Main Task - First Draft

Paranoia - Draft

This is our first draft of our opening scene. In our original script, we wanted the flashback scenes to be black and white so that it shows to the audience that its going back in time in the past at a certain time and place. However when we used the black and white colour, it didn't look right and you could tell that the filming was done in the morning as you can see the sun's reflection in the camera where as we wanted these shots to be as if it's in the dark. This caused a problem for us as it didn't make the atmosphere scary or as if it's a horror film. As this is our first draft, we could use this problem as an experience which we will overcome but to do this we have to find another way to resolve this issue such as maybe filming those particular shots in the dark or changing it to another colour which will bring out that scary effect.

Another problem that I feel isn't right is how some shots go too quicly and the audience can't see what is happening. Though it's supposed to be horror movie and everything should happen quite quick, if I can't tell what is happening in the film then the audience won't be able to either. To resolve this, I am going to have to slow down some parts so that audience get a feel of the film and are able to pick up on what is happening.

Also we haven't put in the production logo at the start which is quite an important thing to miss out as in real films, the production logo symbolises the company's identity and what it does. We completed the production logo abit late which is why we were not able to put it into the film but we will include it in the final piece.

Main Task - Crew

Crew

　

Safina Rashid

I think that in creating this opening scene, I played a significant role. This is because even though our actors/actresses kept backing, I still kept looking for other people who would play the roles and in the end helped get the characters together and sorted out. I also used Garage band on the Mac to create our own background music from scratch so that its more original and matches out setting rather than picking something which has been used several times. I was also there at all times when we had to start editing the piece which took long hours even staying after school and was stressful at times when something we wanted we couldn’t do it but because I had another member in my crew, we were able to complete the work by working together and reduced the tension. I also was the one who wrote the final script. Overall I helped put the whole piece together by first help film the shots and then editing it on the Mac.
　
Aabidah Ali

Aabidah also played a significant role in the production. She also helped me with the casting of the characters even though it was getting really stressful when no one was willing to be in it. Aabidah has been there the whole time from shooting the scenes to editing the work. She helped place the characters and tell them what to do and how to do it in the shots which wasn’t easy while I shot the scenes. As I was filming the shots, she focused on the scene to see what we were doing right and what we could improve on. In the end most of the things she picked out that were wrong helped us to improve on the work. She was also in charge of the costumes and so she had to make sure that actors/actresses were wearing what we needed to wear so that it fits scene. She has also been there every time we were editing the piece and kept suggesting ideas on how to improve on the work.
　
Saman Ali

Saman wasn’t able to participate in the production as much due to her having lessons when we were doing the work. However when she was there, she did give ideas on what we could do to improve. Saman was there for the first playground shots we did but because of the lighting we had to do these again. She also was there a couple of times when we were editing but didn’t actually put it together but she did give suggestions on what we did and if she liked it not and if the audience might like it.
　

Main Task - Cast

Cast

In our film, we have two main actresses which are Katie who is the girl that has a shadow stalking her and Dr Macbeth who tries to help Katie getting rid of her fears. However, in our two minute opening scene, none of these actresses are in the clip. This is because we decided to use some creativity and wanted to begin with a mystery and so the audience will feel the need to watch further on. The scene involves Katie’s mother and her murderer who are shown during the film but near the end of the film where they are revealed in front of the audience.

We had to change our actors/actresses many times before we actually shot the whole scene with the actor and actress shown in the scene making it our final and finished piece. This is due to various reasons which affected our production badly. Our original actors who were going to play the part were Sabah Sarwar and Furhaad Ahmed. After Furhaad was unable to do the acting part, we asked several other male actors who would be willing to be in our film but some were unable to take part due to their and our filming schedule clashing. Others said they have tried acting in the past and were not able do without having to laugh and making strange faces. One of the main reason was that many of them were to shy and didn’t want to be on camera. By then, we had to think of other ideas to get a male actor as no one would help us and so we had idea of dressing a girl up as a boy as the boys face in the film is going to covered anyway. However, we chose not to use this idea as there were many drawbacks to this and that it might not work as the audience may figure out that it is a girl rather than a boy acting. In the end we picked someone who was capable of acting with a straight face and who could film on our time that we needed him. Even though our original female actor backed out on us, we were easily able to replace her as we already had a another actress who would do it as she told us beforehand at the start of our production that she would be willing to do the acting for us and so it didn’t take us long to replace the female actress.

Actor/Actress in the finished piece

Katie’s mother is played by Nadia Hafiz. We chose Nadia in the end as she has past experience in acting which made it easier on us and her aswell. Her acting benefited us and our production in many ways. This is because when we tried filming with the actors we had before her, they were unable to keep a straight face and we had to take individual shots many times. This was very time consuming and made it harder on us as they were unable to do the acting without having to laugh. However, when we did our shots with Nadia, she was able to get into the flow and kept a straight face and do the acting perfectly and in the way we wanted her to do. The only problem that we were facing with Nadia was her facial expressions. For the scene, the actress had to be scared, terrified and tired. For some of the early shots, Nadia’s facial expressions did not show this and didn’t fit in into the atmosphere we were trying to create but once trying some shots without recording, she was able to understand the emotion that we were trying to capture and show this on her face. Nadia is an hardworking and excellent actress who was able to complete our filming task within 2 hours, even though we had to retake some shots a few times before getting it right.

Even though the boy shown in the scene doesn’t play a long role and is only seen after half of the scene has gone, he plays a very significant role not only in that scene but also in the film as a whole. This role was played by Memz Karakus who in the past has no experience in the acting field. However he completed our task with patience and focusing directly on the acting. In the opening scene, we don’t actually see his face but only his eyes. This is because we don’t want to reveal his identity to the audience yet as it creates suspense and urges the audience to watch further. Memz easily understood what he had to do and we only had to retake some shots couple of times. Overall we were satisfied with Memz acting as it was first time that he has tried to do something like this in the acting field.

Actor/Actress that were picked originally

Sabah Sarwar was supposed to be playing Katie’s mother when we first started our production. We had already done most of Sabah’s shots which did take a lot of time to do. Although Sabah hasn’t done any acting before, her acting was very good and believable. Her facial expressions were the best part as she showed to the audience what we looking for as she looked scared and tired. This would have been a great effect in the movie if we had put her in. However we were not able to complete her shots due to her not wearing the same clothes as when she wore them in the shots we had done and this was the case every time we were going to do some filming. Another reason that we couldn’t complete the filming with her was that the male actor in our film was done free when Sabah was which made it hard for both us and Sabah. In the end, she backed out of the film for reasons unknown. However we already had a back-up actress who was willing to be in our film which benefited us in many ways.

Furhaad Ahmed was going to be our mystery character in the original cast. We had not done any filming with Furhaad and so we didn’t lose any work with him however it was very stressful for us when he did leave as it was harder for us to replace him. We had not seen any of Furhaad’s acting in the past so we don’t know whether he fitted the role or not but personality wise he was perfect for the role. Due to mainly scheduling problems and other small issues, Furhaad decided to back out of the film. It took us a long period of time to find Furhaad to do the acting for us and so when he dropped out it was difficult to find someone to replace but in the end we did find someone else suitable and free to do this for us.

Overall I am glad the way things turned out and am completely satisfied with the cast who play a role in our production. They worked well together and individually and were also very understanding and patient towards us as they knew that we did not have much experience in the filming field.

　

Main Task - Software

Software

To upload and to edit the shots that I had recorded, I used the software iMovie. This is because iMovie is a very efficient software to use especially to make a film look high of high quality and done professionally. This was my first time using the iMovie on my own as I wasn’t able to be there when the editing part was done in the preliminary task so I wasn’t used to it and didn’t really know how to use it properly. However after uploading the shots that I had recorded on the camera on to iMovie, I found that though difficult at first, I was able to play around with the features on it which made me get used to it. Even though after I while I got used to using the software, as I was editing the movie I found that from time to time there were certain problems that would occur which then we resolved after playing around on it. I found that at every stage of the editing, I found something new which was very useful and sometimes helped me in making my final piece better.

I did have some difficulties with the iMovie such as that I wanted to change some parts of the film into a black and white colour which we didn’t know how to do but then though it did take some time, we found how to change this however it didn’t really turn out the way we wanted it to. We also had problems such as the fonts that we were using for the opening credits. This is because there wasn’t much of a variety that we could use and that would go best with our film and at times it wouldn’t let us change the font which was quite annoying but in the end we found another way to solve the matter.

I think that using iMovie to create the movie was very useful and beneficial for me as it increased both the quality and standard of my film. There are many features and options on how to edit the film which is effective and handy for us. I have also found that over time, I have gotten used to on how to use the software and have learnt a lot from film making because of it which could be beneficial for me in the future if needed.

Main Task - Location

Location/Setting

In the beginning of the production, we had several different locations to where we going to shoot our shots. However as our script changed, we had to change the locations spots aswell. During that period the number or location spots reduced aswell however we thought this was better as it would make the film seem consistent and believable. The setting that we chose had to fit the mood and atmosphere of the film and so we needed a dark, scary and mystery effect. We also had to bear in mind that if our actors/actresses would be able to reach the location we pick. In the scene, the main actress will be running for quite a bit of the time and so we had to use a large location where they would be able to do this.

Our opening shot will be outside the park where the audience will first see the actress running but her face will not be facing towards the camera. The location had to include a gate nearby where the actress will eventually turn and go through it in to the park which is the main location. This part has to look creepy and give a dark atmosphere as this is where my film will begin. This spot fits in well as it is covered in dirt and leaves which shows the darkness in the film.

Our main location is in the park where the actress will be running. We needed to pick a park where there was field in the background surrounded in trees but also where there would be a playground nearby as these locations will later be significant in the film. We found two locations which matched with what we wanted with both of them being perfect for what we needed. The first one was nearby our school which was easier for us to reach and it also had a little playground at the top in the corner however this playground seemed more deserted and dull rather cheerful and happy. Also this location had some trees which would work with what we wanted and as part of the location we wanted it to be dry and deserted, this fitted in well. The second location was far more better though as this also had a little alleyway which we could have used in our film and it more of a scary jungle type effect. However, we chose not use this location as it was far away and the actors/actresses mighty not be able to travel that far. We use several different spots in the field but we make sure that they are consistent with one another rather than picked at random.

The next location spot is the actual playground which is in the park. However looking at park it seemed more deserted and because of the weather, it also looked damp and dark. These shots are supposed to be happy scenes in contrast with the scary ones. We were first going to shoot this scene with children laughing and playing in the playground but due to not being able to find enough children, we had to change this idea and just film these shots with no one using them.

Another location spot is the trees which are quite important to the scene as this creates a scary effect. We chose to get the actress running in and out of the trees constantly looking backwards as if someone is running after her. We needed the trees as we want the audience to feel as if she’s is trapped in a forest type place which brings in suspense to find where she is.

Other locations we were going to use

We were going to use Brookes University as a location spot where the audience will see the main actress and her friends coming out of showing that she is a young university student. She would come out of the entrance walking towards the park laughing and happy which then she would her friends and walk towards the park. The next clip of her would be showing her running away so that the audience feel as if something has gone wrong. We wanted to show this leap from her leaving her friends happily to her running in haste with her emotion changed to being scared so that the audience will feel more interested and want to watch further on.

Main Task - Equipment

Equipment

To complete our film opening, we are going to have to use various different types of equipment so that our film can be completed to its best ability. We also used the same equipment in our preliminary tasks which helped us get used to them but also know how to use the equipment properly and in a safe manner so that we can handle them correctly and not cause any damage to it. All the equipment that we used was all borrowed from the school which were high quality pieces and enhanced our overall quality in the production.

To film my opening scene, I used a Sony HD camera. The camera was given to us by the school which helped us a lot as we didn’t have a camera of our own that we could use. The camera was flexible for us to use and exactly what we needed especially with the different functions that we could use on it such as changing the colour complexion. On the camera we were also able to zoom in and out which was very useful for when we wanted to do close up shots of the character which we wanted to do so that we can have a range of different angle shots which keeps the piece mixed and not boring. One of the problems that we had with the camera was that because we filmed the shots in the morning, it kept showing the sunlight which disrupted the filming process and so we had to keep moving the camera around a lot so that we didn’t get the sun in the shot. Another problem was that the battery life of the camera kept going low and turning off which was quite stressful and annoying at times which also leads to another problem that we had which was that the camera would sometimes freeze and not record what we wanted. Some of the shots that we wanted, we were not able to get because of this reason and so we decided to cut these out in the end.

We also used a Sony tripod. This is because when filming our shots, we wanted out shots to be steady so that the audience can see the film as if a professional has filmed it which also gives the high quality effect. The tripod was very helpful and useful because it kept the camera still whilst filming but also we were able to tilt the camera sideways and up or down without having to move the tripod which helped expand the different shots we used. The tripod also gave us an advantage of the different angles that we could use such as if we opened it, it would go longer at different heights and we could also shorten it as well.

We then needed a USB cable which connects the camera to the iMac laptop so that we could edit the pieces that we had recorded and put it together on the laptop. We couldn’t find one from school at first as they were all out and so we used one that a group member had at home but then we used one from school after they had one spare.

If we didn't have these pieces of equipment, we would not have been able to complete our production with high standards. If our film was real we would be using various other pieces of equipment which professional film makers have. I am satisfied with the equipment we used and think with them we have been able to make our film to our best ability.

Main Task - Mise en Scene

Mise en Scene

　

Mise en Scene is all about the props, lighting, costumes etc in the background which the audience will be able to see. This is important as it sets the atmosphere which the audience will able to see and from this be able to feel the mood and get a sense of what is happening as if it is actually happening in real life. This also helps the audience know what the scene is about and at many times work out what the genre of the film or television series is about. Everything in the background has to fit the mood that you want which includes all of the little things aswell such as the chairs, food or even clothes.

　

Examples of Mise en Scene

Crime/Mystery

CSI is about some sort of criminal act happening making it a crime scene and then the forensic and the police have to solve what has happened at this crime scene and how it happened aswell as often showing the reason behind it. For the audience to feel that this is a crime show, firstly a criminal offence has to happen so it then becomes a crime scene. We often see murders, robberies, kidnapping etc. You will expect to see a lot of police cars, policemen in uniform, blood, police sirens and various other things. As it is also part of the mystery genre as its about crime solving the audience will also have to be shown forensic labs, forensic equipment, high tech computers, autopsy lab etc.

Horror
In a horror film such as Saw which is about a man who traps people and tortures them by putting them through difficult situations such as sawing off their feet if they want to survive so that they become better people in life if they survive. In order to make it a horror genre the producers had to make sure that there is a lot of bloodshed in the film. We see various weapons such as knives, chainsaws, guns etc. The audience feels that this is a scary film because of these and they will also see most likely many dead bodies in blood stained settings. They often use dark locations surrounded by forest or deserted. The audience will then be able to feel the atmosphere.

My film
As my film is a horror based film, I will have to set the background so that it matches the genre and the scene in the film. I will have to make sure that the background is creepy and scary looking so that audience will know that something bad is going to happen. Before I actually get to the spot where the female character is killed, I will be building suspense so the audience get a feel of what’s going to happen next.