Friday 24 January 2014

Action and Horror films

Types of films
Horror:




Horror films are unsettling movies that strive to make the audience feel the emotions of feardisgust and horror. Horror films are usually stereotypical, consisting of a villain, and an individual in particular that they are after. The earliest horror movies are usually based on gothic literature such as Dracula and Frankenstein. 

The more recent horror movies are usually not based on books, however they do chose to use many of the creatures that have featured in early horror literature.
Horror films usually deal with the fear of the unknown, fears and nightmares. Although the majority of it is about the supernatural some crime thrillers that use serial killer can also be as being under the horror genre category. 


The first horror film to ever be created is said to be "Le Manoir du Diable" or The House of the Devil" which was filmed by Georges Melies in 1896. This film was only 3 minutes long and was a silent film which is strange as most films tend to use diegetic and non diegetic sound to build tension.


Dracula released in February 1931 appeared three months before the end of hollywoods transition from silent to sound cinema according to http://magazine.uchicago.edu/07910/features/horror.shtml. However, many of the major horror movies originated from Germany, even most horror movies before the use of sound originated from Germany. 

The target audience for 

Action:





Action is a film genre where one or more heros have to deal with a number of challenges that require physical actions, such as fights and car chases. This particular genre developed in the 1970s, this genre is closely linked to adventure film and thriller, sometimes it may also include features of horror movies.

While action movies have largely featured in the movie production business,  The action genre has generally been aimed at male audiences, however, many action films have started to add in a female heroine so that women would be more interested in wanting to see the movie.

The target audience for action movies ranges within a wide range of people, therefore making it popular. Although many people who watch action movies are male, the age ranges from 16-50. Most action films can be divided into two, one being aimed at male teenagers, and one being aimed at older males. For example "The Hunger Games" was mainly aimed at teenagers as they have younger actors, whereas films like "Red 2" are aimed at an older audience as bruce willis stars, and is in the age range of an older audience, therefore an older audience can relate to the movie better. Women stereotypically aren't as interested in action films as fist fights and car chase scenes don't appeal to them as much.

Action movies usually take place in countries like the Caribbean or Italy to try and get the audience away from reality as much as possible, so they can get away from their normal everyday lives as much as they can. This also creates interesting establishing shots and locations that you wouldn't get in London and other city areas. Audiences usually aren't concerned about how action films can be far fetched (have less realism) as it means they get to see better car chases and more interesting locations.




Wednesday 15 January 2014

The characters of our film

The character of this film was originally going to be Cliona (my partner in this movie), however we decided against that as she needed to film as well. Therefore we changed the character to be my sister Emma.


Emma playing the role of Anna Dylan:

Past experience: Has been involved in many plays in her past school such as crucible.

We chose to pick Emma for our film as we knew that she didn't mind getting her face in the film shots and we knew she would try her best in order to achieve the scenes we wanted to create.

We also knew that due to her past experience she would be good at acting, and she is confident doing so. Emma is also around the age range we wanted for our character, as our character is meant
to be a troubled teenager.

Emma is also my sister which means that it is convenient if we need to retake a shot because she lives with me.

Emma managed to use her facial expressions how we wanted her to when it came down to the close-ups and the medium shots, one of her best shots was a close up shot of her eyes which portrayed fear.

The character of our film is called Sharon Carr, this particular character was named after a real pyschopath who got put ion Broadmoor, the hospital for mentally unstable patients. I based my character on Sharon carr as Sharon Carr was the first youngest killer in Britian. However, the storyline written doesn't follow the one of her life. The real Sharon Carr murdered at the age of 12, therefore I will be using her age as the age something traumatic happened in her life.


Gordon playing the role of Richard Grayson:

I used my dad to play the role of the villain as the villain had to be in the age range of 30-50. Due to my dad being available to film, it was handy. My dad has been in a play at school when he was younger as well, however, he hadn't been in as big of a performance at school as my sister had.

My dad plays the character Richard Grayson who is based on a political figure called Thomas Newton from 1992. My dad was good at acting sinister and I thought he looked the part to play this particular character. To play the character my dad had to dress smartly due to his character working for the prime minister, and he had these clothes already from work. He also has a car which meant that he could use it whilst we filmed.

Film budgeting


Film budgeting

Film financing can be given from a private investor, sponsor, product placement, film studio, entertainment company or out of pocket funds.

Tactics for cutting costs:

Eliminate night scenes: shooting at night requires expensive lighting therefore by eliminating the night scenes you would save millions.

Avoid filming in famous areas: For example filming on golden gate bridge would mean you have to stop traffic, whereas shifting location to San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge for close-ups would save the money.

Filming car chase scenes on a sunday morning: filming on a Sunday morning is when the traffic is at its lightest and therefore you would have to stop much traffic in order to film.

Use unknown cast members instead of stars.

Use a non-union crew

For blockbuster movies high budgets are advertised to make people want to watch the movie as they think it will be worth watching. In the Us film production system, producers aren’t allowed to go over the initial budget for their film.

Unbreakable:

·         Production costs: £26,214,709


    • Visual effects: £1,000,000

    • Music: £2,253,456

Total: £74,243,106

Dramatic films – timeline

1 year to secure rights and funding

2 months of casting, scouting, preparation

1 month readying actual production logistics

2-5 weeks of production (stage and location)

8-20 weeks of picture editorial

8-20 weeks sound editorial and scoring (usually starts after picture is “locked”)

1-2 weeks of picture finish/conform/grade

1-2 weeks of audio mix (re-recording mix)

1 week to finalize all deliverables

 
If we were able to have more money to develop our film, I would spend it on buying a microphone for the sound, the updated version of final cut which would be final cut pro, a zip wire that I could attach the camera to in order to film the cast running. The microphone would be essential in order to get better sound, and final cut pro would also be needed as you could use it in order to put the film together properly and cut out the background noise.
 
 
 

Equipment list & shooting plans


Equipment list & shooting plans

Video camera (canon), Sony tripod, plain black clothing, phone, sign saying ‘mental institute’.

We will need the video camera in order to film the shots. The tripod will be used to take steady filming shots and also it will be used for panning shots. The plain tracksuit will be used for the characters outfit. We will be using a phone as the character in our film will need to text one of her friends, and she will also recieve a text saying that someone is after her. Finally, we will be making a sign that says ‘mental institute’ as it is one of the three flashbacks that will show the audience where she has come from.

As we have flashbacks in our opening scene, the two parts will be filmed on difference days, or at different times during the same day. This is going to be because the flashbacks are meant to be from earlier in the day when she ran away from the mental institution, therefore they need to be filmed in the daylight.
We will be filming the flashbacks next Saturday which will be the 7th of December, at 12:30am, this means it will be daylight when we film. We will spend 2 hours on this.
We will be filming the alleyway scenes next Saturday, 7th of December around half 5,
therefore it will be dark when we come to film. We will spend 3 hours on this.

The people involved will be myself and Cliona, Cliona will be the one being filmed and I will be the one filming. However when we film the flashbacks, Cliona will film some of the flashbacks such as feet running and the mental institution so that she will also get a chance to film.

Costume:

For Anna Dylan's costume, I thought that it should be plain as she has just run away from a mental institution therefore she wouldn't have much of a range of clothes. The majority of what she is wearing is black. It's black to portray sadness and that she's not in a good place, instead of making her wear white which would portray her as innocent.

The idea was that as my sister has blonde hair and is pale, she looks innocent, however she is wearing black which symbolises death and sadness. Therefore, this shows that on the surface she may look like a villain, however underneath she is innocent as you can see by her face. The way she looks is a massive portrayal of the film itself as on the outside she looks like a villain like in our storyline, she is suggested to be to blame, however underneath she seems innocent, which in our film, she is.


From this picture you can see that she is wearing a hooded jumper which portrays her as a stereotypically bad teenager. She is also wearing a black scarf, this shows the audience that this must have been filmed while it was cold, giving them an idea of the setting. She is also wearing a mismatching coat, which shows that she hasn't been able to afford nice clothes, and that she isn't from a good area.

The character Richard Grayson needed to wear an outfit that looked like he had just come from work, showing him to be rich and in a high place of authority. The idea of him wearing smart clothes has also come slightly from the character Patrick Bateman who was in the film American Pyscho which I analysed. In the opening scene of American Pyscho Patrick Bateman talks about how what he wears is to make him look normal like he can fit in, so no one realises what he is truly like. The same applies for our character as we wanted him to look like a normal person so that the audience could relate and think of him as looking normal even though he really isn't.

Richard Grayson also wears a long coat with a collar, this smart coat makes him look more sinister. Also a lot of antagonists in movies seem to wear smart jackets or smart coats. For example, in this picture you can see a villain from the James Bond films who is wearing a smart jacket.



Risk assessment:

·        Equipment being knocked in the dark (lights, camera, tripod)

Severity of risk = 4/10


·        Loose wires if there is any.

Severity of risk = 6/10



·        Forgetting the equipment/equipment such as camera not being charged.

Severity of risk = 10/10


·        Tripod not working.

Severity of risk = 4/10


·        Someone knocking the camera.

Severity of risk = 4/10


·        Accident or injury.

Severity of risk = 9/10


·        Public walking in shots.

Severity of risk = 3/10
 
The highest risk within this is the equipment not working/not being charged. This would be a major consequence if we were to get the two characters in the location on a certain time then not be able to film. Therefore, to solve this I will make sure I charge the cameras before the day to make sure that it is ready to use. I will also test my camera at home before coming outside to use it so that I know it works properly.

Loose wires on set shouldn't be a problem for us as we're not using anything that should include wires. We are simply using a Tripod and Canon camera to film. If these were to get knocked over on set, this would be a high risk. Therefore, to avoid this I will be making sure to keep the tripod stable with the camera on top of the tripod, therefore it will be safe on the tripod. I will also keep my attention to the equipment at all times to make sure no harm comes to it during the filming process.
There's also the risk that public may walk in shots, therefore to solve this we will be filming early in the morning to try and avoid these situations so much.


Friday 10 January 2014

Storyline

Three characters we use in our storyline are based on people in real life, however our storyline is not based upon the whole truth of an event that happened. Though, there are some parts in our story that are taken from particular events. Due to this I will firstly have to inform you about the background of the people before I begin. 

We based our main character upon a real life psychopath, called Sharon Carr. Sharon Carr was the first youngest killer in Britian, who murdered a girl called Katie Racliffe at the age of 12. The police found out about her murder due to the diary she kept that had worrying sketches in which lead them to putting Sharon Carr in Broadmoor mental institution. Sharon Carr murdered her first victim in 1992,which was when John Major was prime minister of the United Kingdom.

At this time, John major was having an affair, and the only person who knew of this was a man called Tony Newton who worked for him. John Major entrusted Tony Newton to keep his secret, which he did. Tony Newton, John Major, Sharon Carr and Katie Racliffe all feature in our storyline, however in real life they are not all linked to eachother.   

In our storyline Sharon Carr sees John Major having an affair with another woman, she sees this outside a hotel room that she is staying in with her family. Due to the fact Sharon wants to be a news reporter she spies on the two lovers and takes pictures of them together, writing about them together.

Whilst spying on John Major and his mistress she overhears John Major tell a worker (Tony Newton) that he must not tell anyone about this affair he is having, otherwise he would be fired. Therefore Tony Newton has to keep quiet as he has a strong fear of losing his job. Sharon Carr notes this own in her diary and writes also about how Tony Newton seemed distressed over the prospect of losing his job if anyone finds out.

Tony Newton is a psychopath in this storyline and has schizophrenia, therefore, due to his paranoia he becomes increasingly worried about this affair and is on the edge constantly. Sharon Carr is aged 12 in this storyline which links back to real life as the psychopath she was based on was also aged 12.

Sharon Carr brings along her friend Katie Racliffe so they can spy on the Prime minister (John Major) together. However, while they are spying, Tony Newton sees them and runs after the two while they shout and scream. Due to the screaming, Tony puts his hand over Katies mouth hysterically trying to stop her from screaming, however in the process of doing this he kills Katie. He kills Katie due to his paranoia and schizophrenia that was getting increasingly worse as mentioned earlier.

Sharon Carr runs away as she is scared of this man who is coming after her to stop her from spilling the secret, however, Tony Newton has a better plan. Tony Newton tells the prime minister that there has been a killing of a little girl named Katie Racliffe, telling the prime minister that it was Sharon Carr who committed this murder. Due to this, they call the police, and Sharon Carr is taken to a mental institution.

Sharon Carr manages to run away from this mental institution at the age of 18, which is where the opening scene of our movie starts, as you will see her in an alley way which is where she runs to once she has escaped. She ran away in order to retrieve her diary that she wrote in when she was 12. She wants to retrieve this as it has pictures of John Major in and his lover together, but more importantly, it has notes about Tony being told that he must keep this affair secret otherwise if anyone finds out he will be fired. In the story, Sharon Carr manages to find her diary which in turn proves her innocence, and Tony Newton gets put in a mental institution for his crime.

Our characters cant be named after people in real life due to evading their privacy, therefore we have made the main characters name Anna Dylan, we have also changed the name of Thomas Newton to Richard Grayson, the girl who died we also changed the name of, we changed her name to Lily Piper. Finally, we changed the name of the prime minister to Edward Sawyer. 
 
Simplified version:
Anna Dylan was accused of the murder of Lily Piper, and due to this she got placed in a mental institution. However, she had a diary that can prove her innocence, and that she didn't actually kill Lily Piper, she was just framed with the murder by Richard Grayson who really killed her. Therefore she ran away from the mental institution to get her diary to show the police the evidence that shows she is innocent.
This storyline is based loosely on events in real life such as the killing of Katie Racliffe by Sharon Carr. Our character is based upon Sharon Carr as she is a real life psychopath. It also uses the idea of John Majors affair.


Evaluations of filming and planning


Equipment list & shooting plans:
Video camera, Tripod, Plain tracksuit, cigarette, lighter, sign saying ‘mental institute’.

We will need the video camera in order to film the shots. The tripod will be used to take steady filming shots and also it will be used for panning shots. The plain tracksuit will be used for the characters outfit. The lights will be used just in case it gets too dark whilst filming, the boxes link in with this as we can put the lights on the boxes for something to rest them on. The cigarette is used in the first shot along with the lighter as the character is lighting up a cigarette. Finally, we will be making a sign that says ‘mental institute’ as it is one of the three flashbacks.


As we have flashbacks in our opening scene, the two parts will be filmed on difference days, or at different times during the same day. This going to be because the flashbacks are meant to be from earlier in the day when she ran away from the mental institution, therefore they need to be filmed in the daylight.
We will be filming the flashbacks next Saturday which will be the 7th of December, at 12:30am, this means it will be daylight when we film. We will spend 2 hours on this.
We will be filming the alleyway scenes next Saturday, 7th of December around half 5, therefore it will be dark when we come to film. We will spend 3 hours on this.

The people involved will be me and Cliona, Cliona will be the one being filmed and I will be the one filming. However when we film the flashbacks, Cliona will film some of the flashbacks such as feet running and the mental institution so that she will also get a chance to film.

We decided that as Cliona needs to film too, we will be using my sister as the character of the film so that we both can do an equal amount of filming.


Risk assessment:

·        Equipment being knocked in the dark (lights, camera, tripod)

Severity of risk = 4/10


·        Loose wires if there is any.

Severity of risk = 6/10


·        Forgetting the equipment/equipment such as camera not being charged.

Severity of risk = 10/10


·        Tripod not working.

Severity of risk = 4/10


·        Someone knocking the camera.

Severity of risk = 4/10


·        Accident or injury.

Severity of risk = 9/10


·        Public walking in shots.

Severity of risk = 3/10

Evaluation of first attempt at filming
For our first attempt at filming last Saturday we brought a camera and tripod from the school and took it back to my house.
When we got the camera and the tripod to the house we were struggling to find good places which we could film so we spent a long time trying to figure out where we were going to film, therefore by the time we left it was getting dark.
However, we didn’t think that by the time we got there it would be as dark as it was. As we were using a canon camera, we didn’t know how to get it so that we could film in a night setting, so that it would be lighter. Therefore the camera was too dark and we couldn’t see what we were filming on the camera.

Therefore, as we couldn’t film the flashbacks, we also couldn’t film the alleyway scenes as you couldn’t see anything even when we used lights with the camera.
To solve this problem, we are going to be filming next Friday after school, this means that we can be in school and use the equipment if we don’t have the correct equipment with us.
To solve the problem of the lighting, we will be in school therefore we can use their lighting which will be better that the lights we have at home. And to deal with the time problem, we will be filming it all during the day so that the camera won’t be too dark and we will be able to get some shooting completed.
We were planning to film it at night in the school using artificial lighting outside to make it slightly brighter, however we realised that it was too difficult to be able to get the lighting outside.

Therefore instead I decided that we could film during the daylight straight after school, and during editing, we can darken the exposure to make it look as if it has been filmed at night. Therefore we have changed the date of our filming to being Friday the 13th and we will be filming it after school at 3:15, this means that it should still be light.

Our shooting schedule for the first attempt at filming:




Evaluation at the second attempt of filming:
The second time we filmed it was December 13th. We decided we would do this filming after school, and shoot it at school so that we know we have done it straight after, otherwise if we went home to film it would be too dark by the time we got home. For this time of shooting we used a tripod and a canon camera.

When we came to film, we managed to get all of the shots, however, the shots didn't seem long therefore our opening scene would be short if we used these shots. We also came across the problem that Cliona needed to film, instead of being in the film, therefore we could't use these shots as she wouldn't of had any input if we did.

There was also the problem we came across when we later viewed the footage as we saw that it was too dark to be visible, and the shots could've been lightened in editing but they still wouldn't look as natural or good as we wanted. 

From this time we filmed we learnt that we need to film in the daylight instead as we decided it would be hard to film when it was just getting dark in the afternoon. Therefore to fix this, we decided that the next time we came to film we would we would film in the morning at the weekend instead so that we know we definitely have shots.

We were going to have the shots done in the present set at night/dark and the shots from the past done in the daylight. However as this was found hard to do we needed to come up with a different way of showing that these two different shots aren't from the same time period. Therefore we changed the original plan so that we would have the flashbacks in black and white and the normal shots in daylight, therefore the audience can decipher one shot from one period of time from another. 

Our shooting schedule for the second attempt at filming:



Evaluation on the third attempt at filming:
We filmed our opening scene of our film, on the 5th of December. To film we had to use an old storyboard as the new one had to still be created due to the amount of changes we had made recently to it. We used a canon camera to film, and a tripod for the panning.
The filming went well and we managed to get all of the shots that we wanted, however the present shots were meant to be done in the night, but as we realised that would be to hard to do, we decided to film it during the day along with flashbacks.
Some problems that occurred whilst filming was the lack of storyboard, and was hard to remember what scene had to come next with only a rough copy, some of the shots are blurry as well, which would have been better if we took each shot twice to make sure that we got one that was decent. However, apart from that, all of the shots were completed and we had all the equipment we needed, this attempt at filming had been better than our other two as we realised what we had missed from the last two attempts at filming so by the third attempt we knew what mistakes not to make.
I have now begun to edit the shots we have, by cropping them and have started to add the flashbacks in between the scenes, none of the shots were too dark which meant I didn’t have to brighten any using colour balance. The person I am working with told me that the best idea is to make the flashback in black and white so that we know what is in the present and what is a flashback.
Whilst editing the film I wasn’t sure of how we were planning to do the voice overs, therefore after asking someone, they said the best way to do it was to delete the soundtrack already attached to the film and use the voice recorder that’s on final cut.
To of made the filming better we could’ve remade the storyboard or had better planning to what we could’ve done, however we did manage to get all the scenes done with that said we could’ve been more organised with the planning side.
Our shooting schedule at the final/third attempt at filming: