Shots

After the preliminary task, Myself and Harrison decided that panning shots and extreme/close ups are very effective when creating tension and giving the scene a theme of mystery. We aim to use panning in almost every scene and we will zoom in on certain points of the frame, which will be the bag in most scenes as we want it to stand out more than anything else, while at the same time we don't want it to be the centre of attention in every scene but we need the audience to be aware of it. We will use an extreme close up of Chloe's hand holding the bag in the last scene at the Grand Arcade shopping centre. This will create tension and we will film Chloe dropping the bag whilst still in the extreme close up and then we will quickly zoom out to a long shot of Chloe walking away. We will then quickly zoom out to a long shot of Chloe walking away and then we will perform another close up of Chloe turning around and smiling. This shot will be edited so it is in slow motion which will create tension and then suddenly Chloe disappears while everything goes quickly again. The crowd will then be in normal speed again and the bag is in the last shot. Then everything goes silent and the ticket noise continues. That's where it finishes.

Script

Our film is all about the music used and the gestures and movements of the actress. We also aim to create a theme of mystery and tension through the camera angles and shots we use. As a result we have decided to use no script at all and we feel this will maintain the theme of mystery and thrill and will make the audience more alert and curious as to what is coming up next.

Props

The only prop that will be used in our film opening is a rucksack that Chloe will be carrying through-out the whole thing. The reason this is our only prop is because it is what the entire opening scene is built around so we don't want any other props taking the focus away from the bag. The bag will be black to match the whole outfit and she will also be holding it in her hand as opposed to on her back to link in with the "mysterious" theme.

Costumes

To give thrilling effect of the film, we are dressing Chloe in fully black to make her seem more mysterious and fit in with the genre. It will also make her stand out from the crowed more in the last scene when she's in the Grand Arcade as most people may be wearing colours and Chloe's there in all black. In the first couple of scenes she will not as there are pupils and uniform and work men in suits - but this is the effect we were looking for.

Casting

Our original plan was to use Harrison as the main character in our film, but as this meant he would not be able to do any filming we decided against it. Luckily, one of our friends who is a very good drama student and is also reliable said she would be happy to play the main part. We went through with this decision as we know we will be able to trust her and will do a good job with the acting. She will be wearing the same outfit (fully black) through-out all of the scenes blending in with the crowd at the beginning becoming more obvious as the scenes go on.

Target Audience

Once we had decided on the synopsis of the opening, because of the nature of the film we decided it was to be aimed at a wide variety of people, but those that are mainly interested in Thrillers. Although Paranormal Activity does not follow the same story as that of mine and Harrison's, it follows the same aim with the audience - to appeal to thriller fans but also a much wider audience. We are aiming for a film starter that will create tension for the audience and end on a cliff hanger making people want to continue watching it.
Below is a recent chart showing the user ratings for people who watch Thriller films:

Possible Locations for the Film

Saffron Walden County High School

SWCHS is one location where we are planning on doing some filming for the opening of the film.We will film while all the students are coming out of school at the end of the day when it is busiest with Chloe Cremins in the background dressed all in black holding a bag.

Grand Arcade - Cambridge

The Grand Arcade in Cambridge is the location where we will be filming our last scene. We are likely to film on a Saturday, about 2ish where it's most busiest showing Chloe walking through the crowd of people and placing a bag down on the floor while the ticking noise that has been playing through-out the scene gets louder then suddenly stops as the camera focuses in on the bag and the scene finishes. My brother had some problems with doing photography inside the shopping centre so we plan to speak to the security guards there and ask permission to film and if we cannot do so then we will need to think of another idea.

Audley End Station

Audley End station is another place where myself and Harrison will be filming. We were thinking of taking a view from the bottom of the stairs during rush hour showing all the people walking down the stairs in a rush with Chloe walking slowly still holding the bag with the ticking noise in the background.

Evaulation - Danny Elstub

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New Ideas for Final Film

We originally decided on filming our opening with Harrison as the main character but we felt this may mean that there would not be an equal amount of filming between myself and Harrison. As a result we have asked one of our friends, who is a drama student, to play the part of the terrorist. We know from watching her perform she plays different roles very well so would get in the moment and is also dedicated to her drama. She would appear in every scene but in the scenes where there is a busy crowd of people she will subtly be placed in the background wearing all black and holding a bag, which she will later drop on the floor when the filming is in the shopping centre with a ticking sound which will be played through-out the whole opening getting louder as it gets closer to the end.

Film 4 Film Analysis

To get an idea of what to do on the final piece and about timings etc, we had a look at a previously finished opening scene and analyses it in order to see what points to focus on most when doing ours.
- The shots framed well, character is shot in centre unless the scene demands otherwise,
- The shots are correct (the right features are shown for the chosen distance)
- There is a wide variety, long shots and close ups
- All of the material is suited to genre and relevant to storyline
- All the colours are dark apart from red making it stand out, setting suitable to genre, props
- Relate to storyline and build on the setting which is consistently urban, few actors are used which makes it clear who the main character is
- Possible DVD covers, cropped, re-sizing
- Clear pronunciation, emotion shown through the voice well
- Titles are included and are a suitable size that they dont draw attention away from the film but are visible.
- The blogs in chronological order with titles
- Blog type is plain, film type, different size
- Editing and cutting shots, add in titles, contrasting of shots, colouring of shots, blog

Final Piece Idea

After lots of discussion and research Molly Muckle and I have decided on a synopsis and therefore a opening to our film. The opening to the film will include slow motion shots of people getting off a train in rush hour, kids laughing and playing in a playground, people in the market square when it is busy and then we will have shots from a plane looking down on these places and then referring back down to a camera on the ground. We will also film a digital type clock ticking away which will be either on the main characters watch or in another frame. We will then film the main character who is a terrorist in every shot but subtly. We will then see him more obviously as the shots progress and eventually we see him nervously walking into a shopping centre and dropping a bag and then the timer runs out and everything goes quiet. This idea is our final idea, however we will most probably modify it slightly over time if we feel it needs to be improved or changed.

Investigation into Title Timings

When we were investigation the timings of different film openings, we looked at Juno. Below is a list of the titles and when they appear:

Title - Time
"fox searchlight pictures present" - 16 secs
"A mandate pictures - Mr Mudd production" - 22 secs
"A Jason Reitman Film" - 27 secs
"Juno" - 29 secs
"Ellen Page" - 40 secs
"Michael Cera" - 44 secs
"Jennifer Garner" - 49 secs
"Jason Bateman" - 58 secs
"Allison Janney" - 1 min 2 secs
"J.K. Simmons" - 1 min 6 secs
"Olivia Thirlby" - 1 min 12 secs
"Casting by Mindy Marin, c.s.a Kara Lipson" - 1 min 18 secs
"Costume designer Monique Prudhomme" - 1 min 22 secs
"Music by Mateo Messina, Songs by Kimya Dawson" - 1 min 27 secs
"Music supervisors Peter Afterman and Margaret Yen" - 1 min 33 secs
"Co-producers Jim Miller, Kelli Konop, Brad Van Arragon" - 1 min 40 secs
"Film editor Dana E. Glauberman" - 1 min 44 secs
"Production designer Steve Saklad"- 1 min 49 secs
"Director of photography Eric Steelberg" - 1 min 54 secs
"Executive producers Joe Drake, Nathan Kahane, Dnaiel Dubiecki" - 1 min 69 secs
"Produced by Lianna Halfon, John Malkovich, Mason Novick, Russel Smith" - 2 mins 5 secs
"Written by Diablo Cody" - 2 mins 11 secs
"Directed by Jason Reitman" - 2 mins 18 secs

Analysing the timings of titles are important when researching for the final peice as it gives us an idea of what times are affective and how to make it flow more.

Research - opening scenes

This is the opening scene from "Touch of Evil". I like the way it build tension through showing you, at the start, a person starting off a ticking bomb and putting it in the boot of a car. The way it follows the car through-out the whole of the scene makes you know something will evetually happen - which it does.




I also like the opening for "Kidulthood". I like the way it instantly tells you what group of poeple the film is aimed at, basing the opening in a school and showing what the main characters talk and act like.




The opening for "Deja Vu" is one that myself and Harrison are aiming for as our final piece. We like the affect where the camera is placed in the middle of a busy atmosphere with calming music on in the background giving the audience the feeling something may happen. It builds tension which is what we are aiming to do in our opening scene.

Preliminary task

For the preliminary task myself, Harrison, Danny and Dean found an empty classroom in school where we begun our short film in order to get practise for the final piece. We decided danny would film and then rest of us would act in it.

For starters, Danny filmed myself sitting at a desk as a secretary. Harrison then walked into shot and the camera switched onto a match on action shot, focusing on Harrison's hand grabbing the door handle, opening it and walking into the room. Once harrison was in, Danny used a an extreme close of up Harrison's face and a long shot of Dean's whole body. The camera zoomed out to pan while they both sat down. Danny then used shot reverse shot as Harrison and Dean were having a conversation. As there was no sound, he used a fast paced shot to create the tension that was needed.

From the preliminary task, i learned how to properly apply the different camera techniques as opposed to just hearing about them and I dothink more practise is needed with learning the ropes of the different camera angles before the final peice.