Equipment (Planning)

The main equipment needed for this project is:

• Camera
• Mini DV tape
• Tripod - this will allow us to have steady and accurate shots.
• Laptop (This will be needed when we upload all the footage we filmed and when we start editing all the shots).

Since there isn't a lot of dialogue in our script/Media product we will not be needing to use a microphone. If lighting becomes a problem we will use artificial lighting to make a shot more visible!

Organising the shoot (Planning)

Organising the shoot involved making a lot of serious decisions that would end up helping us make our final opening sequence.

As a group we all organised the following:

Actors: Tegan Little as Hannah

Locations: Sydenham school (a classroom)

Kirkdale road (For the night scene)

Props: A fake knife, chairs and tables (classroom scene) etc.

Costume: casual teenage clothing to set up the story line.

Lighting: We will be using low key lighting mostly - reasons for this are because it suits the genre and the mood of the opening sequence. During the night scene we will use natural lighting to set the scene and if extra lighting is required, we will use some sort of artificial lighting to make the scene more visible.

Although these are rather brief details of us organising the shoot, I think it provides myself and my group with the key elements needed to make out final media product have a good outcome.

Shooting script (Planning)

Here is our shooting script. Using a shooting script will allow us to be organised as well as keeping up with timing and locations. I think that it will really help us understand what we are doing and keep us on track with filming.

Soundtrack (Planning)

Before producing our media product we made sure we planned out what sounds we were going to use and in what shots/scenes we would use them in.

We will be using both Diegetic and Non diegetic sound. We will be using most of the non diegetic sound in opening scene and this non diegetic sound will consist of instrumental music in the background - it will help build up tension and excitement for the audience. The instrumental music will then continue into the next scene creating a sound bridge (this will be done when we start editing). We will also make sure that the instrumental music suits our chosen genre - Psychological thriller.

Another sound that is required is the sound of a heartbeat. This will be added during the flashback scenes, and once again it will help build up tension and add a sense of a thriller movie. Hopefully this will help attract the audience and keep them focused on the situation as well as creating enigmas throughout the scene.

Although there isn't a lot of dialogue in our media product, we do have a particular scene where Hannah (main character) is being beaten up by her class mates and they are shouting at her and swearing too. As a group we decided it would be best to let the actors improvise this scene to add a more realistic touch to the scene.

Decisions on Location (Planning)

As a group we all started discussing possible locations where we could film the opening scene of our short Film 'Behind Closed Doors'.

To make our decisions we had to base them on our storyboards and where we could visualize an effective outcome, that will captivate our target audience. As our storyline is based around the life of a teenage girl, who begins to suffer from paranoia we wanted to create a scary/thriller type scene.

When we looked back at our story boards we noticed that there are 3 main parts to the opening scene that need to be captured on camera. These 3 main parts were:

- Hannah Running on the street

- Hannah in School

- Hannah At home (Flashback)

As we have now seen the obvious locations that are needed, we are discussing where about we want to film. We certainly know that we want to film at school (Sydenham), but there is still a discussing as to where we will film the other 2 parts.

My Blog will be updated after proper analysis and decisions are made.

Storyboard/Anamatics (Planning)

StoryBoards and Animatics (Planning)

As we started to progress and develop ideas, we came to the point in which we started creating storyboards/animatics. We were given some post-stick notes to draw each shot that we would be using for the opening scene of our film. Louise, Megime and myself worked together and took it in turns to draw out a shot an write about things such as:

-Mise-en-scene

-Sound

-Camera Shot

-Any Dialogue

Creating a storyboard was very helpful, as we were able to put ideas on to paper and keep organised with each shot. It also provided a clearer view of what we would like to add into the scene or what we would like to take out.

As we finished of adding the final shot, we were asked to film and take pictures of each shot to create our animatics. To create our Animatics we will be using 'Movie Maker' as it provides us with different choice of effects, such as transitions from each shot (fade in, fade out etc). It also helps provide background music to add a better sense of creativity and technique. We have not yet completed the animatic but we are working on it during the next lesson and should be finished by then.

The Scenario (Planning)

The scenario we created for our project, was quite basic but it also had all the elements needed for a film:

Opening scene and Scenario

The opening scene which as a group we would film, was based around a young teenage girl who is running away from a problem she has got into. The opening scene would help build up enigmas for the audience as well as create suspense and a realisation of the situation. The situation in the Film is that the girl (Hannah) is running away from her foster parents who have mistreated her as well as the students in her school, over time Hannah starts to become mentally insane and suffers from anxiety and ends up killing her parents.

The Problem/The Situation

The problem revolves around a girl (Hannah) who is 15 and starts to become paranoid because of her class mates and foster parents behavior towards her. Hannah starts to get bullied and mistreated so she becomes mentally unstable and from that point on onwards the audience see Hannah get her revenge.

Questionnaires (Research)

As part of research and getting as much Audience feedback as possible, we all worked together to create a short questionnaire to get an insight on what people like in movies. The questionnaire consisted in the following questions:

1) What is your favorite genre?

2) Why does it appeal to you?

3) What do you expect in the opening sequence of a film?

4) What attracts you to movies:
a) Trailers b) Actors/Actresses c) Story line

5) What was the last movie you watched? What was the genre? Did you enjoy it?
If not - state why.

6) What genre is your least favorite?

According to the questionnaire, it seemed that the most popular genre of movie was Comedy and Thriller. We also understood that its the trailers and story line that catch peoples attention when watching a movie.

This questionnaire provides a better view of what people think, when it comes to their favorite type of movies and it will help us think carefully about creating a eye catching and interesting opening sequence.

Genre (Research)

After researching our influences, we all focused on the genre we had discussed before: Physiological thriller.

Looking at different movies as influences allowed me and my group to understand a genre in more detail. Our narrative would most certainly be thriller related and would surround a story line based around a teenager/teenagers - This then reinforces the idea that we would like to have a teenage cast with age range around: 15-17 years old, and the reasons for this is because we want to add more tension and build up more excitement in our opening sequence.

We really focused on thinking about our chosen genre and moved on to the convention of mise-en-scene. To build up an idea that our story line is teen related we want to base our opening sequence in a school and outdoors. Both diegetic and non diegetic sound will be used - Instrumental music will be used to build up a thriller theme and to add tension to the scenes we shoot. (This still needs to be looked at in more depth).

Camera work and editing will also need to be discussed in more detail especially when planning our shots and scenes properly after.

Analysing 'The Dark Knight' (Influences continued)

To help my coursework group with more Ideas we all individually looked at different films that involved the genre we were basing our work on (Thriller). I decided to look at the opening of 'The Dark Knight' and with that I made sure I got as much information as I could get out of it.

Institutional Context:

What Written Text (captions) is used in the sequence?

On the DVD menu ('play Movie', 'Scene Selection' and 'Languages')


Legendary Pictures


DC Comics


Warner.Bros Productions

What Information does it give the audience?

It tells and shows the audience that the movie is a big budget movie.

Why is it Important?

Once again it shows its a big budget movie, which is also an influence for an audience to watch a movie.

Which Film Company is used?

• Warner.Bros Productions
• A time Warner Company

Identifying Genre

What is the genre of the movie? (genres)

• Horror
• Action
• Thriller

Is it a major genre, Sub Genre or Hybrid Genre?

• Action/Thriller (Major Genre)
• Horror (Sub-genre)

How is the genre constructed?

Mise-en-scene:

• Setting: The city
  
• Costume: Men in clown masks and suits (villains)
  
• Props: Guns, Cars, Bags, Bombs etc.
• Camera Work: Extreme Long shot, zoom in, tracking shot, crane shot
• Sound: Non-diegetic (music), Diegetic (people screaming, dialogue)
• Props: Guns, Cars, Bags, Bombs
  
• Lighting: Natural Lighting and artificial lighting (high/low key)
  

Analysing continuity techniques:

Identify any examples of match on action, shot/reverse shot, synchronous sound?

Match on action was seen when characters opened doors and opening the vault.

Shot reverse shot was seen when 2 characters (villains) were having a conversation.

Synchronous sound: seen throughout opening scene!

Analysing Representation:

Which social groups are being represented in the sequence?

Middle class (villains, workers)

How are they represented?

Throughout the opening scene we see the city and then we see a bank with workers and villains robbing a bank (audience assume there is a purpose).

Identify any stereotypes and explain why they have been used?

working class people: sets the scene of a normal day that is soon taken over by a robbery.

Analysing the audience:

Who is the target audience for this film?

The certificate shows 12+ but it seems more like a 15-18 as there is a lot of violence and scenes that can cause disturbance towards the audience.

How have the producers of the film targeted this audience?

They have seen the amount of violence or threat shown in a movie and this helps understand a final idea of what the target audience is.

Influences

During the lesson we were asked to look at different movies that are simarlar or have similar aspects to the movie we are going to produce. We found that the movie 'Flight Plan' starring Jodie Foster was very interesting because of its psychological theme and storyline. IMBD provided us with enough information to know exactly what was expected for a movie of this genre.

The movie is based around a mother who is on a plane and finds that her daughter is missing, but to her surprise no one is aware of her child. The film builds up tension and causes the audience to think about what may have happened to her child and if she is mentally unstable.

This film is relevant to our research as it shows similar aspects to our idea based on genre.


Actors/Actresses: Jodie Foster (Kyle Pratt)
Peter Sarsgaard (Carson)

Director: Robert Schwentke
Genres: Action. Mystery, Thriller.

Here is a clip of the movie:

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3118334233/

The other influences we found out and researched were:

• Flight plan
• The Dark Knight
• The Shining
• Fight Club
• The Godfather
• Gas light