Christmas Break

It’s the Christmas Holidays so this Blog is closed for two weeks!
19th Dec – 5th Jan

My Opinion on our Fonts and Sound

We have chosen our final font which I am really happy with. It looks like something that would relate to war with the imperfect looking letters. They look old and scratched with gaps in them which could signify gun shots or knife wounds that our main character uses to kill his victims. We have decided to use this font for our title of our film, as well as the titles and credits that will appear throughout the opening sequence. We have therefore chosen the colour black for practical reasons; so that it stands out in front of the action that will be going on in the foreground. We also chose this colour as when we tested a colour such as red, it looked to amateur and unprofessional.

The music that we have chosen for our soundtrack is Dark Wastelands by Tillman Sillescu. This was chosen as we believe it fits our sequence well. Some parts of it resemble the sound of marching soldiers which again relates to the prominent theme of war. The start of the sequence is also perfect for the beginning of our opening sequence as it’s quite subtle and we are going to have non-diegetic sounds of gun shots, screaming and bombs over the soundtrack while the protagonist is having his nightmare. It is also possible to increase the volume in parts where it is more important such as when the main character opens the draw in the kitchen and reveals the knife and poppies. This builds the tension. We can also decrease the volume where it needs to be less obvious such as when there is dialogue taking place, for example during the news broadcasting and when the protagonist is on the phone to his mother.

Overall I’m really happy with our chosen font and soundtrack and I think it fits really well with our idea.

Re-Shoot

We have decided to have a re-shoot which will be done in the Christmas holidays. This was done after we put the whole sequence together and realised that a few shots didn’t work well once in the sequence. We also had a few problems with lighting in the last few shots of the sequence because we ran out of time and it had got dark by the time we shot these.

We also had other problems such as the bed covers being too prominent and feminine. So as have decided to re-shoot the nightmare sequence with plain white covers so as not to distract the eye of the viewer and fit with the masculine view of the main character.

As a group, we have decided to change the shot of the character going down the stairs to make it shorter and therefore less boring. We chose to shoot the last few steps of the stairs and let the character walk into the shot and then pan across to the door of the bedroom. This takes out unnecessary footage that isn’t needed. The other shots that we have to re-shoot are the shots of the news broadcasting on the television and the reaction to this of the main character.

We have arranged 2 shooting days just in case we don’t finish in time on the first day. Hopefully this should be our last re-shoot and then we can just concentrate on editing.

Editing

We have managed to put our sequence together but have decided to reshoot some parts to improve the shots. We’ve still got quite a bit to do but we’ve added a soundtrack which I think works really well and ties in with the sequence. Once we’ve reshot in the holidays and replaced some shots with better versions, I think the sequence will look a lot better. We still have to add in all our titles, record the news broadcasting and design and put in the newspaper and image clips into the sequence. This will all be done when we return from our break. So far though it’s going well and I’m looking forward to seeing the finished piece.

Second Shoot

We had our second shoot on Saturday which went really well. We arrived at 12 and began filming straight away. This gave us loads of time to shoot every shot in our opening sequence, and also meant that the shots filmed last week could be re-shot, giving us more choice. We had planned already to re-shoot many shots, such as the waking up scene and the rummaging in the wardrobe, therefore it was very useful.

We started by recording the dialogue that Ben will say while he is on the phone to his mother. This means that if the dialogue is unclear in the shots we film, we can add this in after.

During filming, we managed to get more successful shots in less takes due to more organisation such as a shot list that we followed well, which meant we had more time to finish and spend longer on other shots. This also meant that we could film some shots that weren’t planned, such as from different angles and distances. This gives us a lot more variety and makes it much easier when editing.

We also filmed other types of shots such as altering the first few shots to the man having a nightmare and we see this while he’s sleeping as he’s twisting and turning. Then as he wakes up and sits up abruptly, it cuts to a shot directly in front of him and he’s breathing heavily. We also thought of an idea to have sound such as bombs and gun shots while he’s having a nightmare and this also stops suddenly when he wakes up. The soundtrack would then gradually fade in. This was just an idea that we thought of on the day, therefore we will see how it turned out during editing, and make a decision of whether to include it in or not.

Lighting in the house was a lot brighter than last week. This means the shots we film will be lighter, clearer and of better quality. Then if we want to darken any shots, we can do this on the computer whilst editing to get the effect that we are aiming for.

Shots that we couldn’t do last week due to not having the props were done today, such as the pan of the war photos and medal.

After receiving feedback yesterday from Mrs B about the poppies in the draw, we decided to line the draw with black material, and have five poppies lined up extremely neatly in a line under the knife, signifying that he has five more to kill. This would match the five men not crossed out in the photo, but circled in red.

Overall the shoot went really well, just hope its all ok when we edit. [There are a few photos on the group blog]

Next Week:
-Shot of the news on the television.
-Any re-shoots.
-Lots of editing.

Script

Below, is the final draft of our script; which takes place between the protagonist and his mother, over the phone. We will only be able to hear his side of the conversation, therefore we didn't write out a script for the mother.

[phone rings]

Killer:
[picks up the phone]
Hello...? Oh hi mum, yeah I'm fine.

The camera pans across the window-sill to show the blacked out photograph of his battalion, and a war medallion.

It then cuts to the killer again, tracking him as he heads towards the kitchen

I just saw it now; [ironically] it's awful how they keep finding more bodies...

[Pauses in wait for his mother's response]

I'm not a soldier anymore mum...[shows slight sign of distress] I left that behind years ago.

[Assertively; almost resentfully] Look, I'll be fine; if there's one thing I learnt out there, it was how to look after myself

[Turns to look at the drawer]

I'm just on my way out, can I call you back later?

Okay, take care, bye mum.

As he puts the phone down, he moves towards the drawer. On opening it, we see a close up of several poppies and a knife inside. He places the knife in his back pocket, picks up a poppy, and leaves the house.

Anticipation of Problems Summary

In the lesson today, our group came up with a list of things that we have identified as our strengths and weaknesses so far in the project. In summary, we found that:

• We thought our organisational skills were pretty good. We had one incident involving equipment, where Selina forgot to hand in the Group Folder along with the camera. However, in general we tend to plan things out beforehand, therefore we are very well organised on shoots; so as to assure that no time is wasted etc.
• Initially, we had a slight problem with communication. For example we had made plans without getting the teacher's approval. Also one of us was absent without informing the rest of the group therefore it was difficult to organise things. Nevertheless, we have all learnt from these errors and have improved our communication. Now we are extremely good at communicating with each other - we say how we feel, we update our blogs with thoughts and reflections and we all have each other's phone numbers, in case of emergencies. We feel that communication is now really one of our strongest points.
• We are particularly good when it comes to the technical side of things. Whoever is in charge of returning the equipment always knows to fully charge the batteries and lights, ready for the next shoot. We all know how to use the equipment we were given and we all have a very decent knowledge of camera techniques (i.e. framing, shot types, continuity etc). This makes the shoots run smoother and more efficiently as we all know how to use the equipment.
• Finally, and probably our strongest area, is the group dynamics. Because there are only three of us, it would be difficult for us to form 'divisions' within the group etc. Also because there are always so many tasks to be carried out, we all make sure we contribute as best we can; be it with the planning, shooting, editing or blogging. Whenever there is a problem, we usually all see it and try to tackle it together, respecting each other's opinions without being rude or getting personal. We have had no fights so far and we are really pleased with our progress.