Sound Planning - Task 19

This soundtrack will be perfect for scenes of the sequence which involve someone being followed. It has a very ambient feel to it which will compliment the scene, and let the audience know that something isn't quite right. This soundtrack is copyright free therefore it should cause no problems using it in our sequence. This music was provided by Bensound. 

When browsing the sound website we came across this soundtrack, which we think suits the scene well after the protagonist picks up the fallen note on the floor, then suddenly realises what happens next. This is when his 'instinct' kicks in as he gets prepared for what he must do. The loud drums and short periods of silence in-between them provide a satisfying sound which compliments the ongoings on screen. Provided by Bensound. 

Other sounds - We are thinking of including general background sounds which may add to the ambience that we are eager to portray in our sequence. An example of this is crickets chirping at the beginning where there is equilibrium - this, along with the darkness, gives the audience the impression that it is set quite late at night. 

Edited Sound for Final Cut 2

We decided to change one of our choices of soundtrack after hearing people's thoughts about our film sequence. As a result we decided to act on this and adapt our soundtrack to fit the sequence more, which we accomplished by further browsing the internet and selecting the right sound for us. I feel as if this is a success because it enabled us to edit our sequence to fit perfectly with the video, for example when the tempo picks up when a character is introduced on screen. 

Learning Comments

Sound in our sequence is very important as it adds so much to the atmosphere and the overall feel of the movie, for example it immerses the audience into feeling as if they are actually there in the film itself. Sounds are key to letting the audience know that something is about to happen, for example in our sequence the protagonist is being followed, and as the person approaches him faster the music picks up both pace and volume. Lastly it was important for us to use copyright-free music in our film, as if we did we'd be potentially be putting ourselves into trouble (e.g. a copyright strike).

Typography - Task 18

While looking for typography these were our best choices when choosing from the horror category. We decided that none of these would fit our movie properly as it is a psychological thriller and would require more grit/edge in order for it to really stand out. These fonts would be more suitable for true horror movie which our movie will not be.

 After searching the fonts we came to a conclusion that one of these two would be used as our title font. These fonts show more "roughness" than the others and we think the title name looks good in them. Another thing which made us choose this font is how much it would stand out. The title is supposed to catch the audiences eye and these two capture how the title should look to a major extent.

These fonts were other fonts we liked and we have decided to use them as our fonts for the rest of the typography that appears on screen. One will be used for the directors names and actors and the other will be used for the "less important" typography we will include in our opening sequence. We decided the more bold of the two should be used for the directors and actors names because in most movies this is what the producer does in order to help them stand out and keep the audience interested. These fonts will be good as they are in bold letters and will help the audience be able to read them better as it will stand out from the background of the movie. If the font didn't stand out the audience might miss the opening credits and not know what type of movie it was going to be.

Props, Location, Fashion and Risk Assessment - Task 17

Props/Costumes

• iPhone 6-Character uses it to look at time
• Stabiliser - Used during filming
• Carrier bag- Object character is holding
• Knife rack/Knives- Weapon character may use
• Sweet wrapper- Evidence left behind by Stalker
• Gloves- Adds to the anonymity of the Stalker

The main character(protagonist) will wear a normal hoodie and jeans. This is average everyday wear and will show the audience that the character is normal. The other character(antagonist) will wear darker clothes. This will give off the impression of evil or darkness which is what the villain will represent. These dark clothes will add to the dark and grit of the sequence allowing the audience to differentiate who the bad guy of this sequence is. Throughout the sequence the antagonist will not show his face which will also add to this effect.



Location

The two main locations we will be shooting are the street(near a local shop) and inside a house. This is where the first half of our sequence is set. This sets the dark tone of our movie as the time of day is set  in the evening. The second part of our sequence is set in the character's house. This sets the coming of age genre as it shows the teenager doing things you associate with ordinary people.

Risk Assessment



We have decided to shoot our practice filming on Saturday the 19th of November as during this day the weather would be at its best. This day is perfect as we will be free all day to film so if there are any mistakes made there will be time to reshoot. Another thing we took into account was the visibility. Our filming will include longshots, and that day visibility looks like it will be good. Is visibility was poor.

Another thing which can effect the filming is the sound. The wind is a major factor and can make it hard to film because it can't be controlled. We can fix this by recording our sound separately from the filming in order to minimise any problems. This will ensure our sound is good quality. The problem with this is it increases the risk of a flaw in continuity.

A problem that can effect our filming is the lighting. Because this is a little to no budget project the lighting may become a problem as we will film some scenes at night. We have tried to fix this by filming in an area that has street lights. this will make it much easier to see; although in area where the light isn't shining it may be too dark to see, luckily this will add to the horror theme of our movie.

Learning Comments

It is important to have a prop list for your sequence as this helps you remember what you will need to bring on the day(s) of filming. This list should be accompanied by a brief description of why the prop is needed/it's role in the narrative etc. Props are needed in the film to extend the narrative and make it more interesting and appealing to the audience. It is also important to have an idea of where you are filming (location) as this must be a key location since it is where the film kicks off. A clear risk assessment must be carried out to assess all of the risks that may be associated when filming the sequence, so we can make sure that everything goes as closely to plan as possible.

Character Profiles - Task 16

Learning Comments

When building my character profiles I realised how vitally important it is to provide lots of information about the character(s) in the narrative. It is much easier to create a narrative if you know the characters you are using inside and out, as it provides an opportunity for many more unique and original events. By adding lots of detail it makes the character much more interesting and provides a new level of personalisation, rather than a generic teenager for example. A character with a specified and unique background is much more appealing to the audience as they will want something new from each and every movie, rather than an unoriginal & generic person.The more the audience knows about the character, the more engaged in the film they will most likely be.

Final Storyboard and Shot List - Task 15

This is the storyboard that we created for our movie opening sequence. On the piece of paper there are 18 boxes each side that equate to 36 overall. However after filling in several boxes, we realised that we didn't include spaces for the producers, distributors and film certification codes at the beginning. 

When creating the storyboard we tried as hard as we could to make each and every shot unique, however we found out that this wasn't essential because after watching several film openings amidst the process of creating it was apparent that film makers often re-use the same camera angle/shot, so we replicated this instead.

After adding the finishing touches on the storyboard we then produced a shot list for each individual frame. This time we remembered to include the producers and distributors as shots on the list. Within the shot list we added multiple categories such as:

• Shot number
• Shot type/Camera angle
• Location of shot
• Minor description of shot

We also added an extra spare column at the end of these in case we thought of something to add whilst we were writing, which would save us having to create another template. Initially we were going to add a 'shot duration' column, however we didn't add it in the end because we though that we would probably adapt or change this during filming if we werent too pleased. One thing we forgot to mention is the name of our producers and distributors which is Rogue Pictures. We chose this company over other mainstream ones such as 20th Century Fox because they mainly produce Thriller-esque movies, which fits our genre.

Learning Comment

From doing this task I have learned that draft storyboards shouldn't be too neat as they are not final (however in this case it was our final in the end). This was a mistake I made as I spent too much time doing some of the drawings on the sheet rather than thinking of any ideas for the upcoming shots. As a result of this our time to think about possible shots was shortened, which could harm the authenticity and quality of our film. On shot lists too  there must be room for improvement, so everything initially must be written in pencil before pen.

Draft Script - Task 14

Learning Comments:

This is our very first draft script for our film sequence. It is very important to have an initial draft script as this can easily be used as a rough template for other possible ideas within the sequence. The draft script should include several things such as the names of the characters and what they are saying, as well as any stage prompts or actions that the character does. 

Audience Profile - Task 13

The target age for our audience will be 16+, this is because it is a thriller which may include slightly violent scenes which would not be suitable for younger viewers such as infants. Younger age groups may not understand what is happening or why it is happening either, which would leave them confused and uninterested. This sequence will feature a teen as the star which would make this age group feel more relatable to the character in the film, as it is something that is not entirely unrealistic to real life happenings. 

Audience Theories

The Uses and Gratifications Model:

This is a theory where the audience are active when consuming a text, film, or television program. The audience use the media for their own pleasure, for example, diversion, escapism or for information.
Also because the audience is in control of their experience with media, they are able to use it for relaxation, emotional satisfaction, and help with issues of personal and social identity.

Reception Theory:

This theory considers how texts include with deeper moral meanings, and how they are understood by the audience. Audiences will either understand the deeper meaning/message, or on the other hand they will misunderstand or reject the idea. The audiences view is described as either:
Dominant - this is where an audience understands the meaning and generally agrees with it
Negotiated - this is where an audience neither agrees, nor disagrees with meaning, or holds no interest
Oppositional - this is where an audience understands the meaning, but rejects it, maybe because of cultural, political or ideological views they hold.

Learning Comments

From doing this task I have learned that when making or producing a film, it is very important to prioritise your target audience so you can base the film around them. For example the contents of the film must be suitable for the age certifications, otherwise it may be breaking laws and therefore may not be screened at cinemas. The age rating of the film tells the audience what the film will be like, especially if they already know the genre. 

Thinking Of A Concept - Task 12

This is our final mind-map that we produced for our opening film sequence. Although we had several different ideas prior to this, we decided to not write them down unless we came up with a solid idea we both agreed on. Within our mindmap we included several categories that would construct our sequence, these included:

• Narrative
• Location(s)
• Props
• Characters
• Shot Ideas/Possibilities

Another small category we included was the title. We both wanted the title to reflect heavily on the film's narrative, so we came up with several ideas each in our pair. One title I really liked was called 'Yesterday's Tomorrow' because the film revolves around a teenage boy's premonitions, whilst sounding quite vague at the same time. Together however we ultimately decided on 'Stalker' because it sounds simple, yet is very effective as it is easily linked with the narrative.

Learning Comments

When creating our mind-map we realised how important verbal communication is with your partner(s) as you must share ideas with each other, before finally deciding together what you will choose. If one member has a great idea in their head but decide not to share it then the idea is wasted, which could potentially lead to a better film sequence. I also learned that initial ideas should be written down somewhere on a different, possibly scrap, piece of paper so that they can be revisited if they are wanted/needed.

Creative Task - 30 Shot Sequence

In this task I particularly liked our creativeness and willingness to adapt to situations where circumstances aren't as we first pictured. For example, we originally planned to film this 30 shot sequence at Castle, however we instead filmed at Marlwood where we had to change many of our shots, especially ones that were taken outside. As many of our ideas couldn't be put into effective use, we had to come up with several new shots using different angles and techniques, which we thought of during filming. 

However, as we had to review footage and come up with ideas mid-filming, I couldn't stay in the same stance/position between shots, which in turn caused quite a few continuity errors.This made some of the shots seem unnatural in terms of my body position etc. Also, one large error we noticed was that in one of the longer shots, the camera man's body can be seen in the reflection of the window filming me. We could not re-film this however because by the time we noticed the error, the weather conditions had changed which would create another continuity error. 

Learning Comments

From completing this task I have learned just how important it is to continuously have the camera man review footage approximately every other shot or even every shot depending on how long the sequence is. This is drastically important as it can help iron out any noticeable errors within the shots that have been taken. It is important that the camera operator must do this because as seen in my sequence it can lead to various continuity errors within the project if the actor/actress does this. It is also helpful that footage is reviewed as it is being taken because otherwise certain conditions may change, but if not then you can simply re-film the shot. I will take all of these points into consideration when filming my own movie opening sequence as they are vital for creating a smooth and flowing film with little to no errors that may be seen.