Fulfilling my other purpose

It was intended for me to do some of the editing however Siobhan and Lauren had done such a good job it seemed there was no chance of me doing any, however our teacher had a look at our 'Finished Product' and she said we had to shorten it by about a minute so I was taught how to use I movie 09 too so I could do some editing as well, I have done some shortening of the film and changed some shots around for better effect.

The Battle is Won!

We have finished filming (at long last!) now to start our editing :)
we are doing more of that today, though I had to run home 2 miles to fetch the camera which I forgot to bring originally, but camera business is all sorted now :)

Happy Blogging :)

Ceremonial photo of all actors and behind the scenes people who helped create the film.
(Except Jordan Ore, he wasn't there.)

Audience: The importance of them.

A key factor of any media related article is 'who is the intended audience and does it appeal to them?'
To help us see that we have shown our film (in its current stage) to other members of the class to see what they think. Also this Friday we are supposed to be having someone  drafted in to give us a talk about the topic and give us ideas on how we can engage the audience further. Our audience were teenagers to young adults, the people we asked were aged 15- 18 so they were a relevant audience. They all said they liked the film and found it quite atmospheric.

We went around school and asked various people aged 15-18 what kind of music and colours they would expect in a thriller film, the majority all said we should use dark colours, haunting music with plenty of suspense in the film to create atmosphere. We did that and our film is quite effective thanks to using their recommendations. here is a copy of our questionnaire we produced to help us gather information.

Something else that inspired us...

For our film we have to produce an accurate Hit and Run Car accident, watching this clip gave us a good idea how to go about it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8HtQH4gXu0

Music

Today our group and I are investigating ideal music and sound effects to use in our film, it is a convention of all thriller films and is used to create mood, atmosphere and suspense. The ideal type of music is the sort with cello tenors and strings as theses are particularly creepy and add a lot of tension, this kind of music is so effective that it is now commonplace in thriller film and is a typical convention.

Other Films Analysis

As well as analysing 'The Secret Window' we felt we should analyse 2 other films, I have decided to analyse the films 'Psycho' and 'Hit and Run' because both films use similar ideas to what we are using, Hit and Run as our film has a similar car accident and Psycho had an opening scene by Saul Bass and we feel that we could produce an opening with similar techniques for our film as not only do they create tension but they add a bit of flair to the piece. 

Pshyco

The Screen fades from the paramount pictures logo, to black then a harsh grey tone, jumpy erratic music plays, the tempo increases as black lines streak from right to left across the screen, until the screen is all black and the Name Alfred Hitchcocks is revealed on screen in a sharp bright white, the music becomes more frantic as violin strings are added and grey lines sweep in along with more black lines, to show the name of the film PSHYCO again in a harsh white colour, the word starts distorting in the middle in a creepy manner building tension and unease, grey lines sweep up and down away from the centre pulling the title away, more lines dart from bottom to top hauling the name Anthony Perkins, then more lines return and split the name apart and pull it away, Segments of word drop on screen to create an enigma, Whose name? Why? To answer this more segments transcend to accompany the word, they join forming the name “Vera Miles” he same happens again but this time the name is “John Gavin” silky cello tenors wail on scene creating tension and an uneasy atmosphere (a typical convention of almost all thrillers) lines glide in from the sides pulling in the words Co Starring Martin Balsam John McIntire these vanish and more lines from a multitude of directions jump in bring in more actors names his repeats but with other names until the name Alfred Hitchcocks appears once more, this jumps and distorts slightly creating tension then the music slowly dies off and the grey fades into a sepia tone establishing shot of a (then) contemporary 1960’s city in America.

I chose to analyse this piece as it was created by Saul Bass, a man whose opening scenes have changed film opening sequences forever, (for example James Bond, Oceans 11 and Casino) also we were contending using a similar style opening for ours. Particularly as his openings are quite fast and energetic, we particularly liked the style of music used.

Hit and Run (Trailer)

The usual producer logo shows this time it’s the roaring Metro Goldwyn Mayer Lion, rock music sound bridges on to a red lit room (connoting sleaze) with close up of 2 shots of vodka, the word A SPRING Break appears amongst a montage of shots featuring people drinking and partying, SHE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER glides on screen then fades to a shot of a man and woman by a car, a close up of his face is shown as he asks “are you sure its safe to drive?” she replies “yeah, sure its fine”

A montage of driving shots follows featuring pans and tracking shots of the pair in this red pick up truck gallivanting around in the dark, then a dark monochromatic long shot of the truck slamming its brakes as it ploughs closer and closer to a dark human figure, the music stops and the sound of Heavy breathing can be heard, the screen flashes brightly with shots of the trucks lights and the words SHE MAY NEVER ESCAPE appear on screen then it goes dark.

(monochromatic lights, digitally amplified sound and colours were used to add tension and are common traits of thrillers)

Film Title of Psycho

Film Title of Hit and Run

I chose to analyse this opening/ trailer as it featured a car accident like our films intended one, we plan to use a similar technique.
Such as the opening credits of our film, we adopted his style of names floating and disappearing off screen














DVD Analysis


I also analysed the cover of a DVD of the film Alone, to gain some knowledge of how thriller films are marketed after cinema release. I decided to look at the use of typography and colour and their connotations on the cover.

Drab colours such as grey, red, black and sepia tone are used and suggest that this film is dark and violent like most (nearly all) horror films, they denote violence, shifty goings on and create atmosphere.

DVD Cover Of "Alone"

It uses Serif white scruffy text denotes the possibility that this film is violent and complicated with various twists and contortions in the tale.

Our Timeline.. Revised

PLANNING
Location, Narrative, Characters, Mood board, Script, Story Board.	4th November	Yes
CONSTRUCTION
Shooting the film, Editing.	20th December
EVALUATION
Evaluating our film	4th January

Colours

I have revised the colour scheme for my blog, it has gone from an eclectic mix of blues and greens to a good choice of black, white and orange. It now looks so much better.

Great News Everyone...

I have finished the character profiles, here they are.,-


Geoff Ray Porter

Played By: Aaron Tuck.


Description: Geoff has a job as a delivery boy for the Bridgend branch of Pizza Hut, however recently he has become a very stressed, anxious character because due to company cut backs the security of his low paid job is under threat, he is likely to be made redundant by the end of the month, however having barely any qualifications it would be very unlikely he could get another job anytime soon.

Physical Description
Age: 27
Height: 5 foot 9
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Habits:Wears dark hoodies, smokes

Habits/Traits: He has a habit of looking downwards from all te me he spends textng or having his head between his hands thinking. On better days he is a loud shouty character who often laughs with friends he does have, smoking is a trait of his too.

Main Goal: To attempt to gain security with his job and one day quit smoking for good.

Method to Achieve Goal: To do his job to the best of his ability to tempt the managers into keeping him on, whilst looking into other jobs should the worse come to be.


Family Background: He comes from a broken family in Brackla, where his parents live apart, his father now lives in Sheffield whilst he and his mother still live in Brackla, the split happened when he was 6 he is now 21 but he faces being kicked out as his drinking, gambling and poor money are making her life very difficult.


Education: he attended Brynteg comprehensive age 11-16, he never went to primary as he didn't like the other children and often tried to beat them up (reflecting the anger disspated between his parents failing relationship.)

Personality: Geoff is normally a nice person, though recently he has become an irratable and temperamental character because of stress and facing redundancy, he is easily distracted by his phone. He is quite lonely as he has few friends because he is socially awkward.

Likes: Smoking, his pet hamster (mentioned but not seen in the film), his friends, his car, alcohol, gambling, gaming, eating KFC, lying on his bed not doing anything.


Dislikes: people who dislike his car, not being able to stop drinking/ gambling or smoking, having to do anything that involves a bit of effort.

  

Alice Freener

Played By: Sophie Roderick

Full Name: Alice Freener

Description: Alice is a well spoken person who tries to get on with everyone in her life, she is fond of animals especially dogs.
She lives in a small house with her dog, she is currently in Pencoed College doing her A levels so she has qualifications in case she can't be a hair dresser (being a hairdresser is her dream job.)

Physical Description


Age: 17
Distinguishing Features: Posh Accent
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Blue
Height: 5 Foot 6


Habits/Vices: She unintentionally has a habit of sounding quite posh.



Main Goal: To become a hairdresser and achieve her A levels and to haunt/ punish people for their       mistakes.

Method to Achieve Goal: N/A she was ran over by Geoff. Return to haunt people as a ghost..


Family Background: Alice has left home a year ago, she now lives in a small house with her dog, she is currently in Pencoed College doing her A levels so she has qualifications in case she can't be a hair dresser.


Habits/Vices: She unintentionally has a habit of sounding quite posh.



Education: 5 years in Coity Primary and 5 years in Pencoed Comprehensive.

Personality: Alice is a pleasant well spoken character who tries to get on with everyone (excpt slobs) she is a believer of a clean world and she absolutely HATES dirty things, however she has a good sense of patriotism and feels very rundown when llegal immigrants who can't be removed from the country are mentioned. As a ghost she is a vigilante who haunts criminals/ wrong doers for their mistakes.


Likes: Dogs, people with good manners, listening to music, hairdressing.


Dislikes: Slobs, people who drive too fast, dirt, fast food.

My Story Boards

Good News Everyone... My storyboards that I did are back but this time in a good quality.

Enjoy :)

My New Job

I have been given a new job in the group now as a character profiler, this means I invent the characters lives, details and histories etc.

Seeing as the majority of jobs are already dished out I gladly took on the role in a bid to attempt to retain a good grade.

I have already given the characters names I.E.

Aaron Tuck's character is named Geoff Ray Porter, he is 21 and has a job as a delivery boy for the Bridgend branch of Pizza Hut, however recently he has become a very stressed, anxious character because due to company cut backs the security of his low paid job is under threat, he is likely to be made redundant by the end of the month, however having barely any qualifications it would be very unlikely he could get another job anytime soon.

Sophie Roderick's character is called Alice Freener, she is studying in Pencoed College to get her A levels completed, she wants to be a hairdresser but she feels she should get as many qualifications as she can to help her should she not be able to get the job, however she was ran over by Geoff when he was on the phone when driving she returned as a spirit to punish him physiologically, she considers her new job in (after)life to punish people for their serious mistakes in life. However she is more of a disillusioned vigilante than a force of evil.

This is not all, the entire profile of each character will be unveiled to readers after completion.

My Timeplan

To be successful we needed to plan out our deadlines and dates to meet them by, then strive to achieve them. This is our timeplan so far.

	Completion Date	Achieved
RESEARCH & ANALYSIS
Saul Base Secret Window Analysis	September 30th	Yes
PLANNING
Research	October 31st	Yes
CONSTRUCTION
Our Film/ Editing	20TH November
EVALUATION	CHRISTMAS

Our Shooting Script

Everyone follows a script in a good film..
...Even those who aren't on screen, this is our Shooting Script so the cinematographer know what kind of shot the Director wants them to achieve.

Location: Church Grounds- Exterior

 Weather- Dry.

The scene opening in a church yard. Aaron is sitting on the bench in distress, running hands through his hair. He is obviously upset/thinking.  He is holding flowers and starts to rip the petals off.

Location: Road in Pencoed common – Exterior

Weather- Dry.

This is a flash back from Aaron sitting on the bench.  A car is driving down a road, as a school girl is crossing. The driver is texting and doesn’t see the girl. He is too slow to break and hits the girl. Aaron get out the car in a panic but the girl isn’t breathing. He leaves her on the floor and runs away.

Location: Castle grounds- Exterior

Weather- Dry.

It cuts back to Aaron sitting on the bench and then all of the sudden the dead girl appears next to him.  He jumps and falls to the ground in fear. He looks back and she isn’t there. He gets up and runs into the castle grounds, as he is crossing the bridge he think he hears something so turns around. To his surprise there is nothing there he turns back and the dead girl is lying on the floor of the bridge. He stumbles back and she is gone. He runs over the bridge and through the Castle walls. The dead girl appears behind one of the walls but Aaron can’t see her. As he turns round a corner she is there, he falls against a wall and drops his phone by accident. He runs to the Castle tower and starts climbing the steps in a panic. Then the metal gate swings shut and he screams from the tower.

Ideas and Planning, in 1 big chunk (To be Continued)

The Images featured here were taken by me as a 'Reccie' so our group could get an idea of the film locations, they feature Coity Church and a Main Road street in Coychurch , the idea of filming in Coychurch was dropped on the grounds that it was awkward for certain members to get there, we are also filming in Pencoed Common but sadly I haven't had the chance to go there to take a photo yet with rain and other problems.












For our film we felt we should be using examples of other peoples work to use as ideas and to provide us with an idea as to how we would go about filming different parts (such as the car scene) e.g. we used the various THINK! adverts as a basis on how to go about filming a car hit and run and also how to make a ghost seem particularly frightening.
    we have produced a list of shots we are going to shoot to make our film scenes.
They are as follows.,-


Scene 1 - Church


- Aaron Needed
- Church Grounds


Establishing shot of church/ dark figure. (Aaron.)


Panning or side of Aaron on bench somewhere.


Over the shoulder shot of flowers in his hands.


Ripping up of petals. (Close up.)


Panning or close up of his face (with tears)  multiple shots.


Aaron looking distressed, running his hands through his hair. (Low angle shot.)


Scene 2- Flash back (car crash)

-       Car driving down a road. – long shot – from front on.

-       Side shot car driving past- mid close up

-       Shot of girl

-       Over the shoulder the shot of person texting in car- medium close up.

-       Panning of girl walking across the road.

-        Close up of what they are texting.

-       Shot of girl startled in head lights – mid shot from infront of car.

-       * Screech of brakes.

-       Mid close up of car door opening

-       Close up of phone falling to the floor. 

-       Hand held camera movement to girl lying on floor. (checking pulse)- just hands.

-       Low angle shot if boy running away. – girls outline visible in shot + headlights.

Scene 3 – Haunted- church/ castle grounds

-       Quick cuts from photo/petals/girls face etc.

-       Quick cut to mid close up- dead girl sitting next to him on bench.

-       Boy falls to the floor from angle of ghost

-       From angle of boy looking up at bench, nothing there.

-       Long shot of boy running way.

- High angle shot of Aaron running into church grounds.

- Stops, close up of face-   shows fear.

- Hand held camera approach him from behind. – quick.

- Aaron turns round. Long shot from infront of him looking back. – nothing there.

- Close up of eyes.

-Panning of Aaron’s eye perspective turning around.

-Mid close up of Sophie lying down.

- Then Close up of Sophie’s face.

- Mid shot of Aaron stumbling backwards- low angle shot from Sophie.

- Over the shoulder shot of Aaron – nothing there. 

- Long shot of Aaron running away. – Infront probably.

- Panning mid shot of Sophie sitting against wall.. Aaron in background looking around.

- Close up of Aarons eyes.

- Long shot of Aaron falling back against a wall.

- High angle shot of Aaron looking at Sophie on the floor.

- Moves, phone falls from pocket- close up.

- Runs into staircase.. high angle from the stairs.

- mid shot of Aaron looking back out.

- low angle close up of feet going up stairs.

-Long shot of gate swinging closed.

This is our Thriller Mood-Board we created it using Photoshop,
 rather than Olio Board as we found the latter rather temperamental.

- extreme long shot, low angle looking up at castle tower (candles go out) – scream.














Advert we used to help us with our ghost
We used the film above as we thought the idea of having a ghost that only appeared to 1 person like an hallucination that followed you around everywhere you went, very spooky and quite sinister so we decided to incorporate those characteristics into our film.


We also looked at other films which featured similar themes and happenings (an accident (preferably a car accident) with a ghost returning to haunt the perpetrator )

Such films that we used other than the various THINK! road safety adverts included 'Hit and Run' and 'Soul Survivors' because the main idea of those films is very similar to ours.