Tuesday 8 February 2011
MAIN: Post 7:Focus Group
We set up a focus group of two boys and two girls, they are around the same age as us but they each have different interests in films. We sat them down together and explained in detail our idea for out opening sequence, we then gave them time to think about it and what they thought and we then asked them a series of questions while filming them. We asked them questions such as 'what genre of film do you think this is?' and the main answers were mystery, drama and thriller. We also asked questions such as 'what are your first impressions of the film from what we have told you?' and by us asking these questions has given us and idea to whether we think we need to change our idea for the opening sequence and how to improve. This is a key piece of research into whether our idea is good because it tells us if this opening sequence will make people want to watch the rest of the film which is what an opening sequence is meant to do. This is our video from the focus group..
MAIN: Post 8: Pre Production Documentation
Synopsis of opening sequence
There is footage from a handheld camera that follows two school girls out of the school gates and follows them. It cuts from different footage of the girls. The girls say goodbye to each other just outside of the school and it carrys on to follow one of the girls down the road, it shows the girl walking down the road and the camera is behind bushes and while the footage is showing there is a news report voice over the top and informing what has happened saying that a school has been kidnapped.
Synopsis of whole film
Our film based around the concept of an investigation following a man who's known to a series of kidnappings that have hit the news recently. The plot will cover a group of investigators trying to discover the criminal through numerous traces of evidence and forensics. With the film being introduced in the opening sequence with personal footage from the kidnapper, discovered by police, they are trying to track down the kidnapper- name known, through the use of numerous investigations and sispect interviews. Bodies of young girls and teenagers are found throughout the film; however the murder still remains unsolved.
The Script
Voice Over:
On the 12th October, a teenage school girl went missing. At approximately 3:30pm, two 16 year old girls, both of which dressed in black school skirts and maroon blazers, were seen walking outside of Kings Langley School gates. The girls parted their seperate ways, and one of the girls has not been seen since. At this moment in time we are unsure of her whereabouts. With a strong lead from a local neighbour, we are under the impression that the suspect is a middle aged man of medium build and around 5 foot 11 in height. The man dressed in dark clothing was seen wondering around Love Lane- the road on which Kings Langley School is situated on, looking suspicious with a video camera in his hands. When confronted by the neighbour whose name we are guarding for security reasons, the white male with dark "scruffy" hair dismissed our witnesses, explaining he was a health and safety investigator who was observing the wellbeing of the school.
With a recent rise in the number of school girls going missing in the Hertfordshire areas, the police are urging any witnesses to step forward and share any information you may have. The growing concern over the number of girls being abducted is something that the community needs to be aware of. Bodies are being discovered weekly, within local woods, canals and back streets. Evidence suggests the murderer may have a mental condition, and health records show a patient from the surrounding area, matching the suspect's description. The mental patient also withholds previous convictions of which we cannot discuss for legal reasons, however let it be known to all that if you are under any suspicion or feel under threat, call your local police station as soon as possible. The kidnapper is out there, and although the murders may not be linked, it is important for him to be found before further peoples' lives are put to risk. This home footage was sent in to the Hertfordshire police station, showing the girl leaving school, matching her description.
Film Maker: George Cambridge
Director: George Cambridge
Voice Over:
On the 12th October, a teenage school girl went missing. At approximately 3:30pm, two 16 year old girls, both of which dressed in black school skirts and maroon blazers, were seen walking outside of Kings Langley School gates. The girls parted their seperate ways, and one of the girls has not been seen since. At this moment in time we are unsure of her whereabouts. With a strong lead from a local neighbour, we are under the impression that the suspect is a middle aged man of medium build and around 5 foot 11 in height. The man dressed in dark clothing was seen wondering around Love Lane- the road on which Kings Langley School is situated on, looking suspicious with a video camera in his hands. When confronted by the neighbour whose name we are guarding for security reasons, the white male with dark "scruffy" hair dismissed our witnesses, explaining he was a health and safety investigator who was observing the wellbeing of the school.
With a recent rise in the number of school girls going missing in the Hertfordshire areas, the police are urging any witnesses to step forward and share any information you may have. The growing concern over the number of girls being abducted is something that the community needs to be aware of. Bodies are being discovered weekly, within local woods, canals and back streets. Evidence suggests the murderer may have a mental condition, and health records show a patient from the surrounding area, matching the suspect's description. The mental patient also withholds previous convictions of which we cannot discuss for legal reasons, however let it be known to all that if you are under any suspicion or feel under threat, call your local police station as soon as possible. The kidnapper is out there, and although the murders may not be linked, it is important for him to be found before further peoples' lives are put to risk. This home footage was sent in to the Hertfordshire police station, showing the girl leaving school, matching her description.
Film Maker: George Cambridge
Director: George Cambridge
Crew List
Actress One: Lauren Phillips
Actress Two: Charley Britton
Costume Designers: Lauren Phillips and Charley Britton
Editors:George Cambridge, Lauren Phillips and Charley Britton
Location Reccee
Mise-En-Scene Plans
Costume
Both Actresses- Black school skirt, white school blouse, maroon school blazer.
Both Actresses- Black school skirt, white school blouse, maroon school blazer.
Make-Up
Both Actresses- Natural day make-up.
Props
Actress One- School bag,
Actress Two- School Bag, phone
Lighting
Natural day light.
Pre- production individual report
Throughout the pre-production stage we had to make final decisions about what we were going to do for our final opening sequence. We had a meeting with our teacher as a group and we discussed the ideas about our opening sequence. We was told that before we go any further we need to think about what was going to happen in the whole film and not just about the opening sequence. So we sat down as a group and mind mapped all of our ideas and put them together and talked about what would be a good idea and what wouldnt work within the opening sequence. We also looked at all of the things we needed to do such as find the location of where we would film and we created a location reccee and we had to do many other things such as mise-en-scene and the treatment etc. We split our work up into two and two of us did half of the things that was needed to be done in the pre-production stage and the other two of our group did the other half. We felt that this was the best way of doing it because it would be done quicker and we could work together. I think that this worked well because we got our work done quicker and it was better to work together.
Treatment
Location | Scene | Shot | Description |
Outside of Kings Langley School gates. | 1 | 1 | CHARLEY and LAUREN walking out of the school gates |
At the T junction opposite the Kings Langley School entrance. | 2 | 2 | Both CHARLEY and LAUREN walk over the road and split at the T junction on opposite corner. |
T junction. | 3 | 3 | LAUREN walks down to the left towards the dead end, CHARLEY walks to the right. |
T junction. | 4 | 4 | CHARLEY walks down the road towards the common. |
Right from T junction. | 5 | 5 | KILLER starts his movement following CHARLEY. |
Right from T junction. | 6 | 6 | KILLER walks behind CHARLEY about 15m away. |
Right from T junction. | 7 | 7 | KILLER speeds up his walking until behind CHARLEY. |
Right from T junction. | 8 | 8 | View right from behind CHARLEY getting closer and closer. |
Approaching Kings Langley common. | 9 | 9 | CHARLEY looks behind herself as she hears footsteps |
Approaching Kings Langley common. | 10 | 10 | Charley screams in front of the camera. |
Treatment
Visual | Audio |
Scene 1: CHARLEY and LAUREN walking out of the school gates (5 – 6 secs) | Non-Diegetic Sound |
Scene 2: Both CHARLEY and LAUREN walk over the road and split at the T junction on opposite corner. (6-8secs) | Non-Diegetic Sound |
Scene 3: LAUREN walks down to the left towards the dead end, CHARLEY walks to the right. (8-10secs) | Non-Diegetic Sound |
Scene4: CHARLEY walks down the road towards the common. (4-7secs) | Non-Diegetic Sound |
Scene 5: KILLER starts his movement following CHARLEY. (7-9secs) | Non-Diegetic Sound |
Scene 6: KILLER walks behind CHARLEY about 15m away. (7-9secs) | Non-Diegetic Sound |
Scene 7: KILLER speeds up his walking until behind CHARLEY. (8-10secs) | Non-Diegetic Sound |
Scene 8: View right from behind CHARLEY getting closer and closer. (4-6secs) | Non-Diegetic Sound |
Scene 9: CHARLEY looks behind herself as she hears footsteps (2-5secs) | Non-Diegetic Sound |
Scene 10: Charley screams in front of the camera. (4-6secs) | Non-Diegetic Sound |
Technical detail
· To start off the shooting we will have a long shot of both CHARLEY and LAUREN walking out of the school gates. The camera will be positioned on the opposite side of the road diagonally facing CHARLEY and LAUREN.
· The next shot will go back about 10yards and show CHARLEY and LAUREN furtherly walking towards the opposite side of the road. The camera will track their movement across the road and stop when they do.
· CHARLEY and LAUREN then split and go down different routes. The camera will follow LAUREN for a short amount of time establishing where she goes and then show CHARLEY heading off in another direction.
· The camera will then track CHARLEY from a distance following her movement. The camera will do this a couple of times getting closer with every shooting.
· As the camera reaches CHARLEY we will have a close up of her head turning round and screaming.
The location this will be shot in is outside the school gates we will take the footage when there are a decent amount of people walking out of the gates so it seems like it is the end of the school day. The lighting will all be natural due to the footage being taken outside. There will be no external lighting used. The camera movement will be handheld.
Storyboard
We all made a storyboard and we used it while we were filming but before we did this we did not scan the storyboard and did not have a spare copy of it. While we were filming we lost the original copy of the storyboard. One member of the group agreed that he would re-do the storyboard but he failed to do this. This is why we have not been able to include our storyboard.
Storyboard
We all made a storyboard and we used it while we were filming but before we did this we did not scan the storyboard and did not have a spare copy of it. While we were filming we lost the original copy of the storyboard. One member of the group agreed that he would re-do the storyboard but he failed to do this. This is why we have not been able to include our storyboard.
Friday 4 February 2011
MAIN: Post 6: History of your chosen genre
History of genre
Chosen genre: mystery/ drama/ crime
The genres of mystery and crime tracked back to Ancient Greece where play writers such as Sophocles and Euripides showed the citizens their plays combining mystery and drama. The earliest mystery film was called The Three Apples and it involved a suspense thriller with multiple plot twists. In a mystery film there are elements of it of a detective case and solving a crime.
In the early days of mysteries, a popular form was when a short tale was published in magazines. Mysteries are usually staged as play, and a more modern way is movies and television shows. But another modern way, which is the most popular way is to have a mystery novel.
Chosen genre: mystery/ drama/ crime
The genres of mystery and crime tracked back to Ancient Greece where play writers such as Sophocles and Euripides showed the citizens their plays combining mystery and drama. The earliest mystery film was called The Three Apples and it involved a suspense thriller with multiple plot twists. In a mystery film there are elements of it of a detective case and solving a crime.
In the early days of mysteries, a popular form was when a short tale was published in magazines. Mysteries are usually staged as play, and a more modern way is movies and television shows. But another modern way, which is the most popular way is to have a mystery novel.
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