Planning : Treatment For Our Film Opening

Video: Maggie Taylor watches the house before entering the new house that was built where her old house was. She pauses on the door step to take a deep breaths inside the house. She begins to roam around the house and she gently touches the walls around her. There is an increased diegetic sound of the footsteps. She walks up the stairs to her room and takes in the new surrounds. She begins to go through the things in room and focuses on one of the pictures . The front door bangs which creates a jump scare and causes Maggie Taylor to drop the photo on the floor. As they enter the house they run and claim what room they're staying in. Maria tries to open the door to Maggie's room and realises she can't. The last scene is Maggie's eye looking through the keyhole.



Audio: Non-diegetic sound will consist of a soft lullaby playing quietly in the background.
           The diegetic sound will consist of  her footsteps as she walks, the slam of the front door, the murmurs of the teenagers, the dropping of the photo and the shaking of the door handle to her room.



Titles: The titles will be playing over the scenes that are taking place. We will be having a maximum of 5 titles and these titles will be production company, distribution company, director, main actors and the title of the movie.


post by Rebbecca, Beth and Bernice

Planning: Storyboard

Planning:60 Second Pitch

This is our 60 second pitch for 'Oblivious In The Swamp'.

Planning:Target Audience and Potential Openings

After asking many people a survey we made, we collected the research into charts to find what the answers were for the questions. 

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/FCKS2S7
 These our the initial ideas that we came up with after responding to the comments and ideas that we received from our survey.
Post by Beth Bellamy

Planning:Decision Making

Our working title for our movie is called 'Oblivious In The Swamp'. The movie is about a girl, named maggie taylor,who drowned in the swamp as a little girl in 1862. She reappears once every four years on a leap year.  A group of teenagers, Max, Leo, Carl, Maria and Eleanor decide to go live in a new house that was built on  the land of Maggie's old house over summer break. However, Maggie finds this disrespectful so she befriends them and gains their trust before slowly killing them off as revenge for ever stepping foot into her house. She always leaves one alive so her legacy can continue and so everyone will fear her name! Every person she kills is dragged back to the lake, where she displays them as her own personal trophies as she hibernates waiting for the next leap years she can strike once more.

Planning; Brainstorming Initial Ideas

These are our initial ideas. The ideas we decided to is selected in blue. We chose this as our final idea as we believe it was the most achievable and it had the most well thought out storyline.

Planning: Production Company Name

Our company name is Glitch productions . We chose this name as we felt it suited the horror genre due to the connotations that the word glitch is associated with and the emotion that it evokes.

Research: The British Board of Film Classification

The BBFC is an independent body which classifies cinema films. It is not run by the government and it was set up in 1912 since the Video Recordings Act was passed. They bring a certain level of uniformity to the classification of films nationally. They are a non-profit organisation however they do receive money from the film industry or government in order to keep running. They make money from measuring the running time of making any changes.

Classification is the act of grouping things based on how films or dvd's submitted for classification. They BBFC  has to consult the Department of Culture, Media and Sport before  they similar they are (categories). DVD's only have to be seen by one examiner and they have to follow the correct guidelines. Other films may need further examination so they are given to Senior examiners.

Suitable only for 15 years and over

No one younger than 15 may see a 15 film in a cinema. 

Discrimination means that they must not endorse discriminatory language or behaviour.

Drugs may be shown but it must not promote drugs.

Dangerous behaviour should not be shown in detail.

The language may be strong depending on who is using the language and the contextual justification.

There may be nudity but not with string detail.
There may be sexual activity however there is no clear deatail. Some of the language may be very strong references to sexual behaviour.

There is allowed to be a strong threat and a strong sense of horror however a sadistic or sexual threat is not allowed.

Violence can be strong however it should not stay on pain or injuries too much. Extremely gory images will not be allowed however there may be some strong verbal references to violence but they need to be subtle and discreet.

Research: The Importance Of Sound In Horror Movies

Sound plays a large role in horror movies. The diegetic sounds in music often helps us to understand what is going on and often make the movie seem more realistic. They can be things as simple as dialogue or piano music playing when someone is playing the piano. this is called asynchronous sound and they contribute to the realism of the film. Asynchronous sound effects are slightly different. they are not matched with the visible source however they allow us to connect to emotionally to the characters and allow us to get a better understanding of what they are feeling in that certain moment during the movie.

Non- diegetic sound such as background music adds emotion and rhythm to the movie. It is not supposed to be noticeable and is sometimes subtle and is noted by the subconscious of the mind. In psycho the background music heightens the fear of the audience with the sharp sounds of the high pitched strip instruments that compliment the fast attack. Violins in psycho suggest knife strokes that he is creating and the deeper sounds can be interpreted a the knives piercing the skin as they penetrate the body.

The harsh sound of horror movies help to tap into peoples instinctive fears as the eyes become dark therefore the body relies on the ears. this makes people jump at the sound before they realise what is actually happening in the film. Nursery rhymes are often used in scary movies, like ring a ring o'roses, as they juxtapose with the innocence of children and the type of movie they are in.


In this clip is starts with silence as he is sleeping however the lightening cuts through the silence which makes a false jump scare. after the lightening there is a gradual fade in of the music as it begins to lead to the actual scare of when the face appears in the window. The diegetic sound then comes in when he begins to scream and then the shocked murmurs of the other passengers who are on the plane.

In poltergeist there is the blinking of the flickering tv and the high pitched squeal of the women when she is coming. There is slow music in the background that helps to build tension and then there is a sharp zap when it reaches out to touch her.

Codes and Conventions of Existing Teen Horror Films

At the start of 'dead wood' there is scary music which helps too set the scene and makes it apparent what type of movie it is. The symphony of classical instruments juxtaposes against the harsh sounds of the heavy bases and drum in the opening music. This creates an eerie but peaceful start that calms you down before the jump scare as he runs through the puddle and creates a large splash.There is also a jump scare at the beginning as he makes a loud splash when he runs through the puddle. The sound of the splash is enhanced in order to create that jump effect in the movie.The characters are also in a secluded location which indicates that they are alone and there will be no-one around to  help them or to even save them. The secluded location foreshadows the events that are going to take place. It also tells us that they have no signal as they are far away from any people therefore they are not able to call anyone for help when they need it. Furthermore, another convention of 'dead wood' is that someone is killed in the first 5 minutes. These characters are usually irrelevant and they are in dead wood. The character who is running away from the villain at the start is killed as he couldn't get away from the thing attacking him fast enough. When he bites on the blood pellet as he is killed this creates gory atmosphere and it instills fear in the audience. It's also makes us anticipate the fate of his partner. In all of the opening scenes there is a male and female character which is a convention of a horror movie.

Dead Mary is unconventional as it starts differently compared to the other openings. Dead Mary starts in silence with only the rusty swinging of chains being heard instead of the loud, creepy music. Many of the sounds are enhanced such as the tapping of her nails on the car, the swinging of the sign and the chirping of the birds. This helps to create tension and it makes the eerie silence more apparent. It's also makes the people watching more alert and eager as they wait for the 'monster' to attack them.Furthermore in the opening of the movie when her 'boyfriend' gets back he drops the gas canisters on the ground. The sound of them dropping is enhanced and this effect creates a jump scare. He also then says that the petrol station was abandoned which reinforces the fact that they are far away from civilisation and there was no one near to save them. The woman's also tried to use her phone however she wasn't able to get signal therefore further reinforcing the fact that there would be no one to help them. There is also a male and femal character in this story just like the other openings. Whilst the lady is in the car she looks at a gun. This could be the foreshadowing of the weapon that she will use later on in the movie when she begins to get attacked. However although all of these are horror conventions, Dead Mary is slightly different as no one is killed in the first 5 minutes of the movie and the characters seen at the start are the main characters and they are not irrelevant.

Wrong Turn is very similar to 'dead wood' as it also has an establishing shot that shows that they're in an isolated area. It also has scary music that has heavy bass and helps to set the scene. Irrelevant characters are killed in the first 5 minutes which is also a code of horror movies.The language between the two characters is very colloquial and shows they are teenagers which entices teenagers to watch it and keeps hem engaged. There is also a false scare in this opening when she trips while trying to climb the wall. The male character further reinforces that they are 50 miles from society and that they are completely alone. A lot of the sound effects were enhanced such as the loud thud of his body or the dripping of the blood on his face. This creates tension and makes the atmosphere more exciting due to the use of mise-en-scene.As she is running the slicing of her skin as she trips over the wire is also enhanced. This brings in a gory effect to the movie. At this time she also sees the car but never reaches it. This narrative trajectory allows us to see how desperate she is to live and allows us to see how devastated she is as she was so close to surviving. This is a horror movie  convention as they get close to their escape route but they are never able to reach it.

Overall, the majority of the moving openings are very similar however there are slight differences betweenness,. They all follow the typical codes and conventions of horror movies and they use them effectively to create tension and fear in the audience. Horror movies are often dark as they use side and backing lighting which helps to add mystery to the movie. The weather in horror films is cloudy and stormy. This helps create a spooky atmosphere and sets the scene. These horror movie conventions helps us to recognise the type of movie that we are watching and the opening scenes allows us to guess what is coming in the movie and it suggests how the story may play out but only very subtly.

Research: The Importance Of Opening Titles

Opening credits can be displayed in various different ways. They may play over the opening scenes of the movie during the establishing shot, or they may be put over a set screen at the beginning of the film. The style they are put in the movie has changed significantly over time.



A title sequence by which films list the most important cast and members of production. This is usually shown as text on a blank screen or on top of the action.




The film opening should establish characters and the genre of the film. Typical opening title contain:

• Studio/Distribution Company- The distributer is the person responsible for getting the product into the cinemas and is in charge of all the marketing and advertising.
• Production Company- The production company is responsible for creating the moving and getting the cast and bringing the project together.
• A Directors Name- the director is the man who is in charge on set.
• The Movie Stars- The actors are the people who  act in the movie.
• The Title- This is the title of the film
• The Top Cast- They are the main characters
• Supporting Cast- They are the people who support the main characters.
• Casting Director- This person is in charge of getting the correct actors for the children
• Music Composer- This is usually the sound track of the music that is played and
• Art Director-The art director oversees the set design and construction of the set
• Costume Designer- The person who designs the clothes or will make them or buy them.
• Hair/Make up artists- They are in charge of the hair and makeup to ensure the actors look their best on set.
• Visual Effects Supervisor - They are in charge of adding all the special effects into the movie. 
• Editor- The editor is in charge of ensure the film is put together properly and effectively.
• Director Of Photography- They need to oversee the camera lighting, lens choices filters and equipment.
• Executive Producer- They do not participate in the day to day production of the movie but the do oversee what the producers do.
• Producers- The producer runs the operation of the movie.
• Based on the book- If the movie is based on a book then the name and author of the book will be added onto the opening credits.
• Story by- This is when someone has come up with the story behind the film but they didn't wrote the screen play.
• Written by- These are the people who have written the screen play.
• Directed by-This is the director of the movie who is in charge of the overall production.

Conventions In Horror Films

The History of Horror Movies: Throughout The Years

Preliminary Task : Editing and Evaluation

Evaluation

Describe: We had to produce a continuity task that involved filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom she/he then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. the task had to demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule.

Explain: In my Pre Production Task we had to produce a Film schedule that contained the number of shots we had to film each day, the type of shot with shot description, the storyboard shot it was and approximately how long it would take for us to film that shot. We also had to create a background story for our cast members and we also had to find the actors for our cast. Another task we had to complete was our location planning, which is where we had to take pictures of the locations we would be filming in. The final Pre Production task we had to do was our shot line. This is when we had to finalise the time and place we would be taking the shots.

Describe: During our production we were not able to get an establishing shot and the original room we had planned to use was unavailable therefore we had to change location. We managed to find a suitable room and everybody shot some scenes. A member of our didn't attend however we were able to complete the work. The filming went fairly smoothly and we were able to use a tripod effectively.

Explain: We used Adobe Premier Pro to edit our footage. I learnt how to cut piece the scenes together and make an effective shot/reverse shot conversation in my work. I learnt how to export it correctly and upload the video on youtube. I also learnt how important the filming process is as some of our shots were too quick and the actors said things too quickly therefore it was slightly more difficult for to get the correct response in time.

Evaluate: I think that my Preliminary Task meets the set brief quiet well as it had the majority of the required elements. I think the editing of the video was the strongest part of the task as I managed to complete the 'match on action' quite well. I think the filming could have been completed to a much higher standard as we didn't use the tripod as much we could have. When it come to producing the main task, I think we need to work better as a group and think of ideas that are not as complicated as ours was. I also think that we need to practice videoing with the cameras more so that we can create a quality product.

Preliminary Task: Filming

In my groups preliminary task filming I helped direct, set up the stage and I filmed a couple of shots. Other people in my group filmed and also helped to set up the stage and get the correct lines to the actors.

Planning:Shot List

Date	Time	Shots to film	Where?	Who?	Props
- Friday (4thlesson) -Friday (6thlesson)	- 11:55 to 12:35 -2:10 to 3:00	- 6 Shots - 6 Shots -	Show 1-2 and 3 are outside the classroom. The rest of the shots we are filming inside the dark room.	Timothy (Jamie) Alice (Immy)	-Paper(documents) -Shoes -Clothes -Table and chairs - Minilla envelope
				Timothy (Jamie)
				Alice (Immy)

Planning:Location Planning

Establishing Shot

Location : Kettering Police Station

Shot 1 of our Storyboard is an establishing shot showing the exterior of the Police Station.

We felt showing the outside of a real Police Station would be better than trying to create a fake location as it is more of a suitable setting for the first scene.

The location is easily accessible and will be clear to the audience on what our context for the short film is.

Tracking sideways

Location : Outside a Room (Kettering Buccleuch Academy)

Shot 2 of our Storyboard is a Tracking Sideways shot (movement) showing the interior of Kettering Buccleuch Academy (outside the room).

We felt showing the Lawyer walking inside the building rather than outside was better as it gives the shot more of an intense atmosphere (walking towards the door).

The location is easily accessible and the room itself is very dark which will help the audience understand how intense the context of the shot is.

Close Up

Location : Room door (Kettering Buccleuch Academy)

Shot 3 of our Storyboard is a Close Up shot showing the interior of Kettering Buccleuch Academy (the door).

We thought showing the Close Up of the Lawyer's hand opening the door would help the audience understand where the Lawyer is heading to and helping them understand how the scene location is changing.

The location is easily accessible and simple to film.

Shots : Extreme Closeup, Mid Shot, Over the shoulder, Point of view, Reverse shot, Two person shot, Closeup.

Angles : Low Angle, High angle.

Movement : Panning, Tracking in, Tracking out.       

Shots : 4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12.

Location : Dark room

For the rest of the shots the location will be the dark room, where the conversation will happen. We have chosen the location to be a dark room as we want it to look like a police interview where they have a single table with two chairs and a couple of spotlights. This helps the conversation feel more intense which draws the audience in. The location is easily accessible and simple to film.

                                 

Planning:Casting

  

 Timothy is a 27 year old lawyer, who is defending on Alice's behalf to try and reduce her jail time. He isn't too experienced as he has only just recently graduated 4 years ago from law school, however he is known to have won many cases. He enjoys being a lawyer as he believes all people deserve a second chance because everyone makes mistakes. 

The part of Timothy will be played by Jamie Osborn. Jamie is a good choice for the role of Timothy because he is a good actor and is very confident.

 Alice is a 23 year old who is pregnant and expecting her first child. She enjoys seeing people seeing people suffer and spends her spare time stalking the next victim on her list. 

The part of Alice will be played by Imogen Orr. Imogen is a great choice for this role because she would be confident in front of the camera and would be able to transform into the role of Alice.

Planning: Film Schedule

Daily no. of shots	Storyboard shot No.	Shot:	Shot description:	Time allowance:
1	2	mid shot	Tracking sideways of feet walking	10 mins
2	3	Close up	Zooming into the hand	10 mins
3	4	Extreme close up	Close up of the eyes	10 mins
4	5	mid shot	High angle of their conversation	10 mins
5	6	Over the shoulder	Start of the conversation	10 mins
6	7	Over the shoulder	Reverse shot	10 mins
7	8	Point of view	Close up of the hand cuffs	10 mins
8	9	Over the shoulder	Revere shot	10 mins
9	10	Two person shot	Shot of them sitting at the table	10 mins
10	11	Close up	Of the persons face	10 mins
11	12	Tracking out	Shot of them going out	10 mins
12	1	establishing	Outside of the police station	10 mins