Friday 26 February 2010

Music.

Today we began on the music. We found a really cheery tune to use. We also found a ncie sound for our ident and some effects we can add to actions such as the eye lash flicks and pinning in the badge.

Discussion For Filming Ideas

Friday 26th of February

During our filming process our group had a discussion about ideas for the establishing shot. We decided that our film would start on an opening door, whilst walking through the door the camera shows the contents of the room, then finishing on the main character doing her hair.



Credit List.

Fire Fly Productions Presents.
A Black Pearl Film.
Lauren Coffey
Casting by Ashleigh Eccles.
Editing by Lauren Coffey.
Music by Mercedes Rollason.
Produced by Rosie Hargrave.
Directed by Ashleigh Eccles.
Therapy.

Thursday 25 February 2010

Thursday 25th February


We have decided that next thursday (March 4th) we will reshoot parts of the opening that either had bags or cameras in the background or the reflection of the mirror. This time we will be extra careful before setting up every scene.

Editing.

25th of February.

Today, we edited our film by splitting everything into the scenes and deleted the not needed scenes. We've tried to keep a close eye on continuity and so far have not seen anything else that could be a problem. We have also sorted out the sync and linked the sound and video together.

Next lesson we'll be putting them in the right order, so hopefully the lesson after we can sort out where in the scenes we are going to cut, and sort out some match on action shots.

Problems and Decisions.

25th of February 2010

Problem:
The scenes that need to be re-shot.
Decision: This scene is possibly the second most important part in the opening. We must re-shoot them.

Problem: Whilst uploading the sound went out of sync.
Decision: All we have to do is move the sound to sync with the video.

Problem: Are the characteristics going to be a voice over or written in the credits.
Decsion: What U1 31 decided is that we are going to do a small test of this. We'll create three. One with a voice over, one with it in credits and one without either.

Target Audience.

25th of February 2010

U1 31 have decided that our target audience in relation to the BBFC Certificate we have rated our Thriller Opening as a 12. At first, we decided a 15 but realized our film did not contain any of the elements.

The reason for choosing a twelve is, the theme is mature and suitable for young teens. There is no language in the film, so this doesn't matter. There is only one scene that emphasis' blood and an injurie. However, this we believe is not a strong image, so will still be suitable. Also there is no drugs in the Opening.

Our Choice of Soundtrack

Music
Our soundtrack is going to be upbeat, happy-sounding music similar to both the American Psycho and the Dexter opening. It gives the opening an ironic twist and gives the audience a false sense of security. We are just starting the music because we need the editing to be finished before we can complete it, a mistake we made with our childrens film opening, but as soon as that's finished we will start creating the music using GarageBand.

Dialogue
Since we have very little diegetic sound and no dialogue, we don't need to worry about the music covering up speech.

Narrator
We are still undecided as to whether or not to narrate our opening with the characteristics of a psychopath as we have mentioned in earlier posts, so we're going to wait until we have finished the editing and have put the soundtrack over the top before deciding whether it's necessary.

Friday 12 February 2010

Decisions about faults in Filming One.

The three options we have are:

-not use the scenes.
-use the scenes and some how cut them out.
-or re-shoot them.

The problems with not useing the scenes are that they were really important scenes.

The problem with cutting the scenes is that it might corrupt the size and put the entire film out of sink.

The problem with re-shooting the film is that the light might be different and something in Lauren's room might have changed.

Reveiw of Filming.

Friday, 12th of February.

Yesterday, we filmed our Thriller. Our group managed to get it all filmed during a lesson and a lunch time. We got all the scenes and whilst we were filming and even thought of some new interesting ones that we could do.

One we came up with was putting the mascara stick into the pot with very harsh actions.

We also added in the section where she walks to the stairs , we thought that if this was not included it would seem random.

We realized that the shot where we wanted to start off wouldn't work as the first one because she's putting her make up into the bag yet, she has to put it on before. We also decided that it would be a good idea to show her putting on her blazer from her front aswell as her back.

We tried to make the continuity in the filming to perfection. We realized that as we watched over it we saw a bag that was not there in the beginning. Which means we either re-shoot or don't use the scenes....

We struggled to make sure none of use or the camera were scene in the mirror. I think we achieved this.

Since, we had to change the opening scene we decided to try two different opening ideas.

Idea one: was to look at her door and it to open, look around the room then stay on lauren in front of the mirror.

Idea two: to start from the floor and go up her body to her hair.

In idea Two, we realized that her shirt was undone, and also it did not give the effect that the first one did. The creaky door added a strange atmosphere before it even began.

Tuesday 9 February 2010

Lesson Plan until Rough-Cut Deadline.

Tuesday, 9th of February.

Thursday, 11th of February.

Shooting Footage

Friday, 12th of February.
Loading footage and Separating into Scenes.

Half Term (Blogging)

Tuesday, 23rd of February.
Editing, taking out unimportant scenes.

Thursday, 25th of February
Shorting and correcting length of and ordering scenes

Friday, 26th of February.
Begin Music - Film should be in order
Add Opening Credits.

Tuesday, 2nd of March.
Continue with Music
Opening Credits.

Thursday, 4th of March.
Continue with Music.

Friday, 5th of March.
Put Music and Film Together.

Tuesday, 9th of March.
Make Any Adjustments.

Thursday, 11th of March.
Rough cut Deadline.


Friday, 12th of March
FeedBack.

The 11th of February.

Tuesday, 9th of February.

This is the first day we intend to film.

As it is being filmed at Lauren's house, we all decided to do it during our free. A bonus from this is that before our free we have a Media Lesson. We are going to film at Laurens during the lesson and the free.

We are hoping that this is adiquate time to shoot and get our scenes done in this one session.

Creating a Name Badge.


We took a photo of Lauren and created a name badge on Photoshop.

We based it on our Long Road College ID's.
Originally we decided to use some weighing scales as the background image, but instead we used the health symbol.

It was printed off, laminated and attached to a pin so it could be used in our filming.

Filming Tips.

Tuesday, 9th of February

1. Light Property.
we are filming inside, in the light.

2.Don't "Corpse" (Find motivation)

3.Keep Script simple- do not over write.
we do not have a script.

4.Plan well. Leave for editing.

5."Perform" - put some heart into it.

6.Keep camera close for speaking parts.

7.Don't waste film, prepare each shot.

8.Take more footage then needed.

9.State which shot you are filming.

10.Remember your pre-lim.

Friday 5 February 2010

Mise-en-scene how will we use it to create a character

The Mis-En-Scene in our opening will help create our character is that Lauren's room is very tidy and neat. Everything in her room has a place to where she a set it out very symmetrical. The costume of our character also helped us, because the audience see's that she is a very high, important women in the job she does. Her badge also helps the audience give her a purpose.

The red lipstick imediatly codes the brain to think Dr. Carpenter is "femme fatale".

What is a Femme Fatale?

is an alluring and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetypal character of literature and art. Her ability to entrance and hypnotize her male victim was in the earliest stories seen as being literally supernatural, hence the most prosaic femme fatale today is still described as having a power akin to an enchantress, vampire, female monster or demon.

(www.wikipedia.com)

Dr. Carpenter is not involved in love, how ever, she is created as dangerous.


Contents of the bag being layed out symetrically and we placed each item specifically so the objects would be placed in from where they are used, hands to face.
We purposly put in a planner and a pen to show she will be prepared and has a obsession for timing.The hand gel helps us see her need for cleanliness and that she has an obsession for it.

Thursday 4 February 2010

Sub Genre

As a group we looked at different sub genres for thriller films, some of these sub genres were:

-Psychological: In which (until the often violent resolution) the conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional, rather than physical. External and Internal. 'Fight Club'

Fight Club from Mr. Brightside on Vimeo.


- Action: In which the work often features a race against the clock, contains lots of violence, and an obvious antagonist. These films usually contain large amounts of guns, explosions, and large elaborate set pieces for the action to take place e.g 'Mission Impossible'



- Crime: This particular genre is a hybrid type of both crime films and thrillers that offers a suspenseful account of a successful or failed crime or crimes. These films often focus on the criminal(s) rather than a policeman.'Reservoir dogs'



- Political: which the hero/heroine must ensure the stability of the government that employs him. 'Seven Days of May'



- Disaster: In which the main conflict is due to some sort of natural or artificial disaster, such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, etc., or nuclear disasters as an artificial disaster.'Knowing'



We have decided that for our thriller, it would go under the sub genre of a Psychological thriller. The main character has an internal struggle with everyday life. We chose this sub genre as we thought it would be exciting and convenient.

How is Dr. Carpenter Similar to Existing Character and How are they Different?

Thursday, 4th of Febuary.

Similarities:


TV Thriller Drama.

Existing Character: "Meet Dexter Morgan. By day he's a blood splatter pattern expert for the Miami Metro police department. But by night - he takes on an entirely different persona: serial killer" - imdb.com

Our Character: Dr. Carpenter, by day the chief Physiatrist of Greenview Mental Aslyum. By night - she encounters the persona of a serial killer.

American Pyscho: A man who constantly refers and notices clothing. A man who needs to appear to the world clean shaven and perfect.

Dr. Carpenter: A woman who takes her time perfecting her make up. Placing and ticking off her possesions.


Differences:

Dr. Carpenter, our Thriller's main character is a woman. Stereotypically, because of her job and gender she is less likely to be seen as a psychopath.

Roles of U1-31: Editing.

Tuesday, 9th of February.

Rosie Hargrave. - Music

Lauren Coffey. - Editing

Ashleigh Eccles. - Editing

Mercedes Rollason. - Music

TO NOTICE:
Because we originally wanted to use a pre-created song played by the radio. However we are not sure how this would go with the scenes. So we might have to create a song from scratch.


To consider:
When editing the scenes. make sure there is nothing from the pervious scene included

With the sound, it always makes it better when a bar finishes at the same time as a scene.
or the scenes change with the music.





Roles of U1-31: Filming.


Rosie Hargrave.

Actor: Dead Body.
Production: Producer


Mercedes Rollason.

Production: Camera she filmed our last projects, has a steady hand and a good knowledge of working the cameras.


Lauren Coffey.

Actor: Dr.Carpenter (Greenview Hospital of Mental Health)
Reason: We chose Lauren for the role because she looks professional.
Production: Production Co-Ordinator


Ashleigh Eccles.

Production: Director She is very well organised.

Director: One who directs; the person in charge of managing a department (e.g., director of engineering), project, or production (as in a show or film, e.g., film director)

Camera Man: A camera operator is a person that operates a film or video camera for the purpose of recording motion to film, video, or a computer storage

Producer: A film producer or movie producer is someone who creates the scenes and conditions for making movies.

Production Coordinator: The person responsible for practical matters such as ordering equipment, getting near-location accommodations for the cast and crew, etc.

Final Ident

Thursday, 4th of Febuary

Today we finished creating the ident for our thriller film opening. We used photoshop to make the initial non animated version of our ident. After this we used final cut to animate our work and create a final piece. We added different transitions such as 'Matrix Wipe' and 'Ripple Dissolve' to add movement to the pictures.





Story Board and Shot List.


1. Mid Shot - POV - of Dr Carpenter putting possesions in her bag.
2. Close up of Crossing out final object.
3. Mid Shot - of tieing up hair.
4. Close up -of Eye
5. Close up- of Eye
6. Close up -of Lips.



7. Mid Shot - of blazer (waist to neck)
8. Close up - of name tag.
9. Close Up - of brushing off dust.
10. Change a Depth of Field/ Refocus. We see only a small bit of the body in the corner of the screen. in focus we see Dr. Carpenter in the background putting on her heals. She moves closer to the screen. As she comes closer the camera slowly

Tuesday 2 February 2010

Filming Plan

Tuesday 2nd February

Times/dates for filming:

Our group decided to do 2 over-nights instead of a weekend because if any re-shooting is necessary, we have time to redo it. Thursdays will be the most convenient time for all of us, the first day of filming will be the 11th of February, next Thursday. This also gives us half term to decide what we need to re-shoot and give us extra planning time.

Location:
The filming will be done at Lauren's house because she lives closest and her house is the most suitable for our film.

Shot list:
1. A table covered in every day objects and a handbag. A pair of hands put things in the bag, violently crossing them off a list.
2. The radio is slammed on.
3. A shot behind Lauren's head showing her putting her hair into a very tight ponytail.
4. A close up showing only Lauren's eyes as she curls her eyelashes and applies mascara.
5. A close up showing only Lauren's lips as she applies lipstick.
6. A mid-shot of Lauren putting on a smart blazer over a shirt.
7. Lauren clipping the name-tag to her pocket and dusting herself off.
8. Lauren's feet putting on heels with the dead body out of focus in the background.
9. The camera at ground level with the dead body facing it, Lauren's feet stepping over it.

Sound:
We want to use a happy, upbeat song to make the scene ironic and more startling and are still going to have Lauren narrate the characteristics of a psychopath over the relevant scenes.

Editing:
We plan to make the editing short so that the scenes cut quickly and bluntly to reflect the nature of the plot.