Monday, 20 February 2012

Contingency Plan

Contingency Plan

Cast dropping out

If we have a member of our cast dropping out it is going to affect us in a big way as everyone has a big roll and we are all needed. This means that we will need a new cast member who can act and if we film some of our opening sequences featuring the person who has dropped out it is going to cause a big continuity error. This is because we will not be able to finish filming the opening sequence and we wont be able to use another actor as it will confuse the audience. If this happens we will have to re-film all of the scenes featuring the actor that dropped out using someone else who we know and trust.

Being a bad actor or actress

Our opening sequence is based on the genre horror and doesn't require cast members to have fantastic acting skills. However if our actors fail to act and we are unable to find anyone else we will have to take it slow and just do small little takes so we can make it seem like it (he/she) is better and so it doesn't look so bad. For example, we may feature them in scenes where their face cannot be seen as they may laugh and this will not be viewable to the audience this way. If it was being shy of the camera or not being able to act while on camera we might have to ask them to stop and step in with someone else or even have someone from the group do it.

Being Unreliable

Having a actor or a cast member that can't seem to meet up outside lessons will not work, because if we go out for the day and they can't come then we could miss something, we would not have the whole group there meaning that someone is missing out on ideas and plans. plus them not being there means they will have extremely little inout in to the filming.

Crew being late/getting lost

If one of the crew members is constantly being late it means we can't start filming and therefore we lose more time. Meaning we do not have the time to do everything and film what we need. We could then be missing scenes or detail within a clip because we were on a tight schedule. If we get lost we could lose a few days or worse if we can only go there two or three times, then we might not be able to film there again, meaning we might have to change location losing more days and editing time as well.

Locations not letting you film there/being too noisy/having to many people in the background

If we can't film in a location then we will have to find a new one, as their is nothing we can do about it. However if we can explain to them and they might change their mind and allow us to film there. If a location is to noisy we could come back at a later time/date to see if it has calmed down. If not we could just film the acting their and then do the dialog somewhere else. If there are too many people in the shots we will come back at another time or change the type of angle or shot we use to minimise the amount of people in the shot.

Battery Running out

To avoid the problem of the battery running out we might take another battery with us, or another camera. We will always charge the camera before so we know it will be charged and have a full battery. however if we forget to do that then we would come back and edit what we have and try to work around it. Hopeful this won't happen as it is easily avoided.

Continuity Problems

Continuity is going to be one of the hardest things for us. However one of our members is normally a bit OCD about it, as he finds it annoying when things don't match up. If it's a small detail we might redo the shot unless we can find away around it. We are going to look out carfully to aviod any errors and waste of time. This includes actors wearing the exact same clothing after each scene and until we have finished filming a scene we will be sure not to move anything around.

Friday, 17 February 2012

Locations Recce

Embassy court garages: Within our opening sequence we will be filming in this area due to the amount of garages which link with the genre of our film as it is a quiet area. A member of our group also owns a garage which we may use. this will mamke our opening sequence much more realistic as villains in horror films often own a place to hide their victims such as garages.







Grosvenor Road - Small and dark ally ways: We will be filming in places such as Grosvenor Road in ally ways as they are dark, isolated areas. Ally ways are also often used in horror films when people such as the victims our caught by the villain alone with no one aroundto help the victim.

 Stanley Park Road - Old houses: We will be using an old unused house on stanley park road to film dark scenes such as the house that the villain lives in.

Old factories: Red hill: Factories will be used as they are large and contain a lot of empty space. The factories that we may or may not used are also either abondoned or not used so we may film their if needed. A factory is also a good place for the villain to kill his victims and hide them without getting caught.

Parks: Within our opening sequence we may use parks as a location to film in. This is because during the night time and morning parks are usually empty and foggy which creates a sense of isolation and makes the audience feel curious about what someone is doing in a park alone and what is going to happen to them. Parks are also commonly used for the villain to kidnap his/her victim as it it unlikely that they will be caught very easily due to no one being around. Some parks that may use include Carshalton Park, Beddington and Ruskin Park.












Abandoned flats elephant and castle heygate estate: Within our opening sequence we may used abondoned flats in elephant castle as the main characters home when he is being brought up by his parents. Abondoned flats also create a sense of mysteriousness as it leaves the audience wondering who lives there, why they live there and why the flats are abondoned. 

High streets: We may use high streets in our opening sequence as one of our scenes features the villain looking down at reality as if he has power over them (High angle shot) to show this. High streets are also usually very busy, full of ordinary people. This is where the villain decides that he wants to kill people and them moves on to stalking his victims online before kidnapping and torturing/killing them.

Tuesday, 7 February 2012

Equipment List

Digital Video Cameras: We will be using digital video cameras for filming our opening sequence for Twitch.


Tripods: We will be using the tripods to keep the camera steady for shots such as camera pans, angle shots.

Microphones: We will be using microphones for our opening sequence to enhance the actors voice for shots that are too far away to hear their voices properly.

Lighting: We will be using both low key and high key lighting in places such as rooms and garages. This means that we will be using the light kit/stage lights.



Apple Mac Computer/Macbook: We will be using the software final cut express on the Macs to edit our opening sequence. We will also use this sfotware to produce our film title using LiveType.

Monday, 6 February 2012

Costumes and Props List 

Worn Out Clothing: We will be using torn and unwanted clothing for the victims costumes as they will be the ones who are potentially going to be killed or hurt. The clothing will also signifiy things that lead the audience into thinking that the villain has done something to the victim. An example of this is that torn and ripped clothing suggests that the villain has used a weapon such as a knife on the victim or been violent.


Casual Clothing: Casual clothing may used for the villain as this will not make it completely obvious who the villain is. This also creates a sense of mysteriousness and curiosity as the villain blends in with society and suggests that he is a more serious villain. An example of casual clothing is jeans, a jumper and a coat or jacket.

Busses: In our film opening sequence we will be using busses to film some of the scenes in our storyboard. We we will be using busses to show that the villain is following the victim.


Saturday, 4 February 2012

Character Descriptions

Villain/Main Character


Name: Simon Nomis
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Hobbies and Interests: Interested in violence and feels the urge to kill people due to his bad childhood.
Social Demographic/Class: Working Class
Personality and Style: He's quite an aggressive person and see's reality as his enemy. He hides him self from the world by wearing a mask which makes him feel unknown. He also lives alone in a detached house in a very quiet area.
Job/Occupation: Works at a butchers shop.
Role in the film: His main role in this film is as the villain.


Victim 1
Name: Katie Simpson
Age:16
Gender: Female
Hobbies and interests: Going out, partying and drinking, slag.
Social Demographic/Class: Rich
Personality and Style: Out going, up for anything, doesnt appreciate life, takes everything for granted, spoilt brat.
Job/Occupation: Unemployed.
Role in the film: Victim.


Dad
Name: Michael Nomis
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Hobbies and interests: General affares and current news.
Social Demographic/Class: Working Class.
Personality and Style: Believes in violence, easily annoyed and very aggressive especially towards his son.
Job/Occupation: Banker
Role in the film: He's a father of his son.


Mum
Name: Sophia Nomis
Age: 38
Gender: Female
Hobbies and interests: Likes going out leaving her son alone and is very careless about her son.
Social Demographic/Class: Working Class.
Personality and Style: Very aggressive person and likes to get drunk and take drugs.
Job/Occupation: Works as a cleaner but very lazy and barely attends work.
Role in the film: Mother of her son (Simon).

Friday, 3 February 2012

Script "Keeper"

1) Title sequence
Text "keeper"is situated in the middle of the screen and is fading in and out, the background is similar to the font
and is red with black splodges, this black and red style is a typical convention of horror films.
Sound/dialouge-eerie horror music.

2) Shot-Aerial shot of high-street- Use of fast forward editing to shorten long take.
Sound /dialogue-News report.
scene completed by train passing by Acts as a whiplash  transition to move to the next take.

3) The antagonist gets of the bench and begins to follow the victim once he passes by, here the audience is introduced to the point of view of the villain which is used throghout the opening sequence.
Sound /dialogue-News report.
Type of shot-Medium close up victim passing by.

4) The antagonist follows the victim down a wide pathway,  we chose to use a loose frame shot here to make the victim seem vulnerable, the pathway also looks a bit grimy and suits the horror genre.
Sound /dialogue-News report. 


 



5) There is a zoom in shot of the victims face with a blank face expression, the zoom is very intricate and goes through the bus window as the victim is standing on the other side, this suggests that the antagonist is targeting him this is emphasised by the zoom.
Sound/dialogue- News report.

6) The antagonist then follows the victim onto the bus  and takes a sit but he's line of sight is directly aimed towards the victim, the fact that he is unaware of what is happening creates a suspenseful and eerie atmosphere.
Sound/dialogue- News report finishing.
Type of shot-medium

7) Wide shot of bus stopping at the bus stop, and the victim getting of the bus with the antagonist in hot pursuit, the shot of them coming of the bus is  a medium shot and is taken from the side.
Sound/dialogue- Eerie horror music begins.

8) There is a long shot of both of them walking down the street with the antagonist following behind,while the camera remains stationary, this gives the audience another view of whats happening from this view its almost as if there watching from an average  persons point of view, this reaffirms the idea that something is not right.
Sound/dialogue-Eerie horror music continues.

 

9) Worms eye view of the victim walking by(camera on pavement), we used an array of angles to emphasis the stalking.
Sound/dialogue- Eerie horror music as well as heart beats, the heart beats are used to create a horror atmosphere, it also places emphasis on whats going through the antagonists head, as he must get a kick from stalking and killing people.

10) Worms eye view of the antagonist's feet walking by and following the victim, this makes it seem as if the antagonist is closing down the gap between him and he's target.
Sound/dialogue-Eerie horror music as well as heart beats.

11) The last scene cuts to the victim passing through bushes, he then appears between the gap and then disappears again, his appearing and disappearing  suggests that the victim may be close to he' s death.
the scene then blacks out but we can still see the heart beats this creates a sense of mystery for the audience and is key to any successful opening.

Sound/dialogue-Eerie horror music as well as heart beats.



 

Wednesday, 1 February 2012

Motifs

Motif-a recurring image or idea that is designed to enhance the viewing experience for the audience.

The sixth sense's use of motifs
The sixth sense is a psychological thriller that tells the story of Cole sear, a troubled isolated boy who is able to see and talk to the dead, and he's troubled child psychologist who tries to help him.

The film features the color red as its motif, as this color is only featured in a few parts of the film and only features in places that are relevant to the afterlife in terms of locations of death or places of belief   examples of this include the door of the church and the doorknob of Malcolm's basement in which he died.

To continue Malcolm (psychologist)is wearing all the clothes or items he wore or touched the evening before he's death.
In the end of the film it becomes apparent that Malcolm the psychologist was a ghost the whole time.



Shutter islands use of motifs
Shutter island features many significant motifs which you can recognize as the film progresses and develops whet the audience doesn't realize at this point is that these migraines that US Marshall teddy Danials is suffering from are actually side effects of he medication as this whole thing is an experiment in real life he is  actually a patient in the psychiatric institute.

To continue fire and water are also used as motifs throughout the film, fire is a symbol of Teddy's insanity in the film as every time he si around fire he suffers some sort of hallucination, when he lights a match in ward C and the fire in the cave.

Water the opposite of fire is the symbol of reality and of what he has actually experienced in life hes wife drowns the children and water as well as he himself feeling sick and uneasy near water.













Is our group going to feature any Motifs if so, why ?
yes our film ponders around the life of troubled teenager Simon Nomis who is a mentally troubled disturbed young individual who's hobby is stalking and killing people of a simailer age to him.
However that's not it, the people he kills in the film all have aspects of their life that Simon would wish he had;whether it be a loving family or money,

Our group has chosen not to include a motif as during our opening sequence the characters are always on the move so it would be difficult to include any sort of motif and make sure it has a desirable impact. we might of included it if we were making the whole film.

Simon kills people by stalking them and abducting them this will be emphasised in the film as we will only see Simons point of view and never see the killer in the opening sequence, creating a sense of mystery.