Sound

I am trying to research some background sounds that I could use from the beggining of the scene to the part where the victim's father unlocks the door.

Some links to sounds that I may use:
 https://freesound.org/people/FreddyFool/sounds/176182/

 https://freesound.org/people/rodincoil/sounds/271187/

https://freesound.org/people/tradeshowmusic/sounds/136721/


The Part where the father gets into the car till the end of the opening including all the titles at the end I am planning on using this instrumental/ Kareoke version of the song 'Blood On The Leaves' because I think that it adds to the fact that the film is a thriller because it sounds really creepy at the beginning and because you would hear someone say blood on the leaves it kind of goes with the situation of the scene because you would see the victim's dead body.

I have managed to ask the uploader of this instrumental if I could use his song on my project and he replied saying that I could use it as long as I give him credit for it. The uploader's name is  Gleb Krykov

 If I am not going to use this song at the end of my opening my alternative decision would be, to use sound effects of police sirens at the very end of the opening where the title "Afraid" appears.

https://freesound.org/people/drewkelly/sounds/117181/



Editing 2

I have managed to re do the scenes that I wanted to re do and I have managed to edit them on the editing program Premier pro, I have also managed to edit the short inserts of the bath scene into the scene where the victim's father is getting into the car and the scene where there is the tilt up of the MM's legs. I have decided to add a black and white effect to the bath scene to make it look different and to add suspense. I also have added some basic titles with some examples of peoples names that I was going to add for the final piece. I haven't added any special sound effects to the draft because I haven't yet looked up any sound effects that I could add. 

Draft #1 and opinions

This is my first draft for my opening scene there is no sound effects in it because I haven't looked at any sound yet. I have added some basic quick titles for it with examples of names that I am going to use for my final piece. 



Audience opinions:
I have asked the same several people about their opinion of the draft.
I asked:
What did you like about it?
What you didn't like about it?
What could be improved?

In general, people said that they like the close ups of the shoes the father puts on, close up and the sound of the keys and the inserts at the end. They said that they didn't like the fact that there was no background music and that it was silent when the titles came up, they suggested that I could add the titles at the beginning instead. They also suggested that the title font and the sie of the titles could be a bit bigger.

Filming day 3 +4

 Pre filming:
I will take the school's camera again on the 1st of December so that I can re do the MM shot this time with the tilt upwards technique to add suspense and to change the shoes that the MM is wearing. I will return the camera back on the 2nd.

Post filming update:
I managed to get the right shot of the MM and I also managed to change the MM's shoes.

Editing1

I have started to edit my work, I first uploaded all the shots that I took on my folder and then I named my shots so that I would be able to recognise them whilst I am editing. I will be using Adobe Premiere Pro to edit my work and then I will put the shots that I wanted in order following the storyboard.  I had to change a few things because whilst re watching the shots that I took I realised that the Victim's scene in the bed looks really dark and grainy which means that I have to re do the victim's scene again. I also thought of adding a POV shot of the phone that the victim holds. I also didn't like that shot of the MM legs so I will re do that as well, I want to redo that because I wasn't happy with the costume and the camera angle.

Filming day 2

Pre filming:

Today I am hoping to film the victim's scene which is the pan right and left of the bed, the close up of the victim checking her phone and the high angle of the victim laying dead in the bath tub.

Post filming update:

I managed to film everything that I said that I was going to film. I also had a new idea that the victim would respond to her dad when he wishes her a good day with the response of "you too" I had to redo that scene 3 or 4 times to get the actual shot that I thought would be acceptable. I also filmed the scene where the victim is laying dead, I managed to make fake blood that would be spilled on the floor in the bathroom, a friend of mine recently suggested that I could have foot prints that are in blood, so I have decided to add that to the scene where there is a long shot of the dead victim. Over all I am happy with all the shots that I have managed to gather, I will show them to my teachers and see if they suggest any improvements.

Pictures of today's filming

Risk Assesment

Walking down the stairs with the camera while shooting the father: I could fall and break the camera, to reduce this risk I will watch where I stand and I will walk down the stairs slowly.

Taking tripod outside: I could drop or break the tripod as I am walking out the doors, to reduce this risk I will adjust the tripod outside with assistance.

Recording the MM on the pavement: The camera person might get hit by a car, to reduce this risk we will all have to cross the road carefully and not rush ourselves.

Recording in the bathroom: A friend of mine has given me the idea of spreading some fake blood on the floor with some bloody footprints from the MM, while recording there is the risk of accidentally standing on the fake blood and slipping and probably damage the camera. To reduce this risk the camera person will have to take particular caution while recording the footprints leading to the dead body in the bath tub.

Filming schedule

I am planning on asking my teacher if I can book a Tripod and a Camera to be used from the 27th Nov till the 30th Nov.
I will spend the afternoon of the 27th to prepare rooms that I will be using and to familiarize myself to the equipment ready to be used the next day.

The 28th I will need to have Adel who is playing the role of the victim's father, because I will need to shoot his scenes. I am going to be shooting the close ups of the father doing up his laces on both feet, The scene where he walks down the stairs and shouts that he is leaving, close up of him unlocking the door, longshot of the father leaving the house and walking to his car and the close up of the facial reaction when he sees the MM. 
I am also planning to shoot the scene where the MM is seen standing across the road.
I want to shoot the Victim's scene as well which is played by myself, the pan right and left of the bedroom, the close up of her checking her phone. However I might not be able to shoot that scene on that day so my plan B is to shoot that scene on the 29th which I will definitely be able to shoot.

On the 29th I am planning to shoot the scene where there is a long shot of the victim laying dead for that scene I will again play the role of the victim, I also think that I won't be able to film the victim's scenes the day before so I would probably be shooting all those scenes on the 29th instead.

On the 30th I will be returning all the equipment that I have used to my teachers before 9AM.

Filming day1

I have managed to borrow the school's camera and tripod for this weekend to take some practice shots and to see if I can also take any final shots. I will return all the equipment by Monday morning.

 Pre filming:

Today I am planning to shoot the close ups of the father's shoes. Hand held camera work when he is going down the stairs and the scene where he notices the MM. I will also try and shoot the scene with the victim sleeping in the bed and of her waking up. Finally I will try and film the MM standing in the other side of the road

 Post filming update:

Today I managed to get all the shots for the Victim's father, I had to re take a lot of scenes such as the part where the father has to shout that he is going and also the part where he had to leave the house as there were a lot of cars around but I did manage to get the FINAL shot for that scene. I tried to shoot the scene where the MM is standing across the street. I also added the idea of having a pan up or the camera being lifted slightly upwards as the MM is standing. I also added this to my improved storyboard. However I was not able to shoot the victim's scene as my parents (who are helping me to shoot some scenes and help me to set up) had to leave the house. which means that I will be shooting the Victim's scene tomorrow.

Pictures of today's filming

Titles

At the start of making the titles I wanted to use "Queen Cee productions" and "Cleopatra Films" but after a while when I was editing I changed those titles to "C.E.E Productions" and "Patra Films"



Title list (in order):
C.E.E Productions
Patra Films


Audrianna Walowits
Joseph Piques
Kiana Fowler
Luke Brown
Jai Giocelle
Chelsey Brooks

Casting by: Stephanie Hanna
Costume design: Stephanie Hanna & Joe El Bejj
Music: Joe El Bejj
Editing Stephanie Hanna
Produced by Stephanie Hanna
Filming: Stephanie Hanna  & Adel Gamil
Directed by : Stephanie Hanna and Marie Jabbani


AFRAID

I have made up ALL the names on my titles except from my own.

Fonts:

This is the font that I'm going to use for my title for my opening scene. I have downloaded this font from Dafomt.com this font is called Blood Lust. I have chosen this font because I think it goes with the thriller genre.

I will be using this font for this title and the one above it, it is also from Dafont.com and it is called Lemon Milk. I chose this font because it is quiet simple and I wanted these two titles to look a bit simple as well.

I am going to use this font for all the other titles, I have downloaded it from Dafont.com it is called True Lies.I thought this font would look great with the other titles because it suits the thriller genre well.

I am hoping that my titles will last between 40 to 60 seconds. I am planning on playing these title during the opening scene a part from the last title "Afraid" which will have a black background and it will be in red. All the other titles will be in white, the first two titles "C.E.E productions" and "Patra Films" will fade in and out and the rest will just appear on the screen.

Location Reece shots

The driveway where the father comes out of the house, I have decided to use this location because it is outside and it is where the MM would be seen as well.

The pavement (near the bin) is where the MM will be standing, I have used this location because it is across the road from the driveway.

Bed that victim will be laying on, I have used this location because it is the biggest room that I can find to film and the victim is supposed to be sleeping.

Shot plans

Shot plans

Pan right: of the floor and bed side table with bed. When the father leaves the house. 
Pan left: in the bedroom from the bedside table and bed.
Extreme close up: Of the father's shoes and when he opens the front door, the shoes of the MM. also of the fathers face expression when he sees the MM on the other side of the road. Close up of Victim looking at phone.
Extreme long shot: of father leaving the house and of the victim laying dead.
Close up: of the father's facial expression when he sees the MM across the road
Hand held camera following the father going down the stairs. The camera will be facing the floor showing the bloody foot prints on the floor and the dead body in the bath tub.
High angle shot: When the father shouts that he's going and when the Victim is laying dead in the bath tub.

Storyboard

Actors, Props and Costumes

Mysterious murdered/MM

Actor:  Marie is playing the role of the MM, the reason that I have chosen to do this is because there will only be a 5 or 10 second close up of the MM's legs and she is available to do the short scene.
Costume: Will be dressed in black, black trousers and black shoes, because I think that black would suit well for a murderer because it could add suspense.
Props: The MM will not need to have any props for the opening scene.

Victim

Actor: I will be playing the victim as well because she has a short scene and I have written in my narrative that the victim is a teenage girl so I thought that I might as well play the part of the victim.
Costume: The victim will be dressed in a Pyjama because she is meant to be sleeping in the opening scene. At the end of the scene the shirt of the pyjama will be covered in fake blood to show that she has been murdered.
Props: Probably her mobile phone because as she is trying to wake up she checks the time.

Victim's father

Actor: Adel is going to be playing the role of the father's victim, because the father has to be a slightly older person so I thought that Adel will probably be the best actor for that role.
Costume: Smart clothing such as a smart shirt, smart trousers and smart shoes because the father is getting ready for work in this opening scene.
Props: His car, to show that he has car for transport to work. A briefcase will be used to symbolize that he is going to work.

The Narrative

My opening scene is inspired by the opening scene for the film "Where Birds Don't Fly" it is inspired by having an unknown murderer who is killing young children, teenagers and families and the shocking way that this murderer leaves his/her victims dead for the police to find.

The father shouts from the bottom of the stairs " I'm going, have a great day" as he leaves the house he notices this strange looking person from across the road but the father doesn't have time to stare at the suspicious person across the road, so he continues to make his way to his car. There will be a close up of the MM's legs and there will be a flickering effect between the MM's legs and the victim laying dead in the bath tub. Then the titles will come in. 

Brainstorm

As a final decision I have chosen the title "Afraid" as the title for my opening scene.




Audience Research

Who watches thrillers?

One of the main thriller sub genres is psychological. These types of films are often quite hard to understand, and have a lot of dialogue and storyline than action and excitement, meaning that most people aged 12-18, who go to the cinema often would probably not enjoy these films. Many modern thrillers feature violence or other things such as explicit language, which means they have an age restriction of 15 or 18. This automatically cuts a significant amount of potential viewers for these films, because it is illegal for people under the required age to see them. Also, most types of thrillers tend to appeal more to men than women, while sometimes it can be the other way around, although this is not as true for thrillers as for some genres (such as action/sci-fi for men, and romance/drama for women). 


from: http://thriller11group26.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/thriller-audiences.html

Why do people watch thrillers?

People watch thrillers to be entertained or to pass time, this can relate to escapism which means that you get so into the film that you forget yourself, problems, feeling the emotions expressed within the story. Thrillers are not supposed to be relaxing films; they create a lot of tension which is why people escape while watching them. The psychological part of a thriller film helps to start conversation between others because people like to discuss about working out the ending of a film before their friends. Another reason why people might watch thrillers is sometimes to find models of behavior. This is because in thrillers there is a clear difference between good and evil, sometimes people would want to know or find a way to act heroic and to also identify with that specific character. In addition people may see similarities between themselves and a certain character.

From: http://britasthrillerhannah.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/uses-and-gratifications-theory.html

People's opinion

I have asked several people to read my narrative and I asked them a few questions:
Do you like the narrative?
Does it build suspense?
Would you want to watch the rest of it?
Does the title "Afraid" suit the narrative?

 The general response was that they liked the narrative because it suits the thriller theme well. Someone said that it was creepy and that it adds a lot of suspense, they also said that it makes the viewer wanting to know more about what is going on, because it seems a bit confusing. Most people liked the title 'Afraid' because it reflects how characters in the film might feel about this mysterious murderer killing children and families near their area.

Prelim The Bomb Video

Analysing other student's work

Student #1 The Search

  Strengths:

I thought that this person used a lot of camera angle techniques like the pan left and the extreme closeups. I thought that the background music was really good, I think that it adds suspense to the story of this film. I thought the font of the titles looked really good, I liked how there was a small box around each capital letter. The acting of the child in the opening scene fits in really well with the story, the acting made the film look real. I also really liked the idea of the voice over and the way the person speaks really fits in well in the film. I also liked how there weren't many characters in the opening of the scene which would make it easier to create.

Weaknesses: 

I think the idea of the movie wasn't really clear, I wasn't sure if it was about the child that went missing or if that child in that scene is meant to be the younger version of the girl at the end. 

Student #2 Invite

  Strengths: 

I liked the use of Parallel editing, I think that it does add suspense. I really like how they have made the title at the end, I think that the background being used for it does fit into the Thriller genre well. Again I also liked the idea that there weren't a lot of characters in the opening scene which made it simple for the person to film. I liked how they have raised the volume of the background music at the end of the opening.

Weaknesses:
I thought that the black and white effect was not needed and that it didn't really go with the story.I also thought the background music was good for the end part only but I didn't really see the use of it during the opening 

Prelim Task

 Prelim task with Irena,David and Chris

 Group planning

Props: Table,  two chairs, Scream mask, Stuffed toy cat 

There was no specific costume needed.

Script: David: I want my cat back!
           Chris: I'll never give it to you
           David: I'll shoot you 
           Chris: I don't believe you 

Storyboard:

Filming

We filmed in the school's studio which meant that we had the advantage of using the lights provided by the school. We all had the chance to film the prelim, I filmed the beginning where David walks into the room, David filmed the POV shot and Chris's dialogue, Irena shot the part where David shoots Chris and myself and Chris shot the part where David does his dialogue and when he leaves the room as well. We had to film the dialogue a couple of times so that we could get the words out properly. The scene at the start where David had to open the door we had trouble with the lighting and we were trying to find out how or what angle we should put the light and if we should use a reflecter or not. 

Editing

We used Adobe Premier Pro for the editing 
Irena and I did some of the editing at the start, we both listened and watched each of the shots and decided which bits we needed and what we should cut out using the cutting tool on the program. We used slow motion effects when Chris and David fall off their chairs. Chris and David designed the title, 'The Bomb' and chose when to add the sound effects that Irena found online.
  

Evaluation

The strengths in our prelim task was the camera angles, I think that we have used a good range of camera angles. I think that the sinister background music fits in great with our film because it might build suspense. I also think that the use of the slow motion effect made the prelim look more dramatic as well.

The only weakness in our prelim was that it lasted for about 1 minute and 24 seconds when it should have been 30 seconds. 

I have learnt how to put different scenes in slow motion, to lower or raise the sound of a scene, I have also learnt how to cut parts of a scene that is not wanted.

 

Where Birds Don't Fly- opening scene & titles

Mise en scene: There are police officer outfits and the crime scene is based in a house. This can create tension by the fact that there has been a murder and the audience are curious to know what type of murder it was because the detectives seem shocked.

 

Camera: There are extreme close ups of the two police officers, Curtis and his co worker. This can create tension to show the reaction of the two when Curtis's co worker says that the crime scene looks really bad and that he doesn't want to go first again especially when the murder has got to do with kids. again this can build up tension because the audience feels bad that innocent children have been murdered.

Editing: When Curtis is walking towards the entrance of the house there is a slow motion effect, showing other police officers/ detectives walk out the house and you can see their reaction to the murder case, there is someone  shaking their head and another putting their hand on their mouth. This can create tension by the fact that we want to know what has really happened because people seemed to be really shocked, it makes us think that this murder case is very extreme.

Sound: At the start of the opening of the film you can hear the ambient sound of the wind and it shows you that the weather is not quite bright, which could represent the fact that, that day was very miserable because some children just got murdered. There is also the diegetic sound of police officers talking through their walkie talkies. These sounds can create tension because it could represent the fact that there is a lot of chaos because there is a serious murder case to solve and that it has effected the detectives.

Titles: At the very start of the Movie there is a verse from The Bible, there is a black background and it is written in white and the font is sans serif. The opening titles are shown 11 minutes into the movie. There is a black background and the titles are in white the font is sans serif and all the titles are in capitals. The titles do not fade in or out they just appear on the screen and the title lasts for about 40 seconds. There is background music, the song is slow and calm and I'm assuming that the song is called 'Where birds don't fly' because from the lyrics you can hear the singer singing the words 'where birds don't fly' which is also the exact same title/name of the movie.

Title List 

Be sober, be vigilent; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.

1Peter 5:8

Smoking Alien Productions Presents

In association with Elroy Pictures

An Alek Gearhart Film

Where Birds Don't Fly

Dylan Hobbs

Manuel Ramirez

Dominique Marsell

Mario Orozco

Marc Schryfer

Anfisa Jacobs

Travis O' Leary

Dane O'Leary 

With Ben Munoz

By Appointment Only - opening scene & titles

 

Mise en scene: Val (the lady in the scene) is dressed casually and her husband which is at home, is dressed in a suit, this suggests that the husband is a business man and he also looks a bit worried this can create tension because he might be trying to commit suicide due to all the stress at work. the fact that Val and her husband live in a mansion could suggest that they are wealthy, this could also suggest that they have so many bills to pay that it can get stressful because Val's family might be going broke.

 

Camera: Val's husband is reading a letter and there is a pov shot of the letter that the husband is reading and the key word in this letter is the word 'bankruptcy' this is the key word because you cannot see any of the other sentences in that letter because they are cut off but the word bankruptcy stands out the most and this is suggesting that Val's family are going broke and this can create tension because this can put a lot of pressure on Val's husband which can lead him to suicidal thoughts.

Editing: there is parallel editing between Val who is driving and talking on the phone and her husband who is at home going through this letter and the scenes keep switching back and forth from Val and her husband, this creates tension because you can see that the husband is reaching for his gun and then it switches to Val talking on the phone, this makes the scene seem very chaotic because there is a lot going on.

Titles: The titles start to appear about 2 minutes and 20 seconds into the movie, the titles are in white, the font is sans serif also the font is a bit small. The titles fade in and out of the screen. The titles last for about 2 minutes, the backgrounds being used are shots of the beach, boats and mansions also one of the characters is driving to a house and the titles stop/finish, when he has arrived to the house.

Title list

American Cimema International

West Wind And Power Sport

 Present

A William Web

William McMcAbian

George Shamieh

Production

Ally Walker

By Appointment Only

Currie Graham

Marnette Paterson

Jordan Garrett

Eddie Velez

Brian Howe

David Youse

John Kapelos

Suzanne Ford

And Ryan Cutrona

Borgman - opening scene & titles

 

Mise en scene: At the beginning of the scene there is a dog, the dog can create tension to the viewers because it is quiet a large dog, the dog could mean that there might be danger because dogs that are left outside the house usually are there to guard their owner's property. The opening of this film is based in a forest where there isn't much going on, this can create tension because in the forest there might be danger.

 
Camera: There is a long take of the man that lives under the ground. This creates tension because there is a lot of darkness,it could also be used to show that audience around the dark space under the grounnd, also the priest and his men might be after him, which could suggest there is not a lot of hiding places for the man to hide, from the priest. 

 

Editing: When the priest and his men arrive at the location where the dog starts barking; it can sense that the person that they are after, the guy that lives under the ground. There is a shot reverse shot between the men and the priest breaking the roof of the other man's underground house and the guy that lives in the house that is trying to escape, this creates tension because the audience is hoping that the man can escape from the priest without being seen.

Sound: There is very little dialogue, which creates tension because there are people that are sharpening their weapons and there is also a priest that is trying to kill someone which is not normal for a priest to do, it makes the audience wonder what is going on and why this is happening. also at the beginning of the scene there is ambient sound of a dog barking which makes the audience jump the barking could represent danger which can create tension.




Titles: The titles start right at the beginning of the movie, at first there is a black background and the title of the company of the film fades in, it is written in capitals with a sans serif font. After that there is a blue to black ombre background colour and the title of the film 'Borgman' rotates from being upside down to its normal position.The title is in blue, capitals and sans serif font.

Title list  

Drafthouse films

Borgman