Group: Group Organisation 05/01/15

• Today our group as a team reviewed our footage that was shot over the Christmas period. 
• After looking at the footage we have seen what we need to re shoot and what could possibly be done better and we will strive to do this during our next filming session. 
• We are aware that we had some issues with lighting during the latter half of the sequence so we attempt to film earlier in the day to combat this issue. 
• We were particularly pleased with the way our mise-en-scene appeared on screen. 
• It took us a long time to prepare the set and it seems to have paid off. 
• When working as a group we are able to listen to each others suggestions and the ideas developed and evolved. 
• Considering the success of this during the shoot, this coming sunday we will try to replicate the same teamwork.
• We also worked on our storyboarding and planned what we are going to do over the coming weeks. We have decided that this coming Sunday we will meet at our location at 1400 hours.
• We allocated tasks to every member of the group. I'm going to complete the storyboard and do the corrections to the blog. Callum and Hannah have decided to split the rest of the jobs between them.

Group: Preliminary Task

Feedback

Positive

• The close up of the bell was commented on by the audience as being a great shot with the resonating sound creating atmosphere.
• Our acting was described as very good and is definitely a strong factor to our group's success.
• We made effective use of our surroundings by using them as props. For example the hat and phone were found in a cupboard and the bell was on a nearby desk.
• Our shot reverse shot was a very powerful shot and in itself made the production look professional.
• Our plot had a very clear narrative whilst also not giving too much away.
• Unlike our previous preliminary task "Time I$ Money" we followed the 180 degree rule.

Negative

• Audience feedback told us that they thought some angles shown were a tad strange and didn't really fit the situation.
• The camera work was a bit shaky at the start when handicam was being used so we will try and fix this for our real production.

HB: Concept development - Colour

• We have decided that we want our opening to have as dark a feel as possible to it
• To achieve this we have decided we want to use a desaturation effect along with low key lighting
• This is similar to the effect that can be seen in the opening of Sucker Punch (Snyder, 2011) and throughout The Others (Amenabar, 2001)

Sucker Punch

This is a clear example of desaturation and it creates a unsettling mood. This would be appropriate for the scenes within the house as it will help to show the audience the contrast between there and the outside, giving the implication that there is a presence.

The Others

This still shows low key lighting with the use of a lantern, this is what we want to emulate in our opening as we will be using candles for lighting within the ritual scene. We will have to be sure we test this before filming.

Group : Pitch Feedback

Overall the pitch went very well. We got very good feedback from the class. Lots of the questions that were raised we have responded to.

• One key issue that was raised is how we will get the bone to move. We decided prior to this that we will use fishing line as it almost invisible especially in the dark gloom of our set.
• When the girl is moving around the room we are going to use jump cuts to fade her in and out of shot. We will also use jump cuts to show individual objects around the room moving.
• We have now completed our location recce which unfortunately we were unable to do prior to the pitch due to uncontrollable circumstances (lighting).
• Another issue that was highlighted was how we are planning to light all the candles using matches. We have decided to invest in buying a long candle lighter like the ones used in churches. This will combat the match issue whilst still maintaining a good horror feel for our film.  
• Unfortunately we are being forced to shoot the film during the winter. Ideally we would like to film in the spring but as this isn't an option we will be shooting in winter and taking advantage of certain winter aspects such as frosty grass to create an effect.
• We have decided to bring our titles into the film as the two main characters walk down the path towards the derelict structure. This is easy to introduce and can be very effective if done well.
• The sequence will open at the break of dawn. The sun just rising over the hill and the fresh dew of the morning still crisp.
• Inside the house it will be dark but light enough for all but the dark corners of the room to be seen.
• The cutting rate at first will be slow but it will increase in pace as the boys enter the trance.

Below is our pitch which we presented to the class. We will add a recording of us presenting the pitch once it has been uploaded to YouTube.

JH : Technical Analysis - The Women in Black (Watkins, 2012)

Shot Duration	Camera	Mise-en-scene	Sound
00:00-00:11	----------------------------	----------------------------	----------------------------
00:12-00:22	Close up of china cups, establishing shot.	Two china cups are sitting on a small table. We can tell from the size of the cups and the fact that nothing comes out that its a child playing.	Eerie background noises, quiet chink of china hitting china.
00:23-00:25	Close up of doll.	Girl pretends to let her doll drink the “drink”.	Background noise continues. A new instrument joins the already creepy mix.
00:25-00:28	Close up of male-doll.	Same as before girl pretends to let her doll drink the “drink”.	Eerie Background noise continues.
00:28-00:33	Mid-shot taken from a low angle with girls at same level.	Three girls having a fake tea party in a child’s bedroom.	Eerie Background noise continues.
00:33-00:35	Close up of doll.	Doll having hair brushed in the background. Out of focus doll close to camera.	Eerie Background noise continues.
00:36-00:38	Close up of doll lying down.	Doll being tucked into a small bed.	Eerie Background noise continues.
00:38-00:40	Two young girls in shot. Mid-shot.	Two girls smile at the other girl and keep pretending to pour tea.	Eerie Background noise continues.
00:41-00:42	Mid-shot of girl smiling back.	Other girl smiles back at the other two.	Eerie Background noise continues.
00:43-00:45	Low angle, mid-shot showing scene.	Three girls sitting round the tea set but no faces can be seen.	Eerie Background noise continues.
00:45-00:52	Higher angle shot showing full scene.	Three girls stop making tea and look towards the camera.	Background sound intensifies.
00:53-00:55	Low angle, mid-shot.	The girls all turn to look the left, towards the windows.	Eerie music continues.
00:55-00:58	Mid-shot that slowly zooms to windows.	Three windows for the three little girls.	Eerie music continues.
00:58- 01:00	Low angle, mid-shot.	Three girls begin to rise.	Eerie music continues.
01:00-01:01	Low angle, mid-shot.	Close up of left two girls rising.	Eerie music continues.
01:01-01:02	Low angle, close up of feet.	Close up of girls feet as she rises.	Eerie music continues.
01:03-01:05	Low angle, Close up of cup in hand and then feet.	Shows girls hand as she drops the cup and then it smash.	Eerie music continues.
01:06-01:11	Low angle close up of feet as they walk.	Showing them walk across china cups and dolls.	China being crushed and eerie music continues.
01:12-01:16	Girls eye heart medium shot , tracked backwards.	All of girls shown walking towards the windows.	Eerie music continues.
01:17-01:20	Medium long shot.	Girls step up onto window ledge. They all reach for handles.	Eerie music continues.
01:20-01:24	Close up of hand.	Close up showing one girl open the window.	Eerie music continues.
01:25-01:36	Medium-long shot.	Girls jump out the window in unison.	Music peaks as they jump then the scream of a women.
01:38-01:40	Close up	Shows dolls lifeless face.	Women screaming then says “my babies”
01:40-01:42	Medium long shot	Shot of the full room showing open windows.	Music returns but quieter and creepier.

 

Analysis of Findings

• None of the opening sequence shots show the protagonist. Only the three little girls are shown and a short glimpse of the antagonist
• The cutting rate of the shots are quite fast with lots of shots only lasting a few seconds. The majority of the shots last between 2-3 seconds. Some last over 10 seconds but this is only for dramatic effect.
• The camera is positioned at low angles most of the time as this is the same height as the girls as they sit on the ground.
• The pace is very slow which contrasts with the high cutting rate of the clip. The scare factor the opening is prolonged by the opening sequence having a slow pace.
• They decided not to use any effects on the scene but there is a very nice dolly shot away from the windows after the girls jump.

 
• The close up shots of the feet are very effective and act as a contrast to the previous calm seen as we see the china smashed by the small feet.
• The feet shots are also shot from a low angle which is very noticeable and adds depth to the scene.

In our production just like The Women in Black the protagonist will not be shown. It will use a fast cutting rate once inside the house but before that it will be relatively slow to build up suspense. We will be making good use of low angle shots and like the opening to The Women in Black our opening scene will use music as the opening soundtrack however this will dissolve into a small amount of dialogue near the end. 



CK: Technical Analysis of The Possession opening (Bornedal, 2012)

For this task I chose to analyse the opening sequence of The Possession (Bornedal, 2012) because it's sub-genre is supernatural horror which means it directly relates to what our group are planning to do, as well as this it's box office success makes it a valid film to draw from technically and take inspiration from.

 

Technically, what I have learn from this is:

 

Mise-en-scene:







• Old fashioned objects are very eerie.
• Darkness also adds mystery and fear to the audience.
• The elderly woman adds a sense of powerlessness and futility to the film, if the director had chosen a young man in the prime of his life to play this part, then it may not have been as effective.
• The distorting of the woman's face is extremely disconcerting and seems very unnatural.

Camera:

• The use of tracking left to slowly reveal the room in the establishing shot builds the tension and adds to the mystery, this can be noted in the first shot.
• Tracking in helps to draw attention to the focus of the shot, in this case it was the box, this can be noted from 23-29 seconds.
• At the beginning of the clip the camera movement is very slow and controlled, which builds tension, however, towards the end of the clip (when the woman is writhing on the floor for example) the camera movement speed increases notably, and this makes her agony seem more immediate and dramatic.
• The box is generally framed in the centre of the shot, which makes it feel like its drawing everything in towards it, and thus it has all the power. The woman on the other hand is usually framed in the first third of the shot, which makes her seem timid and powerless in comparison.

Sound:

• A backing track which is asynchronous with what is occurring on screen, for example the jazz music combined with the tense struggle of the woman trying to destroy the box (which can be noted from 53-109 seconds) is very effective at causing discomfort and tension within the audience.
• A child's voice out of context is very disconcerting, this is shown in the establishing shot.

Editing:

• A faster cutting rate increases the tension dramatically (noted towards the end of the opening).
• The vast majority of shots feature the protagonist, which gives her prevalence, however it also makes shots which feature the antagonist (in this case, the box) seem more important and stick out more.


                                                        Here is the clip and analysis: 

 

HB: Technical analysis - The Blair Witch Project (Myrick & Sanchez 1999)

http://www.mojvideo.com/video-the-blair-witch-project-part-1/a7b4b8606ecf30cea4c2

• For my technical analysis I looked at the opening to The Blair Witch Project, this is a paranormal film so fits in with what my group want to make for our opening. 
• This has been a helpful film to look at as it follows the idea of 'found footage' so is made entirely on handicam.
• As we won't have a big budget for our opening this is helpful to get ideas from.

• From this analysis I can learn that the character who is featured most is the female protagonist as she has the most dialogue, giving her prevalence. This is something we will need to consider in our film when deciding which character we want the audience to relate to the most.
• The clip had quite a slow cutting rate, the shots were commonly over 10 seconds, however, this made sense due to the films documentary/found footage style. 
• The cutting rates had some points of increase though these weren't so much used for building tension as they were to show setting montages which is still useful and effective. I think in our film opening it will be beneficial to experiment using different cutting rates as some will be more appropriate for different points.
• The camera was often shaky since the whole thing was handicam, however, this added to the found footage effect. This also worked as the whole film was handicam, one of the issues with our Wilderness Woods shoot was that we changed from using a tripod to handicam in random places which looked unprofessional so we need to be sure to stick to one or the other unless we show a clear reason for change.
• There was also use of fade to black transitions during the title sequence at the very start of the clip. We have tried using this particular transition previously and it was effective, however, we overused it slightly so if we decide to use it again we will need to be sure to do so appropriately. 

• There is significant framing used in the wide shots which follow the rule of thirds:

• This is something we will need to consider as I think the composition in these stills are very effective. 
• The images above show black and white colour grading that was done to the film; my group have discussed the idea of doing this in our opening also as it is seen in many other horror films e.g. Pyscho. This is an effect that works well in the paranormal sub-genre as there is less blood and gore in them, meaning the black and white gives it a darker feel instead.