P20 - Problems we faced during filming

PROBLEMS WE FACED	HOW IT WAS RESOLVED
COSTUME - we were unable to get hold of a hooded cloak for the villain.	With permission we used a curtain from one  of the drama classrooms in the school.
WEATHER - on the 11th February we didn't  check the weather for that day so the location we filmed in was wet and muddy as it has  rained.	We decided to go ahead with filming and as  our clothing for that day was adequate enough to film and move around in.
PROP - we needed a skateboard for our  actress (playing the villain) to move on so in  the film it looks like they are almost floating.  However we couldn't get of one for the second day of filming.	The closest thing we could find that rolls on  the floor was a wheely chair, so we got our actress to kneel on the chair as someone pulled her from behind.

P19 - FILMING (Day 2 - last day)

The first scene we started filming today was scene 5 where flowers and a card are put on Hannah's grave by her mother. As we didn't check the weather the day before it was extremely wet and muddy so there were issues with that but we managed to find a grave to put the flowers and card on. Though the conditions were a little bad the weather was nice and sunny so we filmed an extra shot - here we filmed a wide shot of the graveyard. 


Excluding filming in the graveyard, today's filming was a lot harder than expected. One of the main issues we had to deal with was costume and prop. For our villain we planned on the actress wearing a hooded cloak but as we couldn't get hold of one we resorted to using a curtain. This was difficult as the material was heavy and really long. However we did make it work in creating our faceless "witch-ghost". 

To make our villain move we planned on creating the effect of the ghost floating so we thought of using a skateboard. However we couldn't get one available for today so instead we used a wheely chair for our actress to kneel on as someone pushed them from behind. This was extremely difficult as the first attempts we tried to do this we couldn't get the chair to move straight towards the camera so we were given the suggestion that the chair should be pulled backwards and when we edit the shot we can reverse it so it looks like the ghost is moving forward. Filming these scenes (scene 3 and scene 4) was time consuming so to get things moving we shortened them by cutting dialogue. 

During filming we improvised on a lot of things, such as dialogue and camera shots. For example, our actress Piah couldn't say a few lines without sounding natural and realistic, so we cut out some lines. This meant that a lot of the filming done with Piah was mostly physical. With the camera shots we experimented with the camera by filming from different angles and positions. For example, one shot we think looked really good was in the scene where Hannah (Piah) runs under the table and we film a shot from the other side at a low angle.    

We did manage to film all of the scenes today and although we had to change and improve a lot of things last minute it did go well in the end. 

P18 - FILMING (Day 1)

Today we went to shoot scene 1 of our film which was in the school. There was another group filming on the same day but it was in a different location so there was no clash and we were able to film without any distractions or disturbance. We only filmed in one location the whole time which was in one of the classrooms. As we changed locations of the setting there were some difficulties choosing which angles to shoot from and where to position the camera to get the best shot. However, after experimenting with the camera and doing a few practice shots we managed to complete scene 1. No props were necessarily needed apart from a phone so dealing with that was easy and we didn't use any extra equipments, just the camera and tripod. We plan on completing filming on Thursday (18th February).

P17 - Radio Trailer Script (DRAFT)

Radio Trailer Script (DRAFT)

R20 - Trip to the BFI

On the 5th February we went on a trip to the BFI to to learn more about film posters and trailers. We analysed them and looked at mise-en-scene, camera shots and sound into more detail. For example, one film poster we looked at was a poster for the film 'Submarine'.   

                                                     

There were a lot of interesting observations about this poster including the representation of the colours used. E.g, the blue could represent the person on the poster "drowning" in their problems, troubles they're facing in life. Also, at the top of the poster features the name of the actor Ben Stiller. Anyone who knows him or is familiar with his work would be interested in this film as his name is mentioned. 

Alongside posters we also learned a few conventions and why some films are successful. Following the success of the new Star Wars film (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) a few things were mentioned about the genre, such as why it was a huge success. For example, it is a sci-fi and action film. For many people films like Stars Wars are an escape film and there is the pleasure of getting lost in made up, fantasy worlds, stories and characters. This particular film has an older audience. However, the special effects and music would attract younger audiences as the high use of technology appeals more to the younger generation. 

As well as Star Wars we looked at 'The Inbetweeners 2' which was also a success. Reasons why were because it is a comedy genre which is ranked as the most successful genre in film since 1995-2016 (http://www.the-numbers.com/market/genres). Also, it was a TV series which is an intertextual link and the use of sexual innuendos, which in the world of advertising 'sex sells'. 

This has helped me think about the way I make the radio trailer and poster for my short horror film. As the trailer is an audio visual I have thought about how I can make it appealing to my target audience. As for the poster, I've thought more into details in how it can look to relate to the gothic horror genre and what i can add, improve to make it look attractive. 

P16 - Production logo

P15 - Consent forms

*These are the consent forms from our actors to feature in our film*

P14 - Final Script

Final Scipt

P13 - Group meeting

Location permission form

*This is the signed permission form allowing us to film in our desired location/s*

P12 - Effective ideas and improvements

We've spoken to members of our audience to find out what seems good about our film and discuss ways we can improve it. 

From discussion we've found a lot of improvements which we can make and ideas which we can incorporate into our film. 



These are what we found were effective:

• The mid-shot of the villain's eyes accompanied with music (or a sting).
• The contrast of colours of the surrounding in the main character's nightmare and in reality. (For example, in reality the colour of the surrounding is normal but in the nightmare it will be cool toned - almost greyscale).
• The scene where the main character opens the door of her house after she wakes up from her nightmare and sees that there is nothing outside - it's just completely white, blank and empty with no one and nothing.

And these are what were mentioned to improve our film:

• The villain should look realistic - This is so it is believable to the audience as they are watching the film. So the overall aesthetic of the villain should impact our viewers and create fear rather than make them lose interest.
• The main character should be younger - We've set the age of our main character (Hannah) of 16. It was pointed out to us that it would perhaps be more interesting if Hannah was 12 or 13 years old as at it is a vulnerable age.
• Include something symbolic - One idea we think is really good is to add something in the film that is seen in reality and in the nightmare to show that Hannah's nightmare is real as nothing has changed.
• After waking up from nightmare, Hannah should act normal - Instead of having our character realising just shortly after she's dead we've decided that after she wakes up, Hannah goes to get a drink of water, just to show a bit of normality before finding out she's dead.
• Move the grave scene after Hannah wakes up - One person mentioned that the scene where Hannah's mother is at her grave should be shown after Hannah wakes up so the audience knows that she's dead in reality. We've decided to agree to this and push that particular scene forward as it would make sense in the sequence.
• Include the demon at the end of the film - Before we planned on having the demon shown only in Hannah's nightmare. However, we're now going to include our villain in the very last shot of the film. We want to make it apparent to the audience that Hannah is still living her nightmare even after she is seen waking up, so we think this a good idea to show that. 

This has been really useful as we've now got a much clearer idea on what our audience would like to see and how to make our film stand out so it can really impact the viewers. 

P11 - Practice shots with camera

Today I went to the cemetery to take a few practice shots with the camera and experiment the many ways I could film a shot.

With the camera I filmed a short scene where the scenario was someone is walking in a graveyard and hears something. This was filmed from a POV shot. The clip turned out good as I kept practicing holding the camera at eye level and keeping the balance as I was walking. This made me think about the way I create the POV shot in my film and how to make it an effective shot to impact my audience. 

(Unedited version)

In another clip I filmed I started the shot with a close up of a grave then slowly zooming out 

and moving the camera up at the same time to see how well I could balance the camera without using the tripod. It was a successful attempt and has given me ideas on whether I should include a shot like that in my film – particularly in the scene where the main character's headstone is revealed. 

(Edited version)

The location we filmed at was perfect in term of the atmosphere as there were very few 

distractions and the audio was good with no excess noise (e.g. people talking, music playing etc,) for the clips that were filmed. The lighting at the time of day was sufficient enough to consider filming a scene at the same time with the same weather conditions for my film. 

P10 - Hair, Make & Visual Effects

HAIR

• Our main character (Hannah) will sport a casual look – ponytail, bun or hair down to look like a tomboy or a stem (a mix of a stud and a femme).
• The mother will have her hair down but in a sophisticated style for when she is at Hannah’s funeral.

  

  Preferably a hair do like this

MAKE-UP

• Hannah will have a very natural look with minimal make-up. The only products we plan on using is foundation and highlighter to enhance certain features of the face so the character looks innocent. The character’s overall look will make it seem as if she’s a person not bothered about her aesthetics. 

  

  This is very similar to what we want our main character to look like  but dressed more appropriately for their age

• The mother in our film will not be showing her face at all so nothing needs to be done for make-up.

VISUAL EFFECTS

• Our villain will have thick smoke emanating from them so the body figure will look unrecognizable.

  

  This is very close to what we want to achieve aesthetically with the villain

• The only feature which will really stand out from our villain is their illuminating red eyes to make it look like a ‘demon’ sort-of creature.
• 
  

  

  This is an example personally made to give an idea of how we want the eyes to look like. 

Self Assessment