Filming Completed

I managed to finish all of my filming today (Friday 28th January)
In total my filming took 3 days to complete (14th, 21st and the 28th). This is due to the changes of locations and when my actors were able to be free at the same time.

 This is a photo of me filming in the back of Rachael's car. This proved one of my hardest shots as the tripod was not able to stand up so I had to hold the camera steady whilst the car was driving.

These photos are in Audley End where I filmed Rachael after she had been kidnapped. The weather was clear and the lighting was good for a focus on Rachael's face. It was also quiet enough that no one disturbed us whilst filming.

When I filmed outside the police station, I phoned up the station before hand to warn them that I would be directly outside with a camera and explained why I was doing that. I left them my number in case they had any issues during my filming and thanked the policemen outside when I left.

The front door I filmed is outside my actor's house therefore we had full permission to use it.

I ensured I had permission to use all of my locations to avoid getting into any trouble and having to delete my footage.

Change of Location

I needed to change the forest scene of my filming due to the time we had to film and where my actor could get to. I changed it to Audley end because of the trees could be seen as a forest if filmed at the right angle. I needed to go to the location and make sure there was a spot where I could do this without the camera seeing the surrounding areas which looked to central for my ideal location.
The location of this shot is where Rachael has been placed when kidnapped which is shown in the flash forwards in my opening two minutes during Katie's interview.

This is the photo I took when researching my location before filming my sequence. I will make sure not to get the fence in the far left of the photo in the shot as this would make the location seem less remote than intended.

 This is a photo of the surrounding areas in which I filmed in. As you can see, it is an open space, so it wasn't ideal for what I wanted originally however I believe I have been able to make it work by focusing on a single section.

All change again...

Due to my actor being able to film with me today, all things can remain the same :)

Changes

Due to one of my actors letting me down, I have to change my hollywood narrative structure of my film to make sure it will make sense as I have to film my last 1/8 of filming.

I have created a synopsis for my film also, this is what would be shown on the back of the DVD case when it would get released.

Synopsis

Katie Smith (Katherine Looker) has finally been given her excuse to move away from her dangerous life on the street and migrate south to live with her remaining family, her cousin (Rachael Hermitage). However, the excuse is the reason she will now live her life in fear. And she needs to.

Five years previous, Katie witnessed a horrific crime which results in her statement being responsible for justice. But when you prosecute against the leading gang of the city, they will find you. Even with their leader now in prison, it has begun their mission to discover the whereabouts of Katie Smith. And they succeed.

When mysterious disappearances of all her friends from her old life reach the national news, Katie becomes to realise that she won’t be able to hide forever.

Betrayal hits a record level high as the gang get closer and closer to Katie and gets the next best thing. Her cousin. Tension, suspense and action run side by side as Katie fights for her cousin before it’s too late.

I have created this because I need to include that supporting roles within the films are getting taken and killed as well as her cousin.

Although this is a big problem, I have to be able to work around it and adapt my storyline to support this. This is an issue most film makers face with actors however it must not be able to ruin a film.

Audience interaction with my film

Results from my questionnaire showed that all the people I asked wanted 2 protagonists within a thriller film. This is the reason I have only two main characters which the audience would relate to. The others that would be in the film would be either antagonists or supporting roles to the protagonists.

The element of mystery to my opening sequence has been influenced by my questionnaire as they all answered that they prefer mysterious thrillers to obvious ones. This means that my opening which involves flash backs and present activity would confuse my aaudience and make them want to watch more to find out what is happening.

75% of the people I asked prefered a location of a city fo a thriller. This is why I have used town shots in the opening sequence to create that atmosphere.

My answers to my questionnaire were split 50/50 with what sub genre they prefer from a thriller between Drama and Action. Therefore I have decided mine would be a well combained mix.

The gender of my protagonists (female) are like this because even though 50% of the people I asked didn't think this was important, I do. By choosing female it allows a female audience to relate to them and a male audience to feel protective for them and even be attracted by them.

Overall my target audience has affected a lot of my decisions for my opening sequence.

My non-diegetic music

I searched the internet for copyright free music and I have decided on using this clip from youtube.

I know it is okay to use this music because in the description of the clip this is written:

"This music is free for all film makers to use. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their interest & very kind comments. I am very grateful for these boosts.

The splendid photograpy is from Kristin Maling on Flickr.

All the very best on thanksgiving,
Padraic"

This covers any copyright issues.

The beginning of editing

I have now begun to edit the clips of filming I have filmed in Final Cut Pro.
I loaded all the clip from my SD card I used in my camera, and moved them into final cut pro. Now I need to arrange them, cut them and edit sound in each section and add the non-diegetic sound. I'm looking forward to arranging all my footage to bring my two minute opening together.

Credits

I have Storyboarded 7 credit titles to appear throughout my opening sequence:

1. A Vinyard Production
2. Katherine Looker
3. Rachael Hermitage
4. Charlie Collett
5. Music from Padraic on YouTube
6. Director Emma Vinyard
7. The Statement

Number 5 is the one credit I am unsure of as it has no real information but I do not have any of the music I have chosen therefore I will put the name that the person signed off the clip information as.
I have chosen to place the director's name last because the title sequence begins with 'A Vinyard Production' which would get my surname recongised by fellow media industries but I believed if I really produced an entire film on my own as a director, I would want my whole name mentioned also. By putting it second last to the title means it is the last credit that the audience will see, therefore they would remember it.

Props

The props I will need for filming are:

Rachael's car

Katie's phone

Rachael's Phone

A hooded Jacket for Katie



I am very glad that not many props are needed therefore my filming will be easier to complete.

Location

An added location is outside the police station where I need to shoot Katie getting into Rachael's car.
I have found this image on Google maps and I know the location well.

Final Storyboard

My first shot of my opening film is a black screen with credits as I want to get the audience's attention before beginning for a duration of 4 seconds to match previous opening credits I have researched.
 My second shot will begin with Katie in the interview room with the voice of Charlie throughout the dialogue. It will be a 'Noddy shot' with Katie on the right side of the frame. It will be a medium close up just of Katie with quiet non-diegetic music under the dialogue.
 My sixth shot (I have edited the order) will be a slow zoom of Rachael tied up within a forest surrounding, a flash into the future. It will begin a medium close ending in an extreme long shot with louder non-diegetic music and no dialogue.
 My fifth shot will be back to the same interview scene as shot two with the same details.

My third shot is a medium shot of Rachael being dragged out the frame after her entering her front door. Either one or two people will grab her. Louder non-diegetic sound will play along with the diegetic sound of Rachael screaming.

My fourth shot is an extreme close up of Rachael's phone on the floor with Katie calling. The non-diegetic sound will be playing as well as the ringtone as the phone rings.

My seventh shot is the same shot as my second and fourth with the same details.

My eighth shot is a medium close up of Katie getting up from her chair in the interview room and leaving towards the door. This will end the interview shots and joint dialogue between Charlie and Katie.

My ninth shot is Katie entering the frame at the top of a flight of stairs with the light behind her as she appears as a silhouette. This will be a long shot and as she walks down the stairs it will end in a medium shot with her on her phone speaking.

My tenth shot is a long shot of Katie to the left of the frame on the other side of the road behaving impatiently.

My eleventh shot is the same long shot of Katie towards the left of the frame and react as Rachael's car pulls up.

My twelfth shot is from a different angle of Katie - long shot - to continue match on action of the car door opening.





 My thirteenth shot is a medium shot of behind my two actors from inside the car. It is of Katie getting in the door to complete the match on action.

My fourteenth shot is inside the car, a medium over the shoulder shot of Rachael whilst she speaks dialogue.

My fifteenth shot is a reserve over the shoulder shot of fourteen of Katie speaking dialogue.

My sixteenth shot is a close up of Rachael's number plate as she pulls away, ending in a long shot as the camera sees her driving away.




I have numbered my comments wrong after the sixth one due to the edits I made when rearranging my shots at the beginning. I'm sorry about this.
I will carry my story boards and shooting script with me when filming every section to ensure these are followed closely.
It is obvious I have over looked and reviewed my story board because of the edits I made at the beginning of my opening. I felt it would make more sense to the audience if they saw Rachael getting captured firstly before the shot of her in the forest. I will make it obvious it is a flash forward by showing Rachael later in the opening in different clothes to show a different time.

Actors I have chosen

The actors I have chosen are:

Charlie Collett
18 years old

 Rachael Hermitage
17 years old

Katie Looker
17 years old (18 when I will of completed filming)








I will feature in it myself but not directly. This is because I need someone to kidnap Rachael and the times I plan to film does not match any one else who would be able to make it. So I thought I'd step in.

Completed Questionnaires

Hannah Barrett,

Year 13 at SWCH

Katie Looker
year 13 at SWCH

Gemma Holt
Year 13 at SWCH

Jeremy Paul
Year 13 at SWCH

Filming

Today I begun my filming by filming my interview room shots.

 

In this section I was only filming Katie being interviewed with her on the right side of the frame so it is obvious that she is being interviewed. I did not include Charlie (my interviewer) in the shots because I did not want to confuse the audience in the first two minutes with too many supporting characters.

Each actor read from a script I had prepared for them as you can see on the table.

Unfortunely Katie's (far left) script was visiable on the filming which was unclear when I was filming. I realised this when I had uploaded the clips onto the Mac. However I do not need to re shoot the filming as the piece of paper doesn't look like a script and can be past off as a piece of paper just on the interview table. My actor helped also as she was not directly looking at the script so it is not obvious that she is reading from it.

Although I feel I do not need to re film, I will involve this as a weakness in my analysis and will keep this in mind for my future filmning.

Shooting Script

“Noddy shot” of Katie (medium close up to the right of the screen) behind the table in an interview room speaking scripted dialogue with the interviewer however he is not in the shot.

Medium shot of Rachael towards the far left shot of the screen opening her front door. Two people enter the shot without Rachael noticing, put their hand over her mouth and drag her off screen.

Extreme close up of Rachael’s phone on the floor as Katie is calling her.

“Noddy shot” of Katie (medium close up to the right of the screen) behind the table in an interview room speaking scripted dialogue with the interviewer however he is not in the shot.

Long shot in a forest location showing Rachael tied up by the foot of a tree in a clearing. Slow zoom to focus on Rachael’s face.

“Noddy shot” of Katie (medium close up to the right of the screen) behind the table in an interview room speaking scripted dialogue with the interviewer however he is not in the shot.

Medium shot of Katie getting up from her position and leaves the interview room.

Long shot of Katie at the top of a flight of stairs. Katie looks left and right, flicks her hood up then goes down the stairs, ending in a medium shot as she reaches the bottom of the stairs, exiting the screen.

Extreme long shot of Katie waiting impatiently outside the police station. Katie stands to the left of the shot.

Extreme long shot of Katie waiting impatiently outside the police station. Rachael pulls up in her car and Katie opens the door.

Match on action with opening the door from a long shot with the car facing the camera.

Medium shot from behind as match on action continues with Katie closing the door inside the car.

Over the shoulder shot of Rachael from inside the car as she speaks scripted dialogue.

Reverse over the shoulder shot of Katie from inside the car as she speaks scripted dialogue.

Close up of Rachael’s car as it indicates to pull away. Ending in a long shot as the camera remain still as the car pulls out of sight.

Edited third section of speech

Third shot from the interview room:

Katie: But I have no where to go...
Interviewer: No family?
Katie: Not that I speak to... wait...
Interviewer: Yes?
Katie: My cousin... She lives down South... She....
Interviewer: I suggest she picks you up now and you leave.
Katie: What about my statement?
Interviewer: We’ll collect it via video link for the courts
Katie: When will that be?
Interviewer: Near the day of the trial…
Katie: Is that all for now then?
[Katie gets up]
Interviewer: For now. Yes.
[Katie leaves]

I have edited this because I wanted it to make sense as I didn't want the filming of the statement to take place within the first two minutes of the film.

My complete script

Script

First shot of interview scene

Interviewer: Just tell me what you saw…
[Pause]
Katie: I can’t.
Interviewer: Why not?
Katie: They’ll know… they’ll find me…
Interviewer: They won’t find out…

Second shot of interview scene

Interviewer: Please,
Katie: I can’t… [pause] they know I saw…
Interviewer: You can be the one to put him away for good.
Katie: What about me?
Interviewer: Move away. [pause] And never return.
Katie: Okay but what if…
Interviewer: They won’t find you.

These lines of dialogue are for shots 2 and 4, the interview scene. My interviewer will not be seen, just heard, as the focus will be on Katie.

Third shot from the interview room:

Katie: But I have no where to go...

Interviewer: No family?

Katie: Not that I speak to... wait... 

Interviewer: Yes?

Katie: My cousin... She lives down South... She....

Interviewer: I suggests she picks you up now and you leave.

[Gets up to go]

Katie: Is that it?

Interviewer: I hope so.

The opening of Taken

I have rented the film 'Taken' which has inspired my storyline of my film.

00.00 - 00.20 - 20th Century Fox - Home Entertainment
00.23 - Twentieth Century Fox Presents over black background
Non-Diegetic sound is quickly over the filming
00.29 - Filming begins with a grainy effect (as if a home video)
(All credits fade in and out by word over the top of the film)
00.36 - "A Europacorp M6 Films Grive Productions co-production"
00.44 - "With the participation of Canal+, TPS Star & M6
00.58 - Flashback of the home video ends including non-diegetic sound
1.04 - "Liam Neeson"
1.12 - "A film by Pierre Morel"
1.20 - "Written by Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen"
1.26 - "Taken" appears next to a photograph
1.29 - Scene changes to a street and "Taken" appears again
1.39 - Dialogue starts as the scene has changed to the main actor entering a shop
1.57 - With use of the dialogue you begin to see the main actor's care for his daughter
2.04 - Scene changes to see main actor wrapping the gift he brought perfectly, showing more of his character

I like this example as an influence because although it is classed as the genre of thriller/action, it has a steady start which reveals the background of the main actor. It does not over load the screen with credits.

It uses a flashback to begin with and makes it appear to be the main actor's dream. I want to use the technique of a flashback to show the audience what is going to happen but not all of it.

The use of the subtle non-diegetic music creates an atmosphere which makes the audience feel uneasy. This shows that it is not going to be a happy film but a thriller style based.

I have taken this film as an example as I want to use a few techniques which this sequence involves. Including the steady beginning, not involving too much action although my flashbacks will be more striking and the minimum amount of dialogue.

Locations

The locations I have selected so far are Hatfield Forest and a small room off of a classroom.

I have selected Hatfield forest because I used this location last year and the lightening and surroundings were perfect for what I needed to do. Although I am not doing the same as I did last year, I think I can make Hatfield forest work with my opening scene.

This is a photo of me filming last year within the forest as I am planning to use the same clearing as before as it was big enough and far enough away from people to make it seem like it really is the middle of no where.





I have chosen the small room to film my interview shots in because it is small, and with the right camera angles can be mistaken for an interview room.

First Storyboard

These are my first 5 shots storyboarded.
I have already edited it by swapping two shots over to make the flashback scene more understandable for the audience.
I have numbered all the shots as they are not in order.
Where I am plcing my credits I have left a box and numbered it. I have also put the arrow of direction I want it to enter the screen.

Questionnaire

To get an opinion from my intended audience I am going to write and ask people to complete a questionnaire for me.
The poeple I am going to ask to complete it will be thriller fans between 16-20. I have chosen this age group because I believe audiences are attracted to the ages of the main character within a film and mine are this age.

This is the questionnaire I will be asking people to complete:

Do you enjoy watching thriller films?
Yes No

What do you think of when you think of a location for a thriller?
City Forest Abandoned Warehouse/House Other…………….

Do you prefer mysterious thrillers to obvious thrillers?
Yes No

How many protagonists do you feel should star in a thriller film?
1 2 3 4 Other…………………….

Do you think the gender and age of the protagonists attract you to watch the film?
Yes No

Do you think it is important to have a build up with thriller films?
Yes No

What is your favourite sub category for the thriller genre?
Crime Drama Gangster Action Other ……………………

What attracts you to a thriller film?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

What is your favourite thriller film?
…………………………………………………………………………………………

Why?
…………………………………………………………………………………………

The 'Hollywood' Narrative Structure

Hostage (2005) Directed by Florent Emilio Siri

Source - http://www.artofthetitle.com/2008/02/28/hostage/
I was unable to embed the actual opening titles of Hostage therefore I have placed this link so you will be able to follow through to the clip I have used to analyse.

These titles make the credits blend in with the opening scene. Animated and frozen with non diegetic tension mood music over the top, it creates a feeling of unknown as the audience is unaware of the action it is about to enter. As soon as the credits have finished, the film begins in the middle of an action sequence, as if to make the audience believe they have missed something at the beginning of the film.

I like this affect because it grabs the audience's attention straight away with the credits acting as a build up. The non diegetic music creates an uneasy mood to make the audience aware that it is not a safe situation.

The title of my film -"The Statement"

I have decided this for the title of my film because I want the storyline to revolve around the statement Katie gave 5 years previous. A lot will be undiscovered until the end to make sure it is not a typical thriller drama.

The beginning of my Characters

I have thought of my the detail to my protagonists within my film, they would feature in the opening sequence.

Katie: Used to have a very different lifestyle to her life with her cousin now. Her cousin (Rachael) was the one to save her from it. She witnessed a murder 5 years before the film and her statement got the leader of a gang sentenced to life. She was always told he or any of his gang would never be able to find her. Her cousin or family knows nothing of what she did.

Rachael: Naive minded and sees the good in everyone. Very close to her cousin (Katie) as five years ago made her move south with her to excape her old life.

They are around the same ago (18-20) but this will not be mentioned within the film. Family loyality will feature heavily in their connection and will make them closer than friends, this is why I decided to make them cousins. Although no other family will be shown in the film/opening sequence, they would make reference to them.

Posters used to display films

This publishing shot reveals a lot of mystery and unknown. I like this because you can see how the main women is physically breaking up the family and it makes the audience want to know why and how.

Although this is also a poster from a thriller film, it appears to look more like it is from the action genre with very little mystery and unknown attached.

The Hand that Rocks the Cradle - Opening Sequence

0.08 - Hollywood Pictures
0.18 - Shots of a country American House
0.26 - "Hollywood Pictures presents" appears in white over the film
0.29 - Edit fade to another shot within the house
0.30 - "Interscope Communications Production" (white writing over the film)
0.34 - "In Association with Nomura Bakcock & Brown" (white writing over the film)
0.40 - Edit fade to another shot within the house
0.42 - "A Curtis Hanson Film" (white writing over the film)
0.48 - Edit fade to another shot within the house
0.49 - "Annabella Sciorra" (white writing over the film)
0.55 - Edit fade to another shot within the house
0.57 - "Rebecca De Mornay" (white writing over the film)
1.02 - Close up of a man cycling a bike (dolly shot)
1.09 - Back to the house, shoot of the stairway
1.13 - "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle" (white writing over the film)
1.14 - Tracking shot to the top of the stair way
1.22 - Back to the man on the bike
1.25 - "Ernie Hudson" (white writing over the film)
1.29 - Camera now positioned at the top of the stairs in the house
1.30 - "Matt McCoy" (white writing over the film)
1.34 - "Julianne Moore" (white writing over the film)
1.43 - "John de Lancie Kevin Skousen and introducing Madeline Zima" (white writing over the film)
1.50 - "Casting by Junie Lowry-Johnson, C.S.A" (white writing over the film)
1.55 - "Music by Graeme Revell" (white writing over the film)
1.59 - "Costume Designer Jennifer Von Mayrhauser" (white writing over the film)
2.03 - "Co-Producer Ira Halberstadt" (white writing over the film)
2.07 - Panning shot ends with a shot of the a nursey
2.08 - Medium shot of bike rider pulling a trailor
2.10 - "Film Editor John F. Link" (white writing over the film)
2.14 - Dolly shot of houses along a street
2.15 - "Production Designer Edward Pisoni" (white writing over the film)
2.20 - Back to the house
2.22 - "Director of Photography Robert Elswit" (white writing over the film)
2.25 - "Executive Producers Ted Field Rock Jaffa and Robert W. Cort" (white writing over the film)
2.30 - "Written by Amanda Silver" (white writing over the film)
2.34 - "Produced by David Madden" (white writing over the film)
2.51 - "Directed by Curtis Hanson" (white writing over the film)

Diegetic Sound begins and Non-Diegetic music stops.

All credits were in the same font, coloured white and lasted 4 seconds each.

I have used this thriller as an example because I wanted a contrast of how different thrillers opened. This can been seen a psychopath thriller film which is similar is what I want my film to be about.

No dialogue or diegetic sound was used whilst the credits were displayed, this could be so no attention was taken away from all the different names. As soon as the credits stopped is when the actors/actresses started to communicate with the audience.

Further research into the Thriller Genre

Thriller is a genre of literature, film, and television that uses suspense, tension, and excitement as the main elements. The primary subgenres are mystery, crime, and psychological thrillers.

I have found this definition to help me further develop my ideas for my storyboard and to gain a deeper understanding into the thriller genre.

Juno Opening Title Sequence

We watched the opening title sequence to the teenage comedy 'Juno' today and I've analysed the title sequence to get a feel of how to create my own.

0.01 - Autumn Title
0.07 – Pre title sequence
0.18 – Voice Over
1.20 – Titles become animated
1.22 – ‘Fox Searchlight Pictures Presents’
1.27 – ‘A mandate pictures – Mr Mudd Production’
1.29 – ‘A Jason Reitman Film’
1.33 – ‘Juno’ The main title bolder and bigger than the other titles
1.41 – ‘Ellen Page’
1.44 – ‘Michael Cera’
1.46 – Follows 5 actors/actresses (7 between 1.41-2.09)
2.10 – ‘Casting By Mindy Marin, c.s.a. Kara Lipson’

This is all I’d have time to include in my own opening title sequence however these following people also got credits.

Costume Designer
Music by..
Songs by..
Music supervisors
Co-Producers
Film editor
Production designer
Director of Photography
Executive Producers
More Producers
Written by..
Directed by...

Music is important within this film because of the target audience would be more interested in the music and hopefully purchase the soundtrack after watching it.

I’ve got to decide who I would want to feature in my time limit as it is very restricted.



This is the Juno title sequence without sound (it has the non diegetic sound of the Barry Louis Polisar's song "All I Want Is You"

My chosen Genre

I am going to be working solo on this project and I have decided to do an opening for a thriller film. I have chosen this because I have done a lot of research behind different techniques of directors and I would like to attempt to put these into action.

David Fincher - Se7en

I've chosen this sequence as an example because I like the way it is abstracted from the actual film, that it is made to confuse the audience and give them an inside to the film itself.

Alfred Hitchcock - Vertigo

This is another example of a thriller opening sequence.

I have chosen this one to show the impact of non diegetic mood music can create the right atmosphere instantly. The opening only uses basic extreme close-up filming and editing but doesn't need anything else due to the music.

Martin Scorsese - Taxi Driver

I have chosen this as an example of a thriller opening sequence.

Features I enjoyed about this opening was the dramatic mood music as non-diegetic sound building tension instantly, as well as the titles being incorporated within the sequence. I would want to include this into my opening sequence if I was to do a thriller because it is a clear indication that it is a thriller and gives the audience the right view of the film straight away.