of the two girls. We felt this shot needs to be made alot clearer for it to have any real effect. As it is very difficult to notice the camera in his hand.