AS FINAL PIECE;

Feedback:

Tori Douglas- "it's actually really good :| i like the start bit where it's someone sat outside & i like it how you linked the scenes together when you closed the curtains. & the bit where you're in the coffin looks really good:| proper" effective"

Sam Marsh- "Wow. That's ridiculously good! It looks professional from start to end I love the music, make up, costumes. The whole fact it looks like a professionally done piece is stunning. Well done you guys!! xx"

Joseff Revill- "WOW! That was pretty awesome guys, top job on creating the atmosphere with the right sound score, dim lighting and the tapping on the car wheel is really eerie and helps draw the audience in, really good, i shall give it 5 revels out of 5 and my own personal HURRAY!"

Callum Cook- "That was brilliant XD The neck crack bit was freaky lols, i really liked it, Id give it my own personal hurray!"

Emily Cross- "The music is chilling and goes very well with the scenes, the shots are very different lengths which shows variety in the video. The make up and imagery is life like and the blood on the face is realistic, also the plain white shirt for the pjs gives the sense of an innocent victim. Very good Video"

Boyce Pratt- "totally spooky"

Abigail Wells- "it was really good, good acting and use of sound and camera shots, really worked well together :) and the scene with the black and white pictures was really dramtic and captured what it was about"

Jenni-Leigh Seaton- "i <3ed>

Jenna Thomas- "media blog is amazing babe :O you;ve done really well"

Editing- Creating the Soundtrack using Garage Band;

Video showing some of the sounds used on our final piece.

www.freesound.org

Editing- iMovie;

Imovie is the software used to edit our video into the final cut. The simple layout allows you to import music, sounds and video to apply to your video. Imovie can even change the presentation of your videos/images by changing the adjustments. The advantages of using Imovie means you can crop and delete audio/video by your demand. I found Imovie easy to use apart from one problem found with audio on on selection of the film. However this was easily resolved by separating the audio from that part. Imovie involves making new projects and then editing the video to your standard.

Editing- Garage Band;

Garage Band allows you to create unique sounds either to be applied to a film piece or simply to record a song. There are a range of music available and is listed into different genre which makes it easier to look for when you have a certain piece in mind. You can also import your own music which can be downloaded from sites such as www.freesound.org. From this piece of software, I then created 3 separate soundtracks for the film opening. Most of the soundtracks was a mixture of heavy beats, eerie tones and built up to the peak parts which matched parallel with actions within the piece.

Images & Effects;

By using Adobe Photoshop you can adjust photo to your needs. There are a number of techniques you can use to change photos and these are some examples:

Vignetting; this technique often referred to as "fish eye lens" creates the illusion of what someone sees through their eyes. At post-production we used this idea with the webcam shot then the audience are seeing the female character from the stalkers point of view.

Posterize; Using this approach makes the image look distorted but artistically. You can change the strengths of Posterizing and if this image was stronger the picture would have a a smudging effect. Researching all different photo editing helped the group decide what would suit the montage coffin scene.

Invent; Changing a photo from positive to negative looks like the one posted above. Inventing gives the photo an eerie look. However, the outcome of the image depends on the depth and brightness surrounding it. This is the reason why Inventing was only used very briefly whilst editing because the use of bright lights during the coffin scene resulted in the female character barely visible.

Black and White; used mostly in Film Noir, Black and White makes the image look older than actually dated. This is a good technique when used to deceive an audience during the time scale of the opening piece.

These techniques can also be used on Imovie therefore practising on photoshop was great practice before the editing sessions began.

Typography- Researching Existing Fonts;

Typography- Existing Film Titles;

During filming we researched different film typography and compared them to their given genre.

This helped our group visualise how we wanted our film titles and credits to look like.

TOY STORY (1995)

This title is bold because of the heroic primary colours used to make it stand out. Similar to superheroes such as superman and wonder women, the colours red, yellow and blue represent fun and a happy ending. Behind the title is the background full of clouds which show the film can take you anywhere and escapism is guaranteed. Even the title "Toy Story" identifies that the films target audience is children because their daily life is based around bringing toys to life as entertainment.

The Bourne Identity (2002)

The Bourne Identity title shows straight away that the film is based around one character. Jason Bourne is shown with serious facial expressions next to screen shots of the film where he appears to be violently fighting another character. Bourne has been circled as a target on the title representing that the film could be based around someone hunting Jason Bourne however the reason isn't revealed. This is already triggering an enigma and gets the audience involved. Ironically even though the colours used (yellow and blue) are supposedly heroic it is unable to determine what side his character represents. The white, bold title stands out from its dark background making the target audience see his role in the film is crucial to the plot.

Star Wars: Episode Three - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

The audience can guess the genre of Sci-fi due to the out of space background with the dark galaxy and endless stars. Using Roman numerals to show which episode this Star Wars film is ranked, it is clear that this film is as big as space luring audiences to think this could be "out of this world". Each title is in a different colour such as "revenge of the sith" is a mix between red and white to represent heaven and hell showing there is a fine line between evil and good. The title enrols the plot without the audience noticing at first. "Star Wars" in gold implies the film is only of good quality, even by the shiny, capital writing. Within "Star Wars" the waves of sand suggest the film may flashback to prequels and sequels to draw the film together as a whole. This is a good tactic to attract the old and new generation fans of the world-wide known franchise.

Pulp Fiction (1994)

The simple idea of a black background and bold titles enforces an audience to make up their own plot. The title alone uses bright and bold colours to attract people but even the name "pulp fiction" forces people to think what the film may be about. Using the plain black background makes the title look authentic and comic.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

The title is almost hidden by using all of the same colour but just changing the brightness and contrast between the background and the title. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix appears in front of clouds to suggest the film is forever changing similar to the weather. Harry Potter also has a scar in the shape of a lightening bolt which is included in the typography when you look directly at the letter P. Each individual letter of "Harry Potter" has sharp edges implying what his character may be like in the film. The dark use of colour represent the darkness and sin within the film.

Final Destination (2000)

Final Destination uses small lettering to reassure the enigma of the film is revealed in small steps up to the big finale. It is believe that once we die we go to heaven and by using the stars as a background it suggest this film already ends in tragedy. The title "Final Destination" is distorted and uses white font to look similar to the stars. The background and title connote each other because they both show the film will be tragic due to the destination being death.

Clash of the Titans (2010)

Clash of the Titans uses strong gold bold typography to connote the films plot which shows the fight between Zeus and Hades. The mixes of browns in the background imply the fight will be dark and sinister involving violence from the clouds. The typography uses straight lines in the font to put across how strong the titans are within the story. Gold titles imply this film is worth seeing because of its quality.

Titles- For Team Members;

Deciding the group roles: We allocated TWO title each, but we all took part in each role.

Our main titles include:
+PRODUCER
+DIRECTOR
+MUSIC EDITOR

In addition, we used these as further information for our audiences:
+POEM WRITTEN BY
+COSTUME + MAKE-UP
+LIGHTNING
+SOUND
+EDITING

we also acknowledge outside advantages such as dafont.com, freesound.org and Pamela Prentiss-Harrisson for her poem.

Producer- Gina Eales
Director- Joseph Ryan
Music- Victoria Parker
Sound- Freesound.org
Lighting - Joseph Ryan
Costume + Make-up- Gina Eales
Editing-Victoria Parker
Poem By Pamela Prentiss-Harrison*

*in the final editing stages we didn't use the poem therefore her title was removed.

In the lastest developments films such as Batman: The Dark Knight (2008) and Clash of the Titans (2010) don't display the title of the film until it has ended. However, because the task is only a film opening we included the title of our film.

Opening Credits;

Final checks on our AS media piece were observed by Nanette (our media teacher). The only feedback she gave was an improvement on the opening credits because they were ordered incorrectly. Opening credits usually start from the less important roles and end with the important information towards the ending of the opening sequences.

Deciding the title order: Whilst browsing wikipedia, I also looked into films that parallel our own conventions. I chose two films- Panic Room (2002) and Taxi Driver (1976)http://artofthetitle2.com/media/film/70s/taxi_driver.mov

After comparing our roles to the list suggested on Wikipedia we rearrange the order of our opening credits.

Panic Room (2002)- http://artofthetitle2.com/media/film/2002/panic_room.mov

Starting with the production company, the actors involved then the title of the film and finally the name of the director. Panic Room builds up the title sequence right through to the end where only one director can be listed which is orders from The Directors Guild of America. However, in rare cases such as death in mid-production there are exceptions.

Taxi Driver (1976)- http://artofthetitle2.com/media/film/70s/taxi_driver.mov

Starting with the production company, then the title of the film, followed by the actors involved and finally the listed director.

Both film openings begin with the production company because the audience can instantly recognise what other films that company may have produced therefore are impressed. However, the listing of actors, writers and title of the film vary depending on what may attract an audience to the film more e.g. A famous actor such as Robert Pattinson from Twilight has a large fan base therefore the film company would use this to their advantage as a advertising tactic. In addition both films use one directors name at the end of the opening credits.

It is important that we use a common order which follows these two films for advertising tactics to attract our target audiences.

Blooper Reel;

On Location & Characters Costumes;

This video shows the characters costumes and our research influence on how we created them. All four character:

• Lucy (the girl),
• Her alter-ego (the coffin girl)
• The stalker
• The killer

were discussed in forms of stereotypes and what effect they have given. We also discussed the purpose of the stalkers blackboard which created an enigma for the beginning of the film.

Behind The Scenes;

Lighting Experiments;

Filming Podcast- Day Two;

Filming Podcast- Day One;

Film Legistrations- Weapons;

Since the rise in gun crime within the 21st century, the police and the BBFC have become more intense when giving films their certification. Within the last 10 years films released have been changed once they are distributed on DVD due to the audience response and complaints. Such as the recent Batman: The Dark Knight (2008) which features violence scenes using knives therefore due to public demand and current coverage on the news the film was classified as a "12A". The explicit detail of violence changes the certification- the more graphic, the higher the rating.

Our film opening has the medium/high risk of violence because of the girl being faced at gun point and being buried in a coffin. We need to over look our piece to make sure it suits our target audience of 15+ and doesn't move into the 18 certification category.

I analysed different films which have violence within them to devise a violence scale to rate films:

LOW RISK- Weapons appear to be pretend, for fun and unloaded.
MEDIUM RISK- Weapons appear to be loaded, and fired however the victim is not injured or visible.
HIGH RISK-Weapons are loaded, been fired and injuries or death are apparent.

Team members and their roles;

Our group is made up by three people:

Joseph Ryan (stalker, editor, director)

Gina Eales (killer, editor, director)

Victoria Pratt (Parker) (Lucy, editor, director

When filming our film piece, we all wanted to experience the different equipment. Therefore we played different parts when scenes where being filmed. Such as the coffin scene Victoria acted so Joe and Gina could be co-directors. But on the final part of the opening where Joe plays the stalker, Victoria had the chance to film since she plays the main character and this was her only chance.

Film Title Development;

When researching into film names we looked into the typical conventions within our film piece.

• stalker
• death
• gun
• sense of the unknown
• murder
• jealously

As a group, we then related these conventions to the words used to describe them. For example,the word "stalker" is usually described as an obsession or illusion. Therefore when looked up these words into the thesaurus and selected the ones we felt would suit our target audience.

Paramnesia and Chimera dominate the pie chart and so we continued to research into the two most popular selections.

Chimera is the term used for a fanciful mental illusion or fabrication.

Paramnesia is the term used for a distortion of a memory in which fantasy and objective experience are confused.

Paramnesia is the perfect candidate for our piece of film because the definition sums up the whole plot. Paramnesia is also not in the English dictionary but is an American term which could suggest the film is mainstream rather than niche.

Script;

In our film opening there will be little or no script as it is controlled by a voice over which will be a selected poem from the Internet (not copyrighted). The poem will add to the eerie atmosphere and create a dramatic effect that will build upon the opening. The slight script of begging as the girl pleads for her life will only be quotes like "please don't", "stop" and "don't do this". At the end of the opening (also known as the beginning of the film) the stalker repeats "she picked her finger upon my rose" over and over until the end of the clip to empathize his love for her.

Prop List;

Prop Lists; Here is a list of props we will be using throughout our media piece. The list will keep our group organised when the day of filming finally begins

Bedroom Scene

• Laptop
• Bed
• Fishtank (artificial lighting)
• Curtains
• Black sheet (incase its not dark enough to film
• Gun

Costumes required for bedroom scene

Girl: White shirt, white shorts, natural look

Killer: Black trench coat, black bowling hat, black boots, black leather gloves.

Coffin Scene

• Coffin
• Cobwebs and Netting
• Lighting equipment (artificial lighting)
• Black sheet

Costumes required for coffin scene

Girl: Black leggings, Black top, Black nails, Big hair, Spider ring.

Outside Scene

• Car
• Lampost
• Digital Camera

Costumes required for outside scene

Stalker: Black leather-look jacket, Jeans, t-shirt, trainers.

Weather and Shooting Schedule;

As the plan states the group and I begin filming for our film coursework tomorrow and I am rather excited to be putting all the groups and my ideas together and finally bring them to life.

Shooting Schedule; This allows us to allocate time in order to keep on track and complete the piece without any rush.

Our filming days are:

Tuesday 9th March 2010

Friday 12th March 2010

Saturday 13th March 2010

Tuesday 9th March Schedule

15.00-16.00: Film the ending of the film (storyboard shots 16-18).

16.00-16.45: Set up film sets (coffin scene, bedroom scene etc).

16.45-17.00: Team meeting.

17.00-18.00: Experiment with lighting for coffin scene, darkness in bedroom scene.

18.00-18.15: Review what has been filmed.

18:15: End of Day One filming.

Friday 12th March Schedule

15.00-16.00: Costume design and set up of film sets (take photographs to form a photo album of process).

16.00-17.00: video on how to use the camera and other equipment used.

17.00-18.00: BREAK/Develop voice over poem and brainstorm a film name.

18.00-18.30: Film on health and safety.

18.30-19.30: Dark Scenes being filmed. Outside then Bedroom scene.

19.30-20.00: Prepare for coffin scene.

20.00-21.00: Coffin Scene filmed.

21:00: End of Day Two filming.

Saturday 13th March Schedule

An extra day has been added just incase the schedule changes due to weather, equipment or adjustments in team members. If any of these issues arise then we can film the parts left out on Saturday.

Weather; The weather is important to our filming because some of our scenes require filming outside. Some weathers such as snow, wind, ice or rain are not permanent therefore the schedule may have to change if these condition become a problem. After looking on www.bbc.co.uk I found the weather forecast for the next 5 days. The light rain may benefit our film because it adds to the dark and dreary atmosphere however we would need to film all the scenes in that time slot so we can be sure the weather remains the same.

Character Recreations;

For further planning into our horror/thriller opening part of the ideas was to look into costume and make up ideas. I selected 6 characters for my group to recreate so we could gather ideas for our own characters. The typical characters for horror/thriller films are innocent females, cold-hearted males, corrupted children and suspicious serial killers. Here are some of our creations:

Filming Locations;

For each initial idea I have put together a video featuring photos of possible filming locations and explained their advantages/disadvantages.