Planning for Thursday 29th November

Tomorrow, we are planning to film some of the end shots of our opening sequence, the section with the girl jogging.
I will make sure that any sounds are recorded well. It will be difficult as the weather plans to be quite windy. I may be able to record the heavy breathing of the girl who is jogging inside and add this into the clip when editing the sound. Sound effects such as breathing are often exaggerated in horror movies so this will work well. I will also be involved with the acting.
Molly will be in charge of filming this section, Cristi is preparing the costumes and props and Beth is acting in the section we are planning to film.

Our Production Company Logo Clip

Film Company

New Line Cinema company have published many famous horror films such as Fright Night and Nightmare on Elm Street. My group and I have been inspired by a lot of these horror films that New Line Cinema have brought to our screens and we therefore decided that because the genre we are aiming for is horror that our film would suit the type of films that New Line Cinema company publish.

Production Context

Films of the same genre as the film opening my group and I are creating have the help from many publishing companies and distributors. One example of a film production company is 'FilmDistrict' who as well as producing films, have financed films also. One of the most famous films that FilmDistrict have produced is Insidious. They are a modern film company and have worked on many horror films that are planned to be released next year. This production company is a good model of the company my group are aiming for because it is a newer company yet has already gained success in the world of horror film.


Films also have distrabutors to share the films around the world. 'Momentum Pictures' has shared many films such as 'The King's Speech', 'The Lucky Ones' and horror movies like 'The Woman In Black' to the UK's cinemas and home DVDs. It is important that the film idea we create has an example of a well known distrabutor to aim for so that our film opening is professional.

Sound Research

The feeling that we want to give to the audience in our film opening can be created through sound. I experimented with sound techniques with the help of Beth. I recorded her voice in order to practise recording for the news report in the film opening. I also recorded some sound effects such as the rustling of bushes and knocking on the door. Sound effects are commonly used in the horror genre. Our film opening is planned to be of a horror genre and therefore it was important to have some practise creating sound before the production of our film opening began.
Our film opening needs to make the audience feel uneasy as it is of a horror genre so I researched for some uncopyrighted music to use in the film opening that would create this feeling. I successfully found a piece of music called 'black widow' that the rest of my group also found suitable for our film opening.

Storyboard

 

This is our storyboard. We have written the time of each shot to help during the filming and editing process. There is also text to give more detail about the type of camera shot we are planning to use when filming each section. During future filming and editing, we may find faults with our storyboard and may need to adjust the timing of clips or the order of the shots but overall, the storyboard is a good example of what me and my group are aiming for. 

Inspiration For Our Opening Film Sequence

Some inspiration for our opening sequence came from the film 'Scream' and that sequence of films where there are many killings in the same area. There are many shots in 'Scream' and its sequals where the killer is behind the girl in the shot (which can be seen in the picture below). This type of film shot will be perfect for the ideas in our opening as they create tension for the audience. The main difference our film opening will have compared to 'Scream' is that we would prefer to try and make our film more dark and mysterious, certainly avoiding all commical elements.

I read websites such as the following link that is about the five best horror film openings in order to gain inspiration and further idea. "When A Stranger Calls" is on the lists and includes a babysitter, just like our film idea. Our research supports the ideas we have for the film treatment and has given us ideas of the conventions of a horror film opening.

http://colonelmortimer.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/5-great-horror-movie-opening-scenes.html


Film Treatment

Holly's parents chose a bad night to leave her babysitting. A news report announces that a girl in her area has been murdered, the killer is still out on the loose. Holly, home alone at night begins to feel uneasy but forgets about this news as she checks on the baby sleeping and runs a bath. The perfect oppertunity for someone to enter the house downstairs. A figure is watching Holly, follows the sound of her movement to the bathroom. She is the second girl to die that night. Jane, deciding to go for a jog and the newsreport of a second killing is shown as she turns ths tv off. The film follows Jane as she tries to escape, not willing to be the third girl to die that night.

Main Production Task

 Dan (me), Mollie, Critsti and Beth

This is my group of people who I will work with to create an opening sequence.

I am interested in the sound. Our idea is a horror film which will allow me to experiment and use lots of sound effect to help make the opening sequence uneasy. The idea of the news report voice over introducing and unsettling horror genre has excited our group and I will hopefully be able to succeed in doing this.  I also would like to do some of the editing as it is in my interest that the film runs in a professional way.

Mollie would like to concentrate mostly on the filming as she has had practice with skills required to film and they have worked very well.

Cristi is very creative so will have good ideas for the mise en scene. Her creativity will not only help with costumes and make-up but will also be useful when editing the film as she will be able to tell what looks good visually.

Beth will take most control with editing as she has had practise with editing skills and has done this to a good standard.