BS: Title Sequence

for out title sequence our group have decided to overlay our titles over a dark background whilst our protagonist Neil is driving home. This title sequence from "Evil Dead" (Fede Alvarez) is similar to what we hope to achieve from our opening sequence, although not in a car does show the contrast with red titles on a black background. this is something we want to achieve with the typical red and black combination to connote evil, blood and horror.

 

 

Evil Dead (Alvarez, 2013)

TIME	SHOT EFFECT	RELEVANCE
0.04 – 0.08	Red and black contrast	The same colour scheme we plan to use
0.22 – 0.24	Titles placed around what is happening	We will need to place our titles around the car as it moves
0.35 – 0.39	Red titles along with other red focal point	We plan to use our titles whilst Neil is driving home, in this scene he will be illuminated by a red light
1.08 – 1.14	Scenes of violence and gore whilst showing the titles	Whilst the titles are on screen we see Mary being beaten up violently by the villains
Throughout	Cutting to different scenes	We will be running parallel lines of action from Neil driving and Mary being beaten up by the villains

GROUP: Audience Feedback - Treatment

our group created a survey which included questions relating to the film industry; in particular the genre of Horror.

our first question was: How old are you? in response to this we found that 100% of the people that participated in our questionnaire were aged between 11 and 18. this was expected as our target audience for our horror scene opening was 15-24.

the next question we asked was: Are you male or female? this revealed that 88.89% of the people that took part in answering our questionnaire were male, this again is what we had anticipated as the target audience for horror are typically male. But also revealed to us that there is some female interest with 11.11% female participants in our survey.

next we asked How frequently do you go to the cinema? we asked this question to find out our audiences interest in newly released films. in response to this we found that 88.89% of the survey participants visit the cinema once a month, and the remaining 11.11% visited the cinema only once a year.

to follow we then asked: how frequently do you watch horror films? we found that 5 out of 8 survey participants watched horror films on average once every 2 months. we think that this is positive feedback and shows good interest in our chosen genre of horror. the remaining 3 participants responded that they very rarely watch horror films, this revealed that the majority of our audience watch horror films regularly.

what do you expect to see in a horror film? in response to this we found that 5 of the responses were positive in relation to our horror opening as they said thing that we have included, for example groups of villains and scenes that give the audience chills. the remaining 3 responses we are not able to include in our opening as they do not relate to our genre or to the look and style we are trying to achieve, an example is scenes of nudity.

we then asked a similar question which was: what do you like about horror films? four of the responses to this question related to building suspense, or being frightened. this is exactly the response we hoped for as this is a key part of our opening sequence, and a feeling we really tried to achieve within the opening couple of minutes.

in response to posting our treatment and asking does this sound like a film you would go to the cinema and watch? 37.5% of the feedback revealed they might watch the film, and a further 25% said they would watch our opening and 25% said they definitely would watch our film. this was extremely positive as only 12.5% of the feedback revealed they would not watch our film.

overall we found the survey extremely positive and helpful for our group. it revealed in most parts that we are targeting the correct audience and are including the correct material for our opening. the most positive feedback was from our treatment, it revealed that it sounded interesting and something our audience would watch before we started to shoot our footage.

GROUP: Shoot 2 - Ben's House (Callsheet and Risk Assessment)

 

Before going on our shoot on Saturday we put together a call sheet based on our story board, we discussed timing and organisation and decided that we would film all the shots that are set within the house first so that we wouldn't have to keep moving equipment in and out of the set.

 

We also listed the props and equipment we needed so that when it came to leaving go to the set nothing would be left alone.

 

We then prepared a risk assessment and discusses some hazards and complications that we may come across whilst filming and thought of way these could be avoided or tackled.

CF: Feedback 2

Ben / Max / Ben
Well done on an excellent concept development so far; your pitch is well considered and informed by research, effective use of Prezi to visually represent your ideas.  Your prop design is brilliant - absolutely terrifying!  Your first shoot was very effective and as with all your previous tasks, you have been reflective of the technical strengths and weaknesses. I'm glad to see Ben's ideas on titles posted; this was missing from the pitch and needs to be put onto your animatic.
On viewing the animatic, you should consider the positioning of the titles; having the main title at the end does look a little like a trailer.  It would be a good idea to add titles to animatic and post another draft.

In terms of planning, you have all submitted level 4 work; technical analysis most recently are detailed and reflective.  Your practical work produced so far is of a very high quality technically, so you are working steadily towards an A. However Max and Ben S, there are some missing aspects from you both.  You need to do the title analysis from last week and Max I can't see your second film analysis from last term. Both of you are also absent from the blog since Christmas; although the group posts are there,  I would expect to see individual posts showing your contributions to aspects of planning / filming too.   Can you also post audience research with results analysis.

Ben Sinden - I appreciate you have been absent due to illness;  see me on your return for strategies for you to catch up.

BBK: Title Sequence

For our title sequence we have decided to overlay our titles over the first shots of the first line of action which is taking place inside the car with Neil Peck (William Key) our protagonist, this sequence will involve Neil being illuminated in a bright red light with a high contrast between him and the surround darkness, we have decided to use this darkness around Neil to place our titles, this way our titles will be clear and sharp with the contrasting white font on a black background.

An example of this use of darkness to overlay our titles can be seen in the opening sequence to the 2013 remake of "Evil Dead" (Fede Alverez), although not a driving sequence as we will be doing this sequence depicts the splatter of blood coming from the darkness creating a mix of red and black which will be seen in the style of our opening.

 



Along with this we have taken a lot of inspiration from the opening sequence of "Funny Games" (2007 Haneke) as not only is this also a home invasion/psychological horror but the opening also includes a driving sequence.

Like "Funny Games" we are using asynchronous sound to make the audience feel uncomfortable from the outset of the film, however what we found that was distracting was how the titles continued to cover the faces of  cast , although this is incredibly effective for the main title when anchored with the non-diegetic soundtrack but we felt that the rest of our titles should be placed around character blocking in order to make them more effective.    

 



 

GROUP: Shoot 1 - Fackenden Lane (Callsheet)

 

Our shoot on the 18th was extremely helpful giving us an opportunity to experience what it will be like to film in dark conditions and organising time whilst filming along with experimenting filming within a moving vehicle.

 

Although we were able to gain some good shots which we may be able to use for our final piece some technical difficulties with the camera meant that the length of our shots were dramatically shorter than we would have liked and the class of our SD card was not to the standard we were hoping for.

 

Because of this we have purchased a class ten SD card and using the experience and organisation we learnt from our first shoot we have organized a second shoot where we will be able to improve the quality of our shots.


 

GROUP: Storyboard and Animatic

This is the final cut of the animatic for our production piece. We as a group believe that we are able to carry out all the shots necessary and make our horror opening worth while and entertaining for the audience in question. Also included are the original storyboard frames for closer examination of the step by step shots we will capture.

 

 

 

 

 



BBK: Masks

We decided to mask our antagonists in order to make them appear more hostile and add a sense of mystery to the plot.

We took inspiration from masks from other horror movies such as those from "The Strangers" and the mask worn by Hannibal in "Silence of the Lambs" as well as more recent films such as "You're Next". Through experimentation and design came up with the three masks below.

We wanted the masks to cover the whole face but to have their basic layer as white as this will allow their faces to be more visible in darker conditions as well as adding a pale, soulless representation.

Then by using matches, we burned and melted the masks out of shape so that they appear distorted, appealing to the "uncanny valley" affect that is known to make the audience uncomfortable.

We then added Spray paint put only the use of red and black as these colours connote mourning and death along with the resemblance of blood.

Finally to make each mask unique and identifiable to the audience as a different character a different design was added to each with an added detail such as the mouth being sown up on one and staples being used to hold another together.



 

 

 

 

 

GROUP: Film Schedule Update

Due to complications with filming dates, we have updated our filming schedule so as to allow all members of the group to be present while filming.

Shots	Location	Date/Time
Practice Shoot: Protagonist (Neil Peck) Driving sequence. (First line of action)	Fackenden Lane, Sevenoaks Kent	Saturday 18th January 17:00-
Protagonist (Neil Peck) Driving sequence (First line of action)	Fackenden Lane, Sevenoaks	Friday 24th January/Sunday 26th January 19:00-?
Supporting Role (Mary Peck) kidnapping and home invasion (Second line of action)	Ben. S’s House (Summerhill, Goudhurst, Kent)	Saturday 25th January 18:00-20:00
Neil discovers Mary and aftermath of the home invasion as he arrives home	Ben. S’s House (Summerhill, Goudhurst, Kent)	Saturday 25th January 20:00-?

GROUP: Filming Schedule

This is the filming schedule we have planned for out shoot:

 

Shots	Location	Date/Time
Protagonist (Neil Peck) Driving sequence. (First line of action)	Fackenden Lane, Sevenoaks Kent	Saturday 18th January 17:00-
Supporting Role (Mary Peck) kidnapping and home invasion (Second line of action)	Ben. S’s House (Summerhill, Goudhurst, Kent)	Saturday 25th January 18:00-20:00
Neil discovers Mary and aftermath of the home invasion as he arrives home	Ben. S’s House (Summerhill, Goudhurst, Kent)	Saturday 25th January 20:00-?

 

For Neil's driving sequence we have decided to film as soon as possible as it will probably take the shortest amount of time and can.

The home invasion scenes have been postponed due to scheduling difficulties as not all of us can attend this weekend at Ben's house and so we have decided to film next Saturday.

GROUP: Production Pitch Feedback

 

This is our pitch for our production piece "Faceless" which we presented to the class along with the teachers in order to gain feedback.

 

Feedback 

 

We took the audience through each aspect of the opening we want to achieve and how our research led us to these products.

Upon delivery of the pitch we handed over to the audience in order for them to make any comments or any questions about the opening. We were glad to hear most of the feedback was positive as people specifically commented on how they liked the art house, independent style we were going for and the opinion that it will be 'scary'.

 

Another point that was mentioned was how the audience liked our idea of positive music playing over scenes of violence as inspired by films such as 'Reservoir Dogs' and 'American Psycho' as the teachers felt this could be very effective not only at building tension but showing the audience that the two events that are being shown in the parallel lines of  are happening simultaneously by having the non-diegetic soundtrack from the car running over the other line of action in the house.

BBK: Location Reccie Risk Assessment

You need to consider all the potential risks at each location shoot and outline how you will work to prevent any accident or injury to you, your cast or the equipment.

Location	What’s the hazard?	Who/what might be harmed?	How will you reduce the risk?	Signed
Fackenden Lane	Road Safety: Stopping and starting a car on a dark, country lane may present a hazard for ourselves and other drivers	All cast and crew must be aware of other cars around them and the car we are using	Making sure no other cars are present before shooing and warning people in local houses that we are shooting	JF, CF, KJ
Fackenden Lane	Filming at night: lack of visibility could present a hazard	Cast and crew should use lighting at all times when moving and be aware of their surrounding before shooting	Using torches and lighting at all times and surveying the area before a shoot	JF, CF, KJ
Fackenden Woodland	Trip hazards: When shooting from the woodland surrounding the lane trip hazards from fallen trees or ditches may be present	Any cast and crew could be at risk especially a cameraman	Surveying all shooting areas with lighting before a shoot begins	JF, CF, KJ
Fackenden Lane	Weather conditions: When not shooting from inside the vehicle wet conditions may be hazardous	Wet conditions could put the equipment at risk of being damaged	Equipment bags and carry cases for equipment and planning shoots on day with good forecasts	JF, CF, KJ