Progress

Hopefully tomorrow we can re-shoot the over the shoulder shot. Unfortunately we have had problems with music, the person whos computer I was using has had a family problem and had to leave the country. We have not made a plan b but I am trying to find a way in which we can find music that does not have copy-right that will be suitable for the film. It has proven quite a challenge and I am finding myself to be panicking as the due date approaches.

Re-record Mr Meade's voice at gate

Today we manged to record the caretaker (Mr Meade's)voice at the gates.
We had to re- do the voice over as we were not able to hear his voice in the previous clip.
There were issues of non-continuity, as the weather was different from when we had filmed this clip previously. However, we resolved that problem by only recording the wind so that we can use that sound in the actual clip.

To do list- 25/03/09

1. Re-record Mr Meade's voice at gate.
2. Re-do over the shoulder shot.
3. Re- Edit walking before mirror.
4. Shoot hands and scalpel - (p6 25/3/09)
5. Adjust music (leave until last)
6. Credits (next week)

Progress

We have now edited most of our material. Tonight I am planning on putting together a few samples for the backing music. After consulting our teacher, we are deliberating on whether to make our opening longer. If so, we may need to film some extra material. We also need to re-shoot some of the shots due to sound problems and acting. 

I have watched some openings to get inspiration as to how to fit our credits into our production. I have found a very good example,

This is the opening credits from Se7en. What I particularly liked about this opening were the enigmatic shots and the hand-written style of the credits.

I feel it appropriate to apply these techniques to our opening. We could film enigmatic close-up shots of medical instruments in a lab. This would increase the tension as the audience are invited to understand the disturbed nature of the character. I feel it could also get rid of the humour that I am anxious about having created. I am concerned about the abduction scene as the gynaecologist is dressed up in ladies clothes, instead of it looking like a genuine disguise, I am worried about it looking like a joke.

Filming on 18th March

Progress

Yesterday, we covered most of our shot for the abduction scene. Today, Phoebe and I filmed the gate scene. We were a bit anxious about the weather and the effect it would have the lighting, however after uploading it we realised that it's not insurmountable problem as there isn't that big of a difference in the lighting. We also experienced problems filming the car scene due to the reflection on the body, however we shot the car at an angle where little reflection is noticeable. As planned, we have now begun editing so we are on schedule. However we are a little anxious about the length of the opening. Hopefully we will not have to add to the storyboard as we have filmed everything as planned. We also think the narrative makes sense with what we have filmed.  

Reflection on progress

So far we have got all our actors, we will continue filming tomorrow. We have organised our props which Phoebe has posted. I will comment again on our progress tomorrow after filming. Hopefully we can begin editing on Thursday with all our material.

Props List

Stanley the gynacologist.
1. Wig
2. Long skirt
3. Long scarf
4. Black top

Mindy.
1. School uniform
2. Large backpack

Classical music - Panic room

After doing our audience research, we found out that audiences prefer to have classical music played in an opening sequence. In the opening sequence of Panic Room, they have used this Genre of music. It Consists of a very powerful string section, we aim to have something similar for our opening.

Storyboard

These are samples from our storyboard. By storyboarding our opening sequence we now have a sense of direction and a plan to follow. We may along the way change some shots, they may either be too difficult to construct or turn out different to what we expected. However, we are now ready to begin shooting. We have to meet with out actors to discuss suitable times to meet up.

Progress report: Week beginning 02/03/2009

This week we have finished storyboarding our opening sequence which will be posted on Monday. We have also found the car we will be using, an actor to play the Caretaker and Mindy. We haven't however found a person to play the disturbed gynaecologist as it has proven quite difficult to persuade someone to play that role due to the type of character and the necessity to dress up. However on the whole, we are happy with the progress made and are due to start shooting next week.

Character Profile

We have produced a character profile so that we are able to have a clearer understanding of the characters.

Mindy

• 14 years old
• Dressed in school uniform - long skirt, dolly shoes, bow in hair, blonde hair
• Bright student, teachers favourite
• Polite, pleasant, well spoken
• Sometimes stays after school to help out

Stanley Parker

• 30 years old
• Qualified gynaecologist
• Living in central London with his ill mother
• Fathers absences leads to deep rooted frustrations
• Obsession with young females

The care taker

• 46 years old
• Introvert personality
• Has been working as the care taker for nearly 20 years
• Very layed back

Treatment

After recieving feedback from the previous Treatment Leena and I have come up with the second and final Treatment.

Stanley Parker is a 30 year old qualified gynacologist living in central London with his terminally ill mother. His traumatic upbringing in the constant presence of his mother's frequent lesbian lovers and lacking a father figure lead him to his present obsession with female bodies.

In the basement of his Edwardian house where he spends most of his nights, is a private laboratory in which he undertakes indepth research and inhumain opperations. His usual subjects being young innocent girls.

Progress and plan: Week beginning 02/03/09

So far, we have completed the Treatment, composed a character profile for the two main characters, storyboarded the openning sequence and completed our audience and product research.

This week the plan is to have the Film treatment posted, along with the character profile. We also want to begin to approach people asking them to partake in our production. Due to our character profile we have a firm idea of what type of person we need, this has made desicion making clearer and we have a good idea of what exactly we are looking for.

We will also begin to collect props, and organise which teacher's car we can use for our shooting.

Product research

After watching the opening sequence of Gothika several times, I noticed the use of camera movement and long shot duration were used when introducing Halle Berry, the protagonist. We have decided to adopt the long shot duration, panning movement and mid shots in order to introduce the character. We feel that not only will the mid-shot set the setting and act as the establishing shot, but it will also allow the audience to familiarise with Mindy.






Although I am aware I was requested to discussed one film only, The Collateral demonstrates good use of sound (2.28 minutes into the clip). As our opening sequence includes a car we are likely to borrow this technique, we feel the sudden silence would add greatly to the atmosphere and act as a symbol for the isolation Mindy is about to experience. This will also provide us with the opportunity to contrast the silence with louder music to indicate danger as the car is shown driving off.

Audience research

We each composed a questionnaire in order to find out what our audience find appealing in the opening of a Thriller. We have decided that our Thriller would be certificate 15, therefore I handed out my questionnaire randomly to 13 people aged between 16 and 37 with an interest in Thriller movies. My results are as followed:One of the questions asked "What type of music do you find most effective in creating the atmosphere in the opening of a Thriller?" They had a choice of Classical, Current, Pop and Incidental music. No one chose Pop, whilst the majority chose classical. This will influence the desicion we make when adding music to our opening sequence. "Q7. Do you prefer to have an understanding of the main character or do you prefer them to remain enigmatic. Please state why" The majority of the people asked prefered the main character to remain enigmatic.

Other people said "I prefer to develop an understanding as the film goes on. You don't have to understand everything about the character- some should be left to interpretation" and "I think it's useful to have a little understanding of the main character but for there to be an element of their personality/ history to remain enigmatic and mysterious"

This question has informed us at to what dialogue to include in the opening sequence, It has also influenced our choice of shots.We have decided to allow the audience to familiarise with the victim in order to encourage the viewer to feel sympathetic towards them, the protagonist, who is psychotic is left enigmatic to the viewer. However if the film where to continue then his history and background (as written in the Treatment) would be uncovered.

The majority of people said they preferred a mentally disturbed character. Meanwhile one person said the preferred if the character was "three dimensional," as they where "believable". Although it could be argued that 'Stanley' the protagonist is not entirely believable (according to the Treatment) nothing dramatic happens in the opening sequence and nor do the viewers obtain a good opinion of him that could suggest his character in not believable.

Our questionnaire allowed us to make informed decisions, with the audience research available we can now ensure we cater to the wishes of the viewers.