Group: Lesson 1 29/02/2012

In the lesson today, our group started on the animatic storyboard. We managed to complete half of the hand draw slides, as well as deciding on our diagetic and non-diagetic sound.

In are opening a few lines of dialogue will be used, this will mainly be done by the protagonist as the antagonist will stay silent. This paired with the robe not only introduces a fell of noir but also creates an enigma for the 'evil' character as their gender is hidden, creating gender neutrality.

Group: Pitch for Green Light.

After presenting our pitch we had a feedback session with other class members. During out concept development stages we were inspired by fairy tales and putting a contemporary spin on them as it is a reoccurring style in the film industry i.e. Red Riding Hood (Hardwicke, 2011) and Snow White and The Huntsman (Saunders, 2012).

We thought that using a visual motif such as a red piece of clothing would stand out, however upon criticism we decided to focus on the fairy tale Hansel + Gretle because the original is still quite sinister enough and we could adapt it with a modern twist. Also, in reference to costume, people instead suggested we could utilise a noir element by using a robe/jacket/hat to obscure the antagonist’s face to evoke the feeling of an enigma.

  

As for our story, people responded to us that it wasn’t particularly clear, so we need to refine our story and reduce the amount of points we aim to include in it. We need to make it clear in what it’s about and what the opening sequence could lead on to.

When listening to other groups ideas we thought that many of them avoided stereotypes of the genre they had chosen and media representations to keep it fresh, we think this is a good idea and we will try to keep it in mind in the development process.

Group: The Pitch - upload

The Pitch on Prezi

Group: The Pitch


Having issues, what shall we include in our prezi presentation?

Group: Reccie to Wilderness Wood

During the filming trip to Wilderness Wood, our group tested and tried a number of shots. As well as the experience of filming in the open air, we were also able understand the other aspects of filming such as call sheets and risk assessments.The snow added a much larger risk to the equipment but allowed for a more magnificent shot.

The shots taken included:

• Medium Long shot
• Canted Angle
• High & Low Angle
• POV
• Dialogue delivery
• Stills (Montage)

What worked:

The use of POV shots, allowed us to practice capturing a sense of verisimilitude.Medium Long shots were also very successful as they captured the beauty of wilderness woods creating some magnificent shots for all groups that took part.

What didn't work:

We found canted angles difficult as the shot we aimed for lead to the use of tree stumps and logs which in the icy environment were seen as a hazard. The tracking shot can also be improved due again due to the snow causing the track to slip. 

The Reccie Edit

HL: Technical analysis

Shrooms (Breathnach, 2007)

 

Number of shots	Shot type	Duration	Mise-en-scene
1	Handi-cam crabbing left	4 seconds	Female running through forest
2	Establishing shot	3 seconds	Rundown building
3	Medium CU	2 seconds	Blood pouring out of a bucket
4	CU	2 seconds	Puddle of blood
5	CU- left of frame	2 seconds	Hand in the puddle
6	Mid shot	1 second	Female running through bush
7	Handi-cam crabbing left	4 seconds	Female running through forest
8	Long shot- low moving steadicam	3 seconds	Dark hallway
9	CU- right of frame	2 seconds	Quivering dirty hand
10	Mid shot	3 seconds	Dark silhouette
11	Long shot	1 second	View of the females feet as she runs
12	Handi-cam crabbing left	4 seconds	Female running through forest
13	CU-placed in the centre	1 second	Moving piece of rope
14	Mid Shot	1 second	Flattened bird
15	Mid Shot	1 second	Figure will a potato sack masking its face
16	Handi-cam crabbing left (Women framed to the right)	4 seconds	Female running through forest
17	BCU	2 seconds	Hand and face shaking viciously
18	CU	2 seconds	Pile of maggots
19	Long shot	2 seconds	Hovering figure
20	CU	3 seconds	Mans battered face, focuses on the eyes

In our film, I think the use of interrcutting images will create a more dramatic impact to our audience as pictures envelop emotions as well as creating a sense of verisimilitude. This will allow us to properly put across our ideas, as well as scaring the audience.

Group: Treatment 1

The shot begins with a glass bowl, skittles are then dropped in it , as the sound will be amplified  for a dramatic effect. The shot will then change to a close up to a single red skittle with the 's' clearly shown, this will act as a visual motif, just like the bracelets used in 'Brick' (Johnson,2005).
This then fades into the title sequence of our title (which is still under discussion) in a font mentioned in our Concept Development post. The shot then focuses on the protagonist and his companion, whom are walking through the forest, to then bind things together, the shot will also contain the visual motif of the red hoodie out of focus in the background. The protagonist then gets a message from his secret admirer (the murderer) so he ushers his companion away, he is now alone. The character then pulls out a packet of skittles which is blown away by the wind. The character then follows the wrapper and notices engravings into the trees, on closer inspection they are arrows, they seem to be directing him somewhere.

Flashback: this shows the creep on a laptop talking to the protagonist as he pretends to be the attractive girl that wants to finally meet him.

The character ends up at a small secluded hut, on inspection it seems abandoned but surprisingly a pigment of light is seen. The hut is unlocked, but the door is closed with the use of a rock/log. As he enters the hut, he is greeted will a dark and odd low key lighting. A bed is present which implies there is a owner. Being nosey he examines more, the hut is covered in letters and other objects which no really link, i.e girl hair brush, axe. A laptop is emitting light, it seems very unfitting for its environment. The laptop is then opened to find the girls social networking site on the screen, this confuses the protagonist and starts to scare him. As this happens the man in the red hood enters the hut, a scream is heard and the clip ends.

Group: Preliminary task- Lesson 3

• When shooting our preliminary task i learnt that when filming there are many ways of moving and angling the camera to create specific effects for example ,running with the camera (Handy cam ) can emulate a chase scene as seen in many television dramas and films .
• The best shots that we were able to take were close ups of the protagonist and antagonist's facial expressions when dialogue is being used,these were our best shots because the non-verbal language we captured in these showed the mood and intentions of character's.
• The main difficulties we encountered when filming were when to start filming a shot and when to end it ,we found this difficult because we tended to give vocal signals which ruined some of our best footage.
• When editing i learnt that some of the best shots are the shortest,such as when we were trying to continuity edit clips such as a moving through a door scene small 1 second clips can make a huge difference in the realism and can change the tempo of a scene.
• During post production i learnt that when adding non-digetic sound it is sometimes more effective to add two lines of music ,this beefs up the sound and allows combinations of eerie thriller tracks and suspense tracks to make a more horror like track.
• The main strengths in our production are the shots of facial close ups and the facial expressions which they show, this non verbal language says more than a lot of dialogue .
• The main weakness in our production was the digetic sounds that came with our original footage this was because there were other peoples voices in the back ground and subsequently we had to turn down the digetic sound to salvage the footage.

When we film and edit our opening sequence my three main tips would be.

1. Make sure there are no unwanted digetic sounds such as loud voices or cars etc.
2. Make sure to take 2-3 takes of each shot so that you have a wider variety of shots.
3. Plan the sequence ,shots and events that are going to happen even if changes have too be made which is inevitable.

JN: Jamaica inn (Hitchcock 1939) Technical analysis

Shot Number	Camera	Duration (seconds)	Mis-en-scene
1	Close up fading into	4	Night: Aged wooden Inn sign swinging in wind
2	Establishing shot fading into MLS.	3	Shot of old, neglected, remote Inn on wild night
3	MLS slides into.	13	Man hurriedly exiting Inn – running down external  stairs and mounting horse. Cloak and hat typical of 19th Century
4	LS moving into close up slides into.	4	Horseman riding urgently down badly-made road across rugged moorland
5	Medium long shot –jumps into.	9	Man on horseback approaches lantern on cliff edge, dismounts and approaches lantern
6	MLS,jumps to	4	Man in profile, horses head in shot. Man desperately scanning the unseen distance. Lantern behind shining.
7	Long shot ,fades to	3	Foreground sea, breaking waves with white surf crashing over rocks in storm. Ship in trouble in long shot
8	LS, jump to	1	Sailor struggling with ships wheel , obvious rigging of sailing ship typical of 19th Century
9	Mid shot	1	Sailor continues battle with cumbersome wheel and against storm
10	LS from bridge, Jump cut to prow	5	Prow of ship,  prominent rigging in foreground, rough sea through spray and waves land sighted dead ahead
11	Mid shot, jump	6	Captain, denoted by white cap, helping battle with wheel as waves continue to batter over bridge/ wheel

AM:Technical Analysis - The Warriors (Hill, 1979)

HL:Analysis of an opening sequence 2

Dog Soldiers (Marshall, 2002)

Narrative

• The narrative is structured in a classic Hollywood style as it starts with equilibrium implying that the narrative is soon to change. This establishing scene, shows a peaceful woodland area, with a loving couple. Due to this being a horror film the audience immediately understands that a change in the structure is soon to happen. This is then evident as the film cuts to a romantic and intense love scene which then turns into a bloodbath resulting in the demise of the couple.
• The audience is positioned with the couples, causing the audience to think of them as the good people, however when the aspect of horror is introduced, the audience is shown how the male character is given prevalence over the female,as we are shown his reaction to her death.
• Graphic are also used in this clip to develop a feel of verisimilitude. The use of non-verbal language is used to identify the two people as a couple, not only by kissing but also by facial expressions etc. This idea mainly revolves around binary oppositions, as we the narrative being based around humans vs monsters (werewolves).
• Major themes in this narrative are identified as love, due to the couple being located in a secluded area. However being a horror the genre allows the scene to be identifiable as dangerous.
• Tension is created by the use of sound, especially the sound a zip. This is firstly shown as a source of pleasure (the women's trousers) however the sound of the tent zip over powers the other. This then creates a sense of tension as the zip is being undone slowly thus to create a sense of enigma. The idea of a monster is reinforced by the use of sound as snarls and grunts are heard.

Media Audiences

• Due to the film mainly revolving around themes of violence and gore, as well as aspects from the armed forces, we would expect the audience to consist of mainly males aged from around 16-50 years old. However there are bound to be females who would challenge the stereotype and enjoy the film.
• The probable audience reading would be seeing as this is a horror, the equilibrium is soon to shift die to a change in the narrative. The possible reading could be that even though the couple are situated in a woodland area, perhaps the change in story happens afterwards in a completely new location.
• To and extent the text can be read differently, being a teenage boy the emphasised corruptions from a love scene can be more shocking then say for a girl. And with age the area itself could be criticised and even the plot, older people may be more stubborn to believe in such myths as werewolves.

The soldiers

Werewolf