Production Diary Entry - 27/02/13

If at First You Don't Succeed

Today we continued editing our opening sequence. Whilst editing we realised that the footage of the scene we shot at the beach can't be used because continuity between the shots is out, mainly because of background sound and the position of our characters changing too noticeably.
We decided as a group it would be better to film the beach scene rather than leave the footage as it is, and luckily our footage of the woods is good so we'll only have to redo this part.
Because of this, we spent part of the lesson trying to rearrange a time to shoot the scene whilst switching places between working on editing the woods footage, working on our blogs and creating a shot list so we can ensure that we have enough high quality footage when we come to film again.
We've managed to arrange it so we can have roughly 5/6 extras on the set, as well as the two main characters. This is more than we could get last time which should help to create a more realistic party/gathering setting than we were going for in our original shoot. We've arranged to shoot on Sunday 2nd March because this leaves us enough time to edit the footage for our rough cut, as well as it being the only day when everyone is available to help out.
As far as editing the sequence has gone, we've finished a basic edit of the woods scene. I pieced the footage together and then Chloe and Shani cut the footage to further the continuity and started editing the sound, making it more even throughout. For now we've left parts of it blank because we originally planned to intertwine parts of the woods scene with the beach, but we can add those in on a later date.
At the moment we're arranging specific times to meet everyone on Sunday, and arranging the props. One thing we have to do is on sunday myself and Beth (who plays Amber) have to remember to wear the same clothes to ensure the continuity between the woods scene and the beach.
Hopefully the footage from the beach will turn out okay and we can finish editing in time for the rough cut deadline.

Production Diary Entry - 25/02/13

Filters, Cross Dissolves and Photoshop

Today we uploaded the footage we shot on Saturday, looking through and selecting favourite on sections of the clips on final cut to use in our sequence. We have really good footage of the woods scene, which means that we should be able to get really good continuity when we come to putting out footage together. When we come to making our rough cut for this scene we will add a filter through to dim the lighting, giving the appearance that the whole thing happened later than when we filmed it. One or two of the shots are out of focus slightly, but this isn't too noticeable and these shots probably won't be used anyway. We have a good variety of shots with good camera work for the woods part of our sequence, so hopefully it should turn out well in the final edit once we add in the effects and sound.
For the scene on the beach some of the shots have background sound that's going to be difficult to get the continuity of the group, and in a lot of cases the shots are too different to each other which further adds to the problem of continuity.
We talked to our teacher Michelle about creating a camera record effect, so the audience can tell the difference between what footage is the professional recording and which is meant to look like it's being filmed by the characters in the sequence. She said that to create this effect, we can either find or create our own version of the image we're looking for and layer it over the top in the edit. When we get our all of our footage in a rough edit we can start thinking about this, as well as any filters and cross dissolves.

Something like this to go over the shots 'recorded' by the characters

At the moment we're talking about re-filming this part of our sequence so we can get good continuity throughout our sequence and not just the woods scene, but we'll discuss this further on wednesday when we come to put the footage together, in case we're able to use it okay after all.

Production Diary Entry - 23/02/13

Lights, Cameras, Action!

Today was the day we finally went out filming for our opening sequence, and it's fair to say we had a few dilemma's along the way but luckily we managed to overcome them and everything went okay.
The girl who was supposed to be playing 'Amber' had to cancel last minute, as did a few of our extras but luckily we were able to find someone to replace our main character and the group stepped in as extras instead. Because of this we went straight from Worlebury woods to sandbay which saved us some time.
It took quite a long time to get to our first location but once we got there we were quite professional in setting up and getting the shots we needed, as well as more just in case. We tried to make sure we got a good variety of shots (close ups, long shots, etc) which would make our sequence more interesting.
Then we went to our beach location at Sandbay and started to set up. One problem we encountered was trying to build a decent fire. We managed to get one started eventually but it took up a large amount of time and we had to rush part of filming that scene to make sure we had everything. On this part of our sequence we were probably less well planned than for the woods scene, and I don't think we filmed as much as we could have because the camera battery has run out near the end so we didn't have a chance to film more. Hopefully we have enough to make the sequence, if not we'll have to think about filming that part again.
One thing that really went well with our filming was our planning in the woods scene, we got a lot of shots and worked really well with each other, taking turns filming and each helping to get decent shots and putting forward last minute ideas.
Beforehand we were all really prepared and brought with us everything that we needed to bring on the day, and all of us stuck to a time limit fairly well at the beginning of the shoot.
However one thing we could improve on the next time we go out on a shoot is to plan a little bit more, just so we plan for extra time in case we run a little bit behind, and to make sure that we know everything we're meant to shoot and stick to that plan.
To improve for next time we could also give a little bit more direction to our actors so we can get them to do exactly what we need them to and they're not left guessing at points (this was more the case in the beach scene than the woods).
Overall I think it was a good shoot, we only encountered a few problems but managed to overcome them fairly easily. We got a lot of footage for parts of our sequence, although next time we need to plan a little bit more and try to keep our focus going throughout the day.
Our next step is editing to create a rough cut and in that stage we'll be able to see if any of our footage needs to be redone.

The Animatic

 

Shooting Schedule

We decided to film on Saturday 23rd February because basically, it's the most convenient day to film for all of us (including our extras), but it also gives us enough time to get all the shots we need as well extra ones just in case.
One of the most important things about this was the weather; using the Met Office website we were able to look at the weather for Saturday to make sure it won't rain, and luckily it's not due to rain that day. Or at least we hope it won't rain - we are filming in England, so luck is sort of against us on this one

By using the Met Office website again, we were also able to check what time the sun would set, which hopefully will allow us to get there in the right amount of time so we can set up on the beach and film before it goes completely pitch black.

THE PLAN

Our first location will be Worlebury Woods. This is because it won't be as obvious if we film this part earlier in the day, because it's fairly built up and so not as light. We can also darken the lighting in editing later if there's a problem.

We'll then travel to town to meet the extras before going to Sandbay, which is about a 20 minute bus ride away. We aim to get there about an hour before the sun is due to set, giving us enough time to film about a minutes worth of the footage that takes place on the beach.

Below is are clearer times of what we are going to film and when

Production Diary Entry - 18/02/13

Whatever You Do, Don't Forget The Camera

Today my group planned the details for our shoot, deciding on the date and times for filming which will be in a post when we confirm everything later. We also finalised the props that we need, and divided up certain props so we're each in charge of bringing certain things. I'm bringing the fake blood, guitar, a prop camera (which we're hopefully going to film some behind the scene type stuff on), a torch and some stuff to make the fire.
We also contacted the extras for the beach scene and checked that they were all available on the filming date. Unfortunately some of them were busy on the day we decided but luckily we still have enough people to make it look like a realistic teenage gathering. Although we don't have many boys to star anymore but this shouldn't be too much of an issue.
For our main characters we decided that I'm going to be playing Evelyn, our friend Daisy is playing Amber and another friend Jake will be the killer (although this doesn't matter as much because the killers face is never shown to add suspense)

Shot List

The Storyboard

The Location

As a group, we decided that the best place to film the beach scene would be Sandbay, as it's fairly secluded and has a woods right by it, which is the perfect setting for our thriller opening sequence. After walking round the beach, we found a spot that was sheltered on one side by the trees with the beach on the other side of it.

When we come to film we'll set the group up around the fire, facing away from the woods. We'll have to be careful to film from certain angles, as in the background there is a road and at another angle to the left you can see a car park. Luckily as we're planning to film in the afternoon/early evening this shouldn't be a problem as there aren't many cars that go past which would ruin the secluded and isolated feeling we're trying to create.

One issue we realised when we got there was that there is quite a lot of wind, which shouldn't affect the shots too much as bad weather is one of the classic conventions of a thriller. However the wind and the sound of the sea is likely to affect the natural sound and dialogue of the characters chatting to each other in the background, as well as the music and the guitar in the shots. In the area we chose to use (shown above) the wind wasn't too bad as it's stopped mostly by the trees. Also, as we're planning to have mostly mid shots and close ups hopefully are characters will be heard. When it comes to filming and editing we're going to see if we can find a way to enhance the sound incase the noise on the beach does become an issue.

Below is a quick test footage so we could see what the sound would be like when filming, as well as giving us the ability to see what the area would look like on film.

This was shot on a Fujifilm Finepix S4000

We then looked for our second location to film for the end part of our opening sequence. We decided to look at the woods by Sandbay, as being right by our first location it would be the easiest place to film. However we couldn't find a part of the woods that wasn't near the road, was flat enough to film, or was built up enough to create the isolated feel that we wanted for our film, creating the effect that no one can rescue the character and that they are entirely on their own.  

Because of this we decided to use another location for the woods. To make it seem like the other woods  is the one behind the beach we plan to use shots from both woods, matching the shots of the Sandbay woods with our other location so it doesn't seem obvious they are different places completely. To help this we plan to get audio of the natural sound from the woods near Sandbay and gradually fade it out of the shots from the location, creating an eerie silence for the final part of our opening sequence.

Our Second location is Worlebury Woods. This is better than Sandbay Woods because it's denser and creates the isolated and secluded feel much better than Sandbay. It's also the perfect location for the woods scene because it's a lot flatter as a whole, and there's a lot less background noise, which again build up that eerie sense we were trying to create.

As for the specific place in the woods to film the scene, we decided it would be better to find this on the actual day of filming, as there are a lot of place in the woods that would be perfect, but it's such a big woods that even if we did find a specific place the chances are we won't be able to find it again.

Pictures from Sandbay

Props and Costumes

Props

• Fake Blood - This is for Evelyn at the end of the sequence, although we won't show violence in the actual sequence, the fake blood will help to create the idea that her death was horrific, violent and gruesome
• Logs/Blankets - We'll use either logs or blankets for the group to sit around the fire
• Fake Knife/Weapon - This is for the killer to use on the shot where they walk up to Evelyn as she crawls away
• Cans/Plastic Cups - For the group to use in order to create the effects of a typical teenage party
• Cameras (x3) - These will be used by the group 
• Guitar - Evelyn uses this at the beginning of the sequence, but later gives this to an unnamed character in the background of a shot, so it doesn't seem obvious that she's walked away from the group
• Speakers - To play music in the background of the party, like the plastic cups and cans this creates the idea of a typical teenage party

On the day we'll also have to bring something in order to make the fire, although these things won't be shown in the actual sequence

Costumes

The main characters and the extras in the background will all be wearing casual, everyday clothing such as T-shirts, jeans, shorts, etc. These costumes have the connotations that the group are just typical teenagers, and by wearing similar types of clothing each it makes sure that none of them stand out to a degree that they no longer look like they belong as part of the group. By making them look average, it makes the plot more realistic, creating the impression that their situation could happen to anyone, including the average audience member.

Title Sequence

As mentioned in my analysis of the title sequence of Cirque du Freak, the point of a title sequence is to introduce elements of the plot, show the genre and to tell the audience the above the line and below the line talent in the film. It also sets the mood, tone and pace for the rest of the film, as does the opening sequence. A good title sequence needs to be relevant to the film, and visually engaging enough that the audience want to watch the film.

For our title sequence we wanted to create the idea of a police investigation into the death of the character 'Evelyn' in the opening sequence. We decided that our title sequence would play separately at the end of the opening sequence, creating an graphic match of the last shot in the opening sequence of a dead body on the floor of the woods, fading into the same picture of the body on the backing of a police investigation file. We then decided the rest of the cast and characters would be shown as suspects, their pictures showing up as though they were in a line up with their names appearing underneath. This relates to the film as throughout the characters are trying to find out who the killer is, and the idea of a police investigation matches this. 

By using http://www.dafont.com to find a wider variety of fonts, I looked for one that would be best suited for our film that I could use in our title sequence. As our film is a thriller, and we wanted the idea of an investigation I looked at font that looked fairly blotchy and like it was from a typewriter as I felt that it matched the theme of our sequence, matching the idea of the police case files and at the same time looked official.