Draft 2 Group Analysis

This is the second draft of our opening scene. The only difference between this draft and the first draft is the fact that some sound has been added to the clip. For example, we now have sounds  of birds for the sound affects of the film. We also have the caw of a crow, a crow is a bird that is heavily linked with death, so we have put this noise in to try and insinuate the feeling of death. Another sound that we have included in our film is the religious music, we feel that this is appropriate for this film as our sub genre is a religious horror film.

After analyzing this draft, me and my group decided that we still had to apply video affects and transitions. We also need to change the colors in some scenes as half of our opening scene is a nightmare that our protagonist is having.  We also need to adjust some of the sound as it does not sound very good if it just cuts out, we feel that the sound needs to fade out.

Me and my group also picked up some of the positives of this draft, we feel that we have made good progress by including sound. We also feel that we have used appropriate sounds like the birds and the religious music as they all represent something.

Draft 1 Group Analysis

This is the first draft that the editors of my group put together. In this draft we tried to focus on ordering all of clips and editing them together. This version currently has no sound, video effects or video transitions.

After doing this, me and my group learnt that we had to apply sound, video transitions and effects. We also learnt that some of the shots in our film were out of focus, meaning that we had to re - film them in our own time.

When we finished this draft, me and my group watched it over and decided what we liked about it. We said how we thought that we included a great range of establishing shots that set the scene of the opening. Another member of our group said how he thought our group used great initiative to get the shots we needed.

Make-up

Some of the scenes in our film required some make-up, this meant that we had to find someone who could do it. She made a white mark to give us an initial guideline, then added red to make it look like a scratch and then added black to make the color seem more realistic.  

This is the make-up artist experimenting with the colors 

This is the make-up artist applying the scars to our main character.

This is the final Product.

First day of filming review

How did our first day of filming go?
Although we encountered some problems during filming, it ended up being very successful. Me and my group got all of the shots we needed for that part of the opening. We have also arranged dates for more filming and we are hoping they go as smoothly as this one.

What did we learn?
From our first filming experience i learnt that me and my are able to communicate with each other, whether it be giving constructive criticism or voicing our ideas.

What could we do to improve?
During the next filming we could spend more time on the costume and props of the character. We could also spend some time on or try and include some make up in our film.

Location

My group have decided on three locations for our horror opening. The first location which we decided on was my house. The reason for us deciding to film a part at my house is because down stairs his house is the most old fashioned. This is key to set the seen because we want there to be an old fashioned feel.

 (pictures)

 The second place where we are filming is George's house because there is a scene in a bedroom and within the group we feel as if my room would be best suited for this. This is because he has an old mirror which we are going to plan on using.

 (pictures)



 The last location is going to be in Bob's back garden. The reason for this is because it makes are life filming a lot easier. In Bob's back garden there is a forest fill which means that we don't have to go searching or looking for a forest nor have to try and get permission from anyone.

  (pictures)

Animatic

For this task, me and my group decided to split the workload and do different things to complete the task.

My task for this post was to complete some of the drawings that you can see in the animatic.

Story Board

Me and my group decided to split the workload with this task, My task for this post was to draw some of the scenes in the storyboard.

Mise en Scene planning

In our film there is going to be one character who used to be an exorcist. This that we have to find the right/most suitable costume that will fit the character of our film. For the costume, me and my group have decided that the character of our film will be wearing a plain white shirt with a black tie, black trousers and formal shoes. I feel that this costume will suit are character because it is a very formal outfit, and people who are involved with religion re usually smartly dressed.


Our film is set in three different locations, some of the shots in the film will be set in one of our group members garden. My group felt that this was a suitable for our film because the size of the garden could create a sense of isolation and being lost. The other location where we are filming for our film is in another group members kitchen, we felt that this certain location would be suitable for our film because this kitchen has a very old fashioned feel to it and it is how we would imagine a religious figures house being. The final location of our film will be the bedroom of one of our group members house, we will be filming part of the opening in his bedroom and another half in his bathroom, we also feel that this location is suitable for our film because this house also has an old fashioned feel to it.


There is also going to be some make up involved in our film, we have asked someone who is very good in the make up department. We have asked if she can draw three scratches down the neck of our main character, to make it look like he has been attacked by some kind of demon.

Here are some of the props that are going to feature in our film;

• Scissors to cut the business cards 
• Draw where character finds business cards
• Bed where our character wakes up 
• Mirror where he checks his neck 
• Business cards 
• Glass cup

For this task i came up with the idea to include the scratches on the neck of our main character and the effect that it would give the audience. 

Sound Planning

In our opening scene there will a number of sounds. The first sound will be a dark type of music soundtrack. Here is a preview of this soundtrack.

We have chose this music to be played at the start of the scene because it will build up tension between the audience. We have got full permission from the maker of the music.

The second sound we will have is a digetic sound. It will be a man heavy breathing as if he is running. This sound will be played for when he is running through the woods, this is so the audience will always hear the panic in his breathing, like something bad is happening to him. Here is a preview of this sound.

Equipment Needed

Equipment Needed


Before we film our opening, we needed to think of what equipment we needed to take with us when filming. Below is a list of what we came up with:

Camera- To film anything we need a camera, therefore that is the first piece of equipment we needed. The camera we are going to be using is a Canon because it has different gadgets on, so we can focus and de- focus on objects as well as zoom in and out on people and objects, for example. 

Camera bag- With our group moving from location to location, we need to be able to transport the camera and lenses safely. Therefore, we need to have a bag that is big enough for the camera. Luckily, we was given a bag that came with the camera, so we can safely transport it around.

Memory cards- Although, we have a camera to take our shots, we need a memory card to save the shots. This will then enable us to upload the shots to a computer and edit them from there.

Laptop- To make sure the shots are of a good enough standard, we will take a laptop to our various locations because we can then view the shots on the setting. This will enable us to then re film that shot if it isn't good enough.

Tripod- When we film our opening, we need to make sure that the quality is good. To achieve this we need to make sure the camera is still at all times, making sure it doesn't shake . Therefore, we need to use a tripod and it will help us achieve this.

Storyboard- To ensure that as a group we don't forget what we are filming, we need to remember to take our initial storyboard, so we have a good idea of what to film, when to do it and where we are doing it.

Shooting schedule- The reason we need our shooting schedule is very similar to the reason why we need our storyboard. The shooting schedule we help us be organised for that day and the next, so we don't have to mess around, wondering what we are filming and who we need to have involved or acting.

Camera charging cable or Batteries- We will need to carry spare batteries or the camera cable around with us in case our camera runs out of battery and we need to replace them or charge the camera up.

GoPro- As a group we decided to include a GoPro and attach it to our main character. This will be supplied from someone in our group. However, we haven't decided whether to use this or just someone holding a camera and running with it.

Shooting Schedule

For this task, i was told to find suitable locations for our filming.

Camera Angles

What fonts are we going to use in our film?

This is the font that we are going to use in our film, it is going to feature in the Title and the opening credits. This font is a very formal style of writing that has serifs. I feel that this font will suit the genre of our film because it is usually the more formal type of people who attend church and the sub - genre of our film is a religious horror. We have also chosen this because when we looked at the writing in the bible, we thought that this font looked very similar. We have also included small smudges throughout some of the letters to link to the blood and scratches the main character will find on his neck. We have also included small smudges throughout some of the letters to link to the blood and scratches the main character will find on his neck.

Cast List

Lucas Ablett is going to be the only character/actor who is going to feature in our horror opening. He is going to play the Protagonist of our film, who is a former exorcist who experiences some dark occurrences that are the result of his past.

I feel that we have made a good choice by choosing Lucas in our film. He is a very experienced and professional actor who has starred in many horror films with similar story lines. He is also very passionate with his work and spends a lot of time preparing for his big roles. All of this characteristics is what made us choose Lucas over other competitors.

Actor Permission slips

I created the actor permission slip whilst my group were doing other task.

Updated Synopsis

Me and my group have decided to change some of the original ideas of a film, this means that we have update our synopsis.

Our new and improved synopsis

 The main character in our movie has a history of performing exorcisms on victims of the demons. Our horror starts with the exorcist cutting up and throwing his business cards away. He then starts to notice strange things happening to him. These include things like waking up and seeing all of his business cards spread all over his bed. Other things that happen to him are things like him finding scratches all over his neck and seeing nightmares in his sleep. One other major change is his personality change. This causes him to lose all of his family and friends around him because the things that are unknown to him begin to control his mind and personality. Therefore, he starts to become rude and horrible to the people who are closest to him, to make him feel isolated and alone. It turns out that his dark past has returned to haunt him. These demons are attempting to escape from the underworld, and the innocent exorcist is the gateway. The protagonist, therefore has to use his own skills to banish the demons from his body and the world.

Timeline

Click on picture to get a better view

Title - Dark Pasts

This is the title of our film that was edited by our group. I feel that the name of this title will suit our film very well as the main character of our film has had a very 'dark past' involving religion and demons . Also, as you can see there is a very large and intimidating church in the background of our logo, and as we know, churches are a very recognized religious building, and the sub genre of our film is religious horror film. The way the church is blacked out also represents a very dark feeling.

Short Film

To help us prepare for our final task, we were sent out of class to film a short piece of film. The film had to:

• Be 30 seconds long
• Have two characters 
• Have sound included 

Me and my group used Adobe Premier Pro to edit our film, so doing this task also gave a use a better understanding of how to use this program to edit our short film. I feel that the film as a whole was a success because it was edited and filmed very well, in the first seen there is a very nice shot where our character goes from being out of focus to in focus, creating a very effective shot. Another thing that me and my group thought went well was the piece of music that was played over the short film, we felt that the way the music dies down and then completely stops at the end of the film was really effective.

Script

1. EXT. FOREST. DAY.

 PROTAGONIST  is running through forest with a worried expression on his face, whilst checking behind him. 

(ESTABLISHING SHOT)

                                                                                                          DISSOLVE TO

2. INT. HOUSE . DAY

 PROTAGONIST opens  draw, finds business cards, cuts with scissors.
(TILT SHOT/OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT)

                                                                                                         DISSOLVE TO   

3. EXT. FOREST. DAY

PROTAGONIST is still running through the forest, very wary of his surroundings.
(EXTREME CLOSE UP)

                                                                            DISSOLVE TO

4. INT. HOUSE. DAY

The PROTAGONIST begins to cut the business cards he found with some scissors. 

(CLOSE UP)                         

                                                                                                        DISSOLVE TO

5. EXT. FOREST. DAY

 final shot of  PROTAGONIST running through the forest.  

(LONG SHOT)

                                                                                                          

                                                                                                        DISSOLVE TO

6. INT. HOUSE. DAY

 PROTAGONIST  wakes from his sleep, realizes that all of the old business cards are scattered on bed. (ESTABLISHING SHOT)

                                            

                                                                                                        DISSOLVE TO

7. INT. HOUSE. DAY

 PROTAGONIST looks into the mirror and notices three scratches on his neck. 

(CLOSE UP)

OPENING SCENE FINISHED 

This was a group task, for this task i completed the script in the format that was given to me by my teacher.