On the Sunday after we had finished all of the filming in the woods, we recorded the voiceovers which will be played throughout the opening sequence. We had to use a voice recorder, this was quite easy to used at all you had to do was press a button to record and turn it off and the type of mic it had was good because it recorded all of the sounds that were around you, even if we did have to make sure it was extremely quite!
All of the voiceovers that we recorded are written on my Screenplay post. There you will be able to see all of the voiceovers that will be played during the opening sequence and all of the actions that will happen.
Wednesday 27 February 2013
1st Attempt
The video in this post is our first attempt of our film opening sequence.I do not think that this is a very successful attempt as there are quite a few things that need to be done. We havent included any titles, music, or sound affectts so it is not very clear what the genre is or what is happening right now and we also need to improve the continuity throughout the sequence. To fix these problems we are going to return to our location to film a few more shots to which will improve the continuity throughout the sequence, we will also add our titles and find some background music which is appropriate for the thriller genre of our sequence. We also need to add the freezes when the titles are on screen and remove the audio which was originally on the clips from when we were filming.
Tuesday 26 February 2013
Day Two of Editing
Today was our second day of editing, we managed to editing all of our clips together and in the right places. We did find a few problems though, these were that the colours of the clips did not match throughout the entire sequence and we feel that we didn't have enough footage.
To fix the colours we played around the the colours, saturation and exposure of the clips in Final Cut Pro to make them match as closely as we could, this made it look a lot more professional and better overall. We also made a few of the clips darker and lighter because some of them were too dark on screen and you could not see the footage clearly. Some other clips were too light and did not look dark or scary, which did not suit the genre of the film.
As we don't have enough footage, we are going to edit together what we already have and export it ready to be shown as our final cut, however we are then going to be returning to our location to do some extra filming which we hope is going to improve the continuity and general flow of the sequence.
To fix the colours we played around the the colours, saturation and exposure of the clips in Final Cut Pro to make them match as closely as we could, this made it look a lot more professional and better overall. We also made a few of the clips darker and lighter because some of them were too dark on screen and you could not see the footage clearly. Some other clips were too light and did not look dark or scary, which did not suit the genre of the film.
As we don't have enough footage, we are going to edit together what we already have and export it ready to be shown as our final cut, however we are then going to be returning to our location to do some extra filming which we hope is going to improve the continuity and general flow of the sequence.
Monday 25 February 2013
Day One of Editing
Today during our media lesson, we uploaded all of our footage onto the computers and loaded them into Final Cut Pro. We watched all of them to help us decided on which ones we will need during our editing process and which ones we do not need and can be deleted. There were a few clips that we didn't need because they were little clips that were taken by accident and others that didn't look as good as we had expected. However we did film each part several times just incase some of them were as usable as others, which was good as we needed the extra clips!
We also got time to start some of the editing today aswell, which is good because it means that we will find out if there is anything we need to re-film or improve on sooner rather than later. We decided that we were going to edit all of the clips together first and then add music,effects and voiceovers afterwards.
Thursday 21 February 2013
Behind the Scenes
I thought that it would be good to show a few clips that were filmed during the day and show you what happened behind the scenes! These few videos are short but show our planning throughout the day and a few decisions that we made.
Wednesday 20 February 2013
Filming Day 1
Just a short post to say that today we went to Weston Woods to start the filming of our film opening title sequence. It look us a little while to get there as we had to get two buses and walk up a giant hill, it was also very very cold but we got their in the end. The shots that we filmed today were the first 4 from our storyboard. I will include some examples of the shots that we had taken below.
The equipment we had to take to the woods with us was a tripod, a hand held digital camera, a GoPro camera and a voice recorder so we could record our footsteps whilst we were running. We also took all of our storyboards with us to keep track of what we were meant to be filming. I think that today was quite successful and we got lots of filming done!
Some examples of shots that we have filmed so far:
Filming Schedule
DATE
|
SHOT
|
LOCATION
|
EQUIPMENT
|
Wednesday 20th February
4.30pm
|
We will be filming shot 1,2,3,4 on this day. We will not be filming the rest of the shots as it will become too dark to film.
|
Weston Woods
|
Hand held camera
GoPro Camera
Tripod if needed.
Characters Costumes.
|
Friday 22nd February
4.30pm
|
On the Friday we will be filming the remaining shots. These are 5,6,7,8. We will have to make sure than we film at around the same time a Wednesday so that the lighting is the same.
|
Weston Woods.
|
Hand held camera
GoPro camera
Tripod if needed
Characters costumes
|
Sunday 24th February
12.00pm
|
On Sunday we will be recording the voiceovers so they are ready for when we start editing the footage together.
|
Josie’s House
|
Mac Computer using Final Cut Pro
|
The table above is the time schedule that my filming partner and I have agreed on. The dates and times need to be suitable for both of us so we decided on days that we can go to our location together straight after college and on the Sunday when both of us are free.
We had arranged dates and times previously over text and discussed this in more depth at college to decide on what shots that we are will be doing on certain days and what we are going to need. Evidence of these text message are below, I print screened them and uploaded them to my blog.
Friday 8 February 2013
Props List
For my opening sequence I do not need many props as the main focus will be creating a scary atmosphere and using different camera shots to help create the atmosphere and help the audience relate to the emotions of the characters. However, we do need a few props and these will be simply the characters costumes, tripod and a head camera. The costumes the characters will be wearing will be a simple and casual day to day outfit consisting of plain tops, jeans, a jacket and plain Converse shoes.
I think these costumes show the age of the girls well as they are teenagers and shows that the film is set in modern day (2013). We will use the tripod to film our long shots of the girls running through the woods and this prop will be useful because we can vary the hight of the tripod to show different angles of the characters, giving different emotions of vunrability and status. The head camera will be used to film shots which are coming from the girls point of view such as when they are running through the woods, looking around and behind them so show they are scared and uneasy.
I think these costumes show the age of the girls well as they are teenagers and shows that the film is set in modern day (2013). We will use the tripod to film our long shots of the girls running through the woods and this prop will be useful because we can vary the hight of the tripod to show different angles of the characters, giving different emotions of vunrability and status. The head camera will be used to film shots which are coming from the girls point of view such as when they are running through the woods, looking around and behind them so show they are scared and uneasy. 
Wednesday 6 February 2013
Location Scout
The location that I chose to film in is Weston Woods, this location is in Weston super Mare in Worlebury. This is the chosen location because it suits my storyboard as I wanted a location with lots of trees and bushes, and thought the best place in Weston is the woods! Another reason that this location has been chosen is because it is convenient to get to as I live in Weston and all I will have to to is get a bus to the woods, which is easy and will not cost me any money as I have my bus pass from college. I did not want to travel far because I will have to carry equipment with me and I do not want to risk ruining it or breaking it.
I like this location because it is very big so there will be plenty of places to film. I also like the fact that the floors have lots of leafs, sticks and stones and I wanted these things to be shown in the shots. Another reason I like this location is because I think it is a good place to set the scene of a horror film as it will be dark and it is a typical setting for horror films which is easily recognisable.
Title Sequence Ideas and Planning
Before I decide what shots will be in my film and what is going to happen, I need to decide and plan on thing such as the type of font, colours and where I want my titles to be, during the sequence or before. To get started, I am going to research and look at different fonts that relate and suit a horror film well. The fonts need to be relevant because it would be useless having girly, pretty writing as it would look strange on a title sequence for a horror film. To research different fonts, I went onto Dafont.com.
1.
2.
3.
4.
These are the four fonts that I thought were most appropriate to use on a horror film title sequence. I have decided to use two different fonts, one for the titles telling us the people who were involved in the creation of the film and a different font for the actual title of the film which will appear at the end of the title sequence.
For the titles which will be on screen throughout the sequence, I have chosen to use Example 4. This is because it is not as bold as the other fonts and I think it would look better and be easier to read and it isnt as chunky or bold. For the main title of the film, at the end of the sequence, I need a font which is bold and will grab attention. The font I have chosen for this is font example 1. This is because it is a strong, bold and rigid font and I think it stands out a lot. I also like the scratched detail filling the letters.
These fonts relate to what the film is about because they are simple, easy to read and they don't look 'gory'. By this I mean that they dont have blood dripping off them as this wouldnt suit a thriller film because it doesnt have any blood or gore in it. For a thriller film, you need simple fonts that stand out at the same time. I like font example 4 because it looks like it has been hand written and if you were to find handwriting in a thriller film it would normally scare the audience and create tension, which is the main objective.
I have decided to introduce my titles throughout my opening sequence as it is playing. They will be placed on the trees, on the floor and moving behind the characters as they are moving. This incorporates the titles in with the opening sequence which saves time and also makes it more interesting as I will be able to animate the titles more and it will add different shots into the sequence.
Storyboard and Shot List
Shot 1
This first shot in our title sequence is the establishing shot, this will be a Medium Long shot which will show the audience where our sequence is set and give a wide view of the woods. We chose to use a medium long shot because it introduces the setting to the audience well, it will also be a hand held shot to give the filming a documentary/home video effect. This shot will last for the first 1-10 seconds and the first voice over will be played throughout.
Shot 2
The second shot in our sequence is where our first title will be on screen. The title will on the tree as the two girls are running past. When the title appears on screen, the whole screen will freeze and go fuzzy for a few seconds. The type of shot we chose for this is a Medium Shot,this shot was chosen because as the two girls are running, they will be closer to the trees than in the first shot, but not close enough to be called a Close Up. This shot will last for the next 5 seconds, and these type of shots will be repeated throughout the sequence to allow screen time for the titles.
Shot 3
For the third shot, this is where the audience are introduced to Olivia. She will briefly appear on screen and as this happens a voice over of her thoughts will be played. The shot type chosen for this moment is a Medium Long Shot, this will allow enough space on the screen to be able to see the majority of her body. Another title will appear in this shot behind Olivia and move with her as she runs as if it is following her. This shot will be on screen for 5 seconds.
Shot 4
The fourth shot will be a Medium Close Up and the camera will face down to the floor, as if the camera was looking through their eyes. This is where another title will be on screen, it will place on the floor of the woods, the screen will freeze and go fuzzy. After a few seconds the screen will unfreeze and start moving again and the whole shot will last around 5 seconds.
Shot 5
The fifth shot of the sequence will be a Close Up and will be filming their feet as they carry on running. The title will be behind them following their feet and this will continue until the character has gone out of the screen. Behind them we will be able to see lots of sticks, mud and stones on the floor and trees in the background. Again, this shot will last for 5 seconds.
Shot 6
The sixth shot of our sequence will be a High Angle, establishing shot. In this shot, the two girls will be running together through the woods and we will be able to see them looking behind and all around them showing that they are scared. This shot will include Match on Action as we will see them running from the side but will also go back to seeing through their eyes, so they will need to match and look like it happened continuously otherwise it will not play smoothly and will be jumpy. When we see the two girls running together through the woods, another title will be on screen following them.
Shot 7
Shot seven will be where Amelie will be pulled to the floor and get dragged backwards along the floor. For this we will need to use a Low Angle Medium Shot and to show her being dragged along the floor, the camera will move backwards. This shot will also be on screen for 5 seconds. At the very end of this shot, a screaming sound will start and carry on into the next shot.
Shot 8
Shot eight of our title sequence will be where the title of our film will appear on screen. This will be a Medium Shot and when the title appears on the screen it will be very sudden and quick. In this shot the music will stop, we will just be able to hear the screaming and this will slowly fade out as it will be the ending of the sequence. In the background of this shot, it will be a dark shot of the woods and the title will be projected onto the trees in our chosen font.
This first shot in our title sequence is the establishing shot, this will be a Medium Long shot which will show the audience where our sequence is set and give a wide view of the woods. We chose to use a medium long shot because it introduces the setting to the audience well, it will also be a hand held shot to give the filming a documentary/home video effect. This shot will last for the first 1-10 seconds and the first voice over will be played throughout.
Shot 2
The second shot in our sequence is where our first title will be on screen. The title will on the tree as the two girls are running past. When the title appears on screen, the whole screen will freeze and go fuzzy for a few seconds. The type of shot we chose for this is a Medium Shot,this shot was chosen because as the two girls are running, they will be closer to the trees than in the first shot, but not close enough to be called a Close Up. This shot will last for the next 5 seconds, and these type of shots will be repeated throughout the sequence to allow screen time for the titles.
Shot 3
For the third shot, this is where the audience are introduced to Olivia. She will briefly appear on screen and as this happens a voice over of her thoughts will be played. The shot type chosen for this moment is a Medium Long Shot, this will allow enough space on the screen to be able to see the majority of her body. Another title will appear in this shot behind Olivia and move with her as she runs as if it is following her. This shot will be on screen for 5 seconds.
Shot 4
The fourth shot will be a Medium Close Up and the camera will face down to the floor, as if the camera was looking through their eyes. This is where another title will be on screen, it will place on the floor of the woods, the screen will freeze and go fuzzy. After a few seconds the screen will unfreeze and start moving again and the whole shot will last around 5 seconds.
Shot 5
The fifth shot of the sequence will be a Close Up and will be filming their feet as they carry on running. The title will be behind them following their feet and this will continue until the character has gone out of the screen. Behind them we will be able to see lots of sticks, mud and stones on the floor and trees in the background. Again, this shot will last for 5 seconds.
Shot 6
The sixth shot of our sequence will be a High Angle, establishing shot. In this shot, the two girls will be running together through the woods and we will be able to see them looking behind and all around them showing that they are scared. This shot will include Match on Action as we will see them running from the side but will also go back to seeing through their eyes, so they will need to match and look like it happened continuously otherwise it will not play smoothly and will be jumpy. When we see the two girls running together through the woods, another title will be on screen following them.
Shot 7
Shot seven will be where Amelie will be pulled to the floor and get dragged backwards along the floor. For this we will need to use a Low Angle Medium Shot and to show her being dragged along the floor, the camera will move backwards. This shot will also be on screen for 5 seconds. At the very end of this shot, a screaming sound will start and carry on into the next shot.
Shot 8
Shot eight of our title sequence will be where the title of our film will appear on screen. This will be a Medium Shot and when the title appears on the screen it will be very sudden and quick. In this shot the music will stop, we will just be able to hear the screaming and this will slowly fade out as it will be the ending of the sequence. In the background of this shot, it will be a dark shot of the woods and the title will be projected onto the trees in our chosen font.
Storybord
This is just a short post to show a full picture of our storyboard. This includes illustrations of the shots, the type a shot, how long it will last and brief description of what will happen throughout the shots. In the next post, it will have close up images of the illustrations and a detailed explanation of what type of shots will be used for each one and what will happen throughout.
Monday 4 February 2013
Screenplay
EXT. The Woods
Two nonidentical, 16 year old twins, Amelie and Olivia, wearing basic baggy tops, jeans, jumper and converse shoes. Olivia with long, brown hair and Amelie with long, blonde hair.
Both girls running nervously through the woods. To create a scary atmosphere it will be late at night around 8pm, dark grey skies. Lots of trees in their way and sticks and stones on the floor, like an obstacle course.
(IN VOICE OVER) Amelie - (in a scared, nervous tone)
'Why is he still trying to make our life a living hell?'
Camera freezes on a tree, screen goes unclear and fuzzy. First title appears on the screen whilst the camera is frozen, placed on the tree. From this point onwards, titles will be on screen every 5 seconds. There will be around another 20 titles.
The camera starts to continue again, Olivia comes into the screen looking tired and worn out, breathing deeply to catch her breath. She has petrified expression on her face and keeps looking behind and all around her.
(IN VOICE OVER) Olivia - (breathing deeply)
' We just need to get away.'
Girls carry on running throughout most of the title sequence. The camera will be shaky and moving around all of the time as if it was looking through their point of view.
(IN VOICE OVER) Olivia and Amelie
'What have we done?'
As the girls are running, near the end of the sequence one of them trip over as if they are being pulled to the ground. The camera films this through their eyes and see them falling towards the floor.
Both girls scream loudly whilst the girl falls.
When they have fallen to the floor, the camera stays still for a few seconds and then starts moving backwards so show the girl being dragged along the floor. The scream continues, fades out until the title of the film.
FILM TITLE
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