Re filming

Due to our feedback from our target audience, we decided to re film. The criticism we received was that Sarah's mis en scene was slightly unrealistic and instead of enhancing the horror, it distracted it instead. Therefore in our re film we decided to have her costume as school uniform, making our opening seem more realistic.. Also, the ending needed to be re filmed as the audio of Sarah was unclear and also it seemed unrealistic.
We had to find a time when we was all free and also when Emily was free but we did not. However, we did not need Bethan (Mrs Hobbs) when re filming as we changed our ending.
These are some photos from when we re filmed:

Account of re-filming

After showing our opening scene to our class, we had the feedback the last shot of Sarah putting her hand on the window wasn't as effective as we had hoped. Therefore, as a group, we decided to re film the last shot with Sarah behind Mrs Hobbs when she is looking out the window for her daughter who is no longer there then as the camera focuses back on Mrs Hobbs, Sarah is stood behind her. This is going to be the first introduction to the paranormal sub genre in our opening.

We are going to find a time that the location of our filming is free and when our actress' are free as well as leaving enough time to edit the re filming clips in.

Scheduled re-film: 8th of December 

Feedback for Brief

I sent the link to our opening to some of my friends who are within our target audience age range to get their feedback and point of view, so we could make adjustments accordingly. 

When we re film, we will change her mis en scene, as it can be improved and made to seem more realistic. Also, in the editing process, it is important that we match the sound effects to the action to make it seem more continuous and enhance the narrative, rather than distract the audience. 

With this feedback, we will take on board that the credits need to be on screen for and make sure any dialogue is heard, by turning the volume up on their audio in the editing process . Also, we will ensure we keep the shots that work well and possibly add more props if they are accessible.

Rough Cut for 'Telepathy'

My To Do List

I created this to ensure all of the posts that I wanted to have on my blog were included and I also put the day some days of the week next to the blog post, to vary the work out over a week.

Weather Forecast for Filming

The weather is said to be dry and cloudy when we are set to film which is the 22nd of October with average temperatures of 7 degrees celcius. This is ideal for our filming as we do not want it to be sunny, as this won't relate to our genre. Also, if it was raining, there would be limitations to our filming and may have to reschedule.

Location Recce

This is the location of our filming. We decided to film it in a house as the feedback from our questionnaire voted highly for houses to be a scary location for horror films. Having a horror film in a house can create fear for the audience as they may think that paranormal activities can happen in their house too.

However, we are going to ensure that we film at this time of day that was taken in these photos to achieve the right lighting.

This is the kitchen that we filmed in:

Job Roles

My Role - During the filming of our horror opening, I was the main camera woman taking the shots and controlling the camera.
The difficulty that came with this is that there was pressure on me to capture the right shots, to have the camera in focus and make sure the camera was placed correctly. However, this was overcome as we worked together to check that all of the shots were in the right place and everything was in the frame that needed to be in it. Also, as a group, we relied on the storyboard to make sure we had all of the shots.


Phoebe - Phoebe was in control of the lighting whilst we was filming and also checking that our storyboard was used effectively in capturing the shots and the placement of props. Also, Phoebe's role was to ensure all of the props were placed appropriately and that the mis en scene fitted the genre.


Isabella - Isabella's role was write up the storyboard, with this, she drew and wrote an explanation that we had collaboratively came up with for our opening. Also, Isabella's role was to find a suitable location to film and get our actors for the opening. This became challenging at some points as it was hard to find a time when everyone was free to film. However, we overcome this and found a date that everyone could attend to film the opening of our horror film. Moreover, she also created the newspaper that will be in our opening to initiate how one of the twins had been lost.

Photoshop

 For our opening, we are going to create family photos to put in to frames. To do this, I used Photoshop and here are the screenshots from this process:
The functions on the left hand side were used to trim around the images to copy and past them onto the same background (done by the navigation on the right hand side).
To make me more knowledgeable on Adobe's Photoshop, I watched some tutorials on YouTube to help me in any areas I was unsure of.

Props and Costumes

The props and costumes for the opening scene

Props:
Family photos' (created using photo shop)
Photo frames
Newspaper
Swing
Sofa
Shelf
Chair
Phone
Kitchen knives
Stove
Saucepan
Potatoes



Costumes:
SARAH - Wearing a long white dress with black tights and black shoes. Her hair will be down and natural.
MS HOBBS - Wearing her work attire: smart top and trousers with black patent shoes. Her hair is up in a neat bun and wearing minimal makeup.

Changed Plot

After feedback from sharing our idea with our media class, we realised that our initial idea, with Sarah visiting a doctor about her abnormal behaviour, revealed too much of the plot that should be disclosed in the opening.

Therefore, we changed our opening almost completely, except the foundation of  Sarah having paranormal tendencies and the keeping the genre of paranormal.

The idea we concluded with, is Sarah looking at a photo of her and Hannah and as she puts it back on the shelf, it falls off by itself. After this, Sarah begins to act strangely, implying that this is due to the possession by her twin sister, who unexpectedly died. Her mother begins to become worried and texts her husband to confide in him. As she looks up from her phone, Sarah has gone from the garden that she was in and as Mrs Hobbs walks towards the window to search for Sarah, she realises, she is no longer in the garden.

Narrative Plan

PLANNING A NARRATIVE

SETTING:  TIME AND PLACE Isabella’s house. Initial filming: October 2:00-5:00pm Re filming: November 3:00-4:00pm                    March 11:00 – 12:00pm

CAST:  Sarah Hobbs – Emily Nightingale. Young girl with long brown hair and around the height of 4ft 8”. Mrs Hobbs – Bethan White. Female who is playing a woman in her 30s with ash blonde hair in a bun and casual clothing.  Hannah Hobbs (not showed in opening) – Emily Nightingale. She is the deceased twin of Sarah. Slightly taller than Sarah (achieved using Photoshop), long dark hair, the same as Sarah’s. Mr Hobbs (not shown in the opening) – Dark haired, middle aged man who works in an office and married to Mrs Hobbs.

PROBLEM AND GOAL The problem is that Sarah’s twin has died and she is experiencing paranormal events that could be due to her dead twin Hannah as the reason for her death is unclear. Her mother, Mrs Hobbs is worried about the wellbeing of her child. The goal is to restore normality in the Hobbs’ household and remove any bad spirits from the house for the safety of the family.

IMPORTANT EVENTS IN THE OPENING: It is revealed to the audience that a twin has died Mrs Hobbs is in the kitchen and watching her daughter Sarah in the garden Sarah is acting abnormally, but talking to the swing Mrs Hobbs begins to become concerned and goes over to look The potatoes she put in the boiling begin to boil over and she takes her eyes off her daughter to look back at the pan As she looks back, to the garden, her daughter is gone from the swing, and is now stood by the chopping board

RESOLUTION:  As this is an opening, there is no resolution as the narrative is climaxing.

 

Using the Home Video

In order to make our opening more realistic, we decided to use real home footage videos in 'Telepathy'.

The research into 'Paranormal Activity', showed how home footage used in horror films is effective, as it can create realism for the audience as home videos are generally unedited, making anything that does happen, seem realistic and unplanned.

In order to incorporate home videos into our narrative, we needed to have footage with two young girls. Therefore, I asked a friend who had a sister, whether she had any footage of them as children, which she did. She, her sister and the person filming, granted us permission to use this video in our opening.

Production Schedule

Week 1	Monday – Initial ideas Tuesday – Basic Planning sheet Wednesday – Research into film companies to decide which one want to work with Thursday – Research into Barthes Enigma Code and producers to produce our film Friday – Research into the narrative structure of a film
Week 2	Monday – Research into Target Audience Wednesday – Research into sub genres and credits Thursday – Creating the questionnaire to help with ideas for our opening Friday – Research into certification and distribution
Week 3	Monday – Presenting our Pitch Tuesday – Responding to our Pitch feedback and researching camera shots Wednesday – Storyboard and sound for our opening scene Thursday – Continue storyboard and photo shopping pictures for the photo frame Friday – Screenplay and props and costumes
Week 4	HALF TERM      (filming)
Week 5	Monday – Character Analysis Tuesday – Location recce Wednesday – Begin editing Thursday – Editing
Week 6	Tuesday – Editing Wednesday – Adding sound effects to our opening Thursday – Creating a company logo and adding New Line Cinema opening to the start of our main brief
Week 7	Continue editing throughout , organise planning and research into blog
Week 8	Refilming
Week 9	Begin Evaluation Questions and finalise blog
Week 10	Finish evaluation Questions and blog

Introduction to Brief

This is the introduction to my Main Brief in which as a group, we must create a 2-3 minute horror opening scene with a variety of shots.

I will record all of my research and planning in this blog that will help piece together my overall piece, along with an evaluation.

This is the checklist that was given to us to include for our Brief:

• gather and collate research using the checklist
• write blog entries summarising lesson, work done using terminology
• produce a continuity task - mini brief and Evaluation
• produce main task outlined above
• complete 4 textual analysis'
• show evidence of planning by writing a screenplay opening and storyboard.
• decide on and source relevant props
• write an evaluation of the pre to post production stages

Update on Mini Brief Filming

18th of September
We have established our recce for our mini-brief

19th of September
We created the storyboard

22nd of September
We filmed our mini brief

23rd -25th of September
Editing the mini brief using We Video

Mis-en-Scene for Mini-Brief

    The mis-en-scene is anything that is seen in shot, in our mini-brief, this ranges from props, costumes, body language and lighting.

Props

The props that are used in our mini-brief are a tie that is from Joe's school uniform and put around his mouth to add to the mis-en-scene of the interrogation. Also, another tie is used to tie his feet together so he couldn't move.

Moreover, Joe will be sat on a chair, this is significant as it enhances the fact that he is being kidnapped and is restreained from moving. The ladders and metal poles in the background add the effect that this place is abandoned which is fitting as Piper is kidnapping Joe, therefore wouldn't want his whereabouts to be obvious. These props are also iconography of violence in this particular genre as usually, props like these are put in frame to foreshadow the usage of them later on in the production but where are scene has to be roughly 30 seconds like, we didn't include these props coming into contact with the characters.

The use of the knife demonstrates the act of violence performed by Piper on Joe. It is a significance of her power over him and threatening nature to encourage him to give her what she wants. The knife will add tension to the scene as it is a prop that is dangerous.

Costumes

In our mini-brief, the costumes are a transformation of our school uniform, for example, we will use two ties to tie around Joe's mouth and feet as well as taking the school tie off of Piper, otherwise the school emblem would be seen.

Moreover, to enhance Piper's dominating presence, she will have heels on that will be heard whenever she walks, creating fear for Joe whenever she approaches. Also, Piper's costume is black and white as well as smart, this connotes that she is a sophisticated and professional. However, Piper goes against this as she is holding a boy hostage. Her costume does not conform to Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze as it is not objective, but smart and feminine. 

Joe's costume is black and white, the same as Piper's, however, he is wearing trousers. This connotes that he takes care of his appearance and likes to be smart. Furthermore, he has a tie covering his mouth so he cannot speak in the first few seconds of the scene and one tying his feet together, this is iconography that he is being held against his will.

Body Language

As Piper enters the room, she will appear confident and strong. This is by the way she is stood, while Joe is sat, this leads to the camera manipulating him to appear belittled. Moreover, Joe will have his hands tied behind him, this exposes him and conveys how his body language is forced to be exposed therefore, connoting that he will be more open. It can also signify how he cannot hide himself or his reactions, when Piper draws out the knife, he cannot defend himself, thus, showing her to be more powerful.

Also, she bends down to speak to him, this is not only patronising, but also demoralising as she has the dominance over him and cannot control it. However, Joe shows his strength by looking her in the eye when they exchange dialogue and also shaking shaking his head when speaking, portraying through his body language with how he can, that he is in disbelief.

Lighting

For the mini-brief, we will use the lighting that is already present in our location as it is fairly dark with no windows, therefore this suits a location for kidnapping perfectly. However, with this kind of lighting, it may put risk on having unwanted shadows.
This is the lighting that is supplied for our mini-brief, it is naturally quite dark due to the lack of windows but this light enables the filming to be clear yet makes it appear more derelict.