Permission for the House (Jack)

We will be filming within my house. I have got permission from my parents to film scenes within the house:

The title ideas (Amy Z)

We were thinking of insomnia as the girl in our opening suffers from insomnia but we also had the ideas of maybe broken dream as in the opening she seems as if she is in a dream sequence but towards the end the dream is 'broken' by two gun shots and it begins to seem as if it might be turning into a nightmare, this also creates enigma as the audience are unaware of whats happening, we were also considering night walker as it also might seem to the audience that she might be sleep walking as she went to bed and has woken up in the forest so might have been sleep walking again to create enigma. I keep you posted when we have reached a decision.

Name ideas:

• Insomnia
• Broken dream
• Night walker
• The Silent Wood
• Silence in the Wood
• Sleeping Woods

Location (jack)

This is a very basic map of filming locations. Click to enlarge. As you can see, it is an ideal location because
everything is relatively close (within 1 mile) of everything else.

GOOD POINTS

• Everything is fairly close which helps continuity (using two different forests would mean they would look v. different from one and other)
• It is a location that everyone can get to (either by train or by our own means of transport)
• It will not take too long to walk up the road
• It will be fairly easy to recharge equipment if neccesary

Title Sequence by Craig

We have started to think of ideas that we could use for our title sequence, the title is very important in a film and needs to be put in at the right point, with the right font and style. We are thinking that the title should be put in as the girl shuts her eyes to go to sleep, as this is the break in the sequence and would make most sense if we do use the title 'Insomnia'. We are starting to look for fonts to use, initially we are thinking that it needs to be 'dreamy' but also have a harsh effect to it, to show that it is not necessarily a good dream.

We were thinking of using:

OR

Quick update (Craig)

We have decided to film (hopefully) everything next Tuesday. We want to film in one day because then it costs less in transport costs. We will clear out the tunnel to make sure its nice and clean. We have planned for make up, costume and lighting, and will be taking out some lighting and camera equipment today to use over half term.

Health and Safety (Jack)

Health and Safety

Throughout filming it might be a good idea to be considerate towards health and safety aspects. We should follow rules when we get to filming, to make sure neither us or the equipment gets hurt. Most problems arise in the forest filming scenes.

1. Say 'Lights' when Lights are turned on

We do not want anyone to suffer eye damage, and the lights are exceedingly bright, especially the LED ones. It is important that everyone knows when the lights are going to be turned on.

2. Do not climb up trees without knowing you'll be safe

We may have to climb up trees to ascertain certain shots. We will make sure our cameraman is properly supervised so that the tree is strong and sturdy, and pass the equipment up to him with a ladder only once he is safe and secure in the footholds of the tree

3. Safely hold equipment and put it in a safe place in the forest

It is very easy to lose things in the forest beneath all the leaves.

4. Do not physically force equipment to slot in or turn on

We have experienced this problem before when trying to use lighting. It is probably best not to force something to work because it may well break and end our filming

5. Watch where we are walking

There are many brambles and leaves that could cover up potential tripping opportunities in the forest. It is important to watch out for swamps or for the crater, which would both, in all seriousness, be quite easy to fall into and could cause injury

6. Hold up 'filimng signs'

It is important the general public know that we are filming. We don't want them to accidentally strafe into the shot, we don't want them accidentally knocking over and damaging equipment.

Our Warning signs for the general public, which we will use on the day of filming

Animatic (jack)

Below is our animatic for the opening sequence of the film. I've had a few problems trying to get the YouTube video to work!

The link for the video 'Amy Amy Jack Craig Animatic' is below, I can't embed the video because it is too new to appear in Youtube searches.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_fWivG0Bwg

UPDATE:

Here is the embedded video:

Costume.

This night dress will be worn by the main character. The colour white shows purity and her vulnerability.
.

Thriller opening Story. (Craig)

Story.

A young woman wearing a white night dress is getting ready to go to bed, the room is poorly lit with a side lamp on providing minimal light to the room. She quickly walks out to say goodnight to her family before returning to her bed. Just as she is turning off the light she takes a sleeping pill, gets into bed and as the light goes out the screen goes black.

Suddenly, the girl wakes up, stumbling into a moonlit forest, walking bare foot across the forest floor she trips a few times and begins to quietly sing nursery rhyme songs to herself. She is in a state on confusion and is stuck in her deep sleep trance, as if she is dreaming. She continues to walk until she reaches an entrance to a bunker, she pauses quickly then approaches the long narrow corrugated tunnel. At first glance the tunnel looks unsafe, and as she crawls to sit down she looks tired and almost falls asleep, the screen once again goes black, this time followed by two quick gunshots.

Planning Images of the Forest (jack)

Possible Locations to Film

This is a shot of the crater. The photo is a bit deceiving but the crater is really quite deep. I really think we could use this crater for some sort of imposing shot.

This photo is of the main footpath of the woods, looking down towards a tree. It looks good how the trees are lined up on each side, and when its windy they sway quite noticeably, creating a very eerie effect. 

I really like this setting because the tree stands out in the middle of all the other smaller, thinner trees. The swing may look risky but I tested it and it's perfectly safe. There is writing on the tree, but maybe this is a good thing.

I like how the light and trees reflect off of the pond, and how the pond trickles from a stream from the outside of the forest. We might be able to create a walk way over the water and have our female character walk over it.

These two shots are of the tunnel that leads to the bunker. The tunnel could be used as some sort of hideout for our character, and would also be a really good opportunity to use some emotive lighting.

The WW2 bunker, although it would have many possibilities, has lots of fly tipping and garbage inside. It would take a very long time to clear everything out, but it would be possible. It is still a possibility to film there, yet

Again, this is just another shot of the main path of the woods, looking upwards. It's a really good pathway so I'm sure we'll be able to take quite a few shots here.

This shot can be used for the final part of the sequence.

Pre-Production Planning 2 (Craig)

Allocation of roles for Second Deadline


Jack: Storyboard, Animatic
Amy Z: Props, Costume, Casting
Craig: Sypnosis
Amy O: Health and Safety

Pre-Production Planning - Jack

Pre-Production Planning

Sypnosis for Beginning

I think that our opening scene should contain shots from two different locations (and characters). I think Scene 1 should be a female in some sort of dress, walking around the mysterious woods barefoot while gently and repetitively singing a nursery rhyme. She is an almost ghost like figure, very unworldly yet very innocent. She would be walking through the mud, swinging side to side on a rope swing, and maybe hiding in the crater or tunnel. The speed of these shots will fairly slow, both in tempo and in movement. There may also be some blurring and lightening added in in the editing studio to connote a past event, and emphasize a dream like, unearthly feeling. This effect will make the scene very atmospheric, pertaining to a psychological thriller genre. Her singing voice will then act as a soundbridge onto the next part of the scene, which sees a male, in smart trousers and a white bloodstained shirt (there is blood right in the middle of his chest), running very quickly away from an anonymous chaser. This scene will be shot in the dark, maybe in a dark alley way, where we can really make use of effective and emotive lighting. The man keeps running, with great fear and purpose in his eyes, yet after running for several shots he stops, very suddenly, the singing stops, the man's eyes are wide open, staring past the camera, yet we do not know, and will never know, what the man was looking at.

Alternatively...

If we do not have the time, the permission, or the resources to film the man's scene, then I think we should try and emphasis a false sense of security with the girl. She is in a forest, seemingly content, yet, just like with the man, we see a close up of her face, her singing stops, and she stares past the camera. The camera then cuts the black as two shots are heard fired. The camera zooms out of her body as it lies in the crater. The camera then switches to a shot of the entire forest from the outside, with birds (possibly blackbirds) flying away. This would be an easier ending, and would maybe have more of a dramatic, unworldy effect.

Female

The female is an innocent character. She is young, She is in a dream like state with no real connection to the outside world. The woods are her home, it is not even made clear to the audience whether she is real or simply a figure of imagination. Her innocence is connoted in her choice of clothing, her singing of children's nursery rhymes, and her general, care free, unworldly free spirit. She should not wear too much make up and her hair should not be styled. There will be a gentle rustling of the trees, maybe the sound of her gentle footsteps, but no sound will be harsh or sound emphasized to take away the feeling of false security.

Male

The male has an Alpha male appearance. He is wearing a suit and is running away from some unknown presence. We will have to find out lots of homemade remedies for fake blood, fake injuries, as he will have a very bloodstained t-shirt just where his heart would be. Torches can be seen in the background. The lighting will be used to clearly show his injuries, and if it is over his head, may signify a supernatural force (Heaven?)

Themes

Blood - on either the girl or the man, fear of blood

Water - there is a small, murky pond in the woods, the girl could walk through this while the camera tracks her movement from the water's edge

Heights - the girl would be high up in the trees at some shots

Isolation - the girl is completely alone

Darkness - maybe scenes would be filmed in the dark (maybe some sort of 'blink' shot)

Security - the girl is seemingly happy and content with life, then suddenly gunshots are fired

Evil Presence - split framing and POV shots would denote to the audience that someone is watching the girl

 Obsession- the repitition of the nursery rhyme, could gradually get louder

Innocence - the girl's innocent, child like nature would make it even more of a surprise when she gets shot

I think the better idea is the Alternative opening shot - it seems easier to film and makes far more sense. We will have a storyboard, animatic and complete pre-production planning finished by the 11th.

Craig's thriller openings.

The Dark Knight
Camera work and editing
The opening scene to the Dark Knight is a bank robbery scene, it is a quick paced sequence with quick cuts. The first shot is an extreme long shot, establishing shot, it zooms from a long way back into a tall glass building, this is when we are first introduced to a character, we see a window smash then, a quick cut to a man, wearing a clown mask, holding gun that fires a zip wire across the city and on to another building, the bank which they are about to rob. We are then introduced to another man, and begin to see this as a big operation and not just a few men robbing a bank, whilst the camera zooms in on the mans hand, we see he is holding a clown mask and also part of the operation, the camera zooms slowly on to the mask, a car then aggressively pulls over by him, and as a contrast to the previous shot he quickly gets in to the car before it drives off.

We are then taken back to the men in the tall glass building, who are just about to zip wire across the road, we see an extreme long shot, birds eye view so we can see the long way down to the road, the cuts in the scene are very fast, this gives us the impression that this is a well organised operation, and that timing is crucial in what they are doing. We are then taken back to the 3 men in the car. The camera is in the back of the vehicle looking forwards to the men in the car, they are getting guns ready to use whilst driving towards the target. The shots are getting progressively quicker, as the pace picks up it brings us in to the event.

Back to the men now on top of the new building, they get out a bag, then break open a metal box. These shots are all looking towards the men in masks, as if we are a spectator of what is going on. The shots are also getting much quicker as we the audience get ready for the robbery. Now the men pull over in the truck along side the bank, they quickly get out and run in to the building. We still get the impression like we are spectating the events as we are always over looking what they are doing and never get a point of view from the men. The camera still has very quick cuts, and the camera often cuts in to a new place where we see the masked men run through. As the men on the bank floor begin to get everyone on the floor, and get ready to take the money that they have come for, we are again taken to the roof, where one of the men in masks shoots the other, adding a lot of confusion in to the events of this opening, as we thought that they were all a team. This sequence is cross cutting, the shots get faster and faster as the scene progresses until the men meet, to rob the bank, this until the man is shot in the back, presumably by someone trying to stop them.

Mise en scene
The first thing that grabs our attention in the film is that the men are wearing clown masks, this is obviously very important to the film, and hides the identities of the men very well, this helps create mystery into the audience and creates great effect. Clowns are a big phobia to a lot of people, and this could be a reason for the choice of a clown. The setting is presumably a summers day, the sky is blue and the area is well lit as if the sun is shining, luring us in to a false sense of security in to what is about to happen. It is hard to get any sense of facial expression or body language due to the masks but we can assume that they would be focused towards the mission.

The props create a good impression in the sequence, the men are carrying bags, which, people associate with robberies as they need them to put money in, this helps to create the scene look a lot more real. The location of the film is a busy city scene, making the robbery look even more daring,

media planning (jack)

We are currently in the media room planning our film. We have a few ideas about whereabouts we can film, when in the day and what the vague storyline can be.


Things we have decided so far:
- Forest location - wivelsfield forest
- To not use actors
- To film in different locations
- To film over the half term if possible
- To get a storyboard finished by next week including animatic
- To not film in the daytime (maybe dusk or nighttime)

Silent Witness 'The Prodigal' - Amy Odell

Camera Work and Editing

The scene begins with an extreme close up of a mans face, which we later discover he is in fact a policeman.
The extreme close up shows us how much pain he is in, and what it is that happened to him to cause it. The flash back of the shooting is in a blurred depth of field, to create that 'flashback' idea. The birds eye shot of the police man on the ground lying in a deathly way, with a pool of blood by his side, enables us to see him in regards to the rest of the setting. The shadow down one side of him creates an eerie tone. and we wonder about his current state of living or death.
The gradual zoom out of the city landscape shot onto the police car on the road, gives us a perspective of the car, and where roughly they are. The quick sharp shots of the police car from all angles of the car journey, creates that 'chase' feel. As they are in fact driving at an impressionable speed. As the car reaches its destination, the camera follows the police officers at foot level, with the officer lying on the ground, so we can see two events happening at once. The panning shot of the police officers running, let us see the fear and determination they are putting in to rescue their fellow colleague. The cross cutting of both police teams as they shout at each other, ending with the man in a suit with a close up shot of his face, but his gun and finger out of focus, to make his face seem superior to the weapon and his finger. 

Mise En Scene:
The characters are all in formal dress, of a uniform, because they are police officers. The setting of the office, makes us realize this is set in a formal place and the change of location, from the office, to the flashback, to the city for the car chase, helps create the tension more, because so many settings to combine into one scenario. The day light helps to create an 'everyday' feel to it, because obviously the shooting took place at night, and now the realization of the attempted murder has been acted on the next day.

Sound
non diagetic sound of the walkie talkie voice over is the first thing you hear when watching the opening sequence which confuses the audience from the beginning, but as the face is revealed we understand why. The organ/piano music which is diagetic sound then plays over the majority of the next section with the flashback, to create fear/panic. The drumbeats are then included to create intense pace to the sequence, then followed by the ticking sound as both police groups meet, basically a sound bridge.

Media thriller openings. - Amy Odell

The disappearance of Alice Creed.

Camera Work and Editing:

The ground level shot leading up to the two men at the van, adds tension to where the action is happening. Because the stealing of a van is quite significant at this point, the pace then gets quicker here adding to the idea that something peculiar may happen.
The next major shot which is of their feet and trolley level, enables the shallow depth of field shot to shine through here of the trolley wheels.
The camera is in clear focus of the items being purchased, so the audience can begin to think what they may go onto be used for.
 Every action the two characters then go onto make is pretty much identical, they are almost robotic how they are assembling the room, drilling in nails and ripping down curtains, this effect shows more about their characters, that perhaps this has happened before, they have planned this in great detail and know a lot about what it is they are about to do. Close up shots of the action. in particular the drilling, so we can see it in focus and increases the idea of pace throughout the opening shot. The bed is then set up very quickly, and edited in a way so its almost like a gun, each step of the making of the bed like a bullet. one thing after the other, very quickly. Maybe to also show that they're not wasting any time in this plan, and that every moment counts.

Mise En Scene:
the outfits the two men wear, of tracksuits and denim, are very casual and non suspicious as to what they are really doing. Gives them an almost disguise of what they are really doing. The bright colours of the room and the hardware shop, contrast greatly with the dark woods, enabling the audience to predict what may happen.All the settings included in the first sequence of this film vary immensely. such as it beginning in an airport car park, then going over to a dump, then to a hardware store, then to a squat like flat, then to the woodland area. All settings included to create mystery and curiosity.

Lighting and Sound:
the sequence begins with the diagetic sound of the aircraft in the sky, allowing the audience to grasp where the characters are. The music then becomes non diagetic, meaning the audience can hear the music but the characters can't. The music sets the mood for this beginning sequence, the music also changes as the settings do. AS the pace of the sequence gets quicker, so does the music, as it creates like a ticking noise, getting faster and faster.
the over exaggerated noises of the drill, and the ripping of the curtain rings makes the action even more bold and a crisp sound is conveyed. The deep mood music of the cello then plays, and it creates even more suspension for the audience, as the mood drops to a sad, confusion tone.
 The characters are always in light, even in darker settings, this would definitely be to show their power and status, as the criminals they are.