Music Research

Music in a film plays a major part as it reflects what is happening and has a huge impact on the audience.For our film opening we need some sort of background music to add to the suspense of the stalker-(Billy) following the dancer(Elle).We have been told we need to create the music ourselves using GarageBand so we have been researching the type of music we want. There are four types that we particular like;






Although this piece of music has a voice over it, it still fitted well with our film opening as it consisted of drums violins and pianos. All these added to the suspense and reflected the happenings in the film opening and we played this piece over our work and it worked really well.







We also discovered the Saw music and found that this fitted even better ! It added suspense like Massive Attack but this piece did not have a voice over so it was more effective. Also, where the chase actually begins and the characters begin to run, the music builds up to add to the tension of this scene.



Rihanna's latest released song really appealed to us as we thought it would make great background music to our film opening. We also played this piece over our work and found that it also created suspense as it consisted of loud heavy beat drums.




Emma came across this song my Eminem and told us all about it. We thought this could be another one of our background music options as you can actually hear a music box being wound up and this reflects one of our scenes. Also, if the lyrics are muted the rest of the song is the sound of a music box which reflects our title.

These four are the first four pieces of music we have come across during our research and I am sure we will discover some more to add to our option list. We are hoping to use aspects of all the music we have researched so far and on GarageBand create a piece of music that will reflect our idea and create suspense successfully.

Fourth edit to our film opening

In the third version we inserted the dance scenes but we did not include them in the fast transition clips but in this one we did. We included one of her feet, her doing the splits and one dancing with the pole. We thought these quick clips should be inserted so it is clear to the viewer that she is a dancer within the first 20 seconds of the film opening.

We also experimented with the imovie effects and whenever Billy spots Elle it turns to a negative/x-ray effect. We added this and thought it would be effective as it adds to the whole idea of the stalker being psychotic. Also, it stands out against the rest of the film so that it becomes clear to the audience that Elle is being followed.

Third edit to our film opening

In our third editing piece we inserted all the dancing scenes and the scenes of Billy in the car winding up the music box. This was the first fully completed piece of work we had as it included all of the scenes needed.We also included the text on the black background which I previously mentioned.

Editing the beginning

After seeing the trailer to Paranormal Activity, Blaire Witch Project and The Fourth Kind our group came up with another idea. Since all of these films are based on real stories and claim to be "true" we researched the start and endings of these films. We've realised that at the start or the end of the screen they have a black screen with white writing saying that the killer is still out there. To make our film opening different and unique we decided to incorperate it into our film.

Since at the end of our opening we cannot have "Billy has still not been found" as it makes a conclusion to the film, so we decided to put at the start, "Thanks to the Metrapolitan Police for allowing us to screen this case". We feel that this will make our film seem as if it is based on true events and make it more scary.

Also we added a zoom then fade to black and another shot came up but this time saying "The case still remains open". We hope that this will scare the viewers in making them think that the killer, "Billy" is still out there and make them think that he may come after them. Hopefully this will trick the viewers into believing that it's real.

Second edit for our film opening

We then after filming on Sunday, uploaded our stuff in our free period and were eager to edit it into our film so it would make sense. We then added in all of the shots of Billy winding up the music box and getting out of the car and walking off. With these shots we put the exposure up, so all the shots of him were grainy which gives the audience an effect, due to the mise en scene that he is "trouble" and this is shown through the grainy effect. In contrast to this we added all the shots of Elle dancing and put them in the effect "Dream". We used this effect as it brightened it up and also due to the mise en scene, it shows that Elle is happiest dancing. This happiness then contrasts at the exact moment she walks out the door. This could show that at the exact moment she walks out the door she's being watched.

We also edited the shots together with some cross blur/zoom transitions which gave the effect of time passing. I think that this makes it look better as you don't have the bore of watching her travel everywhere. We also realised that on imovie you can record sounds. We therefore put the music box up to the computer screen and recorded its melody. We used this over the top of the shot of the music box in the film. However, when the shot of Elle spinning was shown we played the music backwards, which in itself sounded scary, but we thought that this gave an extra effect that she's different and to distort the audience into thinking something is going to happen to them.

Paranormal Activity

Yesterday on 07/12/09 me and about 10 other girls from my media class and Ms Foster all went to the cinema to watch Paranormal Activity. I wanted to watch this film anyway and seen as though Ms Foster had suggested we all go as part of our research I thought I would go along.

Once the film had started the first 10 minutes which are supposed to grab my attention did the completely opposite as I was beginning to lose interest and found it quite boring. It was in high key lighting so did not scare me at all and I was quite disappointed. But as I had seen the trailer beforehand, there was the bedroom shot which was evident throughout the film and as this shot came on screen I instantly became scared as I knew something scary was going to happen.

Most of the scary scenes happened in the bedroom shot at night and as it was in nightmode it added to the whole scary effect. The thrillers began mildly and gradually built up night after night until it reached the end that was so scary I was screaming out loud and jumped out my seat !

The first few bedroom shots were just the couple sleeping but no scary action, the reason for this was that they wanted to build the suspense so that when something does happen it appears shocking. The first scare was when the bedroom door shut slowly. Then it gradually built up with faster door slamming, heavy breathing, footsteps and shadows. The ones that I found the scariest were when Katie was dragged out of bed by the demon, when the footprints were seen in the powder and when Katie was standing watching Mika for hours and hours. I found this creepy as it made me think why she was doing it as it was really strange ! The footsteps were effective as it was revealed slowly by the use of a light. When Katie was dragged out of the bed I found it really scary but as Sophie was already laughing I ended up laughing as well!

The build up and suspense as to what was going to happen next was effective as whenever the bedroom shot came up I was guessing what was going to happen next as I had gathered that the scary action was going to increase night after night.

However, the camera angles were shaky and unsteady to show a real life home made video and although it portrayed this idea well it was annoying and uncomfortable to watch. The editing was also appalling as I mentioned to Ms Foster and she said it was meant to be like that but it annoyed me as I am currently in the process of editing our two minute film and we want it to perfection but there editing was terrible.

Everything the audience sees on screen is what is being filmed by Mika so if he is not holding the camera filming then we do not see what is happening. During one of the night scenes, Mika and Katie hear a noise and go downstairs as they are curious as to what it is. When Mika was heading downstairs trying to find the demon or some trace of it everything is seen through the video camera and the camera is used as a light source. I was constantly shouting 'Put the light on!' as it made it increasingly scary as we did not know what was to appear on screen next as we relied on the light source.

The end was the scariest as it was jumpy and I definitely found it jumpy as I jumped out my seat, screamed out loud and even scratched Ms Foster ! It also left us on a cliff hanger as the text appeared on the screen at the end with 'Katie's whereabouts still remain unknown' , this sent shivers up my spine...and then the lights came on ! The whole group had mixed opinions about it, some girls were saying ' That was so rubbish! ' whereas the likes of me and Trisha were still shocked by the end and Ms Foster was frozen !

I suppose it is the type of film that you either love or hate-I definitely loved it. For a low budget film that only took $10,000 dollars to make it is one of the scariest films I have ever watched.From watching this film I have learnt that buliding suspense throughout a film then ending with a shocking ending and a cliffhanger has such an effect on the audience.

Final day of filming !

After re arranging the date many times, we finally decided a date and time where we could film the dance scenes at Bodens studio. Yesterday, we all went to Bodens studio to film Elle dancing so it could be inserted into the rest of our film. These dance scenes are important as it makes the audience more aware of Elle's character-that she is a dancer and this adds to the idea of a music box being incorporated as it has a dancer inside. Although this scene is amongst one of the first scenes in our film opening we ended up filming it last !

Firstly we started off by filming some shots of Elle's feet, going on point. These shots were either long shots or extreme close ups of her feet. We decided to do loads of different ballet techniques and movements as we thought that more would be better than less and somehow, either at the start of our film, with the quick transitions or with the help of fading transitions can show how she got from each shot.

We then filmed some long shots of Elle spinning. We started zoomed in and then slowly zoomed out to reveal Elle. The reason why we did this was because since inside the music box there is a ballet dancer spinning, with a zoom transition Elle will mimic what the ballet dancer inside the box is doing. This is to help show the audience that the box is sort of like a voodoo doll and it controls Elle.

Following on from this shot, we did a extreme close up/canted angle of Elle falling. This shot would come after the shot we previously filmed of Billy slamming the box down. This also proves that the box is a "voodoo doll" and that Billy has some kind of control or power over her. We got this idea from the film "Save the last dance" but we changed it so it was unique for our film.

We also filmed a lot of split jumps through the air. We may not include these shots but we thought if we had more time left over it would make sense to have more footage that shows that she's a ballet dancer. These shots were pan shot follows across the whole room. You could also see Elle through the mirror. This shot was difficult to film because there was no way we could pan across the whole room in the mirrors without the camera and tripod being seen. Luckily in the room there was a pole in the middle which was just big enough for one of us to stand behind with the camera and pan across without being seen. Also as seen in the picture, we filmed some "bar work" which where she completed various ballet moves. We may not have time to put these in our film but we thought we might aswell, as we may end up using some in the fast transition start.

Then we filmed again from behind the pole but of Elle spinning and doing loads of stretches. We then zoomed into her in the mirror to show a closer long shot of her. I like this shot as the audience is not looking at her directly, they are looking at her through the mirror which also gives the audience a sense that she is being watched. I think that this shot makes up for the fact that we couldn't get hold of Billy so we could, unfortunatly, not use the amazing shot of when Elle bends down Billy will appear in the mirror.

Finally we realised that our next shot after this was Elle walking out of Esporta, so we needed some kind of real life transition to show that she's left one place and entering another one. We then panned her picking up her bags and leaving the room. We filmed extreme close up's of her turning the lights off and grabbing the doors. What we have realised though is that we can only use one extreme close up, either the switching off of the lights or the lift, from previous filming, as her nails are black in one and fake in the other. But this would not be a problem as we already have too much footage to deal with.

We had filmed all the shots we wanted and more so decided to call it a day. Today was the end of our filming altogether and I am both disappointed that it has all come to an end as I have thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I am also very excited as we can now finally upload all of our raw footage and start editting properly as we have filmed everything we need.

Altering the ending

During one of our editing sessions Ms Foster wanted to see what we had edited so far and give us some feedback as to how to improve it. We showed her everything we had edited and she made us realise that we have done what is closer to a two minute film as a whole instead of just simply an opening to a film.

Following this realisation, we went through the brief and it clearly stated a two minute film opening. Referring back to our research, the first two minutes should introuduce the basic storyline and leave you on a cliffhanger. As we had tied all the ends to our film we had to delete the ending so that it ended with a cliffhanger.

We also had a split decision on how our film opening should end-implicit or explicit. Elle and Sophie wanted the clip where Billy and Elle run into each other and Billy grabs Elle which is explicit. Whereas, me and Emma thought this resembled a romcance film and so prefered the clip where Elle bangs against Billy and he appears from behind her which is implicit.After discussing it with Ms Foster we decided that implicit is more effective as it leaves the audience guessing and wanting to see the rest of the film.

GarageBand

This is a short clip on how to use GarageBand-a music creating software exclusive to the imacs. I watched this clip and did not find it helpful at all. It is really bad quality, the man has an annoying accent which I could not really understand and the whole concept looks really confusing and difficult to use.

We experimented and tried to grasp the way of using it during one of our lessons but we found it really difficult. Ms Foster then advised us to watch this clip to help us but this still has not enhanced my understanding on how to use the software.

First edit for our film opening

We wanted to make our film opening different, unique and stand out against the rest. So alongside the 2 minute film opening, we decided to include a short trailer before the actual film opening started.

We included short clips of several different shots to create a trailer and used fast transitions in between each shot. Each shot lasts 0.2 seconds each and once we had inserted all the clips we wanted and edited it the trailer was 12 seconds long.

We also used the music on imovie in the background but we are still unsure about this music and we will probably change it later on in the editing process.

Below is the rough edit to the trailer of our film opening...




This is just a rough version as we want to add a few more clips to the trailer and change the music as we now want something faster to fit in with the fast transitions.One of our main purposes for the trailer was to make it unique but to also grab the viewers eye and attention so that it will make them want to watch the actual film.

Fourth day of filming

On 10/11/09 we continued to film and it was an exhausting day as we were filming from the end of school up until 9 30 at night! But it was all worth it as we filmed many scenes and they were all filmed to our satisfaction.

Firstly, we headed to the cinema again for the second time during the filming process to finish filming all the scenes we needed at this location. During the week we uploaded what we had filmed so far onto the macs and realised that in the lift scene we had missed out a close up of Elles face in the lift to show her facial expression. Unfortunately, when we went back to the lift we previously used it was 'out of order' ! This messed up our plans slightly as we could not film this shot, so we sat in Morrisons waiting for Billy to arrive to film the other scenes we had planned.

Once Billy had arrived, we went back to the Cineworld underground car park to begin filming. Our initial idea at this point of the filming was to film Billy running directly behind Elle, but then we referred back to the bridge scene and took into account the fact that they were running opposite ways and realised that they can not be running the same way as it will not make sense and confuse the viewer. So, we inserted a new shot of Billy running down a ramp to the underground car park which will make them appear from different directions. We filmed this shot from a high angle aerial shot which was filmed by Elle sitting on a platform, Sophie running from behind Billy so it will appear shaky and unstable, a high angle side view and other different side views and one of Billy running towards the camera from a front view.

Following this, we filmed Elle walking down the stairs of the cinema as if she was running down the stairs of the bridge and this will follow the running across the bridge scene. We filmed this in different ways; a front view of Elle running towards the camera and then a pan shot of her running out the door on the right, from behind Elle to create the shaky effect and finally a canted angle of her running down the stairs.

Then, we filmed a side view of Elle running out of the same door through the car park and passing the music box which is sitting and playing on a pole. We also filmed this scene with an extreme close up of the music box and Elle in the background so the music box is the main focus of the shot as it is significant and tells the reader that Billy, the stalker is near.

We found a spooky alleyway we liked and filmed a long shot from behind Elle of her walking down the alleyway, seeing the music box and walking up to it, slamming it shut and walking off. We then filmed in the actual car park a scene where Billy and Elle bump into each other in the centre. As Elle was running away from Billy and not towards him, we could not have them meeting face to face. So, we filmed Elle running away from Billy then stopping in the middle of the car park and turning round to see whether Billy is following her and faces the camera, but then Billy comes up from behind her and she bumps into him and she slowly turns round to discover who he is. During editting, we will involve a strobe light in fast motion at the point where Elle turns round to discover Billy is behind her. This shot was a mid shotof both of them and portrayed their facial expressions clearly.

Then, we realised the time and we had to make our way back to school for a ucas meeting so we told Billy to meet at Sophie's house after the meeting so that we could continue filming. At Sophie's we filmed the newspaper scene again with Billy circling the date and filling in the numbers in the sudoku section. All this was still filmed with the red light effect. We tried two colours for the writing on the newspaper; a red pen so that it will fit in with the continuity of the red light effect and a thick black pen so that it would appear more prominent. We will decide which one looks better whilst uploading and editting.

In our made newspaper, Billy wrote in the crossword, 'Who's next', this shot will fade into the first shot we filmed which was of Sophie, Billy's next victim walking past whilst Billy is sitting on a bench. The audience will then become aware of Billy's next victim and we showed this in an implicit way. Earlier in the filming process, we filmed fake blood dripping off a saw and so we decided to film more following this scene. So, we used the rest of the fake blood and tilted the saw so that it poured on top of the ballerina in the newspaper and it slowly dripped onto the picture. We wanted the blood to fall straight onto the ballerina, but it did not happen the way we wanted so we told Billy to dip his finger in the blood and cross out the ballerina girl. This action reflects the idea of the stalker man planning to kill a ballerina girl.

We wanted the audience to become more familiar with Billy's character so we filmed him pacing up and down the den knocking things as if he was angry and frustrated that he has not caught his victim. Sophie's shed was full of stuff and so it was quite cramped and as we had to keep the continuity of the red light in the den, Emma had to sit on top of a pile of stuff whilst shining the red light whilst also ensuring she was not in the shot which was quite funny. We wanted to convey Billy's frustration so we told him to smash a beer bottle, but we did not manage to film it successfully as it fell quicker than we expected and we did not have enough time to film the transition from Billy's face and the smash all in one shot. It also made a lot of mess and we wasted a lot of time trying to clean it up in the dark at nine at night! We then filmed a low angle shot of Billy typing on the typewriter so you could see his arms and face in the shot so that it is clear to the viewer that it is in fact the stalker man typing up the girl's death story. We decided to film this at a low angle to show his importance as a main character and to also show his power over the ballerina girl.

Then, we filmed from Sophie's extension roof which gave a perfect view of the shed as it was directly opposite. We filmed an ariel shot of the den and as the shed door was quite hard to open, we had a brick holding it open then had Billy kicking it out of the way and then slamming the door shut. This also adds to his angry character. Then, we filmed an establishing shot of the houses across the field next to Sophie's house and it was really effective as it was pitch black and only the lights in the houses were on.

On this day of filming, we filmed so much footage and now the only scene we have left to film is a scene at Bodens studio which we have arranged to take place soon.

Third day of filming

Following the typewriter scene, we realised that we had not filmed all the parts we wanted to type on the typewriter. As myself and Billy were unable to attend this filming session, Sophie, Elle and Emma still managed by themselves.

So, today on 08/11/09 they filmed extreme close ups of words coming up from the typewriter that we had not included before. Sophie typed this as Billy was unable to attend. However, it dod not matter who was typing it because the camera was just focusing on the paper. They realised that everything had to be typed on the same piece of paper to show the continuity.This was quite a challenge especially for Sophie who was typing it as she could not really see what she was typing as it was in the dark it all became a bit frustrating.

This days filming was rather short and they only managed to film a short amount.

Second day of filming

On 28/10/09, we continued filming our two minute film opening. Our first stop was Cineworld in Enfield as they have an underground car park alongside a lift and stairs. We chose this location as it was dark as it was underground and was also dingey and spooky. The idea of using the lift was to show continuity in the journey home as when Elle steps into the lift she goes up, runs out the lift and runs immediately onto the Enfield Town bridge.

For the lift shot, we filmed an extreme close up of Elle's finger pressing the button, her walking into the lift and the doors closing in on her. We encountered a few problems at this stage because we had to ensure the lift did not go up but as the lift led up to the cinema the public wanted to use it and so this shot took a long time to film. We also filmed a point of view shot from Elle's perspective inside the lift with her looking at the music box on the floor which was placed outside the lift. At this point, she realises the stalker man is following her and has flashbacks, this part will be shown in sepia effect. The importance of the point of view shot at this point of the scene is so that the audience can understand Elles feelings as they are watching from her viewpoint. The last shot we filmed for this scene was a pan shot of Elle running out of the lift. We realised that this shot was immensely important as it links to the scene where she runs across the bridge which will follow there after during the editting process.

The next shot we planned to film was of Elle walking down the set of stairs after running across the bridge. But once we had set up the equipment we realised that we could not film this shot at this moment due to the fact that there was a big window which was allowing a lot of light in seen as it was around mid afternoon. This would affect the continuity of our film so we decided to film this part another time which was quite a dissapointment.

We then travelled to Sophie's house to film the typwriter and newspaper scenes, the stalker man winding up the music box and coming out of the car and an establishing shot of Sophie's house.



Firstly, we filmed Billy getting out of the car holding the music box from many different angles.This shot will follow after the blend of the two shots of him slamming the box and Elle dancing and shows the beginning of him following her. We had planned to film this scene from a front view but we then realised that the camera and tripod would be seen in the reflection of the car window. So, we filmed this shot from a side view of Billy coming out of the car, an extreme close up of his feet stepping out of the car and walking off and the final shot was filmed from a window upstairs to produce a high angle shot.

The next shot we filmed was an over the shoulder shot of Billy in the car winding up and slamming down the music box and this was achieved by filming from the back seat. Also filmed from the back seat we filmed a gradual zoom and and extreme close up of the spinning ballerina in the music box. The final shot inside the car was of the music box but focusing on the mirror inside it so that you could see the stalker man's eyes. The reason for this will become clearer later on in the film opening as his eyes are also included at the end.

Next, we filmed an establishing shot of Sophie's house to show the stalker mans plotting and planning place. We filmed the establishing shot at an canted angle swooping up to reflect the stalker man's character that he is not normal and rather psychotic.

The last place in Sophie's house was her shed which was pitch black and was where we were going to film the typewriter and newspaper scenes. The only light source we had was a red light which was created by a torch being shone over a top trumps box, the reason for the red light is to reinforce the thriller/horror genre and bring about ideas of blood and danger. We then filmed a shot of a saw with fake blood dripping from it to scare the audience slightly and to make them think about what else is going to happen in this den. We created our own newspaper with our names in the headline to show the credits and an article regarding a murder as the newspaper prop is relevant to our film. We moved the red light across the article to show each part separately and then filmed Billy slamming a cup of tea on the article and beginning to type on the typewriter.

On the typewriter, we filmed extreme close ups of "The Music Box" typed on the typewriter with the red light as a light source. We then zoomed out from this to reveal to the audience that it is the stalker man who is typing this and not the victim.

After two days of filming we have around 15 minutes of raw footage and we still have a lot more scenes to film. We are relying on the editting in order to shorten this to our two minute time limit, we have only had two days of filming and I am already looking forward to editting!

First day of filming

Today on 27/10/09, we started creating our two minute film opening. First, we structured and storyboarded our film and then headed outside to begin actually filming. I was mainly excited about filming but also quite nervous. On one hand, excited because we have been discussing this coursework and planning and researching for it for the past 2 months and so I could not wait to actually produce it. On the other hand, I was nervous because there was a lot of pressure to film what we actually had in mind and if it was not of the standard that we wanted then we would be really disappointed.

Today, we filmed most of the outdoor scenes where the stalker and ballet dancer are in the shots. Our actors were very reliable and we took pictures of their outfits so that we remember what they wore and so when we film over the course of the next few days we will ensure that they are wearing the exact same outfit with the same make-up, jewellery and make up. This is extremely important so that it shows continuity thoroughout our film.

Elle Hutchkinson(Ballet dancer)= We realised that it was impossible to find the actual outfit the ballerina was wearing in the music box so we improvised. Elle became more of a contemporary dancer and wore the following :


Black jazz shoes, black leggins, black leg warmers, black crop top, black lace overlayer, black over the body bag and black coat for outdoor scenes.


She wore her hair loose and curly with a black headband and had natural make up with simple earrings.




Billy Jarvis(Stalker)= We wanted to portray the typical stalker looking character and we did this by ensuring he wore suitable clothing, he wore the following:


Jeans, black leather jacket, black trainers and black over the body bag. The idea of him dressing in black attire also fits in with the darkness of the sky. The black bag could suggest he has hidden items in there that could be of some danger.







We began filming in the park at around 17:00 just at it was beginning to turn dark. The first scene we filmed will actually be the last scene in the film.

The scene was Sophie(the 2nd dancer) walking past the stalker as if she is his next victim. This was filmed by the river in Enfield Town Park as Sophie walked along the pathway next to the river Billy sat on the bench. We filmed this shot from different angles; wide shot, a shot from behind, a shot from infront and an extreme close up of the stalkers eyes whilst he read the newspaper.


Since most of our film was filmed at night and in the dark we decided to use nightmode on the video camera. Most of our film will be filmed in nightmode to reinforce the idea of the time of day being the night and it also makes it appear scarier and makes it clear that it is a thriller film.







Whilst filming we came across a beautiful reflection of the moon in the river. This really caught our eye as it was partially hidden behind a twig tree so the branches were sticking out and the silhouettes of the branches overlapped onto the moon. Although it was not in our storyboard, we decided to shoot a weather shot of this and slot it into our film somewhere to set the scene and atmosphere. We also filmed a pan shot from the moon in the sky down to the reflection in the ripples of the river.



After we filmed these shots, the night grew darker and it was too dark for us to film in our current spot as planned as it would not show continuity. We decided to relocate to a pathway under a light and filmed them walking past each other in opposite ways. This was a clever decision as you could see the characters clearer than in the previous location. We filmed this scene as a wide shot, from one end of the pathway and from the other end of the pathway.


We then made our way to Esporta Leisure Centre nearby and I asked them if we could film the outside of their building as it could pass for a ballet studio. To our delight they accepted and we began to film this shot. We filmed Elle walking down the steps as if she was coming out of the ballet studio at the end of a class . We filmed this scene as a wide shot on the other side of the road, an extreme close up of her feet as she walked down the steps and a pan shot as she continued down the road to show the linkage between the shot.

The shot following this was of Elle walking along the pavement. We filmed this scene from behind, infront, an extreme close up of her walking through the leaves on the floor, Elle then filmed a point of view shot of her feet and we filmed a pan shot follow as she walked.



Afterwards, we made our way to Enfield Town bridge to film one of the shots that I was dreading. The reason being was that it required great communication and timing between the directors and the two main characters. The shot had Elle running across the bridge right to left and had Billy running underneath the bridge from left to right. This was achieved by the directors and actors communicating via mobile phones to inform them about when to run and when not to. As Billy was running underneath the bridge on the main road we had to be extremely cautious so filmed the scene when the cars were stopped by the traffic lights. Our aim was to film it so that when the two characters were running in opposite ways their silhouettes met at the middle of the bridge at one point. The communication and timing all worked out perfectly and with the use of the bridge lights we managed to shoot the shot exactly the way we wanted which was fantastic. This shot actually turned out to be one of my favourite scenes to shoot because although it was difficult to time it correctly it was all worth it in the end and we also had fun and giggles along the way.

For our final shot of the first day, we filmed Elle walking down an alleyway then being followed by Billy shortly after. We filmed this scene from different angles; Elle walking towards the camera then panning around the corner, from behind Elle, walking past the camera and finally her sitting on a wall for a high angle shot. The use of this shot will portray her to the audience as vulnerable as she is the victim in the film.



I thought the first day filming was thoroughly enjoyable as did the rest of my group. All the shots came out the way we expected and we managed to shoot everything we set ourselves to film and more! The first day filming made me realise that our film will take a lot longer than we expected as we were out for around 3 hours we only managed to film around 10 minutes of footage.This is way too much as our whole filming should be around 2 minutes. This was because we found ourselves filming the same scenes a few times as we encountered a few problems for example, people walking past and cars driving past.But we thought that it is better to have more footage rather than less so that you have more to experiment with and more of a choice when editting but hopefully with the use of imovie we will be able to narrow it down to our duration limit.

Storyboard for Film

Before we began filming our film opening we decided to storyboard it and structure it carefully. We drew pictures of all the shots, included a description of what will be happening during that shot and included the type of shot it is.

We decided to use post it notes so that if we were to change our minds about the order of shots then it would be easy for us to change them around.

The purpose of storyboarding our film opening was to ensure that we have the order of the shots right and so that we can see whether what is happening makes sense for certain. Also, it makes it easier and helps us during the process of filming so that we know what we are filming, the type of shot it is and what shot is next.

Practice with video equipment

During the lesson on 23/10/09 each group was given their equipment to film our production which consisted of a video camera, tripod, tripod plate, two DV tapes and a few wires.

As we were the first group to be handed the equipment it meant we had the most time to experiment with the video camera.We took advantage of this time and wasted no time in beginning to film!

First, we headed off to the grounds around our school, set up our equipment and started to film each other skipping around the trees to practice smooth pan shot follows.

Then, we wanted to film parts that are in our production to gain practice. So we found a set of steps around Enfield Town and filmed Sophie walking down them and included pan shot follows and extreme close ups of her feet.









Whilst we were in town, we came across 'The Cheeky Girls' who were launching the opening of a new store and we filmed them just to experiment with different lighting as they were inside under false light and we were filming under natural light before.












The opening of the new store were handing out balloons so me and Sophie took one each and along with the rest of my group, Emma and Elle, we came up with the idea of laughter in a two shot and we let the balloons go and Elle and Emma filmed them going up which was a weather shot. Although we are not including a weather shot in our production we still considered it important to gain an understanding of it.


We also filmed the scene of running across the bridge, the lift scene which included an extreme close up, the escalator scene which was a pan shot follow and the park scene with the newspaper which was also a pan shot follow and extreme close up.


I thoroughly enjoyed this lesson as we experimented with different types of shots and we all feel comfortable with the video camera and we have adapted to the different modes and when and how to use them. I am confident with using the video camera for our production and we will start filming within the next couple of days and I am really excited!

Research:Lighting and Sound

In the outside scenes of our film it will be nightime so the type of lighting will be low key lighting. This is because it is a thriller film and adds a feeling of mystery, builds suspense and makes it appear spooky.

When the man is typing on the typewriter, he will be in a pitch black room so that the idea of darkness runs throughout the film. So that the text is visible there will be a spotlight moving along the text on the paper this will be achieved by the use of a torch. We are thinking of perhaps using a red sweet rapper in front then shining the light so that it produces a red light and will support the idea of thriller as it will bring about connotations of murder and blood.

There is a scene where the girl gathers that she is being followed and so has a flashback on what she has previously seen, this will be presented in sepia mode as it will represent the fact that it happened in the past.This will be achieved by the use of imovie during the editting process.

When the girl is running along the Enfield Town bridge, there are vibrant lights that run along the outside edge of it and change throughout the night. This will make the bridge appear dominant against the nightime and will be the main focus in that scene.

Sound plays a major part in a film as it is the key to building up suspense. So, when the music box appears in the scene it will play the music it produces. During the other shots, there will be a haunted music box song playing in the background which I have included further down in my blog posts. We will use this example as an inspiration and we hope to produce something similar on GarageBand.

Towards the end when she realises she is being followed, there will be rapid transitions when she flashbacks in sepia mode which will have a sharp sound on each changing transition to reflect the rapidness.On the bridge when she turns around there will be the sound of a fast heartbeat in the background to show her fear.

Research:Props

Our film will include a limited amount of props:

• The Music Box=This is the main prop in the film as it symbolises the psychotic mans presence and will be used at several different times in the film.Also, our film is named after this significant prop.

• A newspaper=This will be read by the psycho man on a bench in the park. The purpose of this is to hide his face so that only his eyes are visible and so that the audience do not have a clear visualisation of him and so adds mystery and suspense.

• A typewriter=Plays a significant part in the film as it is the first prop the audience see and so should grab their attention. The purpose is to show the title of our film, tell a story and show the closing credits. We decided to pick a typewriter rather than a computer/laptop because the way the text comes up on the paper along with the sound it makes when the typewriter returns for a new line makes it immensely creepy.

Research: Actors and Costumes

In our production have three characters:

• The main character who is a female in her late teens, she is a ballet dancer and the victim.This role will be played either by Emma Kozlowski or Elle Hutchkinson who are two girls in my group. Throughout the film, they will be wearing the same outfit which will be a ballet outfit; a leotard, tu tu, tights and ballet shoes. The reason for wearing the same outfit throughout is to show continuity. The outfit will be the same one as the ballet dancer is wearing in the music box so when we do the fade in/out shot it will be very effective.

• The next character is the psychotic man and will be played by a male in his late teens. He will not be presented directly and the audience only see parts of his body. He will be wearing black attire to make him dominant as he is in a block colour and a hooded top so that his face is not visible. He will also be wearing significant black gloves that will hide his identity.

• Our final character will be played by Sophie Mcnamara another girl in my group and will play the role of the next victim of the psychotic man. She will also be wearing a ballet outfit but obviously a different coloured one. The pastel colours of the outfit will symbolise her innocence as she is the next victim.

Research on locations

For our film production we will need several locations to show the places the main character walks through on her journey home.

The first scene will be of the typwriter and will be filmed in a pitch black room.

Then, there will be a scene in a bedroom with the man on the typewriter.

The first scene in the flashback will be in a car with the man winding up the music box on the dashboard.

This then blends into a ballet studio surrounded by mirrors and will be filmed at Bodens Studio & Agency.

The next location will be outside Enfield Grammar Lower School and the focus will be on the ballet girl walking down the steps.

She will then begin her journey home where she first walks through Enfield Town Park by the lake.

This will then lead to a Jack The Ripper style alleyway which is situated in Central London.

The next location will be on a set of escalators with one ascending and the other descending and will be filmed at a London Tube Station.

Finally, the last scenes will be filmed in the multi storey car park in Enfield Town in a lift and across the bridge that connects the car park and shopping centre.

We are then brought back to the scene with the typewriter in the bedroom.

To finish the production the final scene will be back in Enfield Town park by the lake.

Research for typewriter shot

During my research on how we could incorporate the typewriter in our production I came across this advert which is advertising MasterCard. The typewriter includes a shot at 0.06 seconds and although it is completely irrelevant it is exactly the kind of shot we are after for the opening credits to illustrate our title, 'The Music Box' and for our closing credits.

When we include the typewriter as the first scene of our production we hope to achieve a shot like this because it is a point of view shot and does not include the fingers of the person typing. Together with the content of the film and the sound it will add suspense and present the thrilling scene that we are hoping to portray to prepare the audience for the rest of the film.

The typewriter idea will be portrayed through the type of shot I previously mentioned as well as the following type below. This is a music video and on 1:17 minutes for about two seconds it includes the idea that we want for overlapping the text from the typewriter onto the flashback for a few scenes.

Sound research

During my research on sound I came across this piece of music which instantly grabbed my attention.



I found this piece of music particularly creepy and eerie because it is quite high pitched and has a distinctive rhythm.

Me and my group took great interest in this piece of music and we will use it as an influence as the music for the music box in our film opening and we hope to produce something similar on GarageBand.

Researching a target audience

Whilst deciding on a target audience for our film opening I researched a few thrillers and their target audiences. I researched; Prom Night, Final Destination 2 and Black Christmas.



This is the trailer to Prom Night and shows how a typical teenage prom turns into a living nightmare as a psycho man who is obsessed with females comes to kill a girl.




This is the trailer to Final Destination 2 and shows how a young woman experiences a premonition and tries to escape death. It is an ordinary day and she is driving when she has the premonition.




This is the trailer to Black Christmas and shows a group of teenage girls in a house together on Christmas eve. One of them is kidnapped in the house and the kidnapper gradually kidnapps and kills them all.

All three of these thrillers are aimed at teenagers and young adults as the actors that play in them are young adults and teenagers. So the target audience are attracted to these type of films as they feel they can refer to them because themselves and the actors are within the same age group.

So, because our film opening has a female teenager as the main character we have decided to aim our film opening at the teenage/young adult age group as they will be attracted to it, able to refer to it and so therefore will enjoy it to the maximum.

Brief description for film opening

The idea of the beginning being the end and the two minute film opening being all a flashback and then ending with how it started-present day.

• Begins with the title, 'The Music Box' being typed on a typewriter but no hand or fingers are visible.

• Flashback-there is a man sitting in a car and there is a music box on the dashboard and he begins to wind up the box-over the shoulder shot.

• Zoom into the ballet dancer inside the music box spinning around which then fades into a ballet dancer dancing the same way in a ballet studio.

• Fades out back to the music box and the man slams down the box and the ballet dancer who is dancing in the studio falls over at the same time as he slams it down.

• Flashback-the ballet dancer stretches and bends down and we see the mans reflection in the mirror whilst she is down and when she stands up straight again he is not visible.

• Meanwhile, the text from the typewriter overlapps the previous studio scene writing, 'It was just an average day.'

• The ballet dancer takes her belongings and walks out the studio, turning the light off(extreme close up) and sees the music box in a corner playing music, she feels puzzled but does not take any notice of it.

• She walks out of the studio down some steps and begins to make her way home where she experiences a series of events(all this will be filmed during the night to enforce the thriller theme)

• First she walks through a park and the man is sitting on a bench reading a newspaper and we zoom in on his eyes as this is all she sees(point of view shot) and the music from the music box is playing in the background.

• Then she walks down a Jack The Ripper styled alleyway, the man is present(over the shoulder shot of him watching her) and she hears the music again and becomes confused but continues walking.

• Afterwards, she is going up the escalators and the man is going down the escalators next to her and they come across each other and all se sees of him is his hat.

• Finally, she walks into a lift and as she turns around she sees the music box playing the music before her and the typewriter is brought into perspective again and overlapps the current shot with text reading, 'Then everything became clear.'

• All becomes clear that she is being followed as she then flashbacks with rapid transitions back to the eyes, the hat the several sightings of the music box, realises the music box symbolises his presence and so presses the lift buttons frantically to go up and escape.

• Meanwhile, the stalker man is still following her and heads downstairs thinking that is where she is heading too.

• Then, the girl runs across a bridge towards the right and beneath the bridge the man is running in the opposite direction.

• The focus is then on the girl with a rapid heartbeat playing in the background and as she turns her face to see who is behind her all becomes pitch black with just the sound of the music box.

• We are brought back to present day to the typewriter and based on the text during the flashback the audience are led to believe that the girl is writing this account.

• However, it is a twist as it is actually the man writing on the typewriter who writes the last piece of text, 'Part two' which implies that he is going to follow another girl.

• The camera then focuses on a window with a different girl walking passed then goes back to the man who puts on black gloves, picks up the music box and heads out the door.

• The next shot is back in the same park as before with him holding a newspaper again but instead zooms in on his mouth and smirks which informs the audience that he is going to strike again and do the same thing to this girl as he did with the other girl.

• The closing credits consisting of our names is presented by the typewriter again as it relevant to our film ,reinforces the idea of telling a story and shows finality.

Evaluating Preliminary Exercise

During the lesson on 16/10/09 we watched every groups Preliminary Task and evaluated it by taking notes on what they did well and what they could improve on so that they do not make the same mistakes when they film their film opening.

Each group managed to successfully include the shot reverse shot, 180 degree angle rule and match on action. However, some groups had problems showing continuity through the use of body movement.

During the feedback, my group were told that we included a smooth pan shot follow which was due to the good use of the tripod. Also after the pan shot follow the directors zoomed in on Sophie which was also smooth and so was effective.However, we were told that at the point where I interrupt Sophie during her phone conversation it was too sharp and it was cut in too early(although this was our intention the audience did not agree).

Therfore, I found this lesson important and helpful because it allows the video to be seen from another perspective and allows other people other than the creaters of the video to see it and judge it to see what we can improve on. This enables us to take note of what other people said and consider it when filming our film opening so that we do not make the same mistake.

AS Media Terminology

Introducing AS Media

View more documents from The Cottesloe School.

Over the October half term, as well as filming our two minute film opening we also need to watch this presentation in preparation for a test after the half term. We need to take into account the terms, definitions and phrases and learn them off by heart to ensure that we have absorbed the work that we have been doing in class the last half term.This presentation is also helpful for our exam as it outlines the basic knowledge of Media Studies.

The Art of the Title Sequence

http://www.school-video-news.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=453:the-art-of-the-title-sequence&catid=44:edit-post-production&Itemid=111

I visited this website and read the interview by the two people who created a website on the key points about opening credits and I learnt many key points that make the opening credits to a film effective.

I took these into account so that I can carry them forward and include them in my own opening two minute to a film. They said that it needs to be original and clever with a lot of thought put into it. Also, rather daring and challenging to grasp the viewer immediately so that they have a positive attitude towards the rest of the film.

To add to the effectiveness it should tell a story either straight away or in an abstract way and delve into the core of the story without relvealing too much.

The first few minutes can do many different things, it can either draw us into the film immediately or lead us away giving us a negative view for the rest of the film. So it is immensely important that the first few minutes are the most effective as they function as a key to the rest of the film.

I have taken all these considerations into account and will be definately carrying them forward to help me and my group create effective and successfull opening credits that achieve all these criterias.

Preliminary Film

This is our complete Preliminary Exercise. We imported the raw footage on the DV tape onto the macs and began editting using imovie. I thought this was going to be rather difficult but suprisingly we managed to complete it within around half an hour which we were very happy about.

Whilst filming we had to film the task several times from different angles so that we were able to include different shots. So, during the editting process we used different parts from each shot and merged them together to produce a complete video consisting of the different angled shots.

This was rather tricky as at times during a few shots we were corpsing! Therefore, we had to delete the unwanted parts and replace them using the same footage from another shot. This is why it is so important to film more rather than less footage and so that it is easier to edit afterwards. We kept previewing our clips to ensure that it runs smoothly and looks like one whole shot rather than several different ones.

During my first experience of editting my own footage I learnt a few things that will help me when filming my opening two minute film. One of which that we certainly need to film more footage rather than less so that we do not have problems when editting and finding mistakes then realising that we only filmed that part once. Also, that during edditing the idea of continuity is extremely important because if it is no portrayed correctly as real life time then the video looses the idea of realism.

Preliminary task script

(Neelam is sitting on a chair at a table waiting for Sophie to arrive and Sophie walks into the room sits in the opposite chair at the same table and put her feet up on the table and begins to text on her mobile phone).

Neelam:Hello Sophie.

Sophie:Alright miss?

Neelam:Yeah, how are you today?

Sophie:Yeah, alright.

Neelam:Well, we are here to discuss your grades , I'm afraid that you are currently failing in all your subjects and if you continue to go on like this then you will not be able to continue and study for A2 level.

Sophie:Yeah and..? Whatever I don't care.

Neelam:This is not the attitude to take you...

(Sophie's mobile phone rings and she answers).

Sophie:Hey Ricky, you alright? Yeah, that party was wicked last night innit!

Neelam:Excuse me..

Sophie:Umm..don't you know it's rude to interrupt.

Preliminary Task-Lesson 2

My group finally managed to film our exercise today and as well as the over the shoulder, two and long shots we also included a pan shot follow shot following the long shot and a point of view shot of the mobile phone ringing. The whole task went reasonably well after overcoming the laughter and incorrect dialogue.

Following my group groups 3 4 and 5 managed to film their exercises completely. Group 3 sang the opening theme tune words to Spongebob Squarepants which was rather amusing and took a while to complete because the class were laughing. Group 4 had a general everyday conversation between two friends and had a touch of drama to it which was different and enjoyable to watch.Lastly, group 5 were having a verbal arguement over boyfriends which was quite amusing and took longer than the last group to film but they completed it in the end.

During this lesson, i learnt that the comedy scripts take the longest to film as they require several takes because everyone finds them funny.and ends up laughing which spoils the filming. Also, that during my shot i had to keep my dialogue and posture/body language exactly the same throughout all four shots otherwise it would not show consistency.

Next lesson we will film the one remaining group and for the rest of the lesson we will be editing our task using imovie and start piecing it together which i am looking forward to.

Preliminary Task-Lesson 1

As part of our two minute film opening coursework a preliminary exercise is required and we embarked on this in todays lesson. The preliminary task consists of four shots; a long shot when entering the room throught the door, a two shot to show a conversation between two people taking into account the 180 degree rule so that the viewer is not confused and two over the shoulder shots to establish that a conversation is taking place between two people and they are not just talkin to the camera.

The first group began their exercise saying the song lyrics to "You got to be starting something".They managed to complete most of their task successfully but encountered a few problems for example; giggling amongst the class and noise outside the classroom. However, they managed to overcome these problems and filmed and completed their preliminary task successfully. We also identified the fact that around 15 takes were required to complete the task and they had to repeat their script four times so that we are able to edit the video afterwards and insert the four different shots.

Then my group began to film and we started to film the two shot, we giggled during the conversation at first as did the class so we had to do several takes. After a few takes, we managed to film most of the conversation successfully but towards the end the script included a mobile phone ringing which was a slight problem as we tried the student being filmed to play it on her phone but we realised it looked false and so decided to make another student ring the mobile phone but problems also arised this way as it was difficult timing it right so that it rings at the correct time according to the script. Therefore we only managed to complete one out of our four tasks completely as we ran out of tim

From this lesson i learnt that if we were to continue filming from this lesson onto next lesson we would have to have the exact same clothing, hair style, make up etc and this would be too complicated and if we were to differ it in any way it would not show consistency and would confuse the viewer.So we have decided to start again from the start next lesson and hopefully we will be able to complete it and see other groups too.

Camera Shots analysis on Casino Royale opening

There are several different camera shot angles used in the opening of Casino Royale to show different meanings. The first camera shot used is a wide shot as it includes a crowd of people and the intention is to focus on the character that recieves a telephone call so that it becomes immediately apparent to the audience which character is the main focus. The next shot is a point of view shot because it films the text message recieved being looked at from the characters point of view, this effects the viewer as it enhances their understanding of the text as they are viewing it from the characters view.

The next shot used is a close up to show the characters feelings and emotions towards the text. Then many medium shots are used to show the character in detail whilst still focusing on the main subject. A low angle shot is used when the character jumps from one place to another to show the extent of the jump. After this an ariel shot is included to show a crowd of people and toemphasise the large number of people present. It is also used to emphasise the how rapid the chase is.

Pan shot follows are included to show the continuation of the chase as it follows the chase across several different locations and keeps the viewer engaged.Long shots are also used to show the full body movement during the chase to have a bigger impact on the audience and keep them engaged and make them feel involved. During the chase there are also many point of view shots to show what the characters are seeing from different perspectives.

There is an explosion and this is included as a high angle shot so that the character is percieved as powerless against the explosion.Low shots and pan shot follows are used when the chase is on the scaffolding to follow the characters' movements during the chase. A pan shot is also used to set the location of the chase on the scaffolding which is surrounded by a picturesque beach view. Followed by this is a zoom because the camera moves nearer to the characters to focus on their movements in detail.

Thriller and Chick flick genre

Thriller films are types of films known to promote intense excitement, suspense and tension. A thriller film pursues a single minded goal to provide thrills and to keep the viewer cliffhanging as the plot builds towards a climax.
The tension ususally arises when the main character is placed in a menacing situation or mystery, or an escape or dangerous mission from which escape seems impossible.Plots of thrillers involve characters which come into conflict with each other-the menace is sometimes abstract ot shadowy.
Within the genre thriller there are many different types for example, suspense thrillers(Taken),sci-fi thrillers(Alien), crime-caper thrillers(The french connection), western thrillers(High noon), film-noir thrillers(Double indemnity) and romantic comedy thrillers(Safety Last).


Chick flick films sometimes known as romantic comedies is slang for a type of film asually aimed at a female audience. They usually consist of heavy emotions and themes that are relationship based, they are also commonly known for being melodramatic and soap-opera-ish. Most chick flick films are light hearted and comical, but sometimes some suspense films fall under this genre for example, What lies beneath.
They also consist of mis matched lovers, female relationships, family crisis', empowered females and female bonding situations.

Casino Royale Part 1

http://

I decided to choose the opening scene of Casino Royale because of the immense action that takes place alongside the numeorus different camera angle shots that are included. The scene begins with a character recieving a text message reading 'Ellipsis', this springs questions to the audiences mind as to what this might mean as the real meaning is ... so this grabs their attention making them want to continue watching.

A different character is then brought into the perspective and is involved in a phone conversation with the main actor-Daniel Craig who then informs him of some information regarding the first character. Whilst this events are happening, there are different camera shot angles being used, for example wide shot to show the vast crowd of people and close ups to portray the characters' emotions.

Then, they both acknowledge each other and from this precise moment the action begins with a rapid chase through palm trees, on scaffolding with a picturesque ocean background view which then leads to an area filled with armed men.

The chase consists of a variety of different camera shot angles including long shots to show the maximum body movement and a 90 degrees turn to show the height at which they are fighting to enforce the idea of their lives being in danger.

Throughout the chase, the camera focuses on Daniel Craig several times with close up shots to show his determination to catch his opponent. This makes the audience knowledgeable of the importance of the chase because of the dangerous and risky stunts involved and encourages them to continue watching to find out the reason for this chase.

The dramatic music also contributes to the intensity of the chase and fight.

When faced against numerous soldiers armed with guns and with his enemy in his hands, Daniel Craig manages to blow up the area causing an explosion, the effects used in this explosion are astounding and of high quality.This results in him being landed with what he wanted-the enemy's bag.

In this bag he makes a shocking discovery as he finds bombs and the text message reading 'Ellipsis', this hooks the reader even more as they know want to know what 'Ellipsis' means so they will continue watching.